Chapter 393: The Phantom of the Opera
The next day, still in the coffee shop opposite the King's Theatre.
Andrew saw Cameron happily stand up and greeted, "Cameron!"
Cameron Mackintosh walked over to the table and Andrew introduced him: "This is Lin, an excellent screenwriter and author."
Lin Weimin saw vigilance in Cameron's eyes.
After the greetings, Andrew didn't give Cameron any time to react and said, "Cameron, after my persuasion, Lin is willing to invest in our musical."
"Invest in our musical?" Cameron looked surprised and asked, "Andrew, our musical doesn't lack investors, right?"
“We don’t lack investors, but we lack investors who truly respect us.”
Cameron looked at Lin Weimin with some hostility, and then said to Andrew: "Andrew, The Phantom of the Opera is a big investment, and it's not easy to find investors."
Andrew said: "Lin has the ability, and he is willing to support any decision I make."
"Any decision?" Cameron looked at Andrew in surprise.
"That's right!" Andrew saw his friend's expression and couldn't hide his pride. "Cameron, we need investors who really understand art, not those who can only wave money and make decisions."
Cameron was silent, his eyes moving back and forth between Lin Weimin and Andrew. He was not sure what tricks these two were playing.
"Andrew, can you introduce Mr. Lin to me?"
"certainly……"
Andrew was about to speak happily, but was stopped by Lin Weimin, "Andrew, I'll do it myself."
Lin Weimin knew that as a producer, Cameron had to consider much more than Andrew, the composer. Naturally, their levels were not on the same level, so using the same flattery as yesterday would definitely not work.
After he introduced himself in detail again, he said, "My identity is actually not important. Mr. Mackintosh, I think you should understand. Andrew is an excellent composer. He has the ability to create a wonderful musical, but unreasonable constraints will only suppress his talent and make him feel constrained. This is not a good thing for the work.
I have seen Andrew's "Cats" and "Evita", and I admire his talent in musical creation very much. I think you, as his partner, feel the same way.
Most investors value only two things: risk and return. They are extremely risk-averse and insatiable for returns, which is contrary to the original intention of artistic creation.
But I am different. I admire Andrew's talent and am willing to pay to support his talent. Of course, if this work can make me a little profit, it would be great.
As a writer and screenwriter, I know all too well the pain of having one's artistic creation interfered with.
At this point, I can assure you that I will never interfere with your creative process. Of course, I will never offend your authority as a producer.
I unconditionally support you and Andrew in all your decisions.
Because I believe there is no better partner than you.”
After saying these words, Lin Weimin looked at Cameron calmly, waiting for his reaction.
"Mr. Lin, you are being too arrogant. Do you know what Andrew is going to do?"
Lin Weimin nodded, "Use a dancer as the heroine, a comedian as the hero, and fire the lyricist."
Cameron looked at Lin Weimin as if he was a madman. "You know all this? And you agreed with him to do this?"
"Why not? He's the one who created this musical, and no one loves it more than he does!"
Lin Weimin's words made Cameron silent again.
Andrew at the side became excited, "Lin, you really understand me! Is there anyone in the world who loves this musical more than me? Would I deliberately mess it up? No one would want the best for him more than I do!"
The first half of Andrew's sentence was directed at Lin Weimin, while the second half was an accusation against his good friend.
Cameron didn't look into Andrew's eyes. He whispered, "Andrew, it's too risky for you to do this!"
Andrew immediately retorted: “Doing The Phantom of the Opera was an adventure in itself!”
Cameron and Andrew looked at each other for a moment and finally gave in.
Andrew was right, making The Phantom of the Opera was a big gamble for them.
The 1980s was the heyday of Broadway. Despite all the glory and splendor, just like all entertainment industries, it was all superficial and only a few people could really make money.
On Broadway today, a musical with normal investment will not exceed $1 million, and even with a top-notch cast, $2 million is enough.
The $3 million investment in "The Phantom of the Opera" created Broadway history and also allowed the two to gamble their entire reputation.
All Americans know that making a musical, like making a movie, is an extremely risky undertaking.
Hundreds of musicals are staged on Broadway every year, but no more than twenty of them can actually make money. Among them, the ones that can make huge profits are all classics in Broadway's century-long history.
It’s true that Andrew is an excellent composer, and it’s also true that his previous works have won many honors and box office success, but who can guarantee that his next work will be popular?
You have to know that before "The Phantom of the Opera", Andrew's works "Tell Me on Sunday" and "Excellent People Drive It Away" both received mediocre responses and barely broke even, which was already very lucky.
For a musical, failure often means losing all the money.
Because musical is an industry with a very strong "long tail effect".
The income of musicals mainly comes from box office. If a musical can stand the test of time, it can continue to be performed for decades and generate continuous income. This is a box office potential that even movies cannot match.
But behind the glory there are also dangers. Musicals require large initial investments, and even if the performance has a high reputation, the box office revenue for each performance is fixed.
Regardless of how many seats are sold, fixed personnel and equipment costs must be paid. Unlike movies where all costs are dealt with at once, expenses will continue to be incurred during the musical's tour and residency.
The initial costs can only be covered when the revenue from a single game is greater than the cost of a single game, and what follows is a long payback period.
No one can guarantee how long a musical can remain a hit.
But according to statistics from Broadway in recent years, an ordinary musical that is performed continuously for six months is considered an excellent work.
In six months, it is extremely difficult to cover the initial costs on top of the performance costs and then talk about making a profit.
In Hollywood, apart from those top musicals, no one can guarantee that they can achieve such investment efficiency.
Therefore, the $3 million investment in "The Phantom of the Opera" was a huge risk for both investors and Andrew and Cameron.
"Cameron, do you remember this time last year?" Andrew asked while Cameron was in deep thought.
This time last year, Andrew was on vacation and accidentally saw the novel of "The Phantom of the Opera" at a second-hand book stall, and learned about the love story hidden in the Paris Opera House.
The Gothic suspense, darkness and extreme romance in the novel instantly ignited Andrew's creative passion. He couldn't wait to call the producer and good friend Cameron and proposed to bring "The Phantom of the Opera" to the stage, and Cameron readily agreed.
"Of course I remember!" Cameron said emotionally as he thought of the passion at that time.
Andrew and Cameron have been working together for many years and have a good understanding of each other. The planning of "The Phantom of the Opera" was very smooth at the beginning.
But as the musical's production progressed, things began to go wrong.
Andrew was determined to make his new wife Sarah Brightman famous, but he was questioned by many parties, including investors and critics. Everyone had very strong doubts about Sarah Brightman's background as a dancer.
On the other hand, regarding the selection of the male lead, although a contract had been signed with Steven Harley, the lead singer of the currently popular rock band Cockney Rebel, Andrew, who knew countless musical actors, was not satisfied with Steven Harley and had always wanted to replace the male lead.
However, investor and producer Cameron took market reasons into consideration and thought that Steven Harley was currently popular and using him as the leading actor would be helpful for the box office, so he rejected the actor Michael Crawford recommended by Andrew.
Coupled with the recent disagreements with Richard Steiger during the creative process, the entire creative team has been plagued by conflicts that are so intense that they are irreconcilable.
Cameron pulled himself out of his thoughts again and looked at his old friend, "Even if I agree, you can't convince those investors. We have signed the agreement."
"Lin agreed to buy our agreement from them at a 20% premium."
20% premium?
Cameron looked at Lin Weimin with surprise. The 20% premium might not seem like much, but this was a musical that had not yet been performed and was still in the creative stage!
Of course, those investors took huge risks, but compared with Lin Weimin who invested at a 20% premium, what was their risk?
Cameron's mind was on the edge of its seat. "What if they don't want to accept it? You can't guarantee that they will accept such conditions, right?"
Andrew and Lin Weimin looked at each other and laughed.
"Then let them accept my conditions, which is exactly what I want."
Lin Weimin also said: "If that's the case, I'm willing to help. I'm sincerely happy for you that The Phantom of the Opera has gained investors who respect the creators so much."
Cameron realized that this was an unsolvable conspiracy.
He frowned, looked at Lin Weimin, and asked the questions in his mind.
"Mr. Lin, you invested at a 20% premium and gave Andrew and me all the decision-making power. Aren't you afraid of losing money?"
(End of this chapter)
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