mijobooks Chapter 494 The Producers Alliance
Chapter 494 The Producers Alliance
On November 7th, the conference room of New Pictures Film Studio was packed with people.
Zhang Weiping sat at the head of the conference table, with a reply letter from the cinema chain spread out in front of him.
Of the eight major cinema chains, six explicitly refused, while two indicated that further negotiations were needed.
He had anticipated this outcome, but his face still darkened when he actually saw these cold, written replies.
"Mr. Zhang, the cinemas are taking a very tough stance."
Wang Zhigang, the distribution director of New Pictures, put down the phone.
"Mr. Ye from Wanda Group said directly that if New Pictures insists on 45%, Wanda will not screen 'The Flowers of War'."
Zhang Weiping sneered.
"If Wanda isn't scheduling it, what about other cinema chains? What about Galaxy? What's Galaxy's attitude?"
"Xinghe has not made an official statement yet, but Xinghe and Wanda have always been very close."
Zhang Weiping leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers twice on the table.
"If we can bring Galaxy Cinema to our side, things will be much easier for the other cinema chains."
Wang Zhigang hesitated for a moment.
"Mr. Zhang, Xinghe is Director Fu's business."
You know Director Fu; he's unlikely to let his own theaters suffer losses for someone else's film.
"I will personally go and talk to Fu Yibai."
New Picture alone is not enough.
Draft an invitation letter and send it to Huayi, China Film Group, Juli, Fiber Optics...
For example, New Pictures invited several business leaders to discuss industry strategies, with the theme being the establishment of a reasonable new order for box office revenue sharing.
"Mr. Zhang, would these people offend the theater chains for our sake?"
"The Flowers of War" was just the fuse.
The revenue sharing ratio between domestic film producers and theaters is far worse than that in Hollywood.
Hollywood producers get 65% of the revenue, while domestic producers only get 43%.
The theaters take the lion's share, while the production companies bear all the risks.
Someone should have stood up and broken this situation long ago.
"If I, Zhang Weiping, am taking the lead, other companies can hitch a ride on my coattails; they have no reason not to agree."
On November 10, New Pictures' invitation was delivered to the desks of several film and television company executives at the same time.
At Huayi Brothers headquarters, Wang Zhongjun looked at the invitation letter over and over again before handing it to Wang Zhonglei, who was sitting opposite him.
"Zhang Weiping is up to something."
After reading it, Wang Zhonglei threw the invitation on the table.
"He wants to get us involved in challenging the theater chains."
The problem is, offending all the theaters for one film, "The Flowers of War," is a bad deal no matter how you look at it.
"That's true, but the issue of profit sharing is indeed an old problem."
Wang Zhongjun took off his glasses and wiped them.
"The 43% ratio has been set for so many years, and the production company's costs have increased several times over, but the profit sharing ratio has not changed at all."
Although Zhang Weiping's actions were for his own film, the issues he raised truly address pain points in the industry.
"So you mean to participate?"
"Let's go take a look first."
Making a statement is one thing, taking sides is another.
Let's hear what the other companies have to say first.
On the same afternoon, Wang Changtian of Enlight Media also received an invitation.
His reaction was much more direct than Wang Zhongjun's.
"Has Zhang Weiping lost his mind?"
Wang Changtian slammed the invitation onto the coffee table.
"He wants to wage a price war with the cinemas and use us as cannon fodder."
He invested in "The Flowers of War," so he took all the risks and wanted to increase his share of the profits to recoup his investment.
If we follow suit and raise prices, we'll only hurt our own films.
Who would do such a losing business?
The fiber optic distribution director chimed in from the side.
"But the cinemas have been holding back on the revenue-sharing ratio."
If Zhang Weiping can get anything done this time, it won't be a bad thing for us.
Wang Changtian remained silent for a while.
"Let's wait and see."
Let Zhang Weiping run into the wall himself. If he manages to break through, we'll follow; if he doesn't, we won't lose anything.
Zhang Weiping personally dialed Fu Yibai's number.
On the afternoon of November 10th, Fu Yibai was in his study at the Capital Villa reviewing the preparation report for "The Wandering Earth" when his phone vibrated. He glanced at the screen and saw it was Zhang Weiping.
He answered the phone, put it on speakerphone, and placed it on the table.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Fu."
Zhang Weiping's voice came through the receiver, his tone warm and friendly.
"Mr. Zhang, it's been a long time."
"It's been a long time."
"Mr. Fu is a movie legend now; it's impossible to even get a table with him for a meal."
"Mr. Zhang, you're too kind. Please speak freely."
There was a pause on the other end of the phone.
"Mr. Fu should have already heard about the profit-sharing ratio."
New Pictures proposed increasing the producers' share of the profits from 43% to 45%, but theaters collectively resisted.
I plan to spearhead the formation of a production alliance, uniting several influential companies in the industry to negotiate with theaters.
"Dawn is an industry leader. If President Fu can join, the alliance will be significantly more substantial."
Fu Yibai leaned back in his chair and did not answer immediately.
Zhang Weiping paused for a few seconds, then added another sentence.
"I know that Chenxi is now a large and successful company, and doesn't care about a little more or less of the profit sharing."
However, the revenue-sharing ratio is related to the interests of all production companies, including the directors and artists under Morningstar.
"Considering things from an industry perspective, Mr. Fu shouldn't refuse, right?"