Birth of an actor

Chapter 176 He Has Always Been Spicy

"Goffman said you would give me a surprise, but I didn't expect it to be such a surprise." Marvel President Isaac Parmat said, looking at the young man in front of him with complicated eyes, and there was surprise in his eyes , scrutiny, evaluation and a hint of imperceptible praise.

10 minutes ago, he was still in the conference room worrying with other shareholders, wondering who bought the Marvel shares in Carl Icahn's hands, what if it was another speculator?Marvel, whose vitality has been so damaged that it has to rely on selling Huadan to make a living, really can't stand another toss.

Carl Icahn can be called Marvel's biggest nightmare in the past ten years. Of course, in the minds of some shareholders, the former chairman of the board of directors, Ronald Perelman, is also a "Wolf of Wall Street". development, using financial means to issue a large number of junk bonds, blindly annexing and expanding, and speculators who only profit for themselves, but because Isaac Parmat was introduced to the board of directors by Ronald Perelman, and Ai Zack Parlmutter is a man of God and gratitude, so he doesn't want to speak ill of Perelman behind his back.

Secretary Betty Bryce went into the conference room to report to him that when William Bradley came for an appointment, Isaac Parlmutter was hesitating between meeting or putting off the appointment after lunch, Sabbath in church The founder of the IAA brokerage company, Amon Goffman, approached him on behalf of William Bradley. The reason why Isaac Parmatt agreed was mainly because of a passage from William Bradley relayed by the other party. ——

"Only for $700 million...well, if you include the film's box office share...only for tens of millions of dollars, to hand over a superhero like Spider-Man who supported the sales of Marvel comics in its heyday, Is it really cost-effective? You have to be clearly aware, Mr. Parmatt, that selling the copyright of Spider-Man to Sony means that the latter has control over the role of Spider-Man in the movie, and can modify it as he wants. Marvel will completely lose control of Spider-Man in the movie. In case Sony writes the script very badly, or even completely deviates from the essence of the original work, and makes people misunderstand the superhero itself, such as "Batman" With Robin, do you still think this is a good deal? Or, why not try this idea-is Marvel interested in leading the creation of comic-changing movies?"

I have to say that these words really reached Isaac Parmatt’s heart. Sony’s copyright fee is too small, and the box office share after the movie is released in the future is not high. This is indeed one of the most dissatisfied inside Marvel. , although Marvel's current financial situation is extremely bad, it was once a comprehensive entertainment company with a market value of billions of dollars (one of the few advantages brought about by Ronald Perelman's merger), and it really doesn't make sense to sell its popularity The tallest comic book superheroes are so cheap.However, excluding Warner and Fox, which already have the copyrights of other comic superheroes, and medium-sized production companies such as Lionsgate and New Line that do not have strong financial resources, Sony is indeed the most interested in comic-changing movies that Marvel can find. Good choice.

That's right, the most important reason Marvel would want to agree to Sony's low offer is because after Sony acquired Columbia, it also received the other's powerful distribution and promotion department, which can easily spread any film to the whole world. In the movie theaters of most countries in the world, whether the distribution ability of the distributor is strong or not is closely related to the box office, especially the box office share of Marvel, especially the peripheral products of the movie, such as clothing, TV, toys, games, etc., these Marvel can directly obtain half of the profits generated by the product.

In short, everything has only one purpose: to make money.

As for the various disadvantages caused by the sale of copyrights, for example, now that Marvel has lost control over the casting and script of "X-Men" that Twentieth Century Fox is shooting, it is tempting to alleviate the company's crisis. In front of the dollar, they are temporarily forgotten.

But temporarily forgetting does not mean completely forgetting. Amon Goffman’s words just hit the two points that Marvel’s board of directors are most dissatisfied with and most worried about. This suggestion sounds pertinent and practical. Is there any way for Marvel to lead the adaptation of the movie, but Isaac Parmatt, who is also hesitant to sign with Sony, thinks it is right to hear it, and he really wants to meet the most famous man in Hollywood. The young man wanted to know what kind of magic was in the other party, which would make his daughter, who had always been calm and rational, get excited when the name of William Bradley was mentioned.

Now that Isaac Parlmatt has seen it, he has to say that William Bradley lived up to his reputation, in every sense of the word.

However, what is his plan for Marvel?William Bradley deliberately sabotaged the cooperation between Marvel and Sony, and also bought the other party's shares from Carl Icahn. It is impossible for him to want nothing.

Does he want the whole Marvel?But William Bradley is an actor, and there is a film company that is on the rise like Willot, there is no reason to suddenly be interested in the animation industry, and the stock in the other party's hands is not as high as 51%. There are many, it is impossible to turn Marvel into his own words.

"It seems that the surprise I brought you is greater than the joy, Mr. Parmatt." After noticing the other party's eyes, William said.

"What exactly do you want?" Isaac Parmatt said, "Or let me put it another way-what do you want from Marvel?"

"Straight to the point. Mr. Parmat, I think I like your way." William took out a document from the briefcase he carried with him. The pages did not exceed five pages, but each line contained a lot of words. Producers, screenwriters and even the hard work of lawyers: "Everything I want is written on this, and this will be a win-win deal."

Isaac Parmatt took the documents with some doubts at first, but after reading a few lines, he couldn't help standing up from behind his desk and walking to the wine cabinet: "Bourbon or brandy ?”

"Bourbon, thank you."

Isaac Palmer returned with two full wine glasses, one was placed in front of William, and he took a heavy sip from the other in his hand: "I have to say that in all the things I can expect This is the most unexpected kind of situation, and if you don't have bigger plans, then you must be one of those helpful elves in fairy tales. Tell me, are you?"

"Elf?" After seeing Isaac Palmer nodding slightly, William shook his head and said with a smile, "Of course I'm not an elf. As I said just now, this is a win-win deal, although now Only Marvel will benefit, but believe me, Willot will also be the winner in the end."

……

It’s no wonder that Isaac Parmatt was so shocked that he couldn’t add more, because what was before him was a macro development plan involving Marvel’s future, not “Marvel is a potential golden mountain, we have to tap its potential and energy, to achieve brand value-added on a global scale." Such empty words are not detailed enough, but every sentence, even every word, has something to say.

The plan involves many aspects, the most important of which is to transform Marvel from an animation publishing company that publishes comics as its main means of operation to an animation publishing company with comic characters as its core and multiple industrial chains revolving around the core. Property rights companies, comprehensive entertainment companies, and even the second Disney—take Spider-Man as an example, around the role of Spider-Man, with movies, TV and even animation as the key links, and end products such as toys, T-shirts, and games as the medium, Promote the brand effect of the character of Spider-Man on a global scale - how to use the intellectual property rights of superheroes or supervillains to generate value will become the focus of Marvel's future development, not just selling comics and adaptation rights.

Although it sounds a bit like a series of derivative products after the comics became popular, this is actually a bit different. Most of the derivative products are promoted from top to bottom after the original works became popular, but in this plan In the book, all key links and media are used to promote the core characters, let the core characters become their own brands, and then feed back the comics industry. For example, the current comics industry is really difficult to do, and the cost increases and the sales volume declines. The vast majority of comic book heroes have been published for decades. In order to keep the sales from dropping too much, the writers continue to create stronger enemies for the heroes. For a long time, they have been The monotonous mode of fighting monsters and upgrading is repeated, but the effect is actually not very good. If a simple animation industry can be developed into intellectual property rights, it will not only expand the readership of comics, but also bring abundant inspiration to comic writers. The material basis allows them to avoid repetitive adventure plots when creating works, and instead focus on developing the depth and potential of characters.

This is simply a development plan for Marvel for the next 20 years, which is more superior than the route Warner set for DC. After all, DC is a subsidiary of Warner, and it lacks a certain degree of independence in operation, and it cannot choose an external one. The company cooperates.

Marvel is still working hard to keep the company from going bankrupt, scraping together to get the employees' salary next month, and wondering which superheroes with more value can be sold under the banner now, This plan is too far ahead.

But Isaac Parmatt is a successful Jewish businessman. He can see the wonderful things in this plan. It is not only practical and well-founded. It will probably only take a few years to achieve obvious results. Moreover, the plan also said why it is a way for Marvel to do more harm than good for Marvel by selling character copyrights to relieve its financial situation-Marvel cannot be in movies made by others. Occupying the dominant position, even if the film company just used the name of a superhero to make a movie that has nothing to do with comics, Marvel has nothing to do, and Hollywood film companies are generally tricky about the distribution of accounts. Marvel wants to rely on Sony or It is absolutely impossible for Fox to make a fortune from the box office, and once the character is sold, Marvel will lose the right to use it. This is not a good thing for Marvel, which has many superhero teams and a very grand view of the universe.

Isaac Parmatt was increasingly confused about William Bradley's purpose.

According to Bradley's current shareholder position, it is normal for him to propose such a plan.

But this is even more strange-William Bradley bought the shares of Marvel just a few days ago, but this plan could never be completed in such detail within a few days.

Why?Could it be that the only thing that Isaac Parmatt didn't account for is that William Bradley is actually a superhero fan, and he didn't want to see his favorite comic company decline, so he wanted to pull it off?

It was an idealistic idea, but it was the most likely reason Isaac Parmatt could think of.

Because he thought about it, he couldn't think of any move that William Bradley would do that would be unfavorable to Marvel—yes, there was also a proposal to acquire Marvel in the plan. Note that it was a merger, not an acquisition. , although it will become a subsidiary of Willot, Marvel Entertainment will not be renamed Willot-Marvel Entertainment, Marvel will still be an independent company with great autonomy, even Isa A major shareholder like Ke Parmat can also enter the decision-making level of Willot's directors.

That's why Isaac Parmatt couldn't help but ask William Bradley "is he an elf", which made him embarrassed and sick as soon as he said it.

William Bradley denied Isaac Parmatt's words, he probably thought Parmatt was just joking and there was nothing wrong with his expression, which made Isaac Parmatt much more comfortable .

"Mr Parmatt—"

"Just call me by my name."

"Isaac, I think you have also realized that comic publishing is already a declining industry. The sales volume of hundreds of thousands of copies in the golden age is no longer there. Now, whether it is DC or Marvel, there are only a few heroes in each issue. It can sell more than [-] copies, and the profit is getting thinner and thinner. Simply printing comics and selling characters cannot save Marvel, only transformation can save the company.”

Isaac Parmat looked at William and said, "Are you not afraid that I will take this plan to find cooperation with Sony, Paramount, or Fox? I believe that even Warner will be moved."

"So I chose to appear in your office at this time, not a few months ago, Isaac." After putting the wine glass on the table, William said, "Now, I am also a shareholder of Marvel, and the shares Just a little less than you, if the shareholders are not in harmony, it will not be good for the company."

This is definitely a warning, or a threat.But amazingly, Isaac Parmat didn't feel uncomfortable, probably because he also knew that it was impossible for Sony to buy the entire Marvel, although now if the Seven are willing to throw an olive branch to Marvel, Manwei is forced by the current predicament and would like to have a backer, just like DC has Warner, but the prospect of comic movies has always been bright and dark. There are successful examples and lessons learned. It is a subject with very high investment risks, and no one has yet Dare to decide whether this is a big pit or a gold mine, so it is impossible for Sony to be interested in this transaction involving hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.Both of them knew that this kind of deal between Sony and Marvel was impossible, so Isaac Parlmutter's question just now was just a hypothesis, and William Bradley's threat was unlikely to come true.

"Trick or treat?" Isaac Parlmutter finally asked with a smile.

"Just kidding." William shrugged: "And I believe that Isaac, you are not someone who can make small moves behind your back, otherwise, you wouldn't stand up when Marvel has no leader, and spend all your money All the working capital on the Internet has helped the company pay off its debts. With great power comes great responsibility, you remind me of that saying."

For the first time since the conversation, Isaac Palmer showed a deeply touched expression.

"With great power comes great responsibility." This is a sentence that Spider-Man Peter Parker's uncle said when he was confused, and it is also one of the most classic quotes in comics.The reason why Spiderman has been loved by people since its birth has not been adapted into a movie, but its popularity has never been lower than DC's Superman Batman, except because Peter Parker is the first in the history of American comics. In addition to being a hero, Superman is an orphan of Krypton, Batman and Iron Man are billionaires, Wonder Woman is an Amazon princess, and Aquaman is the king of Atlantis. Flawed, wisecracking, self-doubting, street hero who is often tormented by fate.

Isaac Parmatt would choose to run a toy company, would choose to merge the company with Marvel, and would choose to pick up the burden when Marvel went bankrupt. Especially in Israel, important industries are almost all controlled by big families, and Isaac Parmat did not have a good background. When he retired from the army, he immigrated to North America. , From owning a toy company to carrying the burden of Marvel Entertainment, he really thinks that he and Spider-Man have something in common, and he really loves these superheroes with a childlike innocence, otherwise he is a nearly [-]-year-old Old man, why do you have to worry so much about a comic company instead of living a rich and leisurely life?

It can only be said that there is a little boy living in every man's heart, and every little boy has a superhero dream.

After thinking for a long time, Isaac Parmat finally reached out to William: "Then please show me, Will, to prove that Willot can give Marvel more than Sony."

William smiled and shook that hand: "I will."

……

Walking out of the Marvel Building, Lamborghini has already parked outside the gate and waited, and its unique and cool body has attracted the curious eyes of many passers-by.

William put on the sunglasses to block his line of sight from direct contact with the outside world, walked to the other side of the car door and sat in, saying, "It's done."

Danny Byrne cheered, started the car immediately, and threw the mobile phone to William: "Amon just called to ask how the conversation is going."

William called his agent back to report the good news. After a long sigh of relief, Amon Goffman said: "Actually, I still don't understand why you are interested in Marvel, although you can bring Spider-Man and Thor to the screen. It's cool, but Willot has had enough projects started."

"Because if I were a little later, Marvel would have sold off the superhero," William said.

This sentence is the truth, now is actually not the best time, whether it was when Marvel was just sniped by Carl Icahn to file for bankruptcy two years ago, or when "Lord of the Rings" and "Harry Potter" were waiting a year or two later. With the release of Philosopher's Stone, Willot has ample funds, and if he buys Marvel, that will be a one-hit victory, and Marvel Entertainment can be turned into a subsidiary of Willot without any lip service.

Especially in the bankruptcy proceedings launched by Marvel in [-], the law automatically abolished the authorization and cooperation agreement that Marvel signed to others before, and took back the control of the characters of all its comic heroes, even the X-War that was sold to [-]th Century Fox. The police series are all supplementary agreements after the company's reorganization.But at that time, the numbers on William's account were still pitiful. Not to mention the acquisition of Marvel, it was a huge problem to pay off those heavy bank debts for Marvel.

Later, when he heard the news that Marvel was going to sell the characters to Sony, William realized that he had to act, otherwise, Marvel would sell the copyright of Spider-Man now, and in the not-too-distant future, they would sell the Hulk and Fantastic Four. , Daredevil...Because the timing of the choice was not the best, William only got the shares of Marvel in the hands of Carl Icahn. In the end, the remaining Marvel shareholders were very loyal to the company, and they would not be able to buy shares comparable to Parmatt for a while, so there was no need to alarm him.

It can be said that although it sounds like William is the second shareholder of Marvel, Isaac Parmatt insists on finding a larger film company to cooperate with. William has no choice. He has no foundation in Marvel now. , can't be compared with Isaac Palmer at all. Fortunately, he successfully persuaded Isaac Palmer and also contributed to the cooperation between Willlot and Marvel.

"Can manga movies really make a lot of money? Ten manga movies combined can't compare to a "Star Wars" series or a "Jurassic Park" series. If we can have our own sci-fi movie series, then That's the best."

"Manga movies will make money. As long as the special effects are realistic enough, does the success of "Jurassic Park" depend on the plot? People flock to the cinema to watch "Terminator". That epoch-making liquid robot. The current special effects of movies may not be able to fully restore the comic scenes, but they will always be able to in the future. After all, technology has been developing, right? Just like when I watched "Superman" for the first time, Reeve The picture of flying in the sky is so fake that I can find a bunch of bugs, it was much better in "Superman 4"."

"You are always very sure when you talk about the future, Will. Although I don't know where you judge it, you are always right." The Jewish agent said helplessly and excitedly: "You want to I have done all the Marvel comics that can be collected on the market for you. Hundreds of interns from IAA and Willot are on call at any time, but they need to find out from the mountain-like comics that are suitable for film adaptation. The heroes and villains of the comics, it is estimated that it will not be done in a few months."

"It's okay, the cooperation has been negotiated, and we can slowly prepare for the filming."

"By the way Will—" Amon Goffman suddenly hesitated.

William was a little strange: "What do you want to say?"

"Well, you haven't read today's paper, have you?"

"No. Which newspaper?"

"Forget it, it's nothing. In short, you just don't show up at parties attended by Gwyneth Paltrow these days."

The agent's ambiguity made William wonder while being curious: "Did I do something to offend Paltrow again? No."

"It's not you, it's—" Amon Goffman hung up the phone in a hurry because of an important meeting before he finished speaking.

Just as William was about to tell Danny Byrne, he stopped by the newsstand for a while, when the phone rang again.It's Leonardo DiCaprio.

"Why did you cooperate with Spielberg before my movie started shooting!"

The strong questioning tone made William couldn't help holding the phone a little away from his ear: "I was going to tell you about this in the past few days. However, the news hasn't been announced yet. Where did you hear about it?"

"It was published in "Entertainment Weekly" that Steven Spielberg was going to direct the first novel of "Harry Potter". Steven, he actually admitted it! And, why did you reject "How to Get Away with Law?"

"Of course it's because of the schedule. When "How to Get Away with Murder" started filming, I had another film appointment." William said, "Otherwise, I'm really interested in trying the role of an FBI agent. I'm the FBI, and you're a criminal." , I am a cat, you are a mouse, isn’t the script of cat and mouse very interesting?”

It was Steven Spielberg who first proposed to cooperate with William, that is, after this year's Oscar awards ceremony, the originally set older FBI agent character could even modify the script for William, but because of the schedule— ——William has a comedy film "Meet the Father-in-law" that will start shooting at the same time ——William can't take over "How to Get Away with Law", but the "Harry Potter" series has already started casting in the UK, so William asked Shi Did Steven Spielberg have any interest in directing this magical movie? Unexpectedly, Spielberg was full of childlike innocence and he was also a fan of J.K. Rowling's books, so he agreed immediately.

William didn't expect the news to leak so quickly, and it would soon be reported by the media.But think about it, the three "Harry Potter" novels have already become the most popular children's novels in the world, and they have been published in more than 200 countries. The news of the film adaptation has been spread since the beginning of last year. The filming is underway, but it hasn't really started yet. Now Willot's casting team is conducting auditions in the UK, and it has almost become the most lively event in the entertainment industry in that distant country thousands of miles away. Many old actors have promised that once there is a role suitable for them in the script, they will definitely agree to participate in the performance without saying a word. There are also countless parents from ordinary families who take their children to participate in the audition, hoping to become famous overnight.If it wasn't for Willlot's promise to J.K. Rowling and other actors for the time being, if the trio of Harry Potter protagonists must be British actors, maybe even Hollywood would be equally lively.

“You think How to Get Away with Murder is about cat and mouse? No, it’s Jack teasing Tom.” Leonardo DiCaprio was rolling his eyes on the other end of the call.

"In short, this role should already belong to Tom Hanks. Steven said that he would ask Hanks to save him."

"I also heard the news, Tom is a great actor, I should be able to learn a lot from him." Then in the next second, Leonardo's tone suddenly became mean: "You Did you read today's Chicago Sun-Times?"

"Not yet. You're the second person to remind me to read the paper. What happened?"

"Then go buy a newspaper," Leonardo gloating DiCaprio said meaningfully. "Then, hide from Gwyneth Paltrow."

The hesitation between Amon Goffman and Leonardo DiCaprio made William baffled. He asked Danny Byrne and found that the other party knew nothing, so when passing by a newsstand , got out of the car and bought a copy of the Chicago Sun-Times.

The moment he saw the headline of the entertainment section, William finally understood why everyone was telling him to avoid Gwyneth Paltrow.

However, what was even weirder was the gaze that the owner of the newsstand and several other readers who bought newspapers looked at William.

……

One day ago, WLS TV station in Chicago, "Oprah's Talk Show" recording site.

The guests of this episode are popular Hollywood actor Ben Affleck, who became acquainted with "Shakespeare in Love", and Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow. Since the release of "A History of Love", it has been showing affection on various occasions, almost every week it has appeared on the entertainment pages of major newspapers, especially after Gwyneth Paltrow won the Oscar queen throne, the two No matter where they go, they are the center of attention, and some filmmakers even offered the two a sky-high remuneration of 500 million U.S. dollars to ask them to co-star in a movie.

This is a couple that everyone admires. They are a good match in every aspect, needless to say in terms of appearance. Although Gwyneth Paltrow has already won an Oscar statuette, Ben Affleck also has a The Oscar for Best Original Screenplay is in hand, and after this awards ceremony, Gwyneth Paltrow's actress was called "the hottest in history" by some media, which caused a lot of criticism. Ben Affleck's In various interviews, she supported her girlfriend to the end, and even almost fought with the reporter of the "National Enquirer". The powerful character of her boyfriend also moved the onlookers very much - this is exactly what Oprah Winfrey thinks The original intention of inviting this Hollywood couple to participate in the talk show is to let the two talk about their mental journey before and after the relationship, and how to overcome the criticism from the media fans, it is already a rare warm and tearful scene.

However, people are not as good as heaven, even Oprah Winfrey herself did not expect such an embarrassing scene to appear on the show——

It may be due to the different growth environment and personality. Born in a Hollywood star family, Gwyneth Paltrow, who has attracted media attention since she was a child, has been talking and laughing with Oprah Winfrey since the beginning of the show. Mobilized the atmosphere of the scene, but Ben Affleck was born in an ordinary family and went to Hollywood by himself. Although he was talking and laughing with Matt Damon and other friends in private, but when he was under the spotlight, he In the conversation just now, except for a sentence or two when Gwyneth Paltrow talked about him, Ben Affleck rarely took the initiative to speak , staring at other places in the studio more often, as if there was no one else in a daze.

Perhaps to mobilize the atmosphere, Oprah Winfrey asked a question that made her extremely embarrassed on the show, but she laughed for a whole year after the show: "When did you realize that the partner is so hot?" (Hot)?"

Oprah Winfrey wanted Ben Affleck to talk about how he fell in love with Gwyneth Paltrow on the set of Shakespeare in Love For Pura's purpose, she smiled, and couldn't help but sit a little more straight on the sofa, looking at her lover with eyes full of love and expectation.

but.

"He's always been so hot." After pausing for two seconds before realizing that the question was thrown at him, Ben Affleck withdrew his staring stare at the guitarist of the soundtrack group in the studio, and glanced at him. The shot, some inexplicable replied.

"He?" Oprah Winfrey swears that she asked the word purely as a question, and she definitely didn't think too much about it at the time, just thinking that Ben Affleck simply mispronounced "she" as "he" ".

Ben Affleck blinked. "Didn't you mean Will?"

Oprah Winfrey: "…"

Gwyneth Paltrow's smile cracked.

After the entire studio was silent for a few seconds, the roof was almost overturned by deafening screams, laughter and "YOOOOO!"