American fame and fortune

Back in the office at Davis Studios.

Martin handed Louise a bottle of water and asked, "What did you think about it?"

Louise said: "Since the mid-1990s, Pacific Pictures has been cooperating with Warner Bros. for distribution business. It has been fifteen years today. During this period, Warner has changed its chairman and CEO several times. This is not the first time that the distribution commission has increased. But in the past, it only rose by 1% at most in one go.”

Martin heard Nicholson say that in an era when resources were not as concentrated as they are now, the distribution commissions of major Hollywood companies, excluding publicity and distribution costs, often accounted for only 20% of the North American box office after splitting accounts.

Now the average is around 30%, and for some works directed by new companies, it can even reach over 35%.

For commercial films such as Martin's starring role in the past two years, only the revenue within two years of the film's release is counted. Warner Bros.'s increased commission means that the producer will give Warner at least tens of millions of dollars more.

In North America, you can hire a hitman for more than a hundred thousand dollars, and this is the total price before outsourcing.

Martin said: "Old films have not been affected much, but new films... "Gone Girl" is okay. A distribution agreement was signed in mid-January, and the second part of "John Wick" will be filmed this year. The box office of the sequel And the income will definitely increase greatly, tens of millions of dollars."

Louise thought for a while and said, "Your studio was established just a few years ago. During that period, many of the films you shot, such as "Horror House of Wax Museum", "The Departed", "The Dark Knight", etc., were originally Warner projects. The copyrights are all in the hands of Warner, and the only ones that really hold the copyrights are "Wanted," "Never End" and "John Wick," so your sunk costs are very low."

Martin thought for a moment and said: "Gone Girl" won't have much impact. According to the existing agreement, you can quietly contact several other companies for the sequel of "John Wick". Based on the performance of the first part of this film, you can get it. It shouldn’t be difficult to get a better distribution deal.”

Louise nodded: "Leave it to me."

She quickly made a decision: "In the future, Pacific Pictures' business will be divided into two parts. Pacific Pictures will continue to participate in investment in your project. For other Pacific projects, if we can cooperate with Warner, we will continue to cooperate. If we cannot cooperate, we can find other companies."

Martin rambled casually: "Be careful I take you to the ditch and make you bankrupt."

"I believe in your vision and ability." Louise has gradually adjusted her mentality over the past year or so, and is now content to be the producer in charge of the project.

As for the rest, making money is not shabby.

Following Martin's project will provide you with both spiritual and physical pleasure, as well as financial returns. Where can you find such investment?

Martin then called Chad Starsky and asked about the preparations for "John Wick 2". The script had been completed, and Chad was working on the action scene design with Chen Hu. He was waiting for him to disappear after filming. If you love someone, you can transfer to the crew for filming.

Chad also reminded Martin that daily exercise and training cannot be relaxed.

Martin has been training for the past few years without anyone urging or supervising him.

Having experienced the Burbank High School and Santa Monica Pier incidents, he knows best that these critical moments can save lives.

A bastard who has fucked many people will naturally worry about being fucked by others.

…………

Warner Building, another meeting comes to an end.

In addition to promoting the "Hobbit" trilogy and the DC movie universe, Kevin Tsujihara proposed a plan to expand the film business.

The content is very old, and this is what the six major Hollywood companies have been doing in recent years, acquiring high-quality small and medium-sized production companies.

Warner Bros. entered the new century and successively acquired Legendary Pictures, New Line Cinema, etc.

In this way, it can directly swallow up the other party's film library and bring high-quality content. The latter has brought Warner the complete copyright of the "Lord of the Rings" series.

Warner Bros. has mature models and operating mechanisms in this regard, and the risks are much smaller than investing in unknown new film projects.

After discussing with several close subordinates, Kevin Tsujihara made a preliminary list: Castle Rock Pictures, Pacific Pictures and Davis Film and Television Studios.

"Castle Rock and The Pacific are indeed good." Someone objected: "But Davis Studio is just a leather company founded by Martin Davis. The film library... shouldn't be more than five films, right?"

The person who proposed the proposal said: "Strictly speaking, there are only three movies: "Wanted", "Never End" and "John Wick", but don't forget, "John Wick" is preparing a sequel, and the first one is a box office hit. It exceeded 400 million US dollars, and it also started a new trend of action movies. All the original cast members returned for the second film, and the revenue was only high."

He paused slightly and then added: "Looking at the world of the first film, at least a trilogy can be made. Some of the characters, such as Winston played by Mene, can also be used to film spin-offs."

Kevin Tsujihara has learned more about Martin's movies and said: "The John Wick series has really good prospects."

The man continued what he said: "Reliable news, in addition to "Gone Girl", Martin also bought the film adaptation rights of two novels, "Prince of Thieves" and "The Martian". Based on his success in the past few years, Judging from precedents, the prospects for adapting these two novels are also very good."

Kevin Tsujihara said: “These three companies have entered the acquisition review process as quickly as possible.”

CEOs have great power, but there are limits.

After the meeting, the relevant departments of Warner Bros. immediately took action to collect information and data from the three companies to measure their future prospects.

…………

When Gavin Newsom left Los Angeles, Jennifer Siebel stayed.

The first lady of San Francisco called the director Keen Lee, whom she had worked with, to make an appointment with Martin, and they came to Davis Studio together.

Sibel introduced Keane Lee to Martin and said: "Keane is both a director and a screenwriter. I think he writes very good scripts."

Martin asked directly: "Can I read the script first?"

Sibel said: "Of course."

"I have the script here." Kean-Lee gave Martin a printed copy of the script and said specifically: "This is specially made for Jennifer."

Martin took it: "Please wait a moment."

He had coffee brought to him and read the script first.

The script is called "Romantic Trouble". As the name suggests, it is a romantic comedy that mainly revolves around the heroine also named Jennifer.

Tailored? Even the first name is Jennifer.

The plot setting is also a bit interesting. The heroine Jennifer has made a new boyfriend, but when she is having sex with her new boyfriend, she always has the illusion that she is with her ex-boyfriend, and she can constantly talk to her ex-boyfriend.

This setting is very similar to Little Days or Holy Grain.

Looking at the script alone, the screenwriter has set up a lot of poker scenes for the heroine.

Martin is also well-informed in Hollywood, and it is not difficult to judge that Jennifer Siebel needs to take off her clothes in these scenes.

For Hollywood actresses, this is no big deal.

But Sibel also has another identity.

Martin had to ask something clearly: "Jennifer, are you playing the female lead?"

Sibel smiled: "Of course, this is a play tailor-made for me by Keane."

She was very smart and understood what Martin meant, and said: "Gavin read the script carefully and approved of my starring role in this drama. He thought it would become an artistic masterpiece."

Martin nodded, closed the script and handed it back to Kean-Lee, and asked: "Have you made an estimate? How much budget will be needed for filming?"

Keen Lee was well prepared. He took out a detailed shooting plan and handed it to Martin: "I have made detailed plans for every link. Jennifer is the biggest actor. The crew does not need other stars. 5 million I can definitely handle the US dollars!”

Although he did not use his own money to invest, Martin still read the plan carefully and said: "The plan is good."

He couldn't make it, but he had read a lot and made a rough assessment in his mind as to whether it contained real materials.

Keane-Lee smiled a little reservedly: "I have made several works, although none of them have entered the theaters."

Martin put away the plan and said: "I will let people from the company conduct a professional assessment. Please wait for a few days. I will notify you as soon as there is news."

Sibel has been waiting for a long time to become the heroine, and she still has the patience to wait a few more days.

She said: "My biggest wish now is to complete a work as the heroine. Whether the final product is in theaters, TV stations, or on the Internet, as long as it is broadcast to the public, I will be satisfied."

Martin said: "I can't guarantee entering the theater, but there will be absolutely no problem with TV stations and the Internet."

It is difficult for this type of film to enter the theater market. It costs a lot of money to find a distribution company and promote it, and you may lose even more.

Martin still cares about investors.

Sibel stood up, smiled and shook hands with Martin: "I'll leave everything to you."

Martin squeezed her hand gently: "Wait for my call."

The two left behind a copy of the script and a plan and said goodbye.

The so-called review was actually done by Martin alone. He first called Thomas, and if there were suitable young actors, he would be added to the crew.

Then he notified Wu Maoting that the project was available.

Not long after, Wu Maoting came to Davis Studio and saw the script and plan sent by Martin.

Martin stated in advance: "The investment in this project is only about US$5 million. There are certain risks. It may be difficult to enter theaters. I will sell it to a TV station or video website depending on the situation."

Wu Maoting flipped through it quickly. He regarded this project as a stepping stone to express his sincerity. After all, he had abandoned Davis Studio and Pacific Pictures before and switched to Warner Pictures.

The result was all tears.

Wu Maoting said: "I will fully invest in this project!"

Martin shook his hand: "Davis Studio will strive to make it profitable."

This is a work of which he has no memory, and it can be regarded as asking for directions.

The project was finalized, and Martin, through Thomas, found a reliable producer to take charge of the project.

Then his attention turned temporarily to Oscar.

At the annual Oscar nominees luncheon, Martin received another Best Actor nomination for "Benjamin."

David Fincher also received a nomination for best director.