Chapter 87: ultimate negotiation

With the promulgation of the Golden Globe Awards, the 1999 awards season officially opened.

"Saving Private Ryan", which had originally had five theaters in its theaters, has exploded again, increasing to 1,027 because of the overwhelming calls for the best picture at the Oscars!

In contrast, "My Big Greek Wedding", which had a flat performance during the awards season, only had 23 theaters instead of 196, which had little impact on the film's overall box office.

It must be understood that before that, the North American box office of "My Big Greek Wedding" exceeded Dunn's expectations and had accumulated to 252 million US dollars!

"Saving Private Ryan" grossed just $199 million in North America.

Some authoritative organizations predict that during the awards season, the North American box office of "Saving Private Ryan" is likely to increase by $16 million to $17 million, successfully surpassing the $200 million mark, and surpassing "Peerless Calamity" as the North American box office of 1998. Number two on the box office charts.

But Dunn doesn't care about these little things.

The post-production of "Star Wars Episode 1: The Menace of the Ghost Man" has been completed, and Dunn has completed the first cut version and handed it over to George Lucas for final review.

In addition, after a long three months of filming, "Wedding Crowder" invested by Dunn Pictures finally finished, and returned to Los Angeles to start post-production.

Relatively speaking, the British are more reliable than the Americans, but the efficiency is really poor.

Reese Witherspoon returned to Dunn Pictures, carrying a bag of candy, and distributing it to everyone with a smile.

On the one hand, she finally became a heroine once and shared happiness with everyone; on the other hand, because of filming, she didn't attend the company's Christmas party, which was made up.

Tang En looked at her up and down, and said with a smile, "It doesn't look tired, she's in good spirits!"

Reese Witherspoon sat down beside him and stretched her waist. "The director strictly adheres to the eight-hour workday, and he is not tired at all. By the way, I heard... You have a new girlfriend?"

Tang En had a black line on his forehead, "Who did you listen to?"

Reese shook her head complacently, "Exciting tactics! Hee hee, I didn't expect it to blow me up!"

"Naomi Watts, an Australian actress, was living in a very difficult situation. She couldn't pay the rent, so I took her back home. Oh yes, and Nicole, isn't she divorced? What about recuperating from emotional wounds?" Tang En didn't hide it, but made it clear.

Reese blinked, "Nicole Kidman, you..."

"Nothing! At least not yet!"

"Oh, what about me? Am I still going to live with you?"

Dunn thought for a while, "It's up to you, you can go as you like, but you can't quarrel."

Reese shrugged, "Forget it. If I live in, two Australian women will definitely join forces to bully me. If you miss me, we can go to the hotel."

Dunn waved his hands weakly, "Okay, I'll talk about these things later. Now let's sort out the documents. This afternoon, we are going to start the fourth negotiation with Marvel. This time...it's critical!"

"I'm going to be a big star soon, and I'm still a little secretary?" Reese Witherspoon raised her fist and protested seriously.

Dunn smiled and said, "What's wrong with the little secretary? Amy Pascal was born as a little secretary. Isn't he also the chairman of Columbia Pictures now?"

Amy Pascal, who was a secretary, unexpectedly became the chairman and CEO of Columbia Pictures, which was a big sensation in Hollywood in early 1999.

This woman is very capable. The first thing she did after taking office was to acquire the copyright of Spider-Man.

In later generations, he rose all the way and became the second head of Sony Entertainment.

So Dunn must attack as soon as possible to win Marvel.

Marvel's superheroes can no longer wander abroad.

……

Dunn Pictures has been negotiating with Marvel for a long time. For a small company with a market value of tens of millions of dollars, the negotiation time is a bit long.

The controlling party and management of Marvel also broke out a major irreconcilable conflict.

It is conceivable that even if Dunn acquires Marvel, Avi Arad and Ike Patum cannot continue to serve in Marvel.

This is somewhat a pity, both of them are knowledgeable and aspiring management talents.

However, compared with the great cause of Marvel, it is not important.

After several rounds of negotiations, Avi Allard and Ike Patum finally handed over their bottom line, they want to hold 5% of the shares and continue to run Marvel Entertainment.

To put it bluntly, I just don't want to let go of power.

The shares can be released, the power does not want to be lost, and even the price is easy to negotiate.

Dunn is very dissatisfied with their attitude. He has mentioned it more than once. He has only one requirement for Marvel, and that is to buy it in full!

"Well, let me tell you."

Dunn cleared his throat and turned his attention to the old Marvel management headed by Alan Vann.

"If I successfully complete the acquisition of Marvel, of course, a wholly-owned acquisition, I will do the following three things."

"First, improve the structure of Marvel Studios. The current Marvel Studios is completely an empty shell, with no ability to operate movies at all, and no relevant talents. This is not only a financial problem, but also a network problem. This is related to Marvel's future development must be the first to solve it."

"Second, the debt issue, I am here to give you a promise, which can even be written directly into the contract. From the moment I acquire Marvel, I will pay off all Marvel debts within three years, and let the company get rid of it for more than ten years. The debt crisis! If I can't do it, I am willing to give the shares to everyone for nothing!"

Dunn's powerful words made the eyes of the Marvel veterans glow.

Since the 1980s, Marvel has been struggling to survive by selling hero copyrights. In order to let the company tide over the difficulties, the veterans even cut their salaries many times, and they don’t even need to think about dividends.

Tang En's words now undoubtedly speak to their hearts.

How beautiful is a financially healthy Marvel?

"Third, there is the issue of your positions. Everyone sitting here is the veteran of Marvel, who has spent all their efforts on the development of the company. I am very moved and admired. I promise everyone that everyone's positions will not change. , and, for all employees, a 20% pay increase!"

This was bought with money in an upright manner, and naturally it won the favor of the management.

"As for the fourth, it's a movie."

Tang En deliberately paused, because this was the key point, everyone was shocked, and they perked up their ears to listen carefully.

"As you all know, Dunn Films produced "My Great Greek Wedding", which grossed $420 million worldwide at a cost of $15 million. I also directed "Titanic", which grossed nearly $1.9 billion worldwide. Dollars! Star Wars Episode 1: The Ghost Man Menace also hits theaters in mid-May."

"What do I mean by saying so much? I just want to tell you that I have excellent investment vision and professional ability to shoot commercial blockbusters! The strategy of Marvel and other companies to develop superheroes in the past is wrong, absurd, and undesirable. , the copyright is mine, we can develop independently!"

"I will solve the problem of funding. I can guarantee that if I successfully acquire Marvel, within this year, I will start a super production with an investment of 150 million US dollars, which is a real superhero movie~ www.wuxiaspot.com~ not the farce of the past Blades!"

Dunn's face-to-face slap didn't make Marvel's management feel ashamed, but his face was rosy and his eyes were full of anticipation.

Marvel editor-in-chief Joe Quesada couldn't help but ask, "Excuse me, Mr. Walker, are you planning to shoot Spider-Man?"

With such a large hand and such a large investment, in order to reduce risks, we must shoot Marvel's leading hero - Spider-Man!

Tang En said lightly: "Of course, I have a huge plan that will bring Marvel to the top of Hollywood! Not only Marvel, but also Iron Man, Hulk, Doctor Strange, Captain Marvel, All will be on the big screen! You just need to understand that as long as you have me, the days when Marvel was crushed by DC will be gone forever!"

Stan Lee asked tentatively, "Mr. Walker, may I ask... will you direct it yourself?"

Dunn smiled slightly, "Mr. James Cameron mentioned to me that he is very interested in shooting Spider-Man. If the cooperation cannot be achieved, I will shoot it myself."

James Cameron?

Dunn Walker?

These are all top Hollywood commercial blockbusters, and they are not at the same level as Stephen Norrington, the rookie director of "Blade Runner"!

With an investment of 150 million US dollars, and Marvel's ace Spider-Man, and a top commercial film director, how could such a film fail?

Tang En's words were like the magic brush of Ma Liang, who painted a colorful and starry future prospect for everyone present.

Alan Vann, Stan Lee, Brian Bendis, Joe Quesada, Dan Buckley and other Marvel senior executives all looked at each other and nodded.

There is no doubt that Dunn is the best person to take charge of Marvel!