"Right of first refusal?" Alain Shane's face was not very good-looking: "Why?"

Ronan knows very well that when negotiating, you can't put forward all the conditions at once, that will break the other party's psychological bottom line, but force the other party's psychological bottom line back little by little.

Frankly, with three projects budgeted, $1.5 million is not a small amount for him.

Splitting the $1.5 million is much less stressful.

Ronan smiled and said, "First, I am still researching this project, and second, the funds on hand cannot be turned over for a while. Trading with a right of first refusal is beneficial to both of us. ”

This is also a model commonly used in Hollywood.

When a producer or production company discovers a novel, screenplay, or other valuable literary material, a pre-emptive right transaction can effectively alleviate the financial pressure and increase the company's room for maneuver rather than spending a lot of money on a one-time purchase.

Probably the previous bargaining lowered the psychological bottom line, or perhaps this kind of transaction method is more common, Alain Shane did not refuse and asked, "Your conditions?"

"We have a pre-emptive agreement. "I pay you 10 percent of the sellout fee, which is $150,000 upfront," Ronan said. ”

The right of first refusal is exclusive and irrevocable, which means that during the contract period, no one else can acquire the item that he has booked.

In this way, it only cost $150,000, but for a period of time in the future, it controlled the copyright of "Byrne's Identity".

Alain Shane was thinking, and Ronan said: "In the next 18 months, this work will be officially approved, and I will pay the remaining 90 percent. ”

Seeing that Alain Shane didn't speak, Ronan continued: "It's a win-win deal, if the 18-month film can't be approved, the $150,000 advance is yours, and you can continue to keep the rights." ”

Alain Shane thought for a moment and retorted: "18 months is too long, 12 months at most. In addition, the $150,000 is only a down payment and does not include future buyout costs. ”

Ronan calculated in his mind and said, "12 months is no problem, but I ask for the right to extend the authorization period." The 12-month period expires, and if the project is not yet established, I will pay another $150,000 for an extension of 6 months. ”

This is also just in case, and he rejects the latter condition: "$150,000 should be included in the $1.5 million buyout fee." ”

To negotiate the right of first refusal, it is necessary to negotiate the price of the future buyout transaction, otherwise the copyright owner will temporarily raise the price, and then it will only cry.

Alain Shane, who is also a veteran of the industry, did not dwell on this, slightly changing the conditions that were not said before: "I ask for the project bonus and box office share." He opened his mouth: "The film project is approved, and you need to pay me a project bonus of 200,000 US dollars." In the future, when the film is released, I ask for a five percent share of the box office. ”

Hearing this, Ronan could roughly guess that this was probably the so-called condition that Alain Shane had said before.

Ronan shook his head firmly: "You are not the original author, and it is impossible to enjoy the project bonus and box office share." ”

"But the copyright is in my hands. Alain Shane said.

Ronan sighed: "Since this is the case, then continue to stay in your hands, anyway, you have been staying for 13 years." ”

Alan Shane couldn't find a rebuttal for a while, and after it was revealed, a copyright that had been pressed in his hands for 13 years really couldn't give him enough confidence.

"We each took a step back. Ronan gave a timely sweetness: "$150,000 as an advance payment, and when the project is approved, I will pay you $1.5 million for the copyright buyout." ”

Alain Shane's conditions were meant to be bargaining, frowning and thinking.

Ronan looked impatient at the right time.

Alain Shane Productions spent $300,000 in 1986 to buy the film and television rights of "The Identity of Bourne" for 20 years, Ronan did not know much about the depreciation of the dollar, and estimated that the other party should make money about $1.5 million.

Just like he wouldn't be stupid enough to negotiate a box office share deal with Alain Shane, no one wants to make a loss-making deal.

Seeing that Ronan was impatient, and thinking that the copyright would be pressed for 13 years, Alain Shane made a decision: "$150,000 as an advance payment, and $1.5 million in copyright buyout fees when the project is approved." Plus, you have a 6-month extension of your authorization, but you'll need to pay an additional $150,000. ”

Ronan stretched out his hand: "A word is a certainty." ”

Alain Shane shook his hand: "It's a pleasure to work with. ”

Only three days later, the two parties signed a formal agreement and filed the copyright change with the Copyright Office.

All kinds of copyright changes in Hollywood must be filed accordingly, and the Copyright Office is the only institution recognized by law.

For example, a script is only filed with the screenwriters' union, and once plagiarism or other infringement is involved, the filing of the screenwriters' union only has industry utility, and cannot be used as legal evidence.

As the purchaser of the copyright, Shahai Entertainment borrowed $150,000 from Relativity Entertainment in the form of a loan, and paid off the advance payment on the day the contract was signed.

Of course, for the later buyout costs, Shahai Entertainment must also raise funds by borrowing.

As for the interest rate on the loan, it is not too high, the fixed interest rate is only 15%.

This is also the interest rate commonly used by major Hollywood companies to turn their left hands into their right hands.

Compared to nine out of thirteen and so on, it's very conscientious.

It's a pity that both Shahai Entertainment and Relativity Group have limited scale capabilities at this stage, and some things can only be used by overseas investors.

Therefore, the funding of this project, Ronan's plan is still to solve it from overseas.

The copyright of "Byrne's Identity" has just arrived, and the project is still far from being approved, and Mary has already started to do the accounts with the newly expanded finance department.

Three financially independent companies are in hand, and the operating space is further expanded.

After winning the copyright, the project was temporarily included in the copyright library and waited for it to be put into operation.

George Clint is right, and Ronan himself is well aware that the resources at his disposal are almost at the limit, and it is impossible to run a big project like "Spy" at the same time.

Ronan's main focus was on the two projects of "Blair the Witch" and "The Grim Reaper", and the destined street hit "Ace Agent" put less effort into it, and more was left to George Clint and Paul Greengrass.

This is also an intention to cultivate George Clint, and when the company gets bigger in the future, he can't be a producer for every project.

The time soon came in March, and after the 1999 Oscars, public opinion in the United States was in an uproar, unanimously criticizing the Oscars for best picture and best actress in the past ten years.

As an industry insider, Ronan saw a classic business operation case from behind this chaos.

The success of Shakespeare in Love and Gwyneth Paltrow has nothing to do with the art of cinema, but with a very successful commercial operation.

The success of this operation is enough to bring tens of millions of dollars in profits to the producers.

Ronan plans that in the future, if he has the ability, he can also join this Oscar game to play, maybe make a lot of money at the same time, and win a few Best Actresses.

There is also news circulating in the secret that in order to impress Harvey Weinstein, Best Supporting Actress Judi Dench directly tattooed the name of the Jewish fat man on her buttocks, and it is said that she also took off her pants in the private room for Harvey Weinstein to inspect for herself.

In contrast, he strictly controls the audition, rejects bad temptations with righteousness, and is really a decent person.

But Ronan didn't know how long this decent style would last, but he knew very well that when a person is not tempted, it is often not tempted enough.

Just as Ronan was working on his work, an official from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's governing office in Los Angeles approached him.