Chapter 023: Madness or Stupidity
Chapter 023: Madness or Stupidity
Jeffrey Hansen, sitting nearby, felt he should help negotiate a little. However, before he could speak, Eric already said, “Sorry, Mr. Cohen, I don’t plan to sell Home Alone through a buyout. Let’s discuss a profit-sharing agreement instead.”
Blount Cohen’s brows furrowed slightly, revealing an unhappy expression. “Eric, if it’s a profit-sharing agreement, I can only give you eighteen percent.”
“Mr. Cohen, didn’t you just say twenty percent?” Jeffrey argued from the side.
Blount Cohen replied calmly, “What I said earlier was only under average circumstances. If we distribute Home Alone, then the publicity and distribution costs will definitely far exceed the production costs. Eighteen percent is already very reasonable.”
Jeffrey was about to continue arguing when Eric stopped the somewhat impulsive Jeffrey beside him.
“Alright then, Mr. Cohen. However, I have another proposal. How about we sign a gambling agreement?”
Although gambling agreements were very common in the film industry, Blount Cohen still sneered inwardly. What qualifications do you have to sign a gambling agreement with Columbia?
Still, he signaled with interest for Eric to continue. He wanted to hear what sort of conditions this little brat could come up with.
Eric seemed not to notice the undisguised mockery on Blount Cohen’s face and continued smiling.
“Fifty million dollars as the baseline. On the condition that Columbia guarantees sufficient publicity efforts and theater screenings, if Home Alone earns less than fifty million dollars at the box office, I will give all rights to Home Alone to Columbia Pictures free of charge.”
After hearing those words, even someone as experienced as Blount Cohen was visibly moved.
Their own estimate for Home Alone’s box office potential was around fifty million dollars anyway. If they really signed such a gambling agreement, then with just a few tricks, keeping the film’s box office below fifty million would be extremely easy.
While Blount Cohen felt Eric was foolish, he also had to admire the young man’s boldness.
Meanwhile, Jeffrey Hansen abruptly stood up, his voice full of disbelief as he sternly said to Eric, “Eric, are you crazy?”
Eric stood and patted Jeffrey on the shoulder, signaling for him to sit down again before continuing.
“If the box office falls between fifty million and one hundred million dollars, I want twenty percent of the profits. And if the box office exceeds one hundred million dollars, then for every additional ten million dollars in box office revenue, my profit share increases by one percent.”
After speaking, Eric said nothing more and calmly sipped his coffee.
Beside him, Jeffrey Hansen sat restlessly, his eyes darting back and forth between the two men. He was worried Blount Cohen might directly agree to Eric’s absurd proposal. If that happened, the ten million dollar buyout fee would vanish.
Ten million dollars! Many people would never even see that much money in their entire lives.
Unfortunately, Blount Cohen truly was a leader lacking courage.
After hesitating for a full five minutes, he finally said, “Eric, I’ll need to hold a meeting and discuss this properly. Can I give you an answer tomorrow?”
Eric nodded and directly stood up to bid farewell to Blount Cohen.
Once they reached the parking lot, Jeffrey did not get into his own car and instead climbed into Eric’s passenger seat.
“Eric, you were far too impulsive. Ten million dollars! Gone in the blink of an eye. Look at the comedy films over the years. While comedy movies generally perform well at the box office, breakout hits are extremely rare. Tomorrow we should just choose the buyout agreement. Maybe we can even negotiate the price a little higher?”
“Listen to me, young man. Sometimes people only get one or two opportunities like this in their entire lives. Once you miss them, they’ll never come again. With ten million dollars, you could continue making movies and do many other things.”
At this moment, however, Eric was immersed in the thrill of digging a pit for Columbia Pictures.
The blood throughout his body seemed to boil slightly.
In his previous life, Home Alone’s box office had been recorded in the Guinness World Records. Now this recreated Home Alone was every bit as outstanding as the original. Eric simply did not believe that with Columbia’s distribution power as an old-established giant, Home Alone would perform much worse than it had in his previous life.
Originally, he had not known how to maximize his own benefits.
Under normal profit-sharing negotiations, his low-budget film could at most obtain twenty percent of the box office share.
But when Blount Cohen heard Eric mention a profit-sharing agreement and stingily lowered the originally mentioned twenty percent down to eighteen percent, inspiration suddenly struck Eric. Only then did he remember a way to make the profit share flexible — gambling agreements.
Box office gambling agreements were extremely common in the film industry because under normal circumstances, they created a win-win situation. Both sides could reduce risks while maximizing their own profits.
If calculated based on Home Alone’s final 280 million dollar North American box office from Eric’s previous life, then after signing the gambling agreement, Eric would ultimately receive thirty-eight percent of the profits — even higher than the thirty-five percent usually earned by major production companies with strong bargaining power.
Moreover, judging from Blount Cohen’s reaction after hearing the proposal, Columbia Pictures was clearly preparing to jump right into the trap.
“Hey, Eric, I’ve said so much. Were you even listening to me?”
Jeffrey Hansen discovered that after talking himself dry, Eric had instead drifted off into thought while sitting there.
Only after Jeffrey lightly patted Eric on the shoulder twice did Eric come back to himself.
“Alright, Jeffrey. I know you mean well for me. But think about it — a few months ago, I had absolutely nothing. So what if I gamble once?”
“I’ll secretly tell you something honestly. I think Home Alone’s box office could very likely break two hundred million. Think about it. According to the gambling agreement I proposed, how much profit share would I receive then?”
Jeffrey stared at Eric with the gaze of someone looking at a delusional patient.
Eric laughed unconcernedly. “Jeffrey, have a little confidence in me, alright? If it really succeeds, then as the nominal producer, I’ll definitely give you a generous bonus. You could even redeem Firefly Pictures from the bank.”
“So now, can you help me with something?”
Jeffrey dreamed of redeeming the film company he had founded together with his wife. However, he still did not take Eric’s words seriously. Seeing there was no way to persuade Eric to change his mind, he could only ask, “Fine, Eric. What do you need me to do?”
“Help me contact a law firm and an accounting firm. Unless something unexpected happens, Columbia will definitely agree to my proposed agreement. At that time, I’ll need people to supervise and audit the implementation of the agreement. If disputes arise, I’ll also need someone to help me fight the lawsuits.”
Jeffrey replied, “That’s not a problem. But Eric, do you still have money? Even casually hiring teams like that requires a large amount of money.”
“Of course I do.”
Eric opened the glove compartment in front of the car and pulled out a copy of Jurassic Park.
“I’ll use the future royalties and film rights of Jurassic Park as collateral. With Jurassic Park’s current sales, those two things alone are worth at least one million dollars.”
“If the gambling agreement really fails, then I’ll use Jurassic Park to settle the debt. I’m sure those firms won’t refuse.”
“Eric, you really are… insane.”
“All great geniuses possess a touch of madness.”
Jeffrey spread his hands helplessly. “Alright. Not only are you crazy, you’re arrogant too. Even Aristotle couldn’t stop you.”
“Aristotle is very busy. That quote was said by Stendhal.”
“…”
In the end, Jeffrey agreed to help contact the firms as quickly as possible.
At the same time, inside Columbia Pictures’ conference room, several executives were discussing the gambling conditions Eric had proposed.
“Alright, that’s roughly the situation. Everyone, give me your opinions.”
After recounting the gambling agreement Eric proposed, Blount Cohen looked toward the executives seated below him and waited for their opinions.
After hearing everything, most of the executives in the conference room found it hard to believe.
Should they call that boy crazy… or stupid?
Finally, Lester Reed, one of the distribution department executives, spoke first.
“Mr. Cohen, this is a good opportunity. We should agree to it. Based on our estimates, this film’s box office potential is at most around fifty million. After signing the gambling agreement, with just a little manipulation, it’ll be very easy to keep the box office under fifty million dollars.”
“And we won’t even need to pay the ten million dollar buyout fee.”
After Lester Reed finished speaking, the others also began voicing their agreement.