1980 My Literary Era.

Chapter 394 We Are Different

Ghosts are not afraid of losing money!
Engaging in musicals is worse than engaging in dramas.

But this is The Phantom of the Opera!

Even if it loses all of Broadway, it won't lose it!
"The Phantom of the Opera" is the masterpiece of British genius musical composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, and it is also one of the most popular musicals in the history of Broadway.

Since entering Broadway from London's West End in 1988, it has performed more than 14000 performances, and the cumulative box office in the United States alone has reached 11.81 billion dollars.In addition, "The Phantom of the Opera" has been performed in dozens of countries and hundreds of cities around the world for decades, and has gained a total global box office of more than 61 billion dollars.

Until Lin Weimin, a later generation, crossed over, it had become the musical with the longest performance and the most performances in the history of Broadway, bar none.

When you meet Andrew, there's no reason not to get involved!

Investing in "The Phantom of the Opera" is not only about making money, but also getting a good reputation. It is definitely a matter of both fame and fortune.

Cameron's question lingered in Lin Weimin's mind for a few seconds.

Lin Weimin showed an indifferent smile on his face, "Losing money? Mr. Mackintosh, every business has the possibility of losing money. But the difference lies in whether it is worth doing. I think "The Phantom of the Opera", it is not only A business, but also an outstanding work of art. If it can bring me income, it is my pleasure. If not, then at least those who have seen "The Phantom of the Opera" will remember me as an investor, It will become the one I am most proud of among the few investment experiences in my life."

Cameron looked into Lin Weimin's eyes, as if he wanted to explore the depths of his heart, but from these eyes, he only saw sincerity and clarity.

After staring at each other for a long time, Cameron finally spoke.

"Damn it! You're such a great lobbyist."

Lin Weimin smiled and extended his hand to Cameron, "For art!"

Cameron held Lin Weimin's hand and repeated his words, "For art!"

Andrew on the side cheered and pressed his hands on the hands of the two, "Yes, for art!"

"Damn it! Andrew, get rid of your sweaty hands!" Cameron cursed.

After speaking, the three couldn't help laughing.

After being excited for a while, the three regained their composure.

Cameron and Lin Weimin talked about the current situation of "The Phantom of the Opera".

He and Andrew's base camp is in London's West End. At this time last year, the two of them received a 50-meter investment fund from the investor Kim Friedberg and several other investors, and successfully launched the "Phantom of the Opera" project. make.

It's a pity that the 50-meter knife is just a drop in the bucket for an ambitious work like "The Phantom of the Opera".Cameron had to continue looking for investment, and Broadway became the best choice.

If the British Empire is compared to the setting sun and the western mountains, then Lao Mi is at the height of the sun.The same is true in the field of musicals. London West Street is already a thing of the past, but Broadway is in its prime.

Cameron found investors on Broadway very smoothly. After all, Andrew has a great reputation and is a rare genius musical creator in recent years.

But Broadway investors are much more difficult than those in London's West End. There are too many constraints in the production of musicals, and Cameron, the producer, is also very tired.

But there is no way, who made the musical "Phantom of the Opera" invest too much?
Although Cameron was concerned about Lin Weimin's joining at the beginning, now that the decision has been made, Cameron's mentality is more relaxed than Andrew's.

The biggest use for him as a producer is to find money. Now that he has money, and the investor has promised not to interfere with the creation and production process, what else should he worry about?

The rest will be left to Andrew, the creator.If Cameron hadn't trusted Andrew, he wouldn't have agreed to "The Phantom of the Opera".

During this period of time, in order to balance the relationship between Andrew and investors, he was also very tired.

Well now, all problems are about to be solved.

After today's meeting, Cameron no longer has to worry about balancing investors and creators. Andrew got the creative freedom he dreamed of, and Lin Weimin also got the result he wanted.

The three of them were very happy, and Andrew took Cameron and Lin Weimin to find a place to drink regardless of it being daytime.

But now it was broad daylight, and there would be no bar opening again, so the three had no choice but to buy a few bottles of red wine and return to Dakota's apartment.

Naturally, Cameron knew about Dakota's apartment. Seeing that Lin Weimin lived here, he was more assured of his investment.

In the apartment, the three drank until late at night before Cameron and Andrew returned home drunk, and agreed to negotiate with investors tomorrow and give Lin Weimin an answer as soon as possible.

Early the next morning, Lin Weimin called Arthur Miller.

Unexpectedly, he received a call from Lin Weimin. Overjoyed, Arthur Miller thought his script had already been written, and only after chatting did he find out that he was asked to help recommend a lawyer.

"Investing in musicals?"

After listening to Lin Weimin's words on the phone, Arthur Miller felt that he had been deceived.

Uneasy, he asked Lin Weimin to bring him with him when he meets Andrew next time.

Lin Weimin smiled wryly, but also understood Arthur Miller's kindness.

After finishing the phone call, Lin Weimin went to the Bank of China New York Branch located at 1045 Avenue of the Americas.

Established in 1981, this branch is the first Chinese-funded bank to conduct business in the United States.

All the foreign exchange in Lin Weimin's hands is stored in the Bank of China account. Because it is a special case and special treatment, although Lin Weimin can have a foreign exchange account, but the amount is limited, he needs to inform the bank in advance.

Hearing that Lin Weimin wanted to use a sum of foreign exchange that might reach 300 million dollars temporarily, the New York branch didn't dare to call the shots, so he made a call to the headquarters.

Lin Weimin could only explain to Yanjing the reason why he needed the money urgently, and after wrangling for a long time, they agreed to let it go this time.

Three days later, Lin Weimin, Andrew, and Cameron met again, accompanied by Arthur Miller, and Ken Nash, Arthur Miller's long-term partner lawyer, besides them, there were several other investors. lawyer.

Both Andrew and Arthur Miller are well-known figures on Broadway. Although they have never met before, they have seen each other's appearance in the news media. After the exchange, Arthur Miller was relieved.

"Lin, I never thought you would meet Andrew." Arthur Miller and Lin Weimin murmured.

"It's all a coincidence, and it's God's will."

"But are you sure you have thought it through? This is an investment of millions of dollars, not a small amount. The risk of investing in musicals is extremely high." Arthur Miller reminded.

On Broadway, production funds skyrocketed after Disney invaded Broadway after 2000. They invested 1400 million dollars to produce "Tarzan" and 1500 million dollars to produce "The Little Mermaid" and many other musicals.

Although the investment is huge, box office revenue alone cannot make up for it. Disney is making money at a loss, and what it wants is popularity and industry linkage.

Before Disney invaded Broadway, the investment of millions in musicals was already a big figure.

This number is even lower in the 80s.

Therefore, Lin Weimin's investment of two or three million yuan in the musical "Phantom of the Opera" is definitely a big investment.

"I am very optimistic about this musical, and the box office of Andrew's previous works is very good." Lin Weimin said.

Arthur Miller sighed inwardly, you only see good box office works, don't you see bad box office works?
Of course Arthur Miller would not say this, he came today just to confirm whether Lin Weimin was cheated.

Now that it has been determined that this Andrew is not a fake, his mission is considered complete.

As for the investment in musicals, we can only pray that Lin Weimin's vision will not go wrong.But Arthur Miller felt that Lin Weimin did not rely on vision, but on a whim. After all, how much did he know about Broadway?

Naturally, Lin Weimin didn't know what Arthur Miller was thinking, and even if he knew, he couldn't explain it.

how to explain?

You rely on vision, I am different, I have a problem!
In the past few days, Cameron has not convinced all the investors in the United States. He only got an agreement worth 160 million dollars from three investors, but this is enough for Lin Weimin.

He will not dictate the production process of "The Phantom of the Opera", he only needs to ensure that his follow-up income is consistent with other investors.

When signing the agreement, the lawyers of the three parties have the most workload, and they need to confirm the content of the agreement one by one.

On the contrary, several parties were very relaxed and gathered together to chat.

It was not until more than two hours later that the lawyers finally finalized the investment agreement. After the three parties signed and confirmed, they shook hands.

It can be seen that Cameron and Andrew are very satisfied with the replacement investor agreement.

No matter in London's West End or on Broadway, it's hard for creators and producers not to love local rich investors like Lin Weimin who only care about giving money, just like the domestic screenwriters and directors of later generations miss the coal boss.

The coal boss will still put a little honey at any rate, but Mr. Lin really doesn't care!
Just one word: Open up and play!

Teacher Lin paid the bill today!

The cooperation matters were formally finalized, and everyone had lunch together to celebrate the success of the cooperation.

During lunch, Lin Weimin chatted with Andrew and Cameron about the production process of "The Phantom of the Opera".

Although Mr. Lin doesn't care about things, he still cares about the progress.

"In the second half of the year, the premiere will definitely be performed in the second half of the year." Cameron assured Lin Weimin.

Cameron and Andrew's base camp is in the West End of London. The purpose of coming to Broadway this time is similar to last year. On the one hand, it is for vacation, and on the other hand, it is also to communicate with investors about the problems encountered in the production of musicals.

"If the premiere goes well in the second half of the year, we will consider performing in the West End for a year, and then try to come to Broadway. After all, this is the most suitable place for musicals to survive." Cameron added.

Lin Weimin nodded. For a mature producer like Cameron, after removing those conflicts, investors actually have very little to worry about. He already has a mature production process and performance plan in mind.

After the meal, the two sides bid farewell.

In two days, Andrew and Cameron will return to London to continue the production of "The Phantom of the Opera".And Lin Weimin invested 192 million dollars in "The Phantom of the Opera" and obtained a 53% interest in this musical.

Teacher Lin picked up a golden lump this time!

(End of this chapter)