HWI 170

Hollywood What If Chapter 170

The group started their 'bidding'. The 25% lowered down to 22%. 

They were very careful with this negotiation. Because everyone knows that 1% already equals $1 or $2 million in the box office. They couldn't make a mistake. 

Perhaps this negotiation was the hardest they ever experienced. Even though they gained approval from their companies to negotiate the box office fee with Kazir Grey, they could not afford to do it haphazardly. 

With gritting their teeth, the negotiation stopped at a %22 box office distribution fee. In their opinion, this amount was already heartbreaking. It might lead to a loss of millions of dollars for them. 

However, the allure of the scripts in Kazir's hand was stronger. To be honest, they have the means to read his script and plagiarize it. 

However, it would destroy their reputation, and their connection with Grey Pictures would forever be severe. They would never choose a short-term profit over a long-term one. 

On top of that, their plan was to buy the script together with the sequels. If they plagiarized the first movie and it was successful, the sequels might not get the same treatment. 

It was better to negotiate with Kazir Grey than be greedy. Besides, they would get his trust and cooperation. This could lead to another cooperation. After all, Kazir Grey is a great Director and his movies are profitable as always. Even John Wick was earning steady in the videotape market. 

In fact, Grey Pictures started producing DVD discs of Taken and John Wick. The profit from the DVD discs was getting bigger as the year passed. Last month alone, the profit from DVD discs was $12 million. No joke, the influence of DVD player and DVD discs were getting stronger. 

The DVD player was introduced in the USA in 1997 and more families were buying it. 

Imagine if these movies went to the Big Six, it means another cash in the bank! 

Well, even the movies he wrote were already profitable. The Big Six was not petty and gave him some leeway, hoping to cooperate next time. 

After hearing all of their offers, Kazir decided to end the meeting. He said that he would decide after three days. He had to think about it seriously and the producers understood his reasoning. 

After giving promises, the producers left the building one by one. They have no intention of leaving together. Showing themselves in the public with a producer from another company would bring trouble. 

Kazir took a deep breath and sighed. He leaned against the chair and relaxed. It was very early in the morning yet he was already pestered by 5 film companies. 

'Five producers... Now that I think about it, no one from Sony-Columbia was there. Perhaps they are too late to react. Or maybe they are waiting for the right moment to contact Grey Pictures.'

His first negotiation with Sony-Columbia was not fruitful. At that time, he hoped that Sony-Columbia would distribute Taken but the negotiation didn't advance. In the end, Grey Pictures cooperated with Paramount instead. 

Sony-Columbia wanted 35% of the box office as a distribution fee and it was too much for Grey Pictures to handle. 

'Sony-Columbia doesn't have a strong presence in Hollywood and is always defeated by the other giants. What they need is a big movie that can produce sequels.'

Whenever he heard Sony-Columbia, Kazir Grey would only remember Spider-Man. Except that, Kazir had few movies to connect with Sony-Columbia. 

Furthermore, this company rarely produces its own movies. They would only invest if the movie looks promising. 

Most of the time, they get profit by buying movies and distributing them, or distributing movies from studios that didn't have the ability to distribute their movies. 

Having a distribution network was very hard to accomplish. It needs time, a very long time. Even buying a company that has a distribution network was very hard to find, because they would be acquired by the Big Six as fast as possible. 

Especially for international distribution, it was almost impossible to acquire one because this thing was precious. The ability to distribute your products to many countries to reach the consumer is not that simple. 

In a way, the Big Six has the right to ask for a 30% box office share. Still, Kazir didn't give a fuck. 

'You want my scripts? Lower the price.'

He closed his eyes for a second and settled his mind. There was no reason to make a decision today. He has to think about it seriously. 

Besides, he needs to find Fremont Smith to ask him about the progress of Taken 2. 

"Ah, I remember, it should be Director Smith now."

He chuckled. Fremont Smith signed a membership in the Director's Guild. He needed recommendations from three directors to get approval. Kazir Grey had enough connections to help Fremont Smith with that. 

Unlike Kazir who had experience filming big-budget movies, Fremont Smith was afraid that his expenditure might reach the limit so he happily agreed to sign a contract with the Insurance Company to make sure that the money provided would be enough for the movie. 

'In this aspect, perhaps only someone like me can do it right.'

Once you become a famous director, it would be hard to keep within the budget. Sometimes they have to spend more, just to film the scenes that the director wanted. 

On top of that, the filming might be extended once the director is not satisfied with the footage.

Perhaps the most famous director in this category was none other than James Cameron. He was known for being like that. 

'Well, this is Fremont's first movie so I believe he will not exceed the budget.'

Honestly, Grey Pictures was in a tight situation right now.