Hollywood Road

After attending the wedding of Robert Downey Jr., Murphy temporarily interrupted the work at hand, temporarily turned his energy to the negotiation, and prepared to win the adaptation rights of "A Song of Ice and Fire" as soon as possible. He and Paul Wilson This has done a lot of preparatory work, and even in the shortest time, formulated a TV series adaptation plan for "A Song of Ice and Fire: Game of Thrones".

Bill Rossis also frequently met with Bantam Book Publishing and George Martin's agent and confirmed that the other party was sincere.

The adaptation of novels into film and television works with a wider scope of dissemination will certainly have huge benefits for publishers and authors.

The two sides already have the basis for negotiation. With the assistance of Bill Rossis, Murphy and the team composed of Paul Wilson and lawyer Robert began a see-saw with Bantam Books and George Martin. Negotiation.

Just as Murphy thought, Hollywood today relies heavily on adaptations. The direct result is that Hollywood will often pay a high price if it wants to obtain the right to adapt excellent literary works, even for works that are not very popular. , The copyright fee is not a small figure.

The current "Song of Ice and Fire" is not super hot, but it also has considerable sales and influence. It is impossible to get the price of cabbage.

This era is better. With the shrinking of original movies and televisions, Hollywood will pay higher copyright fees in the future. Murphy vaguely remembers that the former Universal Pictures could contribute to the initial work of "Fifty Shades of Gray". The "Twilight" series of love novels with humanities has cost more than 100 million US dollars in copyright fees alone.

After waiting for a few years, not to mention whether Stan’s studio will have the opportunity to get the right to adapt "A Song of Ice and Fire", even if it can get it, the price it will pay will be several times higher than it is now.

Therefore, Murphy does not want to delay the negotiations for too long. The goal is to sign a formal agreement with Bantam Book Publishing and George Martin as soon as possible within the range of Stan's studio.

The negotiations did not go smoothly. Bantam Book Publishing House and George Martin initially offered the first series of "Game of Thrones" 10 million US dollars in basic adaptation costs plus 20% of the later income sharing terms. It can be said that there was a sky-high price.

This is very common in negotiations. Although there is no such thing as a wild asking price to pay the money on the spot, it will definitely be done in actual negotiations.

Murphy couldn't agree to such a condition. It would be almost the same for the entire series, but this is only the first "Game of Thrones" in "A Song of Ice and Fire". How about the next few ones?

Negotiations are more difficult than expected. The news of such negotiations cannot be completely kept secret, and in order to strive for the best interests, Bantam Book Publishing and George Martin will inevitably disclose the information in order to attract purchases that may still exist. At the same time, he put pressure on Stan’s studio.

Some people were indeed attracted. The American Classic Film Limited Television Station also contacted George Martin and proposed that the two parties jointly adapt and produce the "Song of Ice and Fire" series of TV series.

Murphy and George Martin encountered more difficulties in the negotiation, but he did not give up, and the two sides are still seeing each other.

This kind of complicated negotiation involving all aspects cannot be easily resolved by Murphy.

Negotiations continue with the efforts of the team composed of Murphy and Bill Rossis as the core. Although it is not very smooth, it is always moving in a good direction. On the other hand, Murphy has encountered some troubles. .

These troubles come from "Sin City" and Miramax.

Today, the film has long been released from the global market. According to Murphy’s agreement with Miramax, his last share of nearly three million US dollars should be paid at the end of July, but Mira Max dragged on until the end of August and had not paid the money. After Bill Rossis contacted the brothers Harvey Weinstein and Bob Weinstein, Murphy realized that it would be troublesome to get the money back. .

"It's not that the Weinstein brothers want to fall back on the bill."

In the CAA office, Bill Rossis was also a little worried, and said to Murphy, "Their credibility in this area is still guaranteed, and all the first few shares have been paid on schedule. Now they want to pay, but they don’t have enough. Power."

Murphy immediately guessed what might be going on, "Did Walt Disney and Michael Eisner take the Weinstein brothers overhead?"

"That's it." Bill Rossis nodded. "The Weinstein brothers are not Michael Eisner's opponents. They have been emptied by Walt Disney's management and have lost control of Miramax. , Especially financial power."

Murphy is not surprised. If he is replaced by himself, if he wants to take off and drive the Weinstein brothers, financial power must be obtained first.

The Weinstein brothers are indeed very powerful, especially Harvey Weinstein, because of the Oscar, it can be described as famous, but in the face of behemoths like Walt Disney and characters like Michael Eisner, it is nothing but Beverly. The mountain wants to compete with the Rocky Mountains.

They do have a lot of means, such as hollowing out Miramax and transferring the copyrights of some projects or works they are optimistic about, but they are not an opponent of Disney after all.

"Miramax is very chaotic right now," Bill Rossis added, "Many projects in preparation have been suspended, and many people's salaries have been suspended."

His voice became low, "And Walt Disney re-examined a series of contracts and agreements signed by the Weinstein brothers, including you and "Sin City". Until the review is completed, this share will not be paid."

"What should we do now?" Murphy asked.

In this regard, CAA and the broker are more experienced than him, and they must have encountered similar situations in the past.

"Wait." Bill Rossis gave his opinion. "Wait for now and see what Walt Disney will do later."

Murphy thought for a while, and nodded slightly. Now Miramax is at the most chaotic time. The delay in this division is likely to be caused by the fire at the city gate and the fish, waiting for the dispute between Michael Eisner and the Weinstein brothers. Come to an end, maybe the problem will be solved.

Putting this matter aside for the time being, Murphy continued to negotiate with Bantam Books and George Martin, and went to a premiere in the middle.

The Fox monster movie "Alien vs. Predator" promoted by Kara Feith is also released.

"Paul, Mira, this is Murphy Stanton."

In the front hall of the Emirates Rock Theatre in Hollywood, Carla Faith introduced, "Murphy, this is Paul Anderson, the director of the film, and this is the heroine Milla Jovovich."

Murphy shook hands with the two and looked at the couple, "Paul, Mira, I am your fan."

Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich didn't expect Murphy to say that, and they both showed some doubts.

"I like "Resident Evil" very much." Murphy explained immediately, "I am a big fan of this film."

"I also like your "Saw Cry" and "Deadpool." Paul Anderson said.

Milla Jovovich smiled at him, "I like your style very much and have always wanted to work with you."

Murphy immediately showed a surprised expression, "There will be a chance."

Although I have never played the "Resident Evil" game, and the movies in this series have become worse and worse, but the first two have left a very deep impression on Murphy, especially the heroine Alice, just like "Transformers" Like Optimus Prime, as long as the protagonist is her, there will be no shortage of supporters.

Unfortunately, because of some mess, he didn't see the final chapter of this series.

"The second part, when will "Resident Evil: Revelations" be released?" Murphy remembered seeing the trailer some time ago.

"September." Paul Anderson did not direct, but was a producer. Seeing that Murphy seemed to really like this series, he asked tentatively, "Can I invite you to the premiere?"

Milla Jovovich also said, "You can be with Kara."

"It's a great honor," Murphy said politely, "As long as time permits, I will definitely participate."

After all, time is still far away, and he can't give an exact answer now.

Someone came over to say hello to Paul Anderson and Milla Jovovich, and Murphy Kara Fes simply left here and walked into the screening hall together.

After sitting down, Carla Faith asked concerned, "Has the negotiation progressed?"

"There are some." Murphy knew she was asking about "A Song of Ice and Fire", "but the other party's asking price is still too high, and Bill is still talking to them recently."

Carla Fiss asked curiously, "When did you become so interested in TV drama production? Fantasy dramas are different from fantasy movies. They have always been a subcategory of ratings."

"There will always be works to change this situation." Murphy looked confident, "Aren't superhero movies in the past also a small category of Hollywood movies?"

"If it can be taken," Carla Faith looked concerned, "when do you plan to start production?"

"Wait for a while." Murphy thought for a while, "This series is huge, and my investment is limited. The first "Game of Thrones" cannot exceed ten episodes. I will shoot a trial broadcast first."

Having said this, Murphy turned his head and looked at Carla Faith, "Please contact Fox Cable Network for me then."

This kind of large-scale TV series cannot be broadcast on public TV stations. Cable stations are a must. Fox Cable Network is a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox. It specializes in challenging the standards of program censorship to attract attention to TVB. Net dissatisfied audiences, especially the eyes of young audiences.

Because of the bold scale of the program, the episodes broadcast by Fox Cable Network have always been the favorites of young viewers and advertisers.

After chatting for a few words, Murphy turned to the film that was about to be screened, "I remember the script you showed me, isn't the heroine a black person? How come it was changed to Milla Jovovich."