Chapter 91 Copyright Transfer

Inside Warner Bros. Studios, in the office rented by the "Final Destination" production team.

George Clint opened the file bag and handed a thick set of materials to Ronan, who took a look at the thickness of the documents and smiled, saying, "Just tell me."

Taking a seat, George Clint tried to keep it simple: "I recently went to see Robert Ludlum, the original author of 'The Bourne Identity,' and the publishing house. The film and television rights were sold as early as 1986."

Ronan nodded lightly, confirming what he already knew.

Since the 1970s with "The *** Files," Robert Ludlum had been synonymous with thrilling spy novels, earning the title of the father of modern international thrillers in North America. He excelled in depicting the surging international political forces, adventurous intelligence operatives, and extraordinary spy actions, with his rigorous and solid research highly praised.

"The Bourne Identity" caused a stir in the novel market back then, consistently entering The New York Times bestseller list for several weeks.

Such novels would naturally attract attention, especially from Hollywood.

George Clint continued, "In 1988, Warner Bros. Television Production Company and Alan Shane Productions collaborated on a TV series adaptation of 'The Bourne Identity,' but due to a lukewarm response, it led to the shelving of 'The Bourne Ultimatum.'"

"Warner Bros. Television Production Company?" Ronan furrowed his brow.

If the rights were with Warner Bros., it would be difficult. These big companies typically adhered to a strict policy of holding onto rights, and extracting them would undoubtedly require a hefty sum.

But then he reconsidered; he remembered that both the production and distribution of this series were under Universal Pictures.

"It's not with Warner Bros. Television Production Company," unaware of Ronan's train of thought, George Clint replied, "Alan Shane Productions acquired the film and television rights to 'The Bourne Identity' in 1986. Because the TV adaptation project failed, this novel was subsequently ignored, and it has remained in Alan Shane Productions' rights library."

He added, "They have the authority to transfer the rights."

Ronan knew that Robert Ludlum wrote a trilogy, so he asked, "What about 'The Bourne Supremacy' and 'The Bourne Ultimatum'?"

George Clint answered, "These two books were published in 1986 and 1988 respectively, and the rights are still with Robert Ludlum. However, Robert Ludlum is currently in poor health, and it's quite difficult for him to speak. I haven't been able to meet him in person, and he's not discussing rights matters with anyone lately. I've been in touch with his lawyer, but for now, I can't meet Robert Ludlum personally, and neither the lawyer nor the relevant organizations have been authorized..."

Ronan immediately made a decision, "Let's not worry about 'The Bourne Supremacy' and 'The Bourne Ultimatum' for now. Our focus should be on 'The Bourne Identity.' Once we secure the film and television rights for these two, we can work on the other two."

After some thought, he added, "Maintain contact with Robert Ludlum's lawyer. If there's an opportunity, we'll acquire the rights to 'The Bourne Supremacy' and 'The Bourne Ultimatum' as quickly as possible."

"I'll keep an eye on Robert Ludlum," George Clint had already speculated, "Is this for a movie adaptation?"

Ronan nodded, "A spy action film. After 'Final Destination' is released, I plan to work on this project."

George Clint breathed a sigh of relief, "That's good."

"Worried I'm being too ambitious?" Ronan asked with a smile.

"Yeah," George admitted frankly, "We're simultaneously producing 'Final Destination' and 'Top Agent,' and we need to allocate funds to prepare for the release of the film we bought from the Saint Denis Film Festival. The company's resources are already stretched to the limit, and increasing the pressure further might lead to problems."

Ronan agreed with George's assessment, "I understand. So, this is preparing for the future."

With the scale and capabilities of SandSea Entertainment, it was impossible to launch another multi-million-dollar investment project simultaneously.

Not to mention the financial constraints.

Although they had successfully secured financing in Abu Dhabi and recently obtained a large sum of money from Germany, managing three projects simultaneously would still leave financial gaps.

Ronan was well aware of this and had already considered it. He said, "You go ahead and contact Alan Shane Productions. I'll figure out the rest."

Since arriving, he had been studying relevant legal provisions and project cases to uncover not only the tax loopholes in Germany but also other opportunities.

After George Clint left, Ronan took out his notebook and wrote down Paul Greengrass and 'The Bourne Identity.'

He remembered vividly that Paul Greengrass was not the director of the first "Bourne" film, but he seemed more suitable for the series' style.

If they could secure the rights, collaborating with Paul Greengrass would be a perfect continuation.

And then there was Matt Damon...

During that period, Matt Damon's salary wasn't particularly high.

It wasn't an exaggeration to say that it was the "Bourne" series that propelled Matt Damon to stardom.

Perhaps they could invite Daniel to play a villain? The chemistry between the two brothers would surely be captivating.

Can a movie without a compelling conflict between characters be considered a good movie?

With "Final Destination" and "Top Agent" progressing smoothly and transitioning into the filming stage soon, Ronan began contemplating the next step. Just like "The Purge" and "Final Destination," serialized films were the preferred choice. Given the limited funds and company restrictions, series films that required relatively small investments but promised high returns were definitely a priority.

Ronan made some notes in his notebook. These were all future plans, and there was still plenty of time to work them out without rushing.

There was also the sequel to "The Purge."

There was no rush for this one; once they had enough funds, they could outline the plot and hire a group of writers to work on it, which was the most common production model in Hollywood for scripts.

Before leaving work, Ronan visited the post-production editing room located in the same building to check on Jessica Felton's progress.

Since both the "Final Destination" and "Top Agent" production teams were based in Warner Bros. Studios, Ronan chose a post-production editing room in the same studio area as Jessica Felton's, the one that almost turned into a landfill last time.

Jessica Felton chose to start from scratch rather than use Daniel Malek's footage. Her work efficiency was high; she had almost completed the rough cut, with only the ending left.

Ronan didn't stay long; seeing Jessica Felton's hair greasy again, he decided to retreat.

He would come back once the rough cut was done.

George Clint moved quickly; a few days later, he managed to set up a meeting with Alan Shane. Meanwhile, Ronan specifically traveled to Venice, another satellite city of Los Angeles, to negotiate the rights transfer with him.

Before going, Ronan had someone collect relevant information to understand the situation of the negotiating party.