Chapter 588： Interests moving

"It's not difficult to buy a professional football team, it's a rare investment in the future."

In the reception room of Relativity Entertainment, Tom Cruise took the coffee from Connie, said thank you, and looked at Ronan on the opposite side: "I know something about the Premier League. All teams are losing money. This is all a money game."

Will Smith, who crossed his legs, answered: "People who can afford to play professional sports clubs are not ordinary rich people."

Ronan understood the concerns of the two people and said: "Tom and Will, we jointly funded the acquisition. Even the top clubs in the Premier League will be shared among everyone, and the funds will not be much, and I will mainly fund them. As for the operation In fact, some football clubs can make a profit."

Will Smith is a football layman and doesn't know much about the situation, but he rushed to Ronan when he heard Ronan's call, out of trust in Ronan.

Tom Cruise is different. He has a connection with David Beckham. Hearing Ronan's words, he immediately asked: "Ronan, listen to what you mean, the acquisition target is..."

Ronan nodded slowly: "Yes, that's it."

"It's not easy." Tom Cruise said seriously: "This is one of the top clubs in the Premier League. We are outsiders. If we really want to buy, fans may be crazy against it."

Ronan waved his hand: "It's not as difficult as you think. Your two's reputation is persuasive."

Will Smith spread his hand and said helplessly: "What are you talking about, why don't I understand?"

Tom Cruise said half-jokingly: "Because we are guarding you. Will, you are a big mouth, if you say it, there is no secret."

Will Smith distinguished: "Am I that unreliable?"

Ronan smiled and said, "Unless you join in."

"I don't understand football or the Premier League." Will Smith looked solemnly: "But I know you, Ronan, and I believe you. So, I count this."

Ronan said: "Don't trust me blindly." He still simply analyzed: "Our target club has self-hematopoietic ability, and its annual revenue is enough to cover expenditure, and there is even a balance. So as long as the acquisition is completed, there is no need We invest money in daily operations."

Will Smith nodded slightly, and Tom Cruiseno was thoughtful.

"You two have a huge reputation all over the world, which can reduce the resistance of fans." Ronan added: "Nowadays, the currency depreciation is extremely fast, and the value of Premier League clubs will rise rapidly with the development of commercial football. It is also a channel to realize asset preservation."

"An acquisition requires a lot of money?" Will Smith asked a key question.

Tom Cruise said: "Of course Ronan is the main fund to raise, and we should be a minority shareholder."

Will Smith nodded and said, "That's good, my cash flow is not abundant."

Ronan said: "Funding can be solved by loans, so you don't need to occupy your cash flow for the time being."

Neither Tom Cruise nor Will Smith had any objection. The former asked: "When will we start?"

Ronan replied: "One of Netflix's teams has already gone to the UK. They will do preliminary work and are also looking for a suitable operation team. We will wait until the end of the Premier League season and officially announce the news."

"Good." Will Smith has always had confidence in Ronan.

Tom Cruise and Will Smith are also very busy people, and they didn't wait much for entertainment in the theory of relativity. After discussing this matter, they left one after another.

Ronan had just returned to the office when Connie knocked on the door and walked in.

With a serious face, she said quickly: "I just received the news from Embassy Pictures that Mel-Gibson’s Aiken Pictures Company used the producer’s contract fraud from the distributor’s Embassy Pictures as a reason. The distribution of the proceeds of "The Passion" is formally filed in the Los Angeles District Court."

"The benefits are touching." Ronan said slowly: "Mel Gibson is jealous of our income."

This was clear at a glance, and Connie naturally knew, and said: “Aiken Pictures’ lawyer’s letter has been sent to Embassy Pictures, and they demanded that Embassy Pictures pay the filmmakers the due box office share and post-offline distribution in accordance with industry practices. Revenue sharing."

Ronan shook his head: "Industry practice?"

If industry practices can be applied in every case, what should the law and contract do?

Connie said at this time: "Mel Gibson's agent has contacted Embassy Pictures in private, hoping that Embassy Pictures will make more concessions to reach a settlement."

Ronan said without hesitation: "Notify Lawyer Dinah and let her and her team respond to the suit. I specifically emphasized that the whole process of negotiation and signing of the agreement must be recorded, and Garcia can obtain the recording and copy the recording. , Leave a copy for Netflix, if Mel Gibson is stubborn to the end, open it on the Internet..."

He was a little cold: "Since there is a legal action, the Embassy Pictures will accompany it to the end, and it is not allowed to settle with Mel Gibson outside court."

Connie remembered in her heart: "I'll tell you now."

Ronan added: "Remember to tell Garcia that if Embassy Pictures takes a step back in "The Passion of the Christ", there will be countless studios approaching two steps later."

Embassy Pictures bought out the film and lost the money. Seeing the box office boom, I wanted to come over and take a bite. How could there be such a good thing in this world?

Originally, Ronan didn't want to be dead. After all, the big sellers also contributed to the film, so he specially prepared a bonus.

But once a person's greed appears, it is difficult to satisfy it.

Obviously, in the face of the high income of "The Passion of the Christ", even people like Mel Gibson who have really seen the world will inevitably lose their mentality.

And it’s not just Mel Gibson who is out of balance, but also the screenwriter of The Passion.

There are two signed screenwriters for this film, Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson.

On the second day after Mel Gibson sued Embassy Pictures, Benedict Fitzgerald filed a lawsuit against both Mel Gibson and Embassy Pictures in Los Angeles District Court.

Benedict Fitzgerald claimed that as early as 2001, when he accepted Mel Gibson’s invitation to create the script for "The Passion of the Christ", Mel Gibson promised him that he was the only screenwriter of the film. And all the screenwriters' income and the corresponding film screenwriter's share of the industry union are all owned by him, and Mel Gibson promised not to take any money.

With this shot, Benedict Fitzgerald devoted all his efforts to writing scripts in the next few years, and was willing to share "script ownership" with Mel Gibson.

Benedict Fitzgerald believes that Mel Gibson, the big star, crossed the river and broke the bridge and failed to fulfill his original promise. Not only did he add his own signature to the screenwriter column, but also took away more than half of the project's screenwriter compensation.

Therefore, Benedict-Fitzgerald accused Mel Gibson of breaching the contract and committing fraud, demanding him to pay 5 million U.S. dollars, and the Embassy Pictures was not allowed to pay Mel Gibson the post-scripting share as stipulated by the industry union. All shares belong to him.

The screenwriter’s share of the screenwriter’s rigidly stipulated by the screenwriters’ union is very low, and it’s not much money in other films, but the box office of "Passion of the Christ" is so big that the offline income is expected in the future, and this part of the share may be as high as millions of dollars .

There will always be a lot of troubles in all the super selling movies, and "The Passion of the Christ" is no exception.

In many movies, unrelated people jump out to share cakes. In this movie project, people who are directly related to the movie come out.

In any case, these are troublesome things and will inevitably involve a small part of the energy of Embassy Pictures and Relativity Entertainment.

Benedict Fitzgerald is a registered screenwriter of the Screenwriters Guild. Hollywood’s trade unions have never been a display, and it is also one of the most troublesome existences for management. Moreover, Benedict-Fitzgerald is not a malicious lawsuit. Also came up with the initial agreement with Mel Gibson.

With the emergence of this lawsuit, not only Mel Gibson was in trouble, but Embassy Pictures was also involved. Because the screenwriters union directly intervened, the Embassy Pictures needed to cooperate with the investigations of the screenwriters union.

The involvement of the labor union will complicate simpler things, and Garcia Rodriguez, the head of Embassy Pictures, also has a headache.

Ronan smelled something else.

"We have had a lot of trouble recently."

In the office, Ronan looked at Garcia and Robert Iger: "First there was the headhunting incident, and then some theater companies rejected "The Passion of the Christ". Now there are two more lawsuits triggered by interests. Are there any links between them."

Garcia Rodriguez has already aroused vigilance, and said: "There is always a feeling that some forces are targeting us. There is no evidence to show that, but they feel that it is real."

Robert Iger said: "On the surface, these two things are normal recently. The super high income of "Passion" has caused the producers and screenwriters to be jealous, but considering our current situation, it is necessary to consider the worst~ www.novelhall.com~ Ronan tapped his finger lightly: "In the next few years, we will develop rapidly, but the situation will be even more difficult. Not everyone wants to see Relativity Entertainment become a first-rate company. "

He directly concluded: "Regardless of whether these two events are accidental or whether there are other connections behind them, we should not treat them as mere litigation cases."

Robert Iger said: "How do you say Mel Gibson, arrogant, arrogant, and grumpy. It's hard to tell if he was considered a gun."

Garcia Rodriguez took the conversation: "Embassy Pictures and Mel Gibson had a buyout negotiation for "The Passion of the Christ". I am more familiar with Aiken Pictures and the people around him. Check out the situation from the side."

Ronan nodded: "Yes."

Robert Iger reminded: "Ronan, with the strength of relativity entertainment alone, it is impossible to deal with Hollywood's top power at the same time. We also need allies."

Ronan said, "I understand."