Hollywood Road

Ask for a monthly pass! Ask for a recommendation ticket! Today's fifth update, some chapters are 3000 words, after today's update, the future chapters will be changed back to 3000 words, 2000 party is not suitable for us.

On the other side, Jones Butler, who had negotiated with Murphy, looked at Murphy with incredible eyes. She thought that the other party would call out a high price, but she didn't expect the price to be so ridiculously high.

This is 30 million U.S. dollars, not 30 million yen!

Thirty million U.S. dollars. If Miramax wins this film at such a price, plus the cost of publicity and distribution, the global box office will exceed 100 million U.S. dollars to make up for it.

His appetite is too big, even if it is just calling out a price that is conducive to bargaining, it is too much.

It's just that a small production that can't be smaller has achieved a little success, and he has forgotten who he is?

Harvey Weinstein gave Murphy a good look up and down, like a young, reckless, rampage monster.

Murphy sat there quietly with a calm expression.

Obviously, 30 million US dollars is not crazy talk, Harvey Weinstein can see that this is not a temporary idea, but an offer that the other party has thought up.

Is such a horror movie worth so much money? Will there be enough return on such a large investment? Harvey Weinstein is a veteran in operation. Looking back on the content of the film and calculating the distribution capacity of Miramax, it is not difficult to draw a preliminary conclusion. As long as the luck is not bad, the film may have the strength to impact the North American box office of tens of millions of dollars. If The results in North America are guaranteed, and the overseas box office will not be bad...

But no one can guarantee the success of a film, and there is also the possibility of failure. Thirty million dollars is spent on a small-budget horror film, unless he is crazy.

Even if the probability of success is high, he will not spend 30 million US dollars, let alone such a large sum of money, even if it is cut by more than half, it is impossible.

This is the way Miramax operates to obtain relatively high returns at a relatively low cost.

"Do you think the film is worth the price?" Harvey Weinstein gave the answer without waiting for Murphy to speak, "It's not worth it! Young man, this is not playing a game."

He looked at Murphy, his eyes became sharper and sharper, as if he wanted to exert pressure in this way, and after a while, he stretched out a hand, one finger at a time, "Five million dollars."

Even if such a price cannot enter the cinema, he is confident that he can recover his investment through the video tape market.

Murphy frowned slightly. For a film whose production cost was actually only 800,000 US dollars, the sale price of 5 million US dollars is definitely not low. At least six times the return on investment is enough to make many people stare. burst.

But he was not satisfied, "Mr. Weinstein, I don't feel the sincerity of Miramax."

"Sincerity?" Harvey Weinstein put on a sneer, "You can go to other companies to see if anyone is willing to accept your sincerity."

The six major Hollywood companies in the first tier would probably all dismiss this kind of film. Although the distribution companies in the second tier are competitors, just like the first-tier companies both compete and cooperate, they also maintain some unspoken ties. Tacit understanding, such as squeezing those small film production companies as much as possible.

Some things are invisible and intangible in Hollywood, but they really exist.

No one would pay tens of millions of dollars for such a film that does not seem to cost too much. It is one thing to have a wonderful film, but another to control risks.

Murphy Stanton is an unknown director after all, and Saw isn't a sequel to any blockbuster franchise.

Before he had enough qualifications, it was impossible for Murphy to gain an advantage in such a confrontation. The difference between the two sides was several levels. He couldn't use some dark means to deal with Harvey Weinstein like he did in prison, right? Then he can say goodbye to the film industry in advance.

He was silent for a while, and repeated the old saying, "I think we can cooperate in another way, instead of having to buy out, right?"

The sneer at the corner of Harvey Weinstein's mouth became more obvious, "Sign a distribution contract? Transfer all the risks of distribution and screening to Miramax?"

If this is Wes? He can accept the works of Craven or Quentin Tarantino, even if the director is Robert Rodriguez.

Jones Butler looked at Murphy, and suddenly shook his head. She knew Harvey Weinstein's aggressive style very well, and today's negotiation was destined to be fruitless.

Moreover, her boss can achieve today's success in Hollywood, not only by superficial means, just like "Shakespeare in Love" defeated "Saving Private Ryan" at the Oscars, in order to achieve his goal, he always has a lot. way.

Harvey Weinstein also knew that he should not blindly put pressure on him. Before Murphy could say anything, he raised another finger, "I'll add another million dollars, six million dollars!"

The meaning of this fat man has been very clear. If he wants to cooperate with Miramax, buying out the copyright is a prerequisite.

This is the way Murphy is least willing to accept. This is an entire series, and selling the copyright is undoubtedly selling the future of the series.

Indeed, in the absence of success, it is too early to say that the series is too early, but it is impossible for him to just give up.

"Sorry, Mr. Weinstein." Murphy shook his head slowly but firmly, "I can't accept such a condition, and I can't explain it to my crew and the entire team."

He said it as if there was really a whole team behind it looking forward to "Saw" being able to sell for a high price.

Of course, according to Hollywood's practice, if the film is a big hit, the producer will usually give bonuses to the crew. From this point of view, perhaps the entire crew also hopes that the film will have a better harvest.

Few people like to see a film they worked on fail.

Changing to other films, Harvey Weinstein would have given up a long time ago, but the impact of watching the film just now was very strong. He was extremely optimistic about the market potential of this film, so he suppressed his impatience and started again. Conditions.

"Miramax can sign you a film contract,"

This kind of condition is not opened casually. From "Hard Candy" to "Chain Saw", Harvey Weinstein can see the great progress of this young director, as if he had just seen Quentin Tarantino Typically, "We'll invest in one of your future films, and we'll take care of the marketing."

Murphy was moved, and the first thing he thought of was Quentin Tarantino. If it weren't for the strong support of Miramax and Harvey Weinstein, "Pulp Fiction" would never have the glory.

The impulse in his heart went straight to his brain, and a voice kept shouting, agree to these conditions!

This is really very tempting. Even if Murphy is a sensible enough person, he would like to agree to it all at once, but thinking that there are three other distribution companies, he suppressed the impulse in his heart.

Such conditions are very good, but there is still some distance from what he wants to strive for.

The most important thing is that he is not reconciled. As long as the announcement and distribution of this film are in place, the profits that can be generated may be calculated in tens of millions of dollars, and if the first film is successful, the subsequent sequels will be a matter of course.

It is true that Miramax has an advantage in distribution, but considering that all of this will be in their hands, and he can only get six million dollars and a contract that may be doubtful whether he can fulfill it, Murphy can't help but feel uncomfortable. balance.

He only knows about the success of many films, but he does not know the clear box office figures. "Chain Saw" is an exception. This video is confident.

Everyone has greed and wants more, and Murphy is no exception.

It is far from the time when there is no other choice, and there is no need for him to hang himself on the tree of Miramax.

"May I think about it?" Murphy said slowly.

Harvey Weinstein stood up. "As soon as possible, Miramax has a lot of projects to operate."

Murphy could hear the subtext in the words and nodded, "I will give you an answer as soon as possible."

If no other company has better conditions, Miramax may also be a good choice.

The initial negotiation ended, and Murphy drove away from Burbank after meeting Seth Rogen and James Franco, who were carrying a copy, on the road to Santa Monica.

"Six million dollars!"

Hearing the conditions offered by Miramax mentioned by Murphy, Seth Rogen in the back seat could no longer maintain his composure. He lay down on the passenger seat where James Franco was, and said loudly, " That's six million dollars! Our investment has multiplied six times, what else is there to think about!"

James Franco turned his head and stared at Murphy with idiot eyes, "Can't you see it? There's something wrong with his head! It must have been broken by Carey Mulligan!"

Six million dollars...James Franco thinks about that pile of bills, how many times is that enough to charter a boat and take Lily to sea?

Several people have known each other for a long time and have a good relationship. Seth Rogen leaned behind Murphy and said loudly, "Why did you refuse? Why did you refuse? With this money, you can expand your work. With the scale of the office, you can set up your own distribution department!"

"Seth!" Murphy yelled, "Don't move my seat, do you want us to have an accident?"

"I'm sorry..." Seth Rogen hurried back and lay down behind James Franco's seat.

"Who said I refused?" Murphy turned around, and the car turned onto the road on the right. "I have to think about such a big deal."

Seth Rogen scratched his head, "Yes, it's time to think about it."

Murphy reminded again, "When you hear six million dollars, you two will forget that the Miramax family is not the only one interested in "Chain Saw."

James Franco patted his leg, "I'll call that fatty Jonah and ask how it's going over there." To be continued.