Chapter 567: Packaging deal
Simple social niceties in a casual setting had Michael chuckling heartily. It was as if he hadn't grasped the depth of Andy's words, nodding repeatedly to affirm, "We're also looking forward to continuing to work with Renly." Then, he smoothly turned to Neal, playfully asking, "Who should deliver this good news, you or me?"
This time, Neal didn't seek to upstage anyone. He smiled and gestured with his hand, indicating that he would hand over the privilege of announcing the major news to Michael.
Michael's smile was radiant as he redirected his gaze to Andy. "As Neal mentioned earlier, we are currently brainstorming the script and enriching the characters. We've always believed that Luke Hobbs is an intriguing character, and we've been eagerly anticipating him playing a more significant role."
"You may have heard that before Renly, we considered Dwayne Johnson for this role. The reason was simple. It wasn't because Dwayne could give the character charm, but because we believed there were more stories to explore for this character, and Dwayne could shoulder the weight of the character and the backstory," Michael's confident and eloquent demeanor filled his words with personal charisma. "Unfortunately, that collaboration didn't materialize, but fortunately, we found Renly, and he accomplished an incredible feat. Now, the entire character's weight rests on Renly's shoulders."
At this point, Michael deliberately paused for a moment, a mysterious and excited expression playing across his face, creating suspense. Invisibly, the weight of his words increased. "We are discussing the creation of a spin-off film centered around Luke Hobbs, with Renly as the core!"
A bombshell announcement. It seemed that Andy's inside information wasn't baseless; Universal Pictures was indeed considering this.
"To be precise, this isn't the first time such a proposal has been on the table. We've always been searching for the right moment. Now it seems that the time has come," Michael's face maintained a confident smile as he delivered his words with emphasis. "We believe that Renly can imbue this spin-off film with even more personal charisma, leading it to success. The only question now is whether Renly is ready?"
On the surface, this was good news. However, there were hidden nuggets of information within.
Michael stated that the idea of a Luke Hobbs spin-off had been considered from the beginning, not because of the recent success of the films but as an initial concept. Michael also mentioned that if it were Dwayne Johnson, the spin-off might already be in production, and the hesitation was because Renly didn't carry the same weight as Dwayne. Michael concluded by saying that now, with the spin-off back on the agenda, Universal Pictures had high hopes for Renly's future.
In essence, Michael's message was that the spin-off wasn't Renly's doing, but Universal Pictures was willing to entrust Renly with this significant responsibility—a remarkable show of trust. Even Dwayne hadn't received such treatment. Going deeper, it could be understood that even if Renly declined, they could call Dwayne back at any time.
When it came to spinning tall tales, Andy felt that he fell slightly short of Michael. He had twisted facts to the point where it was difficult to discern truth from fiction. Without Renly, whether "Fast 5" could have reached a North American box office of $300M was still up for debate. However, one thing was certain: without Renly, the character of Hobbs would never have garnered the current popularity and momentum, let alone the possibility of a spin-off.
Hollywood's film industry had matured significantly, and the production of film spin-offs was not uncommon. When "X-Men" was released, Magneto and Professor X were the absolute core protagonists, but unexpectedly, Wolverine gained tremendous popularity, leading to the creation of the "Wolverine" spin-off series. After "Wolverine" was released, although it didn't perform as expected at the box office, it catapulted Deadpool to fame. Seven years later, the spin-off film "Deadpool" conquered all.
In addition to these, the "Conjuring" series spawned a spin-off called "Annabelle", and the "Saw" series even contemplated a spin-off focused on "Jigsaw". The "Despicable Me" series gave birth to the spin-off "Minions", which even outperformed the original series at the box office. The "Star Wars" spin-off "Rogue One" also received critical acclaim. Even the TV series "Breaking Bad", which had both critical acclaim and awards, produced a spin-off called "Better Call Saul".
However, it could be affirmed that creating spin-off films was exponentially more challenging.
Firstly, spin-offs often revolved around supporting characters, making it an enormous unknown whether the appeal of these characters could sustain a film and attract audiences to theaters. Secondly, supporting characters typically had limited screen time in the original works, so how to expand upon them and have them interact with the original narrative posed a daunting challenge for the screenwriters. Thirdly, the actors playing supporting roles were mostly second-tier or third-tier, lacking the inherent box office appeal. This made it even more difficult to balance production costs with box office expectations.
When any film company embarked on creating a spin-off, they had to proceed with utmost caution. Not to mention that "Deadpool" took seven long years to come to fruition, and popular characters like Black Widow and the Hulk from the "Avengers" series struggled to get their spin-off films off the ground. The spin-off films for characters like Catwoman, Mystique, and Phoenix from the "X-Men" series also faced repeated considerations.
In other words, even though "Fast 5" had achieved a North American box office of $300M, a Luke Hobbs spin-off film was still an uncertainty. Universal Pictures couldn't hastily decide to greenlight it, especially not before the release of the film. Michael was clearly making things up, presenting himself with an air of superiority.
So, was this Michael's personal stance, or was it Universal Pictures' stance?
Andy pondered this seriously, and it seemed to align with Ron Meyer's way of doing things and the style of Universal Pictures over the past few years.
In 2004, DreamWorks faced financial difficulties and had to split its film and animation divisions. At that time, Steven Spielberg, who led the film division, was widely expected to sign a cooperation agreement with Universal Pictures because of his close friendship with Ron Meyer. However, this deal fell through. Rumor had it that Ron rejected it due to a minor disagreement over distribution rights sharing, eventually steering his good friend toward Paramount Pictures.
Then, in 2009, DreamWorks' partnership with Paramount came to an end, and once again, Steven Spielberg led the film division to seek a new home. Universal Pictures became the first choice once more. However, Ron and Steven had a falling out during direct negotiations, to the extent that they became adversaries. In the end, Disney opened its arms wide and welcomed Steven's DreamWorks film division.
This was Universal Pictures—ranked among the top six major Hollywood studios, yet always complacent and hesitant to seek progress, gradually declining while maintaining an aura of a top-tier company.
Andy suddenly had a clearer understanding. Neal repeatedly mentioning Vin's name in front of Michael was evidently his way of protesting. It wasn't because Neal was siding with Renly, but because Neal was expressing dissatisfaction with Michael's approach. Ultimately, Neal was protecting his own interests as a producer.
"Fast 5" had just achieved a major victory at the box office, and Andy couldn't believe that internal problems were already emerging. He chuckled in disbelief.
Following the curve of his lips, Andy laughed heartily and said, "Wow, that's quite a bombshell. So, is the main topic of our discussion today... a spin-off?" He had initially thought it was about a sequel.
"No, no, not at all," Michael leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs. His demeanor as the host couldn't have been more evident. He used his right hand to support the armrest, raising it slightly to indicate a negative response. "What we're discussing right now is a spin-off, along with two sequels, a package deal of three projects."
Andy exaggeratedly raised his lower jaw. "I almost forgot that Neal mentioned two sequels earlier."
Andy's attitude pleased Michael, who nodded contentedly. "Yes, the two sequels are the focus. Our current plan is to start with the spin-off film and then shoot the two sequels back-to-back. Ideally, the spin-off should be released before the sixth installment."
Michael's words were confident and resolute. If Andy hadn't been experienced in such negotiations, he might have actually believed him. However, now that Michael had made up his mind and took control of the negotiations with such overwhelming confidence, Andy decided to go with the flow and wait for Universal Pictures to present their terms. He asked, "So, are there any details about these three projects that I need to know?"
Michael adjusted his sitting position, cleared his throat softly, and then smiled, "That's Neal's job. I won't interfere."
Cunningly, at the most crucial moment, Michael took a step back and passed the hot potato to Neal. Of course, to climb to such heights, Michael was far from foolish. Perhaps his earlier display of arrogance was all an act, performed for Andy's benefit. Who could say for sure?
Neal clearly didn't relish this tricky situation, but he had no room to refuse. He explained, "We're still in the process of discussing the details. During the meeting earlier, we outlined the spin-off and two sequel projects preliminarily. However, there's no established plan yet. We need to determine Renly's role within the production further. We also need to consult Vin and Paul's opinions. The input from the two screenwriters is crucial, and, of course, Renly's opinion."
If the spin-off were to proceed, Renly would naturally no longer be a "third lead" in the two sequels. Instead, he would become a core protagonist on par with Vin and Paul, just like Hugh Jackman's position in the "X-Men" series. Consequently, the distribution of screen time among the three main characters would undoubtedly be a major issue.
However, Andy regarded these flattering pleasantries as mere formalities. He could tell that Neal was beating around the bush, continuously wearing different hats, and avoiding the core topic. This gave Andy an ominous feeling.
But upon reflection after returning home, he realized that this ominous feeling had been there from the very beginning. It wasn't baseless speculation.
Neal adjusted his sitting position, appearing somewhat uncomfortable. After spouting a few more bureaucratic sentences, he finally stated, "We hope to sign a cooperation agreement with Renly for three projects, with a salary of $3.5M per project."
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