Made in Hollywood

"Tina? When did you arrive?"

Just stepping out of the VIP channel, Duke discovered that in addition to the Warner Asia branch, there was his personal assistant Tina Fei.

"Get off the plane two hours earlier than you." Tina Fei habitually stood beside him, "I want to notify you, but your cell phone can't get through."

Duke took the latest Nokia from his briefcase and followed the Warner's people to the airport as he turned it on.

Sitting in a Mercedes-Benz waiting outside, the man named Johnson said, "Director Rosenberg, we have booked a room for you and Miss Tina Fei at the Peninsula Hotel."

"Thank you." Duke nodded. "Then go to the hotel first."

After the car started, the other party said, "Mr. Phil and his deputy are negotiating with Mr. Yuan and Mr. Cheng respectively, and they won't be able to come to see you in the afternoon."

Duke frowned. "Are they still reluctant to give in?"

"Yes, they killed the price and didn't let it go."

I have to wait until I see the person in charge of Warner Asia Branch to talk about the specifics. Duke doesn't say anything anymore. He looked at Tina Fei, who was trying to maintain his spirit next to him, and shook his head.

"Tired?" He asked, "Sleep for a while." [,

Tina Fei knew Duke's temper, and she didn't refuse, and said with a smile, "I will close my eyes and call me at the hotel."

Now that there are outsiders present, the specific situation in London is not suitable to say, and under the influence of jet lag, Tina Fei closed her eyes and soon fell asleep.

When Tina Fei felt someone shaking her arm and opened her eyes, she found that the car had stopped in front of a hotel. She pushed the door and got out of the car, helped Duke carry the briefcase and walked into the hotel elevator. Then came to the luxury suite area on the top few floors.

Entering the presidential suite, Duke sent away Warner's people with a few words, dragged the luggage into the master bedroom, and pointed to the second bedroom when he came out, and said to Tina Fei, "Go to the jet lag first."

"Let's talk about work first."

Go to the bar in the living room of the suite. Tina Fei skillfully made a pot of coffee and brought them to Duke and herself to pour a cup respectively. Sitting on the single sofa, smelling the aroma of coffee and refreshing, she talked about the negotiation situation in London. .

"The author Joanna Rowling is a single mother, just a newcomer writer, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is her first official work."

Listening to Tina Fey's words, Duke took a sip from the coffee cup and said. "Simpler."

Tina Fei smiled at Duke and continued, "The sales of "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" are not good. It has not brought substantial changes to Rowling’s embarrassed life. She herself lacks confidence. I am not optimistic about the prospects of this work. In fact, she is the best way to deal with it. The negotiation is delayed until now. Mainly because I told you on the phone, her book agent is a bit difficult. And her second The first draft of this work has been completed and is being revised..."

"Tina, you did a beautiful job." Duke recognized the results of Tina Fei's work. "If the film sells in the future, you will be the vice president of Duke Studio."

"Vice president of a dozen people?" Tina Fei whispered and said again. "If it weren't for her book agent, up to $200,000, we would be able to get the rights to the movie and surroundings of "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone."

"You can talk about the price of two hundred and forty thousand dollars, and you have done a great job."

Duke remembers very clearly that it took Warner Bros. 250,000 dollars to get these copyrights. What's more, Tina Fei talked about not only "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone", but also bought the relevant copyright of "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" at the same price. In addition, the two sides signed an agreement, the Duke The studio has the right of first refusal to purchase other subsequent works in this series.

The current "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" hasn't been on the market for long. Just as Duke thought, without huge publicity and promotion, the sales are very few. According to Tina Fei, Joanna Rowling is just in a state of just getting rid of government relief.

If he can't even take advantage of the fire at this time, then he doesn't have to be in Hollywood.

Thinking about how to deal with the Harry Potter series, Duke and Tina Fei went back to the bedroom to take a break. In the afternoon, they recovered a lot of spirits. After talking with the people of Warner Asia Branch on the phone. In the evening, we met in the western restaurant of the Peninsula Hotel.

Warner has always represented Duke in contacting Yuan Heping and Cheng Xiaodong, and has made a lot of efforts for this, but little progress has been made.

"Phil, I didn't expect we could meet here."

Sitting in the deck of the western restaurant, Duke handed the phone to Tina Fei and greeted the hostess familiarly. This person was a former Warner Bros. deputy manager and worked in Burbank. , The two can be considered familiar.

"I haven't seen you in a few years, your name is even stronger."

When Duke and Duke finished ordering, Phil gave the recipe to the waiter and pointed to the city outside the window, "Even here, you are the top director who everyone knows like Spielberg. "

Turning his head, looked at the pedestrians passing by, Duke's eyes returned to the opposite side, "Phil, let's talk about the situation."

"Although Hong Kong films have fallen, people in the film industry still maintain their inherent shrewdness." Phil didn't go around in circles, he said directly, "They know we want them, and Kung Fu cannot be solved by Hollywood, so A sky-high price was offered. Cheng and Yuan should have reached a tacit agreement and both insisted on not letting go of 2 million US dollars."

"There is no room for bargaining?" Duke frowned.

"The first they offered was 5 million U.S. dollars." Phil smiled helplessly, "This is the result of negotiations all the way, and it should reach their psychological bottom line."

US$2 million is at best a salary for a second-tier Hollywood actor. It doesn't seem to be too much, but the action director is definitely not worth the price, even if they have skills that Hollywood does not have.

Duke knew very well that these people in Hong Kong wanted to kill him as a fat sheep.

But are fat sheep really so easy to slaughter?

That's right, he looks very kind with yellow skin, black eyes and black hair, but he won't be so stupid to bring this emotion into business negotiations, and will the other party regard him as a fellow as a compatriot? Even if you are a compatriot, you will not show mercy when you take the knife.

He will not forget. Many people in this city are engaged in film work, what are they actually...

"So there is no room for discussion?" Duke asked.

Phil sighed, "At this price, I have talked with them for three rounds, but no progress has been made. They also have enough confidence. The other action coaching teams here are far from them."

Duke nodded, "I see."

If it doesn't work, then give up Kung Fu. Program conflicts are not the only way to show, other fights can also be designed cool enough.

Duke was never a rigid person, and never considered anyone indispensable, even if that person was himself.

However, for companies like Warner that have already entered the Hong Kong market. The means are not just open negotiations.

Phil suddenly said, "Duke, you may not know that Cheng and Yuan can succeed not only because of themselves, but also because they have a mature team. The importance of those people is just like that of the assistant director and the photographer. Director, although the two of them are not willing to let go. The people below are not necessarily. Warner is looking for someone to contact their team privately. This city is undergoing a drastic change. I understand the mentality of many people, and many people like to go to Hollywood. Development, I want to make dollars."

Looking at this guy, Duke was sure it was Phil, but there seemed to be some yellow stuff under the white skin. Obviously, I have been inspired and infected a lot in Hong Kong in recent years.

"There are other aspects."

Obviously, Phil represents the attitude of the entire Warner. They can be described as doing their best. "Warner and some of Yuan’s friends and partners have business contacts, which can always affect him from the side."

Like all Hollywood-style negotiations, negotiations are never confined to the negotiating table.

Phil went on to ensure that these private methods have progressed and will soon give Duke a result.

Since Warner was enthusiastic and proactive, Duke had no reason to refuse. He was the first time in his life to come to Asia, and he simply took Tina Fei around in this city.

It is April 1997, and the city will be undergoing drastic changes. The two of Duke are not thinking about visiting them. They just went around at a few famous scenic spots, and then continued to communicate with Warner to understand the progress of the incident.

His time is limited, and it is impossible to wait here indefinitely. If there is no ideal result in the near future, it is better to give up and choose other fighting methods.

Perhaps it is the upcoming changes in this city that drew people's minds. In the news from Warner, after several rounds of contact and a certain price tag, Yuan Heping’s team soon expressed their hope to develop in Hollywood, even Under the intentional stimulus of Warner and some people with interests, these people connected more people in series.

As long as people with a little vision, it is not difficult to find that Hong Kong films have fallen, and Hollywood is the world's film center. From the outside, the salary is higher and there are more opportunities, and there are such as John Wu and Jack Chen. After success, there are precedents for both fame and fortune in the world. How many people are really not attracted by fame and fortune?

The strongest fortresses are disintegrated from the inside, just like Duke in the initial stage of this incident, some things cannot be developed according to personal wishes. Duke wants to invite Yuan Heping’s with a bargaining chip of about $500,000. The team, the other side insisted on holding on to $2 million.

When his heavyweight members expressed their desire to quit, several faint signs of going to Hollywood even if they turned their faces, and even many partners stood up or persuaded or analyzed the stakes, even Yuan Heping had to make it. Compromise, just like the director’s production team, action guidance is not something that can be played by one person. In the new round of negotiations with Phil, the two sides finally found a balance and reached an agreement on the issue of compensation.

Yuan Heping and his team will serve as the action director of The Matrix, with a total compensation of 800,000 US dollars.

Because of the occurrence of this series of events, Duke didn’t bother to see Yuan Heping again, leaving Tina Fei to be responsible for completing the final negotiations with the other party, leaving the city and returning to North America. He has lived in this world for twenty years. For many years, it is clear where the foundation is now. (To be continued...)

ps: Three changes are completed~~Please ask for various tickets~