Chapter 022: Buyout
Chapter 022: Buyout
Amy Pascal very directly showed her interest in Eric.
“Oh, Eric, you’re even younger than I imagined. When I was your age, I had only just entered college.”
“You look very young too, Ms. Pascal,” Eric complimented.
Amy Pascal smiled. “Thank you, Eric. Just call me Amy. I really liked your Jurassic Park. I want to ask, are the film rights for Jurassic Park still in your hands?”
Eric raised his brows. “Of course.”
As Jurassic Park became more and more famous during this period, quite a few film companies had already contacted him regarding the movie rights, but Eric had rejected all of them. Before he had enough strength to secure sufficient benefits for himself, Eric had no intention of selling the film adaptation rights to Jurassic Park.
“Then I wonder whether you’d be willing to sell the film adaptation rights of Jurassic Park to Columbia? We’d offer a very good price.”
Eric replied, “Amy, I don’t think that’s today’s topic of discussion. Besides, current special effects technology still isn’t mature enough. I have no plans to sell the film rights to Jurassic Park for now.”
“That’s truly a pity. Alright then, let’s talk about Home Alone. Jeffrey praises this film very highly. Based on my understanding of Jeffrey, he has quite a good eye for these things. Right, I heard you originally planned to have 20th Century Fox distribute this film. How did that go?”
Eric shrugged and answered honestly, “20th Century Fox distribution head Carter Hunt rejected it without even watching the film.”
“Carter Hunt, I know him. A very arrogant fellow.” Amy Pascal smiled. “Then I think we should watch your film first.”
Eric nodded.
Amy Pascal brought Eric and Jeffrey directly to a screening room at Columbia Pictures headquarters. After handing the print over to the projectionist, Eric sat together with the other two in the leather seats.
“Eric, you don’t seem very expectant at all?” Before the screening began, Amy Pascal noticed Eric’s expression and teased him.
Eric smiled helplessly. “Amy, you know, I made the film from beginning to end. Every shot of the movie is already in my head, and I’ve watched it many times already. But I believe you won’t be disappointed.”
The lights in the screening room dimmed.
Amy Pascal nodded and withdrew her gaze, but at the same time, a kind of desperate grasping-at-anything emotion spread through her heart.
It was true that Columbia Pictures lacked good film projects at the moment, but how had she fallen so low that she was now even unwilling to overlook a movie made by a high school graduate?
Thinking this, Amy Pascal sighed softly in the darkness.
As one of Columbia’s senior executives, Amy Pascal understood Columbia’s situation perfectly.
Over the past two years, Columbia Pictures’ performance had been lukewarm. If not for the copyright profits brought in by the company’s massive film and television library accumulated over many years, the company would definitely have faced enormous losses.
Compared to the booming Disney and 20th Century Fox, as well as Paramount, which still remained prosperous in the post-Barry Diller era, Columbia seemed like an aging old man filled with decline.
After Ghostbusters reached second place on the North American annual box office chart in 1984, Columbia had gone three consecutive years without a single film entering the top ten box office rankings. If nothing unexpected happened, the same would remain true this year.
For a veteran film giant, this was practically a humiliation.
Columbia’s parent company, Coca-Cola, had suffered severe losses in last year’s stock market crash. If Columbia continued remaining so lukewarm and failed to generate profits for its parent company, it would very likely be sold off.
In fact, Japan’s Sony conglomerate had already signaled its intention to acquire Columbia Pictures.
Amy Pascal had looked into Eric beforehand.
This boy had only recently graduated from high school, yet within just a few short months, he had published the science fiction novel Jurassic Park. The screenplay he wrote for Back to 17 had been selected by 20th Century Fox, and to everyone’s astonishment, he had even starred as the male lead himself.
If not for all those achievements, Amy Pascal would likely have dismissed Eric’s film just as Carter Hunt from 20th Century Fox had.
Columbia Pictures had originally received the screenplay for Back to 17 as well. Several producers within the company had been very interested in the project, but the condition Eric attached — that he himself would play the male lead — was difficult for the currently cautious Columbia to accept, so they had ultimately been forced to give it up.
Amy Pascal had heard that Barry Diller personally approved the Back to 17 project.
Comparing that with the mediocre Mr. Blount Cohen currently sitting in Columbia’s president’s chair, Amy Pascal sighed again.
The company’s current state was inseparable from the president’s conservative personality and lack of boldness.
As Home Alone continued playing, the wonderfully entertaining plot and Stuart Runkel’s clever performance as the mischievous child quickly pulled Amy Pascal’s wandering thoughts back toward the movie screen.
When the film ended, Amy Pascal felt nothing but shock.
She simply could not believe that such an outstanding comedy film had been made by the eighteen-year-old boy sitting before her.
Excitement appeared on Amy Pascal’s face as she stood up and said to Eric, “Eric, could you wait here for a moment? I need to make a phone call.”
From Amy Pascal’s expression, Eric knew that unless something unexpected happened, things were already more than halfway successful.
Half an hour later, seven or eight Columbia Pictures executives, including Columbia president Blount Cohen himself, gathered together in the screening room to watch Home Alone again.
After finishing the film once more amid cheerful laughter, it was already close to quitting time. However, no one seemed eager to leave.
After the film had played halfway through, the Columbia executives had already begun whispering discussions among themselves.
Inside the office of Columbia Pictures’ president, Eric and Jeffrey sat together opposite the sixty-something Blount Cohen.
After the assistant served coffee, Blount Cohen leisurely sipped a few mouthfuls before finally speaking.
“Eric, to be honest, we think very highly of Home Alone’s potential. Therefore, we plan to buy out all rights to Home Alone for ten million dollars. What do you think?”
The moment he heard the ten million dollar offer, Jeffrey Hansen beside him immediately revealed an excited expression.
A one million dollar investment turning into ten million in the blink of an eye — if it were him, he would probably nod in agreement immediately.
Blount Cohen noticed Jeffrey Hansen’s expression and revealed a satisfied smile.
The company estimated the film’s box office at around fifty million dollars, and the movie would also be very easy to turn into sequels. The potential for developing related rights and merchandise was enormous as well.
Thus, after discussion, they directly decided to completely buy out all rights to the film with what they considered a relatively high price. Naturally, after making an offer, bargaining would follow, so Columbia’s executives had already determined twelve million dollars as their upper limit for the buyout.
Ten million dollars to buy out Home Alone? Do you take me for an idiot?
Eric cursed inwardly, but business was business — start high and negotiate down.
“Mr. Cohen, I assume you already have a preliminary estimate of Home Alone’s box office value, correct? May I know what that figure is?”
Since Eric did not immediately agree, Blount Cohen felt somewhat disappointed, but still answered, “Of course. We believe that if properly marketed and distributed, Home Alone’s North American box office should reach around thirty million dollars.”
“According to standard practice, as the producer, the share you’d receive would only be around twenty percent. So Eric, a ten million dollar buyout price is already very reasonable.”
“The production cost for this film of yours probably didn’t exceed two million dollars, right? So Eric, what are you still hesitating for? As long as you agree, you’ll immediately become the youngest multi-millionaire.”