Every time I see the skyrocketing box office figures of "The Passion of the Christ", Mel Gibson's pride comes naturally, and as a person with a personality that leans towards arrogance, it is hard not to be proud of it.

But after pride, there is inexplicable irritability.

Because no matter how much the box office numbers rise, it will be difficult for him to share the profits.

The North American box office of the film has exceeded 200 million US dollars, and how much did he get for selling this film?

Four million dollars!

It's only 40 million dollars!

Excluding the cost of $30 million, the gross profit is only $10 million.

Such a fact makes Mel Gibson irritated and dizzy when he thinks about it, and the proceeds generated by the film are taken away by Embassy Pictures.

Mel Gibson certainly wasn't willing.

Not only him, but anyone else will be unwilling to face a similar situation.

But Mel Gibson is also only reluctant, because he signed a copyright buyout contract with Embassy Pictures, and he is unlikely to share in the revenue other than the negligible share of directors and producers stipulated by the industry union.

However, the benefits are moving, not to mention that Mel Gibson is similar to Ronan in some ways, and he is not a good person in the first place.

In the face of commercial interests that could have belonged to you, there is no such thing as good or bad.

Moreover, this is not a few million dollars, not tens of millions of dollars, but hundreds of millions of dollars.

Since the release of the film, Mel Gibson has stopped participating in the promotional activities of Embassy Pictures, he is not a fool, he knows that the controversy caused may burn himself, and he has lowered his profile a lot, and began to fully prepare for the new film project "Apocalypse" with Walt Disney.

On Disney Studios Stage 2, Michael Eisner stood near the doorway, looking at Mel Gibson who was carefully inspecting in the studio, and said to Disney's CEO Cook Dick: "This project needs to be supported in a big way. ”

Cook-Dick first responded, then reminded: "Mel Gibson annoyed some people. ”

Michael Eisner knew what he meant and waved his hand casually: "These are nothing, Mel Gibson still has value." ”

Cook-Dick said: "Thankfully, the subject is not as sensitive as The Passion of the Christ. ”

Michael Eisner laughed: "There are also many people who are interested in Mayan culture and the Mayan Empire. ”

Mel Gibson's new project tells the story of the male protagonist who fights against the rulers of the Mayan Empire in order to protect himself and his family when the Mayan Empire is about to collapse.

The film has already established a style, in the same vein as "The Passion of the Christ", and the original and authentic aesthetic of violence has become Mel Gibson's most admired housekeeping skill.

After going through the precipitation of "Braveheart" and "The Passion of the Christ", Michael Eisner believes that Mel Gibson is skilled in this type of action movie.

Compared to Michael Eisner, who is increasingly irascible and authoritarian, Cook Dick is a rational person, and then said: "The success of "The Passion of the Christ" is due to many factors, and Mel Gibson's new film may not be able to achieve the same results. ”

Michael Eisner waved his hand: "It's okay, it's okay to have half of it." ”

After all, the production budget is not high, only $40 million.

This is a project that Michael Eisner personally contacted, and although Cook Dick is a confidant of Michael Eisner, it is not good to say too much.

"The Passion of the Christ has grossed more than $200 million in North America. Michael Eisner said slowly: "The overseas box office is not expected to be bad. ”

Cook-Dick continued: "There are many predictions that the film will be more than $600 million at the global box office. ”

Michael Eisner sighed and said, "The rights were sold for $40 million, and Mel Gibson's deal is too good to deal." ”

"The vision of the embassy film industry is too poisonous. Cook-Dick said enviously: "Relativity Entertainment is making a lot of money again." ”

Michael Eisner's gaze suddenly sharpened: "Ronan Anderson's relativistic entertainment is developing too fast, right?"

Cook Dick remembered the rumors he had heard: "Paramount Pictures and Shirley Lansing are said to have suffered a dark loss on Relativity Entertainment. ”

Michael Eisner rubbed his chin slightly: "According to the current trend, it won't be long before Relativistic Entertainment threatens Disney." ”

The Big Six only want to have fewer studios of the same size, not one more.

The idea is exactly the same.

Cook-Dick agreed, but thinking of Disney's current situation, he still reminded: "We're still focusing on Disney at this stage, right?"

Michael Eisner has been stubborn for a few years, but Cook Dick can listen to it somewhat, smile, and say, "That's right, we have to stabilize the interior first." ”

The traditional Disney forces, led by Roy Disney, are his henchmen: "I don't have the energy to care about outside things, but there are some things that just need to be pushed." ”

Cook Dick didn't quite understand and looked curiously at Michael Eisner's side.

Michael Eisner said: "You've been dealing with Mel Gibson a lot lately and think he has an idea about the high box office of The Passion of the Christ?"

"I have all the ideas. Cook Dick pretended to be light-hearted and said, "Not to mention Mel Gibson as a director, producer and investor." ”

Michael Eisner turned his head and instructed the assistant who had been standing next to him: "Find a few people and talk to Mel Gibson in private, how can he not fight for himself if The Passion of the Christ earns such a high income?"

Cook-Dick smiled and nodded, and said to his assistant, "You do the work on that too." ”

It's really just a matter of effort, and you don't have to invest any resources at all.

At the end of the day, Mel Gibson accepted the invitation of several partners, went to the bar for a drink together, and returned home in the evening because he was in a bad mood, opened another bottle of wine, and got so drunk that he even smashed the bottle.

After thinking about it all night, early the next morning, Mel Gibson called the agent, and while waiting for the agent to come, he quickly took a cold shower to let the alcohol-stimulated brain gradually sober up and calm down, but seeing the newly added box office figures of "The Passion of the Christ", the already unbalanced heart was even more restless.

He was the one who initiated the project, he was the one who invested the money, he was the one who shot the film, and he was the one who caused the controversy and created the topic, but he paid so much, but he only made a profit of $10 million.

And that's not even counting the one that the tax office is going to cut off......

He was the one who paid the most, but it was Embassy Pictures who took away the film and almost profited.

The agent quickly rushed to Mel Gibson's mansion, Mel Gibson was a grumpy straight guy and didn't have any nonsense, and directly told the agent Cameron Sloan about what he had considered last night.

"Don't talk about offline income, just talk about theatrical screenings. Mel Gibson snorted and said: "The global box office of "The Passion of the Christ" is expected to exceed $600 million, and even if the investment of Embassy Pictures in publicity and distribution is included, the net profit of the film will be more than $100 million!"

Cameron Sloan didn't take Mel Gibson's words and was seriously thinking about what he had just said.

Mel Gibson's words continue: "Counting offline revenue, the profit will be higher. And I, as a producer and investor, can only get $10 million in earnings, and the net profit is even lower, is that fair?"

Cameron Sloan could only answer: "Frankly, it's very unfair. But he kept his senses and knew that commercial things could not be measured in terms of fairness or unfairness: "We have a copyright sale agreement with Embassy Pictures, and from a legal point of view, all the revenue generated by The Passion of the Christ is not directly related to us. ”

This wasn't the answer Mel Gibson wanted to hear, and with a wave of his hand, he asked, "Karen, I called you here to ask how I can get what I deserve!"

Cameron Sloan glanced at him and cautiously persuaded, "It's hard to ......"

Mel Gibson's sharp eyes immediately fell on Cameron Sloan, and he said without hesitation: "If you can't do it, I'll find someone else." ”

"I ......" Cameron Sloan was helpless, and a grumpy customer like Mel Gibson was quite difficult to serve, and after thinking for a while, he said: "I suggest that we communicate and coordinate with Embassy Pictures first, "The Passion of the Christ" is a box office hit, and the copyright buyout party should also say something." ”

Mel Gibson said directly: "Ten percent revenue share or ten percent box office share, that's my condition." ”

Cameron Sloan did not object, first offering a high point of conditions, and the two sides then had room to bargain, saying: "I will contact Embassy Pictures." ”

Mel Gibson patiently asked, "Will Embassy Pictures agree?"

Cameron Sloan hesitated a little, but finally said: "It's unlikely that we agreed, we signed an agreement with them after all." ”

"What about the legal aspect? Like I've been deceived or deceived. Mel Gibson is a rough guy who doesn't particularly believe in the legal aspect: "What if we sue for the legal route?"

Cameron Sloan, as an agent, said from the perspective of Mel Gibson's interests: "It's better not to go this way, Embassy Pictures is part of Relativity Entertainment Group, and this company is growing rapidly......"

Mel Gibson interrupted with a wave of his hand: "Is it possible to go the path of prosecution?"

Faced with the employer's request, Cameron Sloan could only tell the truth: "Yes, generally this kind of prosecution is settled by the accused party meeting out of court." ”

Mel Gibson made a decision: "You first communicate and coordinate with the embassy films, and if it doesn't satisfy me, find a suitable reason to sue them." ”