Two Hundred and Fifty-Five - the First Share, US$50 Million

On the third day after Wayne's phone call with Jeff Robinoff, agent Jimmy and accountant Colin Howard walked into the financial department of the Warner Bros. Building.

According to the agreement signed before the filming of "The Return of the Clown", as the director, screenwriter and second producer of the film, Wayne's director's salary is US$10 million, and the part-time producer and screenwriter's symbolic salary is Each gets $100,000.

According to the rules of the industry, the basic remuneration for this part of the film has been divided into three times and credited to Greenberg Studio's account before the filming started, when the production was completed, and after the film was released. The basic remuneration has been fully settled.

This time, Warner Bros. will pay his share of the box office.

The first box office share of "The Return of the Clown" was paid to Warner Bros., the distributor, by the theater company 28 days after the film was released. This was based on the total box office of $250 million at that time. Standard allocation.

Based on the sharing agreement that Jimmy had negotiated, Wayne, as the film's director, enjoys 20% of the total North American box office revenue, so his first director's share has reached a terrifying US$50 million.

After being greeted by Jeff Robinov, the financial department of Warner Bros. did not postpone the payment of this huge share until half a year as signed in the contract. After being confirmed by Colin Howard, it was very happy. The money was deposited into the Greenberg Studio account.

After reporting to clients in New York, Jimmy transferred US$8 million to Witch Studio for the subsequent promotion and marketing of the film, which has been officially named "Blair Witch."

At the same time, Harvey Weinstein also invested the same figure. This publicity fund was calculated by him through strict calculations. In order to achieve the predetermined publicity effect, this investment of up to 1,000 yuan was not enough at all. There is no way to save.

This will also be the first time such a weird thing has appeared in Hollywood. For a film with a production cost of more than 400,000 yuan, the publicity investment is 40 times the production cost. It will definitely shock everyone's attention.

Not long after Jimmy and Colin Howard walked out of the Warner Bros. building, an old white man frowned and held a few newspapers and pushed open the door of Jeff Robinoff's office.

"Clint, what happened?" Warner Bros. CEO looked at the great director in the industry with confusion and invited him to the rest area. "Let's sit down and talk. What would you like to drink? How about coffee?"

At this time, Clint Eastwood, who looked more like a Texas redneck than a big director in the industry, threw a few newspapers in his hand on the coffee table, took the coffee handed by his secretary, and said, "Thank you. ".

When they were alone in the office, he frowned slightly, reached out to click on the newspapers, and said: "The distribution department actually put "Batman Begins" to be released in mid-May. This is You know what happened, right?”

"Yes, I know." Jeff Robinov glanced at the newspaper. These authoritative media all used large formats to publish various related information about "Batman: Begins". The news was also his. Let the distribution department release it.

It can be said that this large-scale production, with a production cost of up to 120 million US dollars, has begun large-scale publicity from now on.

"But the release date of "Bridge of Lost Dreams" has been scheduled by the distribution department in early June, Jeff!" Clint Eastwood knows better than anyone else that the young director and the influence of a super-large production, There is absolutely no way it will dissipate in half a month.

"Both of these two films are invested and produced by Warner Bros. You should be very clear about the impact this will have! Before the announcement of the release date and promotion, "Bridge of Lost Dreams" needs to be adjusted."

This is not because the old cowboy is afraid of competition, but it is simply unnecessary. Both films were produced and distributed by the same company. Moreover, the film type of "Bridge of Lost Dreams" is a romance film, so there is no chance to compete.

Just because he knew this clearly, Clint Eastwood proposed to change gears. Another very important point is that after the past few years of summer releases, no one in the industry wants to encounter a Wayne Greenberg film, even if it happens two weeks later.

"That's it." Jeff Robinov thought for a while and then said: "I will say hello to the distribution department. The promotion of "Bridge of Lost Dreams" has been postponed, and the film has also been postponed to November. You What do you think?"

The current summer film schedule is almost all packed in advance. As long as he thinks back for a moment, he can remember the big productions of several companies, and there are large-scale releases almost every weekend.

But November, which is close to the end of the year, is different. In this relatively unpopular movie schedule, it would be good to show this love movie.

"Okay." Clint Eastwood nodded, which was not much different from what he had imagined before. "I will inform Meryl when I get back that the film has been rescheduled and promoted. That's it, I won't disturb your work."

The old cowboy stood up and shook hands with the other party, turned around and was about to open the door and go out. Halfway through, he stopped again and turned around and said, "Give me an invitation to the premiere of "Batman Begins" later and introduce it to me. That young man."

Jeff Robinov smiled and said: "No problem, the shooting in New York will be over soon. When he returns to Los Angeles, I will help you introduce him later."

Not only did the old cowboy notice the scheduling issue, Paul Knight in the office of the distribution department director of Sony Columbia Pictures, 10202 West Washington Avenue, also in California, was also sensitive to this matter.

At this time, he was holding a copy of "Hollywood Daily Entertainment News" in his hand, looking at the huge title with a gloomy expression.

"Hollywood's Dark King returns to the summer season with Wayne Greenberg and "Batman Begins," another carnival for movie fans!

Just this morning, Warner Bros., the producer of "Batman Begins" announced the official release date of the film. This super masterpiece with an investment of up to 120 million U.S. dollars has been confirmed to start in the summer season, with the second film in May Meet the fans this weekend.

And this release time is also the beginning of director Wayne Greenberg's return to the summer schedule after a year. So far, except for this year's horror film "The Return of the Clown," all other films he has directed have achieved great success during this period.

According to the news learned by reporters, the filming of "Batman Begins" has come to an end. This is also the second time that Wayne Greenberg has brought a DC character to the big screen after "Joker"..."

"Snapped!"

Paul Knight slapped the newspaper on his desk and looked out the window with an extremely ugly face.

Warner Bros.'s schedule at this time is very difficult for him. The big production he is promoting this year is also Sony Columbia's top film "Jumanji", and it has just been decided that it will be released in mid-May.

The only consolation that can give Paul Knight is that the film's release date has not yet been announced. In this circle, it can be said that no one knows that director better than he does, and that young man’s films cannot be measured by market rules at all.

"Wayne Greenberg, you dark lunatic, fxxk!"

He muttered angrily, stood up with a frown, walked around the desk twice, sighed after a few minutes, picked up the phone on the table, and dialed.

"William, I'm Paul, I have something to discuss with you."

When the other party picked up the phone, he glanced at the newspaper on the table and suddenly made up his mind. "The schedule of "Jumanji" needs to be changed!"

"What?!" William Tytler's confused voice came from the microphone. As the producer of the film, he had just negotiated the release time with Sony Columbia yesterday. He didn't understand why it had to be changed temporarily after just one day.

"Warner Bros. has announced the release date for Batman. If you insist on starting it in the summer, you're bound to bump into Wayne Greenberg. Unless you want to compete with that dark maniac, you'd better move to another time. Released!”

On the other end of the phone, William Tytler was not surprised when he heard his angry tone. Now anyone in the industry who encounters the dark and windy director will choose to avoid it immediately.

But except for the best May schedule, the rest of the summer schedule is also crowded and full of big productions from various large and small production companies. Compared with them, "Game of the Brave" also has no advantage.

"Paul, apart from the opening period, there is no more suitable time to release the film in the summer. What suggestions do you have?"

"We will put the film in the Christmas period at the end of the year, in December!" Paul Knight took another look at the dazzling headline in the newspaper and gritted his teeth to express his opinion. "Believe me, that madman's videos cannot be measured by the laws of the market. The farther we stay away from him, the better!"

"Okay, I will inform the production and creative team that we will temporarily set a specific date for release in December. After the work is completed, I will come to the company to discuss with you."

After the call ended, Paul Knight let out a sigh of relief, then suddenly laughed.

One thing he discovered was that "Jumanji" was pretty good. It had not officially announced its release date, nor had it started investing in publicity, but some films were in trouble.

This gave him the pleasure of seeing others about to suffer misfortune, but he himself escaped unscathed.

And Paul Knight is sure that it’s not just those films in May that will be unlucky. Big productions that fail in June will also be affected by "Batman Begins."

Based on his research on Wayne Greenberg, this film is not a pure horror film, and it is unlikely to be released for such a short period of time. Judging from the performance of "Joker" at the time, this Batman will probably be released for a long time. .

Moreover, as both comic book characters, Bruce Wayne is much more famous than the Joker. It is not an exaggeration to say that he has fans all over the world!