"Eric, what you said just now is almost exactly what I thought in my heart. However, I know that you have been shooting dramas all the time. After that, do you have any specific plans for this company? I don't like the situation where I have nothing to do after joining."
Eric immediately shook his head and said: "Of course not, I can tell you very clearly, Stan, my goal is to surpass Industrial Light and Magic, you should know my "Jurassic Park", this project will definitely not It's been too long, and "Resident Evil", I recently handed over a manuscript to my book agent, it is also a science fiction novel, the name is "The Matrix", these three novels will be made into at least The trilogy series of special effects films, therefore, the special effects company will not be short of projects within ten years. Industrial Light and Magic can develop to its current scale with only one "Star Wars" series, and the future special effects films of Firefly will definitely Much more than Lucasfilm, as long as this special effects company can eat it, I don’t mind giving it all to my own special effects company.”
Stan Winston has never seen the "Resident Evil", and he didn't hear anything from the name "The Matrix", but he knows "Jurassic Park", this novel has been adopted by many film companies Concerned about 8, but Eric has never given up the film copyright, the purpose can be imagined.
Imagining the scene of a huge dinosaur from ancient times being resurrected on the big screen, Stan Winston was already a little excited, but he did not lose his composure, but asked: "So, Eric, what about the conditions for me to join? You know, although my current studio is small, I am the boss myself, and I don’t lack projects.”
Eric said: "I will give you 10% of the shares, and the special effects company will be completely handed over to you. The company will not be listed within ten years. I will always provide enough funds for the company, but I guarantee that the company will be listed before. Regardless of the investment No matter how much money you have, I will never dilute your personal shares."
"Eric, I have no problem with 10% of the shares, but although I know you have enough funds, you still need a specific investment amount, not an ambiguous promise now. You know, in Hollywood, A lot of the promises of investment were broken.”
Eric thought for a while and said: "The first batch of 20 million US dollars is invested. I hope that this money will be used for equipment purchase and computer cg technology research and development, as well as the preparation of the premise and special effects of "Jurassic Park". Therefore, you also It can be regarded as the initial investment of "Jurassic Park", by the way, Pixar can provide some technical support for the special effects company, and at the same time, the special effects company also needs to set up its own cg technology research and development team."
Stan Winston nodded in satisfaction, and then said: "It seems that you are really optimistic about computer cg special effects?"
"Yes," Eric smiled, and said, "So, I got a name for this special effects company, and it's called 'Digital Field'."
"Digital domain," Stan Winston murmured, and James Cameron, who had been listening silently, couldn't help but said, "Eric, so this company is just right for the "Terminator 2" Production, most of the shots of the liquid metal robot are made in cg, so, I hope you can think about it, as long as you agree to a part of the investment in "Terminator 2", even if it is only 10 million US dollars, I can raise the rest All funds."
Eric smiled and said: "Jim, I know what you think, because my previous films were relatively successful, and many people in Hollywood now believe in my vision, but I can't use my reputation to take risks, Otherwise, if the movie flops, no one will blame you, and I will definitely be the one who misled them into paying for it."
Cameron's thoughts were exposed, and he couldn't help but blush.
And Stan Winston couldn't help asking at this time: "Eric, don't you really think much of Jim's sequel movie?"
Hearing this question, Eric was a little hesitant. He was not optimistic. It was impossible. Originally, he just wanted to whet Cameron's appetite, but now, he was in a dilemma.
After thinking for a while, Eric said: "It's not that I don't like it, it's just that the risk of this movie is too high. With an investment of 60 million US dollars, plus the later publicity budget, if you don't consider overseas, the North American box office is estimated to be 150 million. The cost can only be recovered in US dollars. The global box office of the first "Terminator" is less than 80 million, and Jim's last movie "The Abyss" has a global box office of 80 million, so you should understand my concerns."
Stan Winston nodded in understanding, while James Cameron was a little disappointed.
Eric pondered for a moment, as if he had made a lot of determination, he said: "Well, since this is the case, I will take a gamble, 50 million dollars, Jim, I can come up with 50 million dollars, so, I I hope you can show the cautious attitude you had when shooting the first part of "Terminator" and try to shoot this movie with this budget."
James Cameron only hesitated for a moment, and quickly nodded unscrupulously. First, the movie project is finalized. Fifty million is fifty million. I don’t believe you let the project go unfinished until the filming is over. Fifty million is in vain: "Okay, Eric, I will definitely try my best."
The two unscrupulous guys with different thoughts looked at each other and smiled, like friends who have known each other for many years.
"By the way, James, since I took out the money, the copyright of "Terminator" must belong to me. There is no room for negotiation on this matter."
James Cameron froze for a moment, then nodded: "This... Of course it's no problem, but Eric, the film copyright is still in the hands of Helmdale Productions, which produced the first film. I went bankrupt, so I can buy the copyright back for a sum of money, and, in my plan, I will not make a sequel after this one."
"How much will it cost?" Eric asked calmly, and at the same time he was a little surprised, another super series was about to arrive. in memory. "Terminator" does not know whether it is the third or the fourth. The producer spent 30 million US dollars just to get the copyright from his predecessor. If he got it, Eric would definitely not let it go.
"2 million, I have already negotiated with the original producer before," Cameron said.
Eric took out his checkbook, quickly wrote a check for 2 million U.S. dollars, and handed it to James Cameron: "Jim, what I want is the full copyright, and there will be no disputes in the future."
"That's for sure," James Cameron said as he collected the check.
The three of them discussed a lot of things, and it was already three o'clock in the afternoon when they parted, because the actor of "Ghost Love" was confirmed, and the audition originally scheduled for today had been cancelled, so Eric didn't need to go back to Firefly side.
After looking at the girl beside him, Eric said, "Jenny, let me take you back."
Jennifer Connelly, who was paid only $50,000 for her last movie, Death of a Swan, listened quietly to the three of them throughout the lunch. And for the movie that Eric messed up last night, Tony Brandt only paid her $100,000. therefore. At lunch, the tens of millions of dollars among the three people gave the girl a faint sense of unreality, and she even felt a little depressed now. No matter how hard she worked, the reward she got was not as good as the man next to her who just signed the check. One-third, it makes people feel sad to think about it.
Didn't hear the girl's answer, Eric who just opened the car door sized up Jennifer Connelly's face, and from the lightly disappointed expression on the other side, Eric quickly understood what the girl was thinking.
It seems that because of the loss of that role last year, some emotions accumulated in a year, after what happened last night and today, hit Jennifer Connelly hard.
That being the case, Eric quickly decided to add more fire, the more exciting it is, the easier it is to catch this girl who had a little fantasy in his hands.
The dream is reflected in reality, that scene is really unbearable to face.
Eric thought so, and when Jennifer Connelly got into the co-pilot, he didn't ask the girl's address again, but drove directly to Malibu.
The car drove for more than ten minutes before Jennifer Connelly came to her senses and said nervously, "You... You said you were going to send me back."
Even so, the tone was not firm at all.
Eric nodded: "Yeah, but it's only after three o'clock. You must have nothing to do when you go back so early. How about going to my place?"
The girl pinched the corner of her skirt, lowered her head and did not make another sound.
Eric smiled triumphantly at the corner of his mouth, and drove the girl all the way to Sharp Point Manor. Just after entering the gate of the manor, Eric did not drive the car directly into the garage as before, but got off at the door car, handed over the key to the security guard, took the girl’s little hand and walked towards the villa on foot. At the beginning, more than 20 million dollars were invested, and the Angle Manor was much more luxurious than the villa of Coppola’s family last night. I introduced it as I walked, The two quickly walked into the villa.
"How do you feel here?" Eric didn't wander around the villa with the girl, but went directly to the open-air swimming pool on the southwest side of the villa. It happened to be windy today, and the waves hit the rocks under his feet and made a sound.
"It's pretty good," Connery said softly as he got down on a recliner next to Eric's and gathered the hem of his skirt that was blown by the wind.
Because of the sea breeze, the thin dress on the girl's body was blown tightly to her body, and her exquisite curves were undoubtedly revealed. Eric admired it for a while, and suddenly pointed to a small room behind him: "Then It's a changing room, there are spare swimsuits in it, do you want to swim?"
"But... there's no water here?" Jennifer Connelly pointed to the dry swimming pool and found a very lame reason.
"It can be filled in five minutes, go and change your clothes," Eric said.
Trapped by her own words, Jennifer Connelly bit her lower lip, got up and walked to the changing room. A few minutes later, the girl came out wrapped in a large towel, and saw that the swimming pool was indeed full. water.
"The temperature is just right," Eric stood by the water and reached into the pool to test the temperature.
"What about you...?" The girl looked at Eric, who was still in formal attire.
"I see you wash it," Eric smiled, went back to sit down on the recliner next to him, took out a pack of cigarettes from nowhere and lit it, then showed an excited expression, his eyes seemed to be waiting for a performance Unscrupulous uncle.
Jennifer Connelly stood there hesitating for a while. He cautiously removed the towel from his body. Jump into the water quickly. A mermaid in a pink bikini swims quickly into the distance. The swimming pool is not too big, so it will soon come to an end. Leaning on the edge of the swimming pool in the southwest corner, I glanced at Eric. Seeing that the man was still looking at me with great interest, the girl shyly shrank into the water and hesitated for a while. , or swam towards Eric.
Somehow, just swam a few meters. Connery felt a slight pain in his right leg, and then he lost the feeling. He thumped a few times, and soon sank down. The struggling girl saw the figure by the swimming pool jumping into the water quickly, and arrived beside her in a short while , and then she was lifted up and out of the water. The water in the swimming pool just reached Eric's abdomen, not too deep.
"Don't move. You may have a cramp," Eric comforted the girl in his arms. Walking along the steps in the swimming pool to the shore, Eric was about to put the girl down, but suddenly his feet slipped, and he fell down, and the girl also fell down, just lying on Eric's chest, the two of them four Stacked upside down.
"Fuck, unlucky Frank Gehry, who spent tens of millions and didn't even do a good job of anti-slip swimming pool, I want him to do it for me."
Jennifer Connelly, who was so scared that her heart was pounding, heard the man say this, chuckled lightly, and then got a slap on her buttocks: "Stop lying on your stomach, get up quickly, is it comfortable? "
The girl let out a soft cry, only to realize that she was lying on Eric's body now, her hands rested on the ground and moved, and she quickly fell down: "I... I can't move my legs."
Eric let out a sharp breath: "Then don't move."
"Well," the girl nodded slightly, then raised her head, and just met Eric's eyes, hesitated for a moment, the girl moved up slightly, moved her lips, and leaned over to kiss Eric's mouth.
Eric paused, quickly wrapped his arms around the girl's waist, and kissed passionately.
A few minutes later, Jennifer Connelly broke free from the entanglement of Eric's lips and tongue panting, buried her head in the man's neck, and said softly: "Now, you should be satisfied."
Eric, who was gently stroking the girl's smooth back, stopped his movements, but soon hugged the girl tightly, feeling the two plump meat balls softly pressing on his chest. A suspicious voice said: "Remember, from now on, you are mine."
The girl's body trembled slightly before she asked hesitantly, "Are we dating?"
"Not counting."
"You are too domineering," the girl said softly.
"I won't let you escape this time." Eric moved the girl's face over and kissed it lightly: "From now on, be my woman obediently."
The girl struggled slightly and asked, "What if, what if I don't want to?"
"Then be my pet."
"You... are such a devil, you don't want to give anyone any hope," the girl murmured with confusion, but her small mouth opened slightly, and she took the initiative to kiss Eric again.
Helped the girl massage her cramped calf. After some simple obsession, Eric still sent someone to send the girl back. Anyway, the meat has already been cooked in the pot, so there is no rush, and at the same time let the girl digest the two things. From all the information I received today, if Jennifer Connelly has the courage to immediately pack up her things and flee Hollywood in order not to be a vassal, Eric will recognize it. Of course, he can be 100% sure that the girl is reluctant to part with the flashy life of Vanity Fair .
In the next few days, Eric went back to his busy work. Because of the dispute with Robert Shea, Eric set up a film company again. Moreover, since the first company was called Firefly, Eric took advantage of the opportunity to contribute to this film company. The company came up with the name 'Black Ant'. In fact, he originally wanted to call it 'Black Widow', but Jeffrey firmly opposed it. This name is too different. If it's just a tiny independent production company, it's fine. But although this company will not want to develop into a behemoth like Firefly, it will certainly not be small.
So, after some discussion, Eric named the company 'Black Ant Film Company'.
Then, the "Basic Instinct" project was quickly transferred to this company. At the same time, because of the content of the film, in order to avoid being rated as nc-17 in the future, Eric chose to cooperate with Universal among the top seven. Compared with several other film company giants. Universal doesn't have any big movie projects this year. So most of the resources can be used on this movie. Moreover, the price offered by the other party is relatively fair. Both parties share the copyright and share the investment equally. The film project is still completely dominated by Eric himself, and he has absolute control over the film project.
In fact, the original initiative of this project was with the Big Seven, and everyone could see that Eric chose to cooperate with them to avoid something.
but. Since the last turmoil, it has been difficult for the seven major parties to unite and work together. Basically, no one trusts anyone. Therefore, when quoting prices, each has its own way. The reason why Universal can offer the best price , or because Japan's Matsushita consortium launched the acquisition of Universal's parent company, MCA, just like Sony did. Of course, Universal wanted to be like Columbia. Give the share price a boost with a hit movie.
In the next few days, James Cameron also quickly took down the copyright of "Terminator". Handed it over to Eric. The originally agreed investment of 50 million U.S. dollars is definitely not enough. Although he made up his mind to "pit" Eric, forcing him to make additional investments when the funds were exhausted later, Cameron still had I was a little ashamed, so I made some minor changes to the copyright contract.
This change is actually very simple. In the original contract that James Cameron signed with the production company, there is a clause that the film copyright of "Terminator" will automatically return to his own hands after 2018. However, Cameron, who was a little ashamed in his heart, readily removed this item. After all, he had already made up his mind that "Terminator 2" is the end of his personal series, so the copyright does not matter to him. Too much use, at least, he thought so in his heart, Cameron can't be Eric, of course he didn't expect the copyright of this series to be more valuable in the future.
Eric is of course happy to hear about this, but he did not put the copyright in Firefly, but put it in the newly established Black Ant Film Company, because when discussing the "Terminator 2" project with Robert Shea, Robert .Shay raised his objections conservatively again. His concerns were similar to those of the Seventh Congress. Therefore, Eric did not have any burden in his heart. Just like "Instinct", "Terminator 2" has become a black The second work after the establishment of Ant.
As for whether there will be problems in the future release, Eric has not considered it for the time being. After all, Cameron's shooting speed is not fast, and it would be good if this movie can be released in summer next year.
At the same time as "Basic Instinct" and "Terminator" were settled, the digital field was also quickly established. After Eric readily allocated 20 million US dollars of start-up funds, Stan Winston quickly began to recruit troops, and at the same time, the headquarters Established in the Venice of Los Angeles, this Venice is of course not the Venice of Italy, but a district of Los Angeles, located near Santa Monica. Eric remembers that it was called "silicon" because of the gathering of high-tech enterprises more than ten years later. Beach' echoes San Francisco's 'Silicon Valley'.
Among the complicated affairs, Eric came to persuade him personally, and Julia quickly agreed to the "Sleeping with the Enemy" directed by Robert Shea. After two consecutive hit movies, the girl offered 800 Robert Shea actually agreed to a salary of 10,000 US dollars, and Eric just shrugged at the girl's lion mouth. Anyway, Julia must be worth the price.
After that, the heroine of "Ghost Love" was quickly finalized. Eric finally chose Bridget Fonda among a lot of audition actresses, who was personally recommended by Jane Fonda. The reason why the niece chose the other party was not only because the image of the girl was very suitable, but also to gather the backs of two big families in the Hollywood film industry to participate in her own movie at the same time. It would also be a good gimmick for future publicity.
From Henry Fonda in the earliest silent film era to Peter Fonda, and later Jane Fonda, and finally to Bridget Fonda in the fourth generation, this family has been standing in Hollywood for more than half a century. Although the Bora family rose a little later, the power and connections are no different than the Fonda family. Being able to make good friends with these two families at the same time will definitely be of great use in the future, such as Oscar, although Eric is still Very young, but Oscar is definitely inevitable, no one in Hollywood can avoid it. Xiao Lizi's unruly personality in the previous life was tortured by Oscar to the point of death.
After reaching a cooperation with Stan Winston, Eric asked the other party about the special effects in "Human Ghosts", although Stan Winston used to focus on model special effects, but in "Human Ghosts" Stan Winston also quickly gave a solution to the wall-penetrating special effects and the digital special effects of Hell Reaper involved in Unfinished. , Nothing more than money.
In the end, the schedules of the four films "Instinct", "Sleeping with the Enemy", "Ghost Love" and "The Silence of the Lambs" produced by the tg film company founded by Elizabeth were also arranged.
According to the plan, "The Silence of the Lambs" has been filming for a while now, so it is scheduled to be released in early June, and Firefly will release it in person. Next is "Sleeping with the Enemy". Although the preparation of this film is late, it is a very simple feature film. It's late June. Mid-June is the hottest time for the summer vacation. It is impossible for Robert Shea to arrange this without selfishness, but Eric did not object.
Then came "Ghost Love" in early July. The production rhythm of this film was almost the same as last year's "Dark War", and the schedule also imitated last year's "Dark War". Disney and Firefly jointly released it.
"Basic Instinct" was scheduled for mid-July, not only because the production cycle of this film was relatively long, but also because of the subject matter, it was placed at the end of the summer file, with the idea of long-term screening.
The time came to mid-April, and all the preparations for "The Love of Ghosts" have been completed. Eric also plans to shoot a few shots that require special effects first, and hand them over to the digital field for processing. According to the plan, he will soon Going to New York for filming.
However, the reason why the trip still didn't take place on April 13 was because of "Basic Instinct". Both the starring and director of this movie needed him to make the decision in person.
At the beginning, Eric considered that actresses in the United States are relatively conservative. For famous actresses, such a large-scale work will definitely not be easy to appear in, and Catherine, the heroine of "Basic Instinct", is not a vase. The requirements for acting skills are also more stringent. In my memory, although "Basic Instinct" was considered a big production, many famous actresses rejected it, and in the end the producer chose the lesser-known Sharon Stone.
Therefore, Eric set his sights on European actresses. Compared with Hollywood, European actresses are much more daring. , I have to take it off for a while, as if the director thinks it’s not a movie if he doesn’t take it off. In this environment, actresses have to take the initiative to adapt. Therefore, the scale of "Instinct" is nothing to many European actresses. (To be continued..)