1471 The lion speaks
It’s okay if Christopher doesn’t know about the rumors in the Hollywood industry, but Emma knows everything..
Among all the A-list actors and top actors nowadays, Renly can be said to be the most difficult and easiest to work with..
The reason why it is said to be difficult is because Renly is extremely picky about scripts, characters and performances. Including the six major Hollywood film companies, script projects of all sizes were lost in Renly's hands. The numbers have piled up, and there is not even a chance for an audition or interview..
Of course, there is now a widely circulated saying in the industry that Renly has a ruthless vision and still maintains a 100% success rate in selecting works. If any work is appreciated by Renly, the chance of success will skyrocket. So. It was "Exploding Drummer" that attracted so much attention, and now "Nightcrawler" is bound to spark a discussion.
The reason why it is said to be easy is because Renly has almost no requirements outside of the script - no taboos about co-stars, no requirements for treatment on set, no list of countless prohibitions, and even the salary has always been on the basis of what is possible. A great attitude, which is incredible for a top actor.
Not to mention those low-cost independent productions, even the salary negotiations for "Gravity" were the same. Warner Bros. was willing to give the green light, and Renly was not pushy. The entire salary negotiation process presented a harmonious scene, which is also It’s a rare spectacle in Hollywood..
But today, Renly made a salary request, and he got right to the point.？
What does this mean?？
Emma was a little surprised, but she couldn't say she was surprised..
Taking a thousand steps back, Renly is determined to increase his salary..
In all of Hollywood today, among all the first- and second-tier actors active on the big and small screens, regardless of age or seniority, Renly is the only EGOT winner. He also has a strong performance of four consecutive movies with a box office of over 100 million in North America. He is worthy of being one of the top actors now..
If even Renly doesn't mention his salary, how can the other actors ask? At the same time, producers and production companies are inevitably uneasy, as the salary standards for other actors seem ambiguous. Should they increase their salary or reduce it? This is bound to break the order of the entire industry.
No matter other agencies, other production companies, other producers... all eyes are focused on Renly's salary figure, and they will more or less be behind it..
The only question is: How much salary can Renly expect? In other words, how much is Renly worth now?？
On this point, the agency and the production company have two different positions..
Production companies naturally want to save costs. They don't want to create another Johnny Depp or Robert Downey Jr., after all, the actors' profits are divided from them..
The agency naturally hopes that the higher the better. It is best to break Robert Downey Jr.'s record of taking over the filming of "Iron Man 3" and further raise the salary limit, so that they can push the remuneration of other actors..
When Renly took over the filming of "Gravity", there was actually a lot of attention in the industry, concerned about Warner Bros.'s choices and decisions, but in the end it was a tepid, neither up nor down agreement: 100% 10 out of 10 North American box office dividends.
This number cannot be considered top-notch, but it is far from bad. For the first-line actors in Hollywood now, especially the male actors who have an advantage in salary, it can be regarded as a satisfactory, not bad, choice..
On the one hand, the dividend figure cannot be compared with Tom Cruise's 15% or 20% ratio, but it still reached the height of 10%, which can be said to be a watershed; on the other hand, On the other hand, it is impossible to know in a short period of time what the market appeal of Renly will be. After all, the box office dividend figures are not as direct as those of the 20 million club..
Only after "Gravity" is released will we be able to get a glimpse of whether Warner Bros. is losing or making money on this deal..
Now, the opportunity arises again.
Over there, Thomas Tulla blocked the salary figure of "Jurassic Park" - what role Ron Meyer played in it is unknown to outsiders; here, "Interstellar" is likely to become Renly's next film, then how should Emma Thomas control her salary?？
To make matters more complicated, "Interstellar" is now in a predicament. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are competing for the production rights. Both sides are refusing to give in. The terms of the original contract agreement signed by Christopher Nolan are also very complicated. He You can’t simply say choose Warner Bros. or choose Legendary Pictures. Both parties must make compromises.——
The problem is that both Thomas Tull and Kevin Tsujihara refused to give in, which also resulted in the project not being able to continue to advance for the time being. Now Emma Thomas's authority is really limited..
From the kitchen to the backyard, even in the gap between polite greetings with Renly at this moment, Emma's mind is running at high speed..
Generally speaking, business negotiations can be simply divided into two types. One is to give the initiative to the other party, and the other party will take the lead in "bidding all over the sky and paying back the money", and then you can figure out the psychology of the other party based on the other party's bid, and then launch an attack; one is to take the initiative in one's own hands, establish a benchmark first, and then start negotiations around this line..
So, which one should she choose?？
In the blink of an eye, Emma's mind was already filled with changes, and then she made her own choice, "So, did everything go well with the conversation you and Chris just had?？”
“I won't use 'smooth' to define the conversation just now, otherwise he wouldn't have run away." Renly's unexpected answer made Emma stunned for a moment..
Then, Emma laughed happily and nodded in agreement, "Of course. Of course! But you can't blame him. Even if I heard about your topic, my first reaction was to be stunned. Obviously none of us have. It was expected that the first meeting and conversation would have already reached this stage..”
“I didn't expect it." Renly shrugged lightly, "I thought Chris needed some time to think. Now in the entire Hollywood, actors who want to star in Chris's works should be queuing up to get their roles. I'm not sure. Regardless of my position, today’s interview should be just the first step, but Chris directly extended the invitation, and I was a little caught off guard..”
So...it's not Renly's fault, it's Chris's fault？
Of course Emma knew that this was a little humor, and she laughed more and more briskly, "But I guess Lord Renly must have come prepared this time, otherwise you wouldn't say that it was a gamble. So. , now let us weigh and see whether this gamble is worthwhile and whether it is worth giving it a try..”
Emma chose defense.
Unlike top producers such as the Weinstein brothers, Emma is not a purely full-time producer. She is mainly responsible for producing all of Christopher's works. She is not so much a producer as a communication bridge for the director; under Christopher Apart from that, she only produced one film, "Man of Steel"”.
In other words, Emma is not the type who puts interests first or strategizes. Therefore, she did not aggressively take all the initiative into her own hands, but entered into negotiations with retreat instead of advance and defense instead of attack..
Renly didn't politely refuse, nor did he explain the ins and outs of the matter. He simply followed Andy's instructions and revealed the expected salary figure, "Twenty million, plus 5% of the North American box office dividend.".”
Emma's expression was slightly surprised, not because the salary figure was too high, but because the salary figure was too reasonable：
There was no rhetoric, no lion talking, and no hype. Instead, a down-to-earth number was proposed, almost a number that Emma could not refute or refuse..
In fact, the industry can still catch some news more or less about the progress of project negotiations between Thomas Tull, "Jurassic Park" and Renly; and, because Thomas and Christopher have a close personal relationship, Emma understands The situation needs to be clearer: Regarding the original salary of 15 million and the current salary of 20 million, the entire inheritance and transfer are known..
Objectively speaking, with Renly's current performance in the industry, 20 million plus a 3% box office dividend, this is the psychological bottom line of the film production company. If "Gravity" is released, the situation will change. ——If it fails at the box office, then Renly’s 20 million club still can’t escape; if it succeeds at the box office, then the box office dividend ratio will definitely be more than the current number..
But from the perspective of the agency - whether it is the Innovative Artist Agency or other competitors, they are all looking forward to Renly taking a step further and entering the "30 million plus box office dividends" club to create a new era..
In today's Hollywood film market, the remuneration part has been basically fixed. The 20 million club is an unbreakable shackle. If you want to chase higher remuneration, there are two situations.——
Either like Tom Cruise, lower or give up the basic salary, and rely entirely on box office dividends as income. The figure basically starts at 15% and caps at 25%. The actor's pay is directly linked to the box office performance. This It also makes Tom Cruise’s promotion of every movie extra vigorous..
Either they "threaten" the production company with box office dividends like Johnny Depp and Robert Downey Jr., and then the production company weighs the dividend figure against the minimum salary, and finally settles on a film that "will not lose money." The salary figure, such as 40 million or 50 million, after paying all the salary in one go, the actors give up the right to dividends.
It can be simply summarized that the interests that production companies and Wall Street are willing to give up have reached a bottleneck..
All the major agencies are looking forward to Renly's ability to break this bottleneck, but now, Renly has proposed an extremely reasonable salary. It is precisely because it is so reasonable that Emma cannot refuse it..
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