Hollywood Hunter

Beverly Hills.

In a reception room at MGM headquarters, United American Chairman Tony Tomopoulos leaned on the sofa, holding the coffee just delivered by the secretary, and said to Michael Ovitz sitting on the other side: " Have you heard? The kid was testing whether Semel could sell DC to himself at a party hosted by Warner Bros. Pascal seemed to be still negotiating the copyright of a TV series for him with Colombia. Colombia offered a price of 10 million. The US dollar didn't even scare him back. Tsk tsk. Young people nowadays plan to buy the whole world after just making some money."

Michael Ovitz listened to Tomopoulos, who was over sixty years old, in a clearly unbalanced tone. Although he didn’t feel that Simon Westero had started to forget because of his sudden wealth, but because of the purpose of the meeting today, He still agreed with a smile, and said: "Hollywood needs this kind of person. Otherwise, how could we get all the investment in so many movies we make every year."

Tony Tomopoulos heard this, a shrewd look flashed in his eyes, and said: "Michael, I know you have always wanted to contribute to the "Rain Man" project. However, the boy has performed really well in the cooperation with Fox. A bit greedy, a screenwriter asked for 10% of the box office share, which has never happened in Hollywood history. As for this cooperation, even if "Rain Man" continues to be dragged on, it should be the interest of United States, I am definitely not Backed down."

Michael Ovitz nodded and said, "I understand, Tony. In fact, I have always respected the balance of interests. If everyone makes money together, the business can last."

The two were chatting, and Tomopoulos' secretary brought in Amy Pascal.

After the greeting, the three of them sat down on the sofa. Michael Ovitz smiled and asked Amy: "How was your talk with Robin?"

Amy Pascal came to MGM headquarters just before meeting with Hollywood actor Robin Williams because of the "Death Poetry Society". Although he is a CAA customer, it can only be regarded as a second-line at this time. Robin Williams is not personally responsible for Ovitz.

However, Amy was not surprised by Ovitz's sudden problem. This CAA boss who likes to control everything is like a spider, who can always make people feel that he knows everything in Hollywood.

"Robin is very interested in the script of "Death Poetry Society". We plan to sign the contract tomorrow."

Michael Ovitz was a little surprised: "So urgent?"

Amy said: "Simon hopes that this will be finalized before the end of the year, and the preparations can be started after he returns."

Tony Tomopoulos did not understand what Amy and Ovitz were talking about, and said at this time: "Westeros is not in Los Angeles?"

Amy turned to Tomopoulos and said, "Simon has gone to New York. Tomorrow night is Christmas Eve, and his girlfriend is over there."

The secretary brought coffee to Amy at this time, and Tony Tomopoulos waited for a moment, and said: "In this case, Amy, let me talk about your development plan for The Hobbit? This is a very classic. A novel, Lianmei will not give it to others lightly."

"Tony, Daenerys Pictures did not immediately start the plan of "The Hobbit". We hope to get the copyright first, and use two to three years to design and perfect the special effects technology needed for this fantasy epic before launching. Made."

Tomopoulos shook his head and said, "Three years is too long, and these words sound like an excuse to get copyright."

Amy retorted: "Tony, if I say that Daenerys Pictures will go into production immediately, this is the real excuse. "The Hobbit" is a fantasy novel involving dragons, elves, dwarves, etc. Without sufficient time for careful preparation, forcibly starting, the result will only fail."

Tomopoulos said: "Well, Amy, what about your offer?"

"Tony, I have made an offer to Lianmei for $1 million. Now, as a supplement, Daenerys Pictures can invest $10 million in "Rain Man."

Although I just made some work for "The Hobbit", Tony Tomopoulos doesn't really care about the copyright of this novel.

United States obtained the copyrights of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit" in 1969. It has been nearly 20 years now. Although the novels were very popular back then, the Middle-earth series did not show any eye-catching performance in film and television. Commercial potential, otherwise Lianmei would not transfer the copyright of "The Lord of the Rings" to Saul Zanz in 1976.

At this time, when Amy readily agreed to invest 10 million US dollars in "Rain Man", and thinking about the wealth of a little guy, Tomopoulos quickly shook his head and said: "No, this is not enough, Amy, If you want to get "The Hobbit," you need to invest at least $15 million."

Amy heard the words and turned to Ovitz suspiciously: "Michael, you didn't tell me this on the phone."

Michael Ovitz was also a little surprised by Tomopoulos's temporary change of mind. He couldn't help frowning and said: "Tony, you can't do this, this will only make "Rain Man" stranded again."

Tony Tomopoulos just looked at Amy and said: "Since West Rocken has offered $10 million for a TV series that is no longer worthy of Columbia Pictures, Dustin Hoffman and Tom K. He shouldn't mind the extra $5 million for the movie starring Ruth's two superstars, let alone get the copyright of The Hobbit."

Amy looked slightly annoyed and retorted: "Tony, we didn't offer a price of $10 million for a TV show."

Tony Tomopoulos thought for a while, sat up straight, and said, "Amy, I think, let Westeros come and talk to me in person."

Amy shook her head and said, "I just explained, Tony, Simon is in New York."

Tony Tomopoulos smiled and said, "It's not two hundred years ago, so just make a phone call."

Amy picked up the satchel she had just placed next to her and said, "If you insist, Tony, I'll go back and discuss it with Simon."

"No, I mean now," Tony Tomopoulos did not want to give Simon and Amy too much time to prepare, insisted: "We can hold a temporary conference call."

Amy looked at her watch and said, "It's five o'clock in the afternoon in New York, and it's Simon's private time."

"Amy, I hope this matter can be resolved today, so call him. Or, you can tell him tomorrow during work hours in Westeros, the matter ends here."

Amy looked at Tony Tomopoulos, stalemate for a moment, or dialed a series of numbers through the landline on the coffee table.

In hands-free mode, Simon's voice soon sounded from the speaker: "Hello?"

"Simon, it's me," Amy raised her eyes and glanced at Tomopoulos, and said, "I'm at MGM headquarters. Mr. Tomopoulos wants to talk to you in person."

"Tomopoulos?"

"Chairman of Lianmei."

"Oh."

Tony Tomopoulos felt a little uncomfortable listening to the inattentive voice in the speaker, but he took the stubbornly and said, "Simon, this is Tony Tomopoulos."

"Hello, Tony."

Tony Tomopoulos didn’t say too much, and said straightforwardly: “Simon, let’s be straightforward. The Hobbit is a very precious copyright asset of United States. If you want to get the copyright of this novel, Dan Nelise Pictures needs to bear at least $15 million in investment in "Rain Man."

After a short pause for a few seconds, Simon's voice sounded again: "Tony, the budget for "Rain Man" is 25 million US dollars? If Daenerys Pictures invests 15 million US dollars, who is this movie?"

Tony Tomopoulos said: "Simon, United States developed the entire project, and the copyright naturally belongs to us. However, Daenerys Pictures will definitely be able to get its own share of revenue in the future."

"Sorry, Tony, I'm not used to paying enough but not getting the initiative. If United States wants $15 million, Daenerys Pictures must be responsible for this project, just like "Instinct" ."

Tony Tomopoulos refused: "Simon, this is impossible, unless Daenerys Pictures assumes the entire investment."

"Tony, I'm not interested in this project, I just want "The Hobbit." US$10 million is enough for Lianmei, and there is no big problem for you to raise another US$15 million."

"$15 million, Simon, since you want "The Hobbit," it must be $15 million."

There was a moment of silence on the other side of the phone, and Simon said, "Then it would be $25 million. Daenerys Pictures will be responsible for the production, and United States will be responsible for the distribution. At the same time, you must ensure the schedule, marketing efforts and guaranteed number of screens."

Tony Tomopoulos originally thought he was going to talk to Simon on the phone for dozens of minutes, but he didn't expect this to happen suddenly.

Lianmei has already bought the script copyright of "Rain Man". Tony Tomopoulos’s planned production and publicity strategy is to find external investment as much as possible. It is impossible to raise some funds through copyright pre-sales and loans. Produced by United American and published by MGM.

With the participation of Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, two first-line superstars, although they are generally not favored, the commercial prospects of "Rain Man" are still guaranteed compared to most Hollywood projects.

In the current situation of Lianmei, it is impossible for high-quality film projects to fall on its side.

According to this operating strategy, the company can earn a stable issuance fee anyway in the future. If the film is successful, as a producer, Lianmei can reap some more profits. The project failed, and the company did not lose much.

right now.

A certain wealthy little guy suddenly proposed a plan that he had never expected before.

25 million dollars.

I took it out so easily, you know, Warner, Universal, Paramount and other companies have all rejected this project before, even Spielberg failed to raise enough funds for the film, so I used the shooting " "Indiana Jones 3" excuses to exit.

Who would have thought that the turning point of things would come so suddenly.

A series of emotions flashed quickly in his mind, and Tony Tomopoulos couldn't help but ask: "Simon, 25 million dollars, Daenerys Pictures will bear it all, are you sure you are not kidding?"

"Tony, do you think I'm joking?" Simon said with a bit of impatience in his tone, "Okay, that's it. Amy, let's talk about this, I'm going out to eat with Jenny, yes Free chat, goodbye."

After that, the phone was cut off.

After a slight click, the reception room became quiet.

Amy noticed that Tony Tomopoulos was silent for a while and soon began to flicker, and she stood up and said, "Tony, let's talk about this later. Simon's decision is too hasty. I need to talk to him. Talk."

There must be demons when things go wrong.

Tony Tomopoulos has been in Hollywood for so many years, and he has long been an old man.

Although he felt very unbalanced that Simon had a net worth of more than one billion dollars at a young age, he definitely agreed with the young man's talent in film. Moreover, Tomopoulos also has a general knowledge of Simon’s previous cooperation plans with Orion, Fox and Disney that are bold, shrewd, or adventurous.

Therefore, Tony Tomopoulos does not think that Simon Westero will be a man who spends a huge amount of US$25 million on a script that everyone is not optimistic about for the copyright of a novel.

Current situation.

Or, Simon Westero is very optimistic about the script, so he just pretended to be dumb and asked to win the entire project. Or, the huge amount of money turned an originally amazing young man into a dude with a short brain.

Hearing Amy's voice, Tomopoulos added another reason in his heart.

Or, Simon Westero's previous series of business operations were all planned by this woman, and his nature was just like that on the phone.

I really want to see if Amy is trying to catch it. When she gets up, Tony Tomopoulos also stands up quickly and reaches out to the woman again, saying: "Well, come here today, Amy, I also need Think about it again. Let's, um, make an appointment next week."

Amy and Tomopoulos shook hands, nodded to Ovitz, then turned and walked outside the reception room.

There was no way to continue the discussion, and Michael Ovitz, who had just been watching quietly, also stood up and said goodbye to Tomopoulos.

Leaving the MGM office building and noticing that Amy’s car happened to be out of the parking lot, Ovitz walked over, knocked on her car window, waited for the glass to slide down, and asked with a smile: "Amy, you can give May I explain, what is going on?"

With a helpless expression on Amy's face, he said: "Michael, you have seen it too, Simon recently..." With that said, Amy shook his head slightly and sighed: "I don't know how to persuade him now. ."

Michael Ovitz smiled unchanged, and said, "Amy, if I remember correctly, you complained that $10 million was too much investment in the phone call on Monday, but today you have no intention of compressing your share."

There was no flaw in Amy's expression and said, "This is Simon's decision."

The two chatted a few words, Ovitz watched Amy drive away, but the smile on his face did not change. He realized that, in any case, the project of "Rain Man" must have ended.

perhaps.

According to the vision and ability of a certain young man, this film will bring you some surprises in the future.

After all, Michael Ovitz does not believe in any way that young people who can feel the same kind of people when they meet for the first time can be so easily lost by huge amounts of money and become reckless and without judgment.

Thinking about this, Michael Ovitz suddenly remembered a detail that Amy Pascal mentioned at the beginning of the meeting.

There was a little more smile on his face.

Little guy, since you are in a hurry to sign Robin Williams, I definitely can't let you succeed.

Let's see if this incident can bring surprises.

Ok.

Robin Williams.

Michael Ovitz recalled that the brain with excellent memory quickly provided him with a series of information.

Robin Williams entered the movie circle with the live-action version of Popeye. He hasn't had a great work in recent years, and he can only be regarded as a second-tier comedy star. There seems to be a new film released recently, "Good Morning Vietnam", a popular type of reflection on the Vietnam War, and a satirical comedy style, a bit like "Army Field Hospital" that Robert Altman was nominated for the best film that year.

The internal trial screening has a good reputation, and the schedule is December 25, which is the day after tomorrow.

However, it seems that Disney intends to let this movie take the award-winning route similar to "Army Field Hospital", adopting a long-term strategy of opening small-scale paintings to accumulate reputation, and only single-digit screens in the early stage.

The driver drove the car over.

After Michael Ovitz got in the car, he picked up the car phone and dialed the phone of his friend and Disney CEO Michael Eisner. The two families are neighbors. Perhaps, a family screening can be arranged in the evening, and everyone can watch a comedy together.