It is also disastrous for the film and television industry.
Almost all film and television stocks have fallen below their limit, and Future Pictures, which has been performing very well, will inevitably be affected, but it is just a little better than other companies.
In the past few days, Li Qian went to the Film Bureau, the Distribution and Exhibition Association, the Filmmakers Association, and the Federation of Literary and Art Circles to hold countless meetings, and his legs almost broke.
The final result was without any surprises, and all units issued corresponding notices.
Cinemas are closed, production crews are suspended, projects are on hold, and schedules are yet to be determined.
All practitioners in the film and television industry will have to face a long period of vacation.
The industry is in dire straits, and every day of delay is a huge loss for investors and producers.
However, in the face of the epidemic, we can only do this, and we can only wait until everyone works together to overcome the difficulties.
There was no Spring Festival schedule, and all productions and screenings were suspended. The films that had already been filmed were still in post-production, so Li Qian asked the company to wrap up the work and give most people a holiday.
There is no annual meeting. I will give out the bonus and go back to celebrate the New Year in advance.
It's just a pity that after a large-scale boycott of traffic idols, the movie was stopped.
However, the traffic idols can finally stop for a while. At this time, they will frequently be on hot searches unless their brains are burned out.
The film and television industry can also be quiet for a while.
However, there was one thing that made Li Qian unable to sit still.
"ByteDance wants to buy the broadcast rights of "囧Mom"?"
"Yes, they just contacted me and offered 500 million to buy out the online broadcast rights."
Du Yangyan briefly and comprehensively reported on his recent contact with ByteDance.
“Bytedance!”
Li Qian frowned, his mind spinning rapidly.
"This is just the price that has just been opened, and there is still room for increase. I heard that they are very eager to win "囧Mom" before the Spring Festival. If they add another 100 million, they will probably agree."
Du Yang thought that Li Qian was not satisfied with the price of 500 million, and continued, "Not only "囧Mom", the other party also wants to cooperate with us for a long time. They want all the follow-up movies that have been completed so far. They are very ambitious.
It seems that they want to use the epidemic as a great opportunity for Byte to break through the short video barrier."
Li Qian shook his head, "Go back. No matter how high the price is, we will reject it. No matter which platform comes to discuss similar cooperation, we will reject them all."
"Why, isn't this a good opportunity?"
Du Yang puzzled, "We don't know when movie theaters will be able to resume operations in a short period of time. If we stress for one more day, there will be more risks. Although the income will definitely not be as good as the box office revenue, six or seven billion is still acceptable."
"囧Mo" invested 200 million, and if it could sell 700 million, there would still be a profit of 500 million, and there would be no publicity costs.
If the box office is 3 billion, the share you can get, minus the publicity and distribution costs, will not be much more than 700 million in the end.
Although, it must be more than three billion.
"Do you still remember that Chen Wulai and I discussed cooperation to create a closed loop in the film industry? In fact, he and I discussed two plans that day, and that was just one of them."
Li Qian told Du Yang about another plan that he had never told anyone, which was also a super crazy plan.
"Chen Wu's ambitions go beyond that. He also wants to let video websites replace movie theaters and become new screening terminals, so that movies can be screened on video websites."
"this..."
Du Yang's pupils shrank. She has been in the industry for twenty years, how could she not know the consequences of this plan.
Twenty years ago, all filmmakers demanded movie theaters. The previous distribution company drank until they vomited at the wine table and added all kinds of public relations to negotiate for each movie theater.
Cinemas are grandpas, and film and television companies are grandsons.
If video websites replace movie theaters, it will be countless times more harmful than traffic idols on the big screen.
Du Yang stopped trying to persuade him. It was a trivial matter for a movie to be broadcast exclusively online. If everyone did this, the epidemic would end soon and become normal. That would be a transformative event, and it would still be of no benefit to them.
thing.
...
When Du Yang and Li Qian were reporting, perhaps because Byte had talked to Du Yang about this matter before, Du Yang was also a little moved, which gave Byte a lot of confidence.
The Spring Festival is coming soon, and a movie like "囧Mom" is suitable for the Spring Festival.
News suddenly appeared on the Internet that ByteDance plans to buy the copyright of "囧Mom" and let viewers watch it online for free.
Byte is building momentum.
Netizens were really excited. They thought they would be locked up at home during the Spring Festival this year, with no other entertainment activities and not even movies to watch. They didn’t expect ByteDance to give such a big gift.
“Damn it, Byte is giving out benefits?”
"Can you watch "囧Mom" online? This is the movie I'm most looking forward to during the Spring Festival. I also plan to take my parents to watch it."
"All the Spring Festival movies can be watched online. I can't go to the cinema. There's nothing else to do during the New Year."
"Byte is really a conscientious capitalist. It's not cheap to buy the copyright of "囧Mom". It can sell three to four billion at the box office at least!"
"Byte is awesome, I will apply for the job after the Chinese New Year."
...
This is the first time that a theatrical movie has been screened online, attracting the attention of the entire industry.
However, Du Yang issued a statement on behalf of the company, denying the incident and saying that he would face the epidemic together with the film industry.
Now Byte has made a big mistake, leaving netizens confused again.
The co-authorship is just wishful thinking on the part of Byte, and they have no intention of selling the copyright at all.
After repeated inquiries from Byte to no avail, they had no choice but to stop marketing and then issued a statement saying that it was all based on outside speculation.
Although this matter was revealed by Byte, they have never announced it. It is only some self-media that "spread rumors".
However, Byte would not let go of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After the cooperation failed, it found other film and television companies and wanted to buy the film rights.
The share of domestic video websites has basically been fixed. Long-form videos are divided among three companies: Penguin, Ali, and Baidu.
Short video Douishi, mainly Kuai, plus Byte's Xigua and so on.
Douyin and Xigua are both owned by Byte, but Douyin is a real short video, only one minute at most, while Xigua can publish videos that are several minutes or even longer.
This time, they obviously sensed an opportunity and wanted to use this exclusive screening of theater movies to open the door to the long-form video market.
At the same time, it is also an opportunity to promote and attract traffic. Buying a movie worth hundreds of millions is equivalent to advertising.
...
After Du Yang announced that there was no such thing, Xu Zheng immediately called to inquire about the situation.
Li Qian did not elaborate on the matter on the phone, but made an appointment with everyone to discuss the matter in detail.
When he revealed the second plan that Chen Wu had discussed with him, Xu Zheng, Ning Hao, and Wu Jing all opened their eyes wide.
"This is crazy, how can a video website replace movie theaters? Movies that are not shown on the big screen are still called movies!"
Ning Hao found it incredible. This so-called plan was simply the most ridiculous thing he had heard this year.
"Penguin's ambition is too great. It's just wishful thinking. Chen Wu doesn't even understand what a movie is!" Guo Fan shook his head.
Video websites replacing movie theaters is something that all film practitioners have never thought about, and everyone scorns it.
However, Xu Zheng hesitated and said, "This plan will definitely not work, but at this special time, selling to a video website is not impossible. At least it can reduce some losses."
Time is money. Although "囧Mom" is a comedy, the cost is not low. Xu Zheng's director, screenwriter, and actor's salary, plus Wang Baoqiang's salary, are sky-high.
The cost of 200 million means that every day of delay is a loss. If the cinema cannot open within half a year, the loss will be a huge sum. Xu Zheng feels that selling to Byte is not impossible. At least they and Penguin are still enemies.
Although Li Qian felt a little unhappy, he still joked, "If Brother Zheng is not afraid of being banned by all theaters across the country, he can give it a try."
"Why ban me?" Xu Zheng was a little confused.
"More than half a month ago, movie theaters all over the country started promoting "囧Mom", and a lot of manpower and material resources were spent. If you can't say it won't be released in theaters, then you are not doing it with them." Li Qian said.
"Uh..." Xu Zheng thought the same thing. Not only did they spend money to promote "囧Mom", but also the movie theaters cooperated with many offline promotions and screenings.
Moreover, Li Qian has already rejected Byte. Li Qian is the largest producer of "囧Mom" and the copyright owner.
Xu Zheng didn't have any objections. It would be late anyway, and he was not in a hurry to use the money.
Li Qian just talked about this matter with the directors. This is not just a question of where to show it under special circumstances, but a possible change.
Before that, Li Qian felt that Chen Wu's idea was a fantasy, so he didn't tell anyone else.
Except for the one time I revealed it to the leadership of the film bureau, it was just a snitch and exaggerated Penguin's arrogance.
However, in the current situation, movie theaters are not open, and the only places that can show movies are video websites.
Impossible, but there is a slight possibility.
In fact, Hollywood has already experienced streaming media’s offensive against the traditional film industry.
Previously, Spielberg proposed to modify the Oscar registration rules at the Oscar board meeting to restrict the eligibility of streaming movies.
Streaming media is roughly understood as Internet online media, which has the same meaning as video websites.
Public opinion at the time speculated that the reason for Spielberg's move was that the Oscars gave Netflix's "Roma" three awards for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director and Best Cinematography.
However, "Roma" did not abide by the rules of being released digitally or online for 90 days after being released in theaters like other films. It was only briefly released in a small number of theaters for three weeks.
It seems that it was only shown on more than 100 screens for three weeks, and the audience didn't have much chance to watch it in the cinema.
For a movie that won Oscars for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, the audience must be very curious, and the bonus to the box office will be huge, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many movies competing for awards.
You don't have to watch it in the cinema, you can only watch it online, which undoubtedly attracts all the movie theater audiences to the Internet.
In fact, streaming media's large-scale entry into the movie market is not only facing controversy from old-school filmmakers like Spielberg and international film awards, but also being under the pressure of competition from traditional Hollywood movie companies and theater companies.
Counterattack and confrontation.
The invasion of Hollywood by streaming media seems to be no longer just alarmist. In January this year, Netflix officially announced that it would join the Miljian Film Association, becoming the "seventh" in addition to the "Big Six" in Hollywood, breaking Miljian's nearly century-old history in one fell swoop.
, all members in history are part of the "convention" of traditional Hollywood film companies.
In order to join the association, Netflix has to pay high membership fees of more than 10 million US dollars every year, but for Netflix, this is still a very cost-effective thing.
In any industry, it is not easy to change and break down barriers.
Of course, Hollywood will not sit idly by. In fact, the battle between streaming media and Hollywood began several years ago.
When Netflix, Weinstein and IMAX jointly announced that they would produce the second part of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", Netflix planned to screen it simultaneously online and offline.
However, as soon as it was announced, it was rejected by North American theaters. If it was screened simultaneously online, the theaters would not show it to you. In the end, the second part was only screened in some IMAX theaters.
Cannes and other film festivals have also rejected streaming media. Some people say that streaming media will kill theater movie theaters. Disney has terminated its cooperation with Netflix, and Warner has also started streaming media itself to compete with Netflix.
The war between Hollywood and streaming media started a few years ago, and there has not been much progress yet. Both sides have nothing to do against the other, but streaming media has never shaken the status of traditional movies.
In China, such a war has not yet begun.
However, it may be inspired by Byte.
Penguin Pictures announced that the military blockbuster "Vanguard", the disaster blockbuster "Emergency Rescue", and the action-adventure blockbuster "Zhengtu" adapted from the game of the same name will be simultaneously premiered on the three major platforms of Penguin Video, iQiyi and Youku on the first day of the Lunar New Year.
!
Wow...
The industry was in an uproar, and the entire audience was in an uproar.
If it were reported that ByteDance would buy out the copyright of "囧Mom" and broadcast it for free on Xigua, it would be big news that would shock the industry.
The three blockbusters "Vanguard", "Emergency" and "Journey" all gave up theaters and premiered on video websites. That would be a real earthquake.
Even Li Qian, who had known Chen Wu's plan for a long time and guessed that Penguin might make a move when he heard Du Yang's report that ByteDance was going to buy "囧Mom", was a little confused at this time.
"Emergency", which has a tendency to become a hit, "Vanguard", which is likely to be a hit, and "Journey", which is an adaptation of a smash hit online game, are not ordinary movies.
Needless to say, Lin Chaoshan, Cheng Long plays a popular military movie this time, and there is also a game movie that sells emotions.
Moreover, it is not only Penguin, but also two other major platforms.
After all, the pressure of three movies is too great. Byte only bought "囧Mom" first, so it is normal for Penguin to find two platforms to share the cost.
However, this also means that long video websites have officially launched an impact on the traditional film industry!
But this time, unlike when Hollywood faced streaming media, there are checks and balances.
Now that movie theaters are closed, video websites have become the only screening terminals.
The traditional film industry can only stand passively and be beaten, without the ability to fight back.
Li Qian let out a long sigh. The traffic idol that capital used to attack the mainstream film industry has temporarily ceased its activities.
However, I seized the opportunity when the cinemas were closed and came back again.