Chapter 322: Interesting Idea

Warner, at this moment, an important meeting is being held, and the core of its discussion is Wu Yuchen.

"Gentlemen, we have already visited Wu again before, but he has now put forward new conditions: 20 million plus 25% of the global box office share."

"Damn it! 20% can't satisfy his appetite? How can he do this!"

As early as more than a year ago, Warner had

But now, following the huge success of *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*, the majority of the committee members here at Warner had agreed to the conditions Wu Yuchen proposed, but they didn't expect that Wu Yuchen would raise his price again!

"20 million plus 25% of the global box office share? What does he want to do? Does he think there is any major studio in Hollywood that will satisfy this delusion of his?!" an old man cursed angrily.

The conference room was filled with indignation for a moment, and many people showed expressions of dissatisfaction.

After the conference room quieted down a little, the man from the beginning spoke again:

"In fact, Wu told us that MGM, in order to invite him to come out of retirement to reboot *007*, has already offered a high price of 20 million plus 30% of the global box office share..."

Upon hearing this news, the conference room exploded again!

"What?! Are they at MGM crazy?! This is completely disrupting the market!"

"MGM is crazy! They are already going bankrupt! They are just making a desperate gamble now!"

"How can we at Warner let MGM lead us by the nose?!"

"We cannot agree to his conditions! Absolutely cannot do this!"

Just then, a voice rang out: "Everyone, I don't know what you are still hesitating about? Wu has already proven how excellent he is with the box office results of *Pirates of the Caribbean 2*! Do you still think *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* won't break 1 billion at the box office?"

This person was none other than Jeffrey, one of Warner's committee members, and also the youngest among them.

An old man said stubbornly: "Before there is a real result, we cannot be certain of the final outcome of things."

Jeffrey waved his hand in dissatisfaction and said: "Oh! Come on! I bet that *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* has a 99% chance of having a total box office exceeding 1 billion! And as for the other outcomes you speak of, the probability is less than 1%!"

At this time, another person said:

"Hey, Jeffrey, we just think that 20 million plus 25% of the global box office share is too high. If there is even the slightest accident, it could cause huge losses. The risk is still too great."

"What kind of accident are you talking about? Can't you see the huge success of *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* and *Spider-Man 2*? Furthermore, you should all be able to see from the investigation reports how high the profits created by the merchandise for *Pirates of the Caribbean* and *Spider-Man* are!

I don't care about giving Wu a mere 5% more of the global box office. What we should care about is the massive sales of merchandise and copyrights that will be set off after *Batman* succeeds! Not just one film, but three—think about how much profit that will be!"

There was silence in the conference room for a moment, but the old man still shook his head: "You are talking about success, but what if it doesn't succeed? Then who will be responsible for this impulsive investment?"

"Impulsive? Can investing in a director like Wu, who has always been successful, be called impulsive? Then all past investments in Hollywood were impulsive acts!

Universal could offer Peter Jackson 20% of the global box office share for *Jin Gang*, so why can't we offer Wu Yuchen 25% for *Batman*? Do you think *Batman* is inferior to *Jin Gang*? Or is Wu Yuchen not as good as Peter Jackson? Or perhaps we at Warner don't even have the courage of Universal?!"

In the conference room, silence fell once again.

A moment later, a middle-aged man said: "Let's vote by a show of hands!"

Wu Yuchen was not lying to Warner; MGM had indeed come to find him, offering a high price of 20 million plus 30% of the global box office share for *007*. There was no need to lie about such things; it would spread sooner or later, and Warner would find out as soon as they asked around.

To be honest, Wu Yuchen's heart skipped a beat when he first heard it. Damn, is MGM really this bold?!

But afterwards, thinking about MGM's current situation, he knew that MGM had reached a dead end and had no other choice.

MGM currently had debts exceeding 2 billion US dollars, and they couldn't even raise the money to start new projects. And with such high debt hanging there, which investment institution or bank would dare to lend money to MGM anymore?

If MGM didn't make some crazy attempts now, they would only be reduced to the fate of bankruptcy.

Therefore, MGM was willing to offer Wu Yuchen 30% of the global box office share. As long as they could attract him, with Wu Yuchen's current fame plus the renowned *007*, banks and investment institutions would inevitably pour money into this new project.

If *007* could shine brightly in Wu Yuchen's hands and be reborn, even if it wasn't as fierce as *Pirates of the Caribbean 2* and only reached a global box office of over 800 million US dollars, that would be enough to pull MGM back from the brink!

So MGM wasn't stupid; they were seeking life in the midst of death!

After figuring this out, Wu Yuchen sighed repeatedly. MGM's sincerity was indeed sufficient, but he had no desire, nor was there any need, to be MGM's white knight!

Given MGM's situation, even if *007* was a box office success, he was very worried about how long it would take for the 30% box office share promised to him to actually arrive.

They had 2 billion US dollars in debt; if they dragged it out for a few years, there would be nothing he could do!

Rather than laboring to save some MGM and bearing the risk of not getting paid, it was truly better to cooperate with Warner to film *Batman*.

He was currently using MGM to drive up his own price. Although he had initially requested 20%, wasn't the situation different now? He now had the capital to negotiate further.

Wu Yuchen's salary request wasn't made randomly, but was based on the standards of *Avatar* from his past life.

In his past life, *Avatar* brought director James Cameron 350 million US dollars in income, accounting for 13% of the 2.7 billion box office.

But in fact, the share space reserved by the producers was actually within 25%. Because the 400 million US dollar investment for *Avatar* was too large, Cameron didn't have confidence at the beginning, so he wanted to find a big star to carry the box office. Thus, he found Matt Damon and convinced the producers to give Matt Damon 10% of the global box office share.

But Matt Damon gave it up, claiming it was to film *The Bourne Ultimatum*. When the box office for *Avatar* came out, Damon naturally smiled bitterly until he cried...

For a 400 million dollar production like *Avatar*, the producers were willing to take out 23% of the global box office share, so by referencing that, Wu Yuchen could naturally deduce where Warner's acceptance level lay.

His current momentum was no worse than Peter Jackson's, and in terms of successful projects, he had far more than Peter Jackson. If "Little Fatty" Peter could get 20%, it wouldn't be excessive for him to get 25%, right?

Plus, with the price hike provided by MGM at just the right time, if he didn't negotiate properly with Warner, it would truly be a waste of the hard work he had put into so many successful films in the past!

While waiting for Warner's decision, Wu Yuchen was visited by another guest.

"The great Wu! The King of the North American summer box office!"

As soon as Stan Lee, the father of Marvel, met him, he was hugging him and constantly singing Wu Yuchen's praises.

This time, it wasn't just Stan Lee who came, but also Kevin Feige and two other Marvel executives. Seeing them visit together, Wu Yuchen had some guesses in his heart.

After the two sides exchanged pleasantries, Stan Lee asked with some anticipation:

"Wu, both *Spider-Man* films have achieved huge success. I think we at Marvel should also start our own true superheroes!"

Although Marvel had invested 30% in *Spider-Man*, the lion's share still belonged to Sony, so *Spider-Man* couldn't be said to truly belong to Marvel itself.

And now, through the income from these two films, Marvel's wallet had swelled, and their confidence had soared even higher; they wanted to create superheroes that truly belonged to Marvel!

"Do you want to start *Iron Man*?" Wu Yuchen asked.

"Yes, Wu, we can't wait anymore~"

When Wu Yuchen first bought into Marvel, he had promised to create a Marvel superhero universe plan for them, and the beginning of this plan was *Iron Man*. Marvel was well aware of this.

Actually, it wouldn't be impossible to start *Iron Man* now.

But he wasn't sure if his candidate for Iron Man was suitable right now. Wu Yuchen didn't even know if he had kicked his addiction...

After thinking for a while, Wu Yuchen said to them:

"I don't think the timing is mature enough yet. For one thing, *Spider-Man 3* hasn't been filmed yet. I hope Marvel can gain more experience and accumulation in superhero films through *Spider-Man 3*. When we start *Iron Man* then, the chances of success will be even greater!"

Afterwards, he turned his head and said to Kevin Feige: "Kevin, I will recommend you to be the producer of *Spider-Man 3*. After that, *Iron Man* will be started by you personally!"

Upon hearing this, Kevin Feige couldn't help but show excitement and immediately said to Wu Yuchen: "Mr. Wu, thank you. I will definitely not let you down!"

Although he had participated in the production of *Spider-Man 2* before, it was as a co-producer, and he often had to report to Wu Yuchen, so the power wasn't truly in his hands.

But this time, for *Spider-Man 3*, he would be a producer with real power; this was also a transformation of status for him. You have to know, Kevin Feige was only 31 years old this year, and being able to serve as a producer for a major project like *Spider-Man 3* was already a very fast pace!

Seeing that the big boss Wu Yuchen had said so, and that Kevin Feige had already agreed, the others couldn't bring themselves to try and persuade him otherwise. In the end, they had to accept Wu Yuchen's arrangement.

*Iron Man*, huh?

Thinking of the actor most suitable for Iron Man, Wu Yuchen pondered for a moment. He still had to find someone to personally investigate and observe him before he could determine whether he could be used right now.

Miracle Pictures.

After following the beautiful female secretary into the office and finding Wu Yuchen sitting in the boss's chair reading a newspaper, James Wan didn't dare to make a sound to disturb him.

"BOSS, Director Wan is here~"

Hearing the secretary's reminder, Wu Yuchen put down the newspaper in his hand and said with a smile: "Sophie, please close the door on your way out."

Afterwards, Wu Yuchen looked at James Wan. Although his build was still thin and small, his entire spirit and energy had undergone a earth-shaking change.

"How is it? How have you been in Hollywood lately?"

Hearing Wu Yuchen's concerned greeting, James Wan immediately replied with a smile: "Thank you for your concern, I feel great! In Hollywood, I have really learned a lot of new theories and knowledge about film, which makes me feel like I'm improving every day!"

James Wan was actually not a student of a directing major; he was a "wild card" or a genius who entered the field halfway.

"How about work? Is it going smoothly?"

"*Saw II* has finished filming, and it will be released this Halloween! Leigh and I have also created the script for *Saw III*, and we plan to film it next year."

Wu Yuchen nodded upon hearing this: "Very good. Regarding the selection of the male lead, have you decided yet?"

When James Wan heard this, he knew that Wu Yuchen must want to recommend someone, so he shook his head directly: "No, Wu Dao, do you have any suitable candidates to recommend?"

Wu Yuchen smiled and pushed the newspaper in his hand over. Seeing this, James Wan picked it up to look, and soon he found an article.

"It is reported that a weary Deborah Falconer has exhausted her patience and can no longer bear to share a bed with a drug addict, officially filing for divorce from Luo Bote Downey Jr., and has already won custody of their child!"

"Deborah Falconer stood by this marriage for 12 years; she wanted to wait for the prodigal son to return, but things went against her wishes... No matter how good a woman is, she cannot tolerate trash like Luo Bote Downey Jr...."

James Wan had also heard of the notoriety of the "bad boy" Luo Bote Downey Jr.

In the 90s, he lived a dissolute life, mainly involving drugs. Once he was high, he drove a sports car naked and was stopped by police, who found illegal substances in the car. A month later, he was sent to the hospital by a neighbor after overdosing and falling into a coma. Since then, he had been exposed for related scandals many times; he was a "frequent flyer" in prison, and more than once...

And now, according to the news, his wife of 12 years had finally become completely disappointed in him and had taken their child to divorce him.

Looking at this report, James Wan couldn't help but raise his head to look at Wu Yuchen, tentatively asking: "Wu Dao, do you want to let Luo Bote Downey Jr...."

Wu Yuchen's mouth curled up upon hearing this:

"I just thought of a very interesting idea. This guy is notorious, and the public has no good impression of him at all. If we throw such a notorious villain from real life into *Saw* and let Jigsaw torture him, then tell me, would the audience want to buy tickets to go into the cinema?"