Chapter 136: Choosing the Next Film

The executives couldn't help but cheer. When the company made money, their bonuses and profit-sharing increased, and they didn't have to worry about performance pressure. They were all in the same industry, and they knew the current work status at Warner Bros.

The feeling of no performance pressure and doing their work diligently every day was desirable. And receiving maximum bonuses was the icing on the cake.

Twentieth Century Fox had a decent performance last year with "The True Lies" directed by James Cameron. However, this year, their hopes were shattered due to the collision with "The Dark Knight," the Batman movie.

As a result, the box office results were not as expected. Although the film was still playing in other English-speaking regions, the box office was affected by the Batman movie as well. According to the team's estimation, it would probably reach a maximum of $50 million in the international box office.

In other words, the global box office of "Brave Heart" would likely end up at around $150 million. Considering the production cost of $75 million, it was a confirmed loss on paper.

To recover costs and make a profit, they would have to rely on DVD sales. Fox had already prepared to promote "Brave Heart" for awards, preferably aiming for the Oscars. This would greatly contribute to its DVD sales.

Otherwise, Fox had nothing impressive to offer this year. That was why they were so excited about Steve Kevin's arrival.

Behind Fox was its parent company, which focused on KPIs (Key Performance Indicators). If Fox's performance was poor, it would undoubtedly result in reduced bonuses and performance evaluations. In this era, American capitalism was more demanding than the future mainland.

"However..."

"There's a condition from Steve Kevin, and that's why I called this meeting," Marvin Davis calmly sat at the front of the conference room and continued after they had expressed their excitement.

As soon as Davis spoke, everyone fell silent.

All eyes turned to him. Davis continued:

"He wants us to sell him the film rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four, which we acquired last year from Miracle Films."

"I would like to hear your opinions on whether we should sell the film rights of these two comic book franchises to Steve Kevin," Davis concluded and fell silent, waiting for the executives to express their thoughts.

In reality, Marvin Davis himself was inclined to reach this collaboration. They had acquired the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four for only a few million dollars. The reason they bought these rights was simply because the X-Men animated series had good TV ratings, which prompted them to secure the rights for future use.

At that time, they didn't have plans for adaptations. Otherwise, the X-Men wouldn't have made it to the big screen until 2000, and Fantastic Four wasn't released until 2005. Moreover, Marvel took drastic measures by turning the entire Fantastic Four team into villains in the comics, nearly rendering the franchise obsolete.

As a result, Fox had to compromise and agree to share the rights with Marvel later on, while Sony also faced similar circumstances.

In the end, the Fox of that time didn't fully grasp the power of these two intellectual properties; they merely saw them as moderately known subjects, much like novel adaptations.

"Just give it to him. As long as we can secure a larger share in his new movies," one executive suggested.

"Or better yet, we can use those two rights he wants and have him work for a percentage of the profits," another chimed in.

"You fool! If he only works for a percentage, would you dare let him direct? We should use the rights as leverage to ensure he directs. Aren't you afraid he'll go on a spree?" someone countered.

"Only when he invests his own money will he be more committed. Otherwise, he'll just shoot whatever he wants, and Fox can't afford that kind of loss," another executive added.

The discussion continued as the executives exchanged their opinions

All eyes turned to him. Davis continued:

"He wants us to sell him the film rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four, which we acquired last year from Miracle Films."

"I would like to hear your opinions on whether we should sell the film rights of these two comic book franchises to Steve Kevin," Davis concluded and fell silent, waiting for the executives to express their thoughts.

In reality, Marvin Davis himself was inclined to reach this collaboration. They had acquired the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four for only a few million dollars. The reason they bought these rights was simply because the X-Men animated series had good TV ratings, which prompted them to secure the rights for future use.

At that time, they didn't have plans for adaptations. Otherwise, the X-Men wouldn't have made it to the big screen until 2000, and Fantastic Four wasn't released until 2005. Moreover, Marvel took drastic measures by turning the entire Fantastic Four team into villains in the comics, nearly rendering the franchise obsolete.

As a result, Fox had to compromise and agree to share the rights with Marvel later on, while Sony also faced similar circumstances.

In the end, the Fox of that time didn't fully grasp the power of these two intellectual properties; they merely saw them as moderately known subjects, much like novel adaptations.

"Just give it to him. As long as we can secure a larger share in his new movies," one executive suggested.

"Or better yet, we can use those two rights he wants and have him work for a percentage of the profits," another chimed in.

"You fool! If he only works for a percentage, would you dare let him direct? We should use the rights as leverage to ensure he directs. Aren't you afraid he'll go on a spree?" someone countered.

"Only when he invests his own money will he be more committed. Otherwise, he'll just shoot whatever he wants, and Fox can't afford that kind of loss," another executive added.

The discussion continued as the executives exchanged their opinions.

Among the executives, there was a proposal to use the desired rights as a condition for Kevin to only receive a percentage of the profits for directing the films.

As soon as this proposal was made, it was immediately rejected by others.

Directing a film is a subjective matter, and if someone gets seriously offended, they might risk their reputation and cause significant financial losses, amounting to billions.

It's better not to engage in such foolish acts of offending a director.

Some people were reluctant to give up the rights and believed that they should make the films themselves since Steve Kevin valued these rights so highly. They wanted to reject the collaboration with Steve Kevin.

Unfortunately, other senior executives immediately halted those thoughts.

Looking at the chaotic meeting room, Marvin Davis finally tapped the table and said:

"Very well, let's vote by a show of hands!"

"Those in favor of selling the rights to Steve Kevin, raise your hands!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Marvin Davis was the first to raise his hand.

At the same time, among the eight executives present, six of them raised their hands.

With a decisive ratio of seven to two, the meeting approved the condition of selling the rights to Kevin and collaborating with him.

...

It was 3 o'clock in the afternoon.

Kevin had a good nap in the office at Fox and woke up at three o'clock.

The female secretary had thoughtfully covered him with a blanket.

Only guests of Kevin's caliber could enjoy such service.

On the table in front of him, there were several varieties of snacks. Kevin curiously took a bite of one of them.

However, he soon frowned and reached for a glass of water.

The food was fine, just too sweet.

Perhaps it was due to his background, Kevin couldn't tolerate overly sugary foods.

The Americans, due to their genetic makeup, had a high tolerance for sweetness.

They also had a strong sweet tooth, which explained why many Americans struggled with obesity, weighing hundreds of pounds.

But for Kevin, influenced by his past life, he couldn't handle such high-sugar foods.

…

The door was pushed open, and Marvin Davis walked in, conveying Fox's decision to Kevin.

"Director Kevin, after discussions, we agree to your request."

"As long as we reach a collaboration, we can sell the film rights for X-Men and Fantastic Four to you at the price we purchased them."

Kevin, who was slowly savoring the sweet snack, swallowed it in one bite.

A sense of joy surged within him.

With this, all the Marvel rights were back in Marvel's hands.

His grand plan for Marvel was about to begin.

But before that, he had to present a film plan to Fox to make this exchange possible.

As for which film...

Kevin suddenly thought of a very suitable movie.

Especially one that would fulfill his agreement with Nicolas Cage.

It seemed that Ghost Rider would have to be postponed.

"Happy cooperation, President Davis!"

Kevin replied with a smile.

After reaching an agreement on this matter, the two began to have in-depth discussions regarding investment shares.

Eventually, they agreed on a 50-50 investment ratio, with both parties sharing the rights equally.

As a concession on Kevin's part regarding the rights, Fox would be responsible for managing the rights while Kevin could appoint a finance team for supervision.

He could also use the salaries of writers, directors, and producers to cover a portion of the investment amount.

Achieve the maximum impact with minimal cash.

Of course, these were just the rough plans, and there would be professional teams to negotiate every detail of the contract.

In order to reach a consensus...