Chapter 1955 1957【MGM】


    “Start?! What start?” the host asked with some confusion.


    Xiang Nan didn’t talk much and took Liv Tyler into the theater.


    The host became even more confused when he saw this.


    ?But later, when "Titanic" made 1.8 billion US dollars at the box office, he realized what Xiang Nan meant by "start".


    ??But what he doesn''t understand is, when Xiang Nan said that, did he have confidence in the movie, or did he know that "Titanic" would definitely create a box office miracle because he had the ability to predict the future? !


    ?It’s really scary to think about.


    …


    The Oscar Awards will be held soon.


    This year''s awards ceremony is mainly about "Braveheart". This movie has both a majestic epic, lingering love, and a man''s will not to fight, so it is very popular among the judges.


    As expected, it won several major awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Sound Effects, and Best Cinematography.


    ??Mel Gibson''s first time directing a movie, he has achieved such results, which is really quite good. Comparable to Kevin Costner.


    Xiang Nan also expressed grand congratulations to him.


    …


    At the party after the award ceremony, Xiang Nan also finalized several projects.


    One is Steven Spielberg''s "Saving Private Ryan"; the other is the animated film "The Prince of Egypt" also produced by Steven Spielberg.


    The reason why Spielberg is still looking for investment is mainly because after the founding of DreamWorks, the financial situation was not as good as expected.


    ??Although the three giants of DreamWorks, Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen, are all wealthy people, Hollywood is particular about not using its own money to make movies.


    Either obtain financing from bank loans or raise funds from other investors, which can reduce risks to the greatest extent and maximize the use of funds.


    ?For example, a production company with US$100 million could have produced three medium-production films. But after financing, six or even nine medium-production films can be made. As the output increases, so does the income.


    ??And, in case any of the movies flop at the box office. Because the money belongs to others, the worst case scenario is to bankrupt the company. In this way, you don’t have to pay back the money you owe, so as not to lose your own money.


    ?So most Hollywood film companies do things this way.


    Of course, if the movie they make becomes a hit, it stands to reason that the box office will be divided a lot.


    ?But Hollywood is not a charity, and people will not take away the cake so easily.


    First of all, they will not easily attract investment for popular movies and movies that are likely to be big hits; secondly, even if they are big hits at the box office, they can turn the originally big-selling movies into losses through accounting.


    But it doesn’t matter who is right.


    ?For people like Xiang Nan, who has great influence in Hollywood and can make the entire entertainment industry tremble when he stomps his feet, they don''t dare to play so many tricks.


    Moreover, the movies invested by Xiang Nan are all distributed by Xiang Nan, and the money is handed over to him first. So naturally he has the final say on how to distribute it. So Xiang Nan dares to invest, but others do not recommend random investment. Otherwise, you may lose nothing.


    …


    ?Just like Credit Lyonnais and MGM, which have been in trouble recently.


    ?In 1995, Crédit Lyonnais believed MGM boss Kirk Kerkorian’s evil intentions and spent a lot of money to buy MGM Pictures, saying it wanted to diversify its operations.


    In the end, these laymen can’t compete with these old foxes in Hollywood. After Crédit Lyonnais took over MGM Pictures, it suffered huge losses for two consecutive years. Not only did it not make a dime, it also charged one billion U.S. dollars every year.


    ??Credit Lyonnais had a feeling that something was wrong, but after a year of investigation, no results were found. In the end, it had no choice but to sell MGM Pictures to avoid being deceived again.


    ?But it is easy to buy, but difficult to sell. Because except for 007, which has some value, MGM Pictures has almost nothing else of value.


    After all, Kirk Kerkorian sold MGM Pictures once as early as the 1980s. All its films before 1986, some United Artists films, and RKO and Warner Pictures films before 1950 were sold.


    ?? So now its film library seems to be full, but in fact those movies are all produced by small studios, are of low quality, and do not have much value at all.


    But Crédit Lyonnais didn’t want to suffer a loss, so it offered MGM Pictures a sky-high price of US$1.3 billion to sell.


    ?Other than fools, who else in Hollywood is willing to take this offer? !


    Xiang Nan is interested in 007, but US$1.3 billion is a bit expensive. After all, he doesn’t like other IPs either. So he is sending people to talk to Credit Lyonnais and just wants to take over the 007 series.


    ?However, there has been no progress in the negotiations so far. After all, Crédit Lyonnais is not all fools. They also know that the most valuable thing about MGM is 007. If it is sold, the rest will be even less valuable.


    So the negotiations are still at a stalemate, it depends on who gives in first.


    …


    After the Oscars, Xiang Nan began to prepare for new projects.


    "Luke Cage," "Acts," "Rush Hour," "About Mary," "American Beauty," "The Truman Show," "Enemy of the State" and "Jumanji."


    "Luke Cage" is the second movie in the universe of "The Defenders". It tells the story of an African-American male protagonist who participated in a super soldier experimental transformation while serving his sentence in prison. As a result, he became infinitely stronger and invulnerable, and was released from prison. Later he became a righteous hero.


    ? Xiang Nan is planning to invite African-American movie star Jamie Foxx to star. His acting skills are very outstanding and he once won the Oscar for Best Actor. Moreover, he is also an R&B singer and has won multiple Grammy Awards. He can be said to be a rare talent.


    "The Unforgettable Catastrophe" tells the story of a small comet that is rushing towards the earth at a rapid speed. In order to protect the safety of the earth, a group of oil drillers were ordered to board the comet, use drilling technology to send a nuclear bomb into the comet, and explode it early...


    ??The original version starred Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, and Liv Tyler. Xiang Nan still continues the old lineup this time and believes that it will also create miracles at the box office.


    "Rush Hour" tells the story of Hong Kong police officer Li and American police detective James Carter, who work together to solve a kidnapping case and not only rescue the hostages, but also bring the criminals to justice.


    ?The original version starred Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, but Xiang Nan didn''t like Chris Tucker.


    ?On the one hand, Chris Tucker''s acting skills are not very good, and he has no box office appeal. Except for the "Rush Hour" series, there are almost no works that can be produced. His cooperation with Jackie Chan did not help Jackie Chan, but was a hindrance.


    On the one hand, Chris Tucker is not a fuel-efficient lamp. He once owed more than $14 million in taxes within seven years and faced bankruptcy at any time.


    In the United States, tax evasion is a very serious crime, and it proves that there is a problem with one''s character. Xiang Nan does not want to get into trouble.


    (End of this chapter)