A black Lexus sedan drove away from the front of the office building where Embassy Pictures was located.

In the car, Mel Gibson, whose face was not very good-looking, said to Charlemagne: "I don't like Embassy Pictures. ”

Charlemagne, who had worked with Mel Gibson for many years, knew how to get along with him, and went along with his words: "I don't like Embassy Pictures either. ”

Mel Gibson's anger didn't go down completely, and he said, "Do we have any other choice?"

This is not the time to be rash, Charlemagne quickly said: "Unless you are willing to hand over the film to the New Market Company for distribution, they have no guarantee." ”

"But Embassy Pictures' bid ......" Mel Gibson frowned: "$40 million is too low." ”

Charlemagne was also not optimistic about the commercial prospects of "The Passion of the Christ", but instead of saying it directly, he knocked on the side: "We invested a total of $30 million, so we also have a profit margin of $10 million." ”

Mel Gibson was silent, he could understand the meaning of this, if he really wanted to divide the distribution, could Aiken Pictures make a profit of 10 million dollars?

In fact, there is one aspect, Charlemagne does not say it, but he has a clear understanding in his heart, this "Passion of the Christ" is too non-mainstream......

As the car pulled out of Burbank Thirteenth Street, Mel Gibson said slowly, "Charlemagne, what about your proposal?"

Charlemagne said bluntly this time: "We have run through all the medium and large distribution companies, and Embassy Pictures is the only one who is willing to ......" Seeing Mel Gibson's face turn gloomy, he quickly changed his words: "The conditions offered by Embassy Pictures are the best, we don't like Embassy Pictures, we don't like that Garcia Rodriguez, but this is business, we can't mix too much personal likes and dislikes, we can't give up the profits that may be in hand and choose the option of losing money, right?"

Mel Gibson's face was not very good-looking, and he didn't lose his temper again after all, and after a while, he waved his hand and said, "Deal with it according to your wishes." ”

Charlemagne nodded: "Okay." He also reminded: "Embassy Pictures still respects you very much, and all activities will be based on you during publicity." ”

Mel Gibson snorted, "If that's not the case, I'd rather lose money than work with them." ”

Sitting in Charlemagne's place, the company's operation must be considered, and Charlemagne simply shut up to avoid any sentence that would not be right and cause Mel Gibson to change his mind.

He could only sigh secretly: It's not easy to serve such a boss.

Three days later, Embassy Pictures and Aiken Pictures officially signed a buyout agreement to buy out all the rights to "The Passion of the Christ" at a high price of $40 million.

"The Passion of the Christ" has also become a veritable film of relativity entertainment.

At the same time, Embassy Pictures announced that "The Passion of the Christ" will be released in North America next year, that is, in late February 2004.

Immediately after the buyout was signed, Ronan convened a meeting at Embassy Pictures about the distribution of "The Passion of the Christ" and asked the company to prepare for the large-scale distribution of the film.

The reason for the special meeting is also to remind everyone in the embassy film industry of the importance of this film.

Another point is to identify Mel Gibson as the core point of the promotion.

"Mel Gibson himself is an A-list actor who has won the Oscar for Best Director. ”

In the conference room, David Villa said with a smile: "Because of his personality and temperament, there are many controversies surrounding him, and this film may lack selling points, but Mel Gibson himself is full of selling points." ”

Ronan cautions: "The controversy of the film is often the selling point. ”

García Rodriguez echoed Ronan's words: "Our past distribution experience has proven that a good film may not be successful, but a controversial film often has a higher chance of success than a good movie. ”

Ronan reminded again: "Controversy is not a bad thing, but don't let the fire burn on us. ”

David Villa continued: "Mel Gibson will always be at the front, he is the best shield. ”

"I had a lot of contact with Mel Gibson during the negotiations. Garcia Rodriguez said simply: "This man can't tolerate others saying that his movies are bad, the fire burns at a moment's notice, and he is a little overconfident that he will be a qualified publicity explosion." ”

David Villa added: "I'm going to have people make a couple of scenarios for Mel Gibson, and we've had a lot of experience with Blair the Witch before. ”

How to do the specific work, Ronan has long since stopped participating, but said: "Consider all kinds of issues comprehensively, if we can follow the direction we set, this film has the potential to explode." ”

There have been so many movies in a row, from Shahai Entertainment to Embassy Pictures, everyone has inexplicable confidence in Ronan.

Garcia Rodriguez and David Villa are no exception, and since Ronan said that the film may explode, it will really explode in the future.

The "outbreak" in the minds of the two has a minimum measure, $40 million to buy out the copyright, and at least a North American box office of over 100 million.

After discussing The Passion of the Christ for a while, García Rodriguez instead said, "The Human Erasure Plan 3 was taken off North America yesterday. ”

Ronan asked, "How much is the box office?"

García Rodriguez reflected and said, "It grossed $95.02 million in North America and $172.5 million worldwide. ”

Ronan smiled and said, "You can continue to plan the fourth part." ”

Since there is a market and an audience, and the investment in the film itself is not high, of course, the sequel must be carried out to the end as always.

After leaving Embassy Pictures, Ronan received a call from Robert Lee, who contacted Dan Brown, the author of The Da Vinci Code, through Random House.

The small town of Esther, New Hampshire, like many satellite towns in the United States, is quiet and livable.

At a café near the town's middle school, Robert Lee meets Dan Brown and his wife and agent, Bryce Newton.

"It's been a great pleasure to meet both of them. ”

Robert Lee politely shook hands with the Dan Browns while introducing himself: "I'm Robert Lee, senior president of Hollywood Relativity Entertainment Group. ”

"Investing in Relativistic Entertainment for 'Pirates of the Caribbean?" Contrary to Robert Lee's expectations, Dan Brown seems familiar with Hollywood.

Robert Lee is not too surprised to think of Dan Brown's status as a popular writer, and the ultimate goal of many popular writers is to turn their work from words in books into movies on the big screen.

"Exactly. Robert Lee laughs and says, "I'm here for relativity." ”

Dan Brown glanced at his wife, Bryce Newton, and Bryce Newton asked directly, "Mr. Lee, are you and the Relativity Entertainment Group you represent here for my husband's work?"

Robert Lee took out a copy of The Da Vinci Code from his briefcase, put it in front of the Dan Browns, and said, "Mr. Brown's latest book, we are very interested in Relativity Entertainment and want to adapt it into a movie. ”

Instead of answering immediately, the couple looked at each other with a strange expression on their faces.

Robert Lee had been watching them and immediately noticed it, a little confused as to what the two meant.

"Relativity Entertainment is very sincere. Robert Lee added: "Mr. Brown's is also suitable for film adaptations." ”

Bryce Newton smiled, a little embarrassed in his smile, and said: "We are very grateful to your company for the importance of "The Da Vinci Code", this is an honor for me and Brown, but one thing you may not know, the film adaptation rights of "The Da Vinci Code" have already been sold, and it is impossible to sell it a second time. ”

This was very unexpected, and Robert Lee frowned slightly: "Already sold?"

"Yes. "Dan Brown doesn't have to lie about this kind of thing.

Bryce Newton explained simply: "I was contacted by Mr. Tom Hanks, who negotiated with us on behalf of Preton to buy the rights to The Da Vinci Code, just a week after the publication went public. ”

Robert Lee knew that Preton was Tom Hanks' film production company, and the head of the company was Rita Wilson, who was Tom Hanks's wife.

The company has been involved in the production of a number of films in recent years, the most famous of which is undoubtedly "My Grand Greek Wedding".

"The Da Vinci Code" was preempted by Pretong!

Robert Lee has been buying rights everywhere in recent years, targeting works that have not yet made a name for themselves, and it has been going very well, and now people are getting the first hand, which is somewhat frustrating.

Dan Brown, a thoughtful writer who doesn't want to offend big Hollywood corporations, said: "Mr. Hanks promised us that in the next five years, the film would be released in North America, and we couldn't say no. ”

Robert Lee had come to terms with this fact, thought for a moment, and said, "I would venture to ask, how much royalties did Mr. Hanks' Preton Company pay for The Da Vinci Code?"

Dan Brown was just about to speak, Bryce Newton thought of the signed agreement, quickly pulled him, and said: "Mr. Li, I'm very sorry, we have signed a confidentiality agreement with Pretong Company, and we can't disclose the content of the transaction to the outside world. ”

"It doesn't matter. Robert Lee has always been polite: "It's my question that is too presumptuous. ”

Bryce Newton and Dan Brown both returned with polite smiles and made a good impression of Robert Lee.

The three of them chatted for a while, and Robert Lee took the initiative to leave, left the café, and went to the small tree-lined park opposite, dialed Ronan's phone, and told him the general situation.

He briefly analyzed: "Tom Hanks's Preton Company has just obtained the copyright, and "The Da Vinci Code" is not a well-known work at present, can we go to Tom Hanks and talk to him and get the copyright from him?"

Ronan glanced at the schedule and said, "Charles Rowan invited me to participate in a clip of a 3D animated film by Warner Bros., Tom Hanks, one of the main voice actors, will also participate, and it just so happened that I was talking to him. ”

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