Chapter 60: A Wealth of Tactics

[Chapter 60: A Wealth of Tactics]

Saul Zaentz had started his career in rock music.

By the 1970s, he entered the film production industry. By then, he had already been in the American entertainment industry for decades, an old man in his fifties. He had a deep network of connections and considerable funds.

When he appeared on the scene, he collaborated with a young Michael Douglas at the time, co-producing One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.

The film's rights came from Douglas's father.

Later, that movie won nine Oscar nominations and took home five awards including Best Picture.

The lead actor, the Best Actor Oscar winner Jack Nicholson, was a fiery, respected actor back then.

Strong connections combined with great content, this was a powerhouse entry.

Their success seemed effortless. At least for Douglas, having a famous father certainly helped.

But evidently, those credentials didn't count for Charlie.

Charlie felt no hesitation and planned to take down Saul.

This old man had a good relationship with Harvey Weinstein, and they were about to collaborate on The English Patient this year, both mixing it up in the independent production business.

Even though Harvey was younger by more than twenty years, he was a true influential big shot.

Shaking his head, Charlie shared his plan.

It was very simple. From any angle, Lord of the Rings wasn't a high-quality project.

Miramax had previously acquired the film adaptation rights from Saul's company. Charlie hadn't traced the exact price, but from asking people like Rothman, he guessed it would not exceed $7 million.

There were still rights left for merchandise, games, and live events.

Earlier, Saul's company's animated series license to NBC had expired long ago.

The only remaining important contract was an exclusive board game license with Iron Crown Enterprises, expiring in 1999, which wasn't a big issue.

According to Corleone, there were agreements among Miramax and Disney.

Charlie's studio's contract to pay for Lord of the Rings' rights would only kick in five years later.

Several tens of millions of dollars in collateral, without even counting the company's assets and restrictive clauses, would be tough for an average person to manage even in fifty years.

But for Charlie, this time was quite sufficient.

Moreover, an epic historical film like Lord of the Rings would require huge time and cost for props, scenes, and special effects.

A preparation period of two or three years was optimistic, and this was enough time to wait for some licensing agreements to expire.

It was best to regain the other rights as soon as possible.

Otherwise, once the project started, Charlie could be patient, but others would be as well. Rights holders weren't fools desperately needing money.

Saul himself was no fool.

Charlie hoped Harvey would explain his and Charlie's "dilemma" to Saul.

Besides, Charlie planned to offer a bargaining chip.

"I have a movie with big star Will Smith collaborating. He is investing and will be a producer, and CAA will provide packaging services. I only own 50% of the remaining investment share, and I plan to transfer that to Saul. Would this price appeal to him?"

In independent production, projects with big stars had no shortage of investment.

Having a star meant they could easily secure support via pre-sales and other methods. It was pretty much a guaranteed profit deal.

Will's current commercial film salary was $15 million!

For low-budget films, stars often slashed their fees! Even if the film failed, star power could help recoup costs.

Harvey knew all this well and often used this tactic. Nodding, he said, "Compared to some overlooked rights, your chip is more attractive. Apart from that, how much of the rights or distribution does he get for half the investment?"

"No other rights. The project budget was about $30 million, and he gets half investment for only $10 million." Charlie winced, "I spent about $5 million on those leftover rights. He's making a killing."

Harvey just scoffed. It was just paper money. Independent productions' costs were easy to handle. Even with a top financial team following the crew, they couldn't find any flaws.

"If it's just investment, he could easily get financing since it's a high-quality project. The issue is investment returns are uncertain." Harvey frowned. "Saul is old-fashioned, conservative, stubborn, and doesn't take risks easily."

Charlie said calmly, "Then he can talk to CAA. Corleone Studios only has partial North American distribution rights and works on a royalty basis. The movie rights aren't in my hands, so I don't earn much. Or, I'm just a supervising producer, and he can co-produce it. How he deals with CAA is none of my business."

Harvey looked surprised, "You want to use this movie to fulfill your contract with Fox?"

"Exactly!" Charlie smiled casually.

On paper, this Will Smith movie was Corleone Studios' best project, even better than Fifty Shades of Gray and Good Will Hunting.

Harvey couldn't believe greedy Charlie would give up such a cash cow.

Charlie didn't explain much: "Corleone Studios needs rapid growth, to strengthen ties with Fox, and also to avoid getting noticed by Eisner too soon."

Now Charlie had the access and resources.

For a hugely successful project, he gave away most of the paper profits. What Corleone Studios gained was reputation inside and outside the industry.

Sometimes, reputation was worth nothing.

But Corleone Studios needed that now.

This would help Corleone Studios establish financing and distribution channels.

Charlie was overwhelmed with several projects. Even just having his name as producer drained a lot of energy.

Having an established Saul to help was a blessing. After all, the film's rights belonged to CAA.

Corleone Studios' distribution channels weren't good; being a middleman brought little profit.

Harvey didn't pry further. He knew this kid was clever and wouldn't lose out. "So only one target left: Tolkien Enterprises. How do you plan to handle that?"

Charlie frowned, clearly worried.

With prior actions done and the fact that Tolkien Enterprises wasn't in the film business, even if they could be convinced, the cost would be high.

"I plan to pay $1 million, under the pretext of promoting the movie, to sign a clear, worldwide, non-exclusive box office agreement with them."

"You're sharp!" Harvey gave two thumbs up with a sly grin.

Tolkien Enterprises only retained some revenue shares from movie development.

Charlie pretended to distrust the project, paid them for promotion, and re-signed box office sharing contracts.

Later, whether it was gross or net profits, it would speak volumes!

The new contract party was Corleone Studios, which would reduce legal trouble in future lawsuits. Plus, tricking them into promoting the film solidified the partnership.

This $1 million now could save tens of millions later!

*****

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