When "Edge of Tomorrow" was put into filming and before its official release, professionals in the industry were generally not optimistic about the box office prospects of this work. This was not the result of personal grievances, but a trend summary of the current situation of the entire industry.
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In the past few years, the sci-fi movies that once dominated the box office market gradually began to decline. The box office performance in the North American market has always been a mystery and unpredictable, but in terms of the overall trend, this is a sharp decline. curve.
A series of superhero movies led by "The Avengers" are actually subordinate to science fiction in terms of genre classification; however, the comic adaptation properties of these movies are more important, and they are also the fundamental guarantee of box office success, so when statistics are calculated, temporarily excluded.
Well, the best performing sci-fi movies in the past few years is undoubtedly "Avatar", but beyond this, there are only four sci-fi works that have exceeded 100 million at the box office in North America:
"Star Trek", 257 million, both word-of-mouth and box office success, reopened the long-term prospects of the series; "Ninth District", 115 million, a small-cost sci-fi miracle, and killed Entered the final stage of the Oscars that year.
"Men in Black 3", 179 million, the series restart is unsatisfactory, fortunately, the overseas box office is exceptionally good, and Sony Pictures still makes a lot of money; "Tron: Legacy" , with an investment of 170 million yuan, the North American box office is only 170 million yuan, and after adding the cost of publicity, the loss is a mess.
From 2007 to 2012, for a full five years, only four sci-fi films in the North American box office successfully exceeded 100 million. This is the pattern of the entire market. This year, "Edge of Tomorrow" replicated the miracle of "Avatar" and crossed the 500 million threshold in North America. This is a myth; then, what about "Gravity"
According to the trend, "Gravity"'s North American box office of 200 million is almost an impossible task. Creative Artists thinks so, and Warner Bros. thinks so - otherwise, they wouldn't be able to offer a 10 percent box-office bonus so neatly.
Compared with the salary of "Edge of Tomorrow", it is 10 million US dollars plus a 5% box office dividend; now the salary of "Gravity" is either 20 million US dollars or 10% box office dividends, the overall As far as the abacus is concerned, Warner Bros.'s abacus is still extremely accurate, giving a number that is most appropriate and suitable in his mind, showing his generosity and courage, and at the same time controlling the initiative.
Now, there is a 20 million club in the Creative Artists Agency.
The choice of 20 million US dollars is conservative. If "Gravity" successfully replicates the miracle of "Edge of Tomorrow", then the loss of Renly's salary will be huge; but undoubtedly, this is also the safest solution, at least it can Ensuring that Renly ranks among the 20 million club, and determining the posture and style of Renly's top stars in the industry, will be a benchmark for future cooperation with other film companies.
And to choose 10% box office dividends, you need to take too many risks. Once the North American box office is less than 200 million US dollars, or even lower than 100 million US dollars, then Renly's salary will not be able to touch the 20 million threshold—
This is definitely a high probability event. Missing this opportunity for the 20 million club, I don't know when the next time will be. At that time, Renly still needs to linger in the first-line ranks of 10 million and 15 million, and he will never be able to rank among the top.
What's more, the culprit of the box office failure will be thrown on Renly by then, and all the pressure will swarm, which will be a fatal blow to Renly's career prospects. This is the deep meaning of box-office dividends. One prosperous one is prosperous, and one is damaged. All actors need to bear more risks and obligations.
Andy understands the truth, but the other colleagues in the Creative Artists Agency, they are not one-to-one agents of Renly, they have not experienced Renly's career climb, and they have not really understood Renly in depth. ; Deep down, Andy has always had an inexplicable confidence.
"I need to ask you what you think about 'Gravity' before deciding on my suggestion. What kind of science fiction movie is this?" Andy wanted to hear Renly's opinion, after all, from the most In the beginning, it was Renly who nodded and agreed to Alfonso Cuaron's invitation, as if "crazy in love".
A similar question, Barry raised last night, and now Andy brings it up again.
Renly couldn't help but smile. However, this time, Renly did not answer directly, but thought for a moment and gave a different answer, "This is an innovative sci-fi work, I like it more than 'Avatar'" Gravity'."
This is the truth. "Avatar" brought about innovations with trans-epochal significance on the visual effects, and "Gravity" not only achieved this, but also went a step further on the core of the theme, exploring the origin of human beings and the meaning of survival. From a commercial point of view, "Avatar" was more successful; from an artistic point of view, "Gravity" was enough to win applause from all audiences.
More sincere and more honest, Barry and Andy, finally, there is a difference.
Andy opened his mouth slightly, expressing surprise because of Renly's answer. The first reaction in his mind was, "Are you serious?" But after the words came to the tip of his tongue, Andy still closed his mouth. , even if he didn't need to ask, he already knew the answer.
Lightly tapping on his chubby belly, Andy fell into deep thought, and finally made his own judgment and choice, "Let's choose 10% box office dividends."
This is a real gamble.
If "Gravity" encounters Waterloo, just like "Super Battleship", and the North American box office is only 65 million in the end, then Renly's salary will only be 6.5 million, even more than Dwayne Johnson. The salary of "Fast and Furious 6" is even lower. After experiencing the peak of "Edge of Tomorrow", Renly, who has an unstable foundation, is likely to fall apart and drift away from the starring position of commercial blockbusters.
Seriously speaking, this is a big gamble, and the bet is the accumulation and precipitation of Renly over the past few years.
"Okay." Ren Li replied without hesitation, hesitation, or even thinking. He nodded his head lightly and neatly.
Andy, who was sitting on the other end of the phone, was slightly stunned. He felt genuine trust in Renly. No words, no communication, and trust from the heart, and it was easy to follow Andy's advice.
Although Renly has never cared about the salary, but the significance of the salary this time is not trivial. Andy believes that Renly has a clear understanding of this. What they are fighting for is not only the salary figures, but also the status in the industry and more It's career prospects.
Once that's done, then in the future Renly will be able to choose whatever works he wants to appear in.
Just like Nicole Kidman, at the beginning of the century, her career reached its peak, and she won the Oscar for "every moment"; but after that, Nicole became a box office poison, Almost every work is bleak and at a loss, and the performance has also entered a bottleneck, making it difficult to make breakthroughs.
Despite this, Nicole's film contract has never been broken, and she has even entered the ranks of producers. That's what status in the industry means.
Andy's adventure definitely affected more than just the salary figures; but Renly nodded and agreed.
"Renly, do you know what this means?" The smile on the corner of his mouth stiffened slightly, like a dragonfly resting on the shoulder of a lotus leaf, shaking its wings slightly, Andy asked cautiously.
Renly chuckled, "Andy, remember? In February, when I just got back from Berlin, I came up with an idea for a concert. You not only nodded in agreement, but went all out. To facilitate this. This is very important to me."
There was still a lingering sadness hidden in that calm voice. Everyone thought that Heather Cross had become a thing of the past, but in Renly's memory, she was still vivid. "So, yes, I know what that means." But he nodded in agreement without hesitation.
"... ok... ok." After speaking, Andy realized that his voice was a little choked, rubbed his slightly hot eyes in embarrassment, and then cleared his throat to hide his panic, "No The problem, let’s do it this way. Leave the rest to me, and I will complete the follow-up negotiations with Warner Bros.”
Renly noticed Andy's gaffe, but he didn't say anything, but continued, "By the way, Barry also mentioned the preparation of the crew, the studio is ready, and then the shooting time and shooting cycle seem to have been determined. You Have you communicated with the crew? Another important role in the movie, has an actor been confirmed?"
In "Gravity", after the accident, two astronauts survived, but on the road to survival, one of them sacrificed himself in exchange for the survival of the other.
On this point, Renly and Alfonso had an in-depth discussion, because in the original script, men were sacrificed and women survived, which is symbolic; but now that Renly joins, he will play Survivor The character that came down, then another sacrificed character, is it still a male, or is it changed to a female
"Three days ago, when I confirmed the situation, the three actors entered the final audition stage." The excitement gradually subsided, and Andy regained his usual smile and said calmly, "If there is no accident, today Final audition coming. How about you, are you curious about the last three candidates?"
"Yes, the opposite actors are always curious." Renly admitted frankly, "In fact, I am even more surprised that they actually auditioned. From the perspective of the script, this is a supporting role, isn't it? ?"
"But this is an opportunity to cooperate with Renly Hall." Andy's words made Renly stunned for a moment, then laughed, "Actually, Alfonso had several actor choices in his mind, and he also passed Warner's The brothers sent an invitation, but they were not sure about the actual performance, so they still hoped to further confirm through the audition. Alfonso said that you actually participated in the audition.”
The stage performance of "Les Miserables", which was Renly's audition, was also the part that really moved Alfonso.
Then, Andy went on to say, "The last three candidates are now, Amy - Adams (Amy-Adams), Jessica - Chastain, and Rooney - Mara."