章 248: Salary game

"However, I wonder what plans the production team has regarding his fee budget."

Andy's words carried a full smile, friendly and warm, as if he were seeking opinions on lunch options. However, his words lacked any concealment and straightforwardly addressed the topic.

Neal wasn't surprised by this.

The tug-of-war between the "Fast 5" production team and Dwayne Johnson had likely spread throughout half of Hollywood. It was widely known that the root of this dispute lay in the fact that the production team believed Dwayne's cost-effectiveness didn't warrant a payment of $3.5M, while Dwayne and his agent believed his importance to the production definitely justified that amount.

However, as time passed, this had gradually evolved into a game between actors and producers. The average pay level in Hollywood had risen to unprecedented heights, even the $20M club couldn't cap it. This made agents and actors bolder and their asking prices rose faster. But from the perspective of producers and production companies, they didn't want to see this situation.

This was also the fundamental reason why Ron chose to support Neal.

Now that the production team had decided to select someone else, they could either pick an actor like Bruce Willis, who might demand a staggering $6M. Although this was more expensive than Dwayne's fee, the market returns would be worth expecting. Alternatively, they could choose an actor like Renly Hall, who was obscure but had potential. His fee might not be much, but he would receive more promotional resources.

However, agents were shrewd individuals. They knew this was their opportunity. If the production team gave up on cooperating with Dwayne, no matter who the replacement was, agents standing behind the scenes wouldn't let go easily. They would undoubtedly seize the chance while the iron was hot. Still, everyone would exercise caution.

Comparatively, newcomers had limited room for fee negotiation, which was why Neal chose Renly.

"What's your plan?" Neal, of course, wouldn't willingly reveal his hand; that's the key to negotiation.

Andy paused for half a second. He had repeatedly pondered over the specifics of his plan during this period, so he was quite familiar with it. The plan rapidly ran through his mind, "One percent of box office profits."

Neal's expression paused for a moment, and his surprise was nearly impossible to hide. Fortunately, he had chosen to communicate over the phone. If it were a face-to-face meeting, he would have been ill-prepared for Andy's assault. The fact was just that. He truly hadn't anticipated that Andy's aim would be profit sharing!

No wonder, no wonder Andy had played his trump card, Steven Spielberg! Initially, when he heard that Steven had personally talked to Ron and recommended Renly to him, Neal thought Andy's mind was muddled, that he was vastly overestimating Renly's potential.

After the broadcast of "The Pacific", everyone could sense Steven's admiration for Renly. Tom Hanks had even recounted the anecdote of Renly's audition on several private occasions. With the endorsement of both Steven and Tom, two top industry giants, it meant that Renly had truly entered the backup list for major productions in top-tier film companies. Handled properly, this was a soaring opportunity.

However, Andy had actually leveraged this relationship for "Fast 5", which was a complete waste. Not to mention that "Fast 5" was merely a $100M investment project, even just considering the role of a third main character, it didn't require a heavyweight like Steven.

This caused Neal to downgrade his evaluation of Andy by several levels.

However, now it seemed that not only had Neal underestimated Andy, but most of Hollywood's industry professionals probably had too. It was unexpected that Andy's ambition wasn't solely focused on "Fast 5". Instead, it encompassed Renly's entire career plan.

In Hollywood, there's an unwritten rule that an actor's income adheres to a strict hierarchical system: under $3M, $3-8M, $8-15M, and then there's the $20M club. There might be some deviations in the details, but one thing's certain: for every actor to increase their fee, it requires favorable conditions, timing, and various other factors coming into play. Otherwise, Dwayne Johnson wouldn't have been turned away this time.

As for actors aiming for box office profit sharing, that's even more difficult. It's akin to Johnny Depp's "Pirates of the Caribbean". Until actors prove themselves, they can't expect a share of the profits, especially in the context of commercial films. Independent art films with box office earnings generally less than $10M are a different story, of course.

Because the box office of a commercial film is divided among many parties: the production company, distribution company, and screening theaters each take a slice. Generally, the split is around forty to forty-five percent for the production company, fifteen to twenty percent for the distribution company, and the remaining forty percent goes to the theaters. If it's a top-tier, large-scale film company like Universal Pictures, which produces and distributes its own films, apart from the theater share, the rest belongs to Universal.

Within the profit share that the production company receives, some goes to the company itself, while the remainder is divided among the director, writer, producer, and cast members.

If the producer of the production team is Steven Spielberg, who takes fifteen percent of the box office profit share, then the profit ratio of others naturally must decrease. Therefore, in Tom Cruise's film projects, he prefers to work with second and third-line actors, as do directors and writers. This ensures that Tom's profits aren't divvied up.

In short, the profit portion given to the production team is limited, and members of the production team must compete among themselves. Producers naturally don't want actors to eat into their profits.

The importance of a fee lies in the fact that once the precedent is set, it solidifies the actor's position and level. If an actor receives one and a half million for a role this time, they'll naturally demand the same for the next role. Whether an actor voluntarily lowers their fee or appears for the sake of friendship is their own choice. Similarly, if an actor participates in box office profit sharing this time, it's only natural for them to continue in the next round. The ratio of profit sharing, basic fees – those are separate matters.

In this profit-centric modern society, box office profit sharing is like extracting a piece of flesh from a capitalist – it's not so easy.

However, this is Hollywood, a place skilled in creating dreams. There are countless examples of overnight fame, and instances where an actor's fee soared from three million to one and a half million for just one film aren't few.

This was also Andy's goal. He even didn't hesitate to use Steven's personal connections.

But what gave Andy such confidence in Renly? His plan showed such ambition! Just "Bury Alive" a project and it's hard to discern much from it. Instances of sudden genius acting talent are rare.

"Box office profit sharing? You know that's impossible." Neal was only surprised for a moment, then regained his composure, and said with a light chuckle. He didn't even discuss the ratio; he straightforwardly rejected it from its root.

Andy, however, remained unfazed. "If it's impossible, you can hang up right now." In his casual demeanor, Andy displayed his decisiveness and resilience. "We all know that one percent of profit sharing is hardly anything."

The first three films of the "Fast & Furious" series, in reality, didn't boast remarkable box office performances. The best performing first installment earned $140.4M in North America, and even the third film suffered losses so severe it stripped them bare. The series managed to resurrect itself due to Universal Pictures' incompetence in developing sequels. With no cards left to play, they were left with the fourth installment.

In a desperate attempt, they unexpectedly secured $155.5M in North America and controlled the investment cost at $85M. Relying on the outstanding overseas box office performance, the film garnered $360M globally, allowing Universal Pictures to make a modest profit. Thus, the fifth installment came to fruition.

In other words, even if one calculates based on the North American box office of the fourth installment, one percent of profit sharing would amount to a mere $1.55M.

Renly was a newcomer, an absolute newcomer. His fee hovered around $500,000 at most. With the boost from the Dwayne Johnson incident and the momentum from Toronto and Telluride, his fee could increase to around $800,000 or even $1M. This was Neal's psychological expected price range.

Now, Andy proposed one percent of profit sharing and then bargained down. Purely from a numerical perspective, it wasn't entirely unreasonable. However, compensation was never just about numbers, was it?

"One percent of profit sharing indeed isn't much, but it depends on who the recipient is," Neal remained unyielding.

Andy chuckled instead. "This is a supply and demand relationship. The key lies in what the buyer's market truly needs."

The question circled back to its origin: Why did Neal choose Renly? Why not Jason Statham, Keanu Reeves, Bruce Willis, or Kiefer Sutherland?

Neal could choose other actors, of course. No one in Hollywood is indispensable. He had forsaken the self-assured Dwayne, choosing Renly. Likewise, he could forsake Renly and select someone else.

But the issue was whether there was a more suitable choice than Renly now.

There were countless actors in Hollywood. Selecting a substitute wasn't difficult, but currently, the "Fast 5" production was racing against time, and then... Neal suddenly recalled Steven Spielberg. He had to admit, Andy's move was incredibly clever,

Timing. Opportunity. People.

Neal shook his head and reiterated his denial, "One percent is absolutely impossible." However, this time it wasn't "profit sharing is impossible". The focus had shifted to the numbers.

Andy wore a satisfied smile. "Well then, how about half a percent? What do you think?"

"I'm listening." Neal refrained from responding because he knew the matter was far from over.