HWI 31

[Shout out to Alexis L. and Matthew!]

Hollywood What If Chapter 31

Hollywood. The center of the film industry in the USA. The place many actors yearn for. Even foreign actors were willing to die just to get a glimpse of their faces being filmed in Hollywood. 

This place has been called paradise and sin city at the same time. It brings hope and despair. 

"A place you don't want to leave in the hope of reaching your dream."

Kazir muttered. 

He looked at the managers from Hollywood distribution companies attending the small screening. 

He sighed, knowing that his first hurdle was over. The fact that even the infamous Harvey Weinstein attended the screening and congratulated him personally was enough to satisfy his vanity. 

He could feel it, he was getting closer to his dream. 

But he knew very well that this was just the beginning. He still had something to do. That was to sell his movie to one of these companies. 

In Kazir's opinion, movies should be enjoyed. At the same time, the purpose of making a movie was to make money. It shouldn't be a free ticket, otherwise, his hard work as a director was useless. 

'The best offer will have Napoleon Dynamite in their movie library.' He smiled. 

"So what do you think?"

Nancy Utley asked her assistant. They had been invited to watch the screening after expressing their intention to buy the copyright of Napoleon Dynamite. Tom Rothman had sent her here specifically. 

She thought Napoleon Dynamite had a lot of good points. But she also had to listen to the opinions of others. They were running a business, and every step had to be scrutinized. 

"If you ask me, this movie has potential. At least with a budget of 500 thousand dollars, this movie will easily make a profit in theaters... As long as we bought it cheap. But," the assistant looked at the distribution managers around him. 

They were all thinking the same thing, they want this movie. 

"Everybody, if you're interested. We can have coffee later." 

Salvatore, Kazir's agent, suggested and they nodded with clear intention. 

Minutes passed and the first shot was taken. After the screening, the man contacted Kazir and Salvatore. 

It was a manager from New Line Cinema. 

"Clent, your offer is sincere and I can see that New Line Cinema wants to work with me again. Give me some time to think about it." Kazir said respectfully. 

"I hope to hear good news from you, Mr. Grey."

After the success of Se7en, the people at New Line Cinema began to respect Kazir. 

The two shook hands. 

"What do you think?" 

As his agent, Salvatore listened to their entire conversation, but he didn't join in. He respected Kazir's decision. He just hoped he would choose the best offer. 

"You heard it yourself. New Line Cinema wants to buy out the entire copyright and worldwide distribution of Napoleon Dynamite for $2.3 million. That's not bad, but that's just the beginning. We can say that $2.3 million is the starting point."

Salvatore nodded in agreement. 

"Worldwide distribution? They are pretty confident, aren't they?" 

Even Salvatore felt like New Line Cinema was belittling the movie. 

"To be precise, they are too damn arrogant." Kazir muttered after the manager left. 

The film had a production cost of 500 thousand dollars. But in just a few months it could be sold for $2.3 million. That was a huge increase. 

Have you ever seen a $500,000 investment turn into $2 million so quickly? Probably not. Even in the stock market and cryptocurrency, that rarely happens. 

In a way, making a movie is a great investment. 

As long as the movie is profitable. 

The first day passed. Kazir and Salvatore were contacted by four companies interested in the movie.

They were sitting at the bar, a high-end bar to be exact. The peaceful jazz music in the background soothe them.

"New Line Cinema wants to buy the overall copyrights for $2.3 million."

"Universal Pictures, $2.5 million for North American distribution."

"Miramax, $1.5 million. But they promise a 5% revenue cut of the North American box office."

Note that the box office was different from the revenue. The revenue was much less. 

"As for Fox Searchlight Pictures, they also want to buy it for $2.5 million."

To be honest, the first day was better than they expected. At least four companies showed interest in the film. 

"So their bottom line is probably around $3 million. They are just testing the waters."

Salvatore next to him swallowed a glass of tequila after listing each company's offer. 

It was a clear fact that these companies were profit-driven. They want to buy the movie as cheaply as possible. 

'What? Do you think a $2.5 million deal for North American distribution is too small for Napoleon Dynamite?'

Napoleon Dynamite only cost $500,000 to make, and it didn't have any strong actors in the cast. No sane company would buy it for 5 to 10 million, that's not how business works. This is not a fairy tale. 

"At least they will buy it for cash upfront. So how much do you want to sell it for?" Salvatore was curious to hear Kazir's thoughts.

"$3 million plus 10% box office."

"Pfft--! Are you crazy!?"

Salvatore almost threw up his drink. 

"$3 million might be acceptable, but 10% box office is an impossible task."

"I know." Kazir shrugged. He had just said his best offer. 

"But let's not forget that I have Se7en under my belt. There might be someone who agrees with me."

"Maybe. If you really want a box office share, why not go for Miramax? Their conditions met yours even though it's only revenue cut. Harvey Weinstein personally offered an amount, the founder of Miramax. That means he takes you seriously."

"Indeed..."

Kazir could not say that Harvey Weinstein had a very bad reputation in his past life. Kazir was not sure he could trust Harvey Weinstein. 

'I heard that he likes to cheat foreign directors. I'm not a foreigner, so it's hard to cheat a man like me who's in Hollywood.'

Kazir was confident in his film. He knew it would do well at the box office. But he wanted to get a much better deal than the 5% revenue cut Miramax was offering. 

Anyway, it was only the first day. Maybe he could wait for the next day and hope someone would make a better offer.

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