In a small office building on a secluded street in Long Island City, New York, Chuck Hogan's studio has a small office suite.

The office assistant is also Chuck Hogan's current girlfriend.

Many writers or playwrights who are in the dormant stage are not financially well-off.

Chuck Hogan came in the morning and turned on his computer to write a week's column for The New Yorker, but sat for three hours and wrote less than three sentences.

I was so restless that I couldn't write.

He shouted to the outside, "Alyssa, hasn't there been a phone call from Martin Davis's side?" ”

The door of the suite opened from the outside, and an ordinary-looking girl came in with coffee, relieved: "Honey, you are in too much of a hurry these days, you have delivered to Hollywood many times in the past, Paramount, Warner Bros. and Weinstein Pictures, etc., you have delivered them all, and there has been no news for several years." “

Chuck Hogan took a sip of hot coffee and calmed down a little: "This time it's different, Graham focused on Martin Davis, and Martin also valued ......"

Alyssa continued to comfort: "Martin is filming in New York, and when I watch the news reports, I still seem to have some psychological problems, not so fast. ”

Chuck Hogan said: "It's me who is in a hurry. ”

The phone rang at this time, and Alyssa quickly answered: "Hello, this is Chuck Hogan Studios, are you?" Martin Davis, yes, he's got time this morning, you can come over anytime. ”

When she hung up, Chuck asked, "Martin Davis calling?" “

"Yes, Martin Davis called." Alyssa said directly: "Martin wants to visit you and talk to you about the adaptation of "The Prince of Thieves", and he is coming from the Brooklyn studios. ”

Chuck shook his fist hard: "Great, I finally got this day!" He instructed Alyssa, "Hurry up, get out the Blue Mountain coffee that Graham gave me, and clean up the studio." “

Alyssa got busy.

Chuck went to the full-length mirror and carefully sorted out his outfit.

The person introduced by Graham King is indeed very reliable, and Martin Davis personally came to negotiate with him, and he couldn't ignore it.

Chuck knew very well that as long as the first step was successful, it would be equivalent to advertising his other works in Hollywood, and he would not have to worry about sales.

The preparation here was quick, because Martin came from Brooklyn and it didn't take long.

…………

Outside the office building, a Volvo SUV was parked in a roadside parking space, and brothers Ben and Cassie Affleck got out of the car.

Big Ben looked up at the office building nameplate and asked, "Are you sure it's here?" ”

Cassie glanced at the printed address in his hand and said, "That's right, this is it, the Weinstein Pictures idiot recorded the address at the time, but left out the phone number." ”

Big Ben took Chuck Hogan out of the car and delivered it to Weinstein Films: "Let's go up." ”

Cassie followed behind and asked, "Is this one really suitable for adaptation?" Are you sure you can do it? ”

"Of course, crime genres, I'm good at it." Big Ben is quite confident: "Stupid, tell you a secret to being a director, if you can adapt, choose adaptation, don't be original." The adaptation has an audience base, and the author has also planned the plot, saving time and effort. ”

He added: "It's easy to get investment from the film company, but if this adaptation, Harvey's side can't fully support it, and Weinstein Pictures has limited financial resources, and its resources are focused on Quentin's project." ”

Cassie shrugged: "I can only act, I don't know how to be a director." ”

The two went up to the third floor, found Chuck Hogan's studio, and knocked on the door.

Alyssa came over to open the door, and when she saw Ben Affleck, she was stunned for a moment, then reacted and asked, "Are you ...... Ben Affleck? ”

A smile erupted on Big Ben's long face: "That's right, I'm Ben." He asked, "Is Chuck Hogan, the author of 'The Prince of Thieves,' here?" “

"Yes, it's here." Alyssa turned her head and shouted to the suite, "Chuck, here's Hollywood!" ”

Chuck Hogan opened the door and came out of it to find that it was not Martin, but Ben Affleck, and couldn't help but be a little surprised.

But he quickly adjusted his mentality and said, "Please two inside." ”

Big Ben and Cassie enter the office suite and sit on the couch.

Chuck asks Alyssa to bring coffee.

Big Ben didn't go around in circles, took out "The Prince of Thieves" from Weinstein Pictures, and said: "Mr. Hogan, I came here this time to ask if the film and television adaptation rights of this book are still in your hands?" ”

Chuck said honestly: "Yes, I've sold it many times in the past few years, and I haven't sold it......"

At this point, he suddenly remembered that Martin was going to come over to talk to him about the copyright in a moment.

Big Ben found Chuck's expression a little weird, but he didn't take it to heart, in his eyes, this was an ordinary writer waiting for a Hollywood adaptation, and said directly: "I intentionally bought the adaptation rights to make "Prince of Thieves" into a movie. “

There's a reason why he noticed this one in such a huge database at Weinstein Pictures: "Chuck, I grew up in the Boston area, and I know a lot about the situation there, so it's the best fit for this adaptation." ”

Chuck has friends like Granham and Scorsese, has a basic understanding of the film industry, and Ben Affleck in front of him seems to be sincere.

But he has doubts, since "Pearl Harbor", Ben Affleck has not been very good, what film he acted in and what film he finished.

If there is no other way out for The Prince of Thieves, Chuck will definitely seriously consider it.

The problem is that there are still people who are paying attention.

…………

Martin came over this time, not only with Bruce, but also with Thomas.

When it really came time to negotiate copyright, it was up to Thomas.

Although this shouldn't be the agent's job, Thomas didn't shirk it at all, and last night he learned about the situation with the author Chuck Hogan overnight, so as to negotiate the relevant copyright as soon as possible.

The three found the office building, and the Escalade parked next to a Volvo and went straight to the third floor.

Bruce glanced at the company's map, made the first to the door of Hogan's studio, and knocked on the door.

Alyssa opened the door and looked at Bruce, who she didn't recognize.

But then she saw Martin coming from behind, raised her voice and said, "Mr. Davis, you're here." ”

Martin had seen Alyssa at the party a few days ago, and nodded slightly with a smile: "Hello, we meet again." ”

Alyssa shouted at the suite, "Chuck, Martin is here." ”

The door of the suite opened, Chuck walked out quickly, and when he reached the door, he shook Martin's hand warmly, and invited: "I've been looking forward to you coming over these days, and I don't have the heart to work." ”

Because of Graham's relationship, the two are also familiar with each other, Martin joked: "Because you wrote so wonderfully, I was so immersed in the plot that I almost forgot about you." ”

Chuck smiled heartily and invited the three Martins in.

Alyssa closed the studio door.

The suite door creaked and opened again.

Bruce subconsciously blocked Martin, and when he saw the person who came out, he gave Martin a look.

Martin discovers that the people who came out were Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck.

Thomas listened to Martin talk about what happened at the Oscars, and looked at the Affleck brothers in surprise, and then at Chuck.

There are some things that a broker has to rush ahead of the client.

Thomas didn't speak, but the dissatisfaction on his face was palpable.

Chuck explained in a low voice, "They didn't say hello and suddenly came to the door. ”

Martin turned around and took the initiative to say hello: "Hi Ben, I didn't expect to meet you here." ”

"I didn't expect that either." Big Ben walked over, and his words were meaningful: "It's so coincidental. “

He picked it up in his hand: "You won't also come for the copyright of this book, right?" ”

Martin smiled: "Chuck and I are friends, we met through Granham, and I made a special trip to visit him. ”

Big Ben knew Granham, Scorsese's dedicated producer, and he speculated that Martin had a relationship with Granham through the crew of "The Departed."

This reminds Big Ben of his good brother Matt Damon.

Martin stopped caring about Big Ben and looked at Thomas.

The latter immediately said, "Chuck, let's get down to business?" ”

Chuck thought about Graham and Scorsese's relationship with Martin and responded, "Yes." ”

Cassie Affleck was not angry, his face was full of frustration: "Hey, you ......"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Affleck." Chuck interrupted them: "I have something to do here for the time being, I'm afraid I won't be able to receive you." ”

Big Ben's face is quite ugly, and his long face is longer than that of a donkey.

Cassie didn't do as much as Ben thought, and said, "Ben and I represent not only ourselves, but also Weinstein Pictures, you should know Weinstein Pictures, right?" ”

Chuck chuckled in his heart, Harvey Weinstein's name, he knew something.

Thomas couldn't help but laugh: "Martin represents not only him, but also Warner Bros. ”

Big Ben stopped Cassie from continuing, and the business card was placed on the desk next to him, "You think about it, you can contact me at any time." ”

Chuck gradually saw that Martin and Ben Affleck seemed to be at odds.

He didn't answer and asked Alyssa to send the person out.

When they left, Chuck explained, "Martin, when I got your call, I was always preparing, and then they came to the door, and I wasn't prepared at all. ”

Martin was very generous: "It's okay, don't worry about them, let's continue to talk about ours." ”

Chuck invited them into the suite office, and asked Alyssa to make coffee, saying, "I've heard the notoriety of Weinstein Pictures, and there are a lot of people in New York author circles, and even those who work with him, many of them are afraid of the future......"

"Don't worry, Weinstein Pictures can't threaten us yet," Thomas said. ”

"Graham has always recommended you to me, so I read Prince of Thieves carefully and had some ideas for the adaptation," Martin said. ”

The two sides chatted about adaptation and copyright.

(End of chapter)