"Tina? When did you arrive? ”

As soon as he walked out of the VIP tunnel, Duke found that in addition to the people from Warner Asia, there was also his personal assistant Tina? Phenanthrene.

"Get off the plane two hours before you." Tina? Fei habitually stood beside him, "I want to notify you, but your phone can't get through." ”

Duke took the latest Nokia out of his briefcase and walked out of the airport with Warner's men as he turned it on.

Sitting in a Mercedes waiting outside, the man named Johnson said, "Director Rosenberg, are we at the Peninsula for you and Tina?" Miss Fei booked a room. ”

"Thank you." Duke nodded, "Then let's go to the hotel first." ”

After the car started, the other party said, "Mr. Phil and his deputy are negotiating with Mr. Yuan and Mr. Cheng respectively, and they will not be able to come to see you until the afternoon." ”

Duke frowned, "They still won't budge?" ”

"Yes, they bite the price and don't let go."

The specific matter will have to wait until the head of Warner Asia, Duke said no more, and looked at Tina, who was trying to maintain her spirits next to her? Fei couldn't help but shake her head.

"Tired?" He asked, "Let's get some sleep." ”

Tina? Fei knew Duke's temper, and did not shirk, and said with a smile, "I closed my eyes and called me at the hotel." ”

Now that there are outsiders present, the specific situation in London is not suitable for talking, and it is affected by the jet lag, Tina? Fei closed her eyes and quickly fell asleep.

Waiting for Tina? Fei felt someone shaking his arm, and when he opened his eyes, he found that the car had been parked at the door of a hotel, so he quickly pushed the door and got out of the car, helped Duke carry the briefcase, and walked into the hotel elevator room. Then you came to the luxury suites on the top floors.

Entering the presidential suite, Duke sent Warner's people away with a few words, dragged his luggage into the master bedroom, and pointed to the secondary bedroom when he came out. Fei said, "Let's go and reverse the jet lag first." ”

"Let's talk about work first."

Walk to the bar in the living room of the suite. Tina? Fei expertly brewed a pot of coffee, brought it over and poured a cup for Duke and herself, and sat on the single sofa, sniffing the aroma of coffee to refresh herself while talking about her negotiations in London.

"Author Joanna? Rowling is a single mom and just a rookie writer, and Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is her first official work. ”

Listen to Tina? Fei's words, Duke took a sip of his coffee cup and said. "Keep it simple."

Tina? Faye smiled at Duke and continued, "The sales of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone were not good, it did not bring substantial changes to Rowling's embarrassing life, and she herself was not confident and was not optimistic about the prospects of this work, in fact, she was the best to get it, and the negotiations have dragged on until now." Mainly, I told you on the phone that her bookseller was a bit of a problem. And her second work has completed the first draft and is being revised......"

"Tina, you're doing a beautiful job." Duke approves of Tina very much? "If the film is a big hit in the future, you will be the vice president of Duke Studios. ”

"A vice president of a dozen people?" Tina? Fei muttered and said again. "If it weren't for her bookseller, up to $200,000, we would have been able to get the rights to the Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone."

"You've done a great job of putting the price on $240,000."

Duke remembers very well that Warner Bros. once spent $250,000 to get the rights. Not to mention Tina? Fei negotiated not only Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but also bought the rights to Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets for the same price, and signed an agreement for the Duke's studio to have the right of first refusal for other subsequent works in the series.

Not long after the current Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was released, as Duke thought, there were very few sales without huge publicity, according to Tina? What did Faye see, Joanna? Rowling was just getting rid of government handouts.

If he can't even rob while the fire is burning at this time, then he doesn't need to mix in Hollywood.

Thinking about what to do with the Harry Potter series next, Duke and Tina? Fei went back to the bedroom to rest on the jet lag, and by the afternoon, she was in a lot more refreshed, and after talking to someone from Warner Asia on the phone, they met together at the Western restaurant of the Peninsula Hotel in the evening.

Warners has been in contact with Yuan Heping and Cheng Xiaodong on behalf of Duke, and has made a lot of efforts to achieve this, but there has been little progress.

"Phil, I didn't expect to see you here."

Sitting in the booth of the western restaurant, Duke handed the phone to Tina? Fei greeted the person who was the owner, who was an assistant manager of Warner Bros. and had worked in Burbank, and the two were also acquainted.

"I haven't seen you for a few years, and your name is even better."

After Duke and the two finished ordering, Phil handed the recipe to the waiter and pointed to the city outside the window, "Even here, you are a top director like Spielberg, everyone knows." ”

Turning his head and looking at the pedestrians passing outside, Duke's eyes returned to the other side, "Phil, let's talk about the specific situation." ”

"Although Hong Kong films have declined, those who work in the film industry still maintain their inherent shrewdness." Phil didn't go around in circles, and said directly, "They know that we have something to ask them for, and kung fu is not something that Hollywood can solve internally, so they set a sky-high price." Cheng and Yuan should have reached a tacit understanding, and they both insisted on $2 million and would not let go. ”

"There's no room for bargaining?" Duke frowned.

"The first thing they offered was $5 million." Phil smiled helplessly, "This is the result of negotiations all the way, and it should be their psychological bottom line." ”

$2 million, at best, is the salary of a second-tier Hollywood actor, which doesn't seem too much, but the action directors are definitely not worth the price, even if they have kung fu that Hollywood doesn't have.

Duke knows very well that these people in Hong Kong want to slaughter him as a fat sheep.

But is a fat sheep really that easy to slaughter?

That's right, with yellow skin, black eyes, and black hair, he looks unusually kind, but he wouldn't be stupid enough to bring this kind of affection to a business negotiation, and the other party will treat him as a compatriot? Even if you are a compatriot, when you go under the knife, you will not show mercy.

He won't forget either. A lot of people in the city who work in film, what are they actually doing......

"So there's no room for talking?" Duke asked.

Phil sighed, "At this price, I've talked to them three rounds, and there is no progress, and they have enough confidence." The other action direction teams here, the gap with them is obvious. ”

Duke nodded, "I see. ”

If it really doesn't work, then give up kung fu, and there is not only one way to show procedural conflicts, but other fights can also be designed to be cool enough.

Duke was never a rigid person, nor did he consider anyone indispensable, even if it was himself.

However, for a company like Warner, which has long entered the Hong Kong market. The means are more than superficial negotiations.

Phil suddenly said, "Duke, you may not know that Cheng and Yuan can succeed, not only because of themselves, but also because they have a mature team under them, and those people are as important as assistant directors and cinematographers are to directors, although the two of them refuse to let go." Not necessarily, Warners is looking for someone to reach out to their team privately. The city is going through a state of upheaval, and I understand the mindset of a lot of people, and there are definitely a lot of people who like to go to Hollywood and want to make dollars. ”

Looking at the guy, Duke was sure it was still Phil, but there seemed to be something yellow underneath the white skin. Obviously, in the past few years in Hong Kong, I have been inspired and infected a lot.

"There are other aspects."

Obviously, Phil represents the attitude of Warner as a whole, and they can be described as dedicated," Warner said to be some of Yuan's friends and partners. They all have business dealings, and they can always affect him from the side. ”

As with all Hollywood-style negotiations, negotiations are never confined to the negotiating table.

Phil then assured that there had been progress in these private tactics and that Duke would soon be given a result.

Since Warner is enthusiastic and proactive, Duke has no reason to refuse, it is the first time in his life that he has come to Asia, so he simply took Tina with him? Faye walked around the city.

It's April '97, and the city is about to change dramatically, and the Duke and Duke's minds are not on sightseeing, but just casually wandering around a few famous attractions, and then continuing to communicate with Warner to understand the progress of the event.

His time is limited, and it is impossible to wait here indefinitely, if he can't have the desired result in the near future, it is better to just give up and choose other fighting methods.

Perhaps it is the upcoming changes in the city that have attracted people's hearts, and in the news from Warner, after several rounds of contact and a certain price, Yuan Heping's team soon expressed their desire to go to Hollywood for development, and even under the deliberate instigation of Warner and some people with interests, these people connected more people.

As long as you have a little vision, it is not difficult to find that Hong Kong movies have declined, and Hollywood is the center of world cinema. Wu and Jack? After Chen and others succeeded, there were precedents of fame and fortune all over the world, how many people could really not be tempted by fame and fortune?

The strongest fortresses are to collapse from within, just like the initial stage of this matter is to Duke, some things cannot be completely developed according to personal wishes, Duke wants to invite Yuan Heping's team with about $500,000 in chips, but the other party insists on $2 million.

When the heavyweight members of his subordinates successively expressed their willingness to change jobs, a few faintly showed signs of going to Hollywood even if they turned their faces, and even many partners stood up or persuaded or analyzed the stakes, even Yuan Heping had to make compromises, just like the director's production team, the action director is not a one-man game, in the new round of negotiations with Phil, the two sides finally found a balance and reached an agreement on the issue of remuneration.

Yuan Heping and his team will serve as action directors for The Matrix, with a total remuneration of $800,000.

Because of the occurrence of this series of incidents, Duke didn't bother to see Yuan Heping again, leaving Tina? Having completed the final negotiations with the other side, Fei left the city and returned to North America, having lived in this world for more than twenty years and knew exactly where his roots were. (To be continued......)

ps: Three more completed ~ ~ ask for all kinds of tickets ~