Back in Hollywood, the first thing Eric needed to solve was MGM's contract with Pierce Brosnan. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

The success of "Casino Royale" not only brought MGM huge profits and helped MGM's market value break through the $12 billion mark recently, but also made Pierce Brosnan, who played James Bond, open his mouth for the sequel, calling out what is likely to be the first 20 million base salary plus 20% profit sharing contract in Hollywood history, and he is only willing to sign one at a time. If calculated according to the box office of "Casino Royale", the value of this remuneration contract is close to $70 million, and the average salary of Hollywood A-list superstars in recent years is less than $20 million.

Due to Eric's appearance, so far, the highest salary for a Hollywood actor is still Jack Nicholson's $50 million in "Batman", and it was just an accident.

Hollywood celebrities like Tom Cruise and Mel Gibson, who both star and produce, often get only two or three million dollars per film. Although "Casino Royale" has skyrocketed to 1 billion at the global box office, it is clear to anyone that Eric's own involvement and the popularity bonus of MGM's Agent Cinematic Universe are the key to the film's success, and Pierce Brosnan's importance is far less than imagined.

With the release of "Casino Royale", all six films in the first half of the first phase of the MGM Agent Cinematic Universe have ended, and the worldview of the entire Agent Cinematic Universe has also been built.

In the plan, the second half of the first phase of the Agent Cinematic Universe still includes six films.

At present, "Breaking Bad 3" has begun filming, and it is expected to be released in the summer of next year, and "Mission Impossible 3" is also in the process of intense preparation, and the schedule is preliminarily determined at the end of next year. The starring contracts for these two films have been determined in advance, and there will be no problems such as salary disputes for the time being. However, if Pierce Brosnan's salary problem cannot be properly resolved, the other four films in the plan, "Bond 19", "Breaking Bads 4", "Mission Impossible 4" and "Bond 20", are likely to be unable to be implemented smoothly due to the long salary tug-of-war between MGM and several leading actors.

Amy Pascal and Pierce Brosnan's agent have been talking for half a month, perhaps thinking that they have mastered MGM's seven inches, but the other party just reluctantly agreed to reduce the sharing clause to 15%, but the fixed salary of $20 million has no intention of backing down. Eric didn't want a pay contract to drag on for months or even a year and a half, so he decided to get involved.

Brantwood Country Club Golf Course in Santa Monica, not far from Preavista Firefly Studios, Amy happened to have a membership card for the club and proposed a meeting with Pierce Brosnan here.

Since it was back to Los Angeles, it was another Monday, and Eric and Katzenberg had their habit of having breakfast together, and before some things were finished, they rushed over with him.

On the course, Eric shot short again, ignored the girl's heartless snickering, bent down to correct the golf ball on the ground, and said to Katzenberg next to him: "So, you now understand why I signed a long-term contract with Stewart, if we don't do this, we will definitely face a worse situation in the future than MGM now, that is a group of superheroes who are enough to destroy the earth, and when the time comes, they will all ask for sky-high salaries, and the fireflies will become working for them." ”

Katzenberg glanced at Drew and Amy Pascal, who were whispering nearby, and said, "I'm just curious, how are you going to solve it this time?"

Eric set the ball, swung it out, looked at the white shadow flying out of the distance this time, and walked with Katzenberg towards the distant landing point, not answering the question directly, but saying: "Everyone should understand who is the real master of Hollywood." ”

Katzenberg shook his head helplessly and said, "But, Eric, you're going to make more and more A-list superstars refuse to work with us." ”

"You don't understand, Jeffrey," Eric said, "at least, the age of superstars is over early with Firefly. The next twenty years, and beyond, will be the era of technology and special effects. The Marvel Cinematic Universe in the pipeline of Fireflies, MGM's upcoming Lord of the Rings franchise, and many other projects planned will all be selling on visual effects and the story itself, and the involvement of A-list stars can be icing on the cake, but they are not necessary. ”

Although Katzenberg didn't agree too much with Eric's words, he still nodded, turned his head to look at Drew and Amy, who were also playing not far away, and said, "So, Eric, do you have a plan for your next movie, you know, this is what everyone asked me to ask together." ”

In recent days, although the suppressive effect of "Casino Royale" on other films in the third week of release has been greatly reduced, the third film of Firefly Group's Bowei distribution system, "Taishan Forest", still has a tepid start.

Although the film received good reviews, the film only collected more than $16 million in the first three days of the first weekend, which is only half of the MGM "Scream 2" released at the same time, and because of Rachel Weisz's participation in the gimmick of the girl who was killed at the beginning, "Scream 2" earned $32.92 million at the box office in the first three days of the opening weekend. At a cost of just $24 million for "Scream 2," MGM was able to fully recoup its costs in the first week. In comparison, on the Firefly's side, the cost of "Tarzan Forest" is 55 million US dollars, counting "Jedi Men 2", which was hit by "Casino Royale", which failed at the box office, and "Air Prison", which was also not too successful, Firefly's several live-action movies this year can almost be described as completely annihilated, although there is a new line of "Death 2" next, but that movie cannot be considered mainstream after all.

Therefore, even with a film like "Finding Nemo", which is enough to support the global box office seed of the entire summer file, it is still difficult for several high-level Firefly executives to be happy, especially when Eric went to achieve such dazzling results for MGM-directed "Casino Royale".

"The next movie," Eric said thoughtfully, "When the girl group in the UK is built, I want to direct a music MV first, a very interesting MV." ”

Katzenberg couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth, and wanted to yell, 'Boss, can we get down to business?', in fact, if Eric was his subordinate, not the boss, with Katzenberg's fiery temper, he would have really yelled.

Seeing Katzenberg's uncomfortable look, Eric laughed and comforted, "Alright, Jeffrey, this kind of thing can't be rushed. You see, the global box office of "Casino Royale" will definitely reach 1 billion, and since I have made two films with a global box office of 1 billion in a row, wouldn't it be better if the next movie could continue to maintain this box office level?"

Katzenberg couldn't help but imagine the scene depicted by Eric, felt his facial muscles twitch again, and said, "You mean, three in a row, 1 billion in the world?"

Eric nodded and said, "yes, actually, I still want to beat Jim's box office record, but after all, I can't do his kind of dedication to excellence, so it's better to win by quantity." If three films in a row can maintain a global box office of $1 billion, it should be regarded as a pioneer. ”

"Okay," Katzenberg didn't doubt that Eric's plan was a bit incredible, but he didn't doubt that Eric had the ability to achieve such a miracle, but just nodded, he immediately added, "But, Eric, you have to promise that the next movie must belong to Firefly." ”

"Of course, that's for sure," Eric smiled and nodded, beckoning Natasha, who was standing not far away to be a guest caddy, to come over, change the club, and continue, "And besides, I'm not going to keep you waiting too long." ”

The two chatted while playing, and after a while, Drew and Amy led a middle-aged man in his forties over.

As soon as Amy was about to speak, the middle-aged man reached over and introduced himself, "Hello, Mr. Williams, I'm Pierce's agent, Rick Cozeman. ”

Eric shook his hand politely and said, "I remember I said I wanted Pierce to come over in person." ”

"Well, I'm sorry, Mr. Williams," said Rick Cozman, looking embarrassed, his expression not at all flawed, "Pierce was in a hurry and couldn't come in time, and he specifically told me to apologize to you." ”

In order to avoid getting too stiff with the studio during the salary negotiation process, the star usually does not appear in person, so that even if something happens, both parties can leave some buffer room.

Eric naturally knew the rules and was not angry, and when Rick Cozman greeted Katzenberg, he said: "In that case, then let's be open and honest, MGM hopes to sign a four-part contract with Pierce at once, two main stories, and two cross-sets." ”

At this point, Eric interrupted, Rick Cozman interrupted, "Mr. Williams, this is not going to work, we will only sign MGM one film at a time." ”

Eric glanced at Rick Cozman, and waited for the other party to shut up in amusement before continuing: "Four contracts, I have two sets of compensation plans here. First, the two main stories are paid 20 million each, and the cross set is paid 15 million each, for a total of 70 million US dollars. Second, the base salary of all four films is $10 million, and Pierce can get a 10% box office profit share from the main story, and the cross-concentrated profit share is 5%. ”

Rick Cozeman couldn't help but open his mouth several times, but he endured it, and when Eric finished speaking, he couldn't wait to shake his head and said: "Mr. Williams, this contract is too insincere, we won't agree, you know, "Casino Royale" can bring MGM $1 billion at the box office." ”

"yes," Eric nodded, looking at Rick Cotzman, with a faint smile on his lips, "It seems that you also know this, it was 'Casino Royale' that brought MGM $1 billion, not Pierce Brosnan who brought MGM $1 billion." ”

Rick Cozman didn't expect his own words to put himself in it, but he was used to seeing this kind of scene, and his expression didn't change in the slightest, and he insisted: "However, compared to the profits that Pierce's 007 brought to MGM, I think we should be compensated enough." ”

Eric held a club in his hand, nodded in agreement, and said, "In this case, I recommend that you choose the second set of salary plans, I think in this case, Pierce will definitely be able to get more, and it is not impossible to get 100 million dollars in the end." ”

When Rick Cozman heard the figure of $100 million, his heart couldn't help but skip a beat, and if that was the case, then he could get a $10 million broker share from it. In the whole of Hollywood, no agent can get a $10 million cut from a star at once, not even Michael Ovitz in the past.

However, after a brief trance, Rick Cozman quickly calmed down, and at the same time understood another thing, since Eric said such a thing, he must be confident that the next few films will be box office, and in this case, MGM is even less likely to allow Pierce Brosnan to leave.

Secretly proud that he had found another bargaining chip, Rick Cozman smiled and said, "Mr. Williams, I just said that Pierce will only sign one contract with MGM at a time, and the salary just now will definitely not work." ”

"I think you've misunderstood something, Rick," Eric shook his head and said, "I'm not negotiating with you right now, I'm just informing you of my decision." ”

Rick Cozman was stunned, looked at Drew and Amy next to him, shook his head with a smile, and said, "Mr. Williams, it seems that we can't reach any agreement today." ”

Ignoring Rick Cozman's look at the girl and Amy, Eric continued, "Of course, I don't have time to delay this for too long. Now go back and talk to Pierce, you guys have a day to think about it, and tomorrow this time, if MGM doesn't get a definite recovery, we'll make an announcement and start picking a new Bond. Oh, and besides, Pierce's original and MGM remaining intent contract is over, so let's get together and disperse. ”

Rick Cozman stared at Eric for a few seconds, then nodded decisively and said, "Well, in that case, I'll tell Pierce about this." ”

With that, Rick Cozeman didn't stop at all, nodded with the others, and turned to walk out of the golf course. He was sure that MGM would not easily replace the Bond candidate, believing that Eric's words were just to force them to accept the contract, so he did not delay in making a 'counterattack'. He believes that even if they don't reply tomorrow, MGM won't be able to publicly replace Bond, after all, MGM's market capitalization has just recently risen to a high of $12 billion, which is all spurred by the box office success of Casino Royale, and if MGM dares to kick Pierce out at this time, the stock price is likely to plummet. This is very bad for MGM, which is about to finance the acquisition of those cable TV stations in the near future.

When Rick Cotzman walked away, Katzenberg, who had been quietly listening, looked at Amy Pascal, who was looking worried, and asked tentatively: "Eric, isn't this a bit of a big bet?"

Eric gently swung the ball on the ground towards the hole not far away, shook his head and said, "I'm not betting on anything, if Brosnan doesn't accept the contract, then forget it." If we choose to back down this time, Kevin Costner, and Kate will all ask for the same remuneration, and then a film actor will be paid more than the production cost, and a lot of profits will be shared, and we will not need to carry on the whole plan. Rather than this, it is better to take a tougher attitude now, so that others will not open their mouths again. Moreover, compared to the other two series, the risk of replacing the Bond actor is actually the minimal, after all, this series has changed several 007s. Okay, Amy, don't have that look on that face, it's a big deal that I'm going to continue to be the producer of Bond 19, tell me how your negotiations with Basic Cable about Rainbow Media are going?"

On the other side, Rick Cozman separated from Eric and the others, trying to suppress his urge to look back as much as possible, and his steps did not stop, but there was an inexplicable anger in his heart, or, I don't know what the emotion was, in short, when he walked out of the golf course, he even felt his body tremble slightly.

$70 million fixed salary, $40 million base salary plus share, well, that's really a lot of money, it's just, these are four movies, maybe, okay, but they definitely don't dare to lose Pierce, absolutely.

With such a firm belief, Rick Cozman came to the parking lot and got into his gray Chevrolet, and Pierce Brosnan, who was sitting in the passenger seat, immediately looked over expectantly: "Rick, how's it going?"

Shaking his head, Rick Cozman suddenly decided not to tell Brosnan about Eric's conditions, anyway, MGM would definitely not dare to make any announcements tomorrow, and saying it might shake the confidence of his customers, so he said: "Still nothing, Peel, let's go back to Century City first." ”

Pierce Brosnan sensed that his agent's expression was a little unusual, and asked, "What did Eric say?"

Rick Cozman started the car calmly and said, "It's still those words, I hope you can lower your salary, well, and play the emotional card or something." Rest assured, I'll be in contact with Amy Pascal as much as I can, this woman should be our breaking point. ”

Seeing that the agent had already started the car, Pierce Brosnan had to pause the questioning, he had planned to go with Rick Kozman to meet Eric, but was persuaded by the agent to stay in the car. Rick Cotzman has been his agent since he entered Hollywood, and the two have worked together fairly well over the years, and Pierce Brosnan has no doubt that he will hide anything from him. (To be continued.) )