Chapter 71: American Pie Sequel

"Get up, answer the phone!" Nicole Kidman, lying in bed, pushed Arthur Smith beside her with her eyes closed.

Arthur opened his groggy eyes, looked at Nicole Kidman in his arms, sat up, and then lay back down, "This is your house!"

"Yeah," Nicole Kidman opened her eyes, instantly sat up, grabbed a nightgown beside her, wrapped it around herself, and went to answer the phone.

After a while, Nicole Kidman returned to the bed and lay on Arthur, "Still not getting up, it's already ten!"

Saying this, Nicole Kidman started to kiss Arthur while holding him. Embracing the beauty in his arms, Arthur responded for a while, "Is there something wrong?"

"No, the agent just informed me about next week's filming schedule," Nicole Kidman said, caressing Arthur's chest with her hand.

"Last night, I heard from you that Ghost is likely to be a big hit when it premieres?"

Arthur smiled while caressing Nicole Kidman, "If you had taken the lead role in Ghost, you would have become a top Hollywood actress like Meg Ryan by now!"

"Is it really that great?" Nicole Kidman couldn't help but frown slightly.

"Anyway, it will be released in less than half a month, then you'll know," Arthur said, patting Nicole Kidman on him, "Still not getting up?"

"Do you want to get up?"

Arthur flipped over and pressed on Nicole Kidman, "What do you think? Nicole, you really have a great figure, smooth and shiny!"

"Don't you need to check on The Silence of the Lambs crew? Why are you still in Los Angeles?" Nicole Kidman hugged Arthur's neck.

Arthur laughed, "If there's something, I'll go over. It's not necessary to stay on the set all the time. The director and the production manager are there; they can handle many things."

"Yeah," Nicole Kidman kissed Arthur's lips a few more times, "So, how did it feel last night? Wasn't it different?"

"It's a bit of a pity," Arthur said as he touched Nicole Kidman's cheek, "Such a beautiful woman, and she can't be mine!"

"You'll never be content. Compared to your ambition, my ambition is just like a swimming pool next to the Pacific Ocean," Nicole Kidman whispered in Arthur's ear.

"You hope all the good things belong to you, including women. If you meet another attractive woman next time, I don't think you'll remember me!"

Arthur shook his head, "No, I'm actually a good person, and ambition needs to match one's capabilities."

"You're a good person?" Nicole Kidman was amused by Arthur's words and teased, "I'm good friends with Winona. Look at what we're doing right now!"

Arthur sighed, "If pure Winona stays with you, there might not even be crumbs left of her!"

"I'm not that bold. Her boyfriend is a genius scriptwriter who can come up with a script just by drinking at a bar," Nicole Kidman shook her head. "I wouldn't dare bully her. Besides, I've been bullied by you all night now!"

Saying that, Nicole Kidman hugged Arthur's neck tightly and kissed him...

***

In the afternoon, Arthur left Nicole Kidman's house in Long Beach and went back to Galaxy Pictures.

After organizing the outline of the script for To Die For, he planned to have the company staff register it with the Writers Guild on Monday!

In the evening, Arthur returned to Northridge and received a call from his agent, Tracy Jacobs. "Universal is inviting me to continue brainstorming the script for American Pie sequel?"

"Yeah, after all, you wrote the first one!"

"Forget it, such scripts aren't difficult, I wouldn't waste my time on these trivial things," Arthur clearly lost interest in American Pie; otherwise, he wouldn't have sold the script!

"What about the script for Scream? Besides Miramax and New Line, Universal is also quite interested."

"Universal is interested?" Arthur thought for a moment, "I want to produce Scream myself. If they don't need to invest funds, can we negotiate a lower distribution commission?"

"No need for a distribution company to provide funds?" The voice of Tracy Jacobs on the phone paused, "Who wouldn't need the distribution company's funds? Or did you find an investor?"

"No, I'm funding it myself," Arthur responded seriously, "I'm planning to use freshman actors for Scream, making it a B-movie. I can raise three to five million dollars!"

"Arthur, where are you getting that much money? You have only about $1.2 million left," Tracy Jacobs was fully aware of Arthur's financial situation.

Arthur explained, "The distribution contract for The Silence of the Lambs can still secure a loan, you know that. After all, Orion and Columbia TriStar combined invested only $8.5 million for global distribution rights. With Jodie Foster starring in a $20 million budget film, the bank will do the math. Getting a loan of three to five million dollars wouldn't be an issue!"

Tracy Jacobs advised, "Can you not take such a big risk the first time? Investing several million dollars in a movie on your own could result in losing everything. Look at the films currently showing, how many of them are losing money.

Others ask distribution or investment companies for funds, there's no need to put up your own money. Even though you're good at writing scripts, and Sleepless in Seattle has given you some recognition in the industry, movies are a business of great coincidences!"

Arthur knew it was for his good, "I really have confidence, just tell me, if I fund the making of a film myself, with a budget between three to five million dollars, a teen horror-comedy film, can I find a distribution company that charges a lower commission to distribute it?"

Tracy Jacobs was silent for a while on the phone, "I'm not entirely sure, but for a horror movie of that investment level, it's considered decent. Plus, you have two successful films, attracting distribution companies shouldn't be difficult. However, the distribution company might want to buy the North American rights outright, at least for cinema screenings. Many independent filmmakers prefer to sell outright because it allows for quick capital recovery!"

Arthur quickly declined, "It's a three to five million dollar movie, not a thirty to fifty thousand dollar direct-to-video production. Why should I sell off the rights, and I'm not in a hurry to recover the money. The important thing is, I have confidence. Look how successful American Pie was, won't they be tempted?"

Tracy Jacobs sighed, "Right now, you just have a script, there's no director or a cast, not even a plan. You're still new, the distribution companies won't offer you great terms. Should we consider talking to Orion first since we've worked with them before?"

Arthur thought about it and reminded, "Orion's financial condition isn't great; I'm worried they'll face big problems in a year or two. Forget it, it seems Mr. Mike Medavoy is in New York, I'll try to talk to him. But as far as I think, Orion might charge around 17% for distribution commission without many perks!"

Orion charged a distribution commission of 15% for The Silence of the Lambs. Scream didn't have a star like Jodie Foster. Arthur figured 17% was achievable. The box office results of Sleeping with the Enemy at year's end would improve his leverage.

"Okay, but think it through; a few million dollars is not a small amount!"

*****

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