Hollywood pays more attention to the most basic script development than the film industry in other countries. Whether it is the seven major studios or small independent film companies, they spend 5% to 10% of their production budget on the purchase of scripts every year. , writing and adapting.
That doesn't mean script development can stay above 5 percent of every film's production budget, though. In fact, less than one-tenth of the scripts hoarded by Hollywood studios make it into movies. In other words, the cost of scripts for a single Hollywood film will basically not exceed 1% of the total production budget.
After all, the script is only equivalent to a seed. In most cases, no one will pay the price of the fruit for a seed.
Of course, nothing is absolute.
"Pirates of the Caribbean" writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio, as well as their agent Matt Gilson, felt a bit incredulous when they heard the $7 million offer from Sony Pictures. .
After repeatedly confirming that Bill Michanik, the CEO of Columbia Pictures who called in person, was not joking with the three of them, Matt Gilson hung up the phone and looked at Ted Elliott and Ted Elliott who were sitting on the other side of the table. Terry Rossio.
It was already Sunday noon.
The three gathered at a restaurant in West Hollywood to discuss how to launch an auction bid for "Pirates of the Caribbean."
After Warner Bros. made an offer of 4 million US dollars and some joint conditions, the three still couldn't resist the temptation of money. After all, compared with any other film company, Eric's offer of $1 million seems too shabby.
As Bruckheimer said to Eric, screenwriters and actors are different after all.
An unknown young actor participated in a movie by a major Hollywood director. Even if the movie was not a success, it was considered an instant success for this young actor. Then, naturally, a film company would offer to invite them to participate in the movie. But after screenwriters become famous by relying on a script, their next income still depends on the script they created. It is impossible to make money by relying on their own fame like actors.
Missed the opportunity to make a fortune right now, who can guarantee that the next script will be popular, and even, who can guarantee that their current script will be 100% successful
Therefore, before the three of them received a call from Bill Michanik, they had already made up their minds.
Of course, in order to give themselves room for maneuver, the three of them also planned to use the method of hidden bids, inviting major film companies to make their own quotations in private, and then they would choose their partners according to the conditions offered by each company.
In this way, as long as the quotation given by Firefly Group is not much worse than that of other film companies, they will still choose to sell the script to each other. At that time, even if they can't participate in the follow-up development of the film, as long as the script is a big success in the hands of Eric Williams, no one can deny the credits of the two of them as screenwriters, and the two can still be among the ranks of Hollywood gold medal screenwriters.
Bill Michanik's phone call completely disrupted the plan that the three had originally discussed.
After looking at each other for a moment, Terry Rossio swallowed a mouthful of saliva even though he had just had lunch, and said, "Matt, maybe I, um... are you sure it's $7 million?"
Matt Gilson nodded: "Yes, Bill Michanik said, as long as we nod, we can sign immediately this afternoon."
"Seven million dollars."
Even Ted Elliott, the most sensible of the three, couldn't help but sigh with emotion at this time.
Eric Williams offered them a price of 1 million US dollars. Even if Firefly Group can make "Pirates of the Caribbean" into a very successful trilogy, the script remuneration they can get for the next two films will be 1 million dollars per month. One probably won't exceed $3 million. Calculated in this way, Sony is equivalent to paying the price of the trilogy script of "Pirates of the Caribbean" in the best state at one time.
Noticing the emotion on the faces of the two employers, although Matt Gilson had already begun to think about how to spend the huge commission that was about to be received, he appeared calmer on the surface and said, "So, what should we do now?"
Glancing at his friend, Terry Rossio said, "Ted, we have no reason to refuse, shall we sell it?"
Ted Elliott's lips moved, and he couldn't help but look at Matt Gilson again.
"Sony gave such a sky-high price because it wanted to get rid of all competitors and win the script. It is impossible to raise the price again, and the possibility of other film companies continuing to quote is not high." Matt Gilson probably understood What the other party meant, he shook his head and hesitated for a while. Although he didn't expect much, he still said: "Bill Michanik didn't ask us to keep it secret just now, otherwise, I will disclose the news first and see the reaction of other film companies. , if no one continues to make further quotations, we will agree to it.”
Under Terry Rossio's expectant gaze, Ted Elliott did not hesitate any longer, nodded and said, "That's it."
…
The last time he was invited to dinner, Goldie Hawn’s husband, Kurt Russell, asked Eric if he was interested in going hunting together. Kurt Russell was a crazy gun lover, and he brought Watching Eric visit his gun collection, there are few men who don't like guns, so Eric is naturally quite moved.
After a busy day on Saturday, he just received another call from Kurt Russell. Eric took Fernanda Tata, who came home from the set of "Public Enemy" yesterday morning, Vales, together with Kurt Russell and Ron Howard, set off from Los Angeles, first took Eric's VH-60 helicopter to Fresno, about 300 kilometers north of Los Angeles. After arriving at the destination, the group borrowed three off-road vehicles and several greyhounds from a local hunting club, and set off for the nearby mountain hunting grounds.
Speaking of which, although most areas of California are evergreen all year round, summer is still the least suitable season for hunting. During this period, prey are basically hidden in dense forests. Generally, there are many wild boars in the dry season of winter. These beasts leave the dense forests in search of water, and they can also become a scourge on native California farmland.
Eric and others are purely for entertainment, so naturally they don't care about these.
All the firearms carried by the group were Kurt Russell's private collection. Eric was not interested in the old-fashioned double-barreled shotguns, but picked an M21. Since even Fernanda, a hot Latin girl, is using a traditional shotgun in a similar way, Eric's hunting behavior with a sniper rifle is naturally ridiculed by a group of old birds, but he himself enjoys it.
Although it was not a good season for hunting, with the help of several hounds, everyone had a good harvest in the morning.
Of course, since it was the first time, even though he was carrying a sniper rifle and fired a few boxes of bullets, Eric's personal record was still zero.
At noon, everyone temporarily camped by a small stream, and set up a shelf for barbecue on the spot.
There were a total of twelve people in the group, in addition to four Eric, four bodyguards and two guides from the hunting club, Ron Howard's queen producer Brian Grazer and another Hollywood actor Dennis Quaid, Dennis Quaid is also Kurt Russell's best friend and Meg Ryan's husband. However, the two had begun to separate in 1992, but for some reason they never divorced. A few years ago, Hollywood director Robert Altman still teased this incident cryptically in his movie.
At this time, by the creek, the bodyguards and guides were divided into a pile, and the six of Eric were divided into a pile, and surrounded by a barbecue grill.
Originally, it was a weekend entertainment for a group of men, and the others did not bring their families. Eric brought Fernanda Tavares over, and of course no one said anything.
This tall Latin beauty put on a denim outfit, stepped on hiking boots and carried a shotgun, showing a bit of heroic and wild beauty, because it was the woman brought by Eric. It looks really pleasing to the eye. In the words of Ron Howard, he has almost been able to conceive a western.
"It's best to use a shotgun for hunting now, because there are no big beasts," Kurt Russell said while skillfully flipping a hare beside the grill, "Like this little guy, if the M21 shoots Go up, and it will become a pile of minced meat."
Shuttled through the mountains and forests all morning, Eric felt hungry at this moment, but he didn't have much trouble with cleanliness. Seeing that the pheasant leg in his hand was almost roasted, he tore off a piece and stuffed it into his mouth, chewing, saying: "Men, of course you should play with big guns. What's the point of shotguns?"
"Ha ha… "
Several big men laughed unscrupulously, and Fernanda Tavares, with a reddish face, couldn't help giving Eric a blank look, and lowered his head to continue roasting the things in his hands.
While eating and chatting, Eric's cell phone rang suddenly.
Eric took out his mobile phone and looked at the caller ID. It was Katzenberg himself calling and motioning Fernanda to take care of his barbecue. Eric walked to the side and connected the call: "Jeffrey, It's me... Kurt Russell and I are hunting here in Fresno, what happened to Los Angeles... What, $7 million?"
Eric suddenly raised his voice, and Kurt Russell and others couldn't help looking over.
After calming down, Eric patiently listened to Katzenberg's introduction of the situation, his tone has returned to calm, and said: "I see, Jeffrey, hang up first, I'll call Bill Michanik a phone call."
After closing the line, Eric walked around in place while flipping through the address book.
After quickly dialing a number, Eric put the phone to his ear. After connecting, he said in a cold tone before the other party opened his mouth: "Bill, do you know what you are doing?"
In a restaurant in Culver City, Bill Michanik was dining with Howard Stringer. After answering the phone, he heard Eric's cold tone, and immediately glanced at Howard Stringer opposite him. He had expected in advance that Sony's offer would definitely cause a backlash from Firefly, but he didn't expect Eric to call himself to question him.
Considering that even if he leaves Sony in the future, he can only spend his life in Hollywood, Bill Michanik doesn't want to offend Eric, and immediately sells Howard Stringer with hints: "Eri Ke, I'm dining with Mr Stringer right now."
The situation of Sony Pictures is well known in Hollywood, and Bill Michanik believes that he said so, and Eric must understand that this matter is not his decision.
On the other side, Eric paused and said, "Give Stringer your cell phone."
Although talking on the phone, Bill Michanik couldn't help but nodded, and handed the phone to Howard Stringer on the opposite side: "Howard, it's Williams."
Having been immersed in the workplace for many years, Howard Stringer was keenly aware of the inappropriateness in Bill Michanik's words just now, and he felt almost instinctively that now might not be a good time to talk to Eric Williams. However, Bill Michanik handed over the phone, and Howard Stringer had no choice but to take it, and greeted warmly: "Hi, Eric, long time no see."
Eric did not have the slightest intention to greet Howard Stringer, and said directly: "Howard, Sony has pushed up the salary of Hollywood stars to 20 million US dollars, how much do you want to raise the price of the script now, 1000 Ten thousand dollars? I don't care what you think, you'd better take back your stupid decision now, immediately. "
Howard Stringer was reprimanded by Eric. Although he knew that Bill Michanik on the opposite side could not hear clearly, he still couldn't hang on his face, and counterattacked: "Eric, Sony's asking price is ours. Freedom, everyone competes fairly, you have no right to ask us to give up the purchase price, this is too ridiculous."
"Okay, you want to compete fairly, right? Then try it!" Eric finished speaking, and hung up the phone before Howard Stringer could speak again.
Although excited, Eric's last threatening words still gave Howard Stringer a chill in his heart. Hearing the beeping sound from the microphone, this slight fear quickly turned into anger . Forgetting that he was in a public restaurant, Howard Stringer smashed the mobile phone in his hand against the wall, and growled in a trembling voice: "Who does he think he is, who does he think he is..."
After repeating a few words like this, Howard Stringer suddenly raised his head and stared at Bill Michanik: "Call those two people again, we will buy the script now and sign the contract today. I'd like to see it." See what Eric Williams can do for me, who does he think he is, does Hollywood suddenly have a king?"
Bill Michanik took out his credit card and handed it to the passing waiter to order the checkout. He bent down and picked up the Nokia mobile phone from under the table. Looking at the bright screen, he put it in his pocket and comforted him: " Let's go back to the company first, Howard, this is not the place to do business."