In the Santa Monica business district, in a small and unassuming building, Mel Gibson walked into his office and nodded at his long-awaited agent, Cameron Sloan.

"Morning, Mel. Cameron Sloan took the initiative to say hello.

Mel Gibson pulled out a chair, sat down at his desk, and asked, "Karen, come here so early?"

Cameron Sloan hurriedly replied: "I communicated with Embassy Pictures two days ago, and Embassy Pictures officially replied this morning. ”

This is related to the distribution of the huge proceeds of "The Passion of the Christ", Mel Gibson attaches great importance to it, and asks in hot pursuit: "Did Embassy Pictures agree to our terms?"

As a highly educated agent, Cameron Sloan has a relatively sober mind, and even if Mel Gibson is forced to make non-cent demands to Embassy Pictures, he still doesn't want the relationship between the two parties to completely break down.

He said tactfully: "Embassy Pictures has shown its respect for you and made concessions on the basis of the contract signed by both parties. ”

Mel Gibson was impatient to listen to what he thought was nonsense, and waved his arm hard: "Get to the point!"

Cameron Sloan knew Mel Gibson and was a little helpless, so he had to say: "The reply from Embassy Pictures to me is that they will pay you a $2 million bonus after "The Passion of the Christ" is removed from North America. In addition, the male and female protagonists also have a prize of $500,000 each. ”

"What about the later divisions?" Mel Gibson didn't look very good.

"They didn't mention it. Cameron Sloan said quickly: "I specifically asked, and the reply given by Embassy Pictures is that the later division is subject to the contract signed by both parties. ”

Mel Gibson certainly understood what he meant, and frowned and asked, "Non-negotiable?"

Cameron Sloan sighed lightly in his heart and said, "The attitude of Embassy Pictures is very resolute!"

Mel Gibson was directly laughed at angrily: "$2 million bonus? Embassy Pictures is really generous, "The Passion of the Christ" has already opened in the UK this weekend, and the box office has exceeded 10 million dollars in three days! This so-called bonus, they are embarrassed to say it?"

Cameron Sloan didn't rush to answer.

Mel Gibson's words were clearly not finished: "Who do they think I am? Do they think Mel Gibson is a homeless man in the slums?

"Listen to me, Mel. Cameron Sloan still wants to persuade: "In the contract we signed with Embassy Pictures, there is neither a sharing clause nor a box office bonus explanation, and Embassy Pictures ......"

Mel Gibson's voice suddenly raised: "Karen, are you my agent, or the agent of Ronan Anderson, the owner of Embassy Pictures?"

Cameron Sloan could only swallow the latter words and instead said, "Mel, I don't mean anything else, I just don't want our relationship with Relativity Entertainment Group to deteriorate. ”

Mel Gibson said directly: "Our relationship with Relativity Entertainment depends on the attitude of Embassy Pictures. ”

Speaking of which, Cameron Sloan saw it completely clearly, and couldn't persuade Mel Gibson at all, so he simply stopped persuading and asked, "What do we do next?"

Mel Gibson thought of the rising box office figures of "The Passion of the Christ", and then thought that he could only get less than 10 million dollars in profits, and said without hesitation: "You contact a lawyer, find a reasonable reason to deny the validity of the contract, and if Embassy Pictures refuses to make concessions, sue them directly!"

Cameron Sloan, knowing that there was no way to change Mel Gibson's decision, stood up and said, "I'm going to do it." ”

Mel Gibson waved his hand casually.

Out of this office, Cameron Sloan shook his head secretly as he walked, Mel Gibson has already offended many people, and if he continues to do this, he will also offend new and powerful forces like Ronan Anderson and Relativity Entertainment.

Even if Mel Gibson has a few hardcore friends, wouldn't he make enemies everywhere in the long run?

Mel Gibson still has value now, and those companies or people who are guilty of it, for the sake of Mel Gibson's value, may not be counted for the time being, but when the value fades and trouble happens, what kind of situation will Mel Gibson face?

Cameron Sloan shuddered suddenly, as an agent, he knows Mel Gibson's popularity and various grievances and hatreds too well, and at that time, except for a limited number of hardcore friends such as Stallone and the Downey family, I am afraid that other people will rush over and kick Mel Gibson when he falls, so that he will completely fall into the street.

This situation is completely predictable, maybe it will appear in a few years, and Cameron Sloan feels that while he is serving Mel Gibson and gaining his own value, he should also prepare a little in advance.

At that time, of course, it will not be to confront Hollywood as a whole, but to find a way to ensure its own interests.

Cameron Sloan found out that Mel Gibson was running fast on the road to death and never looked back.

As an agent, he should persuade Mel Gibson to make the best choice, but is there a person like Mel Gibson that he can persuade?

After the Oscars, "Lost in Translation", which had already been removed from theaters, took advantage of the momentum of the two Oscars and naturally returned to the theater again and started the second screening.

However, there are not many theaters that are released, only 635.

But being able to return to the theater already shows that "Lost in Translation" is the winner of the Oscars.

Although Sofia Coppola only won one award for Best Original Screenplay, the first American female director to be nominated for an Oscar attracted more attention than even Scarlett Johansson's Best Supporting Actress.

With attention, the film can generate box office.

On its first weekend after its re-release, "Lost in Translation" took home $3.15 million from theaters with the power of an Oscar-winning film.

This score is not very high among many Oscar-winning films, and can only be said to be average.

The biggest contributor to the Oscar effect was the big winner, "The Lord of the Rings 3: The Return of the King," which is still in theaters, rebounded 239 percent at the box office after its first Oscar weekend, collecting another $8.31 million.

The film also grossed more than $370 million in North America, making it the 2003 North American box office champion.

The 2004 top box office nominee was The Passion of the Christ, which was unusually stable, falling less than 40 percent in its third weekend to $32.13 million, despite not having an Oscar-effect bonus.

Counting the weekday gains, the total North American box office of "The Passion of the Christ" has reached $285.47 million.

The North American box office exceeded 300 million, but it was only next weekend.

"The Passion of the Christ" also achieved three consecutive box office titles on the North American box office charts.

In addition, the film was released in theaters in more overseas countries and regions, and the controversy caused in North America has long spread to the entire Western world, and the influence of Jesus and the Bible is huge, coupled with the effect of the North American blockbuster, "The Passion of the Christ" has caused no less popularity overseas than in North America.

In Australia, it earned $5.89 million in its opening weekend, setting a record for an R-rated film in Australia.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the city of God, "The Passion of the Christ" caused no less sensation than "Titanic" that year, and the Brazilian box office of $7.89 million in the first weekend is also a reflection of the market heat.

In markets like Mexico, Germany, France and Italy, The Passion of the Christ all grossed more than $4 million in its opening weekend.

"The Passion of the Christ" grossed $48.21 million in its first week overseas.

Of course, the film's response in some overseas countries is average, such as the box office in the Korean market.

Others, such as Israel, have not only publicly protested the film, but also refused to bring it in.

When it comes to psychological sensitivity, Jews surpass even their neighbors.

But film companies in Arab countries have actively contacted Embassy Pictures to bring in "The Passion of the Christ," for example, the United Arab Emirates will start showing the film in mid-March.

In the eyes of local tyrants, the money spent on introducing movies is not a problem, but the movies protested by the old neighbors must be brought in and watched, and it is worth it not for others, even if it is just to add blockages.

The complexity of the relationship between the two can also be seen from the film aspect, there are too many derogatory movies in Hollywood, and after the end of the cooperation between Shahai Entertainment and Abu Dhabi, the latter's positive image has almost completely disappeared from Hollywood movies.

After 911, more and more villains began to appear.

In some ways, this is also a kind of political correctness in Hollywood, even Ronan will not make a film like "Human Removal Project 1" after 911.

By mid-March, the second film released by Embassy Pictures, "Tales of the Night 2", was officially released.

Because the first weekend of this year's summer file is Universal Pictures' super blockbuster "Van Helsing", in order to avoid the possible risks of the heroine, Ronan deliberately asked Embassy Pictures to put "Tales of the Night 2" in the spring file.

In this way, even if "Van Helsing" hits the streets as before, and Kate Beckinsale incurs a lot of bad reviews, it will not affect the market response of "Tales of the Night 2" too much.

Two years ago, "Tales of the Night" was a box office success that attracted many fans, and the subsequent TV broadcast and videotape DVD market also cultivated a large audience, which gave "Tales of the Night 2" a broader box office base.

Embassy Pictures' publicity and distribution capabilities are also better than they were two years ago, winning more than 3,300 theaters for the film.

In the first weekend of its release, "Tales of the Night 2" was in North America for $35.67 million, which has already exceeded the production cost.

Although it is very difficult for the North American box office to exceed 100 million due to the not very good reputation, it is not difficult to recover all the investment just by relying on the North American box office.