"Don't worry, everything's going smoothly. The whole crew is working efficiently, and the main actors' performances are all above standard. I was a bit concerned about Dakota Fanning, but she's been really well-behaved, none of the typical crying from child actors. So, we should be able to wrap up filming by the end of November, just as planned, and move on to post-production," Susan explained.
"That's good to hear," Wayne paused for a moment, then said, "I'm thinking of changing the distribution plan. Once post-production is done, I want to sell the rights directly. What do you think?"
On the other end of the phone, Susan seemed to hesitate for a moment before laughing, "Even though I'm the producer of this film, I'm just in charge of the production. How it's handled after that is up to you as the boss. But I should remind you, selling the rights won't make us as much as distributing it ourselves."
"I know that, but the company is expanding rapidly, and we need funds in a lot of areas."
Wayne sighed and added, "We need to speed up progress on *Gifted* a bit. It will take Sela at least three to five days to sell the film. Add in marketing and previews—if we want to release it by Christmas, we need *Gifted* to be finished by December 5th."
"I understand! I don't think that will be a problem." Susan did a quick mental calculation before agreeing.
*Gifted* doesn't have many special effects, and the storytelling is simple, so finishing post-production within five days shouldn't be an issue. However, with such a tight schedule, Susan couldn't help but feel a little nervous about the final quality.
"Are you going to attend the preview?" Susan asked, unable to resist.
"Come on, I'm busy filming in Europe! If I go back, it'll take at least three days, most of that time spent on a plane, which is not pleasant."
Sensing her concern, Wayne laughed and reassured her, "Don't worry. Have confidence in your skills and the directors and actors I've handpicked."
"What if it fails?" Susan wanted to ask but held her tongue.
"Alright, I get it. Anything else you need to tell me? If not, I'll get back to work."
After hanging up, Susan didn't immediately go to find director Gus. Instead, she thought things over on her own until lunch, when she finally discussed speeding up the production schedule with him.
Though completing post-production in five days wasn't too hard, she hoped to shave off some shooting time to give them a bit more room for editing.
Meanwhile, after finishing his call with Susan, Wayne dialed Sela to let her know about the sale. Sela, more confident than Susan, eagerly promised to sell *Gifted* for a higher price.
Wayne, however, wasn't overly optimistic. He believed this upgraded version of *Gifted* was better than the original, but that didn't necessarily guarantee higher box office returns.
After all, in his previous life, *Gifted*, even with the star power of Chris Evans, only managed to gross $43 million worldwide.
Unlike *Accepted*, which sparked social conversations, or *Happy Death Day*, which strategically hit the Halloween market with no serious competition, this version of *Gifted* could only use its Oscar-bait trio—Gus, Bower, and Sarandon—as its selling point.
With *What Women Want*, starring Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt, set for a December 15 release, and *Cast Away*, featuring Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt, premiering on December 22, *Gifted* was bound to face stiff competition at the box office.
Wayne had only projected $35 million in North America for *Gifted* and hoped for around $10 million in overseas rights sales.
With the decision to sell all the rights upfront, the distributors couldn't foresee the massive success *What Women Want* and *Cast Away* would achieve—$374 million and $429 million respectively—eating up market share from other films. Wayne thought Sela would be doing a fantastic job if she could sell *Gifted* for over $20 million.
After wrapping up the *Gifted* sale details, Wayne also instructed Sela to continue negotiating Marvel's acquisition. He didn't want to push too hard on the price because he intended to keep Avi Arad as CEO to lead the superhero rights buyback efforts.
Due to limited funds, other IP acquisitions would have to be put on hold until *The Bourne Identity* was finished.
"Still not enough money!" Wayne muttered after hanging up the phone.
There were so many lucrative opportunities right in front of him, but due to a lack of funds, all he could do was watch them slip by—truly frustrating.
Luckily, he still had Jessica and the others to help ease his frustrations.
By November 29, as *The Bourne Identity* wrapped its scenes in Switzerland and prepared to move on to Paris, the *Gifted* crew had finished shooting two days ahead of schedule, thanks to the efforts of Susan and director Gus. They were now ready to begin post-production.
Meanwhile, after learning Wayne didn't plan to replace him and would continue investing in Marvel, Avi Arad became much more cooperative in negotiating the buybacks of superhero rights for film adaptations.
According to Sela, all that was left was securing the funds.
Thanks to the massive success of *Accepted* and *Happy Death Day*, when Sela hinted that *Gifted* was also up for sale, all of Hollywood's big players—including the Big Seven, DreamWorks, and Lionsgate—expressed interest, promising to attend the preview.
Even Miramax, known for its cautious approach, wanted a piece of the action this time.
It's worth noting that it's been a month since *Happy Death Day* premiered, and its North American box office had reached a staggering $131 million, with global earnings of $273 million. Even 20 years later, it would still rank among the top ten highest-grossing horror films in history.
These remarkable numbers brought DreamWorks a huge windfall, while the Big Seven grew increasingly envious of the studio's success.
(End of Chapter)