One was the contract given to Ronald by Colombia, and the other was an industry standard contract. Looking at the two copies of the contract in his hand, Rick Niceta was very angry. A key clause was removed from Ronald Lee's contract.
As the most senior of his three agents, he was kept in the dark.
One of the reasons why he jumped from WMA to CAA was that there was a person like Ovitz as president here, which suppressed internal competition and there was not so much internal intrigue. Different agents can work together to recommend projects, so that everyone's clients can
Share the benefits.
However, a loophole was exploited in the contract of a screenwriting client. I originally thought that no one would dare to do anything with a project like this that was promoted by Ovitz himself, so I didn’t pay much attention to it, and instead asked the new agent Richard
Responsible for tracking and processing.
In the end, if Richard hadn't been clever, he almost signed this contract with a trap and was taken advantage of. In the future, it might be said that he was incompetent, or that CAA had a reputation of bullying others. Ovitz would definitely not tolerate it.
This kind of thing happens.
The reason why Niceta did not pay full attention to Ronald's contract was because he had a problem with his own big client and was busy dealing with it.
His biggest client, Sally Field, who became the new best actress for her role in "Norma Leigh", was so heartbroken that her boyfriend Burt Reynolds cheated on her that she almost committed an accident that hurt herself.
The curse of the Oscar-winning actress is not just career-related.
Reynolds is a very macho actor who also owns his own Nascar team "Mach-1".
After Sally was released as the actress, the movie scripts and pay she received were obviously more than those Reynolds could only hang out in TV series. This kind of thing did a lot of damage to Reynolds' image of a big man. Reynolds then cheated on Loni Anderson
, a blonde beauty who starred in a TV series with him.
After finally getting Sally back to normal and getting back on good terms with Reynolds, this kind of contract accident happened again.
"So who did the good deed? How dare you resort to such small tricks on a project that Ovitz was personally watching?" Niceta asked.
Paula Wagner sat next to Niceta, turning the contract over and over.
She has also been very busy recently. Tom Cruise is very motivated, but his reading level is really bad. He cannot read many scripts. He can only let others read them to him.
Unlike ordinary people who can distinguish words at a glance, Tom has to read them letter by letter. And when he encounters words with irregular pronunciation, he cannot read them.
Paula is contacting the doctor to check him to see if he has dyslexia. She heard that there are some behavioral therapies that can treat it.
"Who is it?" Paula also raised her head and asked Richard Lovett.
"It's Lapke." Richard sat stiffly. Getting this contract issue wrong may affect his career, and then added the reason, "He has recently been pursuing Bridges, the director assigned by Jane Fonda."
"
"This bastard." Niceta and Paula cursed at the same time.
The brokerage industry is not a court. It doesn’t talk about evidence, it only talks about who gets the benefits. Because good people who are ethical and fools who leave evidence will soon be eliminated.
"Jack Lapke, he was famous for being unruly in WMA." Niceta commented, "So what does Ronald think? Does he want to take all 350,000 and leave, or does he want to get the right to refuse to modify the first choice?"
"He's a young man who wants to gain experience," Richard said.
"Tsk, this is difficult. Even if he gets the right to revise, Bridges is still the director. If you are not satisfied with the script, you can go back and torture him again and again until the movie and Ronald are dragged into planning hell." Paula
·Wagner interjected.
Planning hell is a jargon term in the film industry. After the studio buys the script and confirms the actors, there are many cases where artistic differences, different understandings of the market, and even personal grievances prevent it from passing the planning stage and the filming is abandoned.
Insiders call it “planning hell.”
Once a script falls into planning hell, it will be difficult to climb out.
"Richard, please invite Ronald in and let's talk together. This is not the time for vindictiveness. US$350,000 is a huge sum of money for a man of his age. Planning hell will not do anything for his experience.
Any benefit."
"That's the thing. After Ronald Jane Fonda entered the project, she became the center of power. Now she doesn't have enough roles. Your script always has to be modified to highlight her performance..."
Niceta explained to Ronald.
"But I'm already prepared." Ronald took out his big notebook, which contained various written records. He wrote down various inspirations at different times and places during his breaks, and prepared to review the script.
The main plot of the film is to undergo a major surgery to highlight Jane Fonda's status.
"At this point, Bridges will definitely make major changes to your script as director, and with this incident, he will not easily let your changes pass. There are many movies that fall into the endless struggle between stars and screenwriters.
Stay in the revision loop until it's abandoned," Niceta advised.
"We can't bet on Jane Fonda's choice between Bridges and you. You also hope that your script will be made into a movie and your name will appear in the opening credits, right?" Paula
Also help carefully.
Sighing, Ronald asked: "Who changed the terms of my contract and removed the right of modification priority?"
"I will definitely investigate this matter and give you an explanation."
Seeing that Ronald's attitude had softened, Niceta and Paula quickly took Ronald with them to complain to Ovitz.
"My client's interests have been harmed, and the terms of the contract cannot be modified without the agent's consent." Niceta put Ronald's contract and the standard contract on Ovitz's desk, with the missing parts
Mark it with a marker.
"Ask Jack Rapke to come into my office," Ovitz said to the secretary handling his call.
Jack Lapke has a typical Jewish big nose. His mother is a buyer for movie theaters. He has been around to buy movies from studios since he was a child, and he knows a lot about the film industry through ear and eye.
After being called into the president's office, Ovitz asked him if he knew how the two contracts had been exchanged.
Lapke tilted his mouth, chewed gum, and said very aggressively, "I don't know, he is not my client. If he were my client, he would definitely not make such a low-level mistake."
"I work for the best interests of my clients. But I really don't know. You should check other people. The contract may not be a problem at CAA." Rapke did not admit that he had done anything.
Ovitz stood up and raised his hand to stop Lapke from continuing.
"Ronald, I will handle this matter personally. I will communicate with you and Frank Price tomorrow. Make sure that those who modify your contract without authorization are punished."
"As for the issue of screenwriters, I will compensate you. CAA will not let its clients be treated unfairly.
In this matter, CAA will complete the promotion of you as a talented screenwriter as agreed. I personally guarantee that your name will appear in the New York Times report, but there is no way to guarantee the front page this time.
But within the scope of Hollywood, including The Hollywood Reporter, Daily Variety, and Variety Weekend Edition, we will all promote that your debut script sold for a sky-high price."
Ovitz raised his hand and asked Ronald to walk out of the office with him.
"Is there no way for me to participate in the pre-preparation of the movie?" Ronald didn't want to give up yet.
"I won't lie to my clients, Ronald. There's really no point in continuing. If you're willing to just settle this matter, I owe you once and I'll make amends. You sign your director's contract as well."
At CAA, I will personally recommend your new script to major studios."
The two walked out of the office, and Ovitz closed the door.
"Richard made a mistake. If you have other ideas, I can change you to a prime agent."
"No, I hope the main agent can spend most of his time on me, and Richard did not disappoint me." Ronald declined.
"Okay, Mary." Ovitz called his schedule secretary, "Please take Ronald to the lounge to rest for a while. I will discuss some work arrangements with them, and then I will ask Richard to accompany you back."
Ovitz and Ronald hugged each other goodbye, "Do you have any other requests?"
"I think... forget it, she is not your client."
"Pfeiffer, right? My relationship with Limato from WMA is not that bad. When we don't involve celebrity clients, we usually communicate with each other. I will call him."
Ovitz comforted Ronald and quickly returned to the office. He closed the door gently.
"Jack." Niceta was still quarreling with Rapke, "CAA treats all customers equally, and you cannot harm the interests of another customer just because you win the heart of one customer."
"Besides, Bridges is not your client yet." Paula added.
"I very much agree with your values, but there is another one of CAA's values, which is to maximize the interests of customers." Rapke retorted.
Ovitz returned to his seat and glanced at both parties.
Both sides stopped blaming the other.
"What's wrong with you? Who told you to pass the responsibility to the studio in front of your clients?" Ovitz said to Lapke.
"And you guys, why is it that Richard is the only one who accompanies Ronald to sign a contract with Columbia? If you are not willing to represent him, bring it up as early as possible, and I can personally take your place. The writer-first strategy is the foundation of CAA in the film industry.
Book."
"So at all times, we must be united externally. No one can be exempted. All competitions remain within the company. Externally, we are not Ovitz, Nicita, or Lapke. We have only one name, CAA
broker."
Ovitz pointed his finger at both sides and repeated the company's creed again.
"So what does a big family mean, like the Corleone family? Ovitz thinks of himself as old godfather Vito?" Niceta and Paula walked out of the president's office and returned to their own offices. Suddenly Niceta complained.
"Then who are you? Sonny?" Paula Wagner glanced at the door to make sure it was closed, then sat in Niceta's arms and straightened his tie.