Chapter 68: For Friendship

"This store is really big."

Walking between the shelves, Ronan picked up a few German sausages, looked at them, and then put them back. He said to the middle-aged blonde woman next to him, "Aunt Helen, you told me you opened a meat shop, and I thought it was a pork store, but it turned out to be a meat products supermarket."

The blonde woman named Helen laughed and said in slightly awkward English accent, "So, will you help me?"

Stepping out of the shelves, Ronan surveyed the meat products supermarket, which was about five to six hundred square meters in size. He had never seen so many sausages, pork hocks, and bacon before.

Helen intentionally said, "I have nine of these stores in Berlin alone."

Ronan couldn't help but smile. "So, my Aunt Helen is a female tycoon."

"How about it? Not bad, right?" Helen brought up the topic again. "Do you want to come to Germany and help me?"

Ronan shook his head. "I'm better suited to develop in Hollywood."

Helen had also heard Mrs. Anderson mention Hollywood affairs before and said, "The film industry is too risky."

"Yeah, so I'm trying to find ways to mitigate and reduce risks," Ronan suddenly asked, "Aunt Helen, do you pay a lot of taxes every year?"

Helen nodded gently. "A lot. Germany is a heavily taxed country. Not to mention, I have to pay my personal income tax at a rate of up to fifty-one percent. Although there are ways to legally avoid taxes, the amount we can avoid is very small."

Ronan joked, "That's the glory of paying taxes."

Helen laughed, "I'd rather not have that glory." She asked with concern, "By the way, did your movie succeed?"

"It did. It grossed over $50 million in North America." Ronan thought for a moment and said, "If I remember correctly, it will be released in Germany after the New Year, titled 'Human Purge Plan.'"

"When the time comes, I'll take Tony to see it," Helen said.

Tony Koch was her son, who had recently graduated from college and was working in finance in Munich.

The two wandered around the meat products supermarket and then went to the second-floor office area, where they visited Helen's office. They chatted about the unexpected passing of the Andersons, as well as some childhood anecdotes about young Anderson. Basically, they reminisced about the bitter and sweet memories.

"Why don't you stay in Germany for Christmas? Tony will be back from Munich," Helen suddenly suggested, "You don't have any family left in Los Angeles."

Ronan didn't refuse. "Okay. I'll stay in Berlin for a while."

Helen curiously asked, "When we talked on the phone, you mentioned business to deal with? Are you planning to shoot a movie in Germany?"

Ronan shook his head. "It's not to shoot a movie in Germany." He explained simply, "I'm planning to sell two movie projects to German film companies."

Filming Hollywood movies was more about technical issues, but the financial operation of the Hollywood film industry was more about legal and financial issues.

Even though it was the late 1990s, over ninety percent of Hollywood films were definitely losing money in terms of box office revenue alone. This was because making movies in Hollywood had become very expensive, and the funds required for investment, production, and distribution of most films far exceeded the box office revenue.

To truly make a profit from a movie, one had to find ways to operate it.

An excellent producer must know how to operate a film within the legal framework to maximize profits.

If Hollywood only relied on box office revenue to survive and used its own funds to make movies, including all the major companies, they would have closed down long ago.

Ronan's funding for the two movie projects, "Death is Coming" and "Ace Agent," did not come from him or Sandsea Entertainment, but from financing in Abu Dhabi.

If successful, a significant portion of this budget did not need to be accounted for and could be converted into legal income for Sandsea Entertainment.

That afternoon, under the introduction of Lawyer Mueller acting as an intermediary, Ronan met with the representative of TMG Film Company from Germany, named Ram.

But the talks between the two sides were not going smoothly, and they were even a bit unpleasant.

"A handling fee of sixty percent for tax refunds?" Ronan didn't conceal his dissatisfaction. "As far as I know, you don't charge any handling fees when cooperating with Paramount Pictures!"

The person named Ram was short, with a stern face. He said seriously, "Mr. Anderson, I need to remind you that your Sandsea Entertainment is not Paramount Pictures! TMG treats each client differently. Paramount Pictures and TMG are long-term partners. Your Sandsea Entertainment is cooperating with TMC for the first time, and there is a lack of trust between us, so TMG also has to bear huge risks."

He emphasized, "We have to be responsible to the investors!"

This small company was nothing compared to a big company! Ronan couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

But he didn't get angry. Just like people were never equal, companies couldn't be equal either.

However, the rigid attitude of this German was somewhat uncomfortable to see.

Ronan smiled and said, "You still charge handling fees to investors, right? Five percent? Eight percent? Or the highest fifteen percent?"

TMG was indeed a successful film company, eating from both ends.

Ram's face remained unchanged. "This is a legal fee."

His rigid face was as thick as steel.

Ronan frowned slightly. "Mr. Ram, at most ten percent!"

Ram had no room for negotiation. "Sixty percent!"

Ronan looked at Lawyer Mueller, who shook his head slowly, indicating helplessness.

"Your company takes sixty percent, and the remaining forty percent is what I have to pay for various expenses, which basically leaves very little." Ronan also put on a serious face. "This transaction is meaningless."

Ram said, "Sandsea Entertainment can win TMG's friendship!"

Upon hearing this, Ronan looked at the small German guy as if he had seen someone even more shameless than himself.

What's the use of your friendship in front of millions of dollars?

Ram said seriously, "If this transaction is successful, it can promote mutual trust between us and establish the foundation for long-term cooperation." He didn't sound like he was joking. "Mr. Anderson, you need to look at the long-term and not be shortsighted."

Ronan resisted the urge to mock, knowing it would be pointless, and said calmly, "I need a few days to consider."

Ram stood up, leaving a business card and pushing it to Ronan, saying, "This is my contact information. Mr. Anderson, if you want to cooperate, you can call me."

After that, he left without any nostalgia.

Ronan glanced at the business card and casually put it in his pocket, asking Lawyer Mueller, "The client you contacted isn't that great, is it?"

Lawyer Mueller said, "TMG is the company that has the most cooperation with Hollywood, with outstanding reputation."

"But they are too greedy towards small companies," Ronan asked again, "Can we contact other companies?"

Lawyer Mueller nodded gently. "Of course." He reminded Ronan, "The credibility of small companies is a problem, and they don't have the ability to take on such large projects. They can't find enough German investors."

Ronan rubbed his forehead and asked, "Is there any other way?"

"I'll contact other large and medium-sized film investment companies again," Lawyer Mueller didn't want to let go of the deal he had in hand. "However, they usually cooperate with Hollywood and European big companies, so the conditions won't be much better."

Taking up his cup, Ronan took a sip and frowned, thinking for a moment: If it doesn't work, I'll have to try the backup plan.

"Lawyer Mueller," he asked slowly, "If we establish a new film company, can we operate in this area?"

Lawyer Mueller was very professional and immediately replied, "Yes. There are no restrictions in the law on this. As long as the company procedures are complete, it can fully engage in such transactions."

This was consistent with the information Ronan had previously checked.

Lawyer Mueller's tone suddenly changed, "But the new company needs a strong intermediary, someone to open doors for you and lobby approval agencies."

He further explained, "Why does a small company like TMG, which doesn't have real production capabilities, dare to charge handling fees to small Hollywood companies? Because they have established stable channels and have a good relationship with approval committees."

Ronan asked, "Where is the intermediary?"

"It's me," Lawyer Mueller said with a smile, "and my entire team behind me."

He raised a finger, "We only charge ten percent of the tax refund amount."

Ronan remained silent for a while, looking deeply at Lawyer Mueller, "Your strategy worked. I agree to this deal." He looked in the direction Ram had left, "First, use the outrageous conditions set by TMG as a prelude, and then propose even less fees as bargaining chips."

Lawyer Mueller showed no embarrassment after being exposed. "It's a win-win situation."

These people who had been immersed in business for many years were not simple at all.

"How confident are you?" Ronan asked.

"If your two projects were small art films, I wouldn't even talk to you," Lawyer Mueller was confident, "But two commercial projects with a combined budget of $40 million are already very convincing."

Ronan nodded, and his voice gradually lowered as he consulted Lawyer Mueller about professional issues in this area, asking very detailed questions and cross-referencing them with the information he had seen.

It wasn't until evening that he left.