Hollywood in the 90s was the age of superstars.

During this period, the 20 million club was born, allowing these top stars in Hollywood to have the same treatment and level as big producers and directors.

Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Kevin Costner, Jim Carrey, Mel Gibson, Bruce Willis, Jack Chen, Will Smith, Nicolas Cage, ......

Among them, "Double Soup and One Kai" is a superstar among superstars.

However, after the advent of the new century, the era of superstars came to an end, and the era of special effects came to Hollywood.

Although it was only 2001, this trend has already been revealed, and the blockbusters in the past two years have all been special effects blockbusters.

Many action stars will follow in the footsteps of Stallone and Schwarzenegger and gradually take a back seat.

Mel Gibson in his previous life, such was the case.

In the 90s, he was invincible, and every movie he participated in was bound to be a big hit, and the salary of a single film even reached an unprecedented $25 million!

But in the new century, it soon fell off the altar and was replaced by rising stars Tom Cruise, Leonardo Ricaprio, George Clooney and others.

When he couldn't get the ideal film contract, he could only save the script by himself and work on a project of "The Passion of the Christ".

As a result, the movie was a big hit!

However, because Mel Gibson is a devout Catholic, when it comes to doctrinal issues in the movie, he is suspected of satirizing Judaism, which has attracted the envy of Hollywood bigwigs.

A blockbuster movie not only failed to save Mel Gibson's career in Hollywood, but instead made him fall into a trough completely.

As you can imagine, Mel Gibson was full of hatred for the Jews who controlled the power of Hollywood, and a drunken gaffe was "accidentally" filmed and exposed.

This was followed by a number of scandals, such as domestic violence, animal cruelty, discrimination against women, and violent tendencies......

In short, Mel Gibson rolled back to Australia in a gloomy way.

Don is very indifferent to this group of superstars in the 90s, mainly because they have been spoiled by the superstar era, and they casually ask for $20 million.

It's as if less than $20 million is a waste of their time.

Except for one person – Mel Gibson!

During his years of growing up, there were many people who helped him selflessly, including Mel Gibson.

Of course, many people, including Mel Gibson, saw Donn's potential and helped him invest in his talent.

Helping is helping!

Tang Enzhi reciprocated, and he will do his best to give back. When this wave of special effects is coming, stabilize Mel Gibson's superstar status and stabilize his career development in Hollywood!

Mel Gibson is a tough guy with a sense of morality, and he's not an American, so he has a natural disadvantage when it comes to pay.

In Hollywood, male actors are paid more than actresses, and American actors are paid more than foreign actors.

This summer, the two popular films "Unsinkable" and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" were both starring Mel Gibson.

Among them, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" received a salary of $25 million, and "Unsinkable" received a salary of $20 million, the price is very high, but there is no lion asking for dividends, which is the benefit of foreign actors.

Of course, not signing a dividend agreement does not mean that he cannot get dividends.

According to Hollywood's practice, for every big-selling film, the film company must pay dividends to the crew, actors' unions, directors' unions, screenwriters' unions, film associations and other institutions, which is about 2%-3% of the total global box office.

Especially outsiders like Sony Pictures, although their performance is sluggish, they can pay dividends in the past ten years to top Hollywood.

To put it bluntly, it is the balance of interests that can have a happier cooperation in the future.

By the end of July, "Mr. and Mrs. Smith" had been in theaters for 4 weeks, and the global box office had finally broken through the $300 million mark!

Among them, the North American box office was 150 million US dollars, the overseas box office included 160 million US dollars, and the French market alone contributed more than 40 million US dollars.

The box office was good enough, but it didn't live up to Universal Pictures' pre-release expectations.

Why?

Because of a racing movie "Fast and Furious" produced by Universal Pictures, the unexpected box office hit even squeezed the living space of "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", which is really laughable.

Fortunately, "Unsinkable" has a strong reputation, and the box office has not fallen off a cliff because of the continuous release of new films.

By the end of July, the North American box office of "Unsinkable" successfully reached $420 million, but the overseas box office was not good enough, only $360 million, and the global box office was $780 million!

Away from the $1 billion mark...... It seems to be very close, but it is also very far away.

"Unsinkable" has been in theaters in North America for 10 weeks, and its weekly box office revenue has fallen below $10 million. The overseas market has gradually passed the apex and begun the parabolic decline stage.

Judging from the current situation, the overseas box office of "Unsinkable" is about $450 million to $480 million.

On Aug. 1, Donn called James Cameron to his office.

"There's a check on the table, for you. ”

They are all old friends, and Don En is not polite, he doesn't even raise his head, and he still holds a pen and writes quickly on the manuscript.

Cameron picked it up and looked at it, and couldn't help but take a deep breath - a full $50 million!

He was the producer, director and screenwriter of "Unsinkable" and received a total of $15 million in remuneration and 10% of the global box office dividends.

Don put down the pen, looked at Cameron staring at the check in his hand, staring intently, and smiled, "This is the first one, the rest will be paid next month, the company's liquidity is currently insufficient." ”

Because of the price increase by HBO, Donn, the North American rights to "Band of Brothers", spent an additional $30 million, and he paid an additional $10 million in buyout fees to hollow out HBO's content production team.

Coupled with the recent establishment of two films, "All the Time" and "Chicago", Don Pictures has not much money left in its accounts.

Fortunately, at the end of last month, Universal Pictures made the first North American box office share of "Unsinkable", a total of $180 million. There is also a "Saw Horror" and "Spider-Man" videotape rental income, which also exceeds $20 million.

Cameron's first dividend was paid, and Down Pictures still had $150 million in liquidity.

James Cameron shook the check in his hand, and the corners of his mouth raised slightly, "Fortunately, I signed an investment dividend agreement, and I only need to pay 15% capital gains tax." If it is a bonus and dividend agreement, half of the personal income tax must be handed over to the state!"

Tang En also sighed a little, when he first entered the industry, he didn't understand anything, he didn't find a contract for Twentieth Century Fox to operate accounts, and the huge dividend of $180 million in "Titanic" was paid personal income tax, which was really heartbreaking.

"By the way, what are you writing? It's not going to be a new script, is it?" Cameron stared at the manuscript on Donn's desk.

Don smiled, "It's just an idea, an outline." I determined the framework of the story, and the specific plot design was handed over to the screenwriting department. ”

"God doesn't know how you can be so creative!" Cameron shook his head, still unable to resist the curiosity in his heart, "It's convenient to reveal, what kind of subject matter?"

"Archaeology...... Explore, tell a story of unearthing treasures. ”

"Like Raiders of the Lost Ark?"

"Uh...... It's not quite the same. Forget it, let's not talk about this, what about you? "Unsinkable" is a box office hit, do you have any new plans?"

Done's words made Cameron pout again and again, "A box office hit? It's too far from what I expected!"

When Tang En heard this, he was a little helpless.

Regarding the box office of "Unsinkable", the two have communicated many times.

Cameron's expectations are high, and the guarantee is to make "Unsinkable" the fourth film to surpass $1 billion at the global box office. If possible, it could even surpass "Spider-Man", which grossed $1.26 billion worldwide, to become the second-highest grossing film in history.

But now it seems that it is very difficult!

Not to mention breaking $1 billion, even surpassing Steven Spielberg's "Jurassic Park" of $930 million, it is very difficult.

With a long sigh, Cameron came to the sofa in the office and sat down, straightened his face, and said lightly: "I have decided that if the box office of this movie cannot exceed 1 billion US dollars, I will give up the plan to take a long vacation until I make a really big movie!"

Tang En couldn't help but laugh and said, "Okay, in order for you to continue filming, I will definitely find a way to prevent this film from grossing over $1 billion at the box office!"

Cameron didn't even look at him, and said confidently, "Don't be kidding, you won't." ”

Don smiled, he really wouldn't.

Not because he thinks about Cameron's body and wants him to rest, but because of the long-term interests of Down Pictures!

"Avatar" was launched in 2005, and it took 4 years of preparation, filming, and production before it was released in 2009.

It's 2001 now, and in the intervals of 4 years, let Cameron make another movie?

It's too difficult!

He worked on "Titanic" for 4 years, and "Unsinkable" is still on it for 4 years.

In the next 4 years, if Cameron really spends his time on an unknown project, even if it succeeds, I am afraid that in 2005, he will have to interrupt his preparation for the project "Avatar" and go on a long vacation.

Pay for one's whistle!

After thinking deeply for a while, Don decided to put the treasure on "Avatar" and said: "If possible, I will talk to Universal and make improvements in publicity, and strive to make "Unsinkable" have a new flashpoint." ”

Cameron's eyes lit up and he looked at Don intently, "I knew that you weren't a pure businessman!"

Tang En's face turned pale, and he sighed lightly: "I robbed your "Titanic" back then, how can I say it...... There will definitely be a feeling of guilt in my heart. So in terms of movies, I'm definitely going to help you as much as I can. ”

Cameron waved his hand magnificently, "There is no need to mention the past." Besides, your "Titanic" is brilliant enough! If I were to take charge of the film, maybe I wouldn't be able to create such a box office legend. ”

"Perhaps...... Possible...... Not necessarily, hehe......"

Donn smiled.

In the past few years, he has frantically absorbed resources from his friends, and even robbed Cameron's big ship.

Now, he's strong enough to give something back.