Once Upon a Time In Hollywood

  Chapter 67 Home (Part 1)

  What?

  He just said it casually on the show at the end of November. Didn't expect Fox to actually do it?

   As the saying goes: ‘If you are not active in taking money, you have a problem with your head. '

As a guy who pays attention to principles, Roland has actually thought about when Fox will send the money to him. For this reason, he even consulted Cameron, who has worked with Fox, about their settlement process. What is it like, and in the words of the truck driver, it is: "Don't think that they will pay in advance, and the money that should be withheld will never be handed over to you one day earlier, although the North American Theater Alliance Every twenty-eight days, the box office share will be settled with the major film companies, but the box office bonus of the actors will not be given in batches, and will only be distributed after the movie is officially offline in North America. '

  Since the truck driver said it so bluntly, Roland didn't expect to get the money by the end of 1990.

   Available now—

  The other party actually sent the money?

   Really weird!

As if seeing the surprise on Roland's face, but more like hearing her husband's words, Ganetti, who was still watching her daughter unwrap presents on the sofa, turned his eyes and said with a smile: "Oh, dear, before we Didn't you agree? During the two days of Christmas Eve and Christmas, don't talk to Roland about work matters..."

   "But we also said that we want to give Roland a surprise..." David shrugged with a smile, and didn't think there was anything wrong with his words. "Didn't Roland say on the show before that he hoped that Fox would pay for it earlier?"

   "Since this is his wish, is it wrong for me to tell him the news on Christmas Eve?"

   "Of course not!"

   Before Garnetti could respond, the two little lolis who were unwrapping the presents had already yelled.

   "Since it's a surprise, it should appear in socks!"

   "Dad, what Mom means is that you got the process of announcing the surprise wrong."

   "You should put the 3 million bank receipts in Roland's bedside socks when he is sleeping tonight. When Roland wakes up tomorrow morning, he will find that Fox has sent him money..."

Seeing the two little lolis looking at him with excited and showing off eyes, as if they wanted to let him agree with their escape idea, Roland did not hesitate, and said half-jokingly: "Oh, Ashley, Mary, if you follow your In that case, I may not be able to accept the very tasty three million..."

"But..." However, before Roland could finish speaking, James, who had already opened the gift from Roland, put on the Spider-Man headgear inside, and interrupted in a low voice: "My father will never mind, the money, Leave your beriberi."

   "Hahahaha..." Ganetti was the first to laugh after hearing what James said.

   "Ohshit, I don't have athlete's foot." Roland rolled his eyes, raised his hand and hammered James on the shoulder.

  The three little lolis who haven't reacted yet are staring around, not knowing what happened.

   As for David who was the first to mention the box office bonus?

  He smiled helplessly, and was doing the second part of eye exercises—squeezing the Jingming acupoint.

  After being interrupted by James, the cloud of doubt that was still lingering in Roland's heart also dissipated.

  Compared with a harmonious family, it doesn't matter why Fox spends money.

  Besides, Roland felt that Aunt Ganetti was right.

  Since it’s already the holidays, why don’t you just relax and bring up your daily work?

   Under the mischief of the children, David also shut his mouth.

   Accompanying everyone to unwrap the presents presented by Roland, the surprises made the eyes of the dolls shine.

What Roland gave to James was a set of Spider-Man cosplay and a latest detachable figurine. On it was the autograph of screenwriter Stan Lee. Looking at the new color matching of Peter Parker, James immediately tore it off. He took off the hood on his head and shouted excitedly: "Oh! Roland! Where did you get it?"

   "This is a brand new version!"

   "It won't be sold until New Years!"

   "The signed version is limited to 4,999 pieces!"

   "You like it very much?" Roland asked knowingly.

   "Of course!" James nodded vigorously.

   "As long as you like it." Roland folded his arms and said with a smile: "I asked another James to make it for me."

  Since the truck driver took his drink on Halloween but didn't give the corresponding signature, he changed his mind and hoped that the other party could help him get a Spider-Man figure when Christmas came.

  And this kind of 'little thing' is too simple for Cameron.

In recent years, the truck driver has been working hard to win the IP of Spider-Man. He not only discussed with the current IP owner Carlock many times, but also communicated with Marvel in New York headquarters several times, trying to figure out their What are the agreements in the text of the IP authorization contract? In this case, let the assistant go to the headquarters once, make a figure, enter Stan Lee's chairman's office in the cat, and ask him to sign on the box. The process is very quick and simple.

  Because of this, James was able to receive this unique gift in the United States on Christmas Eve.

  After Roland finished the whole process, the chubby guy hugged Roland even more excitedly, wanting to use his own way to express his inner emotion, "Oh, Roland, you are so kind to me!"

   "Sorry, I lied to you for my signature..."

Looking at the fat face that was getting closer and closer, and listening to the annoyed voice that was full of apology and wanted to make up, Roland quickly raised his hands and stood in front of him, "Ok, Ok, I know you are very happy, But can you stop hugging me?"

   "Wow, you are so fat, you almost strangle me..."

   "Shit!" The little chubby, who was still brewing feelings, immediately let go of Roland when he heard Roland say this.

   Not only that, but a few seconds ago, the eyes that sparkled with excitement are now full of evil!

  Christmas Eve, what weight are you talking about!

   This is really a pot that is not open and which pot to lift!

  I still want to eat more tonight!

  The sudden change of James also made Roland curl his lips.

  Men are eels.

   This sentence is indeed correct.

  Of course, apart from bringing James an exclusive gift, the others were not dealt with by Roland at will.

  Ashley and Mary received Disney’s limited edition princess suits, David received a watch, Ganetti received a pair of earrings, as for the soon-to-be two-year-old Elizabeth who will call her brother, sister, mom, dad, and thank you…

   This guy is surrounded by plush toys.

When Roland unpacked dozens of boxes belonging to Elizabeth one by one, Elizabeth clapped her hands happily when she saw the plush toys such as teddy bears and puppet cats taller than herself, and waited for Roland to stuff the toys into the box. In front of and behind her, Elizabeth's two small eyes stared blankly at Roland. The look of excitement but not knowing how to express it made everyone laugh.

  After unpacking the presents, the family came to the restaurant to enjoy the Christmas Eve dinner that had already been prepared.

  Since tomorrow is Christmas, hard dishes such as roast turkey, roast suckling pig, and roast polenta did not appear on the table.

  Salmon, molasses baked ham, mince pie, creamy mashed potatoes...

  Roland looked around and found that the dishes on the table were basically meat.

  Although he doesn’t need to diet as much as the actress, after two weeks of rest, he can’t change from Thor to Thor Plus, right?

  So, in the face of the rich dishes, Roland only ordered them.

   Most of the time, he is chatting with everyone.

Like what, Ashley and Mary are going to film a new season of "Full House" - after Roland's popularity exploded, many movie offers are eyeing them - even Elizabeth has received an audition invitation - James used Roland's Got a lot of money signing autographs, only to have half of them confiscated by David in the end - blah blah blah...

   Everyone talked about the trivial things that happened at home during Roland's absence.

   And after the movie was released, Roland's popularity suddenly exploded.

   "Many people called me, hoping that Ashley and Mary could develop in the film industry."

"but…"

   "After discussing with David, I still hope that it would be better for them to be older."

  “Not only that, because I often take Elizabeth to the set, many crews hope that Elizabeth can make a cameo.”

   "The motivation is quite impure, and they hope you can go there together."

   "After all, it's three hundred million now."

  Although Garnettie was smiling, his tone was very bad.

  After so many years in the industry, she certainly knows that these guys are all rotten people who make quick money.

  If some actors fall into the eyes of Qian, then maybe they will really sign a contract with them immediately.

   And when the precedent appears, the days to come will be difficult.

   This is like the situation that Nicolas Cage encountered in the future.

  What should I do if I have no money?

   Pick up bad movies.

  What should I do if my word-of-mouth collapses after receiving a bad movie?

   Continue to pick up bad movies.

   This is actually a dead end that cannot be saved. It is a very unwise choice to exchange career for money.

   "Then... why don't you move my agent out?"

   Watching Elizabeth next to him want to taste the big thing in the middle of the dining table, while speaking, Roland also picked up a slice of paper-thin honey baked ham with his hands very naturally, and sent it directly to the other party's mouth.

  Looking at this situation, Elizabeth, who was still a baby, suddenly smiled and narrowed her eyes.

"Of course mom did that." Without waiting for Ganetti to respond, Ashley, who was picking up mashed potatoes, said, "Mom asked them to talk to your agent about cooperation. When they heard that CAA and After Samantha, they all left."

  The immature voice made Roland laugh.

  The main job of an agent, besides helping clients negotiate remuneration, is to select films for them.

  But the relationship between Roland and Samantha is not that simple.

  Although Roland has only met the other party once, and the other party has not discussed the project with him so far, this does not prevent the other party from having the identity of a shield—

   Talking to the Jewish gang about money-making crappy projects?

  Isn’t this special person out of his mind?

  Even if they want to make money, they won’t cooperate with you guys who specialize in low-budget movies!

   To put it bluntly, these guys who covet Roland's popularity are not even eligible to sit on the table for a share.

  So, when they learned that Roland had been signed.

  They took the initiative to cut off the plan to let the Olsen family spend money with them.

  Since everyone can't urinate together, let's ask for gender connection.

  And this also reminded Roland of a problem.

  The Olsen sisters in the previous life made a lot of bad movies.

  Many movies are actually just making bad money.

  And in this life, with his intervention, those film studios who were just out of money disappeared voluntarily?

   Doesn't this mean that unless they really want to make money, otherwise, it will be difficult to accept a project below the standard line?

  Although this change is indeed a good thing for its own reputation, but at the same time, it will save a lot in terms of money!

And when Roland, who wanted to understand, asked the two little lolis who were eating, their answer surprised Roland, "Brother Roland, my mother said that apart from filming "Full House", everything else is fine." Listen to you."

   Do you listen to me?

   Seeing Aunt Ganetti nodding and smiling, Roland immediately figured it out.

  In Hollywood, connections are the most important resource.

  Garnett is not a fool. He let his daughter wallow in those bad movies when there is a chance to rise.

  Although she is not a professional producer, she still has the ability to distinguish between good and bad.

   Unless there is really no way to advance.

  Otherwise, what kind of parents want their children to earn bad money that has a short time limit and quick results?

  Slow water and long flow is the kingly way.

   And when the topic at the dinner table was shifting toward the work that everyone had kept silent about before, David, who had been in charge of listening and smiling, winked at Roland.

  Getting the idea of ​​the other party, Roland didn't hesitate, got up first, and said that he needed to go to the toilet.

   Not long after he left, David also left the dinner table to his wife, got up and went upstairs, saying that he was going to see what happened to Roland.

When the two met again in the study, David laughed at the juice drinks and snacks on the table. He pulled out a cork, poured himself a glass of wine with a sweet aroma, and took a sip Finally, he sighed: "Ganetti has always been like this, she didn't let me talk, but she kept talking... Oh, look what she did just now? First she complained that I was talking about work, and then at the dinner table Come on, talk to you about work, it's really... hey..."

  Although David's words were full of complaints, Roland could tell that this guy didn't mean to be upset.

   This is just a helpless daily complaint—between old couples and old wives.

  If he really had conflicts with Ganetti, he wouldn't suggest that Roland go upstairs.

   Instead, he let his wife Bottonup directly on the dining table.

   "Okay David, shall we continue where we started, or talk about something else?"

  Roland didn't pay attention to what the other person said, but grabbed a cut orange and gnawed it.

   "Anything is fine...I know what you want to ask." David didn't waste any time, and said directly: "Fox sent the money in advance, hoping to discuss with us about the sequel of "Home Alone"."

   "Under the circumstances that the cost of the announcement is not clear, the 15 million investment and the 300 million global box office generated by leverage can already fully enjoy the green light treatment of the sequel..."

Yes, although Fox was not optimistic about the book "Home Alone" from the very beginning, as long as it is a profitable project, they will treat it as their own father, not to mention that the return on investment may exceed 1,000% In 1990, the global box office of 500 million yuan had reached an appalling level. Most importantly, this was just the box office. If the profits from copying video tapes and subsequent copyrights were included, the entire project, It's just a hen that can lay eggs continuously. In this case, the most important thing is to make a sequel before Roland grows up and continue to collect money. For this reason, they can even make an exception and hand over part of the dividends to To Roland, in order to express his sincerity in the next project.

   "So you agreed?" Roland grinned and asked.

  Of course, he didn't make a funny expression at David, it was purely soured by the public.

   "How is that possible! Now that you have an agent, I don't need to take care of these things."

David shook his head like a rattle, and said directly: "What's more, we have agreed before, whether to act or not, the decision is in your hands, unless the other party asks me to conceal something, otherwise , your career is up to you."

  500 million US dollar box office, a replicable model, Roland's super popularity and everything behind him.

   All these things have been able to drive Fox into a frenzy.

   But even if they were willing to spend money, David didn't want to let go.

  Originally, Roland wanted to make the first movie, so he was a half-assed guy who made a fuss about it. But now, with more professionals around, naturally these jobs have to be left to them.

  The most important thing is that in addition to the copyright, the three leading actors and one director are all on the same boat. It is more cost-effective to let the Jewish gang sell them together, which is more cost-effective than David fighting alone.

   Maximizing the benefits is what he, a businessman, is thinking about now.

   As for top priority?

   That is of course Roland's own wish.

   And David's decision naturally coincides with Roland's thoughts.

  The final box office of "Home Alone" hasn't come out yet, and "Terminator 2" will be released next summer. In this case, he is in a hurry!

Macaulay Culkin in his previous life stole $8 million in salary from the project "Home Alone 2", and if his resume is not top ten, he even feels that the second part has no filming. head.

   Roland thought of ten, of course the unit of measurement is million.

  A commercial film took 10 million, and he didn't feel any problem.

  Although there are only a dozen guys who can get a salary of 10 million in this era, and even Hollywood evergreens Meryl Streep and the others have never exceeded this price in future generations, but Roland has no psychological pressure at all.

  If the money is not enough, why should I waste my time to film?

   With this free time, isn’t it good for cats to be in Spielberg’s crew?

  Want to save me money?

no problem!

   Unless there is someone in your project team who can improve me, otherwise, why should I go?

  Different from actors who need to care about their daily life, although Roland has no money, he doesn't have to earn money to support his family.

  Even if he is not filming, David can raise him well.

   Not only that, but he will not lose his job if he has a place to stay.

  Since Fox can get his photos in the "Terminator 2" crew, he must know that filming is just a means for Roland to get into the circle. As for what he wants to do?

  Only God knows.

  In this case, it doesn't matter to him whether to spend money or block the film contract.

  In this way, the pressure is on Fox.

   They hope to shoot the sequel before Roland grows up.

   Time waits for no one.

Once Roland decides not to shoot, whether there will be a sequel is not important to him who has a backer behind him, but for Fox, it is a huge loss, because no one knows, after the replacement, whether the movie will still be available. will succeed.

  The most important thing is that Fox can't find a second actor who can promote Spielberg and Cameron.

   Barefoot and not afraid of wearing shoes?

No-

  In the circle of Hollywood, the most fearful thing is the kind of guy who doesn't worry about making a living, but is very popular and has a backer.

  Although there is an iron rule in Hollywood: Never let an offer go cold.

but-

  Some guys just can't eat hard and soft.

  Now Roland is no longer the guy who had nowhere to go a year ago.

  Now that the epic opening has been obtained, the subsequent choices are even more important.

   Note: ① It is no problem for Cameron to get Stan Lee's signature in the article. Cameron liked Spider-Man since he was a child. Before filming "Terminator 2", he discussed Spider-Man with Carlock Films, the investor of "Terminator 2". Carlock's boss bought the copyright of Spider-Man at that time. And for the idea of ​​Dark Spider-Man, he helped Cameron and the then Marvel chairman Stan Lee match up and get to know each other. (How far do you realize? When Sony’s version of “Spider-Man” was filmed, Stan Lee told Cameron that Sony had copied Cameron’s ideas, and he was unwilling to sign the screenwriter because he had to pay). However, in 1995, Carlock went bankrupt, and half of the copyright was bought by Sony during the bankruptcy liquidation. For this reason, Cameron also discussed with Fox, the investor of "Big Ship", to let them buy Spider-Man back, but the legal fee was as high as 4 million. I wiped my neck, so I gave up (the information comes from the "Marvel 75th Anniversary" documentary filmed by ABC TV under Disney). ②Nicolas Cage is purely capricious. He doesn't want to be in Hollywood as his uncle Coppola. With his kind of capital, how could Spielberg's feature films of the "Star Wars" series be without him? ③ In reality, the Olsen sisters started to lose money after the Olsen couple divorced, but it is also understandable. According to Aomei herself, the second sister Mary became a little depressed after her parents divorced, and later became manic and anorexia.

  (end of this chapter)