Over the following days, Michael Davenport worked during the day and spent his evenings with Carmen Kass until she finished her stay in Los Angeles and left for Paris.
Perhaps the hardware was well-tuned, making software installation easier. When Michael bid farewell to Carmen, there was a sense of reluctance between them.
However, there was no dramatic scene. Carmen headed to Paris to continue her modelling career, which could completely change the life of an Estonian woman. At the same time, Michael returned to his company, continuing to fight for his career and future.
Michael was somewhat emotionally affected, and it would be a lie to say he wasn't sad at all.
Still, he could see that Carmen chose her career over a man. If it were him, he would make the same choice.
Michael's career was just starting, and he couldn't afford to relax. After Bob Cohen from the Fireman's Fund delivered the proposal, he immediately had George Clint organize a team to prepare all the materials needed for the third-party completion guarantee.
For companies that have worked with the Fireman's Fund for years, this is a straightforward task. However, a relatively unknown company like Seashore Entertainment first needs to earn the trust of the guarantor.
Many things are hardest at the beginning.
To pass the Fireman's Fund's insurance review, at least a script is needed.
Michael didn't plan to write it himself. The screenplay for "The Bourne Identity" is much more complex than "The Purge" and involves some political and intelligence agencies, requiring a lot of research. It would take a lot of time and effort from the screenwriter.
Hiring an outside screenwriter is the best option. Michael spent some time finalizing the outline and main plot, then had Seashore Entertainment publicly recruit screenwriters.
For the director, the first choice is definitely Paul Greengrass.
But Paul Greengrass was busy wrapping up post-production on "Kingsman," so Michael didn't bring it up to him yet.
Thus, "The Bourne Identity" began its early-stage planning.
Meanwhile, there was good news from George Clint: Robert Ludlum's condition had improved, and after relentless efforts, Ludlum finally agreed to negotiate the film rights for "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Michael met with Robert Ludlum personally. Ludlum looked highly frail as if he could meet his maker at any moment, which explained why he had refused to see anyone before.
Compared to the negotiations for "The Bourne Identity," the talks with Ludlum's agent went much smoother. One side was eager to buy, and the other was keen to sell. Conditions were agreed upon in just one afternoon.
Seashore Entertainment bought out the film rights to "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum" and also secured the rights for future adaptations.
In other words, they could continue to make sequels based on "The Bourne Trilogy."
Michael certainly had to pay a substantial price for this.
The base purchase price was $4 million, which wasn't a significant point of contention. Most of the negotiation time was spent on profit-sharing.
Michael had enough confidence in "The Bourne Trilogy" and naturally didn't want to include profit-sharing in the rights transaction.
But without profit-sharing, Ludlum's side refused to negotiate.
Ludlum's side proposed a 3% share of the total box office revenue. For well-known literary adaptations, if a box office share option is included, the usual rate is between 1.5% and 3%.
Michael definitely wouldn't agree to such terms. A 3% share of the global box office revenue would be a massive cut from Seashore Entertainment's earnings.
After some back and forth, both sides made concessions. Ludlum's share rose to 5%, but the profit-sharing option changed from the total box office revenue to all net profits.
At the same time, Michael agreed to another condition: if Seashore Entertainment failed to adapt the two novels into films or TV shows within ten years of the rights transfer agreement, Ludlum's agency would have the right to reclaim all rights to the two novels.
With a $4 million base transfer fee plus a 5% share of net profits, Michael successfully secured the film rights to "The Bourne Supremacy" and "The Bourne Ultimatum."
Of course, the copyright fees were still settled through a loan from Relativity Entertainment.
Actually, he wanted to lower the base transfer fee further and increase the net profit share percentage, but Ludlum's side didn't agree.
With the film rights to these two novels, the future of "The Bourne Identity" could build a complete trilogy and world, allowing for continued sequels based on the characters and plots.
If the opportunity arises, it could even be adapted into a TV series.
Michael returned to Los Angeles and found a suitable candidate among the many applying screenwriters: Tony Gilroy.
Gilroy wasn't a top-tier screenwriter but was firmly in the second tier, running a small writing team.
Since it's an adaptation, the price wasn't high. Tony Gilroy and his four-person writing team's total fee was $300,000.
Of course, whether it's the writer's fee or the copyright costs, these expenses will all be included in the film's budget.
Michael chose Tony Gilroy partly because he had worked on multiple action films.
Gilroy entered Hollywood with the sports romance "The Cutting Edge," later participating in the thriller crime films "Dolores Claiborne" and "The Devil's Advocate" as a writer.
Last year, Michael Bay's film about oil drillers going to space to drill an asteroid had Gilroy as one of the credited screenwriters.
This resume justified the fee Michael paid.
Moreover, apart from "The Cutting Edge," the other projects Gilroy worked on weren't his originals.
This was a significant reason why Michael chose Gilroy.
Many screenwriters who prefer originals are like directors lost in their own worlds, loving wild creativity.
These can become unstable and severe factors in commercial films.
Gilroy's involvement in three projects after "The Cutting Edge" was in a hired screenwriter capacity, meaning others provided the ideas and general framework, and he and his team wrote the story based on that.
Michael highly valued such a background.
Because he also needed Gilroy to write the script within a predetermined framework.
After signing the contract with Gilroy at Seashore Entertainment, Michael had an in-depth discussion with the writer, especially about the plot direction and character development.
"Tony, this is a commercial film," Michael said, having already handed over the outline to Gilroy. "Tell me your thoughts on the adaptation."
After a moment of thought, Gilroy said, "The outline's storyline is obvious. The scriptwriting must focus on narrative pace. Today's audiences expect faster-paced narratives in commercial films. I think the story must be tight, the plot not too complex, and avoid setting up any ambiguity regarding Bourne's amnesia. The audience should quickly realize the character has amnesia, seeing him as more than an ordinary person."
Michael agreed with him, "The plot shouldn't be mind-bending."
"Exactly!" Gilroy, having worked with Michael Bay, knew the ropes. "The story should be concise, ensuring the vast majority of the audience can understand it effortlessly."
He added, "As for characters, the novel's female lead is too complex. The script should reduce her role, centring entirely on Bourne."
Perhaps influenced by Michael Bay, Gilroy said, "The female lead should be more of a symbol around Bourne."
Michael nodded lightly, aligning with Gilroy's vision.
Gilroy continued, "Bourne is a spy. Currently, the most influential spies in Hollywood are James Bond and Ethan Hunt. For our film to succeed, Bourne must be distinct from these characters."
"Go on," Michael encouraged.
With Michael's encouragement, Gilroy elaborated, "Bourne's appearance should be unremarkable, like an average person. He shouldn't have much money, isn't particularly smart, and doesn't have high-tech gadgets. If he manages to get hold of a gun, that's considered lucky. Usually, he grabs whatever is at hand as a weapon, like a pencil, rope, toothbrush, etc. These elements should highlight Bourne's unique characteristics, differentiating him from James Bond and Ethan Hunt."
"That makes sense," Michael said. "If Bourne becomes like Bond or Hunt, the film is likely to fail."
With such iconic predecessors, following in their footsteps usually leads to failure.
Michael pondered for a moment and said, "Tony, create a sample first to see the effect. Also, the initial draft must be completed before the New Year."
Gilroy promised, "No problem."
Michael was quite satisfied with this writer. With a clear-headed and experienced screenwriter and a director like Paul Greengrass, the chances of successfully adapting "The Bourne Identity" seemed high.
A spy entirely different from James Bond and Ethan Hunt.
Perhaps in the future, those two might learn from Bourne.
It's hard to say whether the shift in style in later "007" films, casting the gritty Daniel Craig as James Bond, was influenced by "The Bourne Identity."
With the screenwriter settled and the director in mind, Michael also started considering actors, with Matt Damon as his top choice due to preexisting impressions.
Other actors could be selected through auditions once the director and most of the crew were in place.
Hollywood isn't short of actors.
Amidst the busyness, it was nearing the end of October. Just before Halloween, after seventeen weeks of screening, "The Blair Witch Project" officially exited the North American box office.