hollywood melon man

Chapter 31 Present and Future

Time passed slowly. At the end of November, the North American box office of "Shark Tank" exceeded US$4051.6 million, reaching a box office of US$ million.

The film's box office potential has been basically exhausted, but this result is enough to satisfy Universal Pictures and make director Gilbert Jr. attract the attention of the industry.

Little Gilbert later accepted an exclusive interview with Sarah, a reporter from the Los Angeles Business Journal, and shared some interesting stories about his growth process.

As well as his 'romance' with Gwyneth Paltrow, and the inside story of their breakup.

Of course, the above is all nonsense.

However, Gilbert Jr. revealed the news of his new film in an exclusive interview, which still attracted the attention of fans who started paying attention to him after "Shark Tank".

These days, communication and chatting through the Internet are not yet mature, and most of them are limited to face-to-face gathering discussions.

And the scale of such discussions is very small, making it difficult to form a wave of public opinion, and cannot be compared with the subsequent self-media era.

Moreover, in this era, directors tend to stay behind the scenes. Unless they are top directors, they do not receive the attention of the media and audiences.

Relatively speaking, because of Spielberg's care and Gwyneth Paltrow's scandal, little Gilbert has received a lot of attention.

But this kind of attention did not last long. As the popularity of "Shark Tank" gradually declined in North America, Little Gilbert also faded out of the public eye.

In fact, for the industry, Gilbert Jr.'s new work is still worthy of attention.

There was already one successful film, and there was no guarantee that Little Gilbert wouldn't succeed a second time.

This is not true. As the investor and distributor of "Shark Tank", Universal Pictures actively contacted Gilbert Jr., and Gilbert Jr. left the negotiation work to Sheena Boone.

"Our request is not excessive. Little Gilbert's salary for the director and screenwriter is one million US dollars, which is converted into the film's investment, and there is also a 10% box office share.

Director Gilbert Jr. also serves as the film's producer, and the final edit must be based on his opinions. "

Facing the senior executives of Universal Pictures, even Vice President Lew Vassell, Sheena Boone, a young former CAA agent, still talked freely without being nervous at all.

As early as "Shark Tank," Gilbert Jr. proved how good he was at editing.

Therefore, it is reasonable to ask for the right to lead the editing this time.

But what Universal Pictures cannot accept is the high salary and box office share.

"Ms. Boone, we at Universal Pictures are very optimistic about the "Death Comes" project, and we also know the ability of director Gilbert Jr.

However, the remuneration and share of the film are really too high, and it is difficult for us to agree with this, let alone convert the remuneration into investment. Vice President Lou Vasseur frowned.

"Gentlemen and ladies, please think about it. The North American box office of "Shark Tank" has exceeded 40 million.

As far as I know, the film is also doing well at the overseas box office, with more than 30 million US dollars in box office so far.

In addition, the film has successively landed in major markets around the world, and this is far from the end.

In other words, this means that "Shark Tank" is very likely to have a global box office of over 100 million, making it the first director's work in his career to exceed 100 million. You must be very clear about what this means. "

Sheena Boone was spitting in the Universal Pictures conference room, like a passionate speaker, loudly trying to make Universal realize the value of little Gilbert.

Facts have proved that this trick is very effective, and in the face of the hard facts, Universal Pictures executives have to take it seriously.

That's not to say that little Gilbert's past achievements were outstanding. After all, he only had one movie that was a hit. Who knows if it was a flash in the pan.

But the previous "Shark Beach", coupled with the script of "Death Comes Here" submitted this time, is enough for Universal Pictures to pay attention to the potential of little Gilbert.

Lou Vasseur said: "Miss Boone, of course we at Universal Pictures value cooperation with Director Gilbert Jr.

But when it comes to an investment of tens of millions of dollars, we must treat it with caution. " Sheena Boone withdrew her aggressive attitude and turned into a gentle voice in an instant: "Of course I know the operating rules of Universal Pictures.

I just hope everyone understands that Director Gilbert Jr. is looking forward to cooperating with Universal Pictures again. After all, the last cooperation was so pleasant. "

It's hard to say whether it was pleasant or unpleasant, but Sheena Boone showed good qualities as a professional agent.

When it's time to speak loudly and fight for benefits, you are as unceremonious as a fierce lioness. When it's time to lighten the mood and win favor, he can be as gentle as water, like a kitten in his arms.

In fact, the agent is a bridge between the cast and crew and the film company, used to communicate and negotiate without hurting the peace.

After all, if little Gilbert fought for himself in person, he would inevitably have arguments with film company executives like today.

If the conversation doesn't go well, everyone's face will look bad.

But with a broker as a middleman, conflicts between the two parties can be avoided.

Friendship is friendship, business is business.

Of course, the agent will inevitably take some commission.

According to the agent agreement between Gilbert Jr. and Sheena Boone, Sheena Boone can get a commission of 5 to 8% on every project.

This commission is already very low. You must know that CAA, ICM and other brokerage companies, because of the promotion of packaged services, the commission can even reach 10% to 15%.

The negotiation process was not smooth and the two sides had great differences.

However, this is only the initial contact. The key to negotiation is to ask the lion to open his mouth, put forward a few conditions that are difficult for the other party to accept, and then talk about the ideal conditions in his heart little by little.

When it was over, Lew Wasser and Levitt Gore, the director of distribution, returned to their offices.

"Levitt, do you think we should agree to Little Gilbert's conditions?" Lou Vasseur asked.

Levitt Gore did not answer Lew Vassell directly, but told some facts: "The script of "The Coming of Death" was unanimously approved by the review committee, and the marketing department estimated that the film's investment and profit index would be A grade."

He continued: "This script inherits the thrilling and horror style of "Shark Beach" to a certain extent, and the ideas are bolder.

The younger Gilbert proved he was adept at this type of filming. "

"In other words, the possibility of success again is very high?"

"That's right," Levitt Gore nodded and said: "As far as I know, Robert Iger of Touchstone Pictures has been in contact with Gilbert Jr., and both Warner and Paramount are very optimistic about him.

Although little Gilbert is young, he already has one film under his belt.

According to Hollywood's past experience, Gilbert Jr. is in a period of rapid rise. Directors in the rising period have great potential. You must be aware of this. "

"Yeah," Lou Vasseur sighed: "There's no guarantee that little Gilbert won't become another Spielberg in the future..."

Of course, the current little Gilbert cannot be compared with Spielberg, but he cannot stand up to his youth!
  Spielberg was twenty-nine when he made "Jaws", but what about little Gilbert? The New Year has not yet passed, and he is only twenty-one years old.

The profession of director has a very long life span, and little Gilbert will have no problem working until he is 70 or 80 years old.

I can’t even imagine what a career of fifty or sixty years can develop into.

But no matter what, even if little Gilbert has potential, it is still in the future.

There are many things in Hollywood where people become famous overnight and then disappear, so Universal Pictures will not agree to Little Gilbert's outrageous request.

(End of this chapter)