American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 114 Making Animation While Staying on Top of Fashion

Although Isabella is not a professional in the production field.

And her summary sounded pretty pointless.

What does it mean that "the key to whether a story can be adapted into a film lies in whether the adapted film can be understood by people who have not seen the original"? How is this any different from "cultural workers must be cultured"?

but……

Everyone present agreed with what she said.

Because none of the guys sitting here are slackers.

Therefore, everyone understands that IP operation requires a large number of fans, but relying solely on fan purchases cannot support the entire box office of a movie. If a movie wants to achieve good results, it must serve the public well. This is a truth in creation.

That being the case...

Then everyone started thinking about how to adapt the plot of the novel "The Goblet of Fire" to make it more reasonable.

Then, the specific participants in this project were producer David Heyman, director Chris Columbus, and screenwriter Steve Klose. As for Warner Bros. president Alan Horn? Magical Godmother J.K. Rowling? Miss Beaver Isabella?
None of the three of them are capable of handling the detailed work!
Warner's reason for not participating is simple:
They are the investors and don't participate in the creative process.

Rowling's reason for not participating is simple:
The original author cannot participate in the adaptation process. If the original author truly loves their work, they will become the biggest obstacle to the adaptation. They will be very reluctant to cut any content.

And Miss Beaver?
She's the biggest boss right now!
She's someone who can sway Warner's will!

Therefore, she cannot participate in the specific adaptation.

If she personally gets involved in the adaptation process, Warner Bros. will ultimately be unable to review the script.

Sigh, who can blame her when all the media capital is rushing to invest in the projects she favors?
Therefore, in order for the film to be better, she can only wait and see the final product, just like Rowling.

hee hee~
Since Isabella didn't have to do the detailed work herself, she prepared to leave with Rowling as the task was assigned.

However, as soon as she stepped out, she was stopped again by Warner Bros. president Alan Horn.

Alan Horn stated that if Isabella has time now, he'd like to talk to her about the supplementary agreement for *The Goblet of Fire*. Uh… he's basically trying to replicate Chris Columbus's actions on *The Voice*.

To put it simply, if Goblet of Fire is split up for filming, he hopes Isabella will take a smaller share in Goblet of Fire Part 2, and then Warner Bros. will make up the difference with money from other projects.

As for why?
It's very simple.

Given Isabella's current status, if she were to accept her salary as it is, she could earn 20+20 for "Goblet of Fire".

If Warner Bros. and Isabella sign such a contract, HP will become the most unprofitable series in history!

This is no joke!

Therefore, after The Voice of China was a disaster, Isabella could only get her paycheck in HP through indirect means.

otherwise……

Let's not even talk about whether Barry Mayer will be killed by Ted Turner and his crew.

Take the Ross family, for example.

If Barry Mayer dares to distribute a large portion of HP's profits, then he won't be able to face his supporters!

The issue of vested interests arising from someone of such high status is quite real and thorny, and Barry Mayer is indeed their ally. Therefore, after hearing Alan Horn's invitation, Isabella looked directly at Rowling.

"Aunt Annie, would you stay with me for a moment?"

"Oh, why do you need my opinion on such a small matter?"

Rowling smiled and nodded, then took Isabella's hand. "Let's go."

Yes, Vivian didn't come today.

She had originally intended to come, but after learning that the script discussion was very time-consuming and that Rowling couldn't bring her family, leaving her soon-to-be-one-year-old son in her husband's care, Vivian chose to stay at the hotel to help out.

Or perhaps Rowling and Vivian took turns caring for the child.

To outsiders, this change might seem inappropriate.

Because once Isabella arrives at Warner, she'll likely talk to Warner about her work.

This should be kept secret; it's not appropriate to share it.

At least Rowling couldn't directly listen in.

But for them...

Once Isabella successfully embraced Hermione Granger, their interests were essentially intertwined.

Yes, cutting ties with the IP author who made you famous is a really foolish thing to do.

Such behavior is tantamount to betrayal in the face of any interest group.

And the traitor...

It will not end well.

Led by Alan Horn, Isabella and Rowling slipped into his office.

Alan Horn invited the two to sit down;
Then he asked his secretary to serve tea;
He then said he needed to speak with Barry Mayer first and asked them to wait a moment.

About five minutes later, Alan Horn reappeared in front of the two.

With a smile, they presented Isabella with Warner's proposed solution:

"Isa, after learning that there might be a split-up production plan for the sequels to the Harry Potter series, he said that if Harry Potter is split up and does well, then you won't have much time to act in other projects in the future."

"You probably won't have much time left, at least not until HP ends."

"Therefore, he said that the transaction standards between us can be modified."

“Previously, our transaction standard was that you selected the project, you participated, and then we split the profits.”

"For example, in 'The Voice of China,' a large portion of the producer's and screenwriter's commissions actually comes from the actors' commissions."

“Now, our transaction standard is that you choose the project, you list your name on it, and then we directly transfer the money.”

"For example, you see potential in a project, then you participate in the production and have your subsidiary participate in the production. Then, you will receive two dividends, one from the production and one from the manufacturing, which is used to make up for the difference in HP."

"Of course, since this will allow us to benefit from your fame, and no one can guarantee that all projects will succeed, in addition to our share of the profits, we will also give you a fixed commission, and the way it will be given..."

“Isn’t your company involved in the production? We’ll have the project team film on location in the UK, and your company will be in charge of the production there. Depending on the situation, we’ll give you 20 to 30 million, or even 30 to 40 million. You can pay a portion to hire Leaversden, and that will settle the bill.”

At this point, Alan Horn winked at Isabella.

The little girl, understanding what she meant, immediately laughed.

Isn't this just a copy of the straw hat that costs 8,000 yuan?

However, she can accept it.

He waved his hand, signaling to continue.

Alan Horn cleared his throat and said, "Okay, these are just the main ideas for the deal."

"There are many more branching approaches."

"For example, if you really like a project and want to act in it, that's fine too. Our deal can go back to the 'The Voice' model. It's just that you get to appear on screen and you get more money."

"For example, if you want to do projects for your artists, we can invest and distribute them. You have complete control over everything in the project. You can film it however you want. Just give us a list and we'll do it accordingly."

“If everything is okay, then I’ll have the project team bring over the valuable projects from our Warner Bros. film library.”

"Yes, Barry means that it's troublesome to go out and find projects, so you can choose from our Warner project pool first."

"If you're still not satisfied, then let's talk about something else."

"Oh, by the way, Barry specifically told me that even for our Warner Bros. classic big projects, you can be listed as a co-author."

"As long as you want."

Isabella smiled as she listened to Alan Horn's retelling.

The new, privilege-filled trading method allowed Miss Beaver to once again smell the allure of power.

A pause or two is enough to digest the information.

After a few moments, Isabella asked, "Are you serious about everything you've said?"

"Of course!"

"Can I take all the projects in your film library?"

"Yes!"

"Including The Hobbit?"

"Uh……"

The moment the question was uttered, Alan Horn froze.

He stared at Isabella for several seconds, and seeing that she wasn't joking, he said, "Of course, you can be listed as a co-author on 'The Hobbit' project, because the profit-sharing ratio we discussed is dynamic. Before giving the ratio, we will make an estimate of the project's revenue, so if you really want to be listed... Okay, I can agree to it right now."

"However, The Hobbit project will not be developed for the time being because of New Line Cinema's accounts... well... let's put it this way, that guy Robert Shea messed up Peter Jackson's contract, so The Hobbit can't be developed until this matter is officially resolved. In the contract, Peter Jackson has priority to direct."

“If we don’t let him get the money he wants for Lord of the Rings, he has the right to stop the project.”

"Oh~~~" Miss Beaver's voice took eighteen turns~
very good!

The player feels great!

Since Barry Mayer was being sensible, Isabella temporarily agreed to their plan.

what?
Some people asked why not just agree?

Because the film industry is full of uncertainties.

Even if the general framework of the transaction is set up, each specific situation still needs to be dealt with when it comes to different projects.

With Miss Beaver nodding, Alan Horn also had Warner's project team send over a list of the company's investment-worthy projects in the form of a document about the thickness of a thumb, containing nearly 300 projects.

Frankly speaking, this kind of presentation is actually very easy to manipulate.

How can you tell if a project is good or bad just by looking at its name and description, without reading the script?
But Miss Beaver doesn't care, because she has superpowers.

After flipping through the pages for a while, Isabella spotted quite a few valuable items.

For example, "The Departed"—

Isn't this just the American remake of "Infernal Affairs"?

The movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon was... alright.

Currently, the copyright for "Infernal Affairs" is held by Warner Bros.

For example, The Prestige—

Yeah~
Christopher Nolan's films are actually adaptations of novels.

The novel of the same name as the film was published in 1995 and is a work by author Christopher Priest.

Then, Warner Bros. bought the development rights to the novel a long time ago.

For example, "I Am Legend"—

Yes, yes, yes, Will Smith's classic works are also adapted from novels.

Furthermore, it was already published as early as 1954, and the author was American writer Richard Matheson.

Warner Bros. acquired the film adaptation rights in 1994.

To be honest, these projects are actually quite good.

But Isabella didn't want any of them.

These projects couldn't bring her any benefits other than money.

This isn't because she thinks too highly of herself! She just thinks she has enough money already!
Instead, she currently has a cash cow at her disposal.

When she has a printing press at her fingertips, continuing to take money from giants is the stupidest thing to do.

Perhaps something different would be better?
and so……

After quickly flipping through the briefing in her hand and confirming that Barry Mayer was genuinely interested in doing business with her, Isabella looked at Warner President Alan Horn and asked, "Alan, is there anything else?"

"You don't like any of them?" Alan Horn asked with a smile.

He pointed to the documents in Isabella's hand and reminded her, "There are some really good projects in here."

"Oh, thanks for reminding me," Isabella chuckled and shrugged. "But... they're not really suitable for me right now..."

"Okay."

Everyone has their own ambitions, and Alan Horn doesn't force anyone to.

"If that's the case, then let's move on to the next transaction method."

“Isa, you know the New York Times, right?”

"The New York Times has a list called the bestseller list."

"That's actually our Hollywood's reserve film library."

"Many of our Hollywood projects actually originated from there."

"So, I had someone send the list to you?"

"If you like a particular work that hasn't been bought yet, Warner Bros. will go and buy it for you."

"We'll provide the money, you get the copyright, and we'll include that expense in the indirect deal's fee? Then, your income usually can't be fully offset by the copyright transaction, so... we'll talk about the rest when we develop the project?" "Anyway, we'll calculate your due amount. If the total investment in the project is greater than what we should pay, then we'll discuss it again. You can pay the difference yourself or we can invest, but if we invest... we'll want the distribution rights."

“Global.”

“Okay~ No problem~” Isabella agreed with a smile, “Alan, have someone bring the things over.”

The New York Times bestseller list holds the same position in Hollywood as the bestseller lists on certain online literature websites in the eyes of Tencent, Youku, and iQiyi: a wildly popular novel is one that has a basis for adaptation.

Take Harry Potter for example; it has been the number one bestseller for the past few years.

Then, HP is different from other books.

Since 2000, organizers of major fiction bestseller lists, including the New York Times bestseller list, have explicitly stated that Harry Potter will no longer be included in their rankings; its sales figures will be listed separately. This is because including Harry Potter would make any list, regardless of the author, exclusively feature "Harry Potter and XXXX".

Other authors can't even get a piece of the pie, let alone challenge J.K. Rowling.

That's why Harry Potter is an IP that the entire Hollywood community has high hopes for.

HP's sales figures are numbers that even those who fabricate data wouldn't dare to dream of.

Yes, novel sales figures are often inflated.

With HP's transcendence, the current New York Times bestseller list has become more diverse.

Excluding HP, the best-selling book last year was called "The Da Vinci Code".

But this thing...

According to an internal Warner Bros. briefing, Sony has already acquired the development rights to The Da Vinci Code.

The transaction price was US$600 million.

Then, another name that Isabella recognized on the bestseller list was "The Lovely Bones".

Yeah~
It's the story of that 14-year-old girl who was lured into a cornfield on her way home from school, brutally murdered, and then became a ghost. In Isabella's previous life, this thing was made by Peter Jackson.

The development rights to the novel were also bought out for $200 million.

And the buyer...

It's supposedly a British company?
In addition, the list also includes "The Nanny's Diary"—

The story starring Scarlett Johansson.

MGM bought the development rights for $150 million.

There is "The Flag of Our Fathers" —

The novel that Clint Eastwood adapted into the film of the same name.

The development rights are now in DreamWorks' hands, and the transaction price was $270 million.

There's "The Devil Wears Prada"—

In Isabella's previous life, the film version was created by Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep.

Its development rights were...

'Eh? ’

'Has the development rights to this novel not been sold yet?'

When Isabella saw the 'For Sale' mark in red on the form, her eyebrows immediately shot up.

Hold up the document.

Turning to Alan Horn, who was waiting for the results, he asked, "Does the development rights to this novel still belong to the original author?"

“If it says it’s for sale on the list, then it should still be available,” Alan Horn nodded in reply.

But the next second, he shook his head, "Uh, I'll call someone to ask."

He picked up the landline and dialed the short number.

Soon, staff from Warner's project team arrived.

In response to Alan Horn's question, the man replied, "The Prada project has been on Fox's radar for a long time, even before the novel was finished. The reason why the deal has not been completed so far is that the novel is full of allusions."

"A reflection of reality."

"Fox asked the author to handle the matter, but the author said no, so the deal was put on hold."

The author of Prada is Lauren Weisberg.

The novel recounts her experiences as a personal assistant to Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue magazine.

It's filled with all sorts of gossip.

And what the person involved considers defamation.

Although 'celebrity biographies' and 'celebrity gossip' are Hollywood's favorite film and television genres.

But that kind of 'liking' and 'development' is only for the deceased.

When Anna Wintour was still alive, and her family had produced prime ministers, major generals, bishops, and she herself held a knighthood bestowed by the Queen, it was not easy to bring a film that defamed her to the big screen.

Therefore, until the author and the person involved in the event reach a consensus.

Even the six major Hollywood studios wouldn't feel comfortable openly developing the novel "Prada".

therefore……

"Then you guys go and ask for me."

Isabella pointed to the documents on the table and said with a smile, "Ask about the price, whether to sell, okay?"

Miss Beaver has a target, which is good news for Warner.

Because what everyone is talking about right now is indirect trading.

Isabella's interest in the project means that the entire negotiation has laid the foundation for a deal.

However, while nodding in agreement, Alan Horn still had a question in his mind.

"Isa, this isn't actually a good project, so can you tell me why you chose it?"

Things that happen in the fashion world are actually not easy to make into a movie.

Because this circle is too far removed from ordinary people.

Even though it's full of melodramatic drama that everyone loves.

And this...

"My reason for choosing it is simple. Because when I was online, I saw people saying that the novel *Prada* is full of discussions related to *Harry Potter*."

"When a story in the fashion world says that everyone in the fashion industry is talking about Harry Potter, isn't that the coolest thing in the world? Doesn't that prove that reading Harry Potter is the most fashionable thing to do?"

"Therefore, I think this story has the value of being brought to the big screen."

"Do you think I'm right, Aunt Annie?"

Isabella turned to the side.

She glanced at J.K. Rowling beside her.

After entering Alan Horn's office, Rowling went into silence.

She simply watched Isabella and Alan Horn talk silently, without participating in the discussion, because she felt that while she could offer advice and help when Isabella encountered trouble, it wasn't appropriate for her to directly intervene in the negotiations between Isabella and Warner.

So she put on a stern face and adopted a "do not disturb" attitude.

Now, as Miss Beaver frequently brought up Harry Potter and steered the conversation toward her, Rowling, understanding the girl's meaning, immediately laughed and shook her head, saying, "Isa, do you want to turn Prada into our advertisement?"

“Yeah——”

Miss Beaver nodded vigorously, "I want the whole world to know that reading Harry Potter is the most fashionable thing to do—"

"Oh~~ if this can be done, that would be really cool~~"

Rowling smiled and said, "But if it doesn't work out—I'll cover half of your losses."

"hahahaha~~~"

Isabella burst into laughter, clapping her hands. "Okay! It's settled then!"

Yes.

Although Prada is a story set in the fashion world, it is filled with a lot of pursuit of HP.

For example, in the story, Miranda, the queen of the fashion world, asks her assistant to get her hands on HP's unpublished manuscripts.

The author probably didn't have any particular ideas when writing this part of the story.

Or perhaps the author is describing what happened to himself back then.

I want to complain that my boss is incredibly stupid.

She's just an assistant; where would she find J.K. Rowling's manuscript of Harry Potter?

However, this kind of description actually proves the influence of HP from another perspective.

When a teen book frequently appears in fashion magazines, fashion itself pales in comparison to an epic IP.

That's right.

Isabella targeted Prada precisely because of this.

As I said before, the better her HP, the better.

However, HP was only one of the reasons Isabella wanted Prada.

Secondly, in her memory, the Prada movie in her previous life was a huge box office success.

The return on investment seems to be over ten times?
A multi-million dollar investment generated hundreds of millions in box office revenue—it was absolutely phenomenal.

Then, since she's not short of money now, there's a third reason why she wants Prada.

If Isabella remembers correctly, the story of Prada ends with the protagonist Andy ultimately choosing to leave Queen Miranda and bid farewell to the fashion world, making it an anti-fashion film.

So……

If that's the case, then this movie would be perfect for her.

First of all, she currently lacks fashion resources.

She has transcended it.

hee hee~
Secondly, the protagonist is able to embrace other things after leaving the fashion industry.

What did they embrace in the original story? Isabella can't remember, because she doesn't have hyperthymesia.

But no matter what industry the female protagonist ultimately embraces, as long as she has the project development rights, she can let the female protagonist embrace whatever she wants, for example, the female protagonist goes to a cartoon company after leaving the fashion industry?
Although the company was a startup, the atmosphere was great, and their boss had a very ambitious vision.

The boss wanted to create a cartoon character even more famous than Mickey Mouse, so he designed a little beaver for it.

A groundhog?

A Kapibala?
Then let them embark on an adventure to explore the world?

Riding the wave of fashion to fame?

Well, I don't think anyone in this world would complain about having too many IPs, right?

Robert Iger wants to develop Little Beaver?

And then this guy thinks she disagrees?
hum~
The reason she disagreed was because she wanted to develop more!

Robert Iger really has no dreams at all!

Hehe ~
Perhaps Isabella's reason was too outrageous?
But it's also possible that they knew Isabella's ideas had always been abstract?
Therefore, after his lips twitched several times, Alan Horn accepted the little girl's explanation.

He then asked Isabella if she had any other ideas.

This--

"Allen, if you can help me buy the copyrights, could you expand the scope of the purchase?"

How do you plan to expand?

"Can you buy me some comics?"

"Uh...you don't actually want Marvel, do you?"

"Yeah~ Congratulations on guessing correctly~ Too bad there's no reward."

Isabella looked at Alan Horn with a smile.

The Warner president's face showed signs of tension. "We can help you buy it, but we have digital cameras."

"So, Isha, does this mean you don't like DC?"

"Oh—it's not that I dislike DC, it's just that Superman in DC is too invincible, unbeatably invincible, so..."

Isabella shrugged regretfully.

"Okay, I think I understand what you mean. It's difficult to develop, right? Indeed."

Alan Horn nodded helplessly, "If that's the case... okay, we can help you buy it. What do you like? Hulk? Captain America? Iron Man? Black Widow? I can help you buy the rights to anything Marvel has already sold. I can't help you with the ones they haven't sold yet, because it seems they're no longer selling the rights..."

(End of this chapter)