Hollywood Road

After attending Robert Downey Jr.'s wedding, Murphy temporarily interrupted the work at hand, and temporarily turned his energy to negotiations, preparing to win the right to adapt "A Song of Ice and Fire" as soon as possible. Therefore, a lot of preparatory work has been done, and even in the shortest time, a TV series adaptation plan for "A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones" was formulated. ≥ One novel ﹤＜≤﹤≤≦≤＜＜﹤＜≦

Bill Rossis also met frequently with Bantam Books and George Martin's agent, and was sure they were in good faith.

Adapting the novel into a film and television work with a wider spread will definitely have huge benefits for the publisher and the author.

The two sides already had a basis for negotiation. Murphy, with the assistance of Bill Rossis, led a team composed of Paul Wilson and lawyer Robert, and started a tug-of-war with Bantam Books and George Martin. type of negotiation.

Just like what Murphy thought, today's Hollywood relies heavily on adaptations, and the direct result is that Hollywood often pays a high price for the adaptation rights of excellent literary works, even for some works that are not very popular. , The copyright fee is not a small figure.

The current "Song of Ice and Fire" is not considered a super hit, but it still has considerable sales and influence. It is impossible to get it at a cabbage price.

This era is better. With the shrinking of original film and TV, Hollywood will pay more copyright fees in the future. Murphy vaguely remembers that the former Universal Pictures was able to pay for the original work of "Fifty Shades of Grey". The "Twilight Saga" series of love novels with humanistic existence cost more than 100 million U.S. dollars in copyright fees alone.

Waiting for a few years, not to mention whether Stan's studio will still have the chance to get the adaptation rights of "A Song of Ice and Fire", even if it can get it, the price paid may be several times higher than it is now.

Therefore, Murphy didn't want to prolong the negotiation for too long, and the goal was to sign a formal agreement with Bantam Books Publishing House and George Martin as soon as possible within the range that Stan's studio could afford.

The negotiation did not go smoothly. Bantam Books Publishing House and George Martin initially offered the first series of "Game of Thrones" a basic adaptation fee of 100 million US dollars plus 20% of the later revenue sharing conditions. It can be said that a sky-high price was called out.

This is very common in negotiations. Although there is no such thing as paying back the money on the spot at a high price, it will definitely be done in actual negotiations.

It is impossible for Murphy to agree to such a condition. If it is the whole series, it is almost the same, but this is only the first "Game of Thrones" of "A Song of Ice and Fire". What about the next few?

Negotiations are more difficult than imagined, and news of such negotiations cannot be completely kept secret.

And in order to strive for the greatest benefit, Bantam Books Publishing House and George Martin will inevitably disclose the news in order to attract buyers who may still exist, and at the same time put pressure on Stan's studio.

Indeed, some people were attracted, and American Classic Films Limited also contacted George Martin, proposing that the two sides jointly adapt and produce the "A Song of Ice and Fire" series of TV series.

The negotiations between Murphy and George Martin encountered more difficulties, but he did not give up, and the two sides continued to seesaw.

This kind of complicated negotiation involving all aspects is not something that Murphy can easily solve if he wants to solve it.

Negotiations are still going on with the efforts of the team composed of Murphy and Bill Rossis as the core. Although it is not very smooth, it is always moving in a good direction, but on the other hand, Murphy has encountered some troubles .

These troubles come from "Sin City" and Miramax.

Today, this film has long been offline from the global market. According to the agreement between Murphy and Miramax, his last share of nearly three million US dollars should be paid by the end of July, but Miramax Max didn't pay the money until the end of August, and after Bill Rossis contacted Harvey Weinstein and the Bob Weinstein brothers, Murphy realized that getting the money back would be a hassle. .

"It's not that the Weinstein brothers want to renege."

In CAA's office, Bill Rossis was also a little worried, and said to Murphy, "Their reputation in this regard is still guaranteed, and all the previous payments have been paid on schedule. Now they want to pay, but they don't have enough money." power."

Murphy immediately guessed what might be going on, "Could it be that Walt Disney and Michael Eisner emptied the Weinstein Brothers?"

"Exactly." Bill Rossis nodded, "The Weinstein brothers are not Michael Eisner's opponents, they have been removed by Walt Disney's management and lost control of Miramax , especially financial power.”

Murphy wasn't surprised at all. If it was him, if he wanted to evade and expel the Weinstein brothers, he would definitely be the first to get financial power.

The Weinstein brothers are indeed very powerful, especially Harvey Weinstein, who is famous because of the Oscars, but facing a behemoth like Walt Disney and a figure like Michael Eisner, they are nothing but Beverly The mountains want to compete with the Rocky Mountains.

They do have many methods, such as hollowing out Miramax, transferring the copyright of some projects or works they are optimistic about, but they are not Disney's opponents after all.

"Miramax is very chaotic right now," Bill Rossis added. "Many projects in the pipeline have been suspended, and many people's salaries have also been suspended."

His voice became low, "And Walt Disney is re-examining a series of contracts and agreements that the Weinstein brothers signed before, including you and "Sin City". paid."

"What do we do now?" Murphy asked.

In this regard, caa and his agent are more experienced than him, and he must have encountered similar situations in the past.

"Wait." Bill Rosses gave his opinion, "Wait for now and see what Walt Disney will do later."

Murphy thought for a while, then nodded lightly. Now Miramax is at the most chaotic time. The delay in the share share is likely to be caused by the fire at the city gate and the fish in the pond, and the dispute between Michael Eisner and the Weinstein Brothers. Come to an end, maybe the problem will be solved.

Putting the matter aside for now, Murphy continued negotiating with Bantam Books and George Martin, including attending a screening.

The Fox monster flick "Aliens vs. Predator," which Kara Firth was a big fan of, also hit theaters.

"Paul, Meera, this is Murphy Stanton."

In the foyer of Hollywood's El Capitan Theater, Kara Firth was introducing, "Murphy, this is the film's director, Paul Anderson, and this is the heroine, Milla Jovovich."

Murphy shook hands with the two, looked at the couple, "Paul, Mira, I'm your fan."

Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich didn't expect Murphy to say that, and they both showed some doubts.

"I like "Resident Evil" very much." Murphy immediately explained, "I am a loyal fan of this film."

"I also like your "Saw" and "Deadpool" very much." Paul - Anderson said.

Milla Jovovich smiled at him, "I really like your style and have always wanted to work with you."

Murphy immediately showed a surprised expression, "There must be a chance."

Although I have never played the "Resident Evil" game, and the movies in this series have been getting worse and worse, but the first two left a very deep impression on Murphy, especially the heroine Alice, just like the "Transformers" Like Optimus Prime, as long as the protagonist is still her, there will be no shortage of supporters.

Unfortunately, because of some messy things, he didn't see the final chapter of this series.

"When will the second part, "Resident Evil: Revelations" be released?" Murphy remembered seeing the trailer some time ago.

"September." Paul Anderson did not direct, but was the producer. Seeing that Murphy seemed to really like this series, he asked tentatively, "Can I invite you to attend the screening then?"

Milla Jovovich also said, "You can be with Cara."

"It's a great honor." Murphy said politely, "As long as time permits, I will definitely participate."

After all, time is still far away, and he can't give a definite answer now.

Someone came over to say hello to Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich, and Murphy Kara Feith simply left here and walked into the screening hall together.

After sitting down, Kara Firth asked with concern, "Has the negotiation progressed?"

"Some." Murphy knew that she was asking about "A Song of Ice and Fire". "But the other party's asking price is still too high, and Bill is still negotiating with them recently."

Kara Firth asked curiously again, "When did you become so interested in TV series production? Fantasy series are different from fantasy movies, and have always been a small category for ratings."

"There will always be works to change this situation." Murphy looked very confident, "Aren't superhero movies in the past also a sub-category of Hollywood movies?"

"If it can be taken down," Kara Firth seemed concerned, "when do you plan to start production?"

"Wait for a while." Murphy thought for a while, "This series is huge, and my investment is limited. It is impossible for the first "Game of Thrones" to have ten episodes. I will shoot a trial episode first."

Having said that, Murphy turned his head and looked at Kara Firth, "Please contact Fox Cable Network for me then."

It is impossible for such a large-scale TV series to be broadcast on public TV stations. Cable stations are a must. Fox Cable Network is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox. It specifically challenges the standards of program review to attract wireless TV. Net dissatisfied viewers, especially young viewers.

Because of its bold scale, the Fox network has long been a favorite of young viewers and advertisers alike.

After chatting for a while, Murphy turned to the upcoming film, "I remember that in the script you showed me, isn't the heroine a black person? Why was it replaced by Milla Jovovich?" (To be completed continued.)