Beverly Hills.

In a reception room at MGM's headquarters, Tony Tomopoulos, the chairman of Luen Am, leaned back on the sofa, holding the coffee that the secretary had just served, and said to Michael Ovitz, who was sitting on the other side: "Did you hear that? That kid was at a party hosted by Warner Bros. last night to see if Semel could sell DC to himself." Pascal seems to be still negotiating the rights to a TV series with Colombia for him, and Columbia offered $10 million, but it didn't scare him away. Now young people, who have just made some money, are going to buy the whole world. ”

Michael Ovitz listened to the obviously unbalanced tone of Tomopoulos, who was over sixty years old, although he didn't feel that Simon Westeros began to get carried away because of his sudden wealth, but because of the purpose of today's meeting, he still smiled in agreement and said: "Hollywood needs this kind of person, otherwise, how can we get all the investment for so many movies we make every year." ”

When Tony Tomopoulos heard this, a shrewdness flashed in his eyes, and he said: "Michael, I know that you have always wanted to promote the project of "Rain Man", but that kid has shown some greed in his cooperation with Fox, and a screenwriter actually asked for a 10% box office share, which has never happened in the history of Hollywood. As for this cooperation, even if "Rain Man" continues to drag on, it should be in the interests of United States, and I will definitely not back down. ”

Michael Ovitz nodded, "I understand, Tony." In fact, I have always been a great advocate of equal interests, and everyone can make money together to make business for a long time. ”

While the two were talking, Tomopoulos' secretary walked in with Amy Pascal.

After greeting, the three of them sat down on the couch, and Michael Ovitz smiled and asked Amy, "How was the conversation with Robin?"

Amy Pascal had just met with Hollywood actor Robin Williams because of "Dead Poets Society" before coming to MGM headquarters, although he was a customer of CAA, but Robin Williams, who could only be regarded as a second-tier at this time, was not personally responsible for Ovitz.

However, Amy was not surprised by Ovitz's sudden question. The CAA bigwig, who likes to be in control, is like a spider, and always makes people feel that he knows everything about Hollywood.

"Robin is interested in the script for Dead Poets Society, and we're going to sign it tomorrow. ”

Michael Ovitz was a little surprised: "In such a hurry?"

Amy said: "Simon hopes that this matter will be finalized before the end of the year, and he will be able to start preparations when he returns." ”

Tony Tomopoulos couldn't understand what Amy and Ovitz were talking about, and said, "Westeros isn't in Los Angeles?"

Amy turned to Tomopoulos and said, "Simon is going to New York, tomorrow night is Christmas Eve, and his girlfriend is over there." ”

The secretary served coffee to Amy at this time, and Tony Tomopoulos waited for a moment and said, "In that case, Amy, let's talk about your development plan for "The Hobbit"? ”

"Tony, Daenerys Pictures didn't have plans to start The Hobbit right away, we wanted to get the rights first, and it would take two to three years to design and refine the special effects technology needed for this fantasy epic before we started production. ”

Tomopoulos shook his head and said, "Three years is too long, and besides, it sounds like a pretext to get the copyright." ”

Amy retorted, "Tony, if I say that Daenerys Pictures will start working right away, that's the real excuse. "The Hobbit", a fantasy involving elements such as dragons, elves, and dwarves, is forced to start without enough time for careful preparation, and the result will only fail. ”

Tomopoulos said, "Okay, Amy, what about your offer?"

"Tony, I've made an offer to the United States, $1 million. Now, as a complement, Daenerys Films could invest $10 million in Rainman. ”

Although he just got a handle on "The Hobbit", Tony Tomopoulos doesn't really care too much about the copyright of this one.

In 1969, Luen Mei obtained the copyright of "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit", and it has been almost 20 years now, although it was very popular that year, but the Middle-earth series did not show any remarkable commercial potential in terms of film and television, otherwise Luen Mei would not have transferred the copyright of "The Lord of the Rings" to Saul Zaynz in 1976.

At this time, hearing that Amy readily agreed to invest $10 million in "Rain Man", and then thinking of a certain little guy's rich net worth, Tomopoulos quickly shook his head and said, "No, it's not enough, Amy, if you want to get "The Hobbit", you need to invest at least $15 million." ”

Hearing this, Amy turned to Ovitz suspiciously: "Michael, you didn't tell me this on the phone. ”

Michael Ovitz was also a little surprised by Tomopoulos's temporary change of fortune, and couldn't help frowning: "Tony, you can't do this, this will only make "Rain Man" stranded again." ”

Tony Tomopoulos just looked at Amy and said, "Since Westroken offered $10 million for a Columbia Pictures TV series that has little value, and Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise starred in the movie, he shouldn't mind another $5 million, let alone get the copyright to "The Hobbit". ”

Amy's expression was slightly annoyed, and she retorted, "Tony, we didn't offer $10 million for a TV series. ”

Tony Tomopoulos thought for a moment, sat up straight, and said, "Amy, I think it's better for Westeros to come and talk to me about this matter in person." ”

Amy shook her head and said, "I've just explained, Tony, Simon is in New York. ”

Tony Tomopoulos laughed, "It's not two hundred years ago, so it's just a phone call." ”

Amy picked up the satchel she had just placed next to her and said, "If you insist, Tony, I'll go back and talk to Simon." ”

"No, I mean now," Tony Tomopoulos insisted, not wanting to give Simon and Amy too much time to prepare, "and we can have an impromptu conference call." ”

Amy looked at her watch and said, "It's five o'clock in the afternoon in New York, and it's Simon's personal time." ”

"Amy, I hope this matter can be resolved today, so, call him. Or, you can tell him tomorrow during working hours in Westeros that this is the end of the matter. ”

Amy looked at Tony Tomopoulos for a moment, then sat down again and dialed a string of numbers through the landline on the coffee table.

In hands-free mode, Simon's voice quickly sounded in the speaker: "Hello?"

"Simon, it's me," Amy said as she glanced up at Tomopoulos, "I'm at MGM headquarters, and Mr. Tomopoulos wants to talk to you personally." ”

"Tomopoulos?"

"Chairman of Luen Mei Company. ”

"Oh. ”

Tony Tomopoulos felt a little uncomfortable listening to the casual voice in the speaker, but he still took over the conversation and said, "Simon, I'm Tony Tomopoulos." ”

"Hello, Tony. ”

Tony Tomopoulos didn't say too much to greet, and said straight to the point: "Simon, let's be direct, "The Hobbit" is a very precious copyright asset of United States. If you want to get the rights to this one, Daenerys Pictures will need to undertake at least $15 million in "Rain Man". ”

There was a brief pause for a few seconds before Simon's voice rang out again: "Tony, the budget for Rain Man is $25 million, right? If Daenerys Pictures invests $15 million, who will this movie be?"

Tony Tomopoulos said: "Simon, Luen Mei developed the whole project, and the copyright naturally belongs to us. However, Daenerys Pictures will definitely be able to get its fair share of revenue in the future. ”

"I'm sorry, Tony, I'm not used to giving enough and not getting the initiative. If Luen Mei wanted $15 million, the project would have to be in the hands of Daenerys Pictures, as in "Instinct." ”

Tony Tomopoulos refused, "Simon, this can't be until Daenerys Pictures takes the entire investment." ”

"Tony, I'm not interested in this project, I just want The Hobbit. $10 million, that's enough for the United States, and it's not a big problem for you to raise another $15 million. ”

"$15 million, Simon, since you want The Hobbit, it has to be $15 million. ”

There was silence on the other side of the phone again for a moment before Simon said: "That's 25 million US dollars, Daenerys Pictures is responsible for the production, and Lianmei is responsible for the distribution, and at the same time, you must ensure the schedule, marketing efforts and guaranteed number of screens." ”

Tony Tomopoulos originally thought that he was going to have a conversation with Simon on the phone for dozens of minutes, but he didn't expect this to be the result all of a sudden.

Luen Mei had already bought the rights to the script of "Rain Man", and Tony Tomopoulos's planned production and publicity strategy was to find external investment as much as possible, and it was really impossible to raise some funds through copyright pre-sales and loans, and finally Luen Mei would produce and MGM would be responsible for the distribution.

With the participation of two A-list superstars, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise, although it is generally not optimistic, compared with most Hollywood projects, the commercial prospects of "Rain Man" are still guaranteed.

In the current situation of Luen Mei, it is impossible for high-quality film projects to fall on their side.

According to this operating strategy, the company will be able to earn a stable issuance fee in the future. If the film is successful, as the producer, Luen Mei can reap some more profits. The project failed, and the company did not lose much.

Right now.

Suddenly, a deep-pocketed little guy came up with a plan that he hadn't expected at all.

$25 million.

took it out so easily, you know, Warner, Universal, Paramount and other companies have all rejected the project before, and even Spielberg failed to get enough money for the film, so he used the excuse of filming "Raiders of the Lost Ark 3" to withdraw.

Who would have thought that things would turn so suddenly.

A series of emotions flashed through his mind, and Tony Tomopoulos couldn't help but ask: "Simon, $25 million, Daenerys Pictures bears all of it, are you sure you're not joking?"

"Tony, do you think I'm joking?" Simon said with a bit of impatience in his tone, "Okay, that's it. Amy, get this out of the way, I'm going out to dinner with Jenny, and I'll see you when I have time. ”

With that, the phone was cut off.

After a slight click, the reception room fell silent.

Amy noticed Tony Tomopoulos' flickering expression soon after a moment of silence, and quickly got up and said, "Tony, let's talk about this later, Simon's decision was too hasty, I need to talk to him." ”

When things are impermanent, there must be demons.

Tony Tomopoulos has been in Hollywood for so many years, and he has long been an old man.

Although it is unbalanced that Simon has a net worth of more than a billion dollars at a young age, he also absolutely agrees with the young man's talent in film. Moreover, Tomopoulos has also learned a little bit about Simon's previous bold, shrewd, or adventurous collaborations with Orion, Fox, and Disney.

Therefore, Tony Tomopoulos does not think that Simon Westeros will be a person who will spend a huge $25 million on a script that everyone does not like for the sake of a copyright.

The current situation.

Or, Simon Westeros is actually very optimistic about this script, so he just pretended to be stupid and asked to win the whole project. Or, a huge amount of money has turned an otherwise amazing young man into a stupid kid with a short-circuited brain.

Hearing Amy's voice, Tomopoulos added another reason in his heart. Or, Simon Westeros's previous series of business operations, all of which were planned by this woman, and his nature was just like that on the phone.

I really wanted to see if Amy was trying to get away, and when she got up, Tony Tomopoulos quickly stood up, stretched out his hand to the woman again, and said, "So, that's all for today, Amy, I need to think about it again." We're, well, make an appointment next week. ”

Amy shook Tomopoulos' hand, nodded at Ovitz, and turned to walk outside the reception room.

There was no way to continue the discussion, and Michael Ovitz, who had been quietly watching the matter, immediately stood up and said goodbye to Tomopoulos.

Leaving the MGM office building, noticing that Amy's car happened to be driving out of the parking lot, Ovitz walked over, knocked on her window, waited for the glass to slide down, and asked with a smile, "Amy, can you explain to me, what the hell is going on?"

Amy showed a helpless expression on her face, and said, "Michael, you have also seen that Simon has been ...... recently" Saying this, Amy also shook her head lightly and sighed: "I don't even know how to persuade him now." ”

Michael Ovitz smiled unchanged and said, "Amy, if I'm not mistaken, when you talked on the phone on Monday, you complained that $10 million was too much investment, but today you didn't mean to reduce your share at all." ”

Amy's expression showed no flaws in her expression and said, "It's Simon's decision." ”

The two chatted a few words, and Ovitz watched Amy drive away, but the smile on his face did not change. He realized that, no matter what, the project of "Rain Man" must have come to an end.

Maybe.

According to the vision and ability of a young man, this film will bring some surprises to everyone in the future.

After all, Michael Ovitz doesn't believe that young people who can make themselves feel like they are the same when they meet for the first time can be so easily lost by huge sums of money and become unruly and judgmentless.

Thinking so, Michael Ovitz suddenly remembered a detail that Amy Pascal had mentioned at the beginning of the meeting.

There was more of a smile on his face.

Little guy, since you're in a hurry to sign Robin Williams, I'm sure you can't let it go.

Let's see if this event can bring surprises.

Well.

Robin Williams.

Michael Ovitz recalls that his brain, which had a great memory, quickly provided him with a flurry of information.

Robin Williams, who entered the film industry with the live-action version of "Popeye", has not had too outstanding works over the years, and can only be regarded as a second-tier comedy star. Recently, there seems to be a new film released, "Good Morning Vietnam", a popular Vietnam War reflection genre, satirical comedy style, a bit like Robert Altman's "Army Field Hospital", which was nominated for Best Picture that year.

The reputation of the internal test screening is good, and the schedule is scheduled on December 25, which is the day after tomorrow.

However, Disney seems to plan to make the film take the same route as "Army Field Hospital", adopting a long-term strategy of accumulating word-of-mouth with a small-scale opening, and only a single-digit screen release screen in the early stage.

The driver drove the car over.

Michael Ovitz got into the car, picked up the car phone and dialed his friend and Disney CEO Michael Eisner. The two families are neighbors, and perhaps, a family screening can be arranged in the evening, and everyone can watch a comedy or something together.