After a day of auditions, all the main actors were tentatively settled, and the work entered the negotiation stage.

Negotiating remuneration with celebrities is a time-consuming task, from remuneration to what room to live in, what to eat, how many assistants there are, how many hours a day to work, and signatures...... , are all negotiation content, the bigger the star terms, the more detailed and detailed, sometimes cosmetics and drinking mineral water must be specified in the brand, and when encountering quirky actors, there will be some strange terms.

This time it is not Nancy who is in charge of the negotiation, New Line Film Company, Crown Studios, and ICM are all the same boss, but each company will still fight for the interests it should strive for, and will not give up the interests it should have because of the same boss, otherwise what if it loses money at that time? So Nancy is generally not responsible for negotiations now, so as not to affect the final result.

The person who negotiated this time was John's assistant Hugo.

Hugo's first negotiator was the actor Keanu Reeves.

The 20-year-old male god who came to Hollywood with $3,000 has reached the peak of his career since starring in "Life and Death" and winning $120 million at the box office.

Hugo talked with his agent for a week, and the initial offer was 15 million plus 10% of the box office share, and finally talked about 10 million dollars plus 5% box office score that could never go down again.

In the end, Hugo had no choice but to give up negotiations and find Christian Bale.

"Miss Hugo, our side is asking for $1.5 million. "Marvin Nicholson negotiated with Hugo on behalf of Stien Bale.

Hugo's brow furrowed when he heard Marvin Nicholson's offer. "Mr. Nicholson, you're asking for a lot of money! Is Bell worth the price? Is there such a high salary for an actor who hasn't played a leading role since his debut? $300,000. ”

A small actor in the eighteenth line actually offered $1.5 million, Hugo had a hard time accepting this kind of sky-high asking behavior, after more than a year of experience, she was no longer the rookie who just came to Hollywood.

"Miss Hugo, although Bale has not starred in a movie, his "Chicago" has now exceeded $100 million at the box office, you can't compare it to an extra, so let's take a step back and $1 million. ”

What does "Chicago" have to do with the box office breaking 100 million? The reason why this movie can succeed is because of the two great directors Coppola and Chris Deng, and the quality of the film is good, which is a big hit, and Bell is only a supporting role in it, and whoever he lets play this role will not affect this movie. $400,000 can't be higher, or I won't be able to account for it. ”

It is the buyer who suspects the goods, and this principle is also used in Hollywood, Hugo now wants to belittle Bale to nothing, and then sign it away at a low price.

"Miss Hugo, you don't make sense to say that, Bale is not the starring actor, but his performance is obvious to all, several directors have invited him to audition, this is the best proof, 800,000 dollars can not be less, otherwise I will not be able to explain. ”

Hugo and Marvin Nicholson are depreciating and raising one by one, both sides actually know what kind of actor and what price, but everyone hopes to get the greatest benefit.

"Mr. Nicholson, I'm not going to talk nonsense, $500,000 for the first film, $5 million for the second, $15 million for the third, that's our final offer, it's non-negotiable. What I'm going to tell you, though, is that Bell is known for "Chicago" Get attention, his next movie is very important to him, if a newcomer messes up the box office when he plays the leading role for the first time, you and I both know what the ending is, all the big-budget movies in the future, the first-line directors will not use him as the protagonist, he can only be a supporting role for the rest of his life, I dare not assure you that starring in the movie directed by Chris Deng will definitely be successful, but at least the chance of success is higher than those directors, once it succeeds, Bell will definitely be a first-line actor, so are you willing to use $500,000 for a $20 million opportunity to get a $20 million salary, or are you willing to get a $1.5 million salary for a lifetime？”

The investment cost of big-budget films is high, and the production company will try to avoid risks, and if there is a choice, it is not to choose an actor who has messed up the movie to play the leading role, a super first-line star will be better, but an actor who has just played the leading role and failed, this kind of actor who has never proven himself is equivalent to walking the road to death once he fails, the risk of the movie is very high, and Hollywood's tolerance is very low.

"I'm going to talk to Bell. Of course, Marvin Nicholson knows the importance of the next movie to Christian Bale, so many directors have not agreed to the invitation, just waiting for a low-risk project to push Christian Bale to the position of a first- or second-tier star.

"Of course, I hope you can bring good news next time we meet!" Hugo got up and shook Marvin Nicholson's hand, sending Marvin Nicholson out of Crown Studios.

Marvin Nicholson went to Christian Bale's house immediately after leaving the crown studio, and the two agreed to Hugo's offer after some discussion, just like Hugo said, money is far less important to Christian Bale now, he is not Tom Cruise, and he is not qualified to fail.

After getting the actor, Hugo negotiated with the supporting actors, and John gave her only one task, and the total salary of the actors could not exceed 20% of the total investment.

"The Matrix" has a total investment of $85 million, and the combined salaries of all actors cannot exceed $17 million.

For movies with more special effects, it is best not to exceed 30% of the total investment in the actor's salary, otherwise the later special effects production will be very dangerous.

However, the $17 million budget is not exhausted, there are no first-line actors in "The Matrix", and the most male and female protagonists will get $500,000, plus other supporting roles and group performances, the salary will not exceed $5 million. John can save more than $10 million in the actor category, and if he invests that money elsewhere, the movie will definitely end up with a better effect.

Of course, the second part is not so lenient, and then the hero and heroine alone will take away $10 million, and the third part is even more terrifying, and this figure will become $30 million.

So every time the sequel film adds an episode, the investment will increase significantly compared to the previous one, the investment in "The Matrix 1" was only 80 million US dollars, and when it came to "The Matrix 2", it became 150 million US dollars, fortunately, the second and third were filmed at the same time, otherwise the investment in "The Matrix 3" would definitely exceed 200 million US dollars.

Once the sequel film is successful, even a supporting role is a terrifying number.