Hollywood Road

Please subscribe! Ask for a monthly pass! Ask for a recommendation ticket!

It wasn't just Murphy who persuaded Frank Miller to get the right to adapt it. Bill Rosses also got in touch with Frank Miller's agent and lobbied from the side. The object of the lobbying was also Frank Miller's Comic editor.

In addition, Murphy's new project was also submitted to the top of CAA by Bill Rosses, just like all consecutive successful directors, the project was supported by CAA with little effort.

CAA is also in contact with Miramax and Dark Horse Comics, as long as Frank Miller nods, he intends to facilitate this cooperation.

After meeting Frank Miller for the first time, Murphy then talked to him again, this time bringing a proposal to further prove to Frank Miller that he can combine the soul, beauty and black and white phantom of the original book. into a movie.

A multi-pronged approach, especially Murphy's convincing short film, prompted Frank Miller to gradually change his stubborn ideas. After Murphy met him a week later, Bill Rossis changed from Frank Miller The good news came from Frank Miller's agent, Frank Miller agreed in principle to Murphy's adaptation of "Sin City" into a movie.

This is definitely good news for Murphy, but it doesn't mean that he can easily get the right to adapt comics.

Frank Miller's nod and agreement is a prerequisite for copyright transfer, but part of the copyright of the comics is in the hands of Dark Horse Comics. If he wants to get the copyright, he has to negotiate with Dark Horse Comics, and the negotiation also needs to involve the other party. It is the company that can invest in Murphy's new project.

The selling price for the adaptation rights of this comic is definitely high, as well as the production cost. According to Murphy's estimate, it is impossible to complete the film with a production cost of less than 30 million US dollars. Neither he nor Stanton Studio has so much money. Financing If not, their qualifications are too shallow, and it is bound to distract him as a director.

Another point, Murphy remembers that the film was highly rated, and the box office seems to be not bad, but he doesn't know the exact number.

No matter from which point of view, it is most appropriate to find a film company to invest in, otherwise the financing and pre-sales alone will make him a director, and there will be no time to prepare the film.

Miramax, who has just successfully cooperated, is the most suitable partner.

But if you want to impress people like Miramax and Harvey Weinstein, you must take practical actions.

CAA is still in contact with Miramax, and Murphy also agrees that Bill Rossis will continue to operate this project in the form of a one-stop packaged service.

He himself hid in the Stanton studio,

Start developing a proposal for the project.

During the period, Murphy and Harvey Weinstein made several phone calls. The other party was a veteran and expert in the film industry. He knew that it would take a lot of money to realize such a comic book adaptation with a peculiar style, and the most concerned thing was the budget issue.

Hollywood film companies are far less general than what they see and imagine outside. Like all commercial companies, they also want to exchange the smallest investment for the largest profit.

Murphy's plan to Franco Miller promised that every picture in future movies can correspond to the original frame picture in the comics. The movie wants to blend black and white like comics. It is so simple to shape the "nostalgic style", and there are some more complex and subtle treatments.

This requires huge and complex special effects technology.

Just like the short film he shot before, pure black and white images are not easy to restore with film lenses, but after adding many other effects, it is almost an impossible task to restore the style of comics with conventional lenses , the latest models of digital cameras are a must.

The visual and lighting effects of Frank Miller's works cannot be realized in reality. When shooting, the actors must stand on the green screen background, use the most advanced high-definition camera to frame the scene, and then let the special effects department add the computer-generated comic pattern into the background.

These will push up the film's budget.

If he wants Miramax to invest, and they want to spend real money to buy the film copyright of "Sin City" from Dark Horse Comics and Frank Miller, and hand it over to him to shoot, Murphy needs Come up with a convincing proposal and make a film with a recognized budget.

The former has been very specific in his plan and only needs to be improved a little bit, but the latter is more important.

In Hollywood, there is still a saying that a director who makes a good movie is not as good as a budget. Although this is a bit exaggerated, after a director has a script, he has an excellent plan and budget. It will undoubtedly increase a lot of persuasiveness.

If a director only takes one script to the film company to brag about how good his project is, 200% will be sent out directly.

Murphy knows that Harvey Weinstein must be clear that this project will not work without tens of millions of dollars. Investing a few million dollars and investing tens of millions of dollars are definitely two concepts. The former will at most make Miramax produce Some losses, the latter can make them hurt their muscles and bones, and if they fail, there may be a possibility of breaking the capital chain.

The attitude shown by Miramax in contact with CAA is relatively cautious, which is also a normal reaction of a company.

The scale of the investment is larger this time, Miramax is more cautious internally, and Murphy also needs to come up with a sufficiently convincing plan, which also requires stronger professional capabilities.

Under the coordination of Bill Rosses, CAA found two temporary assistant producers for Murphy to assist him in completing the project.

Just like a star actor, a successful director also has the support of a whole team behind him.

Of all the plans, a movie budget that would allow Miramax to see where future investment dollars might be spent is crucial.

Anyone who wants others to invest in you must tell the investor where the investment money will be spent and whether it is worth it.

This is the simplest truth.

Moreover, the film budget is the basis and important reference for film investment, as well as the premise of film management and market-oriented operation. A high-quality film budget is the guarantee for the smooth progress of film shooting, production and distribution, and also the guarantee for the interests of investors.

It includes film script draft fee, film prop cost, film shooting cost, film participant salary, film post-production cost, film marketing cost, and additional other costs, etc.

It took nearly ten days before Murphy completed the budget formulation with the assistance of two sufficiently professional people.

His production budget for "Sin City" is mainly divided into four categories.

The first is online expenses. Online expenses mainly include expenses for obtaining script copyright or writing scripts, salaries of the production department and director, as well as actors’ salaries and additional remuneration, etc. These expenditure items are also collectively referred to as “creative elements” expenditures .

The flexibility of this part is very large. In addition to being able to confirm that James Franco, Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Robert Downey Jr. and Sienna Miller will participate, other actors need to Recruiting after the project is established, the salary of the main creative team cannot be determined, and the possible range span is also very large.

For example, if you want to find Bruce Willis, you may have to pay $5 million to $10 million more than using ordinary actors.

The second is the offline cost, which is mainly spent on technology, which is also the cost of every film.

In the "Sin City" budget, offline expenses include the salaries paid to the staff, the cost of using rental equipment, sets, props, costumes, makeup, transportation, food, sound effects and editing expenses, etc.

The third is recurring expenses, which include some other expenses such as rent, water, electricity, gas, etc. Murphy deliberately planned 10% of the total online and offline budget as recurring expenses, and this money can cover some Matters that are easily overlooked, but will seriously affect the overall production progress.

The last item is buffer and contingency funds. If the project finally takes place, this will be his first time directing a production with an investment of tens of millions of dollars. Although he has enough confidence, Murphy knows that he lacks experience in this area. There will be unforeseen circumstances, and this money may save the entire project at a critical moment.

Although this is a budget with an uncertain future, Murphy is still serious, because if the budget is passed, Miramax will use it as a basis to formulate the final budget. It will become a big hole you dig for yourself.

In addition to these, Murphy also listed a series of factors that will affect the budget.

The first is the weather. A small number of shots in the film will be shot outdoors. Climate and seasonal factors need to be taken into account. Sudden changes in climate may lead to the suspension or cancellation of the shooting plan, which will more or less affect the details of expenditure in various aspects.

Children, on the other hand, had to use underage actors in the filming of Nancy as a child, and children are a notoriously difficult element to film.

It is difficult for most children to maintain their concentration for a long time, and they may lose interest in shooting or feel irritable due to loss of patience in a short period of time, which will slow down the overall production progress and lead to increased costs. Additional wear and tear and increased budget.

Similar to the saying on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, when preparing to shoot a movie, you must go ahead without using food and grass. A reasonable budget must be an important guarantee for the shooting, production, and distribution of a movie.

After completing these thoroughly, Murphy immediately asked CAA to submit it to Miramax, and he himself frequently contacted Harvey Weinstein by phone. After CAA formally contacted Miramax, Miramax Lamax is also assessing the risks and benefits of this project. After receiving Murphy's plan and budget, they immediately pushed it into the review process.

Murphy waited patiently, and finally got the unexpected good news that Miramax would definitely invest in this project.

In this way, Murphy, CAA, and Miramax can sit down and start a formal negotiation on copyright with Dark Horse Comics. (To be continued.)