Chapter 111: Undercurrent
Just a few minutes after the female assistant made a phone call, a middle-aged man in his thirties walked into the office and sat across from Milton Johnson. Milton gestured for the female assistant to leave and closed the door behind her.
"Any progress with the negotiations with Stanton Studios?" Milton Johnson asked directly.
"Not at the moment," Jamie Winston shook his head. "We've had a few phone conversations with Murphy Stanton, but his willingness to cooperate is low, and his demands are somewhat unreasonable."
A newcomer director, a company with only three formal employees, and yet they dared to demand so much from Lion's Gate Films? Did Murphy Stanton have the confidence and qualifications for such demands?
Jamie acknowledged that the film did have some selling points, but it couldn't hide the fact that it was a rough indie production. Pushing such a production into the theatrical market carried significant risks.
Milton drummed his fingers on the desk. "What about CAA?"
"I called Bill Rossi," Jamie Winston replied. "Those agents at CAA are just a bunch of greedy folks."
One side wanted to make hefty profits from the film, while the other wanted to keep costs low to maximize their gains. Without some concessions from both sides, a deal was impossible.
Negotiations often involved mutual compromise.
Milton understood this but wasn't prepared to compromise.
His finger tapping on the desk quickened. "Jamie, you've seen the film, and members of the script department have attended the screening. How long would it take for them to write a similar script?"
"Well... writing a script is relatively easy," Jamie Winston understood his meaning. "With team collaboration, two to three weeks should be enough."
What was there to say about such a script? The film's success depended more on its filming and production.
Milton calculated silently for a moment. In his slightly aged eyes, there was a glint of determination. "And what about filming and production?"
Jamie Winston pondered for a moment. "If it's produced by a mature team we often collaborate with, I believe it would take about a month and a half from preparation to production."
It was evident from involving members of the script department in the test screening that Milton Johnson was already planning or strategizing something.
He asked again, "What about the things I asked you to investigate?"
"After the release of 'Fruit Candy,' Murphy Stanton joined the Writers Guild, Directors Guild, and Cinematographers Guild."
Jamie Winston had already found out this information. " 'Saw' has been registered with the Writers Guild and Directors Guild; it's a guild-registered project."
The tapping speed on Milton Johnson's desk slowed down. "This could be troublesome."
As one grew older, one's thoughts tended to be more conservative. Although this contingency plan was initially proposed by Milton Johnson, Jamie Winston seemed more radical.
"It could indeed bring some trouble," he nodded, then added, "Stanton Studios is just a small company at the bottom of Hollywood. Besides his relationship with CAA, Murphy Stanton, this director, only has close ties with a few unknown actors, and there's no noteworthy network. Even if the guilds come after us, it's just routine..."
Raising his voice slightly, he continued, "And we can't just replicate his film. Hollywood's mainstream commercial films often collide in terms of themes and content. What more for a plasma horror film with a completely standardized production model?"
Lionsgate Films would be foolish to copy their film. Based on that film, they could produce something even better.
This kind of excellence had another advantage. If they could premiere first, the other film would seem like a poor imitation.
Milton Johnson nodded slightly, and the speed of tapping on his desk increased again. "I'll bring up this project at the senior management meeting. If we can't get 'Saw,' we'll quickly move into the project proposal stage and have the script department prepare a synopsis."
Jamie Winston acknowledged and stood up to leave. Milton Johnson reminded him, "Let the legal department know in advance."
If this project materialized, the opponent's biggest counterattack would undoubtedly be through legal means, which was something big companies like theirs cared least about. Apart from the countless Hollywood crash projects, the entanglements therein were hard to clarify. Even if the court accepted the case, Lionsgate Films could drag it out for a year or even two. Could a small company like Stanton Studios endure that?
They could even find someone randomly and sue Stanton Studios for plagiarism.
Such things were not uncommon in Hollywood. Just think about those who rushed to trouble James Cameron after the huge success of "Titanic"...
After Jamie Winston left, Milton Johnson continued to contemplate the matter. As an expert in horror film operations, he had high hopes for this project.
Unfortunately, the terms offered by Lionsgate were unacceptable to Murphy, and their demands were too high. Just because he held a film with some selling points, did he have the right to demand such a large sum? Without the right channels, the value of such a film would be zero.
Milton Johnson called the female assistant back in and instructed her to keep an eye on the project and inform him of any updates promptly for strategic adjustments.
Similarly, he hadn't completely given up on acquiring "Saw." The previous discussion was just a backup plan. If Stanton Studios continued to face setbacks in Hollywood, there might still be room for negotiation and cooperation between the two parties.
In the end, Milton Johnson never considered Stanton Studios qualified for equal cooperation with Lionsgate Films, whether as a production company or a distribution company. Both were commercial entities naturally pursuing profits, and as long as possible, they would want to maximize their profits.
There were more than just Lionsgate Films eyeing "Saw." Murphy hadn't found a single company willing to meet his expectations for the film's price, not even Miramax, which currently had the most favorable conditions. They were all calculating how to acquire this seemingly lucrative film at the lowest cost.
What concerned Harvey Weinstein the most was that some companies, disregarding tacit agreements, might offer excessively high terms.
"It's time to apply some pressure," he nodded gently.
Turning around, Harvey Weinstein looked at Jones Butler and said without emotion, "Go and have someone leak some information."
Jones Butler listened intently.
"Miramax is preparing a new project," Harvey Weinstein said calmly, fabricating this false project. "It's a gorr horror film with some suspense elements added. The script is already being written, and we're planning to invite either Robert Rodriguez or Quentin Tarantino to direct."
He thought for a moment and added, "Call Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino, have them accept media interviews soon, and mention this matter casually."
Hearing this, Jones Butler simply nodded, not surprised at all. Her boss's methods had always been clever; otherwise, he wouldn't have created a bloodbath like 'Shakespeare in Love' or propelled an actress of Gwyneth Paltrow's caliber to the Best Actress Oscar pedestal.
Although it might have been the most lackluster Oscar-winning performance in history, she was still a genuine winner, wasn't she?
"Go ahead," Harvey Weinstein waved his hand at Jones Butler.
Jones Butler left the office to execute these tasks. She knew perfectly well what scale to maintain for this operation—it couldn't be too big, but it had to reach Murphy Stanton's ears.
This kind of work posed no difficulty for her.
In any commercial activity, there were always visible and hidden undercurrents. Some things you could see, some you couldn't.
Like Murphy now, after the Fox Searchlight screening, he could tell that Tony Guzman and the two executives accompanying him were very interested in the film, but he couldn't guess the price they would offer for it.
These things needed negotiation to decide.
Fox Searchlight was the last company, and Murphy had prepared carefully for this. He even made a phone call to Kara Feis, who was studying in New York, to learn about the recent situation at the company through her connections.
This kind of work posed no difficulty for her.
In any commercial activity, there were always visible and hidden undercurrents. Some things you could see, some you couldn't.
Like Murphy now, after the Fox Searchlight screening, he could tell that Tony Guzman and the two executives accompanying him were very interested in the film, but he couldn't guess the price they would offer for it.
These things needed negotiation to decide.
Fox Searchlight was the last company, and Murphy had prepared carefully for this. He even made a phone call to Kara Fess, who was studying in New York, to learn about the recent situation at the company through her connections.