I am Hollywood

Chapter 99: What I Wanted Was a Work of Art



[Chapter 99: What I Wanted Was a Work of Art]

Looking at Jeffrey, who was visibly upset and still grumbling about the situation, Eric could only stand up to pour him a glass of water. Once Jeffrey gulped it down, Eric suggested, "Alright, Jeffrey, don't you see? This is just a tactic by CAA to save dignity. If the other party insists on a 20% profit share, there's no need to continue the negotiation. But think about it calmly for a moment; CAA more likely wants to buy some time."

"Buy time? Why would they want to buy time?" Jeffrey clearly hadn't calmed down yet, pouring himself another glass of water before directly asking.

Eric shrugged. "Dignity. Just recently a magazine published a list ranking the 'Most Powerful People in Hollywood,' with Michael Ovitz taking the top spot, while heavyweights like Barry Diller and Michael Eisner were left behind. If he just earned that title and soon after saw two of his stars collaborating with former outcasts, wouldn't that slap him in the face as Hollywood's 'most powerful person'?"

Jeffrey let out a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. I thought they were really going to demand a profit share; that would have been chaotic."

"That's not so chaotic," Eric countered bluntly. "Jeffrey, you might have to accept that stars are demanding profit shares in addition to their salaries. Cruise tried this model in his last movie and raked in a hefty profit, so other Hollywood stars are bound to follow suit."

"Forty percent profit share between two people? Do they really think they can earn more than us? We will only have 60% left, and we still have to pay various other expenses."

Eric was actually pondering this issue as well. He felt this might be an opportunity. Sooner or later, he would be joining the ranks of Hollywood producers, which meant he would have to side against the actors for his own benefit. Cruise's experiment offered a new model for actors to receive compensation, and this negotiation could set a precedent for many top Hollywood stars asking for profit-sharing in the future. So, it was crucial to minimize that share as much as possible.

If the percentage could be brought down to between 5% and 10%, it would eventually accumulate into astronomical savings down the line. Although Eric wasn't sure if it would work, he had to at least try.

"Jeffrey, don't rush this. Just take your time negotiating with them. Forget about that 20% profit share; the salary must come down from $6 million too. They want profit sharing but don't want to lower the salary? When has anything that good ever come along?"

Jeffrey still wasn't satisfied. "Eric, why don't we bypass Cruise and Hanks's agents and talk directly to those two? You seemed to get along well the other day, right?"

Eric chuckled and waved yesterday's document in front of Jeffrey. "They're both CAA clients. I don't have any special rapport with them. The fact that they might agree to star in the film is already a huge concession to Michael Ovitz. You can't expect them to push the envelope too far. Besides, they wouldn't want to oppose CAA in getting themselves a better deal, right?"

Jeffrey didn't counter this point but pressed further, "Eric, just tell me what you're really thinking. This is a first for me. While I could drag this negotiation on, as the boss, you're the one who needs to give the final say. I need a bottom line reference to keep my bearings during negotiations."

Eric stroked his chin and considered, "Stick to the fact that no actor in Hollywood gets profit shares, and force them to lower their salaries if they insist on the profit share. I've heard that Cruise could negotiate his profit share because he voluntarily lowered his salary. As for the bottom line, given Cruise and Hanks' current fame, their salaries should not exceed $5 million, and the profit share should stay between 5% and 10%, definitely not over 10%." "Alright, that gives me a clearer idea," Jeffrey noted down Eric's words.

Noticing Jeffrey still wore a grim look, Eric patted him on the shoulder reassuringly and smiled, "Come on, Jeffrey, stop being so worried about it. While we might lose some profits due to this new salary model, we can recoup from other avenues, and we wouldn't even need to share those profits with the actors. We could even drive a harder bargain under the actors' names."

"You mean... product placement?"

"Bingo!" Eric snapped his fingers. "Ours is an urban film, and those types are very suitable for product placements. I read in the paper that Lamborghini's product placement this year could triple their sports car sales. The new model hasn't even hit the market, yet they've received hundreds of orders already."

"That truly is a great idea," Jeffrey finally managed a faint smile, instinctively searching for the script to see where he could fit in some ads. Eric, however, quickly produced a piece of paper and handed it to Jeffrey. "Don't bother looking. I've already prepared it."

Jeffrey glanced over the lengthy list with his mouth agape.

Handheld phones, walkie-talkies, sports cars, packaged snacks, sunglasses, cameras, necklaces, comic books...

"Eric, isn't this a bit... excessive?"

Eric felt that he was showing remarkable restraint compared to the extravagant ads of his past life. At least he hadn't blown $200 million to create a three-hour special effects ad. He was cleverly incorporating ads into the storyline rather than altering the plot for the sake of

advertising.

"Jeffrey, these are just some ideas off the top of my head. The film would feature quite a bit of footage of walkie-talkies and handheld phones, so we could package the ad for both to a communications company like Motorola. I heard Motorola is about to launch a small handheld phone that fits in the palm of your hand. With Lamborghini as a precedent, plus the star power of Cruise and Hanks, Motorola would happily shell out a few million for the commercials. If their offer was too low, we could reach out to their rival, Ericsson. And when it comes to sports cars, I'll continue to liaise with Lamborghini; they wouldn't say no."

Jeffrey pointed at the list. "And what's with the packaged snacks?"

Eric explained, "Didn't you read the script? In the film, Andy set up fake bombs multiple times, and those bombs were made from snack boxes. The movie will feature close-ups of those boxes, plus related dialogue, so it counts as a critical product placement. As for sunglasses and cameras, they'll come up in the film too, so you might as well seek out sponsorship; even the smallest amounts can add up."

"Eric, are you not worried that inserting too many ads might turn off the audience?"

"Nope," Eric replied confidently. "None of these ads were inserted with intentions that could make the audience uncomfortable. Of course, we would need to coordinate closely with sponsors this time because of the high volume of placements needed; we can't have a repeat of what happened with Lamborghini where we disclosed sponsorship before the movie even aired."

Jeffrey noticed something amiss and questioned, "If product placements aren't supposed to stand out and don't allow for promotion, as a sponsor, I wouldn't want to invest in that."

"It's not about not letting them promote," Eric patiently clarified. "What I meant was that before the film's release, we can't promote this. Otherwise, even if I didn't insert these ads with the intention to, audiences would see it that way. That preconceived notion could lead to a subconscious aversion to the movie. But once the film has been released and reviews are confirming its quality, we can promote the ads afterward -- it'll not only create buzz but also pull in those curious about the advertising scenes back to theaters, which could boost box

office sales."

Jeffrey smiled knowingly. "Eric, you're like a merchant from Venice sitting before me."

"Is that a jab?"

"Yes, but I layered it with a lot of praise and respect." Jeffrey laughed heartily.

"Oh, Mr. Jeffrey, you're so generous," Eric replied with a theatrical tone, joining in on the

laughter.

After the jesting, Eric glanced at his watch, "I actually have a date, so..."

Before Eric could finish, Jeffrey quickly interjected, "I'll take care of it from here, right?"

"Clever, who'd have thought you'd jump in?" Eric chuckled again.

Jeffrey didn't quite grasp the punchline in Eric's statement and remained puzzled, tilting his head curiously. "A date, with a woman?"

"No, with a man -- Frank Gehry, a well-known architectural designer in the industry. I've seen his design for Larry Ellison's Malibu house, so I figured I'd ask him for advice too." "Is this related to that $5 million you mistakenly spent on that parcel of land?" "Not mistakenly," Eric countered. "Once I successfully build my Malibu 10880, I'm sure someone would pay $50 million for it."

"Suit yourself. To be honest, your reckless spending eases my mind; it means you're finally doing something a young man your age should do. Otherwise, I'd always subconsciously consider you my peer. Eric, why do you call it Malibu 10880?"

Eric blinked innocently. "That's a secret."

"Come on, I promise I won't tell anyone else." Jeffrey leaned in with curiosity.

"If it's a secret, I can't tell anyone but myself, and you definitely count as one of 'others.""

Eric couldn't explain to Jeffrey and left the office.

...

Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch spanned 11 square kilometers and cost $19.5 million with buildings. Comparatively, this little parcel in Malibu of only about one hectare costing $5 million was indeed a steep price. However, even so, it was the result of some extra "public relations fees" that his lawyer had persuaded for him since this land was technically a small park and was conventionally not for sale.

"Mr. Williams, while your architectural design is quite imaginative, there are just too many unreasonable elements, and the building would be incredibly difficult, especially being on the cliff's edge," Frank Gehry assessed Eric's sketches with his professional eye.

At this moment, the two men stood together at the tip of Malibu, accompanied by Frank Gehry's assistant, and Eric was not alone -- Virginia happened to be home and was recruited by Eric for temporary secretarial duty.

This area belonged to Eric as personal territory, and he had obtained building permits to freely make changes on the land. As long as the activities did not disturb the neighbors or draw complaints, no one would intervene.

"Mr. Gehry, are you saying that the construction difficulty is too great, but it can still be

built?"

Frank Gehry nodded. "But it would require a substantial amount of money, and I don't think it's necessary. If you insist on building this mansion here, I suggest moving it at least ten meters to the north; that way, you'll significantly reduce the construction difficulty and save at least 30% of building costs. Moreover, various piping will be easier to install." Eric estimated that moving it ten meters would mean the ocean view would have a rather unsightly rocky terrain blocking it. Would that still be considered an ocean-view mansion? Shaking his head, Eric declined Frank's suggestion. "Mr. Gehry, if I insisted, how much would

it roughly cost?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"At this moment, I can't give you a precise figure because I haven't done detailed surveying yet. If you stick to your original design, it would require extensive geological assessment of the cliffside to determine if it could support the building's weight. If it can't, reinforcements would be necessary, complicating matters further. However, I think $5 million is the bare minimum." "Only $5 million?" Eric raised an eyebrow, given that he'd already spent that on the land.

"Mr. Williams, as far as I know, the most expensive mansions in Malibu are around that

price." "Sorry, Mr. Gehry, I'm not very informed about these things. I'd like to ask bluntly; if I offered $10 million, or even $20 million, what kind of outcome might I expect?"

In this era, even Bill Gates from Microsoft wouldn't be pulling out $10 or $20 million in cash

just like that; his wealth was more reflected in stock prices. But things were different in the film industry; as long as a movie did well at the box office, it could churn out millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars within a relatively short period.

Frank Gehry looked surprised and regarded the young man in front of him. After some thought, he replied, "In that case, I would create a work of art for you. Mr. Williams, are you

sure about this?"

"I'm sure, Mr. Gehry, what I wanted was exactly that -- a work of art." Eric answered

decisively.

*****

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