Chapter 211: Fraud forgiven by God

In the office of the Disney Distribution Manager, two middle-aged men in their forties were sitting on the sofa chatting. They were Roy, Disney's film acquisition manager, and Eg, the distribution manager.

'I don't think we should rush back to the film department just yet, because people are cheap. We can only make them feel anxious by keeping them hanging like this, and this kind of mood will be a little more favourable to us. Of course, this period of time should not be too long. I think half an hour is about right,' Roy said to Eger.

'Roy, you're a despicable bastard, but I like you.' Eg said with a smile, then asked, 'But then again, since they're here to give us money, what kind of price meeting do you think would be appropriate? Or what price should we set so that it is acceptable to them and we can enjoy it at the same time?' b Fiction r/

Roy thought about it for a while before giving his answer: '12 million, I think it is all within their acceptable range.'

Eager was very surprised: 'Roy, are you sure you're not joking with me? You know that 12 million is enough to set up a film company and expand distribution channels on your own. Why would they choose us?'

'My friend, you seem to have forgotten what I said in the last chapter. They are from the Down family, a large family that controls a lot of wealth. So for them, 12 million is nothing, as long as they can do what they want.'

Roy added: 'For these Chinese people, they prefer to seek out the conditions that already exist rather than trying to create the conditions themselves. This is especially true for the second generation of wealthy people like them who are just dabbling in this. If you ask them to set up their own film company, they may not have any plans after making this film. Why bother setting up a film company? It's better to pay someone else to do it.'

Roy said at the end, suddenly a little worried: 'The only thing I'm worried about is if we really release their movie, will it affect Disney's brand? I don't want to lose my job because of a little greed.'

'Don't worry about that!' Eg said to Roy. 'If the deal goes through, we can simply resell their film to another film company to complete it, and it will have nothing to do with us.'

'That's a good idea, but they seem to want to release it within this month, and some small companies may not be able to do it,' said Roy.

'Once the film is in our hands, what do they say? You're talking about the rich second generation, and we just tell them that's an important part of the film distribution process. If they think it's too slow, why don't they just set up their own company and do it themselves? If they find it too slow, why don't they just set up their own company and do it themselves? Then we can just talk a lot about the market and other technical terms and fool them along, because they're just dabbling anyway,' said Eg.

Roy laughed and pointed at Eg, 'I never thought that Manager Eg from the Distribution Department was such a badass!'

Eger also laughed: 'It's a pity that such a bastard thing came from the film purchasing department.'

Roy spread his hands: 'This is not my fault. Who let two fools come to the door themselves? But I think I have to pray to the Father in heaven and ask him to forgive my sins.'

Aige picked up where Roy left off and said, 'So as a qualified gentleman, we have a duty to teach them some necessary life philosophy, and of course charging an appropriate fee is also something that can be forgiven by God.'

At the end of this, Roy and Aige looked at each other, and they both revealed sinister smiles.

About half an hour later, Roy returned to the film purchasing department office with Eger. When he walked into the office and saw Zhou Ming and Tang Lin, he said enthusiastically, 'I'm sorry to keep you waiting. It's really because your request is a bit special that our discussion has been prolonged. I am honoured to introduce you to the manager of the company's distribution department, Egger, who is standing next to me. I'm afraid we have some bad news for you...'

Roy's words had not finished when Zhou Ming and Tang Lin both stood up. Zhou Ming said to Roy, 'I'm very sorry, but I don't want to discuss any co-publishing with you.'

Zhou Ming's words were like a bolt from the blue, and they stunned Roy and Eiger at the time.

'I don't want to talk about a co-release. I don't understand what you mean by that,' Roy asked, stunned.

Zhou Ming laughed: 'If you don't want to co-release, then you don't want to co-release. What else could it mean? Is it because my English isn't standard enough, or is it because you just can't understand what people are saying?'

Zhou Ming's mockery made Roy feel a little embarrassed, but at the moment, he was more puzzled than embarrassed.

'What I mean is that I don't understand why you want to stop co-releasing. Have you changed your mind and don't want to release your movie anymore? But then your dream of making movies will be shattered,' Roy said with some agitation, as if he had won the 5 million lottery but was told that he could not cash in the prize. The great contrast between ideals and reality made Roy unable to help himself, while Eiger stood next to him, his head spinning.

Zhou Ming seemed to disdain answering these questions. He turned his head and glanced at Tang Lin, who told Roy, 'In fact, we still really want to release this movie, but we've also thought about it. After all, have not yet produced it, and you are only the film purchasing and distribution manager for Disney. If you hastily release this film, it would be very bad if it affects Disney's reputation.'

'So we decided to go directly to the top of Disney to discuss this matter. It just so happened that Tang Lin contacted your vice president earlier.' Zhou Ming picked up where Tang Lin left off.

Almost as soon as Zhou Ming finished speaking, Roy loudly stopped them: 'Don't go to the vice president!'

Then Roy seemed to realise that his actions seemed a little extreme, so he calmed down a little before saying again, 'Mr Zhou Ming, what I mean is that our company, The Walt Disney Company, has a system in place. As long as an independently produced film seeking distribution with us must go through the film purchasing and distribution departments, and both Manager Ayer and I are perfectly capable of making decisions for Disney.'

Roy finished speaking and turned to Eg, giving him a wink. Although Eg was still a little confused, he understood what he had to do at this moment.

So Eger nodded without hesitation and said, 'Yes, our distribution department's responsibility is to help all films signed into the company find distribution channels. We have cooperated with major cinema groups in California and even across the United States, so we can fully represent the company.'

'But we don't have a finished film yet. What if it affects Disney's brand reputation?' Zhou Ming asked again, concerned.

'Mr Zhou Ming, I don't think you need to worry about this issue because Disney is already a brand. A brand like this cannot be swayed by a single film. It may disappoint fans of the film, but it will definitely not take its anger out on Disney as a whole. With Disney's capabilities, it can make up for all the problems with the next film,' Roy explained.

In the face of Roy's confident explanation, Zhou Ming nodded with a sudden realisation: 'But I'm still worried. Your distribution channels must be the best, right?'

To this question, Egg replied, 'Of course, Disney's distribution channels are absolutely the best, especially in the animation sector, where we have the world's most extensive distribution and publicity channels.'

Zhou Ming noticed another problem: 'Publicity channels? So if I sign this co-publishing agreement, what kind of publicity services can I get?

Roy and Eger hesitated for a moment, as if they sensed something was wrong. But at this time, Zhou Ming said again, 'It seems that your decision-making ability is still too conservative. I think it's better to go directly to your vice president, because the higher up they are, the more responsibility they can take than you, and it will save you so much trouble.'

Almost Zhou Ming's words had barely finished, when Roy immediately said, 'We're not troubled, but it's true that there aren't many publicity channels for general co-distributorships, and it's up to independent filmmakers...'

Roy stopped talking immediately because he saw Zhou Ming's face was very bad, so he immediately changed his words and said, 'But we can, within the scope of our duties within the scope of our duties, we can give you an additional publicity contract. We can provide you with a publicity budget of 200,000 US dollars. What do you think?'

Eiger agreed, 'I can assure you that this contract is absolutely the best terms. If you go to the vice president, he will definitely not give you such favourable terms.'

After listening to Roy and Eager's conditions, Ming deliberately frowned, then took out his cheque book and sat down.

'So you mean you want me to sign a cheque to you right away, right?' Ming asked.

Seeing Ming Ming took out his cheque book, and both Roy and Eiger's eyes lit up. It was as if they could see the room full of colourful banknotes waving at them, so in response to Ming's question, they nodded frantically and said yes.

However as if to tease them, Zhou Ming suddenly pressed the checkbook again and asked, 'If I sign the check now, does that mean we can sign the contract now? Are you going to show me the contract for co-publishing? Oh yes Oh, and the terms you promised me earlier, they will all be included in the contract, right?'

'Of course all the terms will be included. We are already considered to be at the decision-making level of Disney, so our credit is absolutely beyond doubt!' Roy said firmly.

'That That's great!' Zhou Ming applauded happily. 'Then the last question: how much do we need to pay for the co-release? And after the movie is released, how much of the box office will we get?'

Hearing Roy and Eager were taken aback by this question. They subconsciously wanted to say two million, but when they looked up, they saw Zhou Ming, whose eyes seemed to be warning them not to make an unreasonable offer, otherwise he could give up the right to negotiate with them at any time and go directly to the vice president. He believed that with Tang Lin's connections, they would probably be sitting in the vice president's office in less than a week, and of course, if that happened, there would be nothing for him to do.

With this thought, Roy cautiously held up five fingers: 'Five hundred thousand US dollars. Disney agrees to help you find a channel for distribution. If you are willing to pay an additional five hundred thousand US dollars, Disney can even give up its share of the box office after the film is released. What do you say?'

Zhou Ming grinned, showing his big white teeth generously: 'Done!'

Roy and Eger both had a subconscious heart palpitate at Zhou Ming's word "done". They looked at each other, and a strange feeling arose in their hearts: it was as if the script had gone a bit off course, and they had been cheated.