George's sincerity

"I apologize for not being able to pick you up at the airport."

In the office of Firefly Films, Lyman proactively opened his arms and gave George, who had traveled from afar, a hug, saying, "With the company just starting, there's too much to handle."

Lyman let go of George and, watching the assistant secretary who had placed the coffee and left, joked, "Seems like you're starting to look like a company boss."

Lyman chuckled, "What boss? Just someone who's been busy."

"But it looks like you're enjoying it."

Lyman picked up his coffee, took a sip, and with a light tone, asked, "How do you like my company? You can pick any position you want."

George had a bitter smile on his face, "Lyman, don't try to make me happy. You know, if I work at your company and go back to France, Luc will curse me to death."

Lyman chuckled, brushing past the topic, "I heard that EuropaCorp has made a big move again, accepting financing from Wall Street. Your company's strength must have increased significantly."

Hearing this, George was somewhat displeased, "That's just a small part of the shareholders cashing out, not a decision made by Luc. Currently, EuropaCorp's film operations are going well, attracting a group of wolves. Moreover, those Wall Street people are not easy to deal with. Who knows what the future will be like?"

Finishing, George couldn't help but glance at Lyman a few times, filled with infinite emotions.

Two years ago, Lyman was still a rookie director who had just emerged. In the blink of an eye, he had rapidly risen to fame and made a name for himself in France and America. Now he had even become the owner of an independent film company.

To be honest, when he heard this news from Luc, he was quite surprised.

Thinking about it, he had watched Lyman's development all along, but still hadn't expected him to come this far. Or perhaps, this step came much earlier than he had imagined.

As for the idea of joining Lyman's company, George had never considered it.

You should know that he himself was already the Vice President of Distribution at EuropaCorp. Not to mention that EuropaCorp was already a mature film company, its production and distribution capabilities definitely lagged behind the Hollywood Big Six, but in France, and even in the entire European film industry, their influence was definitely dominant, far beyond what a third-rate film company like Firefly Films could compare to.

Moreover, he had some resentment himself. Going from equal cooperation to a superior-subordinate relationship, especially with their frequent contact and good relationship, just thinking about it made him feel uncomfortable.

Just thinking about it made him feel uneasy, not to mention it becoming a reality.

George quietly finished his coffee, stopped overthinking, and began to explain the purpose of his visit today, "Lyman, I've brought the overseas distribution terms for the sequel of "Saw". Take a look."

In truth, there wasn't much to look at; it was mostly in line with their discussions.

EuropaCorp would be responsible for promoting the film in overseas markets. In return, they would take 20% of the box office profits (not the total box office, but the earnings after deducting theater shares) and split the advertising costs down the middle.

There were also offline operations and copyright-related earnings. EuropaCorp would take 30%.

"Alright, I'll have the legal department stamp and sign it later."

After confirming it was correct, Lyman spoke up.

"Take a look at this as well," George said, pulling out another document from his briefcase.

"What's this?" Lyman received it, feeling a bit puzzled.

"We, EuropaCorp, would like to sign a letter of intent for cooperation with your esteemed company, with a fixed period of three years. During these three years, EuropaCorp will be responsible for the overseas distribution of all the films your company produces. Of course, for this, we've offered very favorable terms and our sincerity. You can take a look."

After reading through it carefully, Lyman finally understood EuropaCorp's intentions.

In essence, EuropaCorp thought highly of Lyman's personal capabilities and the consistent profitability of the films he was involved in. Therefore, they wanted to sign a letter of intent for a three-year cooperation, essentially binding their distribution business to him. Anyway, Firefly Films didn't have independent distribution capabilities.

Furthermore, the conditions they offered were roughly similar to the present distribution terms. They would also take 20% of the profits and split the advertising costs equally.

Of course, to smoothly achieve this cooperation, they didn't just make demands, they also showed their sincerity.

That was, during these three years, Firefly Films would have the right to participate in EuropaCorp's film projects as investors, with roughly 15% of the total investment share, enjoying only the same box office profits and not participating in copyright operations.

Perhaps someone might wonder, why the terms offered by the two sides are different.

In truth, there wasn't much to say; when the strengths aren't equal, such terms were only natural.

Firefly Films lacked distribution rights, while EuropaCorp had mature distribution channels. It was that simple.

Let's illustrate with an example: If Lyman were to negotiate this letter of intent with Warner Bros. or even Paramount Pictures, there wouldn't be any possibility of reaching an agreement. They wouldn't have any reason to offer you visible, long-term investment shares.

Perhaps this was also because in EuropaCorp's eyes, the value Lyman carried was more worth their investment.

After cooperating so many times, he was trustworthy, worthy of increased investment and pulling closer.

And for Lyman, he was certainly willing.

Leaving aside the matter of investment shares, even regarding distribution, EuropaCorp hadn't made any outrageous demands. They offered a distribution share that was quite fair within the industry.

You should know that some international distributors, like the Hollywood Big Six, could demand up to 40% of the film's revenue. However, usually these were for their in-house projects, a case of robbing Peter to pay Paul, diluting profits.

Nevertheless, EuropaCorp did come with sincerity for this collaboration.

Following that, Lyman held the letter of intent and, with the presence of relevant lawyers as witnesses, smoothly completed the signing.

After the signing, George didn't stay long, bidding farewell and leaving soon after.

After the partnership elevated to a strategic level, EuropaCorp didn't conceal anything, rapidly spreading this news.

Doing so not only reassured major shareholders but also positively affected the stock prices. It was truly hitting two birds with one stone.

For a while, Lyman's Firefly Films entered the sights of numerous insiders who were paying attention.

In their eyes, a film company with production capabilities was already exceptional, not to mention having EuropaCorp's overseas channels to safeguard them.

Such a company was full of potential.

"Lyman, there's someone who wants to meet you."

One day, while Lyman was handling business at the company, his agent, Johnson, suddenly called.

"Who is it?"

"The Chairman of Legendary Films, Thomas Tull."

"Why does he want to meet me?"