America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 799 Cunning Old Man

With the announcement of the nominations, the uproar surrounding the Oscars seemed to subside on the surface, but the "email scandal" erupted, prompting the Academy to reiterate its various prohibitions.

According to the college's regulations, after the nomination list is announced, publicity can continue, but lobbying the judges is not allowed.

In the past, most people didn't take it seriously.

But this year is different; the various award-winning film crews have suddenly become much more disciplined.

The college has been investigating the email scandal, and if they try anything funny now, they could easily run into trouble.

In the Davis Studios office, Bruce put down the entertainment newspaper he was reading.

Martin, who was reading David Fincher's directorial notes, looked up and, seeing that Old Brooks remained silent, asked, "No new Oscar bombshells?"

Bruce shook his head: "The news about the Oscars has been lackluster; it's been uneventful since the nominations were announced."

Martin couldn't help but laugh: "Old Brooks, we've made a significant contribution to the Oscars!"

Bruce was puzzled, wondering what shocking words this shameless bastard was about to say.

Martin said in a serious tone, "You see, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is now strictly managing Oscar public relations, and all the award-contending film crews are consciously abiding by the various rules set by the Academy. Why is that?"

Bruce's lips began to twitch: "Because of what we did?"

"That's right, because of all the good deeds we've done!" Martin explained with an example: "For nearly twenty years, Harvey Weinstein kept lowering the bar for Oscar public relations, causing the Oscars to fall from grace. But we, in just three years, have made the Oscars soar again, forcing all film crews to take the Academy's rules seriously..."

Bruce deliberately said sarcastically, "The academy really should reward us properly, give us a special contribution award or a lifetime achievement award!"

Martin said, "I think it's very necessary."

Bruce thought to himself, "If we follow this shameless logic, all that Martin did was to remind the Academy of the importance of the rules?"

"Why don't I believe you?" Bruce first feigned confusion, then suddenly realized, "Because I was one of the actual participants, and I know what you did."

Martin held up a finger and shook it: "Old Brooks, your level is still too low. All low-level behavior must be contained within a veneer of nobility!"

Bruce sincerely suggested, "Why don't you run for president of the Screen Actors Guild? Or the Producers Union president too."

Martin asked in surprise, "Why?"

Bruce said, "You're shameless enough. Hollywood won't tolerate you."

Just then, there was a knock on the office door, and Thomas pushed it open, interrupting their conversation.

Martin gestured to the seating area: "Please make yourself at home."

Thomas didn't go over there. Instead, he went directly to the other side of the desk, placed a thick file folder he was carrying under his arm on the desk, and said, "The script that DreamWorks just sent over is from Spielberg's project. I picked it up as soon as I received it."

At the Oscar nominees luncheon, Martin and Spielberg exchanged a few words about collaboration, but it was mostly polite small talk. He didn't expect Spielberg to act so quickly.

He took the file bag, opened it, and found the script and related reports inside.

It's clearly a movie based on a true story.

Martin first looked at relevant reports, old newspapers from the 1960s, about events that occurred during the Cold War.

The Cold War was inevitably intertwined with two behemoths.

In 1960, American spy pilot Gary Powers, carrying a large amount of secret intelligence, was assigned to carry out a secret mission. However, the new American reconnaissance aircraft U2 "Black Widow" that he was piloting was eventually shot down over the Russian bear, and Gary Powers was captured.

At the same time, the U.S. military also captured a Soviet spy named Abel, and the two sides intended to exchange prisoners.

A lawyer named James Donovan was chosen to represent the United States in mediating with the Russians.

Martin looked at the script again. Under the cover of "Bridge of Spies," the names of the screenwriters were listed. The screenwriters were very famous—Ethan Cohen and Joel Cohen.

The famous Coen brothers.

Thomas then said, "Spubert's father was an engineer who was sent to work in the Soviet Union during the Cold War, so he was very interested in this kind of subject."

Martin nodded, opened the script, and after flipping through a dozen pages, asked, "This doesn't seem right. The lead actor, James Donovan, is a very old lawyer; he's not suitable for me."

Thomas said, "Your role is Gary Powers, the pilot. For the lead role, Spielberg chose his old partner Tom Hanks, and DreamWorks agreed to a base salary of $2000 million and even invited you to join the production with your own investment."

"A supporting actor agreed to my base salary of $2000 million." Martin felt a little strange: "And he also agreed to let me bring my own funding to the project, while the lead actor's salary is no less than mine..."

He looked at Thomas: "Do you think this is normal?"

Thomas said, "This is a project directed by Spielberg, whose projects are very appealing and always reliable..."

Before he could finish speaking, he realized something was wrong: "It's not reliable at all."

Martin was reminded of the commercial success story of "Saving Private Ryan," where Spielberg made a fortune, Tom Hanks made a fortune, the producers made a fortune, the production company lost money, and the investors got nothing.

How much would the budget be for this spy project, including him, Hanks, and Spielberg? Most of the salaries would probably go towards post-production revenue sharing.

So, how much box office revenue does the film need to generate a share for him?

If his base salary is 2000 million plus a share of the profits, and he brings his own funding to the project, it's like he's using the money he raised to pay himself... no, to pay Hanks and Spielberg's salaries...

Are Spielberg and Tom Hanks known as honest men in Hollywood? On the surface, yes.

But anyone who believes this will end up like the investors who were involved with Da Bing back then.

Martin didn't trust Spielberg and Tom Hanks, those two cunning old foxes, so he simply closed the script and said to Thomas, "Call Spielberg tomorrow and turn down this invitation for me. You can come up with a suitable reason."

Thomas, who wasn't new to this kind of thing, said, "Okay, I'll go to DreamWorks tomorrow and return the script."

The Jewish influence in Hollywood is very strong, and Martin won't easily get into conflicts with them, nor will he suspect that a project might be problematic and step on it.

Jewish forces routinely dig graves to bury people alive and skin them alive; this must be guarded against.

Thomas carefully packed up the script and materials, put them in a file bag, and quickly said goodbye and left.

Martin continued reading David Fincher's director's notes, which were his own notes from his years as a director and a summary of his experiences in that role.

If it weren't for his long-standing collaboration with David Fincher and their good personal relationship, he would never have been able to borrow this notebook.

In addition to David Fincher's materials, Martin also has some study materials provided by Chad Stahlsky.

However, Chad's style leans more towards action.

Just like the outside world's evaluation, Chad's acting skills in dramatic scenes are so-so; what he really shines in are his action scenes.

Not long after he finished watching, Martin received a call from David Fincher, asking if he was at the company.

Half an hour later, David Fincher and Netflix's content director, Greg Peters, entered the meeting room together.

Peters shook hands with Martin and said, "Thank you for Seventh Son."

Martin smiled and said, "Don't mention it, we're partners, it's just a phone call."

After the bank acquired the rights to "Seventh Son" from the bankrupt Annapurna Films, it would definitely sell the rights to recoup its investment. Martin had Harris handle the negotiations at the time.

But the bank refused to sell $3000 million and was prepared to spend more money to conduct a large-scale GG (Gross Gain) operation.

Seeing that there was no profit to be made, Martin decided not to act as a middleman and directly called Netflix. Greg Peters eventually bought the rights to "Seventh Son" for $3800 million.

Although those in the industry know that this is one of a series of failed productions by Annapurna Pictures and Megan Ellison, the general public is not very familiar with it.

Thus, through Netflix's promotion and packaging on its own streaming website, it became a $1.5 million fantasy epic exclusively streamed on Netflix.

The same work will have different effects when played on different websites.

Just like those big data films that Netflix produced in Martin's previous life, each one received worse reviews than the last, yet they repeatedly broke Netflix's streaming records.

To put it bluntly, those videos are not made by Netflix for the general public, but for paid subscribers and potential paid subscribers.

"It's such a shame you can't be in 'House of Cards'." Peters had always wanted to invite Martin to join the cast: "You and David together would be a hit."

Martin said, "My schedule has been too packed these past few years, but we will have opportunities to collaborate in the future."

Peters added, "David is aiming for the Oscar for Best Director. Netflix has invested $350 million to buy a lot of media space. The details are with David. You guys know more about the Oscar race than I do, so you can handle it."

Martin assured, "We will definitely make good use of these resources."

David Fincher added, "Martin has a knack for making the Olympics."

Martin laughed: "Now all we need is the most conventional method: maintain good publicity and exposure."

Peters said, "Netflix is ​​waiting for your good news."

Neither Martin nor David Fincher held back.

Netflix is ​​a commercial company, and there's a reason why it can mobilize media resources for an unrelated film.

Regardless of the outcome of this year's Oscars, David Fincher will embark on a full-scale collaboration with Netflix, with his first project being the big-budget political drama "House of Cards."

For Netflix, the difference between a top Hollywood director like David Fincher and an Oscar-winning director like David Fincher is completely different in terms of publicity and the amount of attention they can generate.

Netflix certainly wants to work with Oscar-winning director David Fincher.

The three chatted for a long time in the meeting room, during which they also discussed Warner Bros.' new Justice League universe plan.

DC and Warner will be holding a joint press conference soon.

(End of this chapter)