After attending Robert Downey Jr.'s wedding, Murphy temporarily interrupted his work and temporarily turned his energy to negotiations, preparing to win the adaptation rights of "A Song of Ice and Fire" as soon as possible, and he and Paul Wilson did a lot of preparation for this, and even formulated a TV series adaptation plan for "A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones" in the shortest possible time. Pen? Interesting? Pavilion wWw. ｂiquge。 ｉｎfo

Bill Rothes has also met frequently with Bantam Books and George Martin's agent, and has also made sure that the other party is sincere.

Adapting a novel into a film and television work with a wider range of dissemination must be of great interest to publishers and authors.

The two sides already had a basis for negotiation, and Murphy, assisted by Bill Rothes, with a team of Paul Wilson and lawyer Robert, began a tug-of-war with Bantam Books and George Martin.

Just like Murphy thought, today's Hollywood relies heavily on adaptation, and the direct result is that Hollywood wants to get the adaptation rights of excellent literary works, and often pays a high price, even if it is some works that are not very popular, the copyright fee is not a small amount.

The current "A Song of Ice and Fire" is not a super hit, but it also has considerable sales and influence, and it is impossible to get the price of cabbage.

This era is better, with the shrinkage of original movies and television, Hollywood will pay more copyright fees in the future, Murphy vaguely remembers that in the past, Universal Pictures was able to spend more than $100 million on "Gray's Fifty Shades", a romance novel that originally existed as a fan of the "Twilight" series.

In a few years, not to mention whether Stan's studio will have the opportunity to get the adaptation rights of "A Song of Ice and Fire", even if it can get it, the price paid will probably be several times higher than now.

So, Murphy didn't want to drag out the negotiations too long, and his goal was to sign a formal deal with Bantam Books and George Martin as soon as possible within what Stan's studio could afford.

Negotiations didn't go well, and Bantam Books and George Martin initially offered a $10 million basic adaptation of Game of Thrones, the first installment in the series, plus a 20 percent revenue share later on, which can be said to be a sky-high price.

This is very common in negotiations, and although there is no talk of asking for money on the spot, it will certainly be done in actual negotiations.

It's impossible for Murphy to agree to such a condition, if it's the whole series, it's about the same, but this is only the first "Game of Thrones" of "A Song of Ice and Fire", what about the next few films?

The negotiations were tougher than expected, the news of such negotiations could not be kept completely secret, and in order to maximize their interests, Bantam Books and George Martin were bound to leak the news in order to attract possible buyers, while also putting pressure on Stan's studio's side.

Somebody was indeed drawn to it, and Classic Movies Limited also approached George Martin and proposed a joint adaptation of the "A Song of Ice and Fire" TV series.

Murphy's negotiations with George Martin have encountered more difficulties, but he has not given up, and the two sides continue to tug and see.

This kind of complex negotiation involving all aspects is not something that Murphy can easily solve if he wants to.

Negotiations continue with a team of Murphy and Bill Rothes, and while they haven't been going well, they're always moving in a good direction, but on the other hand, Murphy has had some trouble.

These troubles come from Sin City and Miramax.

Now, the film has long been off the global market, and according to Murphy's agreement with Miramax, his last share of nearly $3 million should have been paid by the end of July, but Miramax delayed the payment by the end of August, and after Bill Rothes contacted brothers Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein, Murphy realized that it would be troublesome to get the money back.

"It's not that the Weinstein brothers want to pay the bill."

In the CAA's office, Bill Rothes was also a little worried, and said to Murphy, "Their credibility in this area is still guaranteed, and the first few installments were all paid on time, and now they want to pay, and they don't have enough power." ”

Murphy immediately guessed what might have happened, "Could it be that Walt Disney and Michael Eisner set aside the Weinstein brothers?" ”

"Exactly." Bill Rothes nodded, "The Weinstein brothers are no match for Michael Eisner, they have been hollowed out by Walt Disney's management and have lost control of Miramax, especially in terms of finances. ”

Murphy is not surprised, if it were him, if he wanted to elevate and drive away the Weinstein brothers, the financial power would definitely be the first to be obtained.

The Weinstein brothers are indeed very strong, especially Harvey Weinstein, who is famous because of the Oscars, but in the face of behemoths like Walt Disney and characters like Michael Eisner, it is just Beverly Hills trying to compete with the Rocky Mountains.

They do have many means, such as hollowing out Miramax and transferring the copyright of some projects or works that they are optimistic about, but they are not Disney's opponents after all.

"Miramax is in a lot of chaos right now," Bill Rothes added, "and a lot of projects in the pipeline have been put on hold, and a lot of people have been paid on the ground. ”

His voice deepened, "And Walt Disney signed a series of contracts and agreements before the Weinstein brothers revisited, including you and Sin City, and this share will not be paid until the review is completed." ”

"What do we do now?" Murphy asked.

In this regard, the CAA and the agent are more experienced than him, and he must have encountered similar situations in the past.

"Wait." Bill Rothes gave his opinion, "Wait for the moment and see what Walt Disney will do next." ”

Murphy thought for a moment and nodded slightly, now is the most chaotic time for Miramax, the delay in this share is likely to be a fire at the city gate and the fish in the pond, and when the dispute between Michael Eisner and the Weinstein brothers is over, maybe the problem will be solved.

Putting the matter aside for the time being, Murphy continued to negotiate with Bantam Books and George Martin, and went to a premiere in between.

Carla Firth's single-handedly promoted Fox monster movie "Alien vs. Predator" was also released.

"Paul, Mira, this is Murphy Stanton."

In the foyer of the Emirates Rock Theatre in Hollywood, Carla Firth introduces, "Murphy, this is Paul Anderson, the director of the film, and this is Milla Jovovich, the heroine. ”

Murphy shook hands with the two and looked at the couple, "Paul, Mira, I'm your fan. ”

Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich didn't expect Murphy to say that, and both showed some doubts.

"I love Resident Evil so much." Murphy immediately explained, "I'm a big fan of this film. ”

"I love your Saw and Deadpool too." Paul Anderson said:

Milla Jovovich smiled at him, "I love your style and have always wanted to work with you. ”

Murphy immediately showed a look of surprise, "There will definitely be a chance." ”

Although he has never played a "Resident Evil" game, and the movies in this series have become worse and worse, the first two have left a very deep impression on Murphy, especially the heroine Alice, like Optimus Prime of "Transformers", as long as the protagonist is still her, there will be no shortage of supporters.

It's a pity that because of some messy things, he didn't see the final chapter of this series.

"When will the second part, "Resident Evil: Revelations" be released?" Murphy remembers seeing the trailer some time ago.

"September." Paul Anderson, who didn't direct, but was a producer, saw that Murphy seemed to really like the series, and tentatively asked, "Can I invite you to the premiere then?" ”

Milla Jovovich also said, "You can be with Kara. ”

"It's an honor." Murphy said politely, "As long as time permits, I will definitely participate." ”

After all, the time is still far away, and he can't give a definite answer now.

Someone came over to say hello to Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich, and Murphy Carla Firth simply left and walked into the screening hall together.

After sitting down, Kara Firth asked with concern, "Is there any progress in the negotiations?" ”

"There are some." Murphy knew she was asking about A Song of Ice and Fire, "but the other party's asking price is still too high, and Bill has been talking to them lately." ”

Carla Firth asked curiously, "When did you become so interested in TV drama production, fantasy dramas are different from fantasy movies, they have always been a sub-category of ratings." ”

"There's always something that changes that." Murphy looked confident, "Wasn't superhero movies a subgenre of Hollywood movies in the past?" ”

"If you can take it down," Carla Firth looked concerned, "when are you going to start production?" ”

"Wait a while." Murphy thought for a moment, "The series is huge, my investment is limited, the first Game of Thrones can't have more than ten episodes, and I'll shoot a pilot episode first." ”

With that, Murphy turned his head and looked at Carla Firth, "Help me contact Fox Cable Network then." ”

This kind of large-scale TV series cannot be broadcast on public television, and cable stations are a must, and Fox Cable Network, a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox, specializes in challenging the scale of program censorship to attract the attention of dissatisfied audiences, especially younger audiences.

Because of its bold programming, Fox Cable has shown a long history of popular episodes among young viewers and advertisers.

After chatting for a while, Murphy moved on to the upcoming film, "I remember the script you showed me, wasn't the heroine a black man?" How to change it to Milla Jovovich. (To be continued.) )