From Flower Vase to Film Emperor in Hollywood

Things weren't that simple.

On one hand, Anson and James Franco successively confirmed that they had passed the audition and landed their respective roles, but this was not the end. The two belonged to two different agencies, and naturally, they wouldn't communicate with each other. The contract negotiations were handled by their agents.

If Anson, as the male lead, faced slow progress in contract negotiations due to the various possibilities, James should have had a smoother process in theory. However, the reality was different, and the negotiations didn't proceed smoothly either—

The reason was that Sony Columbia hoped to produce a series of films, but their own executives hadn't reached a consensus:

Should the actors be signed as a package deal? Would James's character appear in the sequels? Should they increase the actors' compensation because of the sequels? What if they decided now, but the movie failed?

And so on.

On the other hand, the auditions for other main roles didn't go as smoothly as expected.

Among them, Sam Raimi favored Elisha Cuthbert for the role of the female lead, Mary Jane—that is, the one who went to the bar with James after the screen test. Sony Columbia had also started discussions with Elisha, but there were other opinions.

The opposition wasn't strong, just that others weren't as actively positive. It was more of a "not dislike, but not celebrate" kind of ambiguous attitude, which slowed down the negotiation progress between Sony Columbia and Elisha.

Strictly speaking, there was no fundamental difference between Anson, James, and Elisha. Not to mention that they hadn't signed any contracts yet, even if they did, the production company could still replace the actors at any time.

Plus, Edgar's ambition was growing—

Edgar didn't make any rash moves. Instead, he chose to lay the groundwork step by step, gradually throwing out bait, carefully creating the situation, and then revealing his ambition, aiming for a share of the box office revenue.

Thus,

Sony Columbia agreed to the proposal of sharing risks and benefits through box office revenue sharing, but their condition was a $1 million salary plus 1% of the North American box office revenue. The bigger the company, the more meticulous they were in calculating their interests.

The two sides negotiated back and forth, pulling and tugging.

Unfortunately, Anson lacked a resume. His only film, "The Princess Diaries," hadn't been officially released yet, and whether the traffic and popularity could be converted into box office revenue was still unknown. His bargaining chips weren't strong enough.

After weighing the pros and cons, Edgar made a concession and finally reached a consensus—

$2 million salary plus 3% of the North American box office revenue.

Note that the revenue sharing was only limited to the portion of the North American box office exceeding $100 million.

In other words, if "Spider-Man" grossed $110 million in North America, then Anson would receive 3% of the $10 million, which is $300,000.

This was Sony Columbia's bottom line, so what was the point of such persistence?

Actually, it's just a math problem. Sony Columbia still expected the film to break $200 million in North America. In this case, the revenue sharing given to Anson would be $3 million, which, when added together, would be equivalent to Anson's salary as the male lead being $5 million. This was acceptable to Sony Columbia.

Previously, Edgar had said that he was confident in securing a $5 million salary for Anson—

Now, the negotiation results also proved this point. $5 million was indeed Sony Columbia's upper limit, but Edgar and Anson changed the situation by "cutting" $3 million from the salary and replacing it with box office revenue sharing, showing sincerity and confidence, hoping to work with Sony Columbia to write a success story.

Sony Columbia was very satisfied with this, controlling costs, reducing risks, and working together. The production of "Spider-Man" finally got on the right track.

Thus, a strange scene appeared in Hollywood—

Rumor has it that Sony Columbia signed Anson to play Peter Parker, and giving a complete newcomer box office revenue sharing was shocking enough; even more amazing was that Sony Columbia was very satisfied with Anson, even praising him to the skies.

Everyone: ???

What a fantasy!

As a result, the "Spider-Man" project, which had already attracted a lot of attention, sparked even more discussion. People within the industry were curious about the project's direction and its performance after release. Among the thousands of projects in Hollywood, this was indeed an unconventional outlier.

In any case, after much pulling and tugging, the two sides finally found a balance.

Then, Anson nodded.

After completing the signing in New York, things were officially settled.

Anson Wood was about to become the first Spider-Man, Peter Parker.

A newcomer, a brand-new face, a fresh start, a superhero exclusive to Sony Columbia, an idol poised to be created by Sony Columbia, a new beginning.

Everything was new, representing both beginning and hope.

Undoubtedly, from Sony Columbia's various expressions, it could be seen that they were particularly satisfied with the casting of the male lead, overjoyed.

Although the pre-production work for the film still required a long time, the actors' preparation work could begin, which also required a lot of time.

When Sam Raimi learned that Anson had already been training in martial arts for two months, he didn't hide his admiration and affirmation. Facts once again proved that their judgment of Anson was correct—

Indeed, once they were sure, they wouldn't change their minds. Sam was increasingly satisfied with Anson, seeing him as more and more pleasing.

However, that was not enough.

Sony Columbia found a professional team to tailor a training plan for Anson based on the script content and character image.

And, they set goals.

Sony Columbia's costume team would simultaneously begin the customization of the battle suit, which they would tailor to Anson's target physique.

If Anson couldn't fit into the battle suit by then, it would be a breach of contract.

Anson was relaxed and even had the mind to joke.

"From the moment I signed the contract, my stomach, my body, my muscles all no longer belong to me. It seems I need to double-check if my kidneys belong to me."

Sony Columbia thought that martial arts training was a good idea, not only reimbursing Anson for his previous course fees but also continuing to enroll him in a three-month course while arranging a series of other courses to proceed simultaneously.

Including yoga, rock climbing, fitness, and so on.

The "Spider-Man" crew specifically arranged a six-person professional team for Anson, not only responsible for daily training but also for the nutritional matching and arrangement of three meals a day.

From diet to training to daily routine, updating from the inside out.

This team didn't need to be responsible for any other work, completely focusing on Anson, with the sole task of creating a perfect Spider-Man.

Third update.