Before going to meet Alain Shane, Ronan first found the information of Alain Shane Productions and himself, studied it in detail, and also found the original book of "The Identity of Bourne", as well as the 1988 TV series co-produced by Warner Bros. Television Productions and Alain Shane Productions, and watched it carefully.

If you want to negotiate with someone, you must at least understand the basic situation of the opponent.

Alain Shane Productions had a glorious period of glory in the eighties, just from the beginning of the filming and production of "Byrne's Identity", the company took a sharp turn and messed up several projects in a row, this kind of small company has an average ability to resist risks, so from the end of the eighties, Alain Shane Productions gradually fell silent.

The first film and television adaptation of "Bourne's Identity" was not a success, Hollywood is a circle of people who chase success, and the fate of "Bourne's Identity" brought by failure is that no one has cared about it for more than ten years.

Even, the copyright of "Bourne's Hegemony" and "Bourne's Ultimatum" has been pressed in the hands of Robert Ludron, and it may be that it has been dragged down by the TV series.

Since the early nineties, Alain Shane Productions has been no longer directly involved in the production of TV series, but has instead focused on small-scale investments.

The company quickly became an inconspicuous addition to many smaller companies in Hollywood.

Ronan had never heard of the company's name until George Clint gathered the information.

In general, this is a small company that doesn't have much money, doesn't have much background, and doesn't have the ability to produce independently.

It's about the same as the sand sea entertainment of the old Anderson era.

Alain Shane, who is in his fifties, has been in Hollywood for more than two decades, was aggressive in the eighties, became conservative after his failures, and has become more conservative in recent years as he has aged.

Based on the information obtained, Ronan quickly formed a preliminary judgment.

With the ability of Alain Shane Productions, it is impossible to shoot and produce "The Identity of Bourne", the best option is to sell the copyright, it is estimated that it was Universal Pictures who bought the copyright in his previous life, and according to what he knows, Universal Pictures has not yet contacted Alain Shane Productions.

In other words, Alain Shane will not hold the rights and not sell them.

But on the other hand, Alain Shane has been in the circle for so many years, and he has become more and more conservative, coupled with the company's weak output capacity, maybe he will open his mouth.

Ronan was also mentally prepared that from the hands of this kind of old fox, it was impossible to spend more than 100,000 or 200,000 dollars to buy the copyright of a best-selling novel in the 80s.

Finally, Ronan also consulted with attorney Dinah Ampton to inquire about relevant legal matters.

Due to his thorough preparation, the actual situation was more or less what he expected.

"Three million dollars. ”

Alan Shane touched the bags under his eyes and said tentatively: "Mr. Anderson, for only three million dollars in transfer fees, you can take the copyright of "Byrne's Identity". ”

He didn't know how much the other side had.

Ronan deliberately showed a shocked expression: "Three million dollars?"

If you compare the income of "Spy Shadow" in the previous life, this copyright transfer fee is indeed not high, and after entering the new century, the copyright transfer fee for best-selling novels can easily be tens of millions of dollars.

It seems like three million dollars is a good deal.

But Ronan doesn't think so, as a producer and film businessman, of course, he must pursue the maximization of profits, and in the case of the possibility of driving down the price, he must definitely keep the price to the minimum.

Besides, the funds in hand are limited, and I don't want to pay such a large amount of money at once.

"Mr. Shane. Ronan frowned and said, "Your company only spent $300,000 to win "Byrne's Identity" that year, and you want ten times the profit. ”

Alain Shane's face remained unchanged: "That was $300,000 more than a decade ago. ”

Ronan glanced at Alain Shane, knew that this person was not easy to deal with, and said, "Five hundred thousand dollars." ”

Alain Shane holds the rights and takes the absolute initiative, insisting: "Three million dollars!"

"With all due respect, Mr. Shane. Ronan said lightly: "No one will buy this price." ”

Finally someone came to the door, and Alain Shane naturally wanted to make a good deal of it: "If you want to buy the rights, you must also know the value of 'The Identity of Bourne', which dominated the bestseller lists in the early 80s, and has a huge number of fans all over the United States, and when your film adaptation is broadcast, they will naturally become audiences." ”

"Three million dollars!" he stressed, "I won't sell it for less than a dollar." ”

Looking at the other party's drooping eye bags and shrewd gaze, Ronan thought about the actual situation of Alain Shane Productions and decided on the appropriate way to make the transition.

It is necessary for Alain Shane to realize that what he thinks is a treasure is not as valuable as he thinks he is.

"Will book lovers become spectators? Is this really the case?" Ronan said directly: "Why did "Bourne's Identity" go off the air because of poor ratings? As far as I know, this TV series filmed by your company was not finished at all, and it was forced offline by the TV station because the ratings were too bad. ”

He snorted lightly and said, "No one knows the actual value of this novel better than you, because it was because of the failure of the TV adaptation that your company gradually weakened, and then withdrew from the mainstream Hollywood production circle." ”

The memories of this TV series flashed through Alain Shane's mind in an instant, and he really lost his eyes back then!

Ronan did not leave him time to remember, and said: "Popular books like this have strong limitations of the times, and in the nineties, few people mention Robert Ludlun's "Byrne Trilogy" anymore, it has long been forgotten. ”

He spoke faster: "I have been in contact with Mr. Robert Ludlen, and his quotes for "Bourne's Supremacy" and "Bourne's Ultimatum" together are far inferior to yours. ”

Alain Shane remained calm: "Since the value is not high, you can choose not to buy it. ”

Ronan shrugged: "I didn't say it has no value, it's just that its value is limited. There are some things that would have involved trade secrets......"

He sighed, "Let's put it this way, the production budget of this film is actually only $4 million, and I can't accept that you want a $3 million copyright transfer fee." ”

"A five-million-dollar production budget?" Alan Shane was a little surprised.

Ronan put on an honest and helpless look: "I just want to follow the trend of "Mission Impossible" and make a B-grade film with an agent action genre. ”

Alain Shane was silent for a while, but still insisted: "$3 million, this price is not high." ”

Ronan shook his head: "Okay, then you can keep the copyright." From 1986 to now, the film and television copyright of "Bourne's Identity" has been pressed in the hands of your company for 13 years, and I hope you can find a better buyer and will not press it for another 13 years. ”

With that, he was ready to stand up and take his leave.

I have done research before, this project has not been cared for since the TV series aired, Alain Shane Productions is in the hands, and there is no ability to produce it, and if it is consumed and the authorization period expires, there will be no gain.

Even if he leaves, he has a plan for the future.

More than half of the 20-year mandate period has now passed. Alain Shane's calm face changed, the first person in more than a decade to inquire about the rights to "Byrne's Identity."

You don't have to wait another 13 years, and the license will expire after a few more years.

"Half a million dollars is too low. Alain Shane's tone remained steady: "I can't do a loss-making business. ”

Ronan didn't say much, and directly raised a finger: "One million dollars, this is the highest price I can offer." He emphasized: "If you don't agree, I can only say that I regret it, I want to make a B-grade action movie, and there are many cheaper novel rights on the market." ”

Alain Shane did not answer immediately, thought for a while, and was a little dissatisfied with the price.

"Here are my contact details. Ronan placed his business card on the coffee table between the two: "Mr. Shane, if you think about it, you can call me." ”

Alain Shane didn't touch the business card and said, "$1.5 million, do business so that the seller can see the profit." ”

Ronan thought seriously for a long time before he said: "I have always adhered to the principle of win-win in my work. Okay, $1.5 million. ”

Alain Shane's face remained unchanged, but he breathed a sigh of relief in his heart, this young man was really difficult enough.

Is Hollywood's new generation so powerful?

But his words were not finished: "Mr. Anderson, I still have a few more conditions. ”

Ronan's words were also unfinished: "Mr. Shane, I also have a condition, we will trade in the form of a right of first refusal. ”