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"Our conditions are not complicated."

Sitting alone across from a host of Fox executives, Nancy Josephson didn't seem to be under the slightest pressure, even with Fox bigwigs like Townsend Rothman and the famous producer Jon Landau, she still talked eloquently, "Mr. Rosenberg paid a total of $4 million as a director and screenwriter, and he also served as the producer of the film, and the final editing was based on his opinion." ”

She quietly looked at the faces of everyone on the other side, and continued to say calmly, "Mr. Rosenberg asks for at least one-fifth of the investment amount in the film, and enjoys the same proportion of revenue share ......"

As Nancy Josephson said one by one, the faces of the Fox crowd became more and more solemn.

This is only the first negotiation, both sides are testing each other's bottom line, the negotiation only lasted half an hour, and then they broke up, whether it was the agent lady representing Duke, or the Fox side, they were not satisfied with each other.

After the negotiations, the chunky Jon Landau entered Townsend Rothman's office.

"Jon......

The CEO, sitting behind his desk, was expressionless, "What do you think?" ”

Jon Landau, who is crammed into a chair like a ball of meat, looks funny, but he is one of Hollywood's top producers, and he supports his argument by listing the number of jùs, "The script is unanimously approved by the review committee, the risk assessment department and the market research department have a pre-research investment index of A, and the profit estimate of the distribution department is also an A." ”

He continued, "The script inherits the thrilling, fiery, and exciting style of 'Life and Death' in a certain way, but the theme is more profound and moving, and Duke Rosenberg has proven that he is extremely good at shooting this genre......"

"The most important thing is ......," he pondered for a moment, and said solemnly, "Duke's career as a director is just beginning, but it is clearly on the rise, and the works of directors in this period are often extremely valuable, and according to Hollywood's past experience, his chances of success are far greater than his chances of failure." ”

"In other words, the film is likely to be profitable."

Hearing Townsend Rothman's words, Jon Landau slowly nodded his fat chin, "Yes!" Nowadays, action movies are popular, and according to the evaluation of many of our departments, as long as the film can shoot the level of "Life and Death", there is a 60% chance that it will be a big hit, and the North American box office is likely to surpass "Life and Death". ”

"$50 million, although it's a big number, is nothing to Fox." The gleam in Townsend's eyes flickered, "I want to maximize profits, and now someone wants to enter the game and take a fifth of it!" ”

His voice grew sharper, "Jon, do you think Fawkes should share it with him?" ”

"We can appropriately increase his director and screenwriter salaries." Jon Landau didn't even think about it, "Something else made him retreat." ”

Meanwhile, Nancy Josephson got into her car, pulled out her bulky cell phone, and dialed Duke.

"How's the negotiation going?"

In the North Hollywood apartment, Duke put down his packed luggage and took the cordless phone from Sophia's hand, "Did Fox agree to your terms in full?" ”

"Unfortunately, I don't have the aura of retardation."

Nancy, who was on the other side, directly borrowed the joke that Duke had said before, and then turned to Yan Sù, "According to my observation, bringing capital into the game should touch Fox's bottom line." Duke, you have to be prepared that it's going to be a very tough negotiation. ”

"Nancy ......"

Holding the phone in another hand, Duke tapped his forehead lightly, "Don't cut off contact with other companies." ”

Fox is just the first choice, but it is not a must, although the cost is not too much now, after all, he has a work that has just received more than 130 million US dollars at the North American box office, and after Twentieth Century Fox pushed "Life and Death" to the European market, the global box office of the film also exceeded 200 million US dollars.

This always attracts the attention of some production companies.

Ending the call, Duke shoved the cordless phone to Sophia, followed her back to the large living room of more than 400 square feet, looked around at the empty surroundings, and raised his hand to support his chin.

"Should I go buy some more furniture and decorations?" He asked, looking at Sophia's slender back.

"Remind you."

After placing the phone, Sophia turned around and sat on the sofa, took her paper folder, opened it, and said with a warning, "Duke, you have to save money, otherwise you will soon be in debt." ”

“What？” Duke's eyes widened, he had just received a $400,000 split.

"I've got a list of your recent expenses and what you'll need to spend in the coming weeks, would you like to hear that?"

Seeing Duke listening, Sophia said as concisely as possible, "After the share was received, your accountant David withheld $100,000 in advance taxes. Of the remaining funds, lawyers and accountants are paid a total of $30,000; Nancy was paid $20,000 for only working on the later stages of "Life and Death"; $20,000 for a one-year rental for your luxury apartment; $15,000 in salary advances to me; $5,000 for advertising screenwrights in newspapers and screenwriters' associations; I've interviewed a couple of screenwriters......"

Speaking of this, Sophia paused and took a sip of water, "After you determine the screenwriter to hire, you need to pay part of the remuneration in advance, and I have set aside a budget of 5,000 US dollars; You join the Screenwriters Guild for $3,000, and the two scripts are filed with the Screenwriters Guild for five years, for a total of $8,000. If you want to join the Directors Guild, you also need to prepare a membership fee. ”

"And," Sophia continued, "you'll have frequent meetings with the executives of the major studios in the future, and you'll have to prepare a custom business suit......"

After listening to Sophia's long string of numbers, Duke had only one feeling that he was still poor.

"Hmm...... If you want to register a film studio in Delaware, it will also cost a lot of money. Sophia seems to be blind to Duke's face gradually turning into a bitter melon, "Although Aunt Leah's $10 million has arrived, the money is limited to investing in movies. ”

Duke rubbed his forehead and walked over to sit next to Sophia, "Is there no surplus of $300,000 after deducting taxes?" ”

"Yes, and not enough!" Sophia squinted at him, thought for a while, and said, "I'll give you a plan, go to the bank and apply for a loan." Duke, with your current fame and status, it is not difficult to apply for a loan of $300,000 to $500,000. ”

"Is this necessary?" Duke looked at her earnestly.

"This is your and Aunt Leah's accountant David's Jianyì." Sophia shrugged.

After getting the loan from his mother, Duke was planning to set up a shell film studio, and is currently contacting a professional company in Delaware to handle the business on his behalf, even if the shell company does not have dedicated formal employees, and even the office where it is registered is shared with other shell companies, it still requires a lot of expenses.

The reason for setting up a studio is simple, you can avoid taxes, and you will enjoy a lot of tax benefits when you invest in movies in the name of a company, as for why not register in California, but run to Delaware, because California's crazy and crushing taxes are terrifying, and Delaware not only has the most professional commercial courts in the world, but also has one of the lowest business taxes in the United States.

The actual place of registration of many well-known companies, including Walt Disney, Apple, Paramount, etc., is Delaware.

After thinking about it for a few seconds, Duke decided to apply for a loan from the bank to solve his urgent needs.

"That's right, Sophia."

After the two of them talked a few words about loans, Duke thought of something else, "Is there a suitable photographer for you to help find?" ”

He has never been pedantic, and since he is involved with the Coppola family, he does not shy away from making proper use of their relationship.

"I mentioned a few words to my dad, and he recommended someone."

Tilting his head to look at him, Sophia's face was full of you owe me a favor, "John Schwartzman, Chinese New Year's Eve two years old today, born in a film family, graduated from the University of Southern California Film School, and is still working in the advertising industry, he has some relationship with our family, is Nikolai's cousin, and Dad thinks he is very suitable for you......"

Sophia pouted, "Meets the requirements of your ability to shoot impactful shots." ”

"Is it okay to have time to meet him another day?" Since he was recommended by Francis Coppola, he must have some ability.

"He's shooting an ad for an underwear company in New York." Sophia wrote it down in her notebook, "When he returns to Los Angeles, I'll ask him out." ”

"And ......" Duke walked over to the bookshelf, took out a cassette of videotapes from it, took out the business card inside, and handed it to Sophia when he returned, "Help me write back to Zack Schneider, I received his videotape, and let him come to Los Angeles for an interview if I have time." ”

If he can get a certain right to speak in the second film, and these people meet his requirements, then they will definitely be prioritized, which is also the backbone of the future production team.

There is also producer Robin Grande and editor Mike Dawson, both of whom have experienced the run-in of the first film with him, and their abilities are also very good, as long as they have a voice, Duke also wants to pull them into the crew of the second film.

It depends on the outcome of Nancy Josephson's negotiations with Twentieth Century Fox and other studios, and Duke knows that this is only the ideal situation, and it is quite difficult to get enough power from the studios.

In the afternoon, Duke met with several screenwriters who Sophia had interviewed in a café, and after careful consideration, finally chose a male screenwriter who was good at writing war scenes and a female screenwriter who was good at writing bloody love.

Three days later, Nancy Josephson reported the results of the second round of negotiations with Twentieth Century Fox, which turned out to be very unsatisfactory.