American Fame and Fortune Chapter 350

Chapter 350 Painting Cake

In the office, Thomas looked down at WMA's top boss Ali Emmanuel, and had the illusion that he was on an equal footing.

 He immediately corrected his thoughts. This was not an illusion!

Thomas is very clear that he is not a person now, but represents Martin.

 With Martin's current momentum, the two of them would be VIP guests at any brokerage company.

 Ali asked: "What does Martin need? Tell him directly."

Thomas touched his bald forehead, and his words were quite polite: "Is the company being too conservative in promoting Martin to a second-tier customer?"

Ali reminded: "When Martin joined WMA, he has not even completed the first three-year contract. He only has first-class customers and super giants in the next two levels, but there are no limits to people's demands and desires."

 Thomas disagreed: "But Martin deserves better treatment from the company. Among all the actors born in the 1980s in Hollywood, he is the only one who can really carry the box office alone!"

 Ali was still thinking hard, weighing the pros and cons.

Thomas reminded: "This is the last year of Martin's three-year agency contract."

  The maximum three-year contract can only be signed with a client. This provision of the Entertainment Act made the agency hate it, but it was helpless. Ali could not change this reality, and said: "I want you to ensure that Martin continues to sign with WMA."

 Martin's image is excellent, not only in terms of actor's salary, but also in other commercial aspects.

Ali glanced at Thomas and endured some words.

 He could see that Thomas was more in Martin's shoes than WMA's.

 Customers are the foundation of a broker, Thomas sees this very clearly.

 Once he misses a customer like Martin, he may never meet another one in his life.

"I can guarantee this." After Thomas said this, he felt anxious. After seeking the interests of his customers, he also had to consider his own interests, and said: "My treatment in the company..."

 Ali has already made plans: "You move up from the mixed office downstairs and choose a senior broker's office, and all the benefits will be upgraded to the level of a senior broker."

Thomas turned his head, his figure was vaguely reflected in the glass curtain wall, and the hair on his head became less and less.

He asked for more than that, and asked tentatively: "Where are the partners?"

 Ali frowned slightly and said, "It's too early to mention partners now. Martin is not a superstar yet, and you don't have two top-line clients, so you have to wait."

After saying the polite refusal, he made another big deal: "As long as Martin becomes a superstar, the company will invite you to become a partner without you taking the initiative."

Thomas doesn't think that he will be able to become a partner now, but he reminds the company to be vaccinated and warned.

If employees don't take the initiative to improve their remuneration, how can we expect the company to take the initiative?

 Thomas added: "I will help Martin renew his contract with the company."

 Ali nodded and said: "All the company's project resources are open to Martin. You can take him to the resource management room later."

Thomas responded, said goodbye and left the office. He saw Martin on the phone not far away and waited for a while.

 After Martin made the call, he came back and asked, "Did the negotiation go well?"

"I'm a senior agent now." Thomas walked forward, pointed to the real independent office upstairs, and said, "I can move it up tomorrow."

  Martin said: “Congratulations.”

Thomas is high-spirited, and his bald forehead makes him full of confidence, conveying the charm of money: "Tongxi, you are now a first-level customer of the company, and you will get super benefits if you go up."

 He ​​took the initiative to state his position: "If you renew your contract with the company at the end of this year, I will get a 5% brokerage commission for you."

 Martin also expressed an attitude: "We are the best partners."

Thomas asked: "There are no other urgent matters that need to be dealt with today, right?"

 “No.” Martin asked, “What's the good thing?”

 Thomas leads the way: “First-level customers have the right to view all projects and roles collected by WMA at this stage.”

 A few minutes later, the two went down to the first floor and came to a conference room.

Thomas exchanged a few words with others, and the eight assistants in the mailroom immediately became busy.

 Martin sat on the sofa chair and watched these people busy.

 Someone opened the laptop and connected the projector in the conference room.

Someone held the script sent by the production company and placed it on the conference table.

 Someone also compiled a plan and related instructions accompanying the script for Martin to review at any time.

 Everyone is serving Martin as if Martin is their God.

Thomas just needs to stay with Martin and wait.

Martin said in a low voice: "Three years ago, when we looked at the company's scripts, some of them could not be seen at all. Those that could be seen were picked out by others and had to be printed and copied by ourselves."

Thomas also thought about the three-year period: “I was working in the hall and didn't even have an office.”

Martin encouraged: “Next, we have to strive to stand at the highest point in the circle.”

Thomas was full of enthusiasm: "I will definitely do it." Soon, an assistant came over and asked, "Mr. Davis, do you want to start now?"

 Martin nodded: “Let's get started.”

 Another assistant opens the laptop, and the projector projects the image onto the screen. This is a summary of all the project catalogs and roles that WMA has recently received.

Within WMA, there is a dedicated person in the mailroom who is responsible for following up and will update the latest information on each project or role in a timely manner.

For example, if a director has just been confirmed for a project, the WMA database must update the relevant information that day.

 Martin has seen the names or codenames of many film projects, many of which are impressive.

 "The first ranking, the third one." Martin said directly: "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, give the relevant information to Thomas."

 A female assistant immediately took the corresponding information and handed it to Thomas.

 Martin continued reading and saw memorable film titles such as "Justified Killing", "Midnight in Barcelona" and Roland Emmerich's "10,000 BC".

There is also "Jeans Summer 2".

Thomas also saw it and said: "I played golf with Barry Meyer and Alan Horn a few days ago. Alan Horn sent you an invitation to star in the sequel to Jeans Summer, but I declined."

Martin said directly: "Similar youth idol movies and **** comedies are all rejected."

With his current status, shooting these will lower his performance.

Thomas thought for a moment and then said: "Alan Horn also mentioned a large project with an investment of more than 180 million US dollars. It is not Batman, but the specific content was not mentioned. He just said that after the script is finalized, he will talk to you about it."

  Martin said: “I'll talk about it after reading the script.”

 Thomas knows that he has no say in the selection of projects and roles, so he won't say more.

 Martin's eyes fell on "10,000 Years in the Park". If I remember correctly, this was another scam.

I remember someone said in a previous life that Roland Emmerich's departure from disaster movies was a disaster in itself.

 Having read all the catalogs and carefully read the introduction, except for "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", Martin made no new discoveries.

 Martin asked Thomas to collect the relevant information and asked: "That's all?"

"That's all for now." Thomas simply explained: "This is part of the projects that are currently recruiting actors. Some companies may not plan to cooperate with WMA for some projects, or the main actors may be pre-determined. The open audition is just a formality, and We will directly send invitations to relevant actors to audition. They will not be publicly recruited and will not be entered into our database.”

He said: "There are nearly a thousand projects planned in the industry every year, but only less than 20 to 30 percent can enter the WMA database."

 Martin nodded: "Let's go."

 Subsequently, the two went to Thomas's office to study "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

It is adapted from the novel of the same name. The director is confirmed to be David Fincher. It will be co-produced by Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures. The expected investment will not be less than US$60 million.

 Martin has watched all David Fincher's movies and remembers that the male and female protagonists in this movie are Pitt and Blanchett.

 Now, Peter doesn't have to think about it.

 How was the box office of this film? Martin doesn't remember, he only knows that the film is very famous, and is even one of Fincher and Pitt's masterpieces.

 Thomas reminded: "Fincher's new film "Zodiac" is said to have received average response from internal test screenings and will be released in March."

Martin said: "You contact the crew and initially express your willingness to cooperate."

 Thomas asked: “Where's the pay?”

 Martin thought for a moment and said, "Just do it as normal."

　　With the success of "Never End" at the box office, it is normal for Martin to now want a salary of about US$13 million.

This is not a pure art film. If the salary is less than 12 million U.S. dollars, Thomas doesn't bother to negotiate with them. If someone takes the initiative to ask for the price, the opening price he sets for Martin is 15 million U.S. dollars.

 For new commercial endorsements, the standard is US$10 million.

"Never Ending" was a box office success, allowing Hollywood to see a new film production model, and many producers began to study how to make the audience further into the characters.

 The original author Alan Green resigned from "Empire" magazine and became a full-time writer and screenwriter. The Hollywood producer who came to contact him almost stepped on the doorstep of his home.

 The novel "Winterland", which Alain Grien is writing, has also become the focus of competition among major production companies.

 Successful people never lack followers.

At the same time, "Never Ending" spent its third weekend in North American theaters. Although it experienced the impact of the Super Bowl weekend, the film still maintained a steady trend, taking another 17.58 million US dollars in North America. The total North American box office $112 million.

 Another film starring Martin has grossed over 100 million in North American box office!

  Overseas screenings are still expanding, and the film's global box office has exceeded US$200 million.

 Many Hollywood production companies and projects have turned their attention to Martin.

 Warner Bros. has made huge profits over the years from films starring Martin, and other companies certainly want to get in on the action.

 For capital, stars who can bring high negotiated returns are the most worth pursuing. As long as the profits are high enough, they will not hesitate to offer high remuneration.

 After Thomas came into contact with the crew of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button," Alan Horn led people to find Martin.

 (End of this chapter)

Chapter end