Chapter 394 We Are Different
Only ghosts are not afraid of losing money!
Doing a musical is even more of a hassle than doing a play.
But this is The Phantom of the Opera!
Even if it loses all of Broadway, it won’t pay back!
"The Phantom of the Opera" is the masterpiece of the talented British musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and one of the most popular musicals in Broadway history.
Since it entered Broadway from London's West End in 1988, it has performed more than 14,000 shows, with cumulative box office revenues of $1.181 billion in the United States alone. In addition, The Phantom of the Opera has been performed in dozens of countries and hundreds of cities around the world over the past few decades, earning a total global box office revenue of more than $6.1 billion.
Until Lin Weimin traveled through time in the future, it had already become the longest-running and most-performed musical in Broadway history, without a doubt.
When you meet this guy Andrew, there is no reason not to get involved!
Investing in "The Phantom of the Opera" not only makes money, but also brings good reputation. It is definitely a matter of gaining both fame and fortune.
Cameron's question lingered in Lin Weimin's mind for a few seconds.
Lin Weimin smiled calmly. "Loss of money? Mr. Mackintosh, every business has the possibility of losing money. But the difference is whether it is worth doing. I think The Phantom of the Opera is not only a business, but also an outstanding work of art. If it can bring me profits, it will be my honor. If not, then at least those who have seen The Phantom of the Opera will remember me as an investor, and it will become the most proud of my few investment experiences in my life."
Cameron looked into Lin Weimin's eyes, as if he wanted to explore the depths of his heart, but from those eyes, he only saw sincerity and clarity.
After staring at each other for a long time, Cameron finally spoke.
"Damn it! You're such a great lobbyist."
Lin Weimin smiled and extended his hand to Cameron, "For art!"
Cameron held Lin Weimin's hand and repeated his words, "For art!"
Andrew on the side cheered and put his hands on the two people's clasped hands, "Yes, for art!"
"Damn it! Andrew, take your sweaty hands away!" Cameron cursed.
After saying this, the three of them couldn't help but burst into laughter.
After being excited for a while, the three of them regained their composure.
Cameron also told Lin Weimin about the current situation of "The Phantom of the Opera".
He and Andrew are based in the West End of London. At this time last year, the two received a $500,000 investment from investor Kim Friedberg and several other investors, and successfully launched the production of "The Phantom of the Opera".
Unfortunately, $500,000 was just a drop in the bucket for such an ambitious work as The Phantom of the Opera. Cameron had to continue looking for investment, and Broadway became the best choice.
If the British Empire is likened to the setting sun, then Michael Jordan is at its peak. The same is true for the musical world: London's West End is a thing of the past, but Broadway is in its prime.
Cameron found investors on Broadway very easily. After all, Andrew was well-known and a rare talented musical composer in recent years.
But Broadway investors are much more difficult to deal with than those in London's West End. They put too many constraints on the production of the musical, and Cameron is very tired as a producer.
But there is no way, because the investment in the musical "The Phantom of the Opera" is too huge.
Although Cameron was concerned about Lin Weimin's joining at the beginning, now that the decision had been made, Cameron was more relaxed than Andrew.
His biggest use as a producer is to raise money. Now that he has money and the investors have promised not to interfere with the creative and production process, what else does he have to worry about?
The rest was left to Andrew, the creator. If Cameron had not trusted Andrew, he would not have agreed to "The Phantom of the Opera".
During this period of time, he was also very tired of balancing the relationship between Andrew and investors.
Now, all problems will be solved.
After today's meeting, Cameron no longer needs to worry about balancing investors and creators. Andrew has gained the creative freedom he has always dreamed of, and Lin Weimin has also got the results he wanted.
The three of them were very happy. Andrew didn't care that it was still daytime, and dragged Cameron and Lin Weimin to find a place to drink.
But it was broad daylight and there was no bar open, so the three of them had to buy a few bottles of red wine and return to Dakota Apartment.
Cameron naturally knew about the Dakota Apartments, and seeing Lin Weimin living there, he felt more confident about his investment.
In the apartment, the three of them drank until late at night, and Cameron and Andrew returned home drunk. They agreed to negotiate with the investors tomorrow and give Lin Weimin an answer as soon as possible.
Early the next morning, Lin Weimin called Arthur Miller.
Arthur Miller was so happy when he received a call from Lin Weimin that he thought his script had been written. However, after talking to him, he found out that the call was for him to recommend a lawyer.
“Investing in a musical?”
After hearing what Lin Weimin said on the phone, Arthur Miller's first feeling was that he had been deceived.
Worried, he asked Lin Weimin to take him with him next time he met Andrew.
Lin Weimin smiled bitterly, but he also understood Arthur Miller's good intentions.
After making the call, Lin Weimin ran to the New York branch of the Bank of China located at 1045 Avenue of the Americas.
The branch was established in 1981 and was the first Chinese bank to conduct business in the United States.
All the foreign exchange in Lin Weimin's hands is kept in an account at the Bank of China. Due to special circumstances and special treatment, although Lin Weimin can have a foreign exchange account, the amount is limited and he needs to inform the bank in advance.
When the New York branch heard that Lin Weimin needed to temporarily use a sum of foreign exchange that might reach 3 million US dollars, it did not dare to make a decision and called the headquarters.
Lin Weimin could only explain to the people in Yanjing why he was in urgent need of money. After a long haggling, they finally agreed to let him go this time.
Three days later, Lin Weimin met Andrew and Cameron again. They were accompanied by Arthur Miller and Arthur Miller's long-time lawyer Ken Nash. In addition to them, there were also lawyers for several other investors.
Andrew and Arthur Miller are both famous figures on Broadway. Although they had never met before, they had seen each other in the news media. Moreover, both sides had a big presence today. After some communication, Arthur Miller felt relieved.
"Lin, I never thought you would run into Andrew." Arthur Miller and Lin Weimin whispered.
"It's all coincidence and God's will."
"But are you sure you've thought it through? This is an investment of millions of dollars, not a small amount. The risk of investing in a musical is extremely high," Arthur Miller reminded.
On Broadway, production funding skyrocketed after Disney invaded Broadway in 2000. They invested 14 million US dollars in the production of "Tarzan" and 15 million US dollars in the production of "The Little Mermaid" and other musicals.
Despite the huge investment, it is impossible to make back the money just by relying on box office revenue. Disney is making a loss to gain publicity, and what it wants is popularity and industrial linkage.
Before Disney invaded Broadway, millions of dollars in investment in musicals was already a huge sum.
This number was even lower in the 1980s.
Therefore, Lin Weimin's investment of two to three million in the musical "The Phantom of the Opera" is definitely a big investment.
"I am very optimistic about this musical, and Andrew's previous works have all performed very well at the box office," said Lin Weimin.
Arthur Miller sighed inwardly, you only see the films that did well at the box office, can't you see the films that didn't do well at the box office?
Of course Arthur Miller would not say this out loud. He came here today just to confirm whether Lin Weimin had been cheated.
Now that it has been confirmed that this Andrew is not a fake, his mission is accomplished.
As for the investment in the musical, we can only pray that Lin Weimin's vision will not be wrong. But Arthur Miller felt that Lin Weimin was not relying on vision, but on a whim. After all, how much does he know about Broadway?
Lin Weimin naturally didn't know what Arthur Miller was thinking, and even if he knew, he couldn't explain it.
How to explain?
You rely on your vision, but I'm different, I have a hook!
In the past few days, Cameron did not convince all the American investors. He only got an agreement worth 1.6 million US dollars from three investors, but this was enough for Lin Weimin.
He will not interfere with the production process of "The Phantom of the Opera", he only needs to ensure that his subsequent income is consistent with other investors.
When signing an agreement, the lawyers of the three parties have the heaviest workload as they need to confirm the contents of the agreement item by item.
Instead, the parties involved were very relaxed and gathered together to chat and talk.
It was not until more than two hours later that the lawyers finally finalized the investment agreement. After the three parties signed and confirmed it, they shook hands.
It can be seen that Cameron and Andrew are very satisfied with the agreement to change investors.
Whether in London's West End or on Broadway, it is hard for creators and producers not to love wealthy investors like Lin Weimin who only care about giving money, just like domestic screenwriters and directors in later generations miss coal bosses.
The coal boss at least has a mistress, but Teacher Lin really doesn't care!
Just one word: have fun!
Teacher Lin is paying for everything today!
The cooperation matters were officially finalized and we had lunch together to celebrate the success of the cooperation.
During lunch, Lin Weimin talked with Andrew and Cameron about the production progress of "The Phantom of the Opera".
Although Teacher Lin doesn't take care of things, he still cares about the progress.
"It will definitely premiere in the second half of the year," Cameron assured Lin Weimin.
Cameron and Andrew are based in London's West End. Their purpose for coming to Broadway this time is similar to last year. On the one hand, it is for vacation, and on the other hand, it is to communicate with investors about problems encountered in the production of musicals.
"If the premiere goes well in the second half of the year, we will consider performing it in the West End for a year, and then try to come to Broadway. After all, this is the best place for musicals to survive now," Cameron added.
Lin Weimin nodded. For a mature producer like Cameron, after eliminating those conflicts, there are actually very few things that investors need to worry about. He already has a mature production process and performance plan in his mind.
After the meal, both sides said goodbye.
In two days, Andrew and Cameron will return to London to continue the production of "The Phantom of the Opera". Lin Weimin invested 1.92 million US dollars in "The Phantom of the Opera" and obtained 53% of the rights and interests of this musical.
Teacher Lin picked up a gold nugget this time!
(End of this chapter)
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