Chapter 21: Final Destination

There were only two people left in the office.

Ronan looked at James Wong curiously, wondering what this guy was going to say.

Not satisfied with the pay?

If you want to increase the salary, he must have gone through his agent, right?

$300,000 is already the highest price he can offer,

or is it because James Wong participated in the crew of "X-Files"?

The real budget of the "Human Removal Project" is only 1.8 million US dollars,

which includes various expenses of Sand Sea Entertainment and himself.

"Is there anything we need to talk about alone?" Ronan asked directly.

Does James Wong have any thoughts about his handsome body?

If someone wants to engage in the unspoken rules it should be the producer who plays the main role in it

Not the other way around.

Since he is probably from the East, James Wong's answer was a bit roundabout.

"Mr.Anderson, I am very interested in your project."

Then he said,

"Horror and thriller are the types I am best at.

I don't know if you have watched the TV series I directed.

I am best at rendering horror and creating a thriller atmosphere. "

Ronan nodded slightly, "That's right, I have noticed that"

If this was not the case, he would not have reached an oral agreement with Edward on the salary first.

James Wong thought of the script he had made with Glenn Morgan, and he felt that a cat was crawling in his heart,

If he didn't try it, he would regret it

Opportunities were not given easily, they should be taken

Even if the other party disagrees, it will not affect the project being discussed too much, right?

Just now, he heard very clearly that Sand Sea Entertainment has won financial support from the Arabs, and those oil gangs are generally rich tyrants.

James Wong thought for a while, and said, "Um...I used to be a screenwriter, and I joined my friend Glen Morgan to write scripts,

Umm...He is also a screenwriter..."

Ronan smiled, "James, we hit it off right away, don't be polite, let's just say something."

"I wrote a script with Glenn, a horror script."

James Wong opened his briefcase and took out a script,

"When the two of us were working on the "X-Files" crew,

we had an idea and we wrote an outline, the script has only been completed in the last six months."

He put the script on Ronan's desk, "Can you take time to read it?"

Ronan frowned slightly, roughly guessing what James Wong meant.

James Wong saw that Ronan hadn't moved the script, and continued,

"This is a new type of horror film, different from the traditional American plasma horror films and ghost horror films.

Mr.Anderson, I promise, this will be a new type of horror film.

A creepy movie that will scare the audience!"

"You want me to invest in your project?" Ronan asked directly.

This was very obvious.

There are too many directors in Hollywood looking for investment everywhere, and very few can get investment in the end.

"Yes." James Wong stopped walking in circles,

"I also want to direct this script."

Ronan lightly nodded, opened the script, read a few pages, and couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.

It is interesting, really interesting.

He asked while reading,

"James if I don't invest in your project, do you want to reject the "Human Removal Project"?"

"This..." James Huang hesitated for a while, and said,

"At least it won't be my first choice."

He simply added his weight,

"Dimension Pictures invited me to direct the spoof of "Scream".

They refused my request, and I did not agree to the invitation of Dimension Pictures for the time being.

An executive from New Line Films felt that my script was creative and wanted to buy out the copyright, but refused to let me direct it.

So Glenn and I rejected him."

Ronan is not stupid at all.

He can understand the meaning behind these words.

James Wong is saying that he does not lack director invitations, and this script also has the company's attention.

This script...well, how can I put it? It's really interesting.

James Wong seems to be a little bit paranoid and a little worried.

In general, if a new director gets an opportunity to direct a movie, he would rarely raise any excessive conditions.

But what about this one? He tied himself to another project.

Ronan remained quiet,

A lot of thoughts flashed in his head, and then he observed him quietly,

James Wong was indeed a bit anxious.

He guessed that this director had hit a wall before.

If a Director who doesn't have any film resume wants to direct their own scripts.

It would be very difficult to get an investment.

Not everyone can be as lucky as James Cameron who met Anne Hurd.

Besides, James Cameron already had a film director's resume before directing "Terminator."

James Wong is also observing Ronan.

It's not that no companies are seeking to buy scripts.

The New Line films mentioned earlier were not fake,

But he knows very well that the companies seeking to buy scripts would neither have the intention of inviting him to be a producer nor will they let him direct it.

Most likely,

The script written by him and Glenn Morgan will enter the huge script library of the film companies like many other scripts, and then it may become a movie in unknown years.

This time may be three to ten years, or it may be longer or it may never happen.

In the 1980s, he once had a movie script acquired by Fox, but the movie has not yet been produced.

If he had known about this result before, he wouldn't have sold the copyright of that script at all.

For Film companies, the script buyout fee is not worth mentioning at all.

But he is already forty years old and doesn't want to wait any longer.

Ronan read the first quarter of the script and just began to glance at the lines.

His mind was no longer on the script but was considering how to use this script to gain benefits.

There are roughly two parts of interest, short-term interests, and long-term interests.

The former is James Wong and the "Human Removal Project".

From a comprehensive point of view, James Wong is very suitable for this position.

The latter is of course the script in his hands.

This is a very famous project.

After Ronan read the first few pages of the script, he finally remembered who James Wong was.

If this guy had reported his Chinese name instead of his English name, he would have remembered him earlier

'Huang Zhan'

This name was not unfamiliar to Chinese filmmakers.

A director who started with horror films and became famous in that genre is more suitable for the "Human Removal Project".

He may not be the best, but after interviewing so many candidates, James Wong is the best choice for now.

Ronan closed the script, resisted the urge to buy out the copyright immediately, and said faintly,

"This is not a traditional American horror movie.

Hollywood has a very good saying, Don't try unfamiliar things lightly."

"But only proper innovation can bring fresh excitement to the audience." James Wong retorted,

"Plasma movies need a certain innovation."

Ronan slowly held his chin and said,

"A group of students escaped an air crash due to an unexpected incident and were hunted and killed by Death one by one.

How do I put it?" He frowned and continued,

"The horror core of this film is somewhat similar to Eastern culture. "

James Wong was a little surprised and asked, "Do you also understand Eastern culture?"

"I studied Chinese for a while when I was studying at the USC Film School."

Ronan shook the script in his hand, "Well, there is a saying in the ancient East..."

He put on a reminiscence and said,

"If Death wants you to die, then you have to die?"

James Wong echoed, "Yes! Death has no suspense in this story,

because the protagonists are all doomed from the beginning and must die at the end.

The core entertainment value of this story lies in the process of death, not the result."

Ronan shook his head,

"It is a bit risky to use the core of an Eastern-style fantasy to create a Hollywood horror film."

James Wong also knew that his script may seem very creative to him,

but there are too many creative scripts in the industry, and most of them were ignored.

Besides, he was more ambitious and wanted to direct himself.

"James, you should be very clear that this film does not conform to the consistent aesthetics of North American horror film audiences."

Ronan is not just talking nonsense.

The genre with the best overall commercial performance in Hollywood horror films is the massacre-type plasma films,

"I think your script is interesting, but I am a businessman and I need to be responsible to investors."

James Wong knows this of course,

Otherwise, he would not have run into a wall everywhere.

"Hey..." He sighed in his heart.

Is it time to put down this script and direct other movies first, and then talk about it later?

Just when James Wong's face was full of disappointment,

Ronan's voice came over at the time,

"I...may consider investing in your project."

He seemed to have made up his mind and said,

"But I want a reason to convince the investors."

James Wong who had no hope anymore,

At this time, his hopeful eyes looked straight at Ronan.

Ronan frowned and continued,

"My money comes from Arabia,

The Arab oil tycoons are very rich, but they value money very seriously and are very stubborn.

If the conditions are not good enough, it is difficult to get them to pay"

"Is there anything I can do?" James Wong asked quickly.

"Your project can't be done if the investment is low." Ronan seemed to have thought through it carefully,

"The production investment must be high, so I must reduce other expenses, such as copyright buyout fees."

James Wong was silent for a while, seeming to be weighing the pros and cons, and finally gritted his teeth and answered,

"This is not an issue. The lower limit price set by the Screenwriters Union can be used as the transfer fee,

But I must be the director!

My director's remuneration can also be discussed accordingly!"

In his eyes, this is not a big deal.

For James Cameron to direct "Terminator", the transfer fee of the script was only $1.

Ronan continued to stretch out his hands to make profits, "I want the full copyright buyout."

"No problem",

James Wong's goal is to be the director, and the rest is easy to talk about.

Ronan still looked embarrassed, but he was excited in his heart.

The full copyright naturally includes peripherals and sequels.

As long as the first part can be as successful as the previous life, then he can follow this routine and make a lot of sequels.

"My money is very tight right now."

He is a businessman, and of course, he must continue to strive for more benefits,

"Your project will have to wait for the "Human Removal Project" to be released at the earliest"

James Huang nodded, "No problem."

"I need you to start the preparations of the "Human Removal Project" as soon as possible."

Ronan knows his ability, but at the current stage, he is not professional enough to be a film producer under a Hollywood model

"You also need to develop a detailed shooting plan for Sand Sea Entertainment to follow."

James Huang continued to nod his head.

Ronan's voice is slightly lowered, "There may be some questions about this project,

You only need to do a good job of directing it and don't bother about other aspects.

"I understand." James Huang is not a newcomer in Hollywood.