Chapter 368: Book the "Miss Universe" crown

Francis Coppola and George Lucas looked at each other, and Coppola said:
"Well, if we really want to invest and make money, you can help us settle our debts, whether it's paying back the money or filing a lawsuit."

Lucas agreed very much, after all, he was the one who directed the loss-making movie "Zeelepe".

"Yeah, that would be considered helping us. In that case, wouldn't it be more appropriate for the company to give it directly to Adam?"

Coppola said:

"You don't have to be so obvious? Just give a company that's heavily in debt to Adam? He's my sister's boyfriend!"

Lucas rubbed his nose:

"What I mean is, just like Adam said, we need to make an agreement first. Otherwise, if we really make money later, it's hard to say. If we make two million, we might be able to restrain ourselves, but what if we make five million?"

Coppola chuckled:
"You have so much confidence in me!"

Wang Yuanchao thought, it's more than five million? It could be tens of millions!
He doesn't remember the exact box office, but he only remembers that it must have exceeded 100 million!
According to the current box office sharing between distribution companies and theaters in the United States, the distribution company takes 90% in the first week, and then reduces it by 10% every week until it reaches 50% for both parties. Of course, there is still room for negotiation. For good films, a strong distributor can get more. For bad films, the theaters must also guarantee a minimum share and not make a loss-making deal.

So the film company conservatively estimates that the revenue must be over 50 million, right?

If the investment accounts for half, Zoetrope will get tens of millions. It depends on how we negotiate with Paramount. Is that how it is calculated?

[Actual box office in North America was $1.36 million, overseas market was $1.33 million, investment was $650 million, 1972.]

After Coppola finished laughing, he said to Wang Yuanchao:
"Adam, thank you for your trust and support. But this is not necessary.

If you just want to invest in "The Godfather", you can set up your own company to invest. I will fight for this film.

In a nutshell, this also means that I went there with an investment, which has been a great help in helping me control the crew."

Doesn’t Wang Yuanchao want to eat alone? Yes, he does! But he can’t!

I made a lot of money with the first one, and I’m going to have a chance with the second and third one.
They must be bundled together to continue making money.

These two people are too polite and would rather not take advantage of the opportunity.

But the two were still a little afraid of investing. If they made money from borrowing money, it would be good, but if they lost money, they had to pay it back! They didn't have Wang Yuanchao's ability to predict the future.

Wang Yuanchao thought about it and decided that as long as the first film was successful, Paramount would not dare to change the cast for the second sequel easily. Moreover, they could have agreed on the subsequent matters in advance when investing in the first film. Paramount did not know that "The Godfather" would be so successful. Even if they asked for a lot of money, in hindsight, it would be just a cat's yawn, nothing to worry about!

So he said:
“It is my honor to have such honest and sincere friends like you.

Please let me handle the debt problem of the peep show. It won't be worse than it is now, right?"

After negotiating with Coppola, everyone had dinner together. Italians value family and relatives more, so Wang Yuanchao had to become Talia's temporary boyfriend, after all, Coppola said so.

Talia didn't even ask Wang Yuanchao if he was single...

Since Coppola decided to do it, he plunged into the library, looked up various mafia materials, and became fascinated by those families that divided New York and ran the underworld as a business.

Coppola reread the novel over and over again and found the core theme of the novel:

Family - a father and his three sons.

This is simply a tragedy in the style of ancient Greece or Shakespeare.

All great works are tragedies!

This work has the potential for greatness!

The rise of the Corleone family in the 20s is a metaphor for American capitalism.

——Of course, this is a story for later. After Wang Yuanchao and Talia and the others had fun for two days, they went to visit the organizer of "Miss Universe", Catalina Swimwear Company in California.

They are also planning to invite the Clown Band to open the global competition this year. The Clown Band has a great publicity effect!

Yes, there were more audiences watching the band’s performance than those watching the beauties.

But the Jokers are worth a lot now, and it’s not something that they can afford with this advertising program (yes, it was originally an event held to promote the company’s swimsuits), but it’s also not that they can’t afford it, they just feel a little bad about it.

It is impossible for their beauty pageant to attract other big sponsors, as that would go against the original purpose of the event - to advertise themselves.

That is, the show will be broadcast live to CBS, with each contestant paying for their own expenses and then receiving subsidies from the company, which is more cost-effective than advertising.

Before that, the boss of the Clown Band actually bought their authorization in Hong Kong. Although it wasn’t much money, it seemed like it could be negotiated.

The lead singer of the Joker band is a girl, and the lead singer of the Carpenters band is also a girl. The Miss Universe pageant aims to "help women around the world realize their dreams and promote the development of their careers, lives and personalities." It's a coincidence that everyone agrees on this.

For example, when we work together, we promote both swimwear and Muse music, right?
Of course, it would be difficult for Catalina Swimwear to get something for free, but how would you know it's impossible if you don't try?

If it really doesn't work, a lower appearance fee would also be good.

After all, the other party's boss came in person, what does that mean? It means there's a chance!
Of course Wang Yuanchao was interested.

Cooperation is not impossible.

Shouldn't he get half of the copyright of this "Miss Universe"? Otherwise, where else can Muse Music hold a sold-out concert? Should they come to your place to work for free?
This thing may not be worth a lot of money now, but it will be valuable in five or ten years. Moreover, the beauty pageant is too simple and not attractive enough. Wang Yuanchao knows how to improve the viewing experience of this event.

Therefore, Muse Music was willing to join in the co-organization, but they also wanted the copyright of the event. Catalina discussed it for a long time and felt that this matter would be beneficial to their company.

How does Muse Music advertise? They don’t need to advertise!

Therefore, the original intention of this event, to promote swimwear, is still from Catalina.

And with the joining of Muse Music, when the show opens, the Jokers will be the band, and the Carpenters will be the band at the closing. Won't the ratings and the topic be all for free?
You know, when they first approached Columbia to invest, they were unwilling and only agreed to free live broadcast, which was equivalent to giving the company free long-term advertising.

CBS relies on the ratings of this event to earn advertising fees, which is a benefit for CBS.

So, what are the benefits of Muse music? What are they trying to achieve by doing this?
Without clarifying this, Catalina Company would not dare to make a decision easily.

The other party’s current request is that this Miss Universe pageant should be given to his person.

For Catalina Company, this is not a big deal at all. They are also willing to expand into the Southeast Asian market. There is absolutely no problem in hiring players there. It is all for publicity for Catalina Company.

The Miss Universe in 69 was from the Philippines, and in 70, it was not a bad idea to choose Hong Kong.

But spending a fortune on a beautiful woman?

The beautiful Chinese people don’t quite understand.

The appearance fees of the two bands are quite high.

Jimi Hendrix, the most popular rock star in the United States at the moment, received $15 for a performance in California last summer.

Given the current popularity, it would be impossible to get the performance of the Joker + Carpenters without $50.

Catalina’s advertising budget is not like Hasbro’s, which is tens of millions of dollars every year!

What's more, the other party only wanted 40% ownership of the empty shell of "Miss Universe".

Even if the cooperation is only for one year, 50 US dollars and giving someone the title of "Miss Universe" is also a good deal.

Everyone thinks it’s worth it.

They are not without means of restraint:
First of all, the opening and closing ceremonies every year must feature popular bands and singers from Muse Music, which is the most important prerequisite for Catalina. If Muse Music breaches the contract, the cooperation will be cancelled unconditionally.

Katharina didn't even ask that if Muse Music went out of business, it would be best to invite the most popular bands and singers in the United States to perform. That was already very considerate.

Secondly, the copyright is not transferable and can only belong to Muse Music.

The reputation of Muse Music can also enhance Catalina's brand value, which is considered too high for Catalina.

They can make money!

Records, announcements, performances, all brought in a steady stream of money. Otherwise, how could Wang Yuanchao have the confidence to support Coppola's investment in The Godfather?

If the above two requirements are met, the event organizers will respect the opinions of Muse Music.

You have to give Muse Music some benefits, right?

This is it.

Of course, the specific terms need to be slowly drafted by lawyers on both sides. Wang Yuanchao has no objection to the general direction.

For these people who are begging for a living with a golden bowl, the brand value of "Miss Universe" is higher than the value of their swimwear company!

Wang Yuanchao decided to help Wang Ling get the title of Miss Universe first, then cancel the cooperation next year, and then find an opportunity to acquire the shares of Catalina Company and directly get the "Miss Universe" IP.

It can be done with swimsuits and underwear.

I can do it for beauty pageants and I can do it for modeling.

We have done everything, including actor auditions, singer auditions, there are so many things we can do!

The two parties quickly finalized the cooperation and agreed to the withdrawal procedure.

Katharina even saw that Muse Music was just paying to "advise" a Miss Universe.

Which company should I look for for advice next year?
Katarina feels that this "suggestion" is very cost-effective.

The boss decided to cooperate, and James and Thomas had no objection. After all, everything in the company belonged to the boss.

Moreover, they are both well-known figures in the music industry now. James is the general manager of Muse Music, and Thomas is the agent of two bands.

Then I heard that the boss wanted to make a movie, so he asked them to set up another film company - Orange Film. Of course, at present this film company is only responsible for investment.

As for what to invest in, listen to your boss.

(End of this chapter)