[Chapter 641: The Forward]
"Eric, I'm well aware that star salaries can be inflated, but I recently heard that Firefly Group just green-lit James Cameron's new film Titanic, which has a production budget of $150 million. Since Firefly is willing to allocate such a hefty budget for a high-risk disaster movie, why won't they make some concessions for the Men in Black sequel? After all, even if we meet the creators' demands now, the final production budget likely won't exceed $150 million?"
Eric glanced at Peter Guber and said, "Peter, before we discuss Men in Black, do you know why I'm willing to let James go over budget time and again?"
Peter shrugged.
Eric didn't expect Peter to answer, so he continued, "Because I'm very sure that every dollar James spends is aimed at enhancing the film's quality, rather than simply inviting overpaid stars with big salaries."
Peter attempted to counter, "But inviting stars is precisely about making the film more appealing at the box office, isn't it?"
"Of course, I'm not denying that," Eric replied. "But oftentimes, it's just not worth it. Take the recent Beverly Hills Cop III and Wyatt Earp; Paramount and Warner spent huge budgets on lead salaries. Eddie Murphy and Kevin Costner both received over $15 million in fixed salaries and substantial profit-sharing agreements, yet we saw what happened in the end."
Peter said, "Eric, those were just flukes, and Miss Kidman's salary from The Mummy is even more shocking."
"Nicole completely forfeited a fixed salary in exchange for her profit-sharing agreement. If The Mummy didn't do well at the box office, she wouldn't get a dime," Eric stated. "And then there's James; whenever his productions exceed budget, he voluntarily waives his directing fee to alleviate the company's financial burden. But those stars? They expect to get paid millions while also demanding higher profit shares. Despite reaping these benefits, they take on no risks for the film companies. Just like I mentioned regarding those two films, they resulted in massive losses for the studios, yet the two leads walked away with over 10 million dollars. Other studios can pursue big-name stars with extravagant salaries; that's not my concern. But with Firefly and its associated companies, they shouldn't expect to get away with that kind of treatment."
Seeing that Eric wouldn't budge on salary expenditures, Peter Guber conceded, "In that case, Eric, I think Firefly and Columbia need to renegotiate that copyright distribution agreement. The rights to Men in Black fully belonged to Columbia, and under the conditions for sequel development, they will automatically revert to Firefly after five years. That agreement seems a bit unfair to Columbia."
The initial agreement Eric had created was modeled after the Marvel character licensing deal, which allowed for a five-year term with no sequels automatically reverting. After Peter Guber prompted him for clarification, Eric waved to the people nearby and leaned against the workbench with a smile, looking at Peter Guber. "Peter, we all know this was an unfair agreement from the start, and the Japanese know it too. And the private dealings we've engaged in are even less fair, but since the Japanese think they're trying to break into Hollywood, they should understand that tuition fees come with that."
"But, Eric..."
Eric interrupted Peter Guber with a wave of his hand, still smiling. "I know Jeffrey Katzenberg tossed you out of his office yesterday. You likely think I'm a softer touch compared to Jeffrey; at least I wouldn't throw you out like he did. But being accommodating doesn't mean I'm easy to talk to. This matter is non-negotiable. Your reasons don't hold water either.
Let's consider the rights for Jumanji, which will be released at the end of the year. Columbia has owned this copy right for years without taking any actions. Every studio has plenty of similar film rights languishing about. If it weren't for Firefly, it's likely these two projects wouldn't even be up for consideration today. Firefly has given them substantial commercial value. In relation to Sony, we should consider ourselves partners. The Japanese may not understand certain things, but we all know how much you've taken from Columbia over the years, so let's wrap this up. I think you should focus on cleaning up any evidence and avoid giving the Japanese a chance to point fingers."
Peter Guber felt his face flush with Eric's blunt response but couldn't think of any rebuttals.
Noting the change in Peter Guber's expression, Eric didn't want to make him feel as uncomfortable as Katzenberg liked to do. After all, Peter had made a significant contribution to ensuring Firefly could successfully sign the 'unequal treaty' with Columbia.
After considering it, Eric said, "Here's the deal: I'll have Firefly move forward with some negotiation tactics, and I'll also publicly support your side in the media. At least for now, Sony wouldn't risk tossing you aside, given the potential fallout. I think you won't be at Columbia for much longer, right?"
Peter Guber nodded excitedly; he wanted such assurances and honestly didn't care about the Japanese stake in the matter. With a verbal promise from Eric, Peter Guber dropped the earlier discussion. "Eric, many people will attend the Men in Black celebration party tonight. Why don't you come along?"
Eric shook his head, "I have something very important to do tonight; I'll have to pass."
...
Peter Guber left Firefly Studios satisfied, while Eric continued pondering the Men in Black situation.
In the original timeline, Men in Black was one of the most troubled franchises relative to other popular Hollywood series, with a staggering 15-year gap between the three productions. No matter how the films performed, their critical reception and box office also regressed while production budgets multiplied. Much like the Mission: Impossible series, most of the profits for Men in Black were divided among stars like Will Smith and the creators, comparatively leaving Sony Pictures with only a tidy profit.
This situation largely stemmed from the underperformance of Sony's film operations; for many years, it lagged behind as one of the lower-ranked studios. This disadvantage against A-list stars exacerbated Sony's position. Paramount could afford to tussle with Tom Cruise after Mission: Impossible III's box office failure, but Sony couldn't muster the leverage to make such threats. They had to rely on exorbitant salaries and strategies to lure in stars and projects. In the original timeline, the very first $20 million salary was offered from Sony Columbia to Jim Carrey.
Unlike Sony Columbia, Firefly had no such worries. If they couldn't reach an agreement on Men in Black's salaries, Eric would have preferred to shelve the project for an extended period. After all, he had plenty of higher-margin projects awaiting development, without needing to make concessions like Sony.
Reflecting on all this, Eric anticipated the upcoming battle for Marvel. If he could secure getting Marvel's superhero copyrights before they became disorganized, Firefly could maintain a strong foothold in Hollywood for the next twenty years or even longer.
...
Men in Black was the last film associated with Firefly Group to premiere during the summer blockbuster season of 1994. Following its release, the summer season had nearly passed, and while other major studios were still set to release several films in the remaining summer days, Firefly began tallying its impressive summer profits.
By late July, Firefly's finance department presented the preliminary financial report for the first half of 1994. Despite a temporary disruption from the ABC merger, Firefly Group's revenues in the first half still reached $7.3 billion. However, due to costs from departmental restructuring and layoffs, the group's net profit margin dipped slightly to 9%, resulting in a total net profit of $657 million over six months. This number fell within internal expectations and even surpassed many Wall Street analysts' predictions.
Additionally, after intense bidding and negotiations, the renowned North American media company Conde Nast eventually agreed to purchase the news paper assets spun off from Firefly for $1.52 billion.
By the time summer box office news and a slew of positive developments came through, Firefly sold $8 billion in bonds related to the acquisition of ABC on July 20.
Subsequently, various individuals, calculating their own interests, began to fidget within Firefly.
First up, riding the wave of The Lion King's five-week total of $215 million at the box office, Disney Animation's head, Peter Schneider, and Roy Disney, who had been biding their time, took the lead as 'forward scouts,' confidently advocating for the 'long-suffering' Disney animation staff to secure their benefits.
As the planning for Marvel Entertainment was nearing its final stages, and with Ron Perelman lurking in the background, Eric wanted to demonstrate his 'commitment' to Disney's animation department. He personally engaged with Peter Schneider and Roy Disney to discuss conditions.
Eric deliberately adopted a position that signaled he wasn't ready to discuss cutting the Disney hand-drawn animation department, while also signaling a reluctance to compromise too quickly, effectively communicating mixed signals to certain parties.
*****
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