Volume 2: The crown and the hat are all over the capital, and the spirit is full of energy and enter the foggy city Chapter 8 Producer
Subtitle of this chapter: Capital KO Art
The decade after World War I was a golden age for American films that conquered the world.
In 1921, all 20,000 movie theaters in the United States were occupied by local films, and foreign films had almost disappeared. By the end of the 1920s, American films accounted for two-thirds of the world film market, and in some countries it even reached 90%.
At this time, financial capitalists had already noticed the film industry, which was comparable to automobiles, canned goods, steel, oil, and cigarettes. Financial giants such as Morgan, Rockefeller, General Motors, DuPont, and Goldman Sachs began to combine with Jewish managers of major film production companies.
If our Master Yuan wants to transform Hollywood on his own, he really doesn't have much time left.
Don't get me wrong, he is not going to fight against financial capitalists. After all, he is not in the world of entertainment. A director can use movies to defeat all those who disobey, even Wall Street. Yuan Yanshu wants to use his own success to guide these Wall Street tycoons to invest their capital in the "director + screenwriter binary model" he advocates.
To put it more clearly, those Wall Street vampires know nothing about the art of film, they only care about the return on investment. Then Yuan Yanshu will use the blinding box office to tell them that as long as the director and screenwriter are good, it will be a huge profit.
This requires mentioning Mr. David Griffith who is in front of Yuan Yanshu. In the history of world cinema, he is really an extremely important film worker.
Please note that this is not just about film art itself.
Around 1921, as the world's number one director, his continuous failures made movie tycoons and financial capitalists realize that literary youths are ultimately unreliable.
So they turned their attention from the director to the movie star. From this point on, the latter became a kind of instrumental trademark of the production company.
The film's owner is no longer the director, but the producer, who is a professional manager selected and appreciated by Wall Street. The producer has the right to choose the theme, actors and crew, the right to interpret the script and shooting method, the right to supervise props, scenery and costumes, and the most important final editing right.
The film director who originally possessed these powers was just a staff member who received a fixed salary like the photographer and lighting and set technician.
Compared with artists like David Griffith who have such a distinct personal style and such persistent artistic pursuit, producers would rather choose directors like Cecil B. Demille (1881-1959) who pile up visual effects.
This guy catered to the needs of the audiences in the "Golden Age". He was also good at shooting grand historical films, especially biblical themes, such as "The Ten Commandments" in 1923. So he was called the "Bible Director". However, the films he shot were extremely luxurious and magnificent, whether in costumes, props, interiors or exteriors, and he would also add some content that the audience liked to see.
Therefore, Griffith's personal failure is one of the reasons why the Hollywood film industry has since embarked on the big studio model. Small money allowed Hollywood to eliminate the artists who created it.
In order to achieve his own goals, the neoclassical liberal master has to give a thumbs up to this film master. But before that, he should be sobered up.
Our Master Yuan wiped his mouth with a napkin and said, "David, we are shooting a movie at DreamWorks, so we must have a producer."
"Producer?!" Mr. Griffith, who was very disgusted with this thing, raised his voice and said, "Neo, has your DreamWorks also learned from those Jews you despise?"
Yuan Yanshu was no longer angry, and said to herself: "David, please listen to me. I am a Seres and can be considered an artist. Of course, I can understand your pursuit of excellence in art, but it is not okay to make movies like you do..."
"We live in a capitalist society, so we must know that capital is omnipresent and far-reaching. As long as it finds something profitable, capital will flock to it like a swarm of bees smelling nectar. Isn't your Hollywood now controlled by a group of Jewish jewelers who are only interested in profit and have no artistic accomplishment?"
“The only thing that can defeat capital is capital…” he thought to himself, and the iron fist of the proletarian dictatorship.
"Well, I'm afraid you understand this, too. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gone back to seek help from Mr. George Baker, and we wouldn't have met. I have to say that Mr. Baker is indeed a good man with high moral standards, but if you can't bring profits to investors like Mr. Baker, why would they invest in your movie?"
The director finally found an opportunity to interrupt and said, "Neo, do you mean that I still have to give in to the producers? It's just that this time the Jewish guy has been replaced by a Chinese like you, that's all!"
"Ah..." Master Yuan sighed and said, "David, you are wrong. In addition to being an investor, I am also one of the creators. Don't I want to make my work an artistic treasure and a classic? But I know that if you want to improve the artistic effect by 1%, you will have to pay a cost far exceeding this figure. Is it worth it?"
Mr. Griffith said unconvincedly: "Of course it's worth it. Why wouldn't it be worth it for art?!"
"David, this is why your recent movies are critically acclaimed but not commercially successful." Yuan Hongjian, an online novel writer in his previous life, said very "inspiredly": "I agree with you. It's not worth it for art. But you didn't make your movies for your peers and critics..."
"Your movies are made for the general public!"
"And what do the general public want to see? Gorgeous pictures, smooth stories, exciting plots, excellent performances, pretty faces, high-end atmosphere and class... Well, at least themes that look high-end atmosphere and classy. That's all, that's all!"
"This..." The film master was speechless after hearing his words.
Our Master Yuan saw that his expression had relaxed a little, and then he comforted him: "David, don't worry. The producers I sent will not restrict you, they will help you instead."
Mr. Griffith asked in some consternation, "How can you help me?"
Yuan Yan smiled and said, "It's very simple. They will work with you to make a budget that both of us can accept. And... David, have you heard of the Valuation Adjustment Mechanism?"
The director said blankly: "VAM... Neo, what is this?"
"Oh, this is a betting agreement in futures." Master Yuan explained patiently: "The two parties to the transaction make an agreement on uncertain future situations. If the agreed conditions occur, one party can exercise a right; if the agreed conditions do not occur, the other party will exercise a right."
"We can also sign a betting agreement. If the cost of shooting exceeds the budget you agreed to, then money will be deducted from your share. But similarly, if the box office of the movie exceeds the initial estimate, then you will get extra money!"
