The moment he stepped into the manor, Craig, that fat guy, disappeared into the crowd as if pulled by a magnet.
Ernst knew what that lecherous guy was up to with his butt; he inwardly complained about his agent’s habits.
Ever since he took over MGM, Craig had practically welded the title of ‘Beverly Stallion’ to his forehead.
Then he paused, gave a self-deprecating smile, and thought, neither of them should speak ill of the other; they were both of the same nature.
Holding a glass of champagne, his gaze idly swept across the crowd, meeting the invasive looks of women; some even sensually licked their lips and made more explicit, suggestive gestures, as if desperately trying to materialize the words “Come sleep with me.” Just as Ernst was about to roll his eyes, Universal CEO Frank Biondi swayed over, his slicked-back hair gleaming, and the diamond buttons on his tuxedo sparkling painfully.
“Ernst, I really didn’t expect you to come.” Frank’s smile was as hot as a freshly baked pizza, “I thought you only liked to hide in hotels and unleash your talents.” “How could I miss such a lively party?” They clinked glasses, and the champagne bubbles under the lights looked exactly like the abacus beads in Frank’s eyes.
“Congratulations, The Rock was a huge hit, giving Universal a great start to the summer season this year.” Hearing this made Frank’s mustache curl up, and he boasted about how he had recognized Michael Bay’s talent with his discerning eye.
“Yes, originally our prediction was around 220 million dollars at the global box office, but we didn’t expect it to become a dark horse.” At this time, Michael Bay was not yet a world-renowned director; although last year’s Bad Boys had a global box office of 140 million dollars, no one knew if it was an accident or skill, and Michael Bay still needed to prove himself in Hollywood.
The Rock allowed Michael Bay to touch the threshold of a top Hollywood director with one hand, and also made Universal a lot of money.
After a few pleasantries, Ernst’s eyes shifted, and he lowered his voice, “Frank, I heard Universal plans to sell the Iron Man copyright?” Frank raised an eyebrow, his expression instantly switching from smug to a business poker face, a hint of cunning flashing in his eyes.
However, years of ups and downs in the business world prevented him from immediately showing too much emotion.
“Iron Man’s copyright?
We value this comic character very much, and the adapted script has already been written, but it’s just not on the filming schedule yet.” Ernst nodded slightly, sipped his champagne, and didn’t expose the other party’s self-promotion.
Ernst’s indifferent attitude made Frank’s smile freeze for two seconds.
He had originally planned to see if he could take advantage of this Hollywood newcomer, but it now seemed there wasn’t much opportunity.
Crossing his arms, Frank pondered for a moment, then spoke with difficulty, “Forget it, your father and I are also good friends.
As an elder, how can I not help you?
I’ve heard about the media’s evaluation of you, but don’t take it seriously.
How about 2 million dollars?
I’m helping you under a lot of pressure.” How about it?
Not good.
Universal had only spent 3.7 million to acquire the copyrights for the three characters: Hulk, Iron Man, and Namor.
Everyone knew that the most valuable among them was the Hulk, whose copyright was worth at least 2.5 million dollars.
Although six years had passed, inflation wasn’t that high.
Ernst put down his glass, his expression becoming serious, “1 million dollars.
You know, MGM is very poor now, and I am also very poor.
You should know that this amount of money is enough for me to make a movie, and I am very sincere.” The Man from Earth had already started filming, and Ernst couldn’t miss such an opportunity to gain publicity.
Although it was all ridicule, saying that MGM had indeed returned to its golden age of the 1950s and 1960s under Ernst’s leadership, just look at the production costs—weren’t they the same as MGM’s big production costs in the 1950s and 1960s?
Ernst didn’t care about this at all; being infamous was still being famous.
Traffic is king, and no one understood traffic better than Ernst.
Without spending a penny, The Man from Earth became well-known through reports from major media outlets across America.
“We can discuss the price, but I can’t make a decision on 1 million dollars.
But don’t worry, within a reasonable range, I will definitely fight for the smallest cost for you within the group.” “We’ll discuss this in detail later.
Tonight, I need to entertain many people, so I won’t accompany you.” Frank left, walking with a smile towards a man in a suit.
Ernst knew this man; he was the Executive Vice President of 20th Century Fox.
He sneered at the corner of his mouth, letting out a cold huff.
What good discussion?
It’s just comparing prices; it seems 20th Century Fox was still very interested in Iron Man, just like in his previous life.
There was no way around it; comic book adaptations still had too much imaginative potential.
Although there were very few successful live-action Marvel movies at the moment, DC had them.
1989’s Batman, with a global box office exceeding 400 million dollars, pioneered the commercialization of superhero films and stimulated Marvel and major Hollywood giants.
Everyone knew that the difficulty of superhero films lay in special effects.
Marvel’s heroes relied more on special effects than DC heroes, but times were developing, and the rise of CGI made many people see this possibility and were willing to take a gamble.
“Excuse me, Mr.
Garfield, may I bother you for a few minutes?” Sissy, that was Ernst’s first impression after turning around and seeing the person approaching.
A tight shirt hugged narrow shoulders, a pinky finger held a champagne glass, and his voice was even more effeminate than champagne bubbles.
There was no discrimination or disdain; this was perfectly normal in Hollywood.
It wasn’t without reason that celebrities made big money; they had to act respectable in public but do the work of chickens and ducks behind the scenes.
The psychological changes brought about by this contrast made it difficult to avoid fluctuations.
What’s a sissy?
In Hollywood, over 30% of people are bisexual, and at least one in ten is homosexual.
Not to mention those who played even wilder for thrills — some even went to extremes with their fetishes.
Don’t ask Ernst how he knew, because it was all what his predecessor had left over from his escapades.
“Do we know each other?” Searching his memory, Ernst really couldn’t recall where he had met this guy.
“My name is Nathan, from Endeavor.” “Endeavor?” Ernst raised an eyebrow.
Endeavor Talent Agency, founded in 1995, was one of Hollywood’s future top five talent agencies.
CAA, William Morris Agency, ICM Partners, UTA, and Endeavor Talent Agency — these would be Hollywood’s top five agencies in the future.
But for now, UTA and Endeavor were still rising stars, one founded in 1991 and the other just last year.
Currently, Hollywood had three major agencies: CAA, William Morris, and ICM Partners.
However, UTA and Endeavor had already caught the industry’s attention, especially UTA, which was formed by the merger of two mid-sized agencies and was now a large agency.
Endeavor, on the other hand, gained attention because its founders came from ICM.
In March 1995, an internal conflict at ICM Partners, described as a midnight coup, became widely known in the industry.
The final result was that four fully-fledged agents — Ari Emanuel, David Greenblatt, Rick Rosen, and Tom Strickler — left to found Endeavor.
This year, three more agents from CAA became new partners at Endeavor, bringing with them stars of Adam Sandler’s caliber.
This company was particularly smart, focusing its current main business on television, thus reducing clashes with the major Hollywood economic giants.
He glanced at the other person with some discomfort; his eyeshadow was thicker than that of the actresses present, and his fingernails were coated with pearlescent powder, making him look as if he had just hopped off a Broadway stage.
“I’m sorry, if you want to discuss business with MGM, I think you should talk to Robert.” Robert Iger, Disney’s future legendary CEO, was currently Disney’s COO and saw no light at the end of the tunnel for taking over Disney.
After all, Michael Eisner, Disney’s tyrant, had an unshakeable position at Disney, and no one could challenge his authority.
Robert Iger had accepted Ernst’s invitation and become MGM’s current CEO.
However, to Ernst’s surprise, the other party wasn’t there to discuss business with MGM, but for him personally.