"Eric, last night at Frank's party, I ran into Richard Lovett from CAA, and he said that Matt Damon would love to try out for the role of Bourne. I remember you wanted Matt Damon Te can play, so I agreed to think about it, what do you think?"
Eric flipped through the preliminary draft contract between MGM and the Marshalls, without raising his head, and asked Amy, "Will he accept our salary plan?"
After the success of "Fast and Furious", in the process of determining the salaries of the two leading actors of the film, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker, Eric and the Firefly system executives discussed many times, and recently confirmed a new set of basic salaries Compensation package with bonus.
To put it simply, the new salary contract will give the protagonist a basic salary. Then, according to the box office situation after the film is released, another part of the bonus will be given to the actors. The higher the box office of the film, the higher the bonus will naturally be.
For example, "Fast and Furious 2", which has already been launched, due to the great success of the first film, MGM gave Vin Diesel and Paul Walker a basic salary of 5 million US dollars. 5 million U.S. dollars, which is also the basic salary cap of the new salary plan that the Firefly system will implement in the future.
Next, according to the content of the contract, as long as the global box office of the sequel reaches 500 million U.S. dollars, the total remuneration of the two leading actors will reach 10 million U.S. dollars respectively, and the global box office will reach 700 million U.S. dollars. US dollars, the total remuneration will reach the top 20 million US dollars. If the global box office figures can reach even higher, MGM will naturally be willing to pay more. But if the sequel grosses less than $300 million worldwide, the duo won't get any money.
Of course, detailed contracts are much more cumbersome than this simple calculation. Moreover, other film projects in the future will also consider many factors such as film subject matter, budget cost, etc. on this basis. After all, no one can expect that a vulgar comedy with a budget of only 20 to 30 million U.S. dollars and a global box office volume that hardly exceeds 300 million can accept the "blockbuster" salary model of "Fast and Furious".
However, the overall idea of this new pay package is simple and easy to implement. At the same time, this kind of remuneration plan can also tie actors and projects together to the greatest extent, which can reduce the risk of the studio and at the same time, it will not discourage the enthusiasm of actors. In order to get more remuneration, actors will naturally work hard.
In fact, Eric has had a similar idea of salary payment a few years ago, and the "Spider-Man" film contract signed by Stuart Runkel and Firefly basically adopts this model. The reason why the large-scale implementation has not been officially confirmed until now is mainly because the Firefly system now has the power to completely change the rules of Hollywood.
At present, Vin Diesel and Paul Walker have accepted new salary contracts. In the future, key projects of the Firefly system, such as the follow-up series of Agent movie universe, Marvel movie universe series, "Harry Potter" series, "Pirates of the Caribbean" series, etc., will adopt this remuneration payment scheme.
Amy noticed Eric's indifferent appearance and realized something, said: "Well, what Richard Lovett means is that Damon is not a newcomer. However, he said that many things are ok talk about."
"And then," Eric looked up and smiled at Amy, then lowered his head and continued to look at the documents in front of him, saying: "Then, "Bourne Shadow" succeeded, and everything has to be the same as before, constantly because The issue of profit distribution is arguing with the main creators, even until the project is yellow, just like the current "Men in Black"?"
Amy was silent for a while, and other people in the conference room who wanted to speak also closed their mouths.
Eric patiently flipped through the last few pages of the contract draft, closed the document, and then looked up at the MGM executives who were still sitting around, saying: "I have said many things more than once, we We are the masters of Hollywood. Now that we have enough strength, we should take back the initiative that the major studios have lost over the years. From now on, only we can have the final say in Hollywood, and Not the stars, directors or producers."
After pausing for a moment, Eric continued to add in a flat tone: "Of course, you can also understand that in Hollywood now, I have the final say. You are all Williams' retainers and also have privileges, but others, they You can only abide by the rules we set. So, do you have any objections?"
Eric's voice fell, and the meeting room became quieter. Several executives didn't even wink at each other, and no one dared to try to raise any objections at this time. Eric's tone was very flat, but he obviously didn't mean to be joking at all. Who knows if he jumped out at this time, he would be kicked out directly.
Eric waited for a while, nodded with satisfaction, and said, "Very well, then, let's go back to the topic just now. According to Hollywood's past situation, if we don't have the initiative in the "Fast and Furious" series, now, the two The leading actor must be up for grabs, and even announced his withdrawal because he was dissatisfied with the sequel salary offered by MGM. This series will not go on smoothly. But the reality is that the sequel has started smoothly. , I can only accept the remuneration plan we gave. Everything is going well, how good is this, isn’t it? So, on the project of "Bourne Shadow", I will not make any concessions, and maybe we will not be able to make any more in a short time. Inviting first-line stars to join us will also lose some benefits, but stick to it, as long as all Hollywood stars want to get a job, they must abide by Hollywood rules. At that time, we will also completely regain the initiative that all major studios once lost right."
After saying this, Eric paused for a moment, giving everyone some time to digest, and then continued: "Okay, that's it for today, I have read a few actor profiles handed over by ICM, that Mark Wahlberg Yes, although he is a grade lower than Damon, he is also very suitable for the role of Bourne, and Paul Thomas Anderson's "Boogie Nights" has also made him a good name. All you have to do is Negotiate this person's contract, of course, it doesn't matter if you can't, continue to find the next one."
In the parking lot of MGM headquarters, watching Eric's car leave, MGM President Frank Macasso looked at Amy Pascal and whispered: "Amy, you accepted Richard Lovett's benefit?"
Amy immediately gave Frank Macasso a hard look: "You just accepted Richard Lovett's favor."
"Then you still recommend Damon." Frank Macasso didn't mind Amy's stare, and said with a smile, "You clearly know what the BOSS is thinking. Now it's all right, we're all servants."
"If you don't want to, you can resign."
Amy said teasingly, feeling a little wronged in her heart, she naturally knew what Eric was thinking. It's just that Eric said about Matt Damon himself. And, well, CAA President Richard Lovett is indeed a guy who is very good at lobbying, that's why she recommended him to Eric a little bit today.
"Forget it, the retainers are not bad." Frank Macasso stroked his middle-aged thinning hair, and said, "At least, we have privileges."
John Carley next to him also said at this time: "I suddenly feel that the boss's temper is not as good as before."
"I guess it's because of too much pressure recently," Frank Macasso shook his head lightly, and said, "Tsk tsk, 300 billion US dollars, how can there be no pressure."
"It makes sense, it's easier for us to be retainers."
Amy rolled her eyes, turned around and walked towards her car, and said, "Can you two have a more sour tone?"
Frank Macasso and John Carley laughed a few times together. The parking spaces of several MGM executives were next to each other. They also followed Amy to a corner not far away. Frank Macasso said again : "That Mark Wahlberg, are you familiar with it?"
"I've read his profile, and his acting skills are pretty good." John Carley walked to his car, without rushing to open the door, and said, "Besides, I suddenly felt that his appearance and style are somewhat similar to Damon's." Very similar, it seems that BOSS still tends to use this type of actors to play the "Spy Shadow" series."
Amy was not in a hurry to get in the car, she frowned and thought for a while, then said: "This actor's background is not very good, he seems to be a gangster a long time ago, and he has been in prison."
"These are the things that ICM has to worry about," Frank Macasso didn't care, and said, "As long as he signs a contract, ICM will definitely help him maintain his public image. Moreover, this is Hollywood, so there's nothing wrong with it."
John Carley said: "However, if it is confirmed that it is him, we must still remind ICM of this, so as not to be blacked out. The hero of the "Spy Shadow" series has a corner on this guy's head, and the jealous person must Quite a few."
Today was Friday, and the three of them didn't chat for too long. After a while, both Frank Macasso and John Carley drove away.
Amy also got into her car, started the engine slowly, but didn't leave immediately, instead she was in a daze.
It's only ten years.
That youthful boy back then has already become the owner of most of Hollywood.
She still clearly remembers the first time she met Eric. At that time, the other party looked like a fledgling boy, but he obviously had the rare talent and confidence of other people of the same age. She wasn't even that sophisticated herself, and while she got a good job at Columbia Pictures, she left in a fit of rage.
Now, I may never be able to do such a youthful thing again.
and.
Retainer.
This somewhat classical title seems to be really good.