Find a quiet spot, turn the page, and let’s see what this story has been hiding 🌙 ✦ At the same time, James and the Touchstone Pictures group were holding a meeting in their hotel room to discuss the quality of the films they had seen on the first day.
“James, you were the first one to find this movie.
Tell us what you think.” Five people sat in the hotel living room.
The first to speak was a middle-aged executive named Mason Connelly, a Disney distribution executive overseeing Touchstone acquisitions and the person with the final say on this trip.
James took out his notebook, glanced at his notes again, and spoke.
“We all saw it this afternoon.
I think the film has very clear market potential.
The story is tightly constructed, the hook is clear, and the film remains surprising and entertaining throughout.
Of course, you can see the director is still immature in some details, but that does not hurt the viewing experience.
My recommendation is that we acquire it.” James closed the notebook and looked at Mason and the others.
“I thought it was very good after the morning screening, so I brought everyone back to see it in the afternoon.
Jenny, what do you think?
Should we buy it?” Except for Mason, the other four people in the room were acquisitions scouts.
Their tastes differed, but judgment was the foundation of their work, and Jenny’s eye was usually the sharpest.
Mason looked at Jenny too.
For this kind of film, her opinion was usually reliable.
Jenny, the only woman in the room, opened her own notebook and began.
“The target audience is clear: teenagers and young adults.
The young director uses multiple elements well, ties them neatly into the time-loop device, and turns the heroine’s repeated deaths and returns into character growth.
That is smart.
“The script may not have been designed around airtight logic from the beginning.
It also leaves the reason for Tree reliving the same day completely unexplained.
But the director uses that omission well enough that the audience keeps following the mystery instead of stopping to argue with it.
“He takes a familiar time-loop premise and a very familiar theme about love and family, then gives them a new charge.
A lot of the movie is opportunistic, but it works.
The young man is very clever, isn’t he?” Mason rubbed his chin as he listened to Jenny’s assessment.
Now he had to decide how little he could pay for it.
“James, call them.
Ask the young director to come to the hotel tomorrow.
I’ll talk to him personally about distribution.” James used the hotel room phone to call the small hotel where Evan and Luke were staying.
After the call, he nodded to Mason.
Meanwhile, one of the other people who had watched the film that day was speaking with the Black woman seated across from him.
“Tally, I strongly suggest you go see that film tomorrow.
If I had not gone in with Tom from Castle Rock today, we might have missed an opportunity.” The man speaking was the companion who had entered the theater with Tom, Jennings’s friend.
The woman opposite him was Tally Julia, Miramax’s well-known acquisitions buyer.
“All right.
I’ll take a look tomorrow.
Nate, if the film really has the market potential you described, I’ll report it to Harvey.
He’s coming tomorrow.” “I don’t think it will disappoint you.
But move quickly.
It was not just Tom from Castle Rock today.
I also saw James from Touchstone.” In the small hotel, Evan set down the phone and, under Jimmy and Luke’s expectant stare, punched the air.
Luke immediately asked, “What did they say?
Are they interested in the movie?
Do they want to buy it?” “They want me to come to the hotel tomorrow to talk.
Jimmy, come with me.
Do you think this is going to be a negotiation?” He looked at his agent.
“Very likely.
Be ready to negotiate.
If the terms are acceptable, you’ll need to bring in your lawyer.” Jimmy was happy too.
He had not expected things to move so smoothly.
He had assumed they would need several days before anyone called.
Instead, they had received an invitation in less than a day.
“No problem.
Let’s hope it goes well.
But we can’t give up on other potential buyers.
Luke, keep screening the film tomorrow and wait for our call.” Evan forced himself to calm down and started thinking through what strategy the other side might use if they really wanted the film.
“Don’t worry,” Luke said, full of confidence.
“Two screenings tomorrow morning, three in the afternoon.
I’ll keep the schedule.” At eight the next morning, Luke opened the theater and continued the screenings.
Evan put on the only suit he had brought and went with Jimmy to the Plank Hotel.
Inside the hotel suite, James introduced Evan and Mason again.
Once the greetings were over and everyone sat down, Mason spoke first.
“Director Rosenberg, I have some personal interest in your film.
Many places show immature technique.
Some logic is weak, and there are points in the story that are not fully explained.
Still, there are highlights.
I am prepared to buy the rights.” Evan listened in silence without the slightest anger.
In his previous life, he had learned a simple truth: buyers always led with the flaws when they wanted to drive down the price.
That rule worked almost anywhere.
If the other side opened with nothing but praise and a pile of compliments, the deal was probably dead.
“Make an offer, Mr.
Connelly.
If you want it, I would like to hear your terms.” He was not affected by Mason’s criticism.
He calmly analyzed what the man wanted.
“In my view, your film cost at most $1.5 million.
If you’re willing, I can offer $1.5 million for the North American rights and then put the film into theaters.” Mason trusted his eye.
The film did have real highlights, but its investment was absolutely not above that number.
For a first-time director, this was already a respectable offer.
Evan frowned.
The number was far from what he had imagined, but not beyond negotiation.
“Mr.
Connelly, four million dollars.
For that, you can take it.
I believe this film can create far more value than that.
You would also need to guarantee theatrical release as soon as possible.
And I am only selling North American rights.
I want to retain sequel rights and overseas rights.” “Impossible.
I have to remind you, Director Rosenberg, the film simply is not worth four million dollars.
If I were not personally interested, I would not make an offer at all.
I’ll add five hundred thousand.
Two million dollars.
Final offer.
You can consider it.” Mason looked at the still-green director across from him.
He believed Evan would not give up the chance to put his first film in theaters.
Overseas rights and sequel rights did not matter much to him.
No one could guarantee the film would succeed.
His assessment was that some young viewers might like it, but it would never gross over ten million dollars.
Absolutely impossible.
Handled well, the theatrical run could recover the cost.
Later video distribution might bring in another million or more.
A film like this had good prospects on video.
“I’m sorry, Mr.
Connelly.
I’ll go back and think it over.
If I have an answer, I will contact you.
Thank you again for recognizing the film.” Evan stood suddenly and said goodbye to James and Mason.
He was not in a hurry.
Negotiations rarely ended in one meeting.
Since the gap was this large, he wanted to see whether other companies were interested.
This was business, and Hollywood was especially ruthless about it.
Any proposal involving millions of dollars deserved caution.
He did not need to sell immediately.
The festival still had nine days left.
He had time to weigh gains and losses.
When Evan returned to the private screening room near the festival, Luke was showing the second screening of the day.
Compared with yesterday, the room had noticeably more people.
Nearly half the seats were filled.
On the chairs near the entrance, where he and Luke usually rested, a middle-aged Black woman was waiting.
Evan looked at her, puzzled.
He did not remember knowing this woman, but she was clearly waiting for him.
“Hi.
I’m Tally Julia, an acquisitions buyer from Miramax.
I just watched the film and would like to talk, Director Rosenberg.” Tally studied the young director in front of her.
From a woman’s point of view, he was handsome and strong.
Maybe he should have been an actor instead of a director.
“Hello, Ms.
Julia.
Sorry.
I was discussing something with Touchstone Pictures.” Evan shook her hand.
His face was steady, but he nearly laughed at the sudden reversal.
“Call me Tally.
Are you free tonight?
I’d like you to bring the print to the hotel.” Evan’s mood dropped before it could rise too far.
For a moment, he wondered whether she was proposing something other than business.
“I spoke to my boss about your film,” Tally continued.
“He won’t arrive until tonight because his flight was delayed.
Mr.
Harvey is interested after hearing my report.
He hopes you can bring the print and screen it for him tonight.” “All right.
Leave me a number.
I’ll be there on time.” Evan took Tally’s card and watched her walk toward a theater on the corner.
Jimmy slapped his shoulder with a strange grin.
“Evan, I swear, if that lady had not explained herself fast enough, you looked like you were about to punch her.
You should have seen your face when she invited you to a hotel.” “Hey, Jimmy, I admit I got the wrong idea.
But is that kind of thing rare in this town?
Honestly, if someone could get this movie distributed for free, I might consider paying with my dignity.” He waved it off.
Jimmy stared at him, momentarily speechless.
Apparently he had overestimated Evan’s bottom line.
“Stop dreaming, Evan.
You think what’s between your legs is worth more than a million dollars?
Do you know how much it costs to release a film, even without major upfront marketing?
The prints alone are expensive.
Put the fantasy away and think seriously about Touchstone’s terms.
Even if we can negotiate, I doubt the price will go much higher.” ✦ ✦ ✦ Ready for more?
CREATORS’ THOUGHTS TheBacklot Thank you for reading.
I hope this chapter drew you further into the story.
Stick around, because there’s still a lot waiting just ahead.