Capítulo 74: One's needs
In the streets near EuropaCorp, John rested in the shade of a tree for a while before taking out his phone and dialing Lyman's number.
"Beep beep..."
The phone rang for a short while before a voice came through from the other end.
"How is the negotiation going?"
Lyman, who was still in his apartment in Cannes, put down his pen for drawing film storyboards and continued, "Has EuropaCorp agreed to our conditions?"
"Not yet. They seem quite dissatisfied with the funding part and even want to increase your director's salary to persuade us to give up on that aspect of the negotiation."
"By how much?"
"$5M plus a five percent share of the box office. Moreover, if we abandon the funding partnership, I am confident that I can negotiate for better terms."
"Hmm, impossible. I won't give that up either."
Upon hearing the firm response from the other side, John rubbed his forehead and his tone suddenly became serious. "Then we need to be prepared for the difficult negotiations ahead."
"Don't worry, I'm mentally prepared for that."
"Can I release some news now, saying that the new project is at an impasse with EuropaCorp, to further pressure them and force some concessions from their side?"
Faced with the agent's proposal, Lyman pondered for a moment before speaking, "You can release the news, but our first choice is still to prioritize cooperation with EuropaCorp."
"Alright, I understand."
After hanging up the phone, Lyman sat quietly on the couch in his apartment, momentarily losing the motivation to draw film storyboards.
During his low point, EuropaCorp reached out to him and he had always kept that in mind. However, despite their friendship, it shouldn't overly influence Lyman's judgment.
While EuropaCorp could be placed at the highest level of priority for cooperation, it was not an absolute must. Cooperation should satisfy both sides; it wouldn't be considered cooperation if he kept retreating without any consideration for his own interests. Both of his works brought returns far exceeding the investment amount, and he didn't owe anyone anything. All he wanted was a relatively fair cooperation agreement.
There was nothing wrong with that.
...
At the same time, in the conference room of EuropaCorp, Luc Besson was discussing cooperation issues with the head of the marketing department, Guillaume.
With a sigh, he said, "I went through the same thing back then. When faced with huge interests, everyone starts to think. He wants more, and I can understand that. Who wants to see the value they create end up as less than one-tenth of the profits that could be in their hands?"
The boss's words set the tone for the discussion.
Guillaume followed up, "But he wants too much. One-fifth... it's a bit presumptuous." After thinking for a while, he managed to say, "He's a bit too demanding."
"Is it possible that the channels we use for promoting the film, the marketing, distribution, and media relations, require no effort or cost? We've worked hard to reach the position we're in today. Doesn't the manpower, resources, time, and financial expenses we've invested count as a form of resources or value?"
"I don't think so. He thinks he can sit at the same level as us based on one directing work."
Hearing the pervasive resentment in his old colleague's words, Luc Besson laughed heartily, "Negotiations, huh? We haven't firmly set this condition. Maybe he doesn't really want that much."
"I don't think he sees it that way. He immediately asked for a one-fifth share, such arrogance."
"Alright, let's continue the contact. They want funding partnership, and basically, there's no escaping that. Let's be mentally prepared. As long as it doesn't exceed $8M, there's room for negotiation. That's our bottom line."
Guillaume said helplessly, "Alright, I understand. I'll try to negotiate as much as possible."
Two days later, John reported the results of the second round of negotiations with EuropaCorp. Although they still didn't reach an agreement, the tone had slightly eased. And as the news of the stalled negotiations spread, it gradually reached the ears of several other film companies.
Paramount, Warner Bros., as well as second-tier companies like Artisan and Miramax, all expressed their willingness to consider collaboration. This further added to the burden of negotiations for EuropaCorp. As John had anticipated, with Lyman's past achievements, they certainly wouldn't lack potential partners.
After another round of negotiations, the situation became even more favorable for Lyman's side. EuropaCorp agreed to the funding partnership, and now the impasse was undoubtedly the issue of the funding share and profit percentage.
Just as John silently cheered on and prepared for the next negotiation, ready to relax the funding amount and successfully secure the terms of this collaboration, a call came in from CAA headquarters...
The events went back to a day ago, just as many film companies were optimistic about Lyman's new project, CAA naturally couldn't ignore it. And through the latest updates continuously reported by their frontman, John, they were far more aware of the inside story than others.
Inside the CAA headquarters in Century City, the atmosphere in the conference room was exceptionally quiet.
Bryan Lourd instructed his assistant to distribute carefully compiled documents to many senior agents, including Kevin Huvane. These were relevant materials prepared by their research department.
After all, the achievements of "3 Idiots" were still vivid in their minds, and no one could remain unmoved. Even though John had mentioned that negotiations with EuropaCorp were on the right track, it couldn't prevent others from having different thoughts.
The materials were quickly distributed, filled with detailed insights into Lyman's directorial career, comparisons between the market earnings and investment amounts of his directed works, as well as some internal information related to the new project.
"Take a look, everyone," Bryan Lourd spoke slowly, "Our people have been assisting Lyman in negotiations with EuropaCorp. Although we haven't obtained the final result yet, it seems that the two sides reaching a collaboration is not far off."
"I'll add one thing," Kevin Huvane also spoke, "I heard that Paramount Pictures is interested in the new project as well. Think about it, can't we seize this opportunity and get involved?"
"But didn't they say that the negotiations were going smoothly? Do we have a chance?" a senior CAA executive asked in doubt.
"In this world, as long as there's enough interest, can't we find an opportunity to get involved? The key issue now is what cost we're willing to pay to gain a place in the game," another senior executive retorted.
"That's true, but what can we offer? Or rather, what are we willing to offer?" the person who spoke earlier raised a question again, plunging the conference room into silence.
Indeed, while others were close to reaching an agreement, how could they enter the game? They couldn't just offer better salaries to Lyman. In this aspect, they might not be as decisive as EuropaCorp.
The internal power and shareholding complexities at CAA were far from comparable to the centralized EuropaCorp, which also meant that making a major decision often resulted in internal disagreements, wasting time and energy, not to mention the involvement of financial investment issues, which made it even more challenging.
Although the board of directors didn't participate in the daily management of the company, they attached great importance to financial matters. They allowed entries but not exits. That might be the meaning of it.
It was difficult!
While everyone was thinking about how to enter the game, Kevin spoke up, "I heard something. Paramount Pictures wants to directly negotiate the distribution of this new film, trying to obtain the distribution rights, or at the very least, strive for the rights in the North American region. This might be an opportunity for us."
"What do you mean?" someone asked.
"Negotiate with EuropaCorp together with Paramount. Let's strive for a place in the game."
"But it seems like Paramount doesn't need our help. Can that work?" someone expressed their doubts.
"They have a project that wants our facilitation, right? We can agree to them and, in the joint action, only ask for short-term profit from box office earnings, without getting involved in peripheral income from offline and film rights operations. I think, in this way, they are very likely to agree."
"Is it worth it to do that?"
After all, they would be giving so much to only secure a short-term avenue for profit.
"As long as this film is as outstanding as his previous works, then it's worth it. Moreover, Lyman's agent contract is signed with our company, which can be seen as a kind of indirect investment," Kevin continued, "And besides, that Paramount project they want to operate, although the market prospects are average, there are still some feasible aspects. By offering a little convenience, striving for a chance to enter the game, I think it's very worthwhile."
"What do you all think?" Bryan said. It was time for everyone present to express their opinions.
"I agree."
"I agree."
"Seconded..."
"I think there's a problem..."
The series of attitudes had already revealed their individual thoughts.
Bryan summed it up, "With 10 votes in favor and 2 against, Kevin's proposal is approved. Now, contact Paramount Pictures immediately, express our intentions, and strive to submit a joint request to EuropaCorp."
"If there's nothing else, let's adjourn the meeting." After Bryan finished speaking, he stood up first and left the conference room.
The efforts to secure their position had begun...
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