Generation Z Artists

Chapter 393 The Scoundrel Sony

As business matters faded away, Fang Ge consistently declined various dinner parties, leaving behind a serious artistic image in American high society.

"I only need enough money; my heart will always beat only for art."

Buffett looked solemn and said earnestly, "Fang, you will become a great man."

Attorney Ao advised him, "Fang, whatever you plan to do, you should learn to exert your influence. You already possess the power that everyone dreams of, so why not make yourself stronger?"

Comrade Jianguo, like a peddler who peddles the so-called "survival philosophy of the American upper class," rushed over to impart his knowledge.

“Sir, don’t believe them. They’re all liars. I mean, every single one of them! You should really hire me as a special interpersonal consultant; nobody knows better than me how to deal with these scoundrels…”

Brother Fang frowned slightly.

Could you please move away from me? I'm afraid Comrade Guanhai will misunderstand.

Actually, it's not that bad. The current Jian Guo doesn't have much influence yet. It's just that Brother Fang feels there's no need to pay attention to him. There's plenty of time to pay attention to him in 2014. The previous eight years were time that Brother Fang deliberately gave the other party to flatter him.

Yes, you have to flatter me for us to slowly build a friendship.

Jianguo is a heartless ruthless killer. There's no need to prepare anything in advance for someone like that, nor is there any need to cultivate any emotional connection with them, because everything will be wiped out in an instant.

The truly meaningful approach is to use a long period of time to establish an "authoritative memory" in his mind.

Make him afraid, make him wary, make him need you, but never make him grateful, and don't worry about whether he hates you.

This is the only way to ensure equality while he holds absolute power, and prevent him from being attacked.

Therefore, Brother Fang deliberately frowned, revealing his displeasure.

Ivanka quickly gave Fang Xinghe a polite smile that also revealed a hint of apology.

She didn't explain anything, but considerately replaced Fang Xinghe's drink with a beverage that looked like sparkling wine.

“I heard you don’t like drinking.” She said gently, like a wife. “Try this, it’s very refreshing.”

"Thank you."

Fang Xinghe nodded, showing no desire to continue the conversation, so the girl wisely stopped.

"We haven't followed each other yet, am I honored?"

"of course."

Fang Xinghe raised his glass in a gesture of farewell, signaling the end of the conversation.

Turning my gaze, I saw a certain important figure waiting for an opportunity on the other side, who immediately squeezed out the positions of Jian Guo and his daughter.

This process was nothing like the tense scenes depicted in TV dramas.

When Fang Xinghe faced Jianguo and his daughter, they spoke.

When Fang Xinghe turned slightly away from them, the person waiting in the wings took over the conversation, and the discussion returned to a closed triangle.

Jian Guo was unwilling to leave the stage, but he could only see the back of Fang Xinghe's head, and with the arrival of new people waiting in the wings, he no longer even had the right to stand here.

The most dignified course of action would be to take the opportunity to step down and participate in the next conversation of the next protagonist.

Unlike Chinese banquets, American high society parties do not have pre-arranged seating. People move around in one place, which seems more open and free, but in fact, the rules are more strict.

The most important point is that when those in a position of authority don't want to listen to your nonsense, even standing there is wrong.

Rude, country bumpkin, ignorant of manners, lacking self-awareness... Treating people like training dogs.

This is so boring.

This was Fang Xinghe's last appearance at a top-tier cocktail party in Washington. As one of the most distinguished guests present, he deeply felt the alienation that power brings to people.

Attorney O wanted him to expand his power, Buffett praised him for staying away from power, Jian Guo tried to establish power through him, and even Lindsay and Hilton, who suddenly reconciled, were trying to bask in his aura of power.

But this is not what Fang Xinghe wants at all; he will never build his own power base in the United States.

Everything he possesses now, seemingly prosperous and splendid, is actually like a sandcastle in the sky, a dream bubble that can burst at the slightest touch.

Without crossing the line, he can pay the protection fee through StarNet Weibo, take away the legitimate benefits, and guarantee ten to twenty years of peace.

Once the line is crossed, you will become a target of sanctions in no time.

From the four major families of yesteryear to modern immigrants, the curse of the extinction of the Chinese American bloodline after three generations is not a mystery, but a systematic harvesting project that is beyond anyone's control.

Anyone who believes that they can rise to the core of American power based on their yellow skin is essentially a country bumpkin trapped in the cage of the times.

That Mr. Zhao from the cryptocurrency circle deliberately obtained citizenship in a non-extradition country, thinking he was clever and cautious. What happened in the end?

The whole world is making fun of him, betting on how many more years he can last.

He should be enjoying life, but he lives in anxiety day and night, dealing with all sorts of troubles until he is exhausted. He is always at the top of the "most unhappy billionaires" list.

If you're lucky, you can use the platform to act as a personal purse for each president; if you're unlucky, you might just be eliminated in some wave of failure.

Compared to previous generations of Chinese, China's Generation Z is the luckiest generation.

The rise of social media allowed them to see too many truths, and the strength of the country also provided them with sufficient protection. So at that time, the popular approach was to earn money in the US and spend it domestically, working without changing one's nationality.

Things are different now. Now 99% of people believe that America is a better place to go, and American media is happy to promote this view.

Therefore, when Fang Xinghe patted his behind and abandoned his "upper class" to go to Hollywood, they were genuinely shocked and praised Fang Xinghe's "artistic pursuit".

It's the honeymoon period, so let's create some buzz and praise what needs to be praised.

Soon, the smoke of political, economic, financial, and commercial battles cleared up, and Fang Xinghe settled into the mainstream Hollywood scene, but left the truly dangerous vortex behind.

Although this is only temporary, as time goes on, they will eventually realize that figuring out Dong Ge is more useful than figuring out Fang Ge.

I'm sorry, Dongzi, pressure is what makes people grow. I'm doing this for your own good, boss...

Dog Fang arrived in Hollywood, where people were cheering for him, aboard Sony's plane.

Yes, after the unpleasant experience last time, Sony has started to lick its boots again.

This was inevitable. Leaving aside the rather unpleasant situation with "Young Love," "The Return of the Condor Heroes" has already met all the expectations of the six major Hollywood studios.

By the end of November, about two-thirds of the American version of "The Return of the Condor Heroes" had been broadcast, and the average number of viewers had increased again, stabilizing at around 4 million.

This isn't a particularly impressive achievement, but it is the most impressive overseas drama series.

Even the masterpiece "The Line of Fire" only garnered 200 million views, while "The Return of the Condor Heroes" achieved twice that, perfectly balancing critical acclaim and viewership success.

Compared to the hundreds of millions of viewers of public television stations, it's unnecessary.

It's meaningless to compare it to a historical cultural phenomenon like Game of Thrones.

Just mentioning Fang Xinghe alone, he has completely established himself as the world's No. 1 action star.

The cold weapon fight scenes in "The Return of the Condor Heroes" are still somewhat novel to Western audiences and not deeply resonate with them, but a consensus has already formed throughout Hollywood—

Fang Xinghe's first modern action film is bound to be a hit.

Therefore, in order to seize this opportunity, all six major Hollywood studios showed their meager strength.

Let's forget about the party; those sluts are always eyeing Fang Xinghe's meat, without even considering how strong their own odor is.

After participating in two events, Fang Ge, feeling he had already done enough, only held formal meetings. The six major groups, through various channels, submitted cooperation terms to Fang Ge, the King of Action.

First and foremost, there is the most basic right of a director.

Four of the six companies allowed Fang Xinghe to have full control over all related matters, including casting, participating in investment budgets, making last-minute script changes, editing, publicity strategies, and even post-production auditing.

Essentially, he is the producer, the assistant producer, the director, and the lead actor.

The once simple and honest Xiao Fang has finally turned into the ultimate drama queen... haha!
Of these four companies, three agreed to a 50/50 investment ratio.

That is: completely equal investment, shared profits, shared risks... Wait, what kind of risk is there? Brother Fang can't possibly have any risks when making action movies.

It was Fang Xinghe who disagreed.

"Invest 60/40, the copyright must belong to me, licensing is negotiable!"

These words angered Universal Music, which had been aggressively threatening to "burn its boats" and drove them away.

This year's Global Times is different from previous years; it's complicated to explain in detail, but anyway, they didn't follow up and considered it a humiliation.

Sony and Warner, the remaining two companies, have both had very good working relationships in the past and are more tolerant.

"OK, OK, the copyright is yours. You're not going to leave us behind and go it alone, right?"

Facing the Warner president's somewhat scrutinizing gaze, Fang Xinghe nodded readily.

"It's just an action movie. I can handle everything in China. Since I've decided to work with you, it means I intend to protect our friendship for the long term. You shouldn't doubt me; you should feel fortunate."

PUA masters talk about pressure all the time, making it hard for people to bear and tense up.

Regardless of the circumstances, the copyright belongs to the Chinese side, and Galaxy Pictures owns all the rights.

Next, let's talk about the pay.

They accepted the top-tier treatment of 30+20 with ease.

Currently, the highest salary in the industry is 20+20, which is 20 million US dollars in cash plus 2000% of the total box office revenue.

The number of celebrities who have received this treatment can be counted on one hand: Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Forrest Gump, and the captain of the pirate crew.

It depends on the specific project; it's not fixed.

Four directors also received similar treatment, so if it's a project by a big director and big stars, the salary alone can reach 80 million+, which is outrageous.

Of course, no one could be more outrageous than Fang Xinghe. For a standard low-budget film with a total investment of only 6000 million US dollars, he first took 3000 million US dollars in salary, and then wanted to take 20% of the total box office revenue.

This profit-sharing model completely disregards costs and profits, focusing solely on cinema sales.

If the global box office totals $5 million, the producer's share of the profits would be around $2 million. They would take $1 million first, and then the producer would distribute the remaining profits.

That's why Sony and Warner would rather increase the cash to 3000 million than give even 1% more in dividends.

If we give them any more money, we'll be working for free. The remaining amount doesn't even include the marketing and promotion costs.

Judging from the current situation, they definitely didn't cheat Fang Xinghe. Whether Fang Ge bullied them is a matter of opinion.

"So what can you actually film with $3000 million?"

Representatives from Warner and Sony eagerly pressed for more information.

"No rush," Fang Xinghe rubbed his hands together. "Let's talk about the distribution costs before we get to the details..."

In the end, Warner ran away, spitting blood.

Grandet Fang not only reduced the issuance costs to 10%, but also demanded that publicity expenses be advanced at least twice the total investment.

Who the hell would take that?! It's utterly ridiculous!
Oh, Sony has no bottom line, Sony is willing to take on this.

So the final reality became like this—

1. Sony invested $2400 million to acquire 40% of the production profits from the project, as well as various copyright licenses.

2. Sony needs to invest at least $6000 million in the promotion and distribution of the new film.

3. If the final global box office is $5 million, the box office revenue can be distributed as approximately $2.2 million. Fang Xinghe will take $1 million, leaving $1200 million, and Sony can receive $1.2 million in distribution fees.

4. Of the remaining 1.08 million, after deducting the 6000 million advanced for publicity expenses, 4800 ​​million remained, which was divided between the two production companies according to their respective proportions.

5. Sony's final revenue was 1920 million in dividends + 1200 million in issuance = 3120 million.

An investment of 2400 million yuan yielded a return of 3120 million yuan, which seems like a lot at first glance, but is actually pitiful.

A global box office of 5 million!
Is it easy?

As long as Fang Xinghe's film salary and profit sharing have the highest priority, then no matter how high the final box office rises, Sony will only get scraps.

Isn't this just plain begging on your knees? No wonder Warner couldn't help it.

In fact, Sony Columbia couldn't help but feel the pressure, but the head office insisted on forcing them to endure it.

The imperial envoy conveyed Sony's opinion to them in the following way:

"I've made so much money following Brother Fang, and he wants to make an action movie to have some fun. What's wrong with you guys trying to appease him for me?!"

What difference would it make if distribution costs were reduced to 5%? Sony is a large and powerful company; do we really need such a small amount?

If it weren't for the fear of provoking internal opposition throughout Hollywood, what would be the harm in letting him have his fun for free?
"You lot, if you can't do it, then get out! You're all short-sighted!"

The executives at Sony Columbia chickened out and agreed to all of Fang's conditions.

Then, Hollywood exploded. The other five big names looked at them with the kind of "you don't need a reason, you just need the right moment" look, and vented all their anger on Solskjaer.

This is precisely why Fang Xinghe did not push his luck any further.

The current conditions have indeed crossed Hollywood's bottom line, but that's Sony's fault, it has nothing to do with me.

If he were to reduce the issuance fee to an unprecedented 5%, he would be deliberately breaking the rules and disrupting the industry.

Because 10% is a special case that the six major powers can give up even if they grit their teeth, while 5% is the result of external pressure that is impossible to exist and would shake the foundation of the six major powers.

Fang Xinghe tumbled back and forth between their limits of tolerance, taking the blame from Sony while reaping the benefits himself, and who knows, next time other companies might be willing to go to great lengths to cooperate with him.

Don't think it's impossible; everything depends on the final outcome of this Sino-US co-production.

What if the box office exceeds 5 million?

What if the DVDs sell exceptionally well?

What if there's potential for a sequel to the series?

Is there still hope of developing surrounding markets?
In short, a business that invests $2400 and earns $3100 is not enough to entice the Hollywood Big Six, but if they are shown a Chinese pancake that is far more than $3100, they will eventually be torn apart internally.

Now, it remains to be seen how Fang Xinghe plans to shoot his first modern action film.

Everyone stared wide-eyed, maintaining a high level of attention.

And your brother Fang, he started playing with guns.

(End of this chapter)