1RomanceEB Chapter 139 Recruiting the "Strongest Assistant"
Chapter 139 Recruiting the "Strongest Assistant"
Chapter 139 Recruiting the "Strongest Assistant"
"Deep-water test, for the first time!"
In the special effects preparation workshop, the expensive mechanical great white shark got stuck on the hydraulic track once again.
As the water level rose, the mechanical shark's wide-open mouth suddenly twitched and could no longer close.
"Stop! Cut off the power immediately!" Spielberg, grabbing his already messy hair, roared desperately at the special effects artists on the scaffolding, "Damn it, its jaw is dislocated again! If it does this to me on the surface, we'll be sinking into the Atlantic with it!"
Seeing the workers scrambling around, Qin Han turned around and patted Peter Benchley, who was staring in disbelief.
"Let's go, Peter. Let them struggle with the pump here. We have more important things to do."
Twenty minutes later, the two passed through Universal's massive filming base and entered the "Black Tower".
"Qin! You've finally arrived! The first week's battle report for 'Fist of Fury' is out. Guess the numbers?" Sidney strode up to Qin Han, opening his arms wide.
"I think it shouldn't be less than a million, right?" Qin Han gave the triumphant vice president a warm hug to celebrate.
Sidney's smile widened: "A full 1.08 million! My God, this movie has a chance to hit 15 million at the box office!"
This predicted figure is nearly 50% higher than the previous one of $1150 million!
It seems that my tactic of manipulating emotions was quite successful.
Sidney's smiling gaze passed over Qin Han and landed on Peter Benchley. In high spirits, he extended his right hand: "If I'm not mistaken, this must be Mr. Peter Benchley, the creator of Jaws? I've finished reading your novel; it's simply a brilliant idea."
"Mr. Sinberg, it's an honor to work with Universal Pictures." Peter shook the hand; after all, he was a man who had seen the grand occasion of the White House, and his response was very appropriate.
The three sat down, and the secretary served them premium high-mountain coffee.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Qin Han put down his porcelain cup and got to the main topic: "Sidney, remember when we discussed this last time, you said you wanted to confirm the box office revenue sharing, but I didn't give you an answer?"
Sidney's smile faded slightly, and a businessman's shrewdness quickly appeared on his face.
Of course he remembers. At the time, he thought Qin Han was trying to sell at a higher price, taking advantage of the popularity of "Fist of Fury" to make exorbitant demands.
"Now that Peter is here, I think it's time to finalize this matter."
Sidney nodded, leaning back in his chair. "So you were waiting for this person. Universal has always been generous, Qin. Given Han's Film Company's current capabilities, I will naturally offer a matching figure."
"8%." Qin Han didn't beat around the bush and stated a number, "I want eight percent of the total global box office of 'Jaws'."
Sidney's eye twitched slightly, and he was about to start bargaining when Qin Han pointed to the novelist beside him and continued, "Sidney, don't be so quick to refuse. This eight percent doesn't all go to Han's Film Company."
"Peter, from a legal standpoint, Hans Films has already bought out all the film and television adaptation rights to 'Jaws' for $80,000. Even if the movie becomes a global blockbuster in the future, the studio will not have to pay you a single cent in royalties."
Peter's face paled slightly; he was well aware of the harshness of copyright buyouts.
"However, Hans Films doesn't like to exploit talent. Excellent creators should enjoy the commercial benefits they generate."
He looked at Sidney again: "Of the eight percent of the total box office revenue that Universal pays to Hans, I will directly take two percent and sign it under Peter Benchley's personal name."
"Of course, I hope that in the future, if Mr. Peter has any new works, he can continue to maintain a good cooperative relationship with Hans and Universal."
If "Jaws" can reach Universal's expected box office of 50 million, two percent of that would be a full one million US dollars!
This is pure cash with absolutely no financial traps!
For a down-on-his-luck writer who had almost been homeless on the streets of New York just a few months ago, this was nothing short of a miracle from God.
Peter turned sharply to look at Qin Han, his lips trembling slightly, but he couldn't utter a single complete syllable.
Sidney, sitting across the desk, watched this scene and let out a helpless sigh.
He finally understood Qin Han's cunning scheme: wasn't this just using Global's cash to blatantly win people's hearts?
"Qin—you're something else!" Sidney shook his head repeatedly. "No wonder you held back last time, insisting on waiting for Peter to move to Los Angeles before you'd even talk about splitting the profits."
However, this is not a bad thing for Sidney.
With this collaboration, the author's future works will naturally be in Hans's possession.
Qin and Han would inevitably choose themselves as their primary partner.
After a long silence, although the 8% share of the total box office revenue made him feel a little pained, with the box office tsunami triggered by "Fist of Fury" as an example, and the release plan for "Enter the Dragon" already imminent, the surprise that Han's Pictures brought to Universal was really too great.
Moreover, it can also be linked to a highly promising writer.
"Eight percent. Deal." Sidney made the decision. "I'll have the legal department draft this tripartite letter of intent immediately."
"I knew you'd agree, Sidney. Han's would never let a friend suffer a loss." Qin Han stood up, smiling as he extended his hand across the large desk: "As a reward for your generosity, Han's will send another script to Universal this fall at the latest, one that will shake up the film industry. You can set aside some of your production budget in advance."
Upon hearing this promise, the pain on Sidney's face vanished instantly, replaced by undisguised elation.
He gripped Qin Han's hand tightly: "As long as it's a project from Han's, Global's doors will always be open for you, with the green light all the way!"
The following morning, the villa in West Hollywood was bathed in the bright California sunshine.
On the lawn in the backyard, Stallone was leading a sweaty Stephen King on a morning run that was extremely painful for him.
Qin Han slept in late, a rare occurrence, and when he opened his eyes it was almost 10 o'clock.
Today's intelligence has been updated.
Late last night, director Francis Ford Coppola, avoiding the media, secretly submitted a 2,000-minute 16mm sample film to Paramount Pictures executives, requesting full financial support for the project.
-
He suddenly opened his eyes: Finally, a useful new piece of information appeared!
Francis Coppola!
What does this name mean in Hollywood today? It means the absolute uncrowned king.
With "The Godfather," Paramount may not have won Best Director, but it swept the three most valuable Oscar awards, pulling Paramount from the brink of bankruptcy to the throne.
If he were to announce now that he wants to make a movie, all the studio executives in Hollywood would be begging him for budgets.
Why would such a renowned director need to submit a sample film to Paramount in "secret"?
Moreover, it was actually a 16mm sample?
In Hollywood, where the industry is highly developed, 16mm film is often synonymous with student projects, independent films, or underground experimental films.
Big names in established studios like Paramount wouldn't bother watching something with such poor picture quality.
Coppola went so far as to personally take these sample films to the higher-ups to vouch for them, for one reason only: he was endorsing a junior colleague he greatly admired, attempting to leverage Paramount's capital with his own reputation.
Qin Han frantically searched his mind for every fragment of Hollywood film history from the early 1970s:
16mm sample footage, Coppola's successor, independent film —
Several keywords collided fiercely in my mind. Could it be George Lucas?
However, he remembered that George's sample footage was clearly sent to Universal, so why did the system give him a notification from Paramount?
Qin Han felt his breathing quicken: if it really was that sci-fi fanatic with the big beard, then this was not just a movie project, but a treasure trove that could continuously generate billions of dollars in profits!
He wrote this intelligence directly into his notebook and elevated it to the highest priority in his memo.
Looking at the list of things to do in the notebook:
Contact Martin Scorsese, then visit Disney;
Waiting for "Governor" Schwarzenegger to suffer a setback in his first movie role;
Arrange a meeting between Stephen King and Dalton Trumbo;
UFC's official press conference —
"Andrew is in Hong Kong overseeing the project there, and there's really no one available in North America—" Looking at the densely packed schedule, Qin Han couldn't help but feel a headache coming on, muttering to himself.
To snatch such a blockbuster from Paramount's nose, he would definitely need to personally handle the production.
But there are still so many other things to do—the Japanese matter is temporarily settled, and I really need a capable assistant.
Thinking of this, he quickly went downstairs and grabbed the phone: "Lorna, do you have time? Could you please help me find someone—"
At 3 p.m., the villa's living room was temporarily converted into an "interview room".
Qin Han, dressed in a very formal black suit, sat at one end of the conference table, quietly looking at the man in front of him.
This was a young white man, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with his hair neatly combed and wearing a striped suit, which, although not a high-end item, was perfectly ironed.
What is most striking about him are his eyes: a pair of amber eyes, rare among white people.
"Michael Ovitz?" Qin Han glanced at the resume in his hand, a hint of a smile in his eyes.
"It's me, sir." The young man bowed slightly, looking at the Chinese boss in front of him with some curiosity.
Today, as I was walking to work, I was stopped by a "headhunter" at the company entrance, who said there was a great job opportunity there.
As a low-level employee in the mailroom of William Morris Agency, a errand boy who was responsible for copying scripts and serving coffee every day, how could anyone actually be interested in him?
.
Driven by intense curiosity, he took a leave of absence and went straight to West Hollywood.
As Qin Han looked at the resume, a playful smile appeared on his lips: This young man was none other than the founder of the "package system" in later generations!
I believe he will find Hans's working style very familiar.
"Can you tell me what you think of the current state of talent agencies? Speak freely, even if you want to swear." He stared straight at the young man in front of him and asked with a smile.
Faced with this scrutiny, the other party showed no sign of panic: "I watch how those so-called senior brokers work every day, and I know very well how corrupt that system is."
Indeed, those destined to change history are all full of confidence.
Even though he's just a gofer now, it doesn't stop Michael Ovitz from launching into a long-winded explanation: "At WMA, all the agents are working alone. They hide scripts from each other and yell at each other in the hallways to snatch a client."
"They treat themselves like vampires and the actors like expendable resources. This cutthroat competition and internal strife is practically a crime against film and television resources!"
His voice gradually rose, unleashing his pent-up frustration at being unappreciated and his intense disgust for the old system: "Hollywood is changing! The studio dictatorship has long since gone bankrupt! Future films shouldn't be decided by a few executives sitting in cigars, brainstorming. Agents need to reclaim their power!"
Qin Han quietly looked at the young man before him, who was slightly out of breath due to his emotional state:
He founded the CAA empire, completely dominated Hollywood for thirty years with the "package deal" system, and was known as the "first power tycoon"—a cold-blooded tyrant.
At this moment, he was still just an unpolished rough stone, harboring ideas that could overturn the times, but lacking the hammer to break down class barriers.
"Well said, Mr. Ovitz. But anyone can complain about the system; what I want is a way to destroy it." Qin Han pointed to the chair beneath him, his voice rising slightly: "If you were in that position right now, how would you reclaim power?"
Ovitz took a deep breath and looked into Qin Han's eyes: he knew that the "headhunter" had not deceived him, and this really was an opportunity for him to leap out of the abyss!
"First, gather information." His brain started racing: "Gaining as much information as possible about the script will bring together the best screenwriters, top directors, and the most bankable actors—"
His speech became faster and faster; clearly, this was the blueprint he had been thinking about day and night.
But as he finished speaking, his tone gradually slowed down: after all, he had never actually done it before, and only now did he realize that if he really did it this way, it would consume an enormous amount of resources!
Qin Han sighed: Yes, if he hadn't been reborn and hadn't been able to accurately grasp every script, starting from scratch to do "packaged" business would have been suicide!
"That's called a package deal," Michael said in a deep voice in the living room. "Don't try to take everything for yourself; that's too simplistic."
Qin Han stared intently at Michael's eyes, which were widening in shock: "Use the most precise eye to pick out the most valuable scripts! Then, good directors and good actors will naturally come knocking on your door."
"When you bring this perfect 'package' to the production studio, no one will refuse you!"
"Precise screening! That's right, it is!" Michael's pupils contracted sharply, and he was so excited that he almost jumped up from the ground!
This is the ultimate model he has been searching for!
By integrating scattered employment relationships, the brokerage firm's role can be elevated from "intermediary" to a de facto "creator"!
"But how can we achieve precise screening?" He quickly realized the key.
"Perspective is something that can only be understood intuitively, not explained in words." Qin Han smiled and unfolded a simple Han-style project list:
"Enter the Dragon," "Rocky," "Jaws" —
The other table shows cash flow: none of the main creators' works have been released yet, but they have "distributed" a few works, and Hans' revenue this year is already approaching one million US dollars!
"WMA, that kind of outdated and stagnant company, isn't right for you. Come to Hans."
,