China Entertainment Anchor

Chapter 861 Are you kidding?

"David, we Warner..."

"Vogel, our Paramount..."

David Vogel looked at the two top six Hollywood executives, their expressions seemed to change, but he could still maintain his normalcy in his heart. He was a top student who graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He felt that it was better not to get too involved in this dispute.

"Director, I am willing to sell you the film and television rights of "Oppenheimer"." David Vogel made a decision.

With his small arms and legs, there is no need to come into contact with these people. The right way is to just get away with money.

Zhang Yang looked at David Vogel, he was such a decisive person, he was not polite and signaled to his assistant.

The assistant immediately walked to David Vog and extended his hand to invite: "Sir, let's go to a quiet place to talk!"

"OK." David Vog stood up and walked elsewhere with Zhang Yang's assistant.

When people from Kevin and Jim's team saw this scene, they secretly cursed "Shit" in their hearts.

With David Wogg doing this, Zhang Yang has more leverage. He doesn't have any constraints when filming "Oppenheimer" and can collaborate with others at will.

Then it’s time for both parties to bid.

Kevin made a preemptive strike again: "Director, we at Warner are also prepared to give you a director's salary of US$8000 million. As for the production budget of this movie, not counting your salary, there is still US$ million. All film creation matters are handled by you alone. Decide."

The employees of the Warner team took a breath of cold air when they heard their boss's words. He was indeed a person of Xiaoli blood, ruthless! So cruel! If Zhang Yang had a darker conscience, the amount of money he could swallow would be an astronomical figure.

Of course, if Zhang Yang did something too outrageous, they would definitely not recognize it.

Next, the pressure is on Paramount, it depends on how Jim will act.

Jim, who was sitting next to him, tightened his palms and responded: "The director has the film and television rights to "Oppenheimer", so how can he only give 8000 million US dollars?"
We at Paramount offer a salary of 100 million US dollars to invite you to come and shoot this movie. In addition, the film production budget is also 100 million US dollars. "

"Look, I didn't make it clear just now. The US$8000 million is only the director's salary, and we will also give US$ million for the film and television rights." Kevin was not to be outdone.

Zhang Yang raised his palm to stop them from continuing to raise prices: "You two, listen to me first. This movie was shot in the United States. There are several things that need to be paid attention to."

Kevin and Jim immediately stopped talking and acted like they were listening.

"I want to do related photography at Los Alamos National Laboratory." Zhang Yang said his first request.

This laboratory is no ordinary place. Its first mission after its completion was the Manhattan Project, which was responsible for researching mushroom bombs. This project was first led by Oppenheimer.

It is also one of the largest scientific and technological research institutions in the world,

Conduct research in space exploration, renewable energy, nanotechnology, supercomputers and other disciplines.

On top of that, the place is unfriendly to non-whites and has a history of wronging Chinese people.

With the current relationship between China and the United States, it would be difficult for Zhang Yang to take his team in for filming.

"No problem." Kevin and Jim agreed almost at the same time. As long as Zhang Yang and the others were more strict in their management when filming inside, it wouldn't be a problem.

"I also want relevant scientists on mushroom bombs to provide scientific guidance."

"No problem." Kevin and Jim agreed again at the same time.

"Finally..." Zhang Yang sat on the chair and held his chin with his left hand, tentatively saying with expectation, "I wonder if the United States can grow a mushroom for me to shoot on the spot."

The hall suddenly became quiet, no one spoke, everyone looked at Zhang Yang, what are these words? Grow a mushroom to make your movie? Why don't you go to heaven?

At this time, Zhang Yang's assistant and David Wogg came back. As soon as they arrived, they saw a quiet scene.

The assistant came to Zhang Yang and whispered: "Boss, the copyright has been handled."

Zhang Yang nodded, and Bird on the side came to his senses, stood up immediately, and said to the people around him: "I am completely confident about the movie. I will leave first. You can talk slowly." Just kidding, Zhang Yang wanted to do it. He's growing mushrooms to make a movie, so why can't he be worried?
When David Vog saw Bird was leaving, he immediately followed him. Although he didn't know what happened, it had nothing to do with him.

"Director, are you kidding me?" Kevin asked cautiously after Bird and the others left.

"Of course not. Can you imagine how real the movie would be if we actually filmed a scene where a mushroom explodes? It doesn't matter even if I pay for it," Zhang Yang said seriously.

"You are really crazy. I have to admit that I can't do this." Kevin shook his hand and retreated decisively.

"I really want to help the director do it, but the reality is..." Jim spread his hands, his face full of embarrassment.

"Forget it, but I want to take a real shot of the explosion. You can get the relevant permissions." Zhang Yang was a little disappointed and could only settle for the next best thing.

"No problem." The two agreed almost at the same time. Next, Kevin and Jim began to engage in a verbal exchange.

Their respective teams soon joined in, and after more than an hour of fighting,
Seeing Jim being so difficult to deal with, Kevin immediately said fiercely: "We at Warner can give us another US$1 million in marketing expenses in addition to the US$1 million production budget. Of course, this fee includes Oscar public relations."

Good guy, Kevin spent $3 million for this movie.

Jim frowned when he heard Kevin's words. Warner was too cruel, and it didn't seem to make much sense for them to continue following.

At this time, an employee next to him suddenly held a piece of paper and placed it in front of Jim. Jim squinted his eyes and saw a smile on his face. It turned out that sometimes weakness can be an advantage.

Jim said to Zhang Yang with a confident look: "Director, we at Paramount agree to all Warner's requirements.
And we can promise to give "Oppenheimer" 90-120 days of theater screening time,

Paramount will not release any other films during the three weeks that "Oppenheimer" opens. "

Kevin and his team's expressions froze. Paramount's two conditions were a sure win for them.

At present, Paramount does not have a single good project that makes money. They give it as much time as they can, but Warner cannot do it. They have so many projects to do all year round, how can they give it time?
But Kevin being Kevin, he immediately caught the loophole in Jim's conditions.

"Hey, Jim, what you're talking about has nothing to do with the director. After all, he gets paid for the film and doesn't get a share of the box office." Kevin said with a smile.

Jim just raised his brows slightly and quickly realized that he couldn't hesitate at this time, otherwise he would be defeated.

"Then give the director 3% of the film's income in addition to the box office share." When Jim said this, he seemed to be gritting his teeth.

Don't think that 3% is very small. The box office share of a movie in the United States only accounts for about 30% of the revenue. Paramount giving Zhang Yang a 3% share of the movie's revenue is equivalent to giving Zhang Yang another 9% share of the movie's box office.

Based on a movie's box office of US$10 billion, they would have to give Zhang Yang about US$4500 million.

Paramount really regarded Zhang Yang as a life-saving straw and directly spent a lot of money this time.

Kevin doesn't want to give up just yet, because judging from Zhang Yang's performance in "Joker", this can be profitable.

When he was about to say something else, an employee of the team reminded him in a low voice: "BOSS, our company's merger is imminent, and the risk of doing so is too great."

He was reminding Kevin that it would be too risky to split the entire income of the movie, and that Warner had not reached this point yet.

Kevin took two deep breaths, with a smile on his face. He stood up and stretched out his hand to Zhang Yang: "Director, it seems we can only work together next time."

"Our current cooperation is not over yet." Zhang Yang also stood up and shook hands with him.

After Kevin and Zhang Yang shook hands, they also sent their blessings to Jim in a graceful manner: "Jim, I wish you a happy cooperation."

"Thank you." Jim also nodded to Kevin.

Zhang Yang and Jim sent Kevin and his team to the elevator door, and then everyone returned to the lobby, where they could now sign the contract of intent.

Before signing the contract, Zhang Yang's assistant raised objections.

"For the 3% revenue share other than the movie box office, we hope to provide advance payment based on the movie's global box office." The assistant said calmly.

Hollywood is so good at falsifying accounts. If this method is not used, there is no guarantee of how much money Zhang Yang will get in the end.

They have a hundred ways to prevent Zhang Yang from getting a penny, so he has to guard against this.

Paramount had no intention of defaulting on its debt at the moment, so it simply agreed.

The next step is to sign various contracts. Zhang Yang's remuneration will be 50% when the movie starts shooting, and another 50% halfway through the shooting.

He also took a folder from his assistant and handed it to Jim.

After Jim took it over, Zhang Yang explained to him: "We need to build another town near Los Alamos, next to the site of the mushroom bomb test site.
This work will be left to you Paramount to complete. I think you should know better than me what the small town looks like. This is also the main filming location for the movie. "

Jim nodded, and then gave the folder to the team members. He only wanted to hear the results of this matter, and would not keep an eye on it himself.

"As for the movie actors, apart from DiCaprio, I am going to let Scarlett play Oppenheimer's wife and Bulson play his lover.

Matt Damon will play the commander of the Manhattan Project. You will gather them here for a visit in the near future. "

Jim raised his eyebrows after hearing Zhang Yang's words: "Director, is $1 million enough for these stars?"

Most of the stars Zhang Yang mentioned could play a major role in a movie, but he invited them all.

With Zhang Yang's current appeal, he can do it, but what about the salary?
For this group of stars, the salary for a commercial movie is tens of millions of dollars.

"Jim, it seems that you still know nothing about the appeal of director Zhang Yang's artistic films. I am only prepared to ask for a salary of 1000 million U.S. dollars." DiCaprio gave good evidence on the side.

DiCaprio's current normal salary is more than 3000 million US dollars, but it only costs one-third if he breaks his bones.

"Okay, actually just tell them. There is no need to ask them to come over. After all, they are very busy." Jim reminded Zhang Yang again, spreading his hands.

"I don't want to either, but I really can't find a good candidate for Lewis Strauss.
But he is the most important character in the movie "Oppenheimer" besides Oppenheimer. I need them to provide me with some references. "Zhang Yang said helplessly.

"Let me invite them." Xiao Lizi immediately volunteered. He was very interested in this movie.

When Jim saw such a positive little plum, he was naturally very grateful.

"Thank you." Jim said politely.

Xiao Lizi waved his hands indifferently. These were all the people who acted for him, so he naturally had to be attentive. The more powerful the people Zhang Yang found, the better.

"Leon, you can tell them. If you think anyone is suitable, you can bring someone over." Zhang Yang saw that Xiao Lizi was so smart, so he gave him a little more power.

(End of this chapter)