Chapter 33. The Emergence of James Wan

The morning passed, and Eric received several calls congratulating him on the successful box office results of "Red Dragon."

Gadot and Refaeli also called. It turns out these underage girls weren't as fragile as they seemed.

A surprise for Eric was a call from Elin, a manager from J.P. Morgan. However, aside from business relations, they didn't seem to have any common topics for conversation. They talked for a few minutes and arranged to meet for lunch, after which Eric hung up.

As lunchtime approached, Judy entered, carrying a thick packet of documents.

"Boss, here's everything you asked for. We selected scripts from our database that we believe best fit today's market."

Yes, in Judy's hands were scripts, specifically horror and thriller scripts.

Since returning to Los Angeles from Israel, Judy, in addition to helping the two girls with their work and daily life, received a new assignment from Eric – assistant director of the script library.

When he first started working at MGM, Eric had instructed the collection of horror film scripts, but soon the department head left due to family reasons.

Among the numerous tasks, this one was always postponed indefinitely. The position remained vacant.

At first, Eric wanted to assign this job to Billy, but now he was completely occupied with tracking George Martin and Thomas Harris, as well as liaising with Neil Gaiman. His book "American Gods," released last year, received widespread acclaim, ranking among the top bestsellers, and the film rights had not yet been sold.

Although Eric didn't particularly believe in the success of "American Gods," or rather, in Neil Gaiman.

Not because the book was bad – it was, in fact, easy to read, otherwise, it wouldn't have made it to the bestseller list. The problem was that his stories were more suited for print, and adaptations turned them into a quagmire.

It is recalled that HBO acquired the rights to "American Gods," held them for four years, and then hired numerous writers and directors. Ultimately, they concluded that the book wasn't suitable for television and sold the rights to Starz.

Starz happily bought the rights for a tidy sum, and each episode then cost an average of over $8 million. However, this didn't lead to satisfactory ratings, and they failed. High costs but poor results.

Therefore, although Eric didn't believe in the success of "American Gods," he was willing to acquire it at a reasonable price because there would always be someone willing to take it on.

Moreover, Billy had found several excellent projects and rarely returned to Los Angeles more than a few times a month. It seemed he preferred running around outside to sitting in an office.

Seeing how much he enjoyed traveling, Eric gave him another assignment – to go to the UK and acquire the rights to "House of Cards" from Michael Dobbs. Warren stayed at A.K. Films, overseeing the shooting of "Sharknado" every day and fearing it would exceed the budget. When they met last week, he said he had lost 7 pounds.

Note: 7 pounds = 3.17 kg.

Bordeaux was overseeing contracts with Hasbro and preparing for the third round of negotiations, having been in New York for a month and a half.

After counting everyone, only Judy had no specific assignment, so this job fell to her.

"Besides our scripts, there were two guys who offered us their scripts. They didn't go through agencies, probably because they were poor and couldn't afford it. However, they're about our age, and I met with them. I think their scripts are quite interesting. Are you interested?"

Eric didn't respond immediately because there were too many young people like that in Hollywood. Every day, many newcomers try to persuade big companies to buy their work, but only a few succeed.

He flipped through the scripts and asked, "What genre? How much are they asking for? You know the Writers Guild rules: up to $50,000 – you decide yourself, up to $100,000 – we discuss with other departments. I don't need to be consulted on such small matters. Use the special account allocated for script purchases."

The prices Eric mentioned were essentially Hollywood market prices in 2002. For a novice screenwriter, unless they were a genius, their script wouldn't be worth more than $100,000. Usually, they are bought for less than $50,000, and they don't receive a percentage of the profits.

Screenwriters' rights? What rights can a newbie have? If they're not satisfied, they can look for another place! We have a buyer's market, not a seller's.

Compared to the Screen Actors Guild, screenwriters have much less influence. Otherwise, why do you think Hollywood screenwriters go on strike every few years? Are they just idle? They are forced to do so!

Of course, their situation is much better than in China. In China, screenwriters are not considered people at all.

Judy hesitated: "It's a horror movie, but their requirements are a bit strange. The script is available for free, but the screenwriter wants to play the lead role and also recommends his friend as the director, and they only agree to a share of the box office."

"I think the script is quite original, and I would like to buy it for a good price. But this screenwriter is very persistent, insisting that his friend be the director. I think they're gay."

Turning the page, Eric's hand stopped. He looked up, and Judy's words seemed familiar to him.

A horror film, a team consisting of a director and a screenwriter, the screenwriter wanting to play the lead role and tying the director friend to the project.

"What are these two young people's names?"

Judy thought: "The screenwriter called himself Whannell, and the other guy was Wan, I don't remember very well. One of them is Asian with quite a unique hairstyle."

Judy, as if remembering something funny, smiled and laughed out loud a couple of times.

Eric stood up: "Wait, Leigh Whannell and James Wan, right?"

Judy quickly nodded: "Yes, yes, that's right, but how do you know?"

Eric glanced at the time: "Are they still in the company?"

"They've already left, probably to the next company. Newcomers, you know, if they can't afford an agency, they have to go door to door themselves."

"Alright, enough talking. Help me arrange a meeting with them and say we can have lunch together. I'm very optimistic about the script and want these two."

Who would have thought that "Saw" would come to him on its own. Only now did Eric realize that the film was released in 2004, and now Leigh Whannell and James Wan were in a very tough stage of seeking investment, so his time as an angel investor had come.

"Saw" can be considered an evergreen tree among Hollywood horror films. Before he ended up in this world, 10 films had already been made. It is definitely a golden goose.

Sorry, Lionsgate, MGM wants its piece of the market too.

Who appears more often on Hollywood screens, James Wan or Nolan?

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