Legendary Hollywood Director

After initially negotiating a new project with Europa Films, Lehmann spent the next few days at the hotel where he was staying in Paris.

In addition to writing the shooting schedule every day, I was thinking about which actors would be suitable for this kind of film.

Sometimes I get tired of writing reports, and occasionally I go to Europa Films to sit, chat with Luc Besson, or visit their newly built studio.

It took almost 4 days, and with Ryan's help, the entire script was refined again, and then it was submitted to Europa Films Marketing Department for review and management together with the detailed shooting plan.

For a project of this kind of investment quota, it would not be too fast to review the work and investigate the market prospects of the project. Even with the support of Luc Besson, but such a large company always has to satisfy all the management, then I guess he still has some free time.

In this way, Lehmann and Ryan went back to Cannes again, waiting for the news while improving the studio.

Come to think of it, Mann Studio has been established for two years, and the financial aspects are still linked to a local accounting firm, so that they can help pay taxes or sort out financial differences.

Now that I want to make the studio more formal, in addition to the equipment I bought for shooting, the corresponding management system must also keep up...

Two days later, his agent Johnson also arrived in Cannes to discuss new projects with him.

An investment of $100 million. Johnson sat on the sofa at Lehman's house and couldn't help but exclaimed while listening to the investment amount of the new project.

This is really the biggest project he has served since he started working, and he immediately felt a pressure.

But on second thought, why wasn't it his chance? If he can successfully complete this project, not to mention the monetary return on the commission, it will have an unparalleled role in promoting his career in CAA.

This is a big production involving 100 million US dollars. Hollywood can only produce four or five films of the same level in a year, and they are all production projects of those first-tier manufacturers.

He must hold onto it. Johnson thought to himself.

Europa Pictures is now reviewing this project, and there will be a result in this period of time. You have to pay attention.

Are you still working with them?

Of course, they are the first choice. If it doesn't work, they will release news to contact other publishers.

okay, I get it.

If possible, try to urge them to set up the project as soon as possible. I don't want to wait too long. Lyman sat opposite Johnson and instructed.

Well, then, Johnson asked tentatively, Are you still going to invest? In this project.

Hearing this question, Lehmann spread his hands and said with certainty: My current studio has a good book income. If I invest, I must fight for it, but I don't know how much Europa Pictures is willing to give up.

Having said this, Lehman thought for a while, and asked curiously, Johnson, do you think I should have the capital to offer better conditions to the producers? How much do you think we should ask for?

Of course there is capital. Johnson nodded affirmatively.

In Hollywood, for any director, three consecutive films have been profitable, and the results are quite good, and even a golden statuette, in any case, will be eligible to negotiate conditions.

I think you can now offer a base salary of $10 million plus a 10 percent share of the box office proceeds,

Of course, in terms of investment amount, it is not easy to say, it depends on the determination or courage of Europa Pictures. If they don't want to give up, then we say no more.

Lehman also understands this truth, and he will not force it, Try to talk about this aspect, my bottom line is to take 10% of the total revenue share, and it can be calculated by discounting the director's salary.

Okay, I understand.

After talking with his agent Johnson, Lehmann re-entered the working state. The studio hired two finance managers to be responsible for the daily operations, and Thomas also rushed over from Lyon and joined the studio to manage the shooting equipment. , so it can be considered that the frame is barely set up, and the rest need not be too anxious.

On the other side, Johnson was in high spirits. After receiving the service commission from Lehman, he actively and frequently contacted many managements of Europa Films, and tried his best to promote the review of new film projects.

The success of Fury, the commission he got, and the greater benefits of this project in the future have given him endless motivation.

In just three days, there were two rounds of interviews, and the tone of supervision became stronger and stronger.

This project has a large investment amount, so we must find a good schedule for it. Everyone, I think the summer schedule will be our best choice. Facing the management of Europa Pictures, Johnson is far more confident than before. , he stood in the position and said the scenes that everyone did not want to see in a very flat tone, Time is running out a little bit, if everyone can't complete the project review as soon as possible, Director Lehman is likely to choose other company as a partner.”

He glanced up at the crowd, and continued: For example, Paramount Pictures, Warner Bros., Universal Pictures... It's not the first time they have invited Lyman to work with them. They seem very Sincerity.

Of course, the executives of Europa Pictures know this is a fact. Just like the madness of those investors after the performance of Fury was not bad, in this regard, they will not underestimate the means of attracting those colleagues.

Do you have any concerns? Johnson asked suspiciously in the conference room.

After several days of contact, he still found that Europa Films was very willing to shoot, but he didn't know why the pre-review work was delayed.

Mr. Johnson, this is an investment of 100 million US dollars. It is not a number that can make people make up their minds quickly. When the agent's voice fell, an executive of the distribution department of Europa Films said: If it still counts If the cost of publicity is raised, the total investment is likely to exceed 150 million yuan, which is enough time for us to consider, whether it is the mobilization of funds, or something else, in short, it is not so easy to easily promote the project.”

But don't forget, this is a new work by director Ryman. Johnson's words made sense, Judging from past performance, Fury alone can generate a total of more than 500 million US dollars at the box office. In addition to the surrounding and offline, you can make more than 100 million yuan in this movie.

And let's take a look at this new project, his words were very tempting. Although the investment is high, it also means that the box office revenue will be higher, and there are commercial elements and human nature in the script. This aspect is He is the best at character building, and he has proved it, and I think the risk is actually not as big as you think.

Europa Pictures, while agreeing with this, would not fully agree with Johnson's statement.

What earns 100 million on Fury, doesn't offline income take time? I think if it is 5 years later, this sentence will be more convincing.

At best, they have only gotten more than 50 million on this.

Johnson continued to bewitched incessantly. Listening to his words, this new project is simply a must-win, and if you miss it, you will only regret it.

But the executives of Europa Pictures are not stupid. Although they also intend to promote the project, they are not very sure about one thing: how to raise funds for a project with a production cost of nearly 100 million US dollars?

It is absolutely impossible to invest in full by themselves. In case of serious losses, they may also apply for bankruptcy protection like those manufacturers in the past.

If they do not invest in full, whether it is to cooperate with each other to take risks, or to raise funds through public financing, they need to be carefully examined.

They are still hesitating, which is also the reason for this.

Johnson also knows that the people at Europa Pictures are dawdling because of the high risks that high production costs will inevitably bring.

I have an idea here. Suddenly, he changed the subject and said for the sake of Europa Pictures: Since everyone thinks that the risk of investment is too high, why not seek cooperation? Whether it is Paramount Pictures or CAA Are all very interested, how? Also, Director Lehmann himself is willing to invest in his own projects again, do you think it is feasible in this regard?”

It is feasible, but an executive also said: We have an idea in this regard, and we are also negotiating with Paramount Pictures, and you said that director Lehman wants to invest a share.

He looked at Luc Besson, who was sitting in the first place. Seeing his calm expression, he also remembered the topics they had talked about before: No matter what, Lehmann has succeeded again, and the next time they work together , the corresponding treatment must be improved.

There is no way, this is the reality. The days of giving some shooting salary at will are long gone. If you want to maintain the relationship of continuous cooperation, you must make appropriate concessions. Of course, you can't give too much, that will be detrimental to the future. Cooperation.

Let's talk about your conditions first. He asked.

This is also a common negotiation method, so first test the other party's tone.

The basic salary of 13 million US dollars plus a 15% share of the box office revenue, and an investment quota of 15 million, to enjoy the investor's income proportionally. Johnson was not polite, and directly opened his mouth. Raised Lehmann's bottom line several notches.

This is naturally a concession for better negotiations later, and it would be better if Europa Pictures could agree.

Such outrageous conditions, everyone is naturally not happy.

But that's the end of today's meeting.

It was not until two days later that the two sides held a negotiation meeting again. In the end, after several tug-of-war, Paramount Pictures and Europa Pictures reached a negotiation first, passed the project review at the fastest speed, and notified Lehmann to participate in the talks: Paramount Pictures and Europa Pictures Mongolian people want to meet and communicate about tripartite cooperation.

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