"It's really not our business, it's the producer's business, but... David said that he knew that this movie was very important to you and Richard, so he would not put commercial interests first, and he hoped that you could be satisfied with the publisher. In other words, the distribution strategy and positioning of the publisher afterwards requires you to nod before we are willing to cooperate with them, so..." Rick briefly explained the situation, which made Hugo suddenly realize it.

I have to say that David Geffen is a cunning old fox. Before Sunrise, the movie invested only 2.5 million yuan. Even if he lost all his money, he would not lose much. Therefore, he did not invest with the idea that the movie could make money. It was more of a trust in Hugo and hoped to have a good relationship with Hugo, which was a long-term investment.

The style of "before sunrise" is too artistic and unique, and quite experimental, so it is almost impossible to achieve strong results in the box office. It is a rational idea to hope that the videotape market recycling cost is a reasonable idea. In this way, the real impact of the distributor is not much, because the transaction amount of the distribution copyright is not much higher.

Therefore, David emphasized the "distribution strategy and positioning", which seemed to sacrifice his own interests and seek independence from Hugo and Richard, which was completely considered for the film; but in fact, David did not sacrifice any interests at all, that is, he just talked, which made Hugo and Richard more satisfied.

The most important thing is that even if David wants to issue it himself, there is no way to do it now. Because DreamWorks has no distribution department at all, David has just made a favor.

Hugo has a very limited understanding of distribution, but he deeply knows that distribution is crucial for a company because DreamWorks, an independent studio that has dominated Hollywood for ten years, will eventually be forced to sell because it does not have the support of the distribution department.

The so-called distribution department is a very special department. Distribution is a bridge between production companies and theaters. The main responsibilities of the distribution department include: copying, non-cinema, legal affairs, finance, financial management and operation, system and sales operations, projection business, etc. Generally speaking, it is responsible for dealing with theaters, projection business with non-cinema institutions such as flights, ships, military, schools, etc., and sales and leasing business after video tape distribution. In a word, the distribution department is responsible for promoting works shot by production companies.

Among large film companies, when a film is launched and produced, the work of the distribution department begins, and the preliminary marketing plan must be coordinated with the publicity department and carried out one after another. When the copy of the work is ready, the preview work is divided into two parts. One is to target internal personnel, including company managers, directors, etc., and the other is to selectively find ordinary audiences and modify the work based on audience feedback.

Similarly, the screening schedule is also the job of the distribution department. The competition in the screening schedule of the "speed of life and death" during the summer vacation last year was a conspiracy from the distribution departments of major film companies. Generally speaking, head-on or avoid the schedule. The distribution department must test each other and formulate strategies from each other. This is a task that requires experience and talent.

Of course, for the distribution department, a very important task is to deal with theaters. They are responsible for cooperating with major theaters in the United States and making an agreement on the box office dividends of movies. The proportion of profit distribution, the most core issue, is one of the most important tasks of the distribution department.

In short, the distribution department is not a simple job, the work it involves is very cumbersome. In the film industry, everyone knows who controls the distribution channel is the real king. Compared with the strength and excellence of their production department, the distribution department is their biggest ace.

Generally speaking, the film industry can be simply and roughly divided into four parts: production, distribution, screening, and subsequent peripherals. These four links are the core links that generate benefits. Distribution is the core link that connects all these links. This directly gives birth to companies corresponding to each link of the film industry.

At the beginning of the birth of the film, film companies were basically handled by one hand, but after the anti-monopoly bill was announced, the screening process was first divided, and major theater groups were born, specializing in the film screening part. Subsequently, with the maturity of the film industry, professional distribution companies also emerged, or companies that started with distribution and then joined the production ranks.

In Hollywood, due to the complex and cumbersome work involved in the distribution process, a small number of film production companies do not have their own distribution departments, among which Pixar and DreamWorks are the most famous ones. Both companies are devoted to film production and cooperate with large film companies in the distribution process. This is not a problem for early development, but when the company develops to a certain stage, the distribution department will become a shackle to curb their further development.

Because the issuance department is the core institution that takes the initiative in its own interests.

Pixar has been working with Disney for many years, but after fifteen years of cooperation, Disney tried to continue to limit Pixar's box office dividends, bullying Pixar incapable of establishing its own distribution network, insisting on only being willing to give Pixar a 7% box office dividend, far lower than the level given by the industry to the production company by 15 to 25%. As a result, Pixar's CEO Steve Jobs (steve.jobs), who refused to continue to sign a cooperation agreement with Disney. This move indirectly led to the resignation of Michael Esner, the "tyrant" who had been in charge of Disney for more than 20 years. Then Disney's board of directors made up its mind to directly acquire Pixar, which ended the farce.

Similarly, DreamWorks is the same. From its establishment in 1994 to its forced sale in 2005 due to financial problems, it has created countless glory in the past eleven years and has become a myth of independent American film companies. However, after entering 2005, DreamWorks became a mess.

Without its own distribution department, the big-name blockbusters produced by DreamWorks cannot be divided into big profits because they also have to share their cakes with the distribution company. This is why DreamWorks can use the funds, which led to several consecutive works falling into a financial quagmire after losing the box office at the box office and being forced to sell them.

After that, DreamWorks was forced to split into film departments, music departments and animation departments, and was acquired by different companies. But this is not the end. DreamWorks film department is still under the leadership of Steven Spielberg. Although it has been a long and excellent work, it has replaced three cooperative companies in just three years, from Paramount to Universal Pictures to Disneyland. The latest news before Hugo travels, DreamWorks will be like a hot potato with Twentieth Century Fox.

In fact, it is not because the movies produced by DreamWorks are no longer sold, but because Steven competed with the distribution company for one percent of the dividends. Only one percent of the profit made Steven, the most powerful boss in Hollywood, run around. This is the current situation of DreamWorks. To be more precise, it is the current situation of DreamWorks without a distribution department.

Although this is the iron law of shopping mall competition, it is still very sad.

At the beginning of its establishment, DreamWorks emerged with a powerful momentum. They were determined to become the first truly independent film studio in Hollywood without the intervention of large consortiums, ensuring their own independence and serving movies, animations and music wholeheartedly. Therefore, they used words like "DreamWorks" to express their dreams.

In fact, DreamWorks has done this. During the ten years from 1994 to 2005, they were the most powerful new players in Hollywood, and they have strongly joined the ranks of the "Eight New Hollywood Companies". But how did DreamWorks finally remain silent? There are many reasons. After all, the decline of any company is not that simple, but one of the most important reasons is that there is no distribution department.

Since there is no distribution department, DreamWorks must seek cooperation from major film companies every time they produce their works, and rely on the distribution channels of large film companies to make their works come out. In this cooperation process, the vampires who are profit-first will naturally not let the little lamb of DreamWorks go, so every DreamWorks will lose a lot of benefits. There is no distribution department, no theater chain, and no subsequent peripheral development. In particular, DreamWorks has the most profitable animation department in the United States, which is enough to compete with Pixar. However, there is no corresponding follow-up peripheral system to create more value, so they can only give up and share it with others.

DreamWorks is just a production company, and the benefits they can get are only 15 to 25% of the production company. In other words, a movie creates 100 million US dollars in value, while DreamWorks can only get 15 to 25 million of them. Most of them are in distribution companies, and subsequent peripheral companies and theaters.

Therefore, when DreamWorks failed several major productions in a row, it was difficult for them to turn over cash and they did not have the support of the consortium. In the end, it led to the storm of DreamWorks falling into a bitter situation of being split and auctioned. After 2005, although DreamWorks still had excellent works, they were no longer Hollywood players, but only affiliated with large film companies. It was not until the rise of Lionsgate Pictures that the Hollywood landscape changed again.

Lionsgate Pictures started out in distribution.

Although Hugo didn't know much about the details of the distribution department, he knew the importance of the distribution department to a film company. So, after hearing Rick's explanation, Hugo shrugged, "I think this is a waste of time. If David's company has a distribution department itself, why should we seek cooperation? His distribution department knows himself best, doesn't he?"

Rick was stunned by Hugo's words "outsider" and he could only explain with a smile, "Release is not that simple..."
Chapter completed!