Chapter 3335. Visiting and Screening Plan

The contract for "Saw" was signed very quickly. It was drafted on the first day, reviewed by Ray Whannell, and signed on the second day.

MGM will buy out the copyright of "Saw" and its subsequent or derivative copyrights, and the two also expressed that they do not want any share of the box office revenue.

But in order to have better cooperation in the future, Eric still added a profit-sharing clause into the contract, but the amount was not high. When the box office exceeded 50 million US dollars, each person would get 1% of the net profit.

Unlike gross profit, the so-called net profit is a concept with a lot of room for manipulation. All costs related to the movie must be deducted to finally get that number. Simply put, it is accounting.

This can even include the director, producer, and actors' travel expenses, accommodation expenses, gift expenses, etc., even the cost of an ice cream.

Clearly, what we were eating was ice cream from a roadside stall, but what was written on the account was ice cream from a Michelin three-star hotel. The price difference was instantly dozens of times higher. And there was also the famous straw hat that cost $6,000. It's hilarious to even think about it.

There are thousands or even tens of thousands of similar accounts, of such a wide variety that they are impossible to check and review.

However, after being modified by professional accountants, a movie that is expected to make huge profits can be made to lose a lot of money, in order to avoid the need to share the profits with the actors and directors.

For example, "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" cost $150 million to produce and grossed $930 million worldwide. Even a fool would know that it was a huge profit.

But in order to avoid giving a share to the actors, Warner hired an accountant at a high salary to do the books. The result was that not only did it not make any money, it also suffered a loss of $167 million, and it was almost as if the actors had to pay for it.

Therefore, those big-name directors and actors usually do not sign pure profit-sharing agreements, but rather gross profit-sharing agreements. The percentage will definitely be much lower, but it is actually more secure.

But Eric knew in his heart that he had picked up a gold mine the moment the contract was signed, so he would not be stingy. Compared with some money, he valued these two people more.

Moreover, "Saw" has great box office potential, and the $100 million in the original time and space did not reach its upper limit.

Because Lionsgate's initial investment was only US$1.2 million, to put it bluntly, it was just playing scratch tickets, and they didn't pay much attention to publicity.

Now I have invested 5 million US dollars myself. If "Saw" can get good publicity, the box office will definitely reach new heights.

James Wan and Leigh Whannell have already gratefully joined the crew, which mainly consists of actors. MGM will invite masters to compose the music, and the rest of the staff can also be done by MGM's own staff.

This is the awesomeness of big companies. They may not be able to produce a bunch of Oscar-level talent, but at least they cover everything.

After the conversation the day before yesterday, Ray Whannell is now a little confused about whether to play the leading actor. If he is honest with himself, he actually wants to be a screenwriter, director, and producer.

The reason why he chose to play the leading role in "Saw" was, firstly, because he felt that no one could perform that state better than himself; secondly, he had no money and no one at the time, so he could only shoot a short film by himself.

But now that we have $5 million, it wouldn't be a bad idea to replace it with a more professional actor.

After telling Eric about his ideas, Eric recommended two candidates to him.

One is Ryan Reynolds, who promised Deadpool that he would give him a role.

In the original time and space, he had starred in the horror thrillers "The Conjuring" and "Buried", and received good reviews. As long as he is properly trained, it will not be difficult to get into the state a few years in advance, and it should not be a problem to handle "Saw".

The second one is Patrick Wilson. Many people may not know his name, but he also has a nickname - James Wan’s favorite actor. Doesn’t that immediately come to your mind?

Patrick Wilson is a drama actor. In his original time and space, he has appeared in "Insidious" and "The Conjuring". At this stage, his acting skills are better than Ryan Reynolds. Eric plans to let him meet up with James Wan in advance.

After arranging this matter, Eric went to the crew of "Sharknado". The filming had already started for half a month, but he had never visited the set.

It's not that I don't care, but there's really nothing to care about. The budget was no more than 2 million US dollars, and they were just trying to make a bad movie. Even putting a few idiots on the set could make it work.

The Colorado filming base, I don’t know who named it.

When he stepped into the studio, he heard a young man shouting loudly.

"Ryan, this shark prop is not cheap. It's filled with blood plasma. We don't have a big budget, so you have to cut it accurately!"

Then Ryan Reynolds' voice came out: "Don't worry, I have practiced it countless times in private, I am ready, let's shoot."

Then there was the sound of chaotic footsteps and the young man yelled: "Action!"

Then there’s the sound of a chainsaw starting up and Ryan Reynolds yelling, “Ah come on bitch!”

After a moment, the young man shouted "Cut" and applause broke out all around.

Eric also applauded and walked out from the corner while clapping: "Well done Ryan, I can tell from the sound alone that your performance was perfect."

At this time, Ryan Reynolds was covered in blood and holding a chainsaw. If he had put on a leather face, he would have been shot dead by the police as soon as he walked out of the studio.

Seeing the boss suddenly appear, a smile appeared on his face. He wanted to go forward but was worried about the plasma on his body.

The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!

"Sorry Eric, I'm afraid I can't hug you."

"Haha. It doesn't matter. I don't like men's hugs anyway."

In the corner, Warren also came over: "Eric, you didn't even tell me before you came."

"I also want to ask you, is it easy to be a producer?"

Warren pointed to his belly and said, "Look here. It will give you an answer."

At this time, the director and several other main actors also came over. They didn't know Eric, and just found out after asking around that he was the real big boss.

As for Warren Harrison and Bemahadi who assigned them jobs, they were just employees under others. Otherwise, how could AK Films enjoy the resources of MGM.

Eric shook hands with several people one by one and said some compliments, but when he shook hands with several actresses, they kept tickling his palms gently, and he knew what they meant.

As long as Eric beckons, these women will be willing to serve him during the lunch break without waiting until the evening.

Not to mention just one, with such little Karami among the actors, it is no problem at all to get them to serve together.

Are you asking if they are ashamed? They have no face at all, so how can they be ashamed? Unfortunately, Eric really looked down on them. I don't know how many people have picked up their parts. They are worse than the secretary Lisa and the stewardess.

After spending more than half an hour on the set, the director and Warren both promised that the film would be finished within half a month and that the budget would not be exceeded. They also instructed the special effects department to speed up the work and try to complete the post-production within a month.

Eric's goal is very clear, to release "Sharknado" during the Christmas season, there will be a large flow of people, and the audience will lead one by one, and everyone will watch the ugly and bad movie together, so the box office is guaranteed.

Today is the most important day. Tuesday’s data will determine whether there will be recommendations next week. I beg you guys not to keep the books.

In addition, I shamelessly ask for rewards and monthly tickets, and ask for support from my brothers. This is related to my life and death. Thank you very much! 　　 　 (End of this chapter)