James's problem is very important. For most independent distribution companies, they always insist on distributing independent works with low cost. On the one hand, the cost of commercial blockbusters is too high, with more than 70% and 80 large commercial movies in the hands of six major film companies. They can't even get the soup, let alone eat meat. On the other hand, the risk factor of commercial movies is too high, and the investment in the publicity stage is now increasing. The promotion cost of 10 million was incredible in the past, but now the promotion cost of 30 million and 50 million has appeared, and it is not capped. This is like a bottomless pit, which can easily swallow up small and medium-sized companies.

In other words, this is the positioning issue of the issuance department and issuance company.

"City of Sin" is a small and medium-sized commercial film, with a small and medium-sized scale. Coupled with Lance's unique publicity method, it has won the highest return with the lowest budget, which is indeed eye-catching. However, such works cannot appear every day. Now, the survival space of small and medium-sized commercial films is getting narrower and more and more risks. Commercial works with investment of 100 million to 150 million are the main force of profitability. This also means that the distribution department of Chaos Film must face positioning problems-

Should we insist on independence or move closer to large companies?

Lance exchanged a vision with Theo again. The four brothers have reached a consensus on Chaos Pictures' future development path. Now James has become a member of the management, but Lance is not sure how much content can be told to James. For Lance, James is still a stranger, and he still cannot fully trust it. Trust in the distribution business is one thing, but the company's development blueprint is another thing.

Theo immediately understood the signal from Lance and said, "Yes, we will follow up on large-scale projects in the future, but we do not intend to rush this regard for the time being. We will adjust our pace appropriately. All situations are subject to Lance."

James thought about it.

Theo's words are very simple. Chaos Pictures does have higher ambitions, but they will not be too reckless. At present, they still put all their hopes on Lance. Even if they produce large-scale works with high investments in the future, they will probably be directed by Lance, which is also a typical family business feature. However, James feels that there is nothing wrong with it. After all, Lance is the core of the entire Chaos Pictures. Lance, who is at the peak of his creation, is the most trustworthy object. Even in the entire Hollywood, there are countless companies that want to cooperate with Lance.

However, this also means that the development goals of the distribution department need to be adjusted accordingly, and the publicity and public relations departments cannot only focus on the academy's public relations. This is a huge challenge for James, because New Market Pictures has not yet entered the field of independent films before.

Lance listened to Theo's words and was also considering it. Since he had decided to hand over the distribution department to James, even if he could not reveal the full picture of Chaos Pictures' future blueprint, at least the next plan needed to let James know, after all, he still needed James' cooperation.

Trust is not an easy task, but cooperation is like this. Although it is like walking on thin ice, as long as the interests and goals of both parties are the same, they can move forward hand in hand.

"At present, I have two plans, one is the 007 restart plan that cooperates with Sony, and the other is the 'I am a legend' in cooperation with Warner Bros.." Lance said, James's thinking was interrupted and he cast his sight seriously, but he inevitably caused storms in his heart. No wonder people say that Lance is the hottest director in Hollywood at present. These are two heavyweight works. If the cooperation is really successful and Chaos Pictures can participate in the distribution process, then it is only a matter of time before the distribution department takes off.

James was a little excited, but he didn't show any expression on his face, so he continued to listen.

"After that, I will try to contact Sony first to see if the two parties can work together to produce the 007 project. I am the producer, we are responsible for the production, they are responsible for the investment, and the release part is jointly organized. However, there is still a lot of work to be prepared." Lance explained his final decision in a few words.

After careful consideration, Lance chose the "I am a Legend" project, not only because this work is directed and acted by Lance, and the space is wider and the potential worth exploring is richer; it also makes every effort to win the development rights of the DC universe because of the potential cooperation plan that this work may bring to Chaos Film.

If it is Marvel and DC, Lance will choose Marvel because this can firmly control the initiative. But the problem is that the greater real life is that Marvel and DC are not under Lance's control. After all, the competitors they have to face are too strong. Therefore, Lance decided to advance both sides at the same time. What's more, if you want to acquire Marvel, the financial crisis will have to wait at least until the second quarter of 2007, and there is still two years left before now. He does not intend to shelve all other plans to acquire Marvel.

However, choosing "I am a legend" does not mean that you have to give up the 007 project. On the contrary, Lance decided to make a new attempt. He was ready to take a step back and serve as the producer to create a new 007 series based on his own creative ideas.

This is not surprising. Directors of the same level as Steven Spielberg, only the producers with names and the producers with real power, have several works every year. The most famous case is the "Star Wars" series. The three works in the original series are directed by three different directors. George Lucas only directed the first one, and the latter two are only producers.

Now, Steven is in the "Transformers" series as a producer, which means this.

In Hollywood system, producers also divide the work and cooperate. Some producers are responsible for sponsorship, some producers are responsible for publicity, some producers are responsible for public relations, and some producers are responsible for creation. Those top producers may not have the talent to shoot movies, but they have a unique and accurate sense of aesthetics, which can judge how the works should be shot more beautifully and more attractive.

"Transformers" who served as executive producer was the best-rated stroke among the series. Later, Steven just put the name on the name and no longer held a substantive position. Michael Bay took over the burden of executive producers, and the reputation of the work became worse and worse. This shows the importance of the producer.

Lance now hopes that he can serve as the executive producer. Although he does not direct or participate in the acting, he can conduct macro-control according to his own creative ideas to ensure the quality of his works.

The problem is that Lance has only directed four works at present, and its appeal is still limited. Sony Pictures trusts Lance's directing ability, and whether she is willing to believe Lance's production ability is another matter - Hollywood is a producer-centered system, not a director-centered system. Lance serves as both a director and a producer, which means paying attention to Lance's creative talent; but letting Lance control the power of the filmmaker alone means that Lance's power has been increased. This is a crucial improvement for Hollywood. Therefore, further negotiations are still needed.

"Also, I'll meet Warner Bros. first, and if it's right, I'll start to rewrite the script framework and then see what happens later." Lance said in streamlined words.

Since he decided to devote himself to the "I am a Legend" project, it also means that the next period of time must start from scratch. Since Lance has just completed the creation of "Fruit Hard Candy", he does not intend to immediately devote himself to the creation of "I am a Legend", and his brain still needs to take a while to clarify his ideas. Therefore, he will first talk about the 007 project, then take a short vacation, and then start by reading the original novel of "I am a Legend" to reconstruct the entire framework of the end of the world.

Regardless of whether his guess is correct or whether "I am a legend" can become the stepping stone for the DC universe, Lance hopes to truly create this work according to the expected goals. Chaos Film is no longer a bachelor now. The higher the standing, the less you can't afford to lose. Moreover, they have almost the grandeur of the future, so every work cannot be taken lightly.

In short, don't worry for the time being, follow the steps.

Lance only said a few words, but James fell into a state of deep thought. He could feel the intricacies and ambitions behind these simple words - this is not unusual. Chaos Pictures' acquisition of New Market Pictures is enough to illustrate many problems, but now it seems that he still far underestimated Chaos Pictures' ambitions.

This made James start to feel excited. He originally thought that joining Chaos Pictures was just a springboard, but now it seems that this is likely to become a new starting point for his career. He can outline the magnificent future without thinking at all, full of countless unknowns and difficulties, but also full of powerful challenges. He has begun to try it out.

"I get it." James knew that there was still a lot of work to do after he went back. "I will re-form a release plan and convince Sony to jointly release it with us." After saying that, James let out a long sigh and said half-jokingly, "Huh, I can already foresee the busy work now."

"This is a good thing, isn't it?" Lance said with a smile, then picked up the red wine in front of him, and then Theo also picked up the wine glass.
Chapter completed!