Chapter 121 Downfall in North America

In the following days, Rohan worked during the day and spent most of his evenings with Carmen. It wasn't until Carmen finished her trip to Los Angeles and headed to Paris that they parted ways. Perhaps, once the hardware was well-adjusted, installing the software would be easier. When Rohan bid farewell to Carmen, they both felt a bit reluctant to part ways, but fortunately, no melodramatic events occurred. Carmen rushed off to Paris to continue her career as a model, which had the potential to completely change an Estonian woman's life. Rohan returned to the company, continuing to work hard for his career and future.

Rohan's emotions were somewhat affected, and it would be false to say he didn't feel a bit sad. However, he could see that Carmen chose her career over him. If it were him, he would probably make the same choice.

Rohan's career was just beginning, and he couldn't afford to relax. After Bob Cohen from the Firefighters Fund sent over a proposal, Rohan immediately had George Clint organize the necessary materials to hire a third party for completion guarantee.

For established companies that regularly collaborated with the Firefighters Fund, this was a simple task. However, for Sand Sea Entertainment, a relatively unknown company, it was necessary to earn the trust of the guarantor.

Many things were difficult at the beginning. To pass the Firefighters Fund's insurance review, at the very least, a script was required. Rohan had no intention of writing it himself. The script for "The Bourne Identity" was much more complicated than "The Purge", involving some political and intelligence agencies, requiring extensive research and time from the screenwriter.

Hiring an external screenwriter was the best option. Rohan spent some time outlining the main plot and storyline, then had Sand Sea Entertainment publicly recruit screenwriters.

As for the director, Paul Greengrass was the top choice, but he was busy with post-production work on "Kingsman". Rohan hadn't brought it up with him yet.

"The Bourne Identity" also began its preliminary planning.

In addition, there was good news from George Clint's side. Robert Ludlum's condition had improved somewhat, and after relentless public relations efforts, he finally agreed to discuss the film rights to "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum".

Rohan personally met with Robert Ludlum, who was in very poor health and looked like he could meet God at any moment. It was no wonder he hadn't seen anyone before.

Compared to the negotiations for "The Bourne Identity", negotiations with Robert Ludlum's agent went much more smoothly. One party was sincerely willing to buy, and the other was sincerely willing to sell, and the terms were settled in an afternoon.

Sand Sea Entertainment acquired the film rights to "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum", and retained the right to use them in future films.

In other words, based on "The Bourne Trilogy", future sequels could be made. Of course, Rohan also offered a hefty price for this.

Four million dollars was the basic purchase price, which both sides agreed upon without much disagreement. Most of the negotiation time was spent on the split.

Rohan was confident enough in "The Bourne Trilogy" not to include a back-end deal in the copyright transaction.

However, without a back-end deal, Robert Ludlum's side refused to negotiate. The condition they offered was a three percent share of the total box office revenue. When adapting well-known literary works in the industry, the usual split percentages ranged from one and a half to three percent of the box office.

Rohan certainly wouldn't agree to such terms; three percent of the global box office revenue would mean giving away a significant portion of Sand Sea Entertainment's profits.

After some back and forth, both sides compromised. Robert Ludlum's share increased to five percent, but the split was changed from the total box office revenue to the net profit of all revenue.

At the same time, Rohan also agreed to another condition: if Sand Sea Entertainment failed to adapt the two novels into movies or television shows within ten years of signing the copyright transfer agreement, Robert Ludlum's agent had the right to reclaim all copyrights to the two novels.

With a basic transfer fee of four million dollars plus a five percent share of the net profit, Rohan basically achieved his goal of acquiring the film rights to "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum".

Of course, the copyright fee would still be settled through Sand Sea Entertainment's relative lending and borrowing.

He wanted to further reduce the basic transfer fee and increase the percentage of net profit sharing, but Robert Ludlum's side did not agree.

With the film rights to these two novels, the future of "The Bourne Identity" could build a complete trilogy and world view. After filming the movies, sequels could be made based on the characters and plot.

If the opportunity was right, it could even be adapted into a TV series.

When Rohan returned to Los Angeles, he found a suitable candidate among the many screenwriter applicants, a writer named Tony Gilroy.

He wasn't a top-tier writer, but he was solidly second-tier, with a small team of writers under him.

Since it was an adaptation, the price wasn't high either. Tony Gilroy and his team of four were paid a total of $300,000.

Of course, whether it was screenwriter fees or copyright fees, all future expenditures would be included in the film's budget.

Rohan chose Tony Gilroy for several reasons. On one hand, he had been involved in writing many action movies.

This writer entered Hollywood with the romantic sports film "Ice Miracle" and later participated in the writing of the thriller crime films "Hot Tears Scar" and "Devil Spokesman".

Last year, Tony Gilroy was one of the credited writers for the film about oil workers flying into space to drill a meteorite.

This resume warranted the payment Rohan offered.

On the other hand, except for "Ice Miracle," all the other projects Tony Gilroy was involved in were not his original ideas.

This was another important reason why Rohan chose Tony Gilroy.

Many writers who preferred originality, like directors who were obsessed with their own worlds, tended to be imaginative. These could become unstable factors in commercial movies.

Tony Gilroy had participated in three projects after "Ice Miracle," all as a hired writer. In other words, someone else came up with the ideas and outlines, and he and his team wrote the script based on them.

Rohan appreciated this aspect of his resume.

Because he also needed Tony Gilroy to write the script within the established framework.

After signing a contract with Tony Gilroy at Sand Sea Entertainment, Rohan had a deep conversation with the screenwriter, especially about the plot and character personalities.

"Tony, this is a commercial film." Rohan had already given Tony Gilroy the outline: "Talk about your adaptation ideas."

After some thought, Tony Gilroy said, "The outline's storyline is very clear, and when writing the script, we need to pay attention to the narrative pace. Nowadays, audiences demand faster narrative pace for commercial films. I think the pace of the story must be tight, the plot shouldn't be too complicated, and definitely avoid any haze regarding Bourne's amnesia, letting the audience realize the character's amnesia in the next minute, making them think this isn't an ordinary person."

Ronan acknowledged his point, "The plot shouldn't be too mind-boggling."

"Exactly!" Tony Gilroy, being a collaborator with Michael Bay, said, "The story needs to be concise, ensuring that the majority of the audience can easily understand it."

He continued, "Regarding the characters, the role of the female protagonist in the novel is too complex. Her role should be reduced, and the script should entirely focus on Bourne."

Perhaps Tony Gilroy was influenced by Michael Bay, "The female protagonist should be more symbolic, serving as a symbol around Bourne rather than having a complex role."

Ronan nodded slightly, finding this screenwriter's ideas quite aligned with his own.

Tony Gilroy added, "Bourne is a spy. Currently, the most influential spies in Hollywood are James Bond and Ethan Hunt. For our movie to be successful, Bourne must have clear distinctions from these two successful characters."

"Go on," Ronan encouraged.

Encouraged by Ronan's response, Tony Gilroy continued, "Bourne's appearance should not be too outstanding; it's best if he's a memorable average person. Bourne doesn't have much money, his brain isn't particularly sharp, and he doesn't have high-tech equipment. If he's lucky, he might have a pistol, and he usually grabs whatever he can find as a weapon, such as a pencil, a rope, or a toothbrush. These are the characteristics that best reflect Bourne's identity as a spy, completely different from James Bond and Ethan Hunt."

"Valid points," Ronan added, "If Bourne becomes like Bond and Hunt, this movie is likely to fail."

With a gem already present, imitators afterward are likely to have bad luck.

After thinking for a moment, Ronan said, "Tony, start with a sample and see how it goes. Also, the first draft of the script must be completed before the new year."

Tony Gilroy assured, "No problem."

Ronan was quite satisfied with this screenwriter. With a clear-headed and experienced writer like him and with Paul Greengrass as the director, the chances of success for the film adaptation of "The Bourne Identity" should be quite high.

A spy completely different from James Bond and Ethan Hunt.

It's hard to say whether the change in style in the later "007" series, with the selection of Daniel Craig as James Bond, was influenced by "The Bourne Identity."

With the screenwriter finalized and director candidates in mind, Ronan also started considering casting choices. With a preconceived notion, Matt Damon was the top choice.

Other actors could be sorted out through auditions after the director and most of the crew were in place.

Hollywood isn't short of actors.

Amidst all the busyness, as October approached its end and Halloween drew near, "The Blair Witch" concluded its 17-week run in North America, officially ending its theatrical release.