From Hollywood to Media Empire

A black Mercedes sped along the Pacific Coast Highway 1 in Santa Monica.

"Boss, Fox Searchlight and Focus Features sent over files. They want to discuss the distribution details for Lost in Translation!"

"Alright!"

After receiving the call, Charles returned to Carpe Productions via Sunset Boulevard.

Charles first went to the headquarters of 20th Century Fox in Century City, where Fox Searchlight's office was also located.

"Mr. Carpe, Mr. Steve Gilula is in a meeting. Please wait a moment," a junior assistant led Charles into the lounge.

Steve Gilula was one of the co-presidents of Fox Searchlight, specifically responsible for film marketing, including distribution.

Since he had to wait, Charles sat on the lounge sofa. Soon, the assistant brought coffee.

After waiting quietly for forty minutes, Charles finally met Steve Gilula.

"Charles, I didn't expect you to be so young! We've seen Lost in Translation. The movie feels a bit slow and unenthusiastic. It might appeal to a niche audience with similar marital experiences, but not many."

Charles nodded in agreement, "The target audience is likely married individuals over 35; it indeed has little appeal to teenagers."

"What would it take for Fox Searchlight to buy out the North American screening rights and DVD rights for Lost in Translation?"

Charles shook his head and politely declined, "We are not looking for an outright sale. Carpe Productions is seeking a theatrical distribution agent for Lost in Translation."

Steve Gilula thought for a moment, then said, "There are two options: first, Fox Searchlight takes a 33% distribution agency fee, including all marketing expenses. Second, we take an 18% distribution commission, but Carpe Productions covers the marketing costs."

Charles was taken aback and shook his head; this was far from his bottom line.

"25% distribution agency fee including marketing expenses, or 12% distribution commission, with Carpe Productions covering half of the marketing costs."

Fox Searchlight was unwilling to take any risk, not even fronting the marketing costs? Were they afraid the box office would flop so badly that they wouldn't even recover the marketing expenses?

Since they couldn't reach an agreement, Charles quickly left Century City.

In the afternoon, Charles went to Universal City Plaza, where a distribution manager from Focus Features received him.

"30% of the box office as the distribution agency fee, with all distribution costs covered by Focus Features. Alternatively, 18% distribution commission, with Carpe Productions covering the distribution costs, though Focus Features would front the costs and deduct them later from the revenue."

Lost in Translation was an art film without any big stars and had a slow-paced plot, so the distribution costs wouldn't be much.

"15% distribution commission and Lost in Translation must open in no fewer than 200 theaters with a marketing budget of at least $2 million!" Charles stated his terms, which were his bottom line.

Otherwise, Charles would have to take Lost in Translation to film festivals.

Eventually, Focus Features agreed to Charles's proposed 15% distribution commission.

"I hope Lost in Translation can be released by December this year!"

"In such a rush? For the awards season! Three months should be enough; Focus Features doesn't have many films this year," For an art film with a small budget, if there weren't requirements for the number of theaters, Focus Features would likely have opened it in just a few dozen theaters, letting word of mouth build up.

Was Charles in it for the awards? Possibly, as nominations or awards from the Golden Globes or the Oscars would elevate the film's brand.

Overseas distribution and DVD sales might also benefit from price hikes! Besides, an early release means early returns!

After leaving Universal City, Charles informed director Sofia Coppola about the news.

"Charles, you're amazing!" Sofia Coppola hugged Charles tightly and gave him a hard kiss.

"I thought we'd have to wait until who knows when next year to release it. It seems your previous work on My Big Fat Greek Wedding paid off."

"Alright, Sofia, Lost in Translation has delicate emotions and beautiful scenes," Charles sighed again.

"I just wonder if Focus Features will allocate more resources to increase marketing efforts."

"No worries, getting it into theaters and letting audiences appreciate it is most important," Sofia Coppola, though married for two years now, had become increasingly passionate about her film career, with family taking a backseat.

Subsequently, Focus Features and Carpe Productions signed the distribution agreement for Lost in Translation, and it began its release in North America.

December had many film releases, most of which would be overshadowed. Whether Lost in Translation could withstand the pressure depended on the film's quality.

At the same time, Carpe Fund spent $12 million to acquire 10% shares in Netflix, making it a major shareholder.

They even discussed the market prospects for online DVD rental with Netflix's founders, knowing that Blockbuster, then the king of the DVD industry, wasn't a small opponent for Netflix.

...

Santa Monica.

Charles sat on the couch in the living room, reading a business newspaper. WorldCom declared bankruptcy, surpassing last year's Enron scandal to become the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history.

Last year, due to Enron's fraud scandal, one of the world's five biggest accounting firms, Arthur Andersen, fell. This year's WorldCom incident further exacerbated the scandals in American financial institutions and regulatory bodies.

After the tech bubble burst and 9/11, America's main economic policy to combat the downturn was to stimulate the real estate market, loosen mortgage standards, and continue lowering interest rates by the Federal Reserve.

Wall Street investors would channel more hot money into Hollywood studios. Charles had to think about how to secure capital to support his distribution dream.

With Carpe Productions achieving great results, investment funds would naturally seek him out for cooperation.

Just being a production company wasn't Charles's goal; top distributors ruled the entertainment industry.

Charles knew that soon, Wall Street would come up with portfolio investments, with Legendary Entertainment and Relativity Media excelling in this regard.

Investing in a batch of films at once to spread risks - major studios' return rates weren't inferior to some investment funds.

Experience and achievements were currently the conditions Charles lacked the most!

*****

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