"Kendrick is just an inconspicuous contracted producer under Sony, mainly producing B-grade films, and he doesn't even have his own studio, which is very unpopular. Jet, I have to warn you, because of Black Man, there will definitely be a lot of people who have contacted you recently, but don't promise anything, no matter what, at least talk to me about it. ”

As the two left the Sunset Tower Hotel, Jeremy Cho personally drove Jett Lee to Danerys Studios in Malibu, saying this to his client in the passenger seat.

Jett Lee has been in the circle for so many years, and he has experienced ups and downs, of course, he does not lack this caution, but he still said: "I think he is quite sincere, and promised to pay half of the salary in advance as long as I let go." ”

"Jett, don't be so naïve, do you really think you can get the money?"

"Isn't Hollywood very formal? If I did sign him, I would definitely put it in the contract. ”

Jeremy leaned on the steering wheel and accelerated slightly over a Ford, while saying: "Jeter, the law is perfect, follow the rules, this must be the preconceived impression of this country by many of you guys who have just arrived in the United States, I dare not say in other fields, but in Hollywood, these must not exist, and Hollywood is a place full of deception and deceit." Just like that guy just now, you sign a contract with him, and if everything goes well, everyone is happy. However, if something happens, he won't pay you, even if the contract clearly states it. ”

Jet Lee said: "Then go to court?"

"Of course, herein lies the problem. If you fight a lawsuit with him, you have a good chance of winning, but if you are entangled in such a lawsuit, it can be as short as three or five months, or as long as a year and a half, during which you can't do anything else, and you have to spend a lot of money on legal fees, do you think you can afford it?"

When Jet Lee heard this, he thought of some things from the past, and suddenly stopped talking.

The agent glanced at him and added: "Therefore, no matter how big Hollywood stars are, they have actually encountered things like salary arrears and contract breaking, and most of them are solved privately, because everyone can't afford it, and after all, they may cooperate in the future, and they rarely tear their faces." ”

Jet Lee was silent for a moment before he finally spoke again, "Isn't there no rule?"

"Of course there is, Jett, the rules of Hollywood are actually very simple, as long as you can prove your worth, and have always been valuable, then you are the rules. Not to mention Simon Westeros, Hollywood's evergreen directors and stars, like Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Robert De Niro, Tom Hanks, etc., are all major studios trying to chase. Of course, once you lose your value, you can only follow other people's rules. ”

"This ...... It's too realistic. ”

"If it weren't for that, Hollywood wouldn't be as prosperous. So, Jett, I hope you'll be very cautious about this opportunity to break into Hollywood. You know, Jack began to try to enter Hollywood very early, and it wasn't until "Rush Hour" at the beginning of this year that he successfully entered the mainstream of Hollywood, which was actually more successful than Bruce Lee back then, which is a miracle for us Chinese. Speaking of this, Jeremy Zhao, who was looking at the road ahead seriously, paused, turned his head to look at Jet Lee, and said, "I hope you can be another miracle." ”

Jett Lee had actually not been too accustomed to this agent with a strange accent in Cantonese before, but at this time, when he suddenly heard the other party's words, and felt the sincere eyes of the middle-aged man, he was suddenly a little moved and the inexplicable arrogance that followed, and stretched out his hand to the other party and said: "Jerry, I also hope that I can live up to your expectations." ”

The middle-aged Chinese agent took out a free hand and shook hands with Jett Lee, and after parting, he said again: "Actually, in my opinion, Jet, if you want to make a breakthrough in Hollywood, the key is still on the side of Daenerys Entertainment, as far as I know, the "Rush Hour" that made Jack among the mainstream was personally selected by Simon Westeros for him, Westeros's vision in movies is unmatched, I believe that "Black Man" should also be related to the other party, if this is true, I think, there will definitely not be only one "Black Man". ”

Jet Lee nodded approvingly, and couldn't help but say, "Actually, I'm still thinking about Mr. Ang Lee's "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", can't we really fight for it again?"

Jeremy shook his head: "Jett, this project is really not for you. I recently watched all of Li's films, and also explored the details of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" in more depth, in general, Li's positioning is more inclined to a literary film director, although "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" is a martial arts, but it should also be a literary martial arts, and the requirements for acting skills are very high, this is not what you are good at, your specialty should be action. Anyway, wait until we meet with Danny Morris, the president of New World Pictures, and as far as I was concerned, if Simon is very interested in you, there should be a result today. ”

Jett Lee was disappointed again, but he also understood the correctness of his agent's words, so he didn't say more, remembered one thing, and said: "By the way, Jerry, I just received a call from Hong Kong, from the producer of "Black Man", and they want me to help inquire, is Daenerys interested in making a sequel?"

"I've heard that the box office in Hong Kong is very bad, maybe a huge loss?"

Jett Lee is of course more well-informed than his agent in this regard, and nodded and said: "There is only 3.79 million Hong Kong dollars in the first week, and it is expected to lose 30 million over there." ”

The agent knows the copyright division of "Black Man", and he also understands that a film company on the other side of the ocean is likely to lose 30 million Hong Kong dollars, which is a bit staggering, but he still said quickly: "I think Daenerys should not be interested in the sequel." ”

"Why?"

The agent didn't answer, but asked rhetorically: "Jett, frankly, do you think "Black Man" is a good film?"

Jett Lee paused, still shaking his head slightly.

The agent said: "Therefore, the success of this movie, on the one hand, is that the North American audience is interested in your kung fu, and on the other hand, it is actually the main one, and it still relies on the strong distribution of Daenerys Entertainment." For a movie, the word of mouth is not good, and the box office, seriously, 25 million, is nothing in North America, so there is no need to develop a sequel at all. ”

Jett Lee hesitated a little before he added, "Jerry, the gentleman who developed this movie is ...... me Well, if it's a kindness, I can't reply to him like this, right?"

Jeremy asked, "If there's going to be a sequel over there, do you need Daenerys' consent?"

"Well, I don't know the terms of the contract. ”

Jeremy thought for a while and said: "If it were me, if Daenerys no longer participates in the sequel, I will cooperate with other Hollywood studios, after all, the box office of "Black Man" is not bad, and I should be able to find a partner, and this time, it is best to directly package and sell the sequel copyright to make up for the loss of the first part." ”

The agent said tactfully, but Jett Lee understood that it was actually a foreigner to make up for his losses.

If you think about it, it's the best way to make up for your losses.

Wait to find out what Daenerys is talking about, if the other party has no intention of developing a sequel, he plans to reply to the Hong Kong side like this.

Jeremy saw Jett Lee's expression, and continued: "Also, Jett, I advise you not to participate in the sequel, if you are gracious, you may be able to compensate in other ways, but if you participate in the sequel, it may have a negative effect on your popularity." ”

Jett Lee was a little hesitant this time.

The agent noticed his expression, thought for a moment, and said, "In this way, you can drag." Or, if we can wait until we can come to a deal with Daenerys, the excuse will be even stronger. Hong Kong has lost so much, if you want to make up for the loss as soon as possible, you will definitely not be able to afford it, and you should try to use other actors. ”

Jett Lee didn't answer this time, but he understood that it could only be so.

The two chatted all the way until they finally arrived at Daenerys Studios in Malibu.

I found the office building where the New World Pictures team was located, looked at the time, and was three minutes ahead of the agreed time, and I was always not late.

The secretary outside Danny Morris's office politely received the two, but after a while, the office door opened, and Danny Morris sent out two middle-aged people with Asian faces, a man and a woman, who happened to meet Jett Lee in the outer lounge.

However, recognizing each other's identities, the atmosphere was a little awkward.

One of the two Chinese is surnamed Li and the other is surnamed Dong, after all, they have been in the same circle before, even if there is no intersection, they happen to know each other. The man is an executive of Hong Kong Golden Harvest, and the woman of the new Dong is the producer of Jack Cheng who is preparing "Police Story 4".

Because of some entanglements in the past few years, Jet Lee has no good impression of Golden Harvest.

In fact, if it weren't for Daenerys Entertainment this time, Jack Cheng, who has a close relationship with Golden Harvest, probably wouldn't have cheered for his "Black Man".

Embarrassing is embarrassing, after all, they are all strangers, and they still greeted them politely.

Jett Lee also guessed that the two were most likely to discuss cooperation with Daenerys about "Police Story 4", in fact, after the success of "Rush Hour", Jack Cost should put all his energy on Hollywood to be a wise choice, but in an industry, there are always all kinds of indispensable fetters, and after all, you can't do whatever you want.

After the two left, Danny Morris and Jett Lee greeted each other and entered the office together.

The three of them sat down in the reception area, and when the secretary changed into coffee and left, Danny Morris smiled and said, "Jett, I guess, there must have been a lot of people contacting you recently, right?"

Jett Lee smiled and said, "Thank you again Mr. Morris, your team for your efforts in the release of "Black Man". ”

"This is what we should do," Danny Morris took a sip of coffee, put down the cup, looked at the two and said, "Okay, let's get down to business, let's meet the two of you today, mainly to talk about our follow-up cooperation." Jett, this is something Simon personally explained, and I hope we can reach a long-term cooperation agreement. ”

Hearing the 'long-term cooperation agreement', Jeremy Zhao's eyelids jumped.

Certainly not a surprise.

Instead, I immediately remembered Jim Carrey's long contract.

After all, the DC Cinematic Universe with a higher gold content has a long contract, because the core actors of the current project are basically finalized, and there is no news that other hero series will be developed soon, then, other than that, there seems to be no other better opportunity.

Without waiting for Jett Lee to speak, Jeremy directly grabbed the conversation: "Danny, can you elaborate on it?"

Danny Morris turned to Mr. Agent, smiled, and said, "Jerry, I know what you're worried about, however, Jett is different, we know his position in the Asian film industry very well, and of course it won't be a rookie contract." As I said earlier, this is Simon himself, and he hopes that we can both take the agreement first to avoid Mr. Lee's detour. ”

"Detours?"

"Yes," Danny Morris said, "Because of the success of "Black Man", I think there must be other studios contacting you in recent days, and, not surprisingly, the projects involved should all be low-cost B-grade films, which is a detour for Mr. Li. They are all successful in their own fields, but it is also difficult to enter the mainstream, and the chances of becoming big names like Schwarzenegger and Stallone are even slimmer. ”

Now Jett Lee and Jeremy Zhao both understood.

It's just that, after reading all the world, both of them are very excited, but they are not impatient. Jeremy Zhao asked, "Danny, since it was arranged by Mr. Westeros himself, can I ask, is there a project suitable for Jett at the moment?"

Danny Morris shook his head and said, "Not for the time being, in fact, I also asked Simon the same question, he said that he is still thinking about it, Jett, Jerry, you must understand that there are not many things that Simon can personally consider, the original "Rush Hour" was the idea proposed by the boss himself." Simon has been busy lately, so it will take some time. ”

The two looked at each other, and Jeremy said again: "Danny, then, what kind of long-term cooperation agreement is planned to be signed here?"

Danny Morris said: "Three films, the starting salary is $2.5 million, and the follow-up situation will be doubled, with a maximum of $5 million and $7.5 million respectively. ”

Jeremy shook his head and said, "Danny, I still know some of Jack's salary, Jett and Jett are actors of the same level in Asia, and he shouldn't be only half of Jack." ”

"It's not the same," Danny Morris shook his head, "Jerry, we all know that "Black Man" is Jett's first film released in North America, at least the first film to make a name for himself, and Jack has been working here for many years, and his Asian qualifications are not counted in Hollywood. ”

The agent exchanged glances with Jett Lee again, and said, "We need to add a sharing clause on top of the base salary." ”

Danny Morris directly refused: "It's a pity, I also discussed this possibility with the boss, he didn't agree, in fact, you should be able to see that this is already a very sincere contract, I guess the film company that contacted you recently gave a salary of about this level." As for the future, the two, in all fairness, if Jett can become a first-line star in Hollywood with these three projects, it is you who will take advantage of it, and too many people in Hollywood can't expect this possibility. ”

When the two heard this, they exchanged glances again, and Jeremy said, "Danny, we need to think about it again." ”

"No problem, though, please give me an answer tomorrow morning. ”

That's the end of the conversation.

Jett Lee then asked about "Black Man" again, Daenerys really didn't have any interest in the sequel, and seemed to have learned about the unfortunate experience of the Hong Kong producer, or received someone's instructions, Danny Morris readily stated that the Hong Kong side can handle the sequel matters on its own, and this side will not participate again.