Chapter 56: Let's Be Good Friends

[Chapter 56: Let's Be Good Friends]

Harvey from Miramax was a total jerk. At the same time, he was like a fierce, cold-blooded alligator hiding in the shadows, ready to snap at you when the time was right.

However, this ferocious and domineering alligator kept failing against a young rookie boy. One could hear the bitterness in his tone.

Charlie was quite pleased, smiling broadly and patting him on the shoulder. "Oh, that's much better than I expected. At least the two of us can compete for favor in front of Eisner. Instead of me flattering you alone."

"Bullshit, you really are an asshole." Harvey widened his eyes and cursed with a smile.

Nearby, Jill Messick, Gert, and the others were all embarrassed by this confrontation.

"All right, asshole, I have to thank you for chasing after me. Only you want me so badly; you're a guy with good taste," Charlie laughed, putting his arm around Harvey's shoulder as they walked towards the office. "So don't worry; we'll make it!"

Harvey sneered and rolled his eyes.

Charlie was full of confidence, as if facing an army. "Trust me, buddy, Lord of the Rings is the Holy Grail. Not just the Holy Grail of movies but our Holy Grail."

"Let's hope so," Harvey shrugged. "Don't think a few buzzwords can give me confidence."

The "Holy Grail" referred to a high-quality, all-ages film. There were also terms like franchise, genre films, blockbusters, and so on. Charlie had learned these buzzwords from talking to Pierza.

That wasn't important. What mattered was Charlie's effort to expand distribution channels. Only when the company's entire production chain was complete could the Holy Grail Lord of the Rings bring huge profits.

Resisting Harvey's greed over Corleone Studios wasn't easy. But Charlie was clearly more greedy. Not only did he slap Harvey's loud mouth, but he also joined the Lord of the Rings project.

To achieve this, Charlie got help from Fox to obtain the contract details between Harvey and Disney.

During the 1993 negotiations, Jeffrey Katzenberg, then head of Disney Pictures, agreed in the Miramax contract that they would have independent operating rights and some distribution rights.

In practice, Disney controlled the final decisions on production and distribution of Miramax's releases.

Harvey's main profit came from about 30% of the movie's profits, called performance bonuses.

To make a quick buck, this guy exploited loopholes in the contract's yearly bonus calculations, holding back many projected-to-fail films from release.

So, in reality, Harvey was Disney's senior film acquisition expert. The performance bonuses were less than what a good producer would make.

This situation couldn't satisfy Harvey's ambitions at all.

Charlie didn't understand Hollywood's overly complicated business models, but he understood company management and equity structures, which shared many similarities.

At the time, Harvey seemed to want control over Corleone Studios, binding its distribution rights with Miramax International through seemingly ordinary distribution deals.

In fact, it was just moving things around inside the company, making distribution projects lose money so that profits stayed with Miramax -- specifically with Harvey himself.

Usually, when the company controlling distribution is also a producer, it manipulates to make the production side lose money.

The reverse could also happen: adjusting cuts slightly and using completion guarantees and hedge financing while making the project successful at the box office and through channels.

But this required the movie project to be a hit in theaters and distribution.

Additionally, Harvey had to clear himself legally from the projects. Disney's legal department wasn't just sitting on its hands.

He took a gamble, relying on Charlie's content development skills, hoping to stop Disney from constantly draining them and slowly developing in a parasitic way.

Charlie broke these little schemes. Corleone grew with distribution channels in place, and Fox kept making moves.

After multiple struggles, the current situation was that Miramax, through stock swaps and loans tied to the Lord of the Rings project, formally invested in Corleone Studios.

Harvey was still bound to Disney but slightly freed by his Corleone Studios board status.

Charlie was half-bound to Miramax, having signed part of the North American distribution contract and project investment rights.

Everything hinged on the Lord of the Rings project. If financial imbalance clauses were triggered, Corleone Studios' assets would be mortgaged to Miramax.

At that point, Harvey's earnings over several years would have to go to Disney, and he'd have to obey quietly. Charlie would have to pay Miramax, and they'd be in the same boat.

Thanks to Fox and other major studios' interferences, the conflicts between Harvey and Eisner were out in the open.

These big companies weren't interested in letting Charlie act as a spy to slowly divide and destroy.

Forcing Miramax and Corleone to bind made a ticking time bomb attached to Disney.

Harvey, originally in control, ended up forced into a corner by Charlie inviting the wolf in.

Under such circumstances, it was no wonder Harvey wasn't in a good mood.

In general, despite many struggles, external factors didn't have much impact on the Lord of the Rings. The key was the project itself not triggering the clauses.

Charlie danced around, dragging Harvey with him to the volcano mouth of the six major competitors.

In short, the situation seemed complicated.

Actually, Charlie just had to quickly develop the company and ensure Lord of the Rings' success to clear the clouds and see the rainbow!

Harvey was no time traveler wanting a little fun. Charlie forced him to gamble for their lives.

The usually wild and domineering guy now looked like a bitter complainer when facing Charlie.

He thought he himself was a lunatic, but it turned out there was an even crazier one dragging him along -- that feeling was quite sour and exhilarating.

...

They reached the bright conference room and sat down. Charlie ordered Gert to fetch some documents and teased Harvey, "Buddy, don't look like you lost your mother. Why not smile? Lord of the Rings will make us leap to a first-class film company comparable to DreamWorks!"

Harvey's eyes rolled crazily, mocking, "You're like a three-year-old, bragging proudly about awakening superpowers soon."

Charlie laughed heartily, feeling delighted.

Other people on the sofa quietly took their juice.

The usually arrogant and overbearing Harvey now looked like a bitter complainer. Everyone was speechless at the scene.

Bob, Harvey's brother, was embarrassed; Etto and Melche tried not to laugh.

Only Mord showed a big grin with bright white teeth.

Harvey glared and asked, "What are you laughing at?"

Mord said righteously, "I'm happy. It's a sunny day, and I'm in a good mood."

Harvey looked out at the gloomy sky and muttered a curse quietly.

Charlie smiled and tried to ease the mood, "Come on, don't be so pessimistic. You're Harvey Weinstein. Does Eisner really scare you that much?"

"Damn it, I'm not afraid of him!" Harvey grumbled.

"That's right. You've got to have some faith in us. Fifty Shades of Gray will get you a nice performance bonus. Even if the key project fails, in a few years, the two of us will walk away with money and start fresh! Do you have confidence?" Charlie said cheerfully.

Harvey spat and shook his head, laughing bitterly. "Honestly, buddy, you're kind of disgusting! I really regret provoking you. You're like a hungry, domineering lion. Whenever I start to like you a bit, you go crazy and drag me headfirst into the sea. And now, I have to work closely with you to climb back ashore."

Charlie squinted, showing his teeth. The old guy had to accept it. "Yes, now we're good friends. Lord of the Rings is a huge production -- three films shot together. Besides financing, the early planning is massive."

"What's your plan?" Harvey asked seriously. "I can't participate deeply. I can contact prop suppliers and work with CAA, William Morris, etc., to select suitable actors and crew."

"Let's not rush. We need to secure the copyrights first."

"I really envy your always confident attitude," Harvey said sarcastically, frowning. "You want to minimize the Tolkien estate and other copyright holders' earnings? That's tough. The project's copyright structure is very complex."

*****

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