Chapter 227: Pig Teammate
Chapter 227: Pig Teammate
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Hearing his mother’s scolding, Stuart made a face at Elizabeth and lowered his head to continue playing with the Rubik’s Cube in his hands.
After calming down slightly, the woman realized she had actually been toyed with by the little brat in front of her.
And she could not even vent her anger. After all, she could not possibly throw a tantrum at an eight-year-old child.
She glared at the magazine in her hands and sulked for a while before suddenly turning her gaze toward the tightly shut small conference room door.
It was all that bastard’s fault!
The woman silently muttered and very decisively redirected her anger toward Eric.
Inside the conference room, Eric had no idea he had once again become an innocent casualty for no reason. At this moment, he expressionlessly looked at Brian Kuzman and Charlson Runkle sitting across from him.
“Ten million dollars and ten percent of the North American box office gross. Charlie, is this your intention as well?”
After a moment of silence, Eric finally asked. It seemed CAA merely wanted to secure a high percentage of gross revenue sharing. Although box office sharing and profit sharing differed by only a single term, the final results could differ by tens of millions of dollars.
Charlson Runkle guiltily glanced at Eric, unsure how to respond. The Brian Kuzman beside him quickly cut in, “Mr. Williams, Mr. Runkle has already handed full authority for this negotiation over to me. He’s only here to observe. If there are any questions, you can ask me directly.”
“Oh, that’s good then.”
Eric sneered. “If this negotiation falls apart, Mr. Kuzman, can you take responsibility for it?”
The moment those words came out, Charlson Runkle subconsciously looked toward the agent beside him, concern and vigilance visible in his expression.
Clearly, Charlson Runkle also knew these terms were somewhat unrealistic compared to Hollywood salary standards. But inwardly, he was conflicted. On one hand, Runkle naturally wanted such an enormous contract. On the other hand, he also knew that insisting on these salary terms carried a high possibility of negotiations collapsing.
Seeing Runkle’s expression, Eric immediately settled down inwardly. As long as the other party had not completely handed control of the negotiations over to this unfamiliar new agent, things would be fine.
Eric also knew CAA was unaware of the specific contents of his contract with Fox.
Back then, Fox’s distribution deal for those three films had originally been aimed at the Home Alone sequel. Therefore, while agreeing to Eric’s high percentage terms, they had also specifically signed a series of harsh conditions regarding this film. One of them stated that Eric had to continue using Stuart Runkle as the male lead of the sequel.
Since CAA knew nothing about this, Eric became even bolder.
“Even if Fox refuses to change the film, I can still replace the male lead. I’m sure countless families would gladly let their children star in the Home Alone sequel for only a few tens of thousands of dollars, right?”
After saying this, Eric looked toward Runkle. He believed the Runkle couple would definitely resonate deeply with his words.
Although Stuart’s salary and percentage from the first Home Alone film had not been particularly high, because of the worldwide fame brought by Home Alone, Stuart had signed a series of sky-high endorsement deals within this year alone, earning the couple tens of millions of dollars.
“Charlie, I assume most of Stu’s endorsement contracts only last one year, right? If advertisers learn that Stu will no longer star in the Home Alone sequel, do you think you’ll still be able to get tens of millions in endorsement fees from them next year?”
“Mr. Williams, you keep talking about us. Why not mention yourselves?” Brian Kuzman replied. “If the Home Alone sequel falls through, Firefly could lose over a hundred million dollars, couldn’t it? Compared to that, our asking price is very reasonable. After all, Stu is the sole male lead of this film. He’s irreplaceable.”
Eric shook his head. “If you insist on this fantasy-level salary offer, then after paying Stu’s compensation, Firefly, as the payer, will only be left with twenty-five percent of the share. Subtract the sequel’s production budget, which may exceed twenty-five million dollars, and our final profit might not even exceed what Stu receives. Forget losing hundreds of millions.
“And you’re wrong, Brian. In Hollywood, nobody is irreplaceable. I can tell you right now that Firefly already has a backup plan. If your salary demands are too high, we intend to immediately launch a public casting search for the child actor in the Home Alone sequel. The public casting itself would once again hype up Home Alone’s popularity. And the final production budget might only be a fraction of twenty-five million dollars.”
Brian Kuzman was about to refute him when Charlson Runkle beside him could no longer hold back and interjected, “Eric, it seems you still haven’t said how much salary Firefly plans to give Stu?”
Damn it!
Brian cursed inwardly, suddenly feeling a powerful urge to punch Runkle’s fat face.
“Eight million dollars.”
Eric reported the figure and immediately added, “Charlie, you shouldn’t fix your eyes on this comparatively small salary. Look farther ahead. Many people can already see that little Stu’s greater potential lies in advertising endorsements. As long as he maintains enough fame through Home Alone, you can still receive tens of millions in endorsement fees next year.
“Based on this alone, Stu could become the highest-earning star in Hollywood. Whether it’s Tom Cruise, Bruce Willis, or Julia Roberts, not only can they not earn an eight-million-dollar salary, they also could never receive the kind of sky-high endorsements Stu gets, because they have many competitors in the same age group.”
“Mr. Williams…” Brian Kuzman knocked on the table, trying to interrupt.
But Eric completely ignored him and continued staring directly at Charlson Runkle.
“So if Firefly activates the backup plan I just mentioned, then without question Stu’s fame will sharply decline next year. And although replacing the lead in the Home Alone sequel may carry some risk, its chances of success would still remain very high.
“Once it succeeds, tell me, Charlie, will those advertisers choose the new Home Alone protagonist as their spokesperson, or choose Stu? The answer is obvious, isn’t it?
“Think about it, Charlie. For the sake of insisting on that unrealistic salary contract, you’d be giving up tens of millions of dollars in income. No, perhaps hundreds of millions. Because the Home Alone sequel will produce several films. Either Stu remains the male lead the whole time, or Firefly continues using the public casting plan, creating a new competitor for Stu every year.”
After Eric finished speaking in one breath, fine beads of sweat had already formed on Charlson Runkle’s forehead, while Brian Kuzman slumped weakly in his chair.
He knew they had completely lost this negotiation.
Because Charlson Runkle had already been fully convinced by Eric. It was now almost impossible for him to regain the initiative.