Hollywood Drawing

At the same time, James and his team from Touchstone Films held a meeting in the hotel room where they were staying to discuss the quality of the films they watched on the first day.

"James, you were the first to discover and watch the film. Tell me what you think."

A group of five people were sitting in the hotel living room. The first person to speak was a middle-aged Jewish man. The most obvious feature was the hooked nose on his face. He is the decision-maker for this group of people, Mason Connelly, the head of the distribution department of Touchstone Pictures.

James took out his notebook, flipped it out and looked at it again before speaking:

"We all went to watch it in the afternoon. I think this film has great market potential. Personally, I think this film is a very complete thriller based on the sophistication of the plot. The selling point is clear, and the whole film is unexpected. , and interesting enough. Of course, it can be seen that the director's handling of details is still a bit immature, but this does not affect the viewing comfort. I recommend picking up this film."

After James finished speaking, he closed the notebook in his hand, looked at Supervisor Mason and several others and said:

"I thought it was very good after reading it in the morning, so I took you to see it again in the afternoon. Jenny, what do you think? Do you think you can buy it?"

In addition to the supervisor Mason, there are four other people in the room who are all film viewers of the company. Although their tastes may be different, their vision is the foundation of their work, and Jenny is obviously the one with the sharper vision.

Mason also looked at Jenny. In this type of film, Jenny’s opinion is usually more accurate.

At this time, Jenny, the only woman in the room, also opened her notebook and said:

"The positioning of this film is very clear. The potential audience is teenagers. The young director's good use of multiple elements, his clever combination of time loops, and the heroine's constant transformation and growth in being killed and reborn are all very impressive. clever.

Maybe from the beginning of his script, he didn't design a rigorous logic to support the story, but it still allows people to follow the storyline and relive all the suspense. The movie doesn't even provide any explanation for the heroine Terry's constant rebirth on this day.

But it is this young director who makes good use of this technique, which makes a time loop routine that is not new and a cliché of love and family burst out with new vitality. The film is very clever in many places, but the effect is very good. A very smart young man, isn't he? "

When Mason heard Jenny's evaluation of the film, he touched his chin with his hand. Now he has to think about how to get this film cheaply.

"James, call them and ask the young director to come to the hotel to chat tomorrow. I will personally talk to him about the distribution issue."

James heard Mason's words and directly used the phone in the hotel room to call the small hotel where Wayne and the others lived. After notifying him, he nodded to Mason.

At this time, one of the other people who watched the movie today was chatting about the movie with the black woman sitting opposite him.

"Tully, I strongly suggest you go see that film tomorrow. If you weren't with Tom from Castle Rock today, we might have missed an opportunity."

The person who is talking is the companion who followed Jennings' friend Tom into the movie theater today. The black woman sitting opposite him is the film buyer of the famous Miramax.

"Okay, I'll go take a look tomorrow. Knight, if the film really has a certain market potential as you said, I will report it to Harvey, and he will come over tomorrow."

"I don't think I'll disappoint you, but be quick, today it's not just Tom from Castle Rock, I also see James from Touchstone."

In the small hotel, Wayne put down the phone in his hand and shook his fist vigorously under the expectant eyes of Jimmy and Luke. Luke immediately asked him impatiently:

"How about it? Are they interested in our movie? Do they want to buy it?"

"They asked me to go to the hotel to talk tomorrow. Jimmy, you go with me tomorrow. Do you think this will be a negotiation?"

He looked at the agent.

"It's very likely that it will be, so be prepared that if the final terms are acceptable, you need to ask your lawyer to come over."

Jimmy was also very happy. He didn't expect it to be so smooth. He thought he would have at least a few days to think about it. Unexpectedly, they called within a day.

"No problem, I hope everything goes well, but we can't give up on potential buyers. Luke, you can show the movie as usual tomorrow and wait for our news."

He forced himself to calm down and thought about what strategy the other party would use if he really wanted to buy the movie tomorrow.

"Don't worry, I will show two shows in the morning and three in the afternoon tomorrow according to the normal time."

Luke agreed confidently.

At eight o'clock the next morning, Luke opened the door to continue showing the movie. Wayne put on the only suit he brought and went to the Plank Hotel with Jimmy.

In the hotel suite, James introduced Wayne and Mason again. After everyone finished greetings and sat down, Mason was the first to speak.

"Director Greenberg, I am personally interested in your film. Although there are many places where it is obvious that the technique is immature and lacks some logic, and the story is not clearly explained. However, there are still some highlights. Yes, I’m going to buy the rights to your film.”

He listened silently to everything the other party said, not even the slightest bit angry. In his previous life, he understood a truth: Those who find faults are the ones who buy goods. This truth applies no matter what time it is. If the other party comes up and just praises you and says a lot of good things, then the business is probably dead.

"Make a price, Mr. Mason. If you want it, I'd like to hear your terms." He was not disturbed by the other party's words at all and calmly analyzed Mason's ideas.

"In my opinion, the cost of your film is at most 1.5 million US dollars. If you are willing, I can offer 1.5 million US dollars to buy the North American rights of the entire film and send it to theaters later."

Mason believed in his own vision. This film was indeed the highlight, but the investment would never exceed the amount he said. For a novice director, this condition was already very good.

He frowned hard after hearing this. There was a gap between the price and the price he thought about, but it didn't mean that it couldn't be discussed.

"Mr. Mason, for $4 million, you can take him away. I believe that the value this film can create is far more than that. You must ensure that you contact theaters for distribution as soon as possible, and I will only sell North American rights and require that subsequent rights and overseas rights be retained. copyright."

"This is impossible! I have to remind you, Director Greenberg, it is not worth 4 million US dollars at all. If I were not personally more interested, I would never bid for him. So, I am adding 500,000, 200 Ten thousand dollars, this is the final offer, you can consider it.”

Mason looked at the young director opposite him. He believed that this young director would not give up the opportunity to send the film to theaters.

It doesn't matter whether it has overseas rights or rights for subsequent sequels. No one can guarantee that this film will be successful. Mason's assessment is that there may be a certain number of young people who like it, but the box office will definitely not reach tens of millions. That is absolutely impossible.

If it works well, the cost can be recovered in theaters. If the video tape is subsequently released, the profit should be more than a million dollars. After all, for a film of this nature, the prospect of video tape is very good.

"Sorry, Mr. Mason, I'll go back and think about it. If there are any results, I will contact you. Thank you again for your approval of the movie."

Wayne suddenly stood up and said goodbye to James and Mason. He is not in a hurry now, and the negotiation cannot be successful at the first time. Since there are big differences, let's see if anyone from other companies is interested.

This is a commercial society, especially Hollywood. You can't be too cautious with any proposal that involves a large amount of money, let alone a multi-million dollar transaction.

He was in no rush to take action. There were still nine days left before the film festival, so he had plenty of time to consider the pros and cons.

Returning to the screening room provided by the organizer, Luke was showing the second show. Compared with yesterday, there were obviously many more people in the screening room, with almost half of the seats occupied. And on the seat reserved for him and Luke to rest at the door, a middle-aged black woman sat.

Wayne looked at her strangely. He didn't remember knowing this woman, but she was obviously waiting for him.

"Hi, I'm Tali Yulia, a movie viewer at Miramax. I just watched a movie and I want to talk to you about it, Director Greenberg."

Tully looked at the young director walking in front of her. From a woman's perspective, he was very handsome and strong. Maybe he shouldn't be a director, but an actor.

"Hello, Ms. Yulia. Sorry, I just went to discuss something with Touchstone Pictures. "

Wayne shook hands with her, his expression calm on the surface, but he was almost happy in his heart. What does this mean, the east is not bright and the west is bright? If you feel sleepy, will someone give you a pillow?

"Call me Tully. Do you have time tonight? I hope you can bring a copy and come to the hotel tonight."

When he heard this, he smiled bitterly in his heart. It was too early to be happy. He couldn't run into any messy things, right? This bitch wants to use her hair as a condition to seduce herself?

"I just told my boss about your film, but he could only arrive at night. There was an unexpected situation on the plane and it was delayed. How about it? Mr. Harvey listened to my report and was very interested in the film. I hope you can bring it. Get a copy and show it to him in the evening."

"Okay, leave me a phone number and I'll be there on time in the evening."

After taking Tully's business card, he watched the woman walk into the movie theater on the corner of the street. Jimmy smiled strangely and patted him on the shoulder, and said in a strange accent:

"Wayne, I swear to that lady just now, if she doesn't say the next thing quickly, you will definitely punch her. Aha, you don't know, you just heard that she asked you to go to the hotel, and your face looked so embarrassing. "

"Hey, Jimmy, I admit that I'm overthinking it. Is this kind of thing rare in the industry? In fact, if anyone can help me distribute this film for free, even if she is a black aunt, I will admit it."

He waved his hand indifferently and told Jimmy that he was stunned. It seemed that Jimmy still had a high opinion of Wayne's bottom line.

"Stop dreaming, Wayne! Do you think your lower body is worth millions? How much does it cost to release a film, even without pre-publicity? Put away your fantasies and consider the touchstone conditions. I think even if we can negotiate again, the price won’t be too high.”