Hollywood Domination: The first TV series
"Dancing Out of My Life 3-D", "Food, Prayer, Love"... After the special effects masterpieces were gradually released in July, the North American film market seemed to be a lot calmer in August. A masterpiece with a big investment and a big return, but a genre movie aimed at a specific market. For example, the "Dancing Out of My Life" series is a series of films developed by Disney after "High School Musical". The first two made Channing Tatum popular, making him a new generation of low-cost production kings. In the third part, after his rising value, constant film appointments, and seeking for better development, he will be replaced by another actor. It seems that it will become a long-running series of small and medium-sized production films. ——Don't underestimate this kind of series, maybe the seeds of A-level production are brewing. The budget of the first part of "Fast and Furious" back then was only tens of millions.
Combining the post-conversion to 3D, the total investment is only 30 million. North America also has a cumulative income of more than 20 million in the first seven days of the week. Considering the previous popularity in the world and the fact that 3D is super hot now, Disney estimates optimistically Over 100 million overseas box office should not be a problem, and this also led the crew of "Dancing Out of My Life" to hold a celebration party: Not every crew can be like "Code Shero", which raked in a billion dollars worldwide. For some film crews, 100 million is already a gratifying number, and an investment of tens of millions is also very exciting.
"Eat, Pray, Love", with an investment of 80 million, the global box office is estimated to be around 150 million, and the domestic box office in the United States is about 80 million, which can match the investment. This figure is neither high nor low, and there is no loss , but it did not bring surprises to the market. Romantic comedies in recent years have roughly performed at this box office. Few of them can reach a higher level. Julia Roberts, who has retired for several years, has successfully completed her task. Guarded his cost-effective golden body. However, "Inception" and "Codename Shero" still performed well on the ranking list in August-these weak opponents, it is difficult to stop them from coveting its box office champion. If "Dancing Out of My Life" is not a fan Oriented movies accounted for most of the box office in the first week, and almost fell to third place in the first week. Its two opponents still had more than 20 million box office in the week, and the gap was only a hair's breadth. As for "Agent Sauter", it has fallen all the way, and it is already difficult to enter the top five.
However, even so, these two films still aroused the attention of many filmmakers-not to mention "Eat, Pray, Love", not everyone can invite old big stars However, what filmmakers care more about is the box office potential of "Dancing Out of My Life". It can be controlled to a very low level, the risk is small, and the box office of the series is quite good, and the replacement of the third protagonist has not affected the box office. This has made many filmmakers adjust their emphasis on the genre of musicals, and prepare to release works that follow suit— —Actually, there are already many low-cost musicals like this on the market, but as long as they don’t hit too much, the box office is quite good relative to the cost. If the quality is good, it has the potential to be a big hit. A good choice for their investment. It is not only the needs of major film producers to develop genre films, but also small and medium film producers are eager to try, wanting to wade into this muddy water. "Hollywood Reporter" also took this opportunity to do "Comprehensive Revival of Musical Movies?" "Several reports analyzed the revival of Hollywood musicals from film to TV series from 2000 to the present.
"You can think of "Glee" as the successor to "High School Musical". "(Disney's own attempt at singing and dancing TV series), "glee" added more spicy elements to the plot, which is more suitable for those teenagers, and it is also the appetite of the most direct audience of TV series. It is not surprising that the ratings have been soaring all the way. Compared with the Disney Channel whose viewing target is children, they are subject to fewer restrictions. Ryan Murphy, who once created "Surgery Room", is also extremely skilled at creating conflicts..."
In the article, "Hollywood Reporter" commented pertinently on the pros and cons of several singing and dancing TV dramas-"glee", which just started its second season, is of course very popular at this time. It often occupies the top of the best-selling list on the S--now that the iPod has been released for less than 10 years, this ranking is almost as important as the Billboard, fully explaining the popularity of this TV series among teenagers, and the production company even more I will not let go of this good opportunity to make money. Just like "High School Musical" and "Hannah Montana", the theme tour of the TV series is already in the planning. This is also an important way for this kind of TV series to make money One, and from this point of view, the profits created by "glee" may not be comparable to that of "Hannah Montana". This TV series directly promoted Miley Cyrus as the most popular among teenagers One of the best little queens, she is popular and has a full tour, but she has made a lot of money for Disney...
"Of course, Disney's ability in channel integration is unmatched by its competitors. This is also one of the core competitiveness of this behemoth in the new century. Dream Entertainment, which is closely related to Disney, may add a TV drama department in the near future, and their first work will also be a musical comedy. Unlike "glee" and "Hannah Montana", they have Oscar-winning movies. The later Big Dream Entertainment has always been extravagant, they seem to always take the high-end route, the music producer of this TV series may be the hip-hop master Jay-z..."
Although this has not been confirmed yet, "The Hollywood Reporter" is not the kind of media that will report rumors. This news has attracted great attention from the industry—many TV drama experts laughed at Dameng's decision: TV dramas and movies are two completely different worlds. For producers, the bigger the movie budget, the better. This is basically a one-shot deal, but the production budget of TV dramas is hard to say. If it doesn’t save money, the cost If it is too high, the threshold for survival will be very high, and if there is a slight mistake, it will be announced to be cut off. This is why the living environment of comedy is always relatively loose-at least it is quite cheap in the early days. Come on jay-z? Does the music have to be purely original? How high will the production cost be raised? Even though abc has made a reservation for the whole season because of the relationship between Big Dream and Disney, if the ratings do not exceed 2, it will be killed in one season. And if the ratings of the new drama want to exceed 2, how easy is it? TV ratings are also a standard zero-sum game, and the competitive environment is not much more relaxed than that of movies.
Of course, although the executives of the TV station reacted coldly to the news and were not very optimistic about it in private, no one would stop contacting Dameng. If so, then he must not want to do it. No matter how the final ratings are, whether it is cut for one season or not, there is always nothing wrong with buying this drama at a high price. Even if you can't buy it, the price is enough to explain to the high-level executives. What? This is hard to say!
"Is there any definite news from Dameng? Has a contract of intent been signed with abc?" In the office building of the Fox TV network, Alex, the manager of the purchasing department, asked the acquaintance on the phone— —that is, Georgia Lansing, the executive of Fox Films, "Georgia, can you give me some approval letter? Don't uh, can you ask this for me?"
Being able to decide the booking situation of new dramas every year, he also has a great say in the renewal of old dramas. His voice on the Fox TV network is not inferior to Georgia Lansing's position in Fox Movies. When it comes to Fox TV In terms of annual profitability, if you only look at box office, advertising fees, and copyright transaction fees, the gap between the two sides is not too big in the young years of the film company. Therefore, although the style of the film and TV series is different, the status of the executives of both parties Very equal, Alex is Georgia's good friend, one of his basic positions in the group, and the tone of the two of them is quite casual.
"Of course abc intends to sign for the whole season, but Cesare still keeps an open attitude." Disney Television Network, he has not yet nodded to the contract of ABC - you know, the conditions they gave are not low, I heard from Maria that ABC is willing to set aside its prime time, and there is 100 million US dollars for the whole season The asking price, this figure...cannot be said to be low."
Although the business negotiations are confidential, there are always rumors flying all over the sky. The asking price of 100 million US dollars is the news released by Maria, a well-known public relations and intelligence dealer, so the credibility cannot be said to be low. Alex was a little speechless, "According to the 24 episodes in a season, one episode of a musical comedy will sell 4 million. ABC is really determined."
Except for those sci-fi dramas, the production budget of an episode of American TV series is about 2 million. After all, 7 million TV dramas are rare: It is worth mentioning that the multi-camera shooting method of "Friends" is quite economical. If the actor's salary is deducted, a single episode can save at least 500,000 in cost, so I have been working for the producer The company favors. However, the production cost is quite high, and the survival time of sci-fi dramas that are not easy to soar in ratings is generally quite short. Unlike movies, the cost is fully paid after the filming is completed. The time slots are all costs. In order not to reduce the profit of the TV station, even if the episode has been produced, the TV station sometimes chooses not to finish the show.
"After all, it has something to do with Jennifer." Georgia said lazily, "abc will not let the fat water flow out, I think you are similar? How about it, do you plan to open the contract to 100 million taels Ten million?"
"Prime time selection and leading the stage are already the most basic conditions." Alex said frankly, "As you said, this is Jennifer's drama after all—yes, my authority, The whole season is scheduled for 24 episodes, 120 million, which is also the highest requirement, if I want to go further, I have to ask for instructions—Georgia, what do you think?"
Hearing that Georgia's tone was not so agreeable, he asked one more question.
"If it's a TV series produced by Jennifer, it's very normal to enjoy the treatment of the Super Six—" Although Georgia said such a shocking conclusion, his tone was very natural, and Alex did not I feel different: the market for TV drama production is basically divided by the Big Six. Squeeze, their TV dramas will definitely not enjoy the princess treatment of prime-time picks and pillar dramas as the leading role. Even Fox's few masterpieces can enjoy such standards, but when they are talking about Big Dream and Jennifer Jay When it comes to Fossen... common sense just doesn't apply, it's as simple as that.
"—and I would also suggest that you raise the price to 130 million, which will be more competitive—I heard that CW also has a great willingness to compete for this drama, and they may even not Watch the pilot episode...but—" Georgia changed the subject, "if it's a TV show made by Jennifer."
"What do you mean?" Alex immediately became excited.
"This is real insider news, don't share this advantage with others," Georgia said in a low voice, a little secretively. "From March to June, Jennifer was almost in Yosemite preparing for the shooting of the new film. This is a real seclusion, no use of the phone, no contact with the outside world-I heard that this is Salvi's request, and now in The same is true in New Zealand. Do you think she is filming in New Zealand while controlling Los Angeles remotely? That’s not the case at all. She is also in a state of disconnection in New Zealand. According to Bell, Salvi only allows her to talk to the outside world for fifteen minutes a day. This whole project is It was Cesare who was carrying it alone, and there was no trace of her at all."
Such a big gossip was enough to tip the scales in Alex's heart, and he gasped, "Really?——Wait! Georgia, but are the rumors true? Rumors say she just Cesare's puppet, almost all the investment is made by Cesare, she is just an agent in front of the scene—"
Georgia, whose wife was Cesare's core artist and who is also a close friend of Vijari's family, did not disclose more, but said lightly, "Do you believe that you can personally produce "Monroe" and "Code Shero" Will the girl be a puppet?"
Thinking of "Code Shero", which has exceeded 1.5 billion worldwide and is still burning at the overseas box office, Alex cringes a little, he is so puzzled, "Are you sure that Cesare brought all of this by himself? Jennifer didn’t give any guidance?——What is this? Are you using tens of millions to make your husband happy?”
"Cesare is a very capable leader of the company." Georgia in turn defended his friend, "Any producer needs to practice, and, yeah, with his status, practice works will certainly Extraordinary, it has nothing to do with feelings, he has such authority in Dream."
Alex doesn't care how other companies operate. What he notices is Georgia's key point, which is the fact that this show is dominated by Cesare—this information is too important to him. Now, "I understand, Georgia, I will maintain the 100 million offer to the outside world-you can rest assured about this."
If Fox does not make an offer, it may affect the relationship between Georgia and Cesare, and he is not making it difficult for Georgia.
Georgia's knowing laughter also came from the other end of the phone, "Got it, play tennis another day——"
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——Although they are all a group, there is also a division of labor internally. For the TV network, it is impossible for them to care about the internal personnel of a production company, as long as they know whether the TV series is worth investing in or not. But for the investment, mergers and acquisitions departments within the group, and even some venture capital companies, Dameng's recent actions are somewhat incomprehensible-for some key people, collecting and researching their itineraries is the daily routine of the business intelligence department work, they could easily have come to the conclusion that Jennifer, even if she had directed the show, never had enough time to build the project herself. In fact, the entire project took shape after she went to New Zealand. Judging from all indications, this project was hosted by Cesare Vijri himself, just like "Dragon and Tiger Boys", like this host The CEO who is in charge of the company's daily affairs is a step towards generalist development.
With the scale of the big dream, it is not uncommon for the CEO to focus on key projects, but for the core figure's originally very clear big dream, Cesare's step is very subtle—the company's business Now Jennifer is the main one. It is reasonable for him to take care of the logistics. Although the mom-and-pop store is suspicious to investors, it will not completely dispel their desire to invest. But now, Jennifer, who was originally very good at film investment Started to concentrate on filming, Cesare began to catch up with the logistics production, and many people even got the news from the side. Now it is impossible to contact Jennifer directly, and it must be done through Cesare-this makes many people They all began to have strong doubts about the power structure inside the dream and the current relationship between the couple. The sudden change in the scope of business, the fact that Jennifer rarely stayed in China this year, and rarely had contact with the outside world seemed to be vague. Pointing to an ominous answer——
"Their relationship may have gone wrong very early, and even the cooperative relationship is on the verge of breaking down." In the spacious office in New York City, Mitchell, the director of the business information department, spoke to Rupert Murdoch in a deep voice. Said, "Obviously Cesare gained the upper hand in the internal power struggle, or—the war between the two, now that Jennifer has been excluded from the core business circle, and external contacts have been restricted—the whole matter The question is, why is Jennifer's attitude so cooperative? Maybe there are some secrets that we don't know."
Murdoch built a tower with his hands, and also showed a thoughtful attitude-of course, compared with his News Corporation, Big Dream is still very weak, but if he wants to acquire this company, he must at least take A quotation of nearly 10 billion yuan is no small matter for any group in the world. Of course, if you want to enumerate the valuable copyrights owned by Dameng, this quotation is not outrageous-in fact, it is different from the valuation of this company. Rather, what is abnormal is its extremely small scale and 'inbreeding' management, as well as the company's operations that are still not standardized. If it were a listed company, such a large personnel change would have to be disclosed to the public. But for Big Dream, all contradictions can be covered up in one room, which also makes people less confident about its future.
"Understood." Finally, he knocked on the table and made up his mind, "tell the TV network to bid as usual and try to buy it."
This is contrary to the reasoning results of the Business Information Department. Mitchell hesitated to speak, but still did not make any comments. He just flipped through the notes and said in a normal tone, "Judging from the timetable disclosed by Big Dream, The pilot episode should be completed in November...it can be arranged to be aired in January, so that we can know the result after half a year."
Cesare seems to have replaced Jennifer and became the production center of Dameng's business. From the current point of view, this is obviously bad news. Dameng's business has fallen into the hands of laymen from the genius who has repeatedly proved himself. Will go to destruction with a big dream, maybe be turned over by Jennifer Jedi after a setback - but if Cesare proves his ability, Fox will never mind changing to another person to cooperate, or maintaining cooperation with two people at the same time... …and Murdoch seems to think $100 million might be worth it.
It seems that he is quite optimistic about Cesare Vigeri... Mitchell made a note in his heart, and then suggested, "Since you want to buy it, should you spread the word to scare it off? Competitor?"
"Of course." Murdoch said without hesitation, "Six major companies compete for a TV series. The scene seems a bit too spectacular, doesn't it?"
He showed his white teeth, "It's time to put some pressure on Cesare - he has been hiding in Jennifer's shadow long enough, hasn't he? Even I am very curious - is he just Is he a lucky gold digger boy, or is he the creator of the 'Jennifer Miracle' as the rumors say?"
Slightly twitching the corners of his lips, it was a response to the boss's joke. Mitchell lowered his head and made a few marks on the notes, and several ideas for releasing the news had quietly emerged—he knew that the next In half a year, if Jennifer Jefferson hadn't returned to refute the rumors and declared that the TV series was developed and created by her, the pressure on Cesare Vijari's shoulders would probably not be light. Whether he can prove himself or not depends on watching this The ratings of this TV series have dropped...
After the ups and downs of the business world, after some fierce competition, at the end of August 2010, without watching the pilot episode and only having the planning outline, Fox Television Network and Dream Entertainment signed this almost shocking contract. Bought the first round of broadcasting rights of Dameng's first self-produced TV series: "24 Hours" lead, broadcast in prime time, 13 episodes in one season, 76 million fully booked... The price of a single episode is as high as nearly 6 million, this price is also a record The highest point of the first season of the musical comedy also made the smiling and proud "glee" feel a bit of chill...