Hollywood New Century

At the end of January 2008, at the gate of Xinghai Pictures in Burbank, Simon Parker was being interviewed by reporters: "Xinghai Entertainment has signed a tentative agreement with the Screenwriters Guild, and the income of film and television in new media will be increased to 3.5%, the screenwriters of our TV series "Gossip Girl", "Breaking Bad" and "Modern Family" have all returned to work one after another."

"Simon, Tom Cruise, on behalf of United Pictures and the Screenwriters Guild, reached an interim agreement to summon MGM's objection. Now that Xinghai Pictures has reached an agreement, will other filmmakers be called to object?" Reporter asked.

"No, at present, Sony Columbia, 20th Century Fox, and Disney have issued a joint statement to invite the screenwriters union to hold informal talks. The tentative agreement reached by Xinghai Pictures and the screenwriters union can only allow very few Some of the screenwriters just went back to work;"

"Moreover, the Writers Guild of America has promised to abandon the negotiation requirements for animation and reality shows, and will not march before the Grammy Awards held on 2.10. It has been almost 3 months since the strike, and the damage caused is everyone. See, can't go on!"

"I believe that the strike will not last too long. After all, the Oscars will be held next month. There is no Golden Globe, so why should we cancel the Oscars?"

This year's bland Golden Globes have almost no influence, and "No Country For Old Men" has not won the Golden Globe Award for best drama film.

The strike has lasted for so long, and all the film companies are under great pressure, especially the six major filmmakers themselves. After all, the screenwriters of the TV series are the main force of the strike. So far, more than 16,000 screenwriters have participated in the strike.

Although United Artists had reached an agreement with the Screenwriters Guild at the earliest, but because of MGM's objection, or because of Sony Columbia's disapproval behind him, United Artists' films did not recall the screenwriters to start work.

Now, Xinghai Pictures has directly recalled the dramas that the screenwriters have started production, which can be regarded as breaking the barrier.

The next day, the Writers Guild of America further reached a tentative agreement with Lionsgate, and the screenwriters of Showtime's TV series "Single Drug Mom" ​​and AMC's "Mad Men" resumed work. After all, these are Lionsgate TV's. produced by the department.

Then, film companies such as Lianmei Film and Spy Glass Films also successively reached an agreement with the Screenwriters Guild, and the screenwriters resumed work!

"Simon, we promised to give the writers guild 3.5% of the new media share. This is divided by the DVD market, and the producer union will support us in the end?" Nina Jacobson asked while sitting on the sofa.

"Government officials, Hollywood superstars, and the public all hope that the strike will end as soon as possible. 3.5% is the lowest standard that can be talked about. The screenwriters' union's interests in digital media were marginalized before, and now not only points are added, but also increased. Grant," Simon said, leaning back on the sofa.

"3.5% should be the bottom line of the screenwriters' union. Otherwise, the strike will continue. You should be able to imagine how serious the consequences are!"

"Furthermore, we are not the first to support this decision. The first contact with the screenwriters' union was not Lianmei Pictures, represented by Tom Cruise. We, Xinghai Entertainment, were only the first to reach an agreement, not only for the screenwriters to resume work. The opening, and more importantly, the writers’ union and the producers’ union finally returned to the negotiating table to start informal talks.”

Nina Jacobson nodded, it is true, this year is different from the past, if the loss is too great, many people can't stand it! Xinghai Pictures can also be regarded as a step for the producer alliance. The most important thing at present is that the screenwriters can return to work.

Finally, the long-running strike of American screenwriters finally shows signs of "thawing".

"Simon, I've officially contacted Summit Entertainment, Joe El doesn't seem to want to sell Summit Entertainment?" Nina Jacobson said helplessly.

"$80 million in cash, plus 60 million in debt? Joe Al, he won't sell it?" Simon frowned. Summit Entertainment's distribution capabilities are very average, and with the projects they are currently holding, the $140 million The value is definitely not lost. Summit Entertainment's film library does not have a few movie copyrights.

"Then how is the debt going to be resolved, does he still have capital injection? Or did he find an investor to inject capital?" Although Simon looked calm, he was also anxious.

"That's not true. Summit Entertainment hopes that we can delay repayment, or convert part of the debt into Summit Entertainment shares, so that our Xinghai Entertainment movies can be distributed through Summit Entertainment in the future!" Nina Jacobson said with a smile smiled.

After listening to Simon, he couldn't help but smile, there is always no shortage of innocent people in this world!

"He didn't say, is there another way? It's not very good to sell Peak Entertainment!" Simon said and stood up,

"Make an appointment with Joe Al, our lawyer, finance, etc. together!"

"Okay," Nina Jacobson nodded and said solemnly: "Simon, this year's timing is very good, large media groups will be affected by the economic situation, and the funds will not be very abundant. Stabilize your own distribution channels, with our film production capabilities, the improvement will be very fast, and you can even establish an overseas distribution network in the future if you want!"

Establishing an overseas distribution network requires a lot of money. Nina Jacobson just depends on how big Simon's dream of a movie empire is?

"Don't worry, Pinnacle Entertainment, I am determined to win. This time, no matter who will block it, I will bear my revenge in the future. For a small Pinnacle Entertainment, I would like to see which one will use my precious funds. Come and target me,” Simon is no joke this time, Summit Entertainment is an independent publisher, and its scale is not large, and it can’t even win many theaters in the hot summer or Christmas season.

One target is only a film company with a normal schedule. Simon has been preparing for so long. If he is cut off at this time, who will be reconciled? It's just that anyone who wants to cut off Hu has to ask about the funds in Simon's hands. This is Simon's greatest confidence.

The temperature in Los Angeles at the end of January was only a dozen degrees Celsius, which was a bit cold. It was raining when I walked out of the gate of the company.

Taking the umbrella handed over by the bodyguard, Simon held up the umbrella, a gust of cold wind blew through, and looked at the gray sky.

He sighed inwardly: "The screenwriter's strike won't last long, and the Sixth Congress's attention is still on the negotiation. The acquisition of Summit Entertainment cannot be delayed!"