One Hundred and Ninety-One-Twenty+twenty

Agent Jimmy began to have frequent contact with Warner Bros. After each negotiation, he would almost report the progress to Wayne. With both parties interested in speeding up the progress, almost every negotiation would take a big step forward and reach some consensus. .

As time slowly advanced to mid-January, Wayne ended his short vacation, once again assembled his core team, two assistant directors and production managers, and plunged into the Warner Bros. post-production studio.

This is the third time editor Dawn Scott has collaborated with Wayne. Both parties are already very familiar with each other, especially Dawn Scott, who has a thorough understanding of the director's production style, so when working together There is no problem on it.

Compared with the editing of "Joker", the difficulty of this film is almost negligible for Dwayne Scott. After scanning the footage on the first day, he determined the editing work of "Joker", and the time should be five at the latest. It can be done months ago.

Because Zack Snyder participated in many scenes, he also began to have ideas for the post-production work this time. He also understood Wayne's intentions, and they also communicated countless times about the final effect of the film.

In this way, Zack Snyder would be watching the editing most of the time, giving Wayne more time. While watching the editing work every day, he began to record his thoughts about "Batman" one by one.

"The Return of the Clown" does not require repeated comparisons, which are extremely cumbersome shots that need to be chosen, and there are no special effects that can slow down the post-production work. This kind of editing work that is spliced ​​along the way can be said to be the best in Wayne's movies. The most mindless and simplest one.

But simplicity does not necessarily mean that the audience will not buy it. This film can be said to be one of the best North American horror films in Wayne's own opinion. Its popularity is unmatched by other films of the same type.

This is one of the few films in Wayne's memory that used genre themes to leverage the mass theater market.

He is not only concerned about the editing work of "The Return of the Clown", while preparing the idea for "Batman", he is also keeping abreast of the progress of negotiations between Jimmy and Warner Brothers.

In this way, it seems that Zack Snyder is a helper, but he is still very busy, and almost all the time is full of work plans.

"That's good news."

After the day's work, Wayne just got into the car. Nina handed him a bottle of water and looked at him and said: "Your personal accountant, Colin Howard, went to Warner Bros.'s financial department today to confirm that the other party has transferred "Joker" "The second box office share was credited to Greenberg Studio's account."

He shook his hand tiredly and asked, "Has everything been paid?"

"There may be some more in the future, but the bulk has already been received, and Warner Bros. has hardly withheld this part of the funds. As long as the theater company allocates it to them, they will pay your share as soon as possible. This efficiency... …”

Nina smiled and shook her head. This efficiency is very rare in Hollywood. Normally, if a production company can pay the remuneration within half a year after receiving the theater share, it is already very conscientious.

But Wayne and Warner Bros. are in the sweetest period of love. Not only is the new film "The Return of the Clown" currently in production, but the negotiations for "Batman" will be completed soon. Add up all the reasons, and you have this. This un-Hollywood payment speed.

"Just put the money in the studio. Maybe it will be used within a few months this year."

The North American box office of "Joker" was 350 million U.S. dollars, and Wayne also earned more than 30 million U.S. dollars from it. If you include the 10 million basic salary in the early stage, he made more than 40 million U.S. dollars from this film.

No matter how you calculate this income, it can be said to be top-notch in the Hollywood industry.

Good news continued to come one after another, and the next day, good news came from Jimmy. He has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. on Wayne's treatment as a director.

This time is different from before. As the director, producer, and screenwriter of the film, Wayne's salary has been greatly improved compared to the previous films. Jimmy even has no idea what hotel he will stay in, what car he will use, etc. during the filming. First-class standards were clearly mentioned.

Of course, the main point of disagreement between the two parties is still the director's share. Every increase or decrease of one percentage point may be in the amount of tens of thousands of dollars.

"Batman" itself has a broad fan base, and the box office is basically not bad. This is Warner Bros.'s foreseeable income, and it is being torn apart by Jimmy bit by bit.

"Jimmy, so what?"

Sitting on the bench at the door of the editing room, Wayne curiously asked his agent what the final price was.

With a satisfied smile on his face, Jimmy took a big sip of coffee. "20 percent!"

"Global?"

"Global!" The agent gave a definite answer. "I told them that Spielberg had already received this price, and you, Wayne Greenberg, are not inferior to Spielberg in terms of commercial achievements in the past two years."

At this moment, even Wayne himself felt admiration for Jimmy. He didn't expect to be able to negotiate this price. In fact, I can't compare with Spielberg. It took more than ten years to earn the other person's worth and status.

As for himself, although the box office of his films has exploded, even he admits that the price is indeed higher than his worth.

"I tell them, Wayne Greenberg represents success! Whether they admit it or not, this sentence is the reality!"

Having said this, Jimmy held the coffee cup and clinked it with Wayne proudly.

Others don't know, but Jimmy, as his agent, knows best that Wayne can get such a high share, not only from the salary of "Batman", but also includes the design fee of the universe plan.

Warner Bros. also knew very well what the meaning behind it would be if the film about the beginning of the universe was successful, so they gritted their teeth and agreed, just to get Wayne started as soon as possible.

After clinking glasses with Jimmy, Wayne stared at the agent and asked again. "20+20?"

"Of course, you have the top contract in Hollywood now." The agent nodded firmly. "Wayne, this is almost the peak of Hollywood's income. You have already reached that position. There is no doubt that in my opinion, the DC Universe plan is already worth the price."

Giving a thumbs up to Jimmy, Wayne does feel he deserves credit, not for the "20+20" top-tier contract, but for his vision.

I'm afraid even the head of DC and the CEO of Warner Bros. may not have the vision of their own agents. They only know the possible benefits behind it, but Wayne himself knows what will happen if the plan succeeds.

"When do we sign the contract?"

No wonder Wayne was impatient. Only after signing a formal contract could he use the preparatory funds and contact Industrial Light and Magic to start making movie props and special effects needed in the film.

The earlier these preparations are made, the better. The more fully prepared you are, the fewer difficulties you will encounter during shooting.

Jimmy said: "The day after tomorrow, there will be a press conference. This is the "Batman" series, and the signing of the contract almost means that the promotion work has begun. This kind of thing is unavoidable. When the time comes, Tim Burton Will also attend."

He knows that all directors don't like to be disturbed by the media, but these tasks must be done. Every director hopes that film production will start quietly and is unwilling to be affected by various public opinions.

But production companies need media promotion, and the more they invest in major projects, the more so.

"Okay." Wayne nodded.

It's understandable that Warner Bros. wants to promote it in advance. The film industry has always been about wine and fear of deep alleys. Only large-scale publicity and promotion can achieve higher box office.

Moreover, this is a blockbuster production with an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars. This investment-scale project was definitely the top big production in Hollywood in the 1990s.

With an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, it can be said that if you don’t go crazy on special effects, you can shoot whatever you want. Moreover, this kind of investment project is almost the ceiling of this era, and there may not be one in a few years.

Don't doubt Warner Bros.'s persistence in big investments, even if many box office disasters come from this company, because they know best that only big investments can lead to high returns.

Think about Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns". Warner Bros. wouldn't have spent $270 million on it if it wasn't sure to make big profits.

Although this film almost cost Warner Bros., it also proves one thing. This company likes to invest heavily in big productions, and they have tasted more sweetness.

Post-production work is still continuing. According to the current work progress, Wayne has also notified Warner Bros. that the film is certain to be completed by July.

The next day, Warner Bros. set the release date of "The Return of the Clown" on the first weekend of September, and the following weekend will be another movie adapted from Stephen King's masterpiece "The Return of the Clown". The Shawshank Redemption".

This matter was discussed in the media that day. It is also an adaptation of Stephen King's novel and was released on almost the same schedule. This left many topics worthy of discussion for the two films.

"Snapped."

Nikki Marvin threw the newspaper on the table. He understood why Warner Brothers did this. Morgan Freeman, as one of the leading actors in the film, was unable to leave his house for a short time.

This is definitely a major black point for "The Shawshank Redemption". Whenever this film is mentioned now, it will inevitably be accompanied by the public's voice criticizing Morgan Freeman.

"Calm down, Nikki." Frank Darabont, the film director, picked up the newspaper and didn't care about the media reports. "It's not that Morgan has no hope of making a comeback. As long as the film is released, everyone will naturally be moved by his performance. Everything still depends on the film!"