Hollywood Tycoon [US Entertainment + Business War]

The Motion Picture Association of America, formerly known as the Federation of Film Producers and Distributors of America, is regarded as the representative association of the American film industry in the United States.The association is not an official organization, and its documents do not have any legal effect, but because of their relationship with the American Federation of Theater Owners, only film companies that have obtained the membership of the American Motion Picture Association have the right to distribute movies in theaters in North America, and at the same time They are also the governing body of the film rating system in the United States.Although the grading of the Motion Picture Association of America does not have any legal binding force, because major theaters in North America strictly implement this classification system and prohibit the release of movies without ratings, the Motion Picture Association of America has actually become the SARFT of the United States.From this we can see how important the membership of this association is, and whether you can enter this association has become a symbol of whether you are a "film giant".

The eight founding members of the Motion Picture Association of America: Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox Films, Royce Films, Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., Columbia Pictures, United Artists and RKO Films. Parts are preserved, but there are still significant changes.For example, Royce Films sold their film production business (and thus withdrew from the American Film Association), concentrated on developing the theater business, and finally developed into the current AMC Theater Company; Columbia Pictures was acquired by Sony Pictures Entertainment, so This membership was inherited by Sony Pictures; RKO also launched the American Film Association because it ended its film business on its own.MGM joined the American Film Association two years after its founding; while Disney Pictures joined the American Film Association 57 years after its founding.During this period, many film companies joined in one after another, but then the Film Association was launched due to bankruptcy or other reasons, including Turner Entertainment Group, which was acquired by Time Warner.

The MPAA's annual meeting was held at the Hacienda Marmont in Los Angeles, a luxury hotel near Los Angeles' Sunset Strip.Although American cities have done a good job of greening, it is still difficult to have a lush mountain view in the urban area, but Marmont Manor Hotel has done it.Although the annual meeting of the Motion Picture Association of America does not attract the attention of entertainment reporters and film and television reporters, it is a very important news for financial reporters and journalists.Who can enter the American Motion Picture Association, then the company's related stocks must be good news.Moreover, Sherman Film and Television Entertainment Group is seeking to re-list, so whether Sherman Film and Television Entertainment Group can enter the American Film Association is also an important indicator.However, analysts believe that according to the principle of the American Film Association, it is very likely that Time Warner and Sherman Film and Television will lose an important seat at the same time, and Sherman Film and Television will inherit the qualifications of MGM or United Artists to enter the Film Association.

But this is not the result that Jed wants to see, he has to keep two publishing qualifications no matter what.Although one distribution qualification can be distributed with different vests, the reason why Jade has two qualifications is to ensure that Chinese-language films will have a convenient channel to enter the North American market in the future.Jed has hired a professional public relations company to lobby for himself, thinking that it is okay to cancel the seats of United Artists and Turner, but canceling MGM is unreasonable.As a representative of the American film industry, MGM does not even have the membership of the American Film Association, which is unacceptable.At the same time, they are also advocating that Sherman Film and Television Entertainment should join the American Film Association, because the number of films released by Sherman Film and Television Entertainment has accounted for 8% of the total in North America, and the box office has accounted for 13%. The company's exclusion from the American Film Association is simply inexcusable.

"Mr. Sherman, the Film Association intends to streamline its membership this time, rather than expand it." Christopher Dudd, chairman of the Film Association, met with Jed in a private meeting, hoping to persuade Jed. "In our opinion, it is enough for the film association to retain seven memberships. Disney, Paramount, Fox, Warner, Sony, Universal, and you Shermans."

"Are you going to drive MGM, a century-old store, out of the Film Association?" Sherman asked indifferently, "MGM can be said to be a symbol of the American film industry, and I can't imagine America without MGM. Film Association!"

Dude sneered secretly in his heart, thinking, do you, Sherman, want to be the only company with two seats in the Film Association?But Du Deming still smiled and said: "In terms of qualifications, RKO is not inferior to MGM and Paramount? Besides, the Film Association has really decided that any entertainment group or media group can only be in the film association. Own the only seat."

"RKO?" Jed sneered, "Yes, RKO has filmed many classic movies in film history, but compared to MGM Lion and Paramount Peak, RKO's launch tower is just a It’s just a little brother. And the most important point is, who said that MGM is a subsidiary of our Sherman Film and Television Entertainment Group? We can’t even talk about holding shares. MGM and United Artists and Lions Gate The controlling parent company of MGM Pictures Group is MGM Holdings, although we Sherman Film and Television Entertainment Group has a stake in MGM Holdings, but our shares are only a minority, about 15%.”

"Isn't MGM a subsidiary of Sherman Film and Television Entertainment Group?" Dude looked at Jed as if he saw a ghost.MGM has been a private company since its inception, so its financials and shareholding composition are secrets.However, in the acquisition turmoil in the past few years, it was obvious that Jed stabbed Sony secretly, forcing Sony to give up MGM.How can MGM have nothing to do with him?

Jed was secretly happy. Although he forced the chairman of Lionsgate Entertainment away, the company Lionsgate Entertainment did not disband.As the holding company of the new MGM Pictures Group, the major shareholders of MGM Holdings are Lionsgate Entertainment and Mediterranean Capital Management Group under John's name.In other words, the chairman of the board of directors of MGM Pictures, which is now the parent company of MGM, United Artists and Lions Gate, is John.Although John and Jed are "civil partners," they are not "associated" because federal law does not recognize a "husband and wife relationship" between Jed and John.So even if the whole world knows that Jed and John are one, they are still two independent individuals in American law.Jed took out the company documents that he had prepared a long time ago and handed them to Dude, "Mr. Dude, this is a confidential document of MGM. I hope you don't disclose it after reading it."

Dude took the document and looked at it. Through a series of capital relationships, MGM Pictures Group is actually two equal and independent companies that are not related to Sherman Film and Television Entertainment Group. Among them, the chairman of MGM Pictures is John, and the chairman of Sherman Pictures Entertainment is Jed.Of course, John and Jed are in a so-called "civil partnership," but legally speaking, they're just as unrelated as ordinary friends.Du De finally smiled bitterly: "Mr. Sherman, you have proved the relationship between you and MGM. It seems that we really cannot ask MGM to withdraw on the principle of 'one company, one seat'."

But when Dude announced on behalf of the association's presidium that "only Turner Entertainment was disqualified due to the principle of 'one company, one seat'", not only the reporters were stunned, but Time Warner Group was the first to represent Warner Bros. and Turner. Entertainment issued a protest.But soon the Film Association came up with a document signed by a district court judge, proving that MGM and Sherman Film and Television Entertainment Group did not have an affiliation relationship, the two only had an investment relationship, and this investment relationship did not It will not affect the independent operation of the two companies.Jeff Bewkes, chairman and CEO of Time Warner Group, said angrily in an interview: "This is simply the most ruthless mockery of the entire American capital system and legal system!"

But soon MGM Pictures also issued a statement, "If Mr. Bewkes has any evidence to prove that MGM has violated any laws of the United States or California, please ask Mr. Bewkess to directly sue in court or contact the federal prosecutor. Officer. It is very irrational and impolite to slander the company reputation of MGM Pictures through the media. MGM Pictures reserves the right to sue. At the same time, due to the nature of MGM Pictures, The company will refuse to respond to such incidents in the future."

Jed also said in an interview with the Los Angeles Times: "The investment in MGM Holdings is purely a capital operation and has nothing to do with the acquisition of MGM. If anyone thinks this investment will be misunderstood, Sherman Studios will sell its shares to any shareholder in MGM Holdings at the appropriate time."

Keeping MGM's seat while weakening Time Warner's influence, the first step of this meeting's goal is achieved, but the most important thing is tomorrow.Tomorrow, the American Film Association General Assembly will vote to decide whether to accept Sherman Film and Television Entertainment, RKO, DreamWorks, and CBS Films to join the American Film Association. According to the analysis of the "Hollywood Daily", CBS Films should be eliminated in the first round of voting. CBS Films does not have any qualifications at all. Although it is not bad as a rising star, it is not enough to compare with the other three candidate companies.

Among the other three companies, Sherman Film and Television Entertainment has a big business at home, and the American Film Association, which excludes Sherman Film and Television Entertainment Group, will inevitably be criticized; Hollywood asked about the taste of "beef curry" from the Indian subcontinent.Compared with these two companies, DreamWorks seems a bit underqualified.If joining DreamWorks does not split with DreamWorks Animation, DreamWorks still has its own qualifications.However, they hooked up with Reliance Entertainment Group prematurely, and both DreamWorks and Reliance Entertainment were criticized for a while.Later, Reliance Entertainment succeeded through RKO's "curve landing", but DreamWorks "stolen the chicken and lost the rice".

However, until tomorrow's general meeting does not vote, it is still unknown who will win the game.But no matter which company is nominated, it has launched a secret public relations campaign tonight.The members of the American Film Association are actually relatively simple. After Turner Entertainment withdrew, there are currently seven members.A simple majority is required to be nominated, which means that nominees must obtain four yes votes.Jed is now sure that there are only three votes for Paramount, Fox and MGM, and Disney and Sony are definitely against it.Therefore, the statements of Universal and Warner can be imagined.The original suggestion given by the public relations company was to ensure Warner and strive for globalization.But after Turner withdrew, it was not bad for Warner to abstain.