Hollywood Domination Chapter 418: Sony’s Abacus

Yes, if there is anything in the world that can play Marvel, Jenny is sure, it must be the copyright of their wandering characters. It is their long-cherished wish to let these first-line heroes return to Marvel, and even though everyone knows Kevin's heart knot with her, his grievances are also very reasonable-let's put it this way, this time he finally took full advantage of it. It made sense, but under the powerful bait of Spider-Man, Kevin finally gave up even a sarcasm, and handed over the advantage he had finally gained to Jenny: No way, who made Marvel have done their best? Baibao, but still can't reach an agreement with Sony?

In the original timeline, Marvel really wanted Spider-Man to appear in "The Avengers", but at that time Sony was already preparing to redevelop the "Amazing Spider-Man" series, and arrogantly believed that the two should It is equal. If Spider-Man is to appear in the Avengers, the movie should be dominated by Sony-how can Marvel accept such a price? Sony's word of mouth was not softened until "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" hit the street and "The Avengers" exploded. That's it. At the beginning, Sony didn't intend to compromise with Marvel until Spider-Man The conflict between Andrew Garfield and Sony erupted, and it was only then that the original plan of the Sinister Six was put on hold, and they returned to the MCU. It is roughly equivalent to Marvel's right to speak, and the ambition to make villain movies in the Spider-Man series is still looming.

As for Jenny, although she also wanted Spider-Man to return to the world of "Avengers" for the first time, at least to show a little trace, but before "Code Shero", Sony relied on the super power of this IP. The high gold content and the brilliant achievements of the previous work, although I also want to join in the fun and cooperate with her, but I have many concerns about opening this area regarded as a gold mine, let alone joining the movie "The Avengers" with an uncertain future Hit, to use an inappropriate analogy, before "Iron Man" 1 and 2 hit the box office, Spider-Man was the son of a millionaire in Sony's heart, and it was too late for his father to take care of him. How could he be allowed to hang out with a group of poor boys?

However, after "Code Shero" joined the MCU, Sony's attitude immediately changed subtly. The news that Jenny became the producer of "The Avengers" made their tone soften immediately. Less - there is no other reason, no need for any means, just because she, Jenny Jefferson, endorsed "The Avengers" and is optimistic about the development of the MCU, the name of the person, the shadow of the tree, everything is as simple as that. Now in 2010, what is impossible for Marvel does not exist for Jenny after "Code Shero" has a global box office of 1.6 billion.

"Actually, before I went to New Zealand, Sony's attitude had already changed." Jenny said in a flat tone, not caring about Kevin's weird voice on the phone—she guessed the passage Time Marvel is definitely still in contact with Sony, but the feedback from Sony will not be very good, maybe there is no feedback at all-since it was her who was looking for it at the beginning, Sony will definitely not talk to Marvel before negotiating with her. This is the most basic work courtesy, especially when there may be power struggles within the crew. "But I didn't give a reply——"

Kevin made a sound as if he was drowning, while Jenny laughed heartily, "Don't worry, Kevin, I'm sorry for talking about this before the filming started five months ago, Sony doesn't want 50% themselves, but now that the movie has been basically shot, their attitude should also change—"

She paused and threw out her chips. "10 million, what do you think about buying a face in the easter egg and a few names in the feature film? We don't have to participate in Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man". The box office is playing again, and there is room for negotiation. If Spider-Man officially joins the MCU, we will discuss the specific capital injection and sharing issues, but no matter how you say it, the leading party must be Marvel.”

This is a relatively conservative approach that can be accepted by many parties. In fact, it is a bet on the confidence of both parties in the future and in ip. It is hard to say whether it is expensive or cheap to buy a few lines for 10 million. For Sony It may be an offensively cheap price, how many gimmicks and box office can the two words of Spider-Man bring to "The Avengers"? Will it have an impact on the marketing of "The Amazing Spider-Man" released in the same year? And for Marvel, who has always been stingy, is the 10 million worth it? After all, how much box office it can bring is always a question.

"Yes." But what surprised Jenny was that Kevin, who has always liked to control costs, agreed to her proposal without hesitation. Wei's desire for Spider-Man. "Or we can also engage in an exchange, allowing "The Amazing Spider-Man" to use our names in the lines, Iron Man, Captain America and Thor, and even let them make guest appearances in the movie, and first form a strategic partnership."

"I will bring it up to Sony." Jenny also agreed with Kevin's proposal, "But don't hold out too much hope. Although the box office of "Iron Man" is good, there is always a gap with Spider-Man in terms of popularity. , Sony may not think such a swap is a good deal.”

"Let's negotiate with this goal." Kevin's tone was a lot calmer-he is actually really easy to coax, because he is very pragmatic. Deserves more of his share, and now, when Jenny takes on the role of producer and starts drawing favors for The Avengers, whether it makes him feel weak or not, Kevin's attitude is instantly intimate When he got up, he was even a little worried about gains and losses, and discussed it with Jenny. "Do you think Sony will agree?"

Jenny actually doesn’t have a strong dislike for him, after all, she has always been the bully. confidence, so this month's "Fast and Furious" preview may change their attitudes—and they may not even make a final decision until May."

The filming of "The Avengers" is almost finished now, but there is still more than a year before its release, and re-shooting can be arranged later, so the time is not urgent, and such a big event, the company's internal It's normal to gossip for a few months, so Kevin was not frustrated or impatient, but took the initiative to say, "Can you arrange a spot for me at the preview?"

Continuing this request after Sony's topic, his attitude is actually very good-looking-according to Robert's arrangement, Jenny should be involved in the production of "The Avengers", but she then ran away by herself Filming, he didn't express that he wanted to take care of things. Of course, Kevin was happy to exclude her. The rejection attitude was very obvious. Now he volunteered to watch "Fast and Furious 5", which shows that his mentality has been shaken, but he just needs to verify Jenny's ability again. If this trial screening can satisfy him, then he will naturally extend an olive branch to Jenny and invite her to join the production decision-making team, a characteristic high-level group of Marvel.

"Of course," Jenny knew his subtext, she chuckled twice, and her tone became affectionate, "I will give you ten tickets, Kevin, and bring all my friends Well, it's going to be a good movie."

She hung up the phone and handed it to Marie, and Cesare said, "I thought you were going to tell Kevin that if Sony still wasn't tempted, you'd trade the investment rights for a movie starring you in exchange— —He will be more moved this way, won’t he?”

"But that is the bargaining chip we are going to use in exchange for the capital injection rights of "The Amazing Spider-Man". It has nothing to do with "The Avengers". It's been dragging on for a long time." Jenny said in a negotiating tone, "So, there's no need to tease Kevin anymore, right? You know, this might really break his heart—"

Before she finished speaking, she couldn't help laughing, and even Cesare showed a relaxed smile. "He didn't ask you how to connect "Code Shero" with "The Avengers"? As far as I know, the crew hasn't filmed the relevant plot yet."

"Kevin should plan to wait until after watching "Fast and Furious 5"." Jenny was very clear about Kevin's plan, "Like Sony, they all hope to see this kind of The results of the cooperative model—is it an improvement in the quality of the film? Is it worth the price they have to pay for it? Especially for Sony, this is of great significance, after all, they have more choices.”

For Sony, Spider-Man joining the Avengers, co-developing with "The Amazing Spider-Man 1" and Dameng are actually two different issues. Spider-Man joining the Avengers has a certain temptation for Sony, but they are not so tempted yet-this issue, they have been talking with Marvel before, but not with Jenny. And in the case that Jenny herself does not play the role, it is another problem to allocate half of the investment in "The Amazing Spider-Man 1" to Dameng. The temptation for Sony may be greater, but it is still not big enough to make them shake , they want to cooperate, they want to get the glory of Miracle Girl, but they are not sure what price to pay, so after "Code Shero" joined the MCU, Sony took the initiative to restore contact, and wanted to use 'Spiderman' to join the revenge In exchange for Jenny's guidance, of course, they will pay for this, and the asking price is exactly 10 million US dollars. From Sony's tone, Cesare speculates that he is revenge on Spider-Man The appearance fee in the Alliance of Players should also be around 10 million, which is equivalent to being paid by Marvel for them.

It can be said that Sony's calculations are very precise. "The Avengers" is scheduled for May 2012, and "The Amazing Spider-Man" is July. If Spider-Man appears in "The Avengers" In itself, this is the best advertisement for "The Amazing Spider-Man", which can save a lot of money in marketing, borrow the momentum of "Avengers", and earn Jenny's production direction for free, even if it is only a few In other words, they are all net profits. If they make a film with reference to the words of this gold medal producer, if the quality of the film can be improved, then they will make a lot of money. ——Of course, such a result does not harm the interests of Dameng and Marvel. For Marvel, it may still scratch the itch. At most, Dameng cannot inject capital, but the asking price of 10 million is not low. , Hollywood producers, except for big gold medals like Bruckheimer, may not be able to get 10 million for a production, but Jenny can get 10 million for just a few words and guidance. This money is really good earn.

However, for Jenny and Cesare, Sony's calculations are too loud - "Avengers" does not have a big dream, and Jenny is under pressure from Robert. A friendship price of several million, although it is higher than most of the leading actors in "The Avengers", but for her today, it is equivalent to pocket money, just to fulfill her production responsibility for free Sell ​​your brainpower? She is dedicated, but she is far from dedicated to this level.

The two sides have obviously different perceptions of the situation, and it is easy to talk about it if they continue to talk. Just taking advantage of the opportunity of leaving for five months, Jenny directly cut off contact with Sony—during the five months, the urging It's Sony's side, and Dameng's side is completely humming. It's clear at a glance who is more eager. And Sony's bargaining chips are also constantly losing weight-five months later, "The Avengers" has been mostly filmed, and there is no room for Spider-Man in the plot. Not very concerned. After collecting some details of the contract that Dameng intended to release, they also realized that they had made a mistake: Jenny didn’t care so much about whether Spider-Man could join the Avengers. They should say that Spider-Man should join Iron Man 3".

However, whether "Iron Man 3" will start filming depends on the box office of "The Avengers". Spider-Man is still hard to say... At this point, Sony's initiative has almost been lost, and it's time for Dameng to play his own trump card——

"11's bundled contracts are all joint capital injections, and each has 50% of the copyright." During the fifteen-minute call, Cesare said, "Besides the "Amazing Spider-Man" series, the two parties have another Jointly developing a movie with an investment of 200 million does not require Sony to provide IP, I think this should be enough to satisfy them.”

Indeed, Sony is very excited about such conditions, especially the development of original IP, which makes them even more excited. Here to help share 50% of the investment, but it is not picking peaches, but sharing the risk . But they still didn't agree, but made the same request as Kevin - want to see "Fast and Furious 5". How much is Dameng's supervision worth? Wanting to take 50% of the "Amazing Spider-Man" share from Sony is a bit more difficult than seeking skin from a tiger. How can the decision-makers nod if they don't see tangible results?

"Have you seen "Fast and Furious 5"?" Jenny asked Cesare, then asked Mary, "What about you? Have you seen it? How is it?"

"It's really a new look." Cesare nodded, showing a rare expression of appreciation, "Justin Lin is a genius in popular crime movies, his performance is amazing, I intend to sign a crime movie with him Comedy—that's one of our things for a while."

"It's super cool!" Mary exclaimed, also beaming. "You can rest assured and wait to see their conquered expressions-I wouldn't be surprised if this movie won the North American annual crown this year. The scene where the car robs the bank at the end really used the imagination to the extreme. I don't know. How should I put it, it's cool and reasonable, and the plot is really far away from the first four! J.J, really, although it's a bit nasty to say this, but you are simply a magician! It's amazing!"

Jenny smiled awkwardly: In fact, she really didn't do much in the production of these films. The most she did was to strengthen the director's confidence and tell them that this idea is very good and worth sticking to. To the role of an endorsement. —— On the side of "Avengers", she deliberately didn't get involved. She had read the script, and Joss' vision was a bit different from the final film. It should be that the shooting and editing were interfered by the decision-making committee with Marvel characteristics. As a result, for Marvel movies, all directors do not have the right to final cut, and even have to follow the opinions of the decision-making committee composed of Kevin and the other two executives on the plot trend. The director is more of an on-site organization. High-end wage earners... It's hard to say whether this mode is good or bad, but at least in "Avengers 1", Jenny's judgment is that the disturbed version will be better, at least more suitable for the market.

Based on her experience with Joss, if she gets involved in the production, Joss will definitely ask her for help when encountering creative differences, which will bring some unnecessary interpersonal burdens, so Jenny is still very grateful to Salvi The decision to close the shoot allowed her to avoid disputes for a while at least. ——However, in any case, she is not thick-skinned enough to pretend that nothing happened when Mary praises her face to face.

"I hope others like it as much as you do." Jenny said, she stretched her waist and gazed comfortably at the deserted mountain path - those crazy fans must have not heard the news of her return to China today . "However, in fact, to be honest, don't think that Sony is so precious to "The Amazing Spider-Man", but I really don't like their current restart idea. It doesn't matter to Dameng whether they take it down or not. It can even be said that it's still worth it Increased risk..."

"Huh?" Mary was a little dizzy. "Why take it down but increase the risk-do you want it or not?"

I still want it for sure, but for Jenny who has the advantage of foresight, the reputation of the "Amazing Spider-Man" series has always been poor, and it will have to be changed drastically, and the ending is still unknown. Interest is nothing more than the mentality of fans, including seeing Spider-Man join the Avengers Alliance. It is enough for ordinary people to read comics, and geeks are willing to spend money on figures, but for people like them... ...The prince of Dubai built an entire startrek playground, and a Chinese entrepreneur bought the copyright to build the Enterprise building. She spent 200 million to take the initiative to match her favorite characters and reunite with the whole family...

Of course, this is also to build confidence in one's own strength, so Cesare didn't object when he knew the pros and cons. As long as the IP of Spiderman can be done well, the ability to attract money will not be weaker than that of Iron Man. Yes, only stronger, this belongs to fans making money. ——It’s just that Jenny couldn’t explain the story to Mary, so she could only end the topic with a smile. "Have you brought all the scripts?"

"It's all in the trunk." Mary said, and she beckoned the bodyguards to go with her to carry the documents and luggage, while Cesare and Jenny walked into the room first.

"I have something to tell you." Once inside the house, Cesare said, "—I think I should explain before Mary tells you that she has just expressed her intentions It's very clear."

"Uh, you mean?" Jenny actually somewhat guessed it, from the fact that Mary has been implying that she can develop with other male stars --

"I think you should have guessed the same." Cesare really saw what she was thinking, he shrugged, "I found you a yoga instructor-this matter is not on the phone. It’s convenient to talk about, so I haven’t told you before.”

"Oh," Jenny said, "is she really a yoga instructor, or is she?"

"She just happens to be a real yoga instructor," Cesare said. "At the moment we are very cautious, but I think, of course, it is better to be careful, after all, if this matter is exposed in the media, she will be criticized. Lots of unnecessary attention and hurt."

"Of course." Jenny said quickly, "Of course—you just talk to Mary directly and let her make an appointment for me."

Cesare nodded and didn't say anything further, but he didn't look embarrassed. Jenny felt slightly uncomfortable, and she grinned and said, "so——we really have a group of friends who care about people You guys, don't you?"

"Maybe it's because we did not perform well enough." Cesare said, "You and Salvi—"

"Just go with the feeling." Jenny shrugged. "You and her—"

"It's nothing serious." Cesare said, "It's just—"

They looked at each other for a while, cleared their throats at the same time, and almost felt slightly embarrassed at the same time because of 'clearing their throats at the same time', Cesare said first, "So, about the crime comedy I just said ——"

"Yes, yes." Jenny quickly answered, she turned around and walked towards the small living room with Cesare. "About that crime comedy you just said..."