Chapter 242 241. Is there a way forward for the killer universe?

Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

"Eric, this is the maximum that New Line can do. Let's each take a step back."

Eric read the contract carefully and finally nodded.

"Okay, that's it. You missed a great opportunity. Don't blame me for not letting new lines get on board in the future."

Bob Mayer smiled and shook his head: "Of course not. In fact, New Line does not have such big ambitions. We just want to do what we can do."

"Eric, MGM's territory is too large, and New Line can't keep up with you, but I'm willing to compensate in other ways."

"It's a shame, but I wish us a pleasant cooperation."

“It’s been a pleasure working with you.”

After signing his name on the contract, the cooperative relationship between MGM and New Line was officially established.

MGM sold the film adaptation rights of "The Hobbit" to New Line, agreeing to shoot a maximum of three films over a period of six years.

Within six years, no matter if New Line makes one, two or three films, MGM will take back the copyright.

New Line will grant MGM the exclusive online broadcasting rights for all of its film copyrights, but the latest films will have to be delayed for at least one month after they are taken off the theaters.

The specific delay period is negotiated for each movie individually, mainly to allow time for DVD sales.

Trash movies that have no market for videotapes may be released online in just half a month or a month, while classic epic blockbusters like "The Lord of the Rings" may be delayed by two to three months or even longer.

In addition, due to its unwillingness to take sides, New Line decided to make further concessions, that is, 20% of the profits of each "The Hobbit" film will be given to MGM.

Note that this is talking about profits, not the box office figures that Eric mentioned the last time we met.

The so-called profit not only includes box office revenue, but also the extended income generated by film copyright.

If the calculation standard is still based on the high point of $1 billion, MGM's final share will be more than $200 million, which is tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars more than simply sharing the box office.

In fact, Eric also considered whether Lionheart.com should follow the example of video websites and require members to pay again to watch popular films on demand, as well as the 12-second ads that members cannot avoid.

But after thinking about it, I still feel that it is too disgusting. Doing this is too heartbreaking and will inevitably cause the audience to hate it.

Eric remembers one viewer who was so offended that he sued the company for the advanced streaming service.

I spent countless efforts, including hiring a lawyer and appearing in court. Although I won in the end, I only received 1,500 yuan in compensation and half a month's gold membership.

What can you buy with 1500 yuan? It's funny.

And did it only infringe upon one viewer? It infringed upon countless viewers, violating the contract law.

Unfortunately, the government did not investigate unless the people reported it, and most people did not have the time to sue. So even after winning the case, it took another one or two years before the advanced on-demand service was finally cancelled.

If something similar happened in the United States, the final result would most likely be the same, except that the compensation and fine would be higher.

After all, they are all major taxpayers. As long as you can pay a huge amount of taxes, you can enjoy special treatment in most countries, except for weird countries like India.

But the audience favor lost as a result cannot be regained, and doing so in the early stages of a business is tantamount to suicide.

At that time, this incident also attracted widespread discussion in the circle. People also compared overseas and domestic video websites, wondering who was cutting leeks? After data calculation and comparison, it was found that it was actually domestic.

Taking the data from 2021 as an example, the median disposable income of U.S. residents was US$3,885 per month.

The basic subscription fee of mainstream video platforms is around US$7, which accounts for 0.2% of the monthly salary of a middle-income American, and the premium subscription fee is around US$20, which accounts for 0.5% of the monthly salary.

In the same year, the median disposable income of residents was 2,497 yuan per month.

The average membership fee for mainstream video websites is about 25 yuan per month, accounting for 1% of the monthly salary of a middle-income citizen, which is five times that of the United States. The premium membership fee is about 45 yuan, accounting for 1.8% of the monthly salary, which is 3.6 times that of the United States.

Not only is the cost lower, but the service level is also good, and it can be projected onto a TV with high-definition quality. Isn't that infuriating? Bob Mayer stood up and handed the contract to his assistant, who carefully put it into his bag. This stack of papers was worth billions.

"Come on, let's go have a meal together. You left in such a hurry last time. I found a nice place in Calgary."

Bob Mayer waved his hand and refused: "Let's do it next time. I know your shooting schedule is very tight, so I won't waste your time. I will invite you to the party when you return home."

"So anxious! Are you in a hurry to go back and prepare for the filming?"

"Hahahaha... I have to be responsible to the shareholders. They are still waiting for news."

"Well, then, I won't keep you. With the copyright of The Hobbit, New Line can gallop on the road of magical epic blockbusters."

Hearing this, Bob Mayer suddenly stopped and asked with interest: "Eric, in your opinion, what is the prospect of epic movies?"

Eric answered without hesitation: "It's very promising. If it was before The Lord of the Rings, I would have been skeptical about it, but the birth of The Lord of the Rings shattered all doubts."

"It turns out that as long as the story is told well enough, the audience is very willing to buy it, and you can also win a lot of Oscars by the way. It is a perfect genre film that can be compatible with commercial art."

This answer made Bob Mayer very happy: "That's my opinion too. Only a big background, a big story, and a big production can bring big box office!"

"Bob, so in addition to preparing The Hobbit, does New Line plan to shoot other epic films?"

"I have this plan, but I need to keep it secret."

Eric shook his head slightly. "Don't get me wrong, I have no interest in New Line's secrets. But since your company is focusing on epic movies, why not sell some minor IPs to MGM for development? It would be a waste of resources if you leave them alone."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Bob Mayer was stunned.

Eric held up three fingers. "New Line owns the rights to A Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th. I heard you also got the rights to The Texas Chainsaw Massacre."

"Then the only thing left for the Four Killers is the copyright of Halloween. If you don't have the energy to take care of it for the time being, why not let me do it."

These few short sentences suddenly reminded Bob Mayer that in the past year or so, MGM had changed its style and had indeed produced some horror films and thrillers.

And these movies were all successful, with box office revenues almost never falling below $100 million.

Especially the "Saw" series, which is a super cash cow, and people who watch it are envious.

Although the quantity is not large, the quality is really high, which shows that the other party understands the horror film market very well and understands what horror film fans want.

Since the beginning of the millennium, several classic slasher IPs have actually become a bit weak. After all, they have been rampant for decades and have not produced any new ideas, so the audience is indeed a bit tired of them.

Instead, horror films such as "The Hills Have Eyes", "Wrong Turn" and "Chucky" began to challenge the position of Big Brother.

Last year's "Freddy vs. Jason" received widespread praise from movie fans and eventually earned $110 million at the box office.

However, the corresponding investment cost also soared to 30 million US dollars. Generally, this type of horror movie can be made with an investment of less than 10 million US dollars, so the profit is not as much as imagined.

This high investment is the biggest limitation restricting the filming of horror films. Therefore, 20 years have passed, and fans have not waited for the second part of "Freddy vs. Jason".

An idea flashed through Bob Mayer's mind, and he couldn't help but think that if the IP was handed over to MGM, with the help of their power, it would not be impossible to consider letting the several major killers regain their vitality on the screen.

His eyes twinkled: "Eric, if New Line gives the rights to MGM, what are you going to do?"

"Linkage, of course we're going to go with the linkage mode."

"You know what, Bob, I love these guys, they look so cool when they chop people up on the big screen."

"Especially last year's "Freddy vs. Jason", I went to the cinema to support it. The connection between these killers is so attractive."

"But it's not enough to just have Freddy and Jason. I want to see more, and I think the audience also wants to see more murderous fights."

"If New Line gives the IP to MGM, I will try to get as many copyrights as possible, and then make a slasher movie, which should be very interesting."

Bob Meyer shook his head. "Eric, I don't think your idea is a good one. There are so many characters involved. How do you divide the roles? Have you considered it?"

"In fact, when we were filming Freddy vs. Jason, we also thought about whether we could put Leatherface in it, but we finally rejected it because we couldn't find a suitable position for him in the movie."

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"If you force it in, the effect will be poor and it will offend the fans."

Pushing the chair away, Eric stood up and said, "Bob, this is what I should consider. As the youngest and best screenwriter in history, you should have confidence in me."

Bob Mayer shrugged: "Okay, I'll think about it."

After sending the other person away, Nicole walked out from the next room.

"Has the discussion ended?"

"Um"

"Another cooperation?"

Eric held her in his arms. After filming every day these days, he took turns comforting the two girls, and his body became thinner and thinner.

Alas! This kind of life is so painful, who in my family would understand?

"It can only be said that half of the cooperation has been achieved. New Line did not buy the pie I drew. Of course, other companies did not buy it either. Their choice was consistent."

Nicole stretched out her tongue to explore Eric's body: "Well, that's because they are so short-sighted. I will always stand by you, dear."

Eric sneered: "Bob Mayer's vision cannot be said to be bad, but under his leadership, I don't think New Line will be prosperous for many years."

"Why?" Nicole was a little surprised.

"Because he fell into a misunderstanding and made the same mistake as MGM did back then, which was being obsessed with big investments and big productions."

"In the 1950s, MGM made a comeback with the hugely invested Ben-Hur. Since then, it has identified this model and plunged into the abyss of big studios."

"The Lord of the Rings is to New Line what Ben-Hur was to MGM. Now Bob Mayer has been blinded and has embraced this outdated model."

"MGM was much bigger than New Line in the beginning, but it ended up selling itself to Kerkorian. Let's see how long New Line can last."

"But didn't you give him the rights to The Hobbit?"

"Yes, but a movie like The Hobbit alone cannot support a company of New Line's level. At most, it will make Bob Mayer work for another year or two."

"If he brings the company down someday, I wouldn't mind joining the acquisition. New Line still has a lot of good stuff in its film library."

According to the development of the original time and space, New Line finally fell under this pattern.

After "The Lord of the Rings", the business went downhill all the way. Almost all the movies invested in within a few years suffered a failure, and the money earned was not enough to cover the losses.

Finally, after the disastrous failure of "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" in 2007, New Line Cinema officially came to an end and was acquired by Warner.

It has only been three years since "The Lord of the Rings" swept the Oscars. In just three years, Bob Mayer ruined a company with great potential. I don't know whether to praise him or scold him.

Eric has seen the movie "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" because Neeko played the lead role, but she was criticized for her poor acting skills, which were not at all worthy of an Oscar-winning actress.

Coupled with other reasons, the film's final North American box office was only 70 million US dollars, which was a huge loss compared to the production cost of 180 million US dollars and nearly 100 million US dollars in publicity costs.

The overseas box office was quite strong, earning $300 million, but New Line's overseas distribution had not yet broken free from the constraints of large companies, so it was handled by Warner, and most of the money earned overseas went into Warner's pocket.

So the new line couldn't catch its breath.

Dead!

When that day really comes, Eric will definitely add fuel to the fire. Even if New Line has Warner shares, it can try to buy Bob Mayer's shares.

This old guy has been able to maintain the independent management rights of New Line thanks to the 21% shares in his hands, which is larger than Warner's.

"Change people! Change people quickly!"

Amid the snowy peaks of the Rocky Mountains, Eric directed operations on the set.

Several leading actors stepped down and were replaced by stuntmen. The next scene to be filmed was the avalanche scene.

With the consent of the local government and the calculations of relevant experts, the crew has buried a considerable amount of explosives on the top of the mountain in advance, so that a small avalanche can be created with just a command.

This scene had been rehearsed many times, but it was still a very dangerous scene, and Bale did not dare to ask to perform it himself.

All non-essential crew members have evacuated down the mountain, and the stuntmen are ready to give gestures.

Eric walked into a temporarily rented helicopter with a camera set up inside.

There are two more helicopters with the same configuration. After all, this scene can probably only be shot once, so it is necessary to capture this scene from multiple angles with multiple cameras.

After carefully checking everything and confirming it again and again, an order was given.

"Inception Scene 91, action!"

Boom! After a loud noise, the mountains and forests seemed to shake.

The rolling snow on the top of the mountain turned into crazy waves and rushed down!

(End of this chapter)