Chapter 158: Sudden Difficulties

As both the director and the screenwriter, Murphy naturally had two sources of income. However, with the film's total investment capped at $8 million, his salary could not be exceedingly high. To avoid excessive investment, Miramax decided to pay him only his base salary initially: $900,000 for directing and significantly less for screenwriting, just $100,000.

This arrangement was in line with market norms, as Miramax included part of Murphy's compensation in the North American box office revenue share to mitigate risk.

According to the director's contract, if the film's North American box office exceeded $10 million, Murphy would automatically receive a $100,000 bonus, equivalent to one percent of the North American box office revenue.

Similar to the contract James Wan signed with Lionsgate for "Saw," this was a tiered reward agreement. For every additional $10 million in North American box office revenue, Murphy's bonus would increase by one percent. Therefore, if the box office reached $20 million, he would receive a two percent commission as a reward.

However, the contract included a clause capping the maximum reward at five percent of the North American box office revenue.

In Hollywood, to mitigate the risk of high initial investments and to motivate creative talents, many companies adopt this strategy. It effectively binds the director closely with the project's financial success.

For his role as a screenwriter, besides the Writers Guild of America's mandated small percentage of royalties, there were no similar contractual clauses.

In Hollywood, the number of screenwriters who can negotiate a real profit-sharing deal with production companies is minimal.

For independent projects like this, it's one thing, but for major Hollywood productions, which are typically the result of a team of writers, innovation and risk are almost synonymous, and mainstream commercial blockbusters rarely employ so-called genius creativity.

The producers of the project were Harvey and Bob Weinstein, but Erica Steinberg was in charge of the day-to-day production work, forming the film's production team.

Additionally, since Miramax was only investing about $2 million directly, with the majority of the production funds coming from financing or pre-sales, the project brought in an insurance company as a completion guarantor. This served as a security measure for the investors willing to finance the film.

Miramax insured the project through this company, which would be responsible for compensating or finding a new team to complete the project if it couldn't be finished on time.

Completion guarantees have been a standard practice in Hollywood film production since the early 1950s and are now a mature global operation.

Their primary purpose is to ensure a film or television production can be completed on time and within budget and then delivered to the distributor. As a "completion guarantor," the organization must be thoroughly familiar with the film production process and capable of assessing various aspects, such as script quality, fundraising, the capabilities and qualities of the film's creators, the producer's management abilities, and the potential distribution earnings. They monitor the film's production process and supervise the financial situation.

On many Hollywood movie sets, it's common to see non-production team members consulting budget sheets, schedules, and production lists, discussing cost-saving measures or urging to speed up the day's progress. These are representatives from the completion guarantee company overseeing the budget and progress.

Similarly, insurance companies also send representatives to the set, which can limit directors like Murphy to some extent. However, this is not a restriction targeted at any specific director but a mature system in Hollywood. Even top directors like Steven Spielberg and James Cameron work under this system.

A completion guarantee does not ensure a film's profitability but guarantees that it can be completed within budget.

Dealing with investments from financial institutions and private equity can be complicated, but these matters are handled by Miramax, so Murphy didn't need to get involved.

His responsibility was to the production crew.

With Murphy signing the director's contract, CAA also finalized contracts for other personnel. Seth Rogen, James Franco, Jonah Hill, and Carey Mulligan, all part of Murphy's team, were set to play significant roles. Robert Downey Jr. presented some challenges due to his relatively high salary and Harvey Weinstein's concerns about his drug addiction.

However, after Robert Downey Jr. switched to CAA and through negotiations facilitated by Murphy and Bill Rosesis, Weinstein eventually agreed.

In contrast, a very strict contract was drawn up for Robert Downey Jr. He would only receive a fifth of his salary before the film's completion, another fifth afterwards, and the remaining three-fifths after the film's North American release.

The contract included a clause stating that if Robert Downey Jr. was involved in a drug scandal during this period, he would automatically forfeit the remainder of his salary.

Although Murphy observed that Robert Downey Jr. seemed to have overcome his addiction, such a restrictive contract was beneficial and harmless to the project.

The crew members were mostly individuals who had previously worked with Murphy.

The assistant director and casting director were Paul Wilson, the director of photography was Phil Rache, the art director was Helena Espola, the gaffer was David Roby, the makeup artist was Jack Watson, and so on. They all signed contracts with the production.

However, the prop master was no longer Beck Clebert, who was not a CAA client. Bill Rosesis recommended Jedediah Hutson, a middle-aged man with more experience and skill than Beck Clebert.

The editor was also not Jody Griffith. Although Murphy would be involved in post-production and editing, he did not have final cut rights. The editor would come from Miramax.

In Hollywood, only a handful of directors have final cut rights, not even directors of the caliber of Ridley Scott, David Fincher, or Quentin Tarantino.

Thanks to CAA's operations, the process seemed quite smooth, but there were always unforeseen difficulties.

In a Miramax office in Burbank, Murphy, Bill Rosesis, and Harvey Weinstein frowned. They were the project's most important figures, and Erica Steinberg, who was in charge of various production aspects, had just delivered bad news from San Fernando Valley.

"Eight hundred thousand dollars in salary!"

This figure was well beyond Murphy's expectations. "Have they lost their minds? How much could she earn for a porn film?"

"Remember, Jenna Jameson just switched her agency," Bill Rosesis said grimly, "William Morris signed her to a contract, aiming to position her at the top of that industry."

Harvey Weinstein silently tapped the armrest of his chair.

Murphy nodded, understanding from the information provided by Erica Steinberg. It was clear that someone had analyzed their true intentions in inviting Jenna Jameson to participate.

Neither Murphy and CAA nor Miramax intended to integrate Jenna Jameson into Hollywood; they merely wanted to leverage her identity and fame to generate buzz.

Perhaps Jenna Jameson harbored illusions before, but once someone pointed out her actual position and value, she naturally demanded a high salary.

Murphy hadn't anticipated this. He assumed that an invitation would make those stars from San Fernando Valley eager to join. While things initially seemed to go as expected, once they recognized their value, they wouldn't easily allow themselves to be exploited.

Like Jenna Jameson, her new agent demanded a million dollars, and after negotiations, they wouldn't budge from eight hundred thousand dollars.

According to the agent, cooperation would benefit both parties, but Jenna Jameson wouldn't lose anything if it didn't happen. She couldn't possibly enter Hollywood or change her current status.

The negotiations were at a standstill.

"Murphy, what do you think?" Although Harvey Weinstein was the real decision-maker, he was a savvy operator who valued proper procedures, "About the lead actress."

Often, good ideas face implementation challenges, and this situation had veered off Murphy's planned course. Without hesitation, he said, "If they won't budge on the salary, let's find someone else."

The demanded salary was double his estimate. Even if they could negotiate it down, it would exceed the budget, inevitably reducing other expenses.

Bill Rosesis agreed, not wanting a client from William Morris as the lead actress in a project he was managing.

Harvey Weinstein appeared magnanimous, "Murphy, you're the director. The decision on the lead actress should primarily be yours."

Knowing that things don't always go smoothly, Murphy quickly abandoned the initial plan. After some thought, he suggested, "Let's hold auditions. Finding a suitable actress shouldn't be too difficult."

"I think that's a good idea," Bill Rosesis concurred.

Harvey Weinstein nodded, "Then let's organize auditions. Murphy, you'll be in charge."

"No problem," Murphy knew his opinion as director would influence the final choice, but ultimately, Miramax, as the production company, would make the final decision.

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