The Founder
The Founder is a 2016 American biographical drama film directed by John Lee Hancock and written by Robert Siegel. Starring Michael Keaton as businessman Ray Kroc, the film depicts the story of his creation of the McDonald's fast-food restaurant chain, which eventually involved forcing out the company's original founders to take control with conniving ruthlessness. Nick Offerman and John Carroll Lynch co-star as McDonald's founders Richard and Maurice McDonald, alongside Linda Cardellini as Ray Kroc's third wife Joan Smith, and B. J. Novak as McDonald's president and chief executive Harry J. Sonneborn. The film premiered at Arclight Hollywood on December 7, 2016, and was released theatrically in the United States on January 20, 2017, by the Weinstein Company. It grossed $24 million worldwide and received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Keaton's performance.
17.2s
- I specifically said the office is the best place to reach me! - I tried there, Mr. Kroc. Numerous times. - You have no right to call me at my home. It is a blatant invasion of my privacy! - With all due respect, sir, when you're three months behind on your payments you don't get to pick and choose where we contact you.
The Founder
27.6s
- $12,400. - That's pretty good haul for month one. - Could be bigger. I hate to mix business with pleasure. - I don't. - But my expenses. - What about them? - Well, they're a bit higher than anticipated. One thing in particular, that dang walk-in. That bill is a real whopper. - I know, it's a problem, all that ice cream. - I don't want to overstep my bounds here. But, we may have found a solution. Or Joan did, actually.
The Founder
20.8s
Costs a fraction of ice cream and there's no refrigeration necessary. - It contains powdered milk. Thickening agents and emulsifiers simulate the texture of ice cream. Tastes just like the real thing. - It's easy as pie to make. You put a packet into a glass of water and stir it. - I know maybe a tad blasphemous, what with your dairy background and all. - Personally, I think it's a marvelous idea.
The Founder
1m34s
- McDonald's. I just found a way to save you, me, and all the owner-operators literally hundreds of dollars a year in electrical costs. - And what would that be? - Two words, powdered milkshake. I'm telling you I came across a remarkable product called Inst-A-Mix. Like I say, it's a powdered milkshake. It's a fraction of the cost of ice cream and requires no refrigeration. - Ray... - I tell ya, I tried it myself, it tastes just like the real thing. It's delicious. Comes in chocolate, comes in vanilla. Me, I'm a vanilla man. - Ray, we have no interest in a milkshake that contains no milk. Why don't we add sawdust to the hamburgers while we're at it? Frozen French fries! - You don't want to save a bundle? - Not like that. - We're talking about the same great taste. Same great taste while boosting the bottom line. - It's called a milkshake, Ray! Real milk, now and forever! - I understand. I'm just asking you to extend my line. - Until you build more equity in your home or pay down the loan, there's nothing I can do. - My business is booming. - Unfortunately, that's immaterial. - Well, I've got 13 locations in nine states. - It's a home-equity loan. - Then give me a business loan. - These thirteen locations, you own them? - Me personally? - It's your business, correct? - You own it? - I'm the head of franchising. I'm the one behind this growth. Well, that's all well and good, but you need assets.
The Founder
23.6s
- Mr. Kroc? - Can I help you? - No, but perhaps I can help you. Harry Sonneborn, nice to meet you. - No, thanks, we're very happy with our current supplier. - I'm not here to sell you ice cream. - What the hell do you want? - I caught a bit of your conversation back there, sounds like you're having financial troubles. - Why don't you mind your own business? - I'm a great admirer of your establishment.
The Founder
1m51s
- So to summarize... you have a minuscule revenue stream. No cash reserves. And an albatross of a contract that requires you to go through a slow approval process to enact changes if they're approved at all. Which they never are. - Am I missing anything? - That about sums it up. - Tell me about the land. - The... land? - The land, the buildings, how that whole aspect of it works. - Oh, pretty simple really. Franchisee finds a piece of land he likes. Gets a lease, usually 20 years. Takes out a construction loan, throws up a building and off he goes. - So the operator selects the site. - Yeah. - He picks the property? - Right. - You provide the training, the system, the operational know-how, and he's responsible for the rest? - Is there a problem? - A big one. You don't seem to realize what business you're in. You're not in the burger business. You're in the real estate business. You don't build an empire off a 1.4 percent cut of a 15-cent hamburger. You build it by owning the land upon which that burger is cooked. What you ought to be doing is buying up plots of land then turning around and leasing said plots to franchisees who as a condition of their deal, should be permitted to lease from you and you alone. This will provide you with two things. One, a steady, up-front revenue stream. Money flows in before the first stake is in the ground. Two, greater capital for expansion. Which in turn fuels further land acquisition, which in turn fuels further expansion and so on and so on. Land.
The Founder