Kapitel 6: To be successful

"Okay, Nick, we didn't disagree. But in a year at most, we make enough money, and with enough money, we can make good enough movies. We can wait for this year." After Levi spoke, Alexander also said. Compared with several partners, he compromised the fastest because he knew how poor the company was and was very clear about the current situation.

With his support and the fact that he has no money, Levi has also won the approval of several people. This made Levi very satisfied. After saying goodbye to Adam, he has been thinking about this aspect all the time. He found that even if he could make a good movie with a small cost, he still couldn't make money. he could only make a TV series.

It is not tricky for Levi to make a movie alone, but how can he have the money to do publicity and distribution? If you can't release it independently, go to a distribution company willing to promote your movie. For example, in memory, the production cost of the movie "The Blair Witch" was only 100,000 US dollars, but the promotional cost was as high as 20 million US dollars. Now it is 1996, and Lionsgate has yet to be established. Expect the seven major film companies to spend 20 million to release a movie with a production cost of 100,000. This is too unrealistic. Taking a step back, even if it is issued, who owns the money if it is earned? The distribution company paid 20 million to promote a 100,000-dollar movie and then shared the bill with the director. Levi believes that there are indeed fools in Hollywood, but he is already poor and pitiful, so betting his hopes on meeting fools. How can I have such a good life?

As long as the other party is not stupid, he will reject his request for account sharing. And if Levi refuses to sell the film at a low price. The pseudo-documentary filming is just an idea to market. The film company will do the same if he refuses to sell it. After watching his film "The Blair Witch," they will think, is it challenging to sell a "Paranormal Activity" or something? Anyway, what is sold is the announcement, not the cost. He has no fame and status in Hollywood, so he is not qualified to be compromised by others. Even if someone plagiarizes their work, what can they do? Sue them? No matter how stupid people are, they also know that going to court costs money, and Levi has no money.

Moreover, even if he met a legendary capitalist with a conscience willing to pay a lot of money for publicity and then share the account after it was issued, there is no guarantee that one would not make false accounts or delay payment. And what about his future? A director with a background in horror films shooting with a DV will not have a good reputation in the industry. People always have to be a bit far-sighted. It will be difficult for themselves and their future if they don't consider their reputation and only want to make some money. Spielberg shot to fame when he made Jaws in 1975. But since then, he has been severely discriminated against. Although he has produced ET, Purple, and other movies, he has never been eligible for an Oscar. He didn't get an Oscar until 1993. During this period, 18 years have passed. Only then did he clean up his reputation as a director of commercial films, and what's more, he relied on a blockbuster movie like Schindler's List.

Making a quick buck filming a horror movie seems like a good idea, but it is over-drafting the future. Make a movie and then be discriminated against for 20 years, during which time you keep making flattering movies to clean yourself up. Unless you are sick, you will not do it. Even Spielberg had to spend 18 years clearing his roots before he could be recognized by his peers, which shows the harshness of Hollywood.

Of course, you can also consider not cleaning the slate; just spend your whole life on commercial movies. However, Levi, who has been in the circle, is clear: Spielberg and Michael Bay are great directors, but the difference is still huge.

There is no need for a new director to think about making money. He cannot make money without connections and qualifications, no matter how talented he is. Newcomers think more about word of mouth. How to build up one's word-of-mouth and fame is much more important than making money.

Levi would be delighted if it was the previous life and became Michael Bay. But now, as a time traveler, is it something to be proud of being Michael Bay? This practice is a shame for the transmigrators. You have to ruin your reputation to exchange for money. There are many ways to make money for a transmigrated person. Moreover, what is the point of making movies blindly for money if he can still not shoot the movies, he wants to shoot?

"I hope so," Clark muttered, "but can we make money shooting TV dramas?"

Levi shrugged and said nothing.

Shooting a TV series is a pavement for the future, and Alexander didn't think about how much money he would make from TV series—because making money from TV series is not very reliable.

American TV series business model is quite complicated: the production company is responsible for the production, and it is sent to the TV network after the production is completed. But the TV network bought not the entire copyright but the first broadcast right of the TV series. It only bought the right to broadcast the TV series for the first time.

The buyout price of the first broadcast rights given by the TV network is the cost of TV series production. The TV network will give a little as their cost. Generally, the money is taken and given to the actors, screenwriters, and crew members during the pre-shooting. After the salary is paid, 60% of the money will be gone, and the rest will be nothing left for post-production. It is challenging for a TV drama to earn money from the TV network. It is possible to make a living by relying on TV dramas, but it is also tough to make a lot of money by depending on TV dramas.

So how can you make money? It's elementary. Suppose a TV series has been produced for a long time, or word of mouth is perfect. If someone buys the right to rebroadcast, or the TV series is excellent, starts selling peripheral products, and many DVs are sold, then the income is the production company's own. If no one buys reruns of a bad show, the show will not make money. If it is canceled in less than five seasons, you have to pay the actor because the actor's contract is signed for five years. And if a drama is a good one, it can sell well, and many local or foreign TV stations are willing to buy rebroadcast rights, then it can make a lot of money.

Generally speaking, even if a show is a rebroadcast, it has to be filmed for five seasons before someone will buy the right to rebroadcast it after it is confirmed that it is a good show. Unless it becomes a TV series with the highest ratings during the initial broadcast, it will be difficult to make early profits.

"That's right, filming TV series is basically to make a living, so you can't make much money." Regarding this question, Bob also said, "I have no objection to filming TV series. We don't have the capital to make movies now, yes. But filming TV series, will it help us?"

Looking at his companions, Levi sighed and decided it would be better to talk about it himself.

"Guys, first of all, please believe me, we will make money, and with our talents, it will not be tough to make a hit show. Second, I want you to understand that we do not make TV shows for money —It's for our future."

These guys will all be supported by him in the future. Levi knew that a person's strength was limited, especially those without golden fingers. If he wants to succeed, he must recognize the help of others. It is impossible to do everything by yourself. If you need help from others, you have to let them know how they can help you.

They have to know what they want to do.

"Guys, why do we want to shoot TV series? Money is one aspect, but what is more? It is to allow us to get more opportunities to display our talents. We need to know more people, know more people who can. Those who serve us, work for us, and help us, we have a future." Levi now needs money to establish a solid foundation in Hollywood and build his network of contacts. Shooting TV dramas is not as dazzling as movies, but you can build up your network—especially when one knows how many depressed actors will become famous in the future. Shooting TV dramas that use more actors helps to build connections.

"Every year, many people try to succeed by making independent films and getting ahead. Every year, many people think that they will immediately become famous as soon as they enter this circle. But the reality? There are very few who succeed, and those who fail are countless. Such a road is far from being down-to-earth and step-by-step. Unlike them, we have a good background. We don't have to risk our lives. We can accumulate essential skills and experience and move towards success step by step. You may think, why should we gamble? Each of us believes that one day we will be successful filmmakers with our efforts. But think about opportunity. Is it worth talking about hard work? In this circle, behind the vanity of the successful, there are full of skeletons of the losers."

"As an unknown filmmaker, I look forward to my famous work. What do you need? It's not how to make a movie that makes money—how much can you make? How many movies have you seen that don't have a big investment but have a high income? Investment is fundamentally determined by what kind of status you have and what kind of words you say. If you have no status at all, even if you make the best movie, you can only sell it cheaply, so it doesn't matter whether you make money or not because this is not what we should think about it. We must think about how to express our ability through our work and let others see that we are a group of excellent filmmakers."

"Guys, I know you are all geniuses, but knowing it is useless. You have to let others know that you are a genius. Don't always think about making money. No Hollywood company will agree to give a little-known guy a share. Even if you can make a movie worth 100 million at the box office, you won't get much because you are not famous. What you have to do now is to make a big enough reputation instead of thinking about how to make money. When you become famous, a well-known director in Hollywood, someone will be willing to give you a share no matter how bad your movie is. Guys, please remember my words: In this circle, there are iron rules. If we want to be successful, we must abide by the rules. And now, under the rules, what are we going to do? Be famous, be famous, be famous! This is the most important thing for us!"

*****

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