"He is bluffing. I don't believe that this cunning Israeli will release a B-level movie about the Fantastic Four. He is just here to blackmail us and get some benefits that he does not deserve."
This guy doesn't know how to make movies. If Ronald hadn't made him a movie called "Break Dance," this Israeli would have gotten out of Hollywood and gone back to his Negev desert..."
Although Stan Lee had some friendship with Warner Bros. executives, he did not expect that Warner immediately rejected the request to acquire the film.
They have always been known for being stingy. Even Peter Guber, who went to Sony to serve as CEO of Columbia Pictures, tried to blackmail him severely. They wanted to defraud Warner Bros., but they refused to let go.
Stan Lee tried to sell the huge box office potential of "Fantastic Four" to the other party, but the other party just didn't believe that Minahan would really show this bad movie and refused to let go.
"Avi, you and Minahan are both Israelis. Can you communicate with him and give up the release of this movie? How much money can Marvel pay to buy back this movie?"
The person Stan Lee was facing was a Marvel executive, Avi Arad, who is also an Israeli immigrant. He is the only Israeli within Marvel, so he might be able to establish some friendship with Minahan.
"I can give it a try, but the most we can do is use the cost of his filming, plus the $250,000 we spent to buy the copyright at the time, to buy back the movie. You know, our financial situation is not very good now...
"
Avi Arad drew a table for Stan Lee and analyzed the cost of filming the "Fantastic Four". He believed that Minahan would definitely not be satisfied with this amount of money.
…
"Minahan, we are all Israelis, and I do want to acquire this movie from you. Let's be straightforward. This movie will definitely have an impact on Marvel's brand value. We don't want it to be released. Can you give us a
Exact image, if you want, we can negotiate the purchase price."
Avi Arad found Minahan, revealed his identity when he came up, and tried to extract Minahan's true story.
"The exact intention is that I want to release this movie. B-level movies are also a good investment. I only spent... Forget it, you can definitely find out that if the box office exceeds 10 million, I will make enough money...
…”
"Come on, you can make money with a box office of five million. I am really from Israel. My parents are survivors of the Holocaust in Poland. When I was 67 years old, I served in the Wehrmacht and fought in the Six-Day War.
..." Avi Arad tried to persuade the other party with his feelings as a fellow countryman.
"Okay, let me explain to you. My purpose is to make money. If you want to stop me from issuing the issuance, just buy it with cash and show some sincerity..."
"You also know that Marvel's current financial situation is not very good, otherwise it would not sell you the rights to adapt two comics for $250,000. What do you want that we can provide? We
As long as you don't release this B-level film, the adaptation rights are still in your hands anyway. If you find the funds, you can make another one. As long as the quality is acceptable, we will thank you..."
"It turns out that you have also served in the National Defense Forces. I participated in the first Middle East War, but I am an Air Force pilot, so I don't have to smell tank exhaust in the desert. Avi, for this reason, let me tell you the truth. It's very simple.
, I am looking for profit. Either you buy it with cash, or you can sell me one or two more low-cost characters."
Avi Arad smiled bitterly. Stan Lee would never agree to another Marvel character falling into the hands of this person. "Actually, as long as it's suitable for the scripts produced by your company, right? I can go to Warner and give it a try. They
There are many scripts in the warehouse, many of which are suitable for low-cost shooting..."
"I don't want low-cost ones, I want big-production ones. As long as I have a script, I can find partners to invest..."
"Don't brag, Mr. Golan. If you were rich, why would you make this Fantastic Four movie?"
"That's a trade secret. I now have very rich and resourceful collaborators..." Minahan winked and laughed.
"If you have it, why don't you sell this movie to him? We at Marvel don't mind a collaborator with money and resources..." Avi Arad wanted to expose the other party's lies.
"How do you know I won't do this? Time is passing, ticking, ticking..." Minahan drank the coffee in one gulp and walked away with a smile.
…
"He seems to really have a partner. It would be a good thing if it works out..." Avi Arad came back and reported the outcome of the conversation to Stan Lee.
"I still hope that Warner Bros. can pay for it. This kind of big production requires not only production, but also distribution. Minahan's so-called partner is not one of the seven major producers.
A factory with such distribution capabilities..."
"That's right." The two went to Warner Bros. to talk about new competitors, but Warner Bros. still didn't believe them and insisted that this was just Minahan's bluff...
"It seems that Warner Bros. didn't take the bait. Ronald, why don't you just sell it to them according to the price that Marvel can offer?" Minahan Golan also came to see Ronald. Selling to Warner actually costs two dollars.
The script was discounted, and the money he got would not be much more, so it would be better to get the money earlier. Now, most of his 21st Century Productions are projects, and he doesn’t have a lot of cash.
Waiting for the income from this business.
"Don't worry, I will guarantee your income. If Warner's offer is not enough, I will make up for your income." Ronald didn't care about the money, but he really wanted to get the two scripts from Warner.
"In this way, let's add more fire to Warner..." Ronald whispered a few words in Minahan's ear.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "Ha, you are really a cunning businessman, but all this requires money..."
"I'll pay it out..." Ronald immediately called his accountant and wrote him a check in the name of investing in Minahan's next movie.
"The craze caused by Batman has not subsided. In addition to the sequel project that has been confirmed for production, former Cannon chairman Minahan Gran said that his Fantastic Four will soon meet the audience in the summer."
Soon, "Hollywood Report", "Variety", etc. began to appear in the release trailer of "Fantastic Four".
On the newly released Corman Company's movie "Slumber Party Massacre 3", a trailer for "Fantastic Four" began to appear.
A fifteen-second commercial for "The Fantastic Four" was also inserted into the middle of the program of "The Richie Lake Show" broadcast online by local TV stations in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Miami.
"This doesn't mean anything. Pre-roll ads and ads for youth talk shows with low ratings are not expensive either. Maybe they were created just for us..."
The president of Warner Bros. is Terry Tramel. He now has a box office miracle like "Batman" and is very powerful, and his voice in the industry is louder.
But he himself also understood that because of Jack Nicholson’s contract, they made at least 50 million less!
This caused him to seriously lose points with chairman Robert Daley. Now, in addition to searching for movies suitable for comic book adaptations, he also has to pay special attention to costs.
Otherwise, even another successful movie like Batman cannot cover up the financial failure (if Nicholson's dividends are not earned, it is a failure).
Stan Lee's lobbying was still unsuccessful. He also contacted Columbia, which had just been acquired and had a lot of money, and Universal, which was interested in making a movie based on comic book adaptations, but neither of them was interested in doing this kind of thing. After all, buying out a Minahan movie
Paying so much money for a B-level movie will make the studio look like it's making a loss.
…
"Ronald, Warner Bros. still hasn't moved... you see?" Minahan didn't wait for the eagerly awaited call from Warner Bros., and came to discuss it with Ronald again.
"Then continue to increase the pressure. I'll let Michael Gray handle it. Don't worry..." Ronald had already learned about Warner Bros.'s psychology from Niceta. He found a public relations consultant and began to discuss the "Fantastic Four"
Increased screening promotion.
"It is learned that Fantastic Four will be released this fall on the Labor Day (first Monday in September) long weekend. Minahan Golan, the former Hollywood tycoon, said that a separate advance screening will be held earlier on Independence Day
During the holidays, it will be released in advance at the International Comic Con in San Diego to meet the requirements of comic fans in advance." The Hollywood Reporter and Variety began to release new release news.
According to two authoritative media reports, Minahan will donate the box office generated from the premiere and early release to the Coca-Cola Foundation's Special Olympics charity projects and McDonald's House's charity projects to support sick children.
“A new adventure for Israelis in Hollywood…”
At the same time, a Los Angeles film magazine, "Film Threat (which mainly reports on low-budget independent films)", interviewed Minahan Golan and told him that since he resigned from the chairmanship of Cannon, his first film challenged
Things that had previously failed in the field of comic adaptation were made into cover reports.
…
The news reached Warner Brothers' Terry Temel, who yelled, "This bastard Israeli poor guy..."
Although they are all of Jewish origin, most of the Jews in the New York community in America are descendants of the middle class who immigrated before World War II. When Israel was founded, most of the Jews who immigrated to America had no money and were lucky enough to escape.
Descendants of poor people who suffered massacres and then immigrated to the Middle East.
In fact, both of them have the feeling of looking down on the other. One side thinks that the other side is a poor man, and the other side thinks that the other side is a coward...
Terry Temel picked up the phone and made an appointment with boss Robert Daley's secretary. He wanted to report to the boss. It seemed that Minahan was serious and had invested a lot of marketing funds.
If Fantastic Four is really released, then the adaptation copyright that expired this year will be automatically renewed. If Warner Bros. wants to adapt this movie, it will probably have to pay more costs.
"Quack, sure enough, Warner Bros. contacted me and they were willing to pay two million dollars to buy my Fantastic Four."
As expected, Minahan waited for Warner's offer and quickly called Ronald to report it.
"Don't worry, it's them who are worried now. Wait a minute, the price will go up."
"When do you want me to ask them for scripts for 'Forrest Gump' and 'Other People's Money'?" Minahan was also very proud on the other end of the phone and wanted to work hard to get what he wanted for Ronald.
The script you want.
"Don't say it, don't say a word. When they offer to exchange it for scripts, you can name them. Remember, don't just talk about these movies..."
Everything is going in the direction Ronald expected, and the plan seems to be making good progress.
However, on the other hand, Ronald's plan encountered setbacks.
Lawrence Connor, the producer of the TV version of "Working Girl" and the head of the writers' room, had finished shooting the pilot and brought the master tapes to Ronald for viewing.
Although the quality is much worse than that of the movie version, Sandra Bullock's face is still pretty among TV drama stars. Although Tess, played by her, has lost a lot of knowledge about real business mergers and acquisitions, she has no
The movie version is shrewd, but there are a lot more scenes.
In addition to Jack Traynor, the booking star, there was another mergers and acquisitions manager in the office, and a Latino plumber back home in Staten Island, who all liked her.
Ordinarily, the quality of such a TV series is considered to be top-notch among the major soap operas. However, NBC has been slow to grant a contract, so Ronald has to personally inquire about it.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! I personally called the executives responsible for purchasing at NBC. The other party respected Ronald very much and said a lot of words of admiration, but when it came to the specific purchase of TV series
, but he didn’t give any face at all.
The two new TV series they are most optimistic about, one is also a movie adaptation, the TV series version of "Spring Is Not a Day to Study". Like "Working Girl", this one is also a new actor from scratch.
But unlike "Working Girl", this TV series is originally a high school love story, who falls in love with whom, who secretly eats behind someone's back, etc. Compared with "Working Girl", this TV series is obviously a workplace drama, but it is
For dramas that spend most of their time in love, the reviews for the pilot were even better.
The other one is "Law & Order", which received rare praise in the pilot. This TV series that combines criminal investigation and courtroom seems to be very popular with the audience, compared with separate criminal investigation dramas and courtroom dramas.
The performance of the drama must be better.
Because there are these two A-level dramas, "Working Girl" can only be ranked as B-level. When new dramas are released in the fall, the time slot will be determined based on the situation.
Ronald came forward but was unable to secure a formal broadcast contract.
The distribution business of TV series seemed completely different from the distribution of movies. Ronald felt that it was so awkward that he had to find some consulting companies in the TV series industry and began to learn slowly.
In fact, the biggest difference between TV series and movies is that TV stations are more conservative than movie theaters.
Not only is it conservative in scale, but it is also very conservative in its treatment of drama series. Unlike movies, each of which is a new product, TV series focus on series.
TV series with average ratings in the past have to be ranked higher than new series by TV stations. Because old dramas have withstood the test of the audience, you only need to continue to follow the previously popular plots and continue to edit them. And new ones will be enough.
The risk of TV dramas is much greater. Every year, there are TV dramas that air four or five episodes, have terrible ratings, and are canceled midway.
There is only one situation when old dramas will be abandoned. That is if the ratings and advertising of old dramas suddenly fall below the average of new dramas, then the TV station will consider replacing them with new dramas. After all, the actors' remuneration for old dramas still has to exceed
There are many new dramas.
"It seems that now NBC has to wait for any TV series to fall behind before we have a chance. But I will ask ABC if they are interested..." Ronald accepted the reality and replied to Lawrence Connor.