Los Angeles.

With the sudden departure of Ron Macmillan, a producer under Daenerys Entertainment, Hollywood's already not quiet January has become even more lively.

Upon learning that he had been fired for some 'trivial' matter, Ron Macmillan almost immediately contacted Simon to make the decision for him, believing that this was Amy and Janet's assertive nonsense.

Confirming this matter was acquiesced by Simon, and the angry Ron Macmillan also completely tore his face and asked for $5 million in severance compensation. Daenerys Entertainment naturally won't pay the money, and it's not afraid of Ron Macmillan's threats to court.

Ron Macmillan's embezzlement of funds for the film project is fully substantiated, and although the amount is not large, it is enough for Daenerys Entertainment to reasonably fire the other party.

If it really makes a fuss, no matter how Hollywood thinks about it, in the eyes of the media and the public, Ron Macmillan will only end up with the same infamous fate as David Bergman back then.

So, after a week of confrontation, Ron Macmillan still signed the severance agreement without any compensation.

In exchange for a non-disclosure agreement that would not discuss the incident publicly, Ron Macmillan also received a follow-up share of $2.6 million in several films he was entitled to in advance for several films with Daenerys Entertainment, and the two sides did not owe each other.

Within Daenerys Entertainment, as the financial audit supervised by Janet continued to deepen, the company successively fired a group of employees with unclean hands and feet.

While there was inevitably some criticism, the entire Daenerys Entertainment Group realized that it was impossible for their company to be as mixed up as traditional Hollywood studios. Of course, because Daenerys Entertainment's salary standard is significantly higher than that of its peers, not many people choose to leave because the company's financial system is too strict.

As for Ron Macmillan, although he signed a non-disclosure agreement, there were quick rumors in the circle that he attacked Simon and Daenerys on some party occasions and was miserly and ruthless.

However, because he did not publicly express these views in the media, Daenerys Entertainment could not take it seriously.

Since he was able to associate his name with "Lola Run", "Death is Coming" and "Scream", the three top ten bestsellers of the year, although he knew that Simon Westeros was the leading man behind the three films, Ron Macmillan's departure immediately caused a scramble throughout Hollywood.

After several offers, Universal Pictures finally signed a three-film contract with Ron Macmillan on a generous contract with a base salary of $3 million plus a 10% share of the project's net profits.

In addition, Universal provided Ron Macmillan with additional benefits such as a private jet at the level of vice president of the company, personal hospitality, administrative assistants, and opened an office at Universal Studios Burbank for Ron Macmillan's newly founded Macmillan Production Company.

Before that, only a handful of companies could have offices at Universal Studios, such as Spielberg's Amberlin Pictures.

Daenerys Entertainment did not deliberately hide the reason for Ron Macmillan's departure, and the circle knew it. Universal Pictures also gave such a generous treatment on the basis of Ron Macmillan's salary contract, which is obviously a bit targeted.

In fact, Daenerys Entertainment is not the only one that is being targeted.

Paramount Pictures' "Rocket Expert" and "Firebird Attack" are in hot preparations, not to mention, realizing that "Sex, Lies, and Videotapes" may be a box office dark horse, and the two parent companies of MCA/Columbia Home Entertainment, the main investors of the film, have combined several times, and Columbia Pictures finally got the distribution rights of "Sex, Lies, and Videotapes".

Approaching the Sundance Film Festival, Colombia also set up a special publicity team to start warming up for the film.

After earning $12.96 million at the box office in the fourth week, the box office of "Rain Man" fell again in the fifth week of its release, as the number of screens screened continued to increase, reaching 1,732. Although the reverse decline was only a very narrow 2%, the box office of $13.19 million made the total box office of "Rain Man" in North America soar to $72.38 million.

Moreover, five weeks in a row, and possibly six weeks in a row, will exceed $10 million at the box office, which has significantly surpassed all other films produced by Daenerys Entertainment last year.

Daenerys Entertainment's best-grossing "Scream" outside of "Rain Man" at the end of last year has only four weeks of weekly box office receipts above $10 million. Even "Vulgar", which temporarily ranked first in 1988, only lasted for five weeks at the box office of 10 million in a single week.

As a big hit in the awards season, with the announcement of Oscar nominations at the end of January and the presentation of various union awards and Oscars in February and March, it is clear that the box office potential of "Rainman" has surpassed that of "Vulgar".

Seeing the box office success of "Rain Man", MGM, who gave up the film script and took a "Hobbit", and later sold the omni-channel distribution rights in North America for a mere $5 million, couldn't sit still.

The crown of the year.

Even if the total cost of the project reaches 40 million US dollars, the box office potential shown by "Rain Man" is only a combination of domestic and overseas box office revenue, and the profit may still exceed 100 million, not to mention the subsequent video tape and TV broadcast revenue.

It's a gold mine.

Just got tricked by Simon Westeros.

So he made a fuss about suing and claiming compensation, and really hired a law firm to start researching possible loopholes in several contracts between MGM and Daenerys.

Finally, counting Fox, Warner, and Disney, which have always had a good relationship, this lively January, almost all of Hollywood's seven biggest cities were involved with Daenerys Entertainment.

If it's just a simple involvement, it's nothing, even if it's MGM who wants to initiate a lawsuit, it's just a trick.

Almost all Hollywood blockbuster films will cause all kinds of large and small interest disputes, even the original "Lola Run", the media once rumored that Simon and Janet turned against each other because of the uneven distribution of interests.

The most frustrating thing is that any project that Daenerys Entertainment has its eye on now will become the focus of the entire Hollywood.

Although Simon had the foresight to hoard a large number of rights, it was not enough to meet the needs of Daenerys Entertainment, and the company could not put all the rights that were expected to sell on the development agenda in one go, which required other projects to fill the content shortage.

"Al, I know what you're thinking. Since "Driving for Miss Daisy" has been favored by Daenerys Entertainment, with the current trend of Hollywood, other film companies will definitely offer higher prices to compete for. But can you be sure they can do it right? In case of messing up, you won't get anything but a slightly higher royalty. However, leave it to Daenerys Entertainment, once you succeed, not only will you be able to gain fame and fortune on this movie, but you will also become the top screenwriter in Hollywood, and all your scripts in the future will become the object of Hollywood's competition, which is the most important thing. ”

New York, inside a café on Broadway.

Ella Deutschman spoke to the somewhat balding middle-aged man in his fifties on the other side, and after saying this, he took out a business card and handed it over, saying, "It has the contact information of my hotel, Al, if you are willing to give us the script, give me a call tonight." After today, I can only say regret. ”

The middle-aged man opposite Ella Deutchman, named Alfred Uri, is a playwright who writes stage plays primarily on Broadway. Uri's stage play, "Driving for Miss Daisy," which he wrote two years ago, received critical acclaim on Broadway and won last year's Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Playing with the business card in his hand, Alfred Uri looked at Doichman who had already gotten up shrewdly, did not get up together, and said with a bit of temptation in his tone: "Ella, if I don't make this call, will you really give up "Drive for Miss Daisy"? I think it will probably become another "Steel Magnolia". ”

Ira Deutschman just smiled and said, "Uri, you are the third screenwriter I have met today, and I have seven more people to meet next, you may all think that the script in your hands is the next "Steel Magnolia", but unfortunately, there is only one "Steel Magnolia". ”

"Well, Ella," Alfred Uri relaxed, "why don't you sit down and talk about it? Since you want 'Drive for Miss Daisy,' you have to tell me how you're going to adapt the film, right? Doesn't the $100,000 offer be a bit insincere for the rights to a Pulitzer Prize-winning theatrical adaptation?"

Ira Deutchman didn't sit down, explaining: "Al, as I just said, $100,000 is just an upfront payment, and in the next three years, Daenerys Entertainment will pay you another $200,000 if it shoots this film, and you will also have the right to authorship and the post-production share under the Basic Agreement." After three years, if Daenerys Entertainment fails to make the film, you can choose to redeem the rights. ”

Alfred Uri still did not give up on finding out more information, and said: "So, you don't plan to make this movie anytime soon, in this case, I need to think about it carefully." ”

Ira Deutchman didn't say anything more, and directly stretched out his hand to Alfred Uri and said, "If you're willing to sign, Al, we can spend a day talking about everything." ”

After shaking hands with Alfred Uri, Ella Deutchman left the café without any nostalgia.

These days, in order to cope with the siege of Hollywood, Daenerys Entertainment began to use this 'ultimatum' strategy of not giving the copyright owner too much time to think about the script negotiation, and once it gave up, it will resolutely no longer eat back grass, let alone start a bidding war with the Big Seven.

In addition, Daenerys Entertainment makes frequent moves, which makes it impossible for competitors to see the situation clearly, but it also resolves the siege faced by the company to a large extent.

Of course, this strategy also has obvious disadvantages, and for those screenwriters who are already famous, this trick does not have much effect. The people who are willing to compromise are basically those screenwriters who are eager for opportunities and have not yet come out, and the company's immediate target is mainly these people.

Speaking of which, Ella Deutschman didn't know what was special about "Driving for Miss Daisy", and she didn't know that this movie was the best picture at the 62nd Oscars in 1990.

After the box office hit of the year-end schedule just past, Hollywood began to turn more attention to Broadway stage plays, and after Ella Deutchman communicated with Simon, he set aside a sum of money from the budget he could use to buy the adaptation rights of literary and artistic plays suitable for the development of Gaomen Pictures.

"Driving for Miss Daisy," last year's Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, was a natural target for Ella Deutchman.

Simon, who was far away in Melbourne, saw the name of "Driving for Miss Daisy" from the list listed by Deutchman, but did not give Ella Deutchman a special hint.

Simon is also aware of the current situation facing Daenerys Entertainment.

The coping strategy adopted by the company was very effective, and he did not intend to make an exception with the film.

The history of Hollywood has changed a lot, and it is uncertain whether "Drive for Miss Daisy" will be as successful as it was in the original time and space when it falls into the hands of others. And, with a little foresight, the copyright holder knew it would be in his best interest to work with Daenerys Entertainment. If you are short-sighted, then you should not cooperate.

After meeting with Alfred Uri, Ella Deutchman hurried to other meetings.

After a busy day, Ira Deutchman returned to her hotel in Midtown in the evening, and the lobby manager had already alerted him to a few phone calls. Three of the five screenwriters who have met today called and agreed to sell the rights, including Alfred Uri of "Drive for Miss Daisy".

Back in the room, after returning the phone calls of several screenwriters one by one, Ella Deutchman called Ireland on the other side of the ocean to routinely inquire about the filming progress of "My Left Foot".

This is the result of the work of Deutchman's last flight to England.

"My Left Foot" is a biopic starring Daniel Day Lewis about a disabled person who is paralyzed by polio and becomes an artist with the only moving left foot.

In the original time and space, "My Left Foot" was another Miramax reintake in addition to "Sex, Lies, and Videotape", and was nominated for Best Picture at the 1990 Oscars.

Now, neither of these works has anything to do with Miramax.

Although she didn't get "Sex, Lies, and Tapes" because of her collaboration with Daniel Day Lewis on "Room with a View" when she ran New Pictures, Ella Deutchman got the film on her last trip to the UK.

It's just that when I found this movie, Jim Sheridan, the director of "My Left Foot", had already completed the preliminary preparations, and the film was about to start filming.

Because Simon was very interested in the project, Ella Deutchman spent a total of $1.8 million to buy out the rights of the original three investors. That's a lot of money, as "My Left Foot" cost only £600,000 to make, which translates to less than $1 million.

The original three investors also wanted to wait for the price to sell, and Ella Deutchman decisively used the 'ultimatum' to successfully get the three companies to compromise.

In the end, the news in the UK is not as well-informed as Hollywood, it is a film that is almost not favored by everyone, and it has not officially started filming, and the finished effect is unpredictable. You can earn double the profit with your backhand, and several small filmmakers who are working alone are not too insistent.

It was on "My Left Foot" that the effect of the 'ultimatum' was seen, and Daenerys Entertainment will adopt this strategy in the near future.