Chapter 68: Murphy's Vulnerability

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Childish, naive, lacking social experience...

These labels were inevitably thrown onto Murphy by Jones-Butler.

Bill Ross was even more surprised, remembering Murphy as mature and rational, with far more social experience than his peers. How could he say something so unrealistic?

With his hands crossed on the conference table, Murphy returned to reality completely. "I agree to your conditions."

Without a suitable distribution channel, the film had no value, and he couldn't recoup his investment.

Jones-Butler smirked, saying directly, "That's a wise decision."

She tossed the pen onto the notebook in front of her and raised one hand to Murphy, showing four fingers. "Four hundred thousand dollars. If you agree, we can sign the formal agreement tomorrow."

Four hundred thousand dollars? Only a hundred thousand more than his investment? Murphy wouldn't agree to that.

The thirty thousand dollars was just the production cost of the film. He and Paul Wilson needed money for the flight, expenses for the film festival, printing copies, and even renting this conference room—all of which had to be included in the total cost. If everything was added up, the total cost of "Hard Candy" had already exceeded three hundred and ten thousand dollars.

Murphy was thankful more than once that he hadn't invested all his funds. Otherwise, he might not even have been able to afford to attend the Sundance Film Festival, let alone prepare for it.

Looking at Jones-Butler, Murphy didn't hide his feelings. "That is not possible. Your offer is too low."

Jones-Butler's offer was just a probe. She made a gesture of invitation. "Director Stanton, what price do you think is reasonable?"

With a modest smile, Murphy tapped his left knuckles with his right index finger. "Three million dollars!"

"What?" The bespectacled man on Jones' left exclaimed in astonishment. "This isn't negotiation; it's extortion!"

Murphy shrugged, a far cry from his naive ideas earlier. "Miss Butler asked me to suggest a reasonable number, and I believe three million dollars is appropriate."

Jones-Butler frowned at Murphy, feeling like he was different from before.

"I need a sincere price!" she interjected.

Murphy spread his hands. "Miss Butler, I also need a sincere price."

Asking for a high price and offering little in return was a common negotiation tactic.

Six hundred thousand dollars wasn't Jones-Butler's bottom line. She intentionally waited for a moment before slowly saying, "Five hundred thousand dollars!"

In fact, after watching the screening, she had made a certain estimate herself. This film had a limited audience. Even the most optimistic estimate put the North American box office at the million-dollar level. Ultimately, MiraMax would receive even less.

But MiraMax was a top distributor in the independent film industry. Its films were not known for their box office success, not even those by Quentin Tarantino, their flagship director.

Video tape and other rights revenue were where MiraMax made its profit.

"I don't sense your sincerity," Murphy shook his head, taking the initiative. "This price is unacceptable to me."

Was this the same naive guy from earlier? Jones-Butler felt like she couldn't understand him anymore. He seemed to want to take control of the negotiation from her.

Backed by MiraMax and facing a new director, Jones-Butler couldn't be suppressed.

Her tone became firm. "MiraMax doesn't lack such a small project. But Director Stanton, without MiraMax, your film may remain stuck forever. Do you want to see your work never meet the audience? Do you want to see your investment remain unrecovered and eventually turn into waste paper?"

This struck at Murphy's vulnerability. In the end, he needed a distribution company, but the distribution company might not need him.

"Two million dollars!" Murphy remained calm, seemingly ignoring Jones-Butler's words.

"Six hundred thousand dollars!" Jones-Butler made an appropriate concession. "It's twice your cost!"

Murphy shook his head. "Let's do this. I'll show my utmost sincerity. My bottom line is one point five million dollars..."

Jones-Butler shook her head again. "I can only apologize."

Six hundred thousand dollars was the highest amount she could offer autonomously.

She stood up, closed her notebook, and slowly put away her pen, as if preparing to leave.

Murphy sat calmly, neither speaking nor trying to stop her, nor indicating any intention to persuade Jones-Butler to stay.

"What are you thinking?" Bill Ross leaned in, lowering his voice. "Six hundred thousand dollars is already a lot!"

According to their agreement, if Stanton Studios ultimately reached an agreement with the company he introduced, he would receive a five percent commission.

Thirty thousand dollars was definitely a significant sum for him.

Murphy stood up slowly, reaching out his

hand to the other side. "Unfortunately, we cannot reach an agreement."

Jones-Butler took back her notebook, shook Murphy's hand, and said, "Your asking price is too high."

With that, she shook her head again, feeling somewhat regretful that the deal couldn't be reached.

"If you could consider my price..."

A price higher than six hundred thousand dollars was beyond Jones-Butler's authority. This was just the initial negotiation, and she hadn't completely closed the door for further negotiations. "You can give me a call."

Murphy also didn't want to close this door. "I still hope to collaborate with MiraMax. Your company's presence is a boon to the independent film industry."

Jones-Butler glanced at Murphy again, feeling that she couldn't quite understand him anymore.

This was just the initial negotiation, and it was normal for negotiations to break down. Murphy and Jones-Butler didn't say much more and left the conference room one after the other.

Bill Ross was somewhat dissatisfied with the negotiation breakdown. Back in Murphy's room, he reminded him, "Your asking price is too high; MiraMax will never accept it."

Murphy shook his head. "Their offer is too low for me to accept."

"You need a distribution company!" Bill Ross reminded him solemnly. "This will scare them away."

"We can find other partners." Murphy took out a business card from his pocket. "We can invite someone from Fox Searchlight to come and see the film."

Bill Ross furrowed his brows.

Unaware, Murphy dialed the number on the business card with his phone.