Chapter 142: Chapter 142: Unpopular Marvel
Because Arthur suddenly received a phone call from Stan Lee, he quickly figured out Marvel's current situation.
First, in November 1986, Cadence Industries sold Marvel to New World Pictures for $46 million.
By early 1989, New World Pictures, due to its own debt crisis, sold itself to Revlon Chairman Ronald Perelman's investment company for $82.5 million!
Ronald Perelman, a savvy Wall Street investor, directly led Marvel into bankruptcy reorganization, sold off the New World Pictures film library, and then took the reorganized Marvel public.
He also had Marvel merge with various card and toy manufacturing companies, and spared no effort in promoting Marvel's superheroes!
Marvel's crown jewel - Spider-Man - was sold to Cannon Films in 1985. Cannon Films purchased the film rights to Spider-Man for five years for a mere $10,000 plus a percentage of revenues.
The agreement was that if Cannon Films hadn't made a movie by April 1990, the rights would revert to Marvel.
Immediately, Cannon Films President Menahem Golan and his cousin Yoram Globus approached screenwriters to start adapting Spider-Man.
However, due to a misunderstanding of the character, this version of Spider-Man was depicted as "a corporate scientist deliberately irradiates photojournalist Peter Parker, turning him into a hairy, eight-legged monster." This setting was strongly opposed by Marvel's creator Stan Lee, and the adaptation was scrapped!
Additionally, in 1987, Cannon Films teamed up with Warner Bros. on Superman IV: The Quest for Peace, which bombed. Cannon Films, like New World Pictures, fell into a financial crisis.
In 1989, Cannon Films was acquired by the French studio Pathe, and Cannon Films President Menahem Golan took the Spider-Man rights to a new shell company, 21st Century Film Corporation.
Moreover, Menahem Golan negotiated with Marvel to extend the Spider-Man licensing agreement, successfully extending the rights until January 1992.
"It's already September now, and 21st Century Film Corporation's authorization is about to expire. Menahem Golan still hasn't found a company willing to invest in Spider-Man," Stan Lee explained with a worried look to Arthur.
Arthur understood and smiled, "Right now, there's definitely risk in superhero projects. Disney's superhero movie adaptation, The Rocketeer, only grossed $46 million at the summer box office. Many companies are still worried. After all, the failure of Superman IV is still fresh in everyone's mind!"
Stan Lee looked at Arthur, "So, what does Galaxy think? Arthur Smith is Hollywood's golden producer."
"A good movie needs a good script. A good script is the prerequisite for all good works," Arthur said, staring at Stan Lee.
"Galaxy will invest in Spider-Man, and the movie budget won't be less than $40 million, but only if you have a good script in front of me. Here's the deal: Galaxy will sign a licensing agreement with Marvel. From next January, after 21st Century Film Corporation's authorization expires, the Spider-Man rights will transfer to Galaxy for a five-year term. How about that?"
Does Arthur want to develop Spider-Man right now? Absolutely not. Given the current situation, the post-production for Spider-Man is not mature yet.
However, Spider-Man is the only notable superhero Marvel currently has to offer. In the current market, Superman and Batman are the top-tier heroes!
Arthur remembered clearly that Spider-Man will attract James Cameron's interest next, but will also get caught up in rights disputes with Carolco, MGM, Sony Columbia, and others.
Galaxy is stepping in now, purely to secure these five years. Arthur estimates he could buy out Marvel again when it inevitably goes bankrupt anew!
"Forty million dollars?" Stan Lee's eyes lit up at the offer, "Of course! By the way, does Galaxy have interest in other Marvel characters? They may not be as popular as Spider-Man, but they can be adapted as well."
Stan Lee began pitching other superhero characters again!
Arthur's eyelid twitched, "I know what happened to those Marvel adaptations of Captain America and Hulk in the '80s."
Stan Lee smiled awkwardly, "It's different; you're a brilliant Hollywood filmmaker. You can choose whichever characters you think are suitable for adaptation!"
"So, are the rights to the Fantastic Four still with Marvel?" Arthur asked. After all, besides Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four were the most popular series Marvel had.
Stan Lee shook his head, "It's with Constantin Film, but the rights will expire at the end of next year!"
Arthur sighed internally. Looks like that awful Fantastic Four movie made just to retain the rights will start production soon.
"What about the X-Men series?" Arthur inquired.
This is the third most popular superhero series after Spider-Man and the Fantastic Four for Marvel!
"Is Galaxy interested in X-Men too? The rights are still with Marvel," Stan Lee responded.
Arthur nodded, "X-Men have many mutant characters, offering more adaptation possibilities. How about Galaxy signing a licensing agreement for both Spider-Man and the X-Men series?"
Galaxy doesn't have to produce immediately, but it must secure the rights in advance so they're not sold off to other companies in the future.
Sony still wants Spider-Man in the future? 20th Century Fox still wants X-Men? Keep dreaming!
Even though Marvel is now publicly traded, it has acquired a series of debt-loaded assets that have little real value.
Ronald Perelman only sees Marvel as a financial product, not even knowing that Spider-Man is from Marvel and Superman is from DC!
Stan Lee nodded, "A five-year agreement sounds good. It's negotiable!"
Arthur smiled, stood up, and shook Stan Lee's hand, "Don't worry, Galaxy won't disappoint the vast number of comic fans. I won't create a bad movie to ruin my reputation. These characters in Galaxy's hands are in the best possible place!"
"Hope so," Stan Lee said, always hoping Marvel could make a strong presence on the silver screen, but Marvel didn't know anything about movie production. The previously licensed adaptations didn't even qualify for theater releases!
How could Marvel's influence be enhanced? Now with the renowned Arthur Smith participating, there might be a chance?
Watching Stan Lee leave, Arthur shook his head slightly. Is Marvel really so unappreciated now?
And Stan Lee is totally unfit for business; Arthur didn't even provide any guarantees!
*****
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