Chapter 71 70 Conception of the Prototype of the Industrial Chain

Chapter 71 Conception of the Prototype of the Industrial Chain

Eric had never cared about the Olsen sisters, nor their Double Star Entertainment.

The reason why he suddenly proposed to buy shares was because of a meeting with Spielberg a few days ago.

It was the premiere of "Catch Me If You Can", and Peter Jackson was invited. The two were studying the special effects of Transformers at Weta Digital, so Peter Jackson took Eric along.

After the premiere, the two talked for a long time.

First of all, the issue of Transformers. Spielberg said helplessly that DreamWorks had also contacted Hasbro, but the price he could afford was obviously not satisfactory to the other party.

Now the copyright of Transformers belongs to MGM, and Spielberg hopes that DreamWorks can participate.

However, this request was politely rejected by Eric, and the reason given was that the project had already started, and if DreamWorks had made a request earlier, MGM would be very welcome.

Of course, the issue of Transformers was just a small episode, and the two actually talked more about the development of MGM and DreamWorks.

Everyone in Hollywood knows that when Spielberg brought Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen to establish DreamWorks, the real purpose was to challenge the position of the Big Seven in Hollywood. Of course, MGM was too weak among the Big Seven.

But Spielberg wanted to establish a new company and win the victory. This approach was obviously not in the interests of the Big Seven. This cake has existed for hundreds of years and is no longer allowed to be divided.

So although everyone still cooperated, conflicts were inevitable. DreamWorks did flourish in a short period of time, but its shortcomings were exposed over time, that is, its distribution capabilities.

Even with the support of Spielberg and the other two big names, DreamWorks can only distribute in North America at most. Distribution around the world is always limited. This business must be handed over to the Big Seven, unless there is money to be made, otherwise many movies will not be able to recover their costs.

As a result, in the long run, DreamWorks has become a worker for the Big Seven.

Want to establish a new company?

Establish a shovel!

Eric and Spielberg talked about cooperation. MGM is now like a very weak martial arts master, with insufficient internal strength but still the moves.

DreamWorks is just the opposite. It has plenty of internal strength, but it can't use the right moves.

One is about to be kicked out of the top seven, and the other is desperately trying to become a new giant. If the two complement each other, it will obviously be of great benefit to both parties.

Among them, Eric is most interested in DreamWorks for its animation production ability, although it is slightly weaker than Pixar.

But even if Pixar has not been acquired by Disney, it is almost equivalent to the other party's exclusive subsidiary.

In Hollywood, Disney is still the most powerful so far. No one can challenge its position, and no one can snatch Pixar from Mickey Mouse.

But Eric has always had a big plan for animated films in his mind, "Kung Fu Panda", "Frozen", "Zootopia", etc., each of which is a super profitable IP.

Especially the "Frozen" series, the direct profit of the two movies exceeded 2 billion US dollars, and the subsequent peripherals sold tens of billions, with a net profit of more than 6 billion US dollars, which is terrifying.

In addition, Marvel, which must be acquired, will definitely produce big movies after the acquisition, and it is obviously not possible to rely on MGM's old animation department.

In the whole Hollywood, only Pixar and DreamWorks can undertake this task, so Eric's eyes naturally fell on the latter.

That night, the old and the young talked for a long time. Eric was willing to give up part of the profits from overseas distribution in exchange for the full support of DreamWorks Animation Department.

At the same time, he also proposed the first cooperation plan, which is "Frozen".

Currently, the two parties are in the stage of secret contact. Although Spielberg is somewhat interested, he still needs to communicate with the two partners.

But as long as they are smart people, they will make the right choice.

Once this cooperation is negotiated, the "Frozen" project will be launched immediately.

If everything goes well, Eric estimates that it can be started before this summer, but the time for the film to be completed cannot be determined. It may take two years or even three years.

As for the legendary seven years like the original time and space, it is just nonsense. If the time for polishing the script and wrangling in the early stage is counted, some movies can be counted as more than ten years.

When Frozen was released, Eric was not sure whether it could make more than $1 billion at the box office like later generations, but even if there was a gap, it should not be big.

Technology is not a limitation, because each era has its own technological characteristics. When the new technological revolution has not yet arrived, I am the latest and strongest.

Perhaps the audiences in a dozen years will feel that its pictures are not beautiful enough, but it is no longer important because enough money has been made.

For Frozen, the box office is not the focus, and the real profit point is the peripherals.

By that time, MGM has a high probability of having a certain voice in Hasbro, and can use Hasbro to sell toys, and at the same time use these IPs to gain greater voice.

But like DreamWorks, Hasbro also has obvious weaknesses, that is, it is best at making toys, but not good at clothes, stationery, books, accessories, etc.

It is not that it cannot be made, but the quality and sales are far inferior to toy figures.

But the core sales points of the peripherals of Frozen are precisely clothes, stationery, audio-visual products, etc. For example, the sales of the clothes and skirts of the two princesses alone have exceeded 2 billion US dollars.

The profit in this area is very huge. Eric doesn't want to share too much with others. No normal person wants to, so he needs his own factory and sales network.

Eric was still thinking about this problem before. When the Olsen sisters appeared, he suddenly found that Double Star Entertainment could make up for it.

Although Double Star Entertainment is not large in scale and its comprehensive value is only 600 to 700 million US dollars, it is a small but complete type.

This is also due to the fact that the sisters are child stars. Most of the products they sell are children's peripherals, including clothes, small accessories, stationery, etc.

Over the past ten years, they have their own processing plants and have built a complete sales network, not only in North America, but also in Europe.

So when thinking about the value of the two sisters, Eric suddenly realized this. Isn't Double Star Entertainment the link he needs?

As long as these resources are integrated together, MGM will be responsible for IP manufacturing and distribution, DreamWorks will be responsible for film production, Hasbro and Double Star Entertainment can take care of a considerable part of the peripheral sales, which will form the prototype of an industrial chain.

Now that Hasbro has been won, it should not be difficult to negotiate with DreamWorks.

The only thing left is the Olsen sisters who suddenly appeared. Eric needs to hook these two fish.

"Company shares!"

The Olsen sisters' faces changed. This is their lifeblood, no matter whether they have roots or not.

"Yes, but it's not free. I'm not a person who likes to get something for free. I will buy it at the market price."

"Think about it. If MGM holds shares in Double Star Entertainment, it means that we are in the same boat. The Cooper family will be deeply bound to the Olsen family."

"Only in this way will I spare no effort to build you and help you, because it is also in my interest, isn't it?"

"Blue Is the Warmest Color" is just the first link, and there is also a big production with an investment of more than 200 million US dollars, which is also a double female lead and is expected to start before this summer."

"In addition, MGM also plans to invest in a wedding-themed movie, which is also a double female lead, which is very suitable for you. Last year, My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a global hit. You must know it."

The bait kept being spread, and the Olsen sisters were itching to listen.

"Eric, although what you said makes sense, it is too sudden and difficult for people to accept at the moment. We need to think carefully."

You can't eat hot tofu in a hurry. If you want to eat the best tofu, you must be patient.

"I understand this. You have plenty of time to consider, but I still hope that you can make a decision as soon as possible, so that we can impact the Oscar next year!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

When they heard Oscar, the hearts of the two sisters were beating wildly again.