Chapter 251: Money and Friendship

 "Sean, my request is not excessive!"

In an office at Universal Studios, Helen Herman looked at Sean Daniel across the desk and said, "An eight million dollar salary reflects Matthew's current fame and appeal accurately."

"That's too high!" Sean Daniel's tone was more diplomatic compared to Helen Herman's, "The budget for the film is only 28 million dollars. Allocating nearly one-third of that to Matthew alone is something the production cannot afford."

Helen Herman was adamant, "Since the release of 'Pirates of the Caribbean', Matthew has always been a focal point for the media and the audience, consistently ranking second on the IMDB's most watched actors list!"

The success of 'Pirates of the Caribbean', along with the love and praise from fans for Matthew and Will Turner, bolstered her confidence, "Disney and several market research firms have found that Matthew was the second most popular actor in 'Pirates of the Caribbean', capturing 39% of the audience. You must be aware, a major portion of this can be transferred to the 'Dawn of the Dead' project!"

Although Sean Daniel was diplomatic, he stood firm, "Helen, if Matthew takes nearly one-third of the production budget for himself, what will I use to hire directors and other actors? We can't expect them to work for free, can we?"

The two had interacted many times before, and other aspects had already been agreed upon. The only disagreement was Matthew's salary.

Initially, Helen Herman started with a demand for ten million dollars. After two rounds of negotiation, she dropped to eight million dollars but then refused to budge.

Even after negotiating with Universal Studios to increase the budget from 25 to 28 million dollars, an eight million dollar salary for the lead actor was still unbearable for him and the production.

This was too high and would directly affect the normal operation of the production.

Helen Herman had her plans and was firm on the eight million dollars, "Sean, let me remind you! Matthew's previous starring roles, 'The Scorpion King' grossed over a hundred million dollars in North America alone! 'Pirates of the Caribbean' has already surpassed two hundred million dollars and is still performing strongly. It's clear to anyone that this film's North American box office will not drop below 300 million dollars!"

She raised her voice to emphasize, "In both these films, Matthew was the absolute lead and his characters were extremely popular. Given the box office of his past starring roles, is eight million dollars too high?"

Sean Daniel smiled, "Matthew's salary cannot be calculated like that."

Helen Herman was confident and countered directly, "This is how Hollywood has always calculated it."

Hollywood movie studios have a system to assess movie stars. This system isn't much related to acting skills or awards but mainly focuses on the box office performance of the actor's most recent three movies. If the recent three movies were flops, even if one is an Oscar winner, their asking price would be low.

Similarly, a newcomer, no matter how talented, would not command a high salary without proven box office success.

This rationale also applied to directors and other behind-the-scenes roles.

Sean Daniel became serious, "If I had a budget of fifty million dollars, what you're saying wouldn't be a problem. We could discuss it. But I only have a budget of 28 million dollars for production. If we allocate eight million dollars of that to Matthew alone, even if I minimize costs everywhere else, we would need to divert more than two million dollars from the shooting and post-production budget to cover Matthew's salary."

Helen Herman remained silent, allowing Sean Daniel to continue.

"What does it mean for a medium-scale investment film to have over two million dollars less for shooting and post-production?" Sean Daniel didn't wait for Helen Herman to answer, "Many aspects of production will inevitably be cut where possible, definitely affecting the final quality of the film. If the quality suffers, it will drag down the box office."

He looked at Helen Herman, "You and I both know, the quality of a film is not something that the personal appeal of a movie star can fully compensate for. If 'Dawn of the Dead' performs poorly at the box office, Matthew, as the lead, will be the first to suffer. His rising momentum will slow or even stop…"

Helen Herman knew this, but her previous statements were to pressure Sean Daniel into making concessions.

Sean Daniel continued, "Helen, once a movie star stops moving forward, it means they are going backward. Getting back on the fast track becomes difficult. Why can't we look further ahead? I've been friends with Matthew for a long time and don't want to see him lose out on greater long-term benefits for a bit of immediate gain. I can't believe you, as his excellent agent, can't see this?"

"You make a good point." Helen Herman seemed persuaded, "Matthew and I can make some concessions."

Sean Daniel smiled slightly, then continued, "Four million dollars. This reflects Matthew's value and his absolute leading role in the production without affecting the film's production!"

Friendships, in such negotiations, are virtually worthless.

Helen Herman, of course, understood this logic and outright refused, "That's impossible! If that's your and the production's sincerity, there's no point in continuing this discussion!"

Her tone softened, "You probably don't know, but Matthew felt guilty for having to turn down another one of your projects due to scheduling conflicts last time. This time, when you and Zack Snyder approached him, he felt he couldn't refuse no matter what, given your past support."

Speaking gracefully was something entertainment agents like her excelled at, "For this collaboration, Matthew turned down an invitation from Jerry Bruckheimer! Sean, do you know what project that was? A top-tier production with over a hundred million dollars in investment, where Jerry Bruckheimer directly offered Matthew the lead role in 'King Arthur'! And he turned it down for your friendship. You can verify this with Disney; many people are aware of this."

Sean Daniel was at a loss for words. If Helen Herman dared to say this, Matthew Horner had indeed refused Jerry Bruckheimer's invitation.

Helen Herman scoffed lightly, "Sean, is this your sincerity? How much has Matthew sacrificed for your collaboration? And you?"

Her tone became sharper, "Let me put it this way, Matthew isn't lacking in projects, as you're well aware. The sequel to 'Pirates of the Caribbean' is about to start preparation, and it's going to be two films back-to-back! Jerry Bruckheimer also intends to have Matthew star in another action-adventure project."

Hearing this, Sean Daniel appeared troubled, as if he had made a huge decision after a long struggle, finally saying, "Five million dollars! Any more and the film's production will really suffer."

"We can accept the five million dollars," Helen Herman concluded, "Matthew and I aren't the kind of people who only care about money and ignore friendships."

Before Sean Daniel could breathe a sigh of relief, her tone shifted, "I have a few small conditions."

Given the concession on the salary, Sean Daniel nodded, "Go ahead."

Helen Herman smiled slightly, "First, Matthew's name must appear first in the opening credits, in a font we agree on and alone, not alongside other actors."

This was an entirely acceptable condition since Matthew was the absolute lead. Sean

 Daniel had no objections, "That's fine."

"Second!" Helen Herman obviously hadn't finished, "In the main poster for the film, aside from zombies in the background, Matthew must be the only actor featured!"

Sean Daniel nodded, "That's also fine."

Helen Herman continued, "Third, if there are small roles in the film suitable for actors from Angel Talent Agency, those roles should preferably be filled by actors from Angel Talent Agency."

Sean Daniel thought for a second and nodded again, "I'll communicate this with the casting director."

For minor roles that weren't very important, it didn't make much difference which talent agency the actors came from.

"And the last point." Helen Herman saved the most important condition for last, "Sean, Matthew and I can accept a five million dollar salary! But!"

She emphasized, "Five million dollars is just the base salary! Matthew must participate in the box office revenue share!"

Sean Daniel immediately frowned, "Helen, you're being too greedy."

"We've made concessions on the salary to reduce the project's risk," Helen Herman had her argument ready, "It's only fair to seek a portion of the later income. Moreover, by sharing the risk with the production and the film, if the film fails, this part of his income is gone too, which will also motivate Matthew to give his best."

She laid out the plan, "We'll set 30 million dollars as a threshold. If the film's future North American box office exceeds 30 million dollars, Matthew gets one percent as his share. For every additional ten million dollars in North American box office, his share increases by one percent!"

"That's impossible!" Sean Daniel outright refused, "If the North American box office breaks a hundred million, he alone would take tens of millions of dollars. Not just me, no production would agree to that! Matthew doesn't have that kind of pull!"

Hearing Sean Daniel's firm refusal was about the share percentage rather than the participation in the North American box office revenue share, Helen Herman sensed his bottom line through this probe.

She said again, "We can discuss the share percentage."

Sean Daniel thought for a moment, "This is not something I can decide alone. I need to communicate with Universal Studios." He stood up, "Let's leave it at that for today."

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