The car circled around an artificial mountain fountain and came to a stop in an open-air parking lot. Lyman stepped out of the car and looked at the surroundings, sighing, "This place is indeed quite nice."
Barry Meyer, upon hearing this, chuckled, "If you think it's nice, you can come here often. Our group of old men often gather here to play golf. If we could have some young folks join us, it would add a bit of vitality too."
However, the secretary assistant on the side secretly calculated. Given Barry's status, if he said something like this, it meant he truly valued this young director.
But who was Barry Meyer?
Leaving aside the immense power and performance of Warner Bros. Pictures in Hollywood, his personal network and the annual dividends he received from shares were enough to establish his considerable net worth.
"Never mind, I'm not very good at golf. I prefer pondering about films over that."
"It's good for young people to be ambitious," Barry praised with a smile.
Lyman didn't continue the conversation and followed him to a restaurant.
The interior was still elegantly luxurious, with separate private rooms just like before.
But to be honest, this meal, lacking in taste, felt rather bland.
With such a significant age gap, boredom and hesitation were inevitable.
After the meal, Barry led Lyman to a cozy chamber within the club to continue discussing the project.
Before long, they delved into the main topic.
"Besides the investment terms for our collaboration, tell me about your personal requirements," Barry said.
Presently, Warner Bros.' performance on the annual report might seem impressive, but in reality, there were various challenges causing headaches.
With Sony Columbia's rise alongside Spider-Man, Warner Bros. was feeling the pressure the most.
In the past, the realm of superhero movies had always been dominated by DC. But now, with the sudden rise of other comic IPs, Warner Bros. naturally hesitated to share the rewards with their competitors.
Unfortunately, the adaptation plans for Superman and Batman had been facing constant setbacks. Not only were there internal disagreements, but the market outlook from the outside wasn't optimistic either.
Just as he was stuck in a predicament, someone unexpectedly handed him an olive branch.
This young director with boundless potential had already aroused Barry's anticipation.
As Barry asked, Lyman straightforwardly stated his demands, "Personally, I'm quite simple. Just give me more creative freedom on set. From choosing actors, filming the movie, post-production editing, and even forming the filming crew, I want to be in control. How does that sound? As for the distribution rights and offline revenue in the future, I'm willing to completely relinquish them."
Barry smiled, "I accept this request. However, we need to come up with a plan first. If the movie's performance upon release is poor, how about your company compensates Warner Bros. for the losses before taking any profits?"
"Agreed." Lyman continued, "Also, I want to recommend the producer for this project. Furthermore, Warner Bros. shouldn't easily interfere with the filming process. Only through such actions can we truly demonstrate our sincere cooperation."
"Very well."
The more Barry looked at Lyman, the more he favored him. This young man was truly to his liking – not only did he possess directorial talent, but he also understood when to advance and when to retreat. He was not arrogant and had a personality that was not off-putting.
Director Lyman, have you ever considered joining Warner? We will definitely treat you better than EuropaCorp," Barry couldn't help but say.
Facing such a proposal, Lyman rejected it without hesitation, "I'm sorry, I'm a director. As long as there are good projects, I'll naturally collaborate. Joining someone is out of the question."
This was just nonsense, and the real reason was that Lyman didn't quite believe Warner would truly prioritize his project. Compared to EuropaCorp, Warner's competitive power was overwhelming. They didn't lack money-making projects, such as "Harry Potter", "The Lord of the Rings", "The Matrix"...
Hearing Lyman's refusal, Barry wasn't too surprised. In all the interactions he had with Lyman, the latter had never shown much inclination to join. Moreover, when discussing collaborations, Lyman managed to negotiate assertively yet gracefully, showing himself to be someone with a strong sense of propriety and independence.
It's a pity. A talent like this can't be fully harnessed by me, Barry sighed.
In the previous life, Barry also recognized Christopher Nolan's potential and, without a second thought, supported him in directing the reboot of the Batman series. They subsequently collaborated on "The Prestige", "Inception", "Interstellar"... As for now, Barry saw great potential in Lyman and had thoughts about bringing him into Warner.
However, Lyman wasn't Christopher Nolan. Back then, Nolan had just begun to shine, with less recognition. Being lured by Barry and a platform like Warner, he was certainly willing to join. If it were two years ago, in the situation of today, Lyman might have been more open. But now, after all the hard work he had put in, having earned his qualifications and succeeded in several movies, he wasn't foolish enough to tie himself to a company like Warner. Lyman was no fool.
Of course, playing both sides had its risks too. How EuropaCorp and Paramount Pictures felt about such collaboration remained uncertain.
Nevertheless, he wasn't afraid.
After all, his priority was still to collaborate with EuropaCorp. Apart from the years of favors owed, he also had the intention of securing their stronghold.
Once the general terms of cooperation were preliminarily agreed upon, Lyman bid farewell with a sense of contentment. Barry had initially thought of seeing him off, but Lyman had his agent, John, come to pick him up, so he refrained.
Back home, John couldn't help but ask, "Are you going to collaborate with Warner on the new project?"
Lyman chuckled, "Exactly, you'll need to pay close attention to the specific terms of cooperation when the time comes, but it's almost settled."
John realized, not knowing the specifics of the collaboration, but the news still pleased him. After all, his career was tightly linked to Lyman's.
"Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on it."
"Alright, you can head back now. I'm going upstairs."
The roar of the engine resounded once again as Lyman returned to his spacious mansion and stepped onto the wide balcony. Surveying the surroundings, he couldn't help but relax.
After all the effort he had put in, it was finally time for him to succeed, wasn't it?