To be honest, Jon Landau didn't quite believe that Boss Jia could accept this investment. However, he had already looked for all the investors he could find, and none of them were successful. Now, he could only give it a try and ask Director Chen to invite Boss Jia over.
"Mr. Jia, thank you for coming all the way here!" Jon Landau smiled.
"It's okay. I was originally staying in the hotel to watch a movie. I just happened to have nothing to do, so I came over!" Boss Jia said with a smile.
"So he came over because he had nothing to do …" Jon Landau felt bitter in his heart. It seemed that this Hua Xia wasn't worth counting on. However, since he was here, Jon Landau still had to ask.
"Since Mr. Jia already knows about the situation of this movie, I wonder if Mr. Jia is willing to invest in Titanic?"
"The most important thing is how much you need to invest!" Boss Jia laughed.
"This … the amount of investment may be very large!" Jon Landau sighed. Director Chen on the side looked nervously at Boss Jia.
He only hoped that Boss Jia wouldn't refuse too harshly and make him lose face. Not only would he lose face, but he would also offend others. If he offended the senior management of 20th Century Fox, it might affect the final result of the Oscars.
Therefore, Director Chen was very anxious in his heart. He only hoped that Boss Jia would reject him tactfully. He had never considered that Boss Jia would agree to invest in the film. After all, the script looked too deceptive. If it were him, Director Chen, he would absolutely not dare to act in this script.
"It's okay. Just say it. Isn't it just a matter of money?" Boss Jia laughed heroically. Jon Landau sighed again. He felt that this guy was just like Director Chen. They were both arrogant guys.
"If we want Mr. Jia to invest 35 million USD, I wonder if Mr. Jia is willing?" Jon Landau finally gave a maximum number.
He felt that if 20th Century Fox tried their best, they should be able to get 100 million USD in the end. 35 million USD was the minimum number for foreign investors. He had already tried his best to reduce this number to the minimum.
"No!" Boss Jia shook his head very straightforwardly, which made Director Chen's heart turn cold. This rejection was too blunt. But thinking about it, it was at least 35 million USD. If converted to RMB, it would be 175 million RMB!
If such a large sum of money were to be invested in a movie, it would be a total loss.
However, Jon Landau was already prepared. He did not expect Jia Yapeng to agree.
However, in the next second, Boss Jia said, "35 million is too little. That's boring. Add a little more!"
"Ha …" Director Chen cried out directly. Beside him, Jon Landau was also very surprised. He suspected that the guy in front of him was a swindler. He actually agreed so easily and even thought that the number was too little.
"Then 50 million?" Jon Landau asked tentatively.
"How about this? Let's trade. I'll pay 100 million USD, and your company will pay 35 million USD. What do you think?" Boss Jia asked with a smile.
"Mr. Jia! You're not joking, are you? "Jon Landau stood up abruptly and stared at Boss Jia with bright eyes.
"Do I look like someone who's joking?" Boss Jia laughed. "Why? Do you think that Fox's offer is too little? If that's the case, we can continue to talk. How about we split it in half? "
"That … I think that 35 million USD from our company is enough!" Jon Landau quickly said after hearing that.
What a joke. This was a movie project that was destined to lose money. Of course, the less money they spent, the better. Who would want to pay more? Jon Landau even wanted to transfer this movie project directly to Boss Jia.
"But Mr. Jia, you see, this is also a big project. Let's do it the normal way. We need to check the funds first. You see …" Jon Landau said somewhat tactfully.
"It seems that Mr. Landau doesn't believe that I have so much money!" Boss Jia laughed. "Actually, I've met Mr. Fox a few times before. It's a pity that we didn't reach an agreement at that time."
"What?" Jon Landau was stunned. He didn't remember meeting Jia Yapeng in the company.
"Oh, I'm not talking about Fox's movies. I'm talking about Fox's TV station. A week ago, Fox and I almost reached an agreement to sell the exclusive broadcast rights of our Pokemon anime to your TV station. Unfortunately, due to some special reasons, the cooperation this time failed! "Boss Jia said with a smile.
That's right. 20th Century Fox and Fox TV station were both Murdoch's businesses.
"You are the chairman of the board, Mr. Jia, who created the Pokemon!!" Jon Landau stood up abruptly. His attitude was so fierce that even Boss Jia was shocked.
"What's wrong? Is there a problem with my identity? "Boss Jia asked.
"No, there's no problem. Since your company is the company that made Pokemon, then your funds are definitely not a problem. Now, the entire United States knows that Pokemon has been sold for 8 million copies. You've earned at least 200 million USD. Of course, you can afford the 100 million USD investment!" Jon Landau said excitedly.
"That's good! That's good! " Looking at Jon's overly excited expression, Boss Jia was a little confused. Isn't it just a Pokemon? Why is he so excited to this extent?
"Mr. Jia, I wonder if you're interested in making a Pokemon animated movie?" Jon Landau couldn't wait to ask. It seemed that 20th Century Fox was eyeing the movie rights of the Pokemon series.
On the other side, Director Chen couldn't get a word in. He didn't even know what Pokemon was. It was as if he had become an invisible person.
— — —
After some close communication, Jon Landau reported to the board of directors.
On the second day, Boss Jia finally reached a cooperation agreement with 20th Century Fox.
Titanic was jointly invested by Jia Yapeng and 20th Century Fox. 20th Century Fox invested 35 million USD while Boss Jia invested 100 million USD. In the future, all the box office profits would be 35% for 20th Century Fox and 65% for Boss Jia, excluding the fixed share given to the director.
Boss Jia was obviously at a disadvantage based on the investment ratio. After all, according to the investment ratio, Boss Jia should get 77% of the profits.
However, 20th Century Fox was also responsible for the production of the movie. In addition, 20th Century Fox was also responsible for the specific work of the movie shooting.
Although Boss Jia invested a lot of money, he didn't care about the specifics. He was only responsible for the money. Naturally, he couldn't earn profits based on the investment ratio.
However, because the law of the United States didn't allow individuals to invest in movies, it had to be in the form of a company. Therefore, Boss Jia established the Daqian Film and Entertainment Company in the United States and participated in this cooperation in the name of Daqian Entertainment.
It was worth mentioning that on the night before the signing of the contract, Director Chen came to visit Boss Jia.
This guy was very interesting. He actually proposed that he could be the director of Titanic and replace Cameron. The reason was very simple. Boss Jia invested more money, so he naturally should use someone he trusted to be the director. Director Chen was about to win an Oscar, so it was naturally the best choice to use him.
When Boss Jia heard this request, he almost beat Director Chen out with a stick. If this movie was really directed by a famous director, he was afraid that he would really accompany him to his grandmother's house. No one except Cameron could direct this movie well.
Therefore, Boss Jia directly refused. He said that according to the contract, he was only responsible for the money and wouldn't interfere with the specific shooting of the movie. He didn't have the right to change the director. If Director Chen really wanted to make this movie, he could talk to 20th Century Fox.
In the end, not long after, Jon Landau really did call. Director Chen actually wanted to talk to him about the movie director. Jon Landau's face darkened and asked if it was Jia Yapeng's request to change the director.
Regarding this, Boss Jia was angry and annoyed. Then, he firmly said that it had nothing to do with him. Director Chen was not suitable to be the director of this movie. There was only one director, and Cameron was the only one.
Regarding this, Director Chen could only be sad.
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