~： One hundred and ninety-one-twenty+twenty

Agent Jimmy started frequent contact with Warner Bros. After each negotiation, he would report the progress to Wayne almost every time. With both parties intending to speed up the progress, almost every negotiation would take a big step forward and reach some consensus. .

Time slowly advanced to mid-January, and Wayne ended his short sabbatical, gathered his core team again, two assistant directors and production managers, and headed into the Warner Bros. post-production studio.

This is the third time that editor Dwayne Scott has cooperated with Wayne. Both parties are already very familiar with it. In particular, Dwayne Scott has a thorough understanding of the director's production style, so he is cooperating with him. There is no problem.

Compared with the editing during the "Joker" period, the difficulty of this film is almost negligible for Dwayne Scott. After he scanned the footage on the first day, he decided on the editing work of "Joker's Soul", and the latest time was five days. Can do it a month ago.

Because Zach Snyder participated in many shots, he also began to have ideas for this post-production work. He also understood Wayne's intentions. They also communicated many times about the final effect of the film.

In this way, most of the time, with Zach Snyder staring at the editing, Wayne has more time. While staring at the editing work every day, he began to record his thoughts about "Batman" one by one.

"The Clown Returns to the Soul" does not require repeated comparisons, the extremely cumbersome shots that need to be chosen, and there is no special effect addition that can slow down the later work the most. This kind of editing work along the way can be said to be in Wayne's film. The most mindless, but also the easiest one.

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

This is one of the few films in Wayne's memory that used the theme of genre films to shake the mass cinema market.

He is not only concerned with the editing work of "Joker's Soul", while preparing the idea of ​​"Batman", he is also keeping abreast of the progress of the negotiations between Jimmy and Warner Bros.

In this way, it seems that there is more helper Zach Snyder, but it is still busy in the dark, and almost all the time is full of work plans.

"Nice news."

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

He shook his hands tiredly and asked, "Have you all paid for it?"

"There may be more in the future, but all the money has been received, and Warner Bros. almost did not withhold this part of the funds. As long as the theater company allocates 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, it is very conscientious for the production company to pay the remuneration within half a year after receiving the movie share.

But Wayne and Warner Bros. are in the sweetest period of love. Not only is the new film "Joker's Soul" in production, but also the negotiation of "Batman" will be completed immediately. The reasons for the mess add up, and there is this. This is a non-Hollywood payment speed.

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

The North American box office of "Joker" is 350 million US dollars, and Wayne has also gained more than 30 million US dollars from it. If the basic salary of 10 million in the early stage is counted, he has made more than 40 million US dollars for this film.

No matter how this income is calculated, it can be said to be the first-class in Hollywood circles.

The good news is still coming, and on the next day, there is good news from Jimmy. He has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. over Wayne's directorial treatment.

This time is different from before. As the film's director, producer, and screenwriter, Wayne's treatment has been greatly improved compared to the previous films. Jimmy even knows what hotel he will stay in during the filming, what car he will use, etc. Gives a clear reference to first-class standards.

Of course, the main point of disagreement between the two sides is still the issue of the director’s share. Every increase or decrease of one percentage point may be in ten thousand dollars.

"Batman" itself has a broad fan base, and the box office is basically not bad. This is the foreseeable income of Warner Brothers, and it is being torn by Jimmy little by little.

"Jimmy, so what?"

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

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

"Global?"

"Global!" The broker gave an affirmative answer. "I told them that Spielberg already got the price, and you, Wayne Greenberg, are not inferior to Spielberg in terms of business achievements in the past two years."

At this moment, even Wayne himself had a feeling of admiration for Jimmy, and he didn't expect to be able to negotiate such a price. In fact, he is incomparable with Spielberg. The other party's worth and status have been won in more than ten years.

As for himself, although the box office of the film department exploded, even he himself admitted that the price was indeed higher than his own worth.

"I told them, Wayne Greenberg means success! Whether they admit it or not, it's the truth!"

Speaking of which, Jimmy held a coffee cup and touched Wayne proudly.

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

Warner Bros. is also very clear that if the film of the beginning of the universe is successful, what is the meaning behind it, so they agreed with their teeth, just to let Wayne start as soon as possible.

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

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

Thumbs out to Jimmy, Wayne does think he deserves praise, not because of this "20+20" top-level contract, but because of his vision.

I am afraid that even the head of DC and the CEO of Warner Bros. may not have the vision of their own agent. They only knew the possible benefits behind it, but Wayne himself knew what would happen if the plan was successful.

"When do we sign the contract?"

No wonder Wayne is impatient. Only after signing a formal contract can he use the preparatory funds to contact Industrial Light and Magic to start making movie props and special effects that need to be used in the movie.

The sooner these preparations are made, the better, and the more prepared you are, the less difficult it will be to shoot.

Jimmy said: "The day after tomorrow, there will be a press conference. This is the "Batman" series, and almost the signing of the contract means that the publicity work has begun. This kind of thing cannot be avoided. Tim Burton will then will be there too.”

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

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

"Okay." Wayne nodded.

It is understandable that Warner Bros. wants to promote it in advance. The film industry has always been a wine industry and is afraid of deep alleys. Only through large-scale publicity and promotion can it be possible to obtain a higher box office.

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

With an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars, if you basically don't burn the special effects, it can be said that you can shoot anything you want. And 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 dedication to big investment, even if many box office tragedies come from this company, because they know best that only big investment can bring high returns.

Consider Brian Singer's "Superman Returns." Warner Bros. wouldn't have thrown $270 million if it wasn't sure it would be a big hit.

Although this film almost cost Warner Bros.'s underwear, it can also prove one thing. This company likes big investment and big production very much, and they have tasted more sweetness.

The post-production work is still going on. According to the current work progress, Wayne also informed Warner Bros. that the film will be able to complete all production before July The next day, Warner Bros. The release date of "Joker's Soul" is scheduled for the first weekend of September, and the next weekend is another movie, "The Shawshank Redemption", which is also a masterpiece by Stephen King.

The matter was discussed in the media that day. It was also an adaptation of Stephen King's novel and was released on almost the same schedule, which left a lot of topics worth discussing for the two films.

"Snapped."

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

This is definitely a major black spot for The Shawshank Redemption. Now as long as this film is mentioned, it is bound to be accompanied by the voice of the public scolding Morgan Freeman.

"Calm down, Nikki." The film's director, Frank Darabont, picked up the newspaper, paying no heed to the media coverage. "It's not that Morgan has no hope of turning over. As long as the film is released, everyone will naturally be moved by his performance. Everything still depends on the film!"