Chapter 162: Missing Out
Chapter 162: Missing Out
After carefully reading through the information on the two companies, Eric discovered that perhaps because New Line had been established more than ten years earlier, its current strength far exceeded Miramax’s. The simplest proof was in distribution capability. As a second-tier film company, New Line could already open a film on nearly 1,500 screens, while Miramax was still at the small-scale stage and could gather at most four or five hundred screens for films it distributed. Moreover, when Miramax was founded, New Line had already begun independent production work. It also currently owned the very profitable rights to the A Nightmare on Elm Street series, while Miramax was still at the stage of buying films from around the world for distribution.
Seeing this, Eric could not help lightly patting the desk. He suddenly remembered that he had missed something: Steven Soderbergh’s debut work, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Soderbergh had relied on this film to become the youngest Palme d’Or winner at the Cannes Film Festival a few months earlier.
Back then, Eric had even reminded himself to buy the film’s North American rights. However, because the filming of Running Out of Time had kept him extremely busy during that period, he had unknowingly forgotten about it.
If history had not shifted, this film had definitely been acquired by the Weinstein brothers. In his memory, Miramax had relied on Sex, Lies, and Videotape to make its name. After earning a small fortune from it, they finally had enough capital to enter the field of independent production and slowly explore a survival path of their own, rising smoothly from then on.
It was already late July. Eric only knew that Sex, Lies, and Videotape had won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but he had not yet seen any news in newspapers or magazines about its North American release.
If the film’s distribution rights really had fallen into Miramax’s hands, then if he wanted to acquire Miramax, it would be best to reach an agreement before the film was released. Otherwise, once Sex, Lies, and Videotape achieved a decent box office result, even if the Weinstein brothers still agreed to be acquired, Eric would definitely have to pay a much higher price. That was how the rules of the industry worked. A single film could greatly increase a company’s market value. Just like Pixar in his previous life: originally an animation film company worth fifty million dollars, after the success of Toy Story, its market value multiplied twentyfold in a short period of time.
In Eric’s plan, the best outcome would be to acquire both companies at the same time. That way, commercial films and art films could develop side by side. With the classic Oscar-winning films in Eric’s memories, even if Miramax once again headed down the path of art-film distribution, it definitely would not earn less than a company focused on commercial films.
According to the information, New Line’s estimated market value was around 150 million dollars. Because it was also an established company that had been operating for twenty years, not only did it have a sizable film library, it also possessed the very valuable rights to the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. This film series had released one installment almost every year since 1984. As low-cost horror films, almost every installment made money. Although the box office was not extremely high, its strength lay in its longevity.
Although Miramax was still third-tier, the information estimated the company’s market value at around twenty million dollars. That was because the Weinstein brothers had been scraping together films from all over the world over the years, and their library had accumulated quite a few film resources. Moreover, Eric also understood that the most valuable part of Miramax was not the company label, nor those films in the library, but the Weinstein brothers themselves. In his previous life, after the Weinstein brothers abandoned Miramax in 2005, Miramax quickly lost its brilliance and was sold off cheaply by Disney several years later.
But now, although Pretty Woman would bring in a little over one hundred million dollars, and Eric could also take out loans again, acquiring both companies at the same time was not simply a matter of money. It would definitely involve equity swaps. He believed that with Robert Shaye and the Weinstein brothers’ shrewdness, even if he once again borrowed enough funds to attempt a wholly owned acquisition of their companies, these people would not agree. How could a one-time sale compare to exchanging for shares in a film company with great development potential?
As he frowned slightly and thought about these matters, Jeffrey knocked on the door and walked in.
“News came from Venice. The Others successfully entered the main competition. Also, Jonathan Demme revised the film again according to your suggestions. Eric, do you want to watch it again?”
“Mm, I’ll go to the screening room now.” Eric nodded, temporarily setting aside his thoughts about acquiring the two companies, then stood up and followed Jeffrey out of the office.
“What were you thinking about just now? You were so absorbed,” Jeffrey asked casually as he walked side by side with Eric.
“New Line and Miramax’s information. You know that,” Eric answered. “I want to swallow both companies at the same time, but I don’t want to give up too much equity.”
Jeffrey fell somewhat silent. Once the company expanded in scale, Jeffrey understood that with his own abilities, he would definitely no longer be enough to support the operation of the entire company. After all, previously he only needed to be responsible for several films Eric produced and invested in, and he did not even need to worry about distribution. But after acquiring new companies, Firefly would definitely begin entering distribution, and Jeffrey had no ability in this area. At that time, he would definitely have to give up the CEO position.
However, after only a brief internal struggle, Jeffrey soon let it go. As long as Firefly remained Firefly, that was enough. Hadn’t what he once wanted been to turn Firefly into a large film company? Now that this momentum existed, there was nothing wrong with him giving up the leadership position. Ever since his own stubborn insistence on personally filming a movie had caused the original Firefly left by his wife to go bankrupt, Jeffrey had become very self-aware. Just as he occasionally grumbled and offered small opinions to Eric about film production, he never interfered with the content creation of the films, because he knew he did not have the ability in that regard.
After thinking this through, Jeffrey patted Eric’s shoulder. “If it doesn’t work, take it slowly. I’ve also read the information on these two companies. To be honest, I lean more toward New Line. Even exchanging some shares would be worth it. As for Miramax, its scale is too small. I also don’t see what exactly you value about that company.”
Eric smiled. “You’ll understand in the future.”
As they spoke, the two walked into Firefly’s screening room together. Jonathan Demme had probably stayed up all night again, so he had faint dark circles under his eyes. His importance attached to this film was obvious.