Chapter 680 (1/2)
Daniels studios.
It's July 25, another Monday.
Terry Semel arrived ahead of time to watch the ”suicide squad” sample film in the afternoon, and had lunch with Simon in the high-rise restaurant of danielis studios at noon.
By the way.
”Is the $50 million reward, Simon, too much? Since there is no provision in the contract, we don't have to pay such a sum of money at all. Or, as in previous times, twenty or thirty million dollars is enough. This time, we gave 50 million US dollars. According to the usual practice, the next few projects will only be much more, and we will not be able to afford them at that time. ”
At the dinner table, Terry Semel looked miserable.
The topic is about Simon's Award Scheme for Batman: the rise of the dark knight.
According to last week's Box Office statistics, ”Batman: the rise of the Dark Knight” not only broke through 330 million US dollars in North America, but also earned 530 million US dollars overseas. The global box office has already reached 860 million US dollars. According to the box office trend of various ticket warehouses around the world, there is no doubt that the global box office of the final work of the Batman trilogy will break through 1 billion US dollars.
Moreover, since the release of Batman: the rise of the dark knight for more than a month, the sales of various types of peripherals are also as hot as ever. At present, the total sales of dozens of peripherals around the world have exceeded US $1.1 billion according to the preliminary statistics. Although the popularity of the film begins to decline, it is estimated that the total sales of peripherals will be about US $2.5 billion in the next few years.
In addition to the box office and surrounding two parts, as well as the future revenue from video and television channels, ”Batman: the rise of the Dark Knight” will be a super cash cow that can bring us $1 billion in net income to the two major producers of Denise and Time Warner.
Simon was never a man who wanted his horses to run but didn't want them to eat grass.
In order to ensure the smooth progress of the huge DC movie universe series, Simon signed very harsh contracts with a group of leading creators. Compared with the huge profits of several consecutive DC movies, the salaries of superheroes can be described as stingy.
Simon will not allow any changes to the original contract, but in addition to the basic salary, from the initial Batman: war time, with the success of the project, he will give an extra bonus to the stars and directors.
Only for a series of projects in the past, the maximum amount of bonus did not exceed $30 million.
This time, Simon gave a one-time bonus of 50 million US dollars, which immediately made Time Warner's flesh ache.
In addition to Batman: the rise of the dark knight, Warner Bros.'s other two projects, Warner Bros.'s Mahua Li the gambler 'and' I love trouble 'all ended in failure, and the huge losses need to be made up by the profits generated by Batman: the rise of the dark knight.
Now, the sudden loss of $50 million will even affect Time Warner's financial report at the end of the year.
Simon, indifferent to Semel's complaint, said: ”Terry, 50 million dollars is a reward for bond, Adam and Valerie's contributions to the Batman Series over the years. Whether they will have so much in the future depends on the situation. Moreover, you should understand that compared with the income we obtained, this amount of money is not much, only equivalent to 5% of the net profit of the project. If it were not for the original contract restrictions, now each of them may ask for 10% or even higher net profit sharing. ”
Although DC movie universe has created a phenomenal film series miracle, compared with Steven Spielberg, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mel Gibson and other Hollywood first-line filmmakers with strong discourse power, the income of DC movie universe is poor.
50 million seems like a lot, but it's not as much as Jack Nicholson made from Tim Burton's version of Batman. Moreover, the money was distributed to director Jane de bond, actor Adam Baldwin, heroine Valerie Gallino and many other people, of which bond and Adam took the most, with only $10 million each.
Simon, of course, can also pay in strict accordance with the contract, with no extra penny to pay. However, this will certainly seriously undermine the initiative of all the creators. The first stage of DC movie universe planning was only completed in the first half, and there is still a long way to go.
Terry Semel, of course, understood this, but said, ”Simon, if I remember correctly, you don't seem to like Adam.”
Semel is talking about Adam Baldwin.
After the success of Batman: the moment of war, Adam Baldwin came up with the idea of re signing the agreement, and Simon beat him up for it.
Simon nodded, then shook his head and said, ”it's a thing of the past. Adam's performance in recent years is still his duty. Moreover, even if I don't like a person, as long as the other party doesn't have the line, after paying, I will still give what I should give. This is a different thing. ”
Terry Semel knew in his heart that it was hard for him to change what the young man had decided, so he took the second place: ”well, Simon, is it OK to pay by instalments? 50 million, 15 million first, and the rest in the next few years. ”The situation of Time Warner is not very good now. If 50 million US dollars can be shared and paid in the next few years, it will not have too obvious impact on the financial report.
As long as the total amount remains unchanged, installment payment can continue to mobilize the enthusiasm of DC creators.
Simon knew that this should be the plan that Semel had worked out before he came, and that this face still had to be given, so he readily agreed.
Terry Semel was not satisfied with the result, but he changed the subject and said, ”Simon, have you ever thought about one thing? Adam has only two contracts left.”
Simon lowered his head and cut the steak from the plate. ”What's up?” he asked casually
Terry Semel said: ”after the planned just alliance, I think this series can continue.”
Simon slowly picked up a piece of steak and put it into his mouth. A moment later, he said, ”Terry, I first told Stan Lee that Denise entertainment will probably open the marvel movie universe in 1995. Judging from the current situation, I think I will break my promise. However, after ”justice alliance”, this matter will definitely not be delayed any more. ”
The reason why time warner can't control the universe of DC movies is that besides Denise entertainment firmly holds the copyright of the three DC superheroes, another important reason is marvel.
The profits created by DC movie universe are too huge. If there is no marvel as the base, Warner will burn the boat, and Denise may have to compromise on the right to speak.
Now the situation is that if Warner is dissatisfied with his voice and profit share, he wants to re divide it, or even break up after the negotiation fails. So, the result will only be that Warner will fight like chickens, while Denise entertainment will be able to directly start its own Marvel movie universe project.
Terry Semel obviously didn't want to talk about marvel, but said, ”I mean, it's OK for the two to coexist, isn't it?”