Uttering bold words

The act of making vows or "raising flags" seemed to be a favorite pastime of many directors.

Once upon a time, Michael Bay, the director often referred to by netizens as having been born on the day when "a comet collided with the Earth", repeatedly proclaimed with conviction, "I will never direct another "Transformers" film again."

He made this statement after completing "Transformers 2", and then again after the third installment. Yet, lo and behold, they somehow managed to make it all the way to the fifth film.

And then there was Cameron, who repeatedly promised that "Avatar 2" would be coming out soon. But the year of the future was 2020, and there was still no precise news. It's always next year, and then the next year, waiting in perpetuity.

As for Miyazaki, he declared, "I will retire after making this film." Big Brother Cheung said, "This will be my last time starring in an action movie." Even the talented director Quentin Tarantino echoed sentiments similar to those of Luc Besson: "I'll retire after making 10 films."

But the thing is, some of them are nowhere near 10 films, and yet here's someone who's already approaching the finish line, preparing to step back and pass the baton when the time comes.

If you count the films he's written or produced, it's even worse.

Moreover, in recent years, he has been engaged in supervisory and writing roles, with several years having passed since his last formal directorial project.

On deeper reflection, part of his reason for doing this might be to cultivate suitable directing talents for EuropaCorp. After all, unlike typical French film companies, whenever he gets the chance, he enjoys supporting English-language films to fend off Hollywood's invasion—sometimes even infiltrating their own headquarters.

This business-oriented approach undoubtedly brought considerable benefits to EuropaCorp and contributed to its highly international production team.

Although he ultimately broke his promise, fundamentally speaking, Luc Besson has always been a passionate old child at heart when it comes to filmmaking.

...

"Sure, I'll offer my thoughts whenever I have the time."

Upon hearing the agreement, Luc was also quite pleased.

As the two chatted leisurely, Luc was reminded of the situation with Lyman's investment in "Saw". Considering that the primary audience for that film was American moviegoers, and in order to screen it there and distribute profits, they would need to establish a shell company similar to Mann Studios. Thus, he suggested, "Lyman, are you planning to affiliate your registered American company with our subsidiary? If you need assistance, I can help you get in touch with the relevant department personnel to facilitate the process."

Previously, Mann Studios had been following this approach in France, where they took care of finances and reconciliations, while EuropaCorp focused on joint accounts.

Faced with Luc's well-intentioned offer, Lyman politely declined with a smile, "That's alright. I'll find an office space for my small company and complete the transition without much fuss. No need to go to such lengths."

But who was Luc Besson? He was an industry insider, the president of a film distribution company. Upon hearing Lyman's response, he understood that Lyman had his own plans.

Hearing Lyman's refusal to entrust EuropaCorp with the affairs concerning the United States, Luc softly inquired, "Are you thinking of collaborating with Paramount Pictures?"

Lyman neither confirmed nor denied with a faint smile, leaving things ambiguous.

Inwardly, Luc furrowed his brows. He thought Lyman might actually be considering such an idea. While he comprehended the rationale behind it, he couldn't help but feel a slight discomfort.

He wondered if Paramount Pictures had secretly approached Lyman and offered some conditions.

It should be known that affiliation, in essence, is a way to indicate the mutual relationship between two companies.

Without intimacy, who would be willing to entrust the internal operations and financial relationships of their company to others?

"I've heard that Paramount Pictures has been making significant moves recently. It seems their top executives have been in contact with DreamWorks Animation. Who knows..." He glanced at Lyman, "If DreamWorks Animation joins Paramount, there's bound to be a major shift. Compared to Spielberg, how much of their resources would your studio receive?" In conclusion, he added with a meaningful sigh, "It's better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of a phoenix."

Naturally, Lyman also understood this principle, which is why he had declined EuropaCorp's "kind offer". As for his thoughts, how could Luc ever guess? Moreover, affiliating with Paramount didn't seem as attractive as continuing under EuropaCorp's umbrella. After all, EuropaCorp's satellite studios had always been led by Mann Studios. As for Paramount, who knew how many small film companies they supported? Besides, he knew for a fact that DreamWorks Animation had indeed joined Paramount.

However, it was a pity that with the rapid growth of his career, a notion known as "ambition," which was essentially aspiration, had taken root in Lyman's mind.

This time, he had different plans. He intended to establish a fully capable film production company, rather than continue with the superficiality of Mann Studios.

Taking a longer view, with the right distribution channels, the next American version of "EuropaCorp" might not be so far-fetched.

After all, film distribution channels were mostly built step by step; there hadn't been any monopolies in this field that he had heard of.

Of course, just as the United States was within the sphere of influence of the six major Hollywood powers, sometimes, under pressure and in the face of competition in terms of hard power and even propaganda, smaller film companies met grim outcomes.

Like DreamWorks Animation.

Spielberg, like every major director's aspiration, had established his own film company.

Unfortunately, it was on the verge of declaring failure and was struggling.

Throughout history, the quality of the films they produced was actually quite high: works like "Shrek", "Gladiator", "Transformers", "Catch Me If You Can"... These were either critically acclaimed or box office successes. Yet even so, they hadn't been able to escape the sanctions of the six major powers.

They were also choked at the neck by their overseas channels. They couldn't establish them no matter how hard they tried. In Hollywood, only Lionsgate had successfully taken this step later on, and Lionsgate was truly well-funded. Their investment partners were powerful entities in Europe. Thinking about it, it made sense. Without overseas distribution channels, no matter how high you jumped, you'd still just be working for others. Considering the enormous investment and risks in each film, if you lost money and couldn't recoup it through overseas distribution, a single misstep could lead to a bottomless abyss.

Later, Spielberg also came to terms with this. It's all about work, so why not make it a bit more comfortable? Working tirelessly doesn't necessarily bring in as much as when you were solely a director.

So, as you'll come to know later, this acquisition deal wasn't settled until 2005, when Viacom acquired DreamWorks Animation. The DreamWorks label automatically became the property of Paramount Pictures.