Hollywood Drawing

At the end of July, after rapid negotiation and signing with Warner Bros., the production and distribution company for Wayne's second project was finally determined, and the preliminary preparations can be carried out smoothly.

Regarding the most divisive issue of director's remuneration, the frantic Jimmy initially offered a basic remuneration of US$2.5 million, plus a sky-high director contract worth 15% of the global box office, but the producer, Warner, rejected it without even thinking.

Then the two parties put aside their differences and put aside the issue of the director's remuneration. The first two negotiations quickly determined other conditions, and the last negotiation began to haggle over the director's remuneration.

Both Warner Bros. and Jimmy knew that it was impossible to offer Wayne such a high price, and both sides quickly tested each other's bottom line. In order to reach cooperation as soon as possible, both parties must make some compromises.

After the last tacit negotiation, with Wayne's agreement and the tacit approval of Warner's management, they quickly reached an agreement on the director's treatment, which had the biggest disagreement, and signed an incentive-based ladder-sharing contract.

Because Jimmy focused on box office sharing and made a lot of concessions on basic remuneration, the director, producer, and screenwriter's combined remuneration was only US$1.2 million, which was already half less than Wayne expected.

According to Wayne's minimum anemic budget, he could have completed the production of this film for one million dollars, and the rest was left for the crew. Not now, more than thirty years later, the US dollar is still a very strong world currency. Even in his previous life, the production cost of this film was only about 4 million.

Of course, getting a share of the box office is not as easy as imagined. This is Hollywood. It can be said that the production company and the distribution company are all vampires. The premise is that the film must create a large profit before he can get the share he deserves.

This is a stepped sharing agreement. Wayne can receive the director's basic remuneration of US$1.2 million in three installments in the form of "basic remuneration and North American box office share", and will subsequently participate in the share based on the total North American box office revenue.

The production cost of the film is US$5 million. If the North American box office of "Get Out" exceeds ten times the production cost, which is US$50 million, he can get 5% of the total North American box office; the North American box office exceeds 100 million. For US dollars, you will enjoy a 10% share of the North American box office; for US$150 million, the ratio increases to 15%; for US$200 million, you will enjoy 20%;

The maximum is 20%, which is also the highest share ratio in the contract. It does not include overseas box office. The film box office share is only the bracket marked on the contract, and there will be no situation of 8% or 11%.

The more popular a new film is, the higher the income the director will earn from it. In this way, Wayne is firmly tied to the film. In fact, except for himself, no one believes that he can get more than second place. A share of over 100 million yuan.

Such a stepped box office share for the core creative staff will soon become a Hollywood practice. On the one hand, the producers want to encourage the creative staff to invest more wholeheartedly in the early filming, and also avoid the investment risks caused by excessive early remuneration. .

If you want more income, it's easy to handle, so work hard to make the film more sophisticated and more in line with the audience's taste.

After returning home to Beverly Hills, the first thing Wayne did was to call senior Luke Simmons and ask him to come to his home to discuss the new project.

Then he called the lighting engineer Steve Wilson and asked him to come and discuss it. Coupled with the caa customer videographer Robert Carlos introduced by Jimmy, he quickly determined his core team.

Except for the cameraman Robert, all of these people have worked with him before, understand his production style, and are capable enough. And Robert is a well-known photographer in the industry. He came here after Jimmy's introduction and will not challenge Wayne's authority.

At ten o'clock the next morning, everyone gathered in the renamed Greenberg Manor and sat in the living room to discuss preparatory issues. The only two people in the living room who were not familiar with each other were the production manager John Gray and the cameraman Robert. .

"John, when will the early investment for the film be available?" Wayne looked around and after briefly introducing himself, everyone sitting on the sofa went straight to work. "We need to start preparations as soon as possible, and the funds will be needed immediately."

John looked at the people in the room. Except for assistant Nina and manager Jimmy, the rest should be the core production team of the film. Hearing the inquiry, he immediately entered the state.

"Warner Bros.'s funds have been deposited into Merrill Lynch Insurance Company. It is in the account of "Get Out" and you can use it for expenses at any time."

Although the investment was not large, Warner still took out the completion insurance from the insurance company. This is a conventional rule, which has good and bad consequences. The good thing is that no matter what accident happens, the insurance company will pay the bill. Even if there are problems during the filming of the film, the insurance company will continue to complete the film.

The disadvantage is that the use of money also needs to be reviewed by the insurance company. After they pass it, the production manager has to go through it again, which is very troublesome and not as free as independent production.

But these are the rules of mainstream commercial films. Unless Wayne wants to make a small investment in independent production throughout his life, he will have to slowly adapt and make films under the constraints of various rules.

"Okay, Luke, you are still the assistant director this time. In the early stage, you mainly work with John to coordinate the use of location and studio. The scene of this film is very simple, and the main shots can be done at Warner Studio.

The location is to go to the suburbs to find a small town with few people. We will use it for filming. Also, help me post an actor recruitment information. All roles will be decided through auditions. "

"No problem, leave it to me!" Luke agreed in a calm tone. He had been waiting for several months without going to work just to wait for the project to start.

Naomi sat silently behind the sofa outside the circle, holding a cup of coffee and listening. When she heard that all the actors' problems depended on auditions, she almost threw the cup away. But she held herself steady. Wayne was a nostalgic person and would probably explain to her afterwards.

"Robert, you and John discuss the issue of camera assistants. Most of the shots in this film will be shot by four cameras. You have to be prepared." Wayne continued, saying that he must pay attention to every preliminary work.

"No problem, Director Greenberg." After saying that, he nodded and signaled to John, the production manager.

"Steve, the same goes for you. I will give you a storyboard, and you can learn about the film in advance. Especially during the day, I want the kind of white that is sunny but makes people feel cold."

"That's not difficult. Don't worry, I can handle it." Steve didn't talk much, but his ability was convincing.

Wayne nodded after hearing this, and after looking around at everyone, he said, "Okay, that's all for now. Let's get ready."

The troubled people began to pack their things, and slowly only Jimmy and the four of them were left in the living room.

"Wayne, the extra actor on the set..." Jimmy looked into his eyes and said slowly.

"Except for a few main characters, those with simple lines don't need to audition. All newcomers can use CAA. Pay attention to the salary issue. You can discuss it with John yourself."

"Thanks!"

"And Jimmy, help me send an audition invitation for the male lead to an African-American hip-hop singer named Will Smith. He should have just won a Grammy, so he's easy to find."

Wayne thought about it and said that the other party could definitely handle this role and it didn't require any acting skills. The only part of the film that requires acting skills is the role of the maid. The rest is not too difficult as long as the acting skills are good enough.

"Hip-hop artist? Grammy? Well, even if I send him an invitation, he may not come. You know, those who sing can make money much faster than making movies." Jimmy opened his notepad and wrote down Will Smith's name.

"Just give it a try. If it doesn't suit you, you can replace it with someone else. This is Hollywood, and no one is irreplaceable, including me." After saying that, he winked at Jimmy.

"No problem, when will the audition be arranged?" The agent ignored his self-mockery and continued to record it in his notebook.

"In ten days, we don't have money to hire famous actors, so we will mainly focus on newcomers."

"Ok" Jimmy closed the book, stood up and said, "Then I'll go back to the company to do some work. If you need anything, call me."

After seeing that Nina was the only assistant left in the room, Naomi sat next to him, holding the script in her hand and asked him: "If my audition results are not satisfactory, will you replace me?"

"Don't think too much, Nami." He pressed the other person's hand hard. "You got the script before anyone else, and you've been practicing for so long. If you can't pass the audition, what do you think I will do?"

"Well, look at Wayne, I will be the best performer!" Although she didn't get the promise she wanted, she herself felt that what he said was right. She was already several positions ahead of her competitors.

"Nami, listen, I can only guarantee one thing. Your audition effect must be at least similar to others. Do you understand what I mean?"

"OK, I understand!"

There is no shortage of favors anywhere, especially in this circle. For the same role, as long as the performance is not too different, the director will definitely give priority to his own person.

Even if Naomi's performance is not as good as others who came to audition, as long as she can ensure that she meets the needs of the film, the role will be hers.

In fact, there are not many unspoken rules here, or they are even very common. The red sofa is always there. But if you just go to bed with a director or producer based on your pretty face, it's absolutely impossible to get the role you want easily.

It can only be said that if your level is similar, your chances will be slightly greater than others. Just for this little bit, you have to pay a lot.

To put it bluntly, no matter how beautiful a woman is, she is not worthy of directors and producers risking millions of investments. It can only be said that your abilities must be qualified before you can have a slight advantage among competitors.

If the deal with a pretty girl is a capable producer or casting director, even if they fail to fulfill their promise in the end and don't recognize the person when they pull up their pants, there is probably nothing the girls can do.

Representative, Harvey Weinstein. What this guy is doing is low-cost independent production, and what he is doing is chasing prizes. The independent film industry is as chaotic as the rock and fashion circles.