Looking out through the floor-to-ceiling windows, tall buildings rose one after another.
Guillermo turned his gaze to the man in front of him, his thoughts racing.
As he had observed along the way, the staff at Firefly Films seemed relatively scarce, indicating that they were still in the early stages of development. Such small production companies were a common sight in Hollywood.
The only advantage they seemed to hold was that Firefly Films had already achieved success with their project "Saw", a market performance that couldn't be ignored.
His agent had mentioned that "Saw 2" was already in partnership with Paramount Pictures.
Additionally, there were collaboration announcements from Warner Bros., adding more capital and allure.
However, this wasn't his concern until George approached him.
The realm of film production was too concentrated, and he had had enough of the overpowering influence of the Big Six in Hollywood.
Just thinking about how his original ideas were constantly denied and modified to align with market trends left Guillermo feeling frustrated.
Before this, apart from his fallout with New Line Cinema, other companies had also approached him.
Sony Columbia Pictures had shown interest in his new project and hinted at their willingness to invest.
But he hadn't accepted their offer yet because he had put forth one condition that had been rejected.
After so many years in the industry, with over 15 years of experience as an art director, he was eager to bring those interesting concepts to life.
The issue was that there were countless excellent scripts and stories in the industry. Why should they choose to invest in him?
So, he thought of a solution: collaborating with his own studio.
After all, he did have some noteworthy achievements to his name.
Moreover, opportunities had to be seized.
Even if the other party didn't agree, it wouldn't greatly affect him.
"Do you have a script?" Lyman pondered for a while before asking.
"I do." As soon as Guillermo sensed a chance, he hastily retrieved the script he had written from his bag, along with a comic book.
The comic book bore the title "Hellboy" on its cover, and the script was adapted from it.
It appeared that the story was based on this comic.
Flipping through the script, it told the tale of Hellboy, the son of Satan, summoned by Nazi loyalists during World War II to be used as a weapon of war to save their dying cause. However, their secret ritual location was discovered and destroyed by the Allies, leading to Hellboy falling into Allied hands. He then assisted them in completing various impossible missions, annihilating any forces opposing justice...
Well, the storyline had a distinctly American flavor.
And like many scripts written by directors, this one also had a flaw – it was quite rough.
Movie details were often left unclear, and character dialogues were sparingly designed. Action scenes were only briefly outlined, likely intended to be fleshed out by the action director on set.
Lyman scratched his head, curious. "How did you come up with the idea to make a film like this?"
"I think Hellboy is cool. I wanted to adapt it when I was reading the comic, but at that time, there wasn't an opportunity." Guillermo briefly explained the initial inspiration for the film, then continued, "Lyman, you can take a look at the image I've designed for Hellboy. He's bound to be the wildest character in all comic book adaptations. I believe there will be many viewers interested in him when the time comes."
"The story feels a bit too cliché," Lyman said tactfully.
Guillermo's heart sank a bit, but he was relieved that Lyman hadn't outright rejected it. He made one last attempt, saying, "This comic has a large fan base, and it naturally has value for adaptation. Moreover, I only need a $50M investment, and I have some money of my own. In terms of risk, it should be minimal, and there shouldn't be any problem recouping the investment."
Lyman had originally considered helping him revise the script, but the story's plot was entirely driven by Hellboy. To cater to comic book fans, Guillermo hadn't made significant changes to the storyline.
Lyman was at a loss as to where to start.
"If I don't invest in your project, will you refuse to join Firefly Films?" he asked.
"Well..." Guillermo hesitated for a moment and then answered honestly, "At least, I won't have that plan for the time being."
To strengthen his case, he added, "My studio will still get other projects. We're not short of work."
Lyman nodded in response.
Guillermo's implication was that his studio had plenty of opportunities, and there was no particular need to join a specific production company. Freedom might be a better option if it wasn't for this project.
Lyman remained composed, his mind racing with various thoughts. Guillermo seemed a bit anxious, probably because things weren't going smoothly.
After some consideration, Lyman said, "I can invest, but you have to agree to a condition."
Guillermo's eyes lit up. "Please, Mr. Lyman, go ahead."
Lyman continued, "Your studio will join Firefly Films as previously discussed. You will take on projects in the future and prioritize your own film projects. Of course, we will offer a fair industry-standard salary, and perhaps even a bit higher."
Guillermo's studio was renowned in the industry for its art direction. You could tell from the films he directed that he had a strong focus on this aspect. Currently, what Firefly Films' production department lacked the most was talent in art direction. They had sufficient staff in areas like cinematography, lighting, and sound recording.
With their inclusion, the production department at the company could likely find its footing sooner.
"As for this project, the storyline is a bit meandering. Try to concentrate more on scenes of Hellboy fighting, and reduce the supporting storylines as much as possible."
Lyman offered his suggestion, and Guillermo thought it over and nodded earnestly.
He wasn't a master at writing scripts. When making movies, he focused more on having the freedom to shoot the peculiar settings he wanted. As long as he could enjoy the process, and the investor's requests weren't too excessive, he could happily agree.
"The preliminary budget for investment is set at $60M. Firefly Films will contribute $50M, and you will join the project with a base salary of $4.5M plus a $10M investment share. Do you have any objections?"
In "Blade II", Guillermo had earned a fee of $2M, but due to the film's decent market performance after its release, it had doubled, which was quite normal.
Moreover, Lyman didn't have particularly high hopes for this project. Comic book adaptations were typically challenging to make a significant impact in, especially this film, which Lyman had never even heard of. It certainly wasn't a market hit. Instead of the investment, Lyman had more faith in Guillermo's future and the studio he had founded from scratch.