I am Hollywood

[Chapter 861: Right Now]

Eric didn't know exactly how Tom Cruise felt about the situation, but Paula Wagner clearly hoped to facilitate this collaboration. To that end, Paula mentioned that Tom Cruise could sign a deal for three Iron Man films with Firefly, provided he retained the negotiation rights for the sequel's pay.

Relative to Tom Cruise's standing in Hollywood, this proposal was still quite sincere. With the explosive growth of the film market in recent years, the value of Hollywood stars had skyrocketed, and it had become quite rare for major stars to sign multiple movie contracts at once.

However, this clearly fell short of Eric's requirements.

"Paula, the Marvel Cinematic Universe plan is a very important strategy for Firefly," Eric explained. "To ensure its implementation, our bottom line for selecting core superhero roles is to sign at least six movies. This condition cannot be waived for anyone, so three films just won't work."

Paula Wagner responded, "Eric, since you value the Marvel Cinematic Universe plan so highly, Firefly should obviously be more cautious in selecting actors. I'm sure you understand that no Hollywood A-list star would agree to a six-film deal at once."

Eric gently shook his head. "I think you might have misunderstood something, Paula. Firefly wants to sign a long-term deal, but that doesn't mean we're unwilling to pay actors a more considerable salary. We have developed a detailed floating salary scheme. Take Cruise, for instance; if he agrees to sign, we could implement a floating salary mechanism starting with the first film."

Paula discreetly glanced at Avi Arad, who sat nearby. Since her involvement with Marvel, Avi had been very eager for Cruise to take part in Iron Man. They had rushed to Los Angeles for this discussion, so she hadn't yet heard the specifics about the floating salary plan from him.

From this subtle detail, Paula inferred that Avi might not be entirely on board with Eric's proposal. However, it wasn't surprising; Eric's idea of bundling a six-film contract would likely deter over ninety percent of Hollywood's A-list stars. In Hollywood's traditional mindset, a major production couldn't succeed without a big star involved.

Even so, Paula didn't show any signs of discomfort and continued to press, "Eric, can you elaborate a bit more?"

"Of course," Eric nodded patiently and explained, "For Cruise, Firefly could offer a guaranteed salary -- let's say $10 million. If the global box office is below $300 million, that salary remains unchanged. Between $300 million and $500 million, the salary doesn't increase significantly, but for every additional $100 million, we'd add $1 million, as that would still be within the movie's breakeven range. If the global box office reaches or exceeds $500 million, we multiply the highest box office figure by 3. For instance, with a global box office of $500 million, Cruise could earn $15 million; with $800 million, he would earn $24 million, and so on."

Paula understood that Eric was merely providing an example. Those figures wouldn't be the final proposal, and the detailed terms related to the salary agreement would likely fill dozens of pages. However, Paula also realized that this salary proposal wasn't particularly generous.

In recent years, nearly 20 films each year had surpassed $100 million at the domestic box office, nearly double the number from the early 1990s. However, despite the overall prosperity of Hollywood films in the global market, the number of films achieving over $500 million at the global box office remained quite limited.

Last year, besides the anomaly of Titanic, only The Matrix, The Mummy 2, and Mission: Impossible 2 crossed the $500 million mark. Although Sony's Men in Black 2 and MGM's Charlie's Angels 2 provided substantial profits to their respective studios, both only grossed over $400 million globally.

Since the production costs of mainstream Hollywood films were typically kept under $100 million, with very few exceeding $70 million, a movie that grossed $300 million could already yield significant profits for a studio, with $300 million marking the current success benchmark for Hollywood commercial films.

Thus, Paula viewed Eric's proposed salary conditions as seemingly generous but more akin to an empty promise. Based on this salary structure, an actor would need a global box office of $700 million to earn a $20 million salary. By last year's standards, only Titanic and The Matrix qualified, with The Mummy 2 and Mission: Impossible 2 grossing just over $600 million.

Paula doubted that Firefly's attempt at 'mass-producing' the Marvel Cinematic Universe could easily achieve global box office figures of $700 million. Although Cruise had recently entered a low point in his career, he served as both a co-investor and producer on most of his films, making it relatively easy for him to earn $20 million from each project, even if the films did not perform exceptionally well.

After a moment's thought, Paula said, "Eric, if I'm not mistaken, last year, fewer than five films in Hollywood achieved $500 million at the global box office, right? Given that, do you think a lead actor getting $15 million for a $500 million box office is reasonable?"

Eric smiled knowingly as he looked at Paula. "Paula, you should understand that if the Marvel Cinematic Universe plan succeeds, Cruise would receive much more than just a salary. For at least the next decade, he could maintain his status as a top star thanks to the popularity generated by this film. I believe that is the main reason you are here today, isn't it?"

Having missed out on the Mission: Impossible franchise, Cruise's popularity had been declining in recent years. If he experienced one or two more financial failures, it would be just a matter of time before he lost his A-list status. Many stars who once enjoyed peak success, like John Travolta and Richard Gere, faded from the top tier for similar reasons, while others like Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis found themselves on the verge of this predicament.

To maintain his star power, Schwarzenegger had recently taken on the role of Mr. Freeze in Batman & Robin, aiming to carve a new path by portraying a villain. Even Mel Gibson, who had achieved substantial success as a director, sought to revive the Lethal Weapon series. Therefore, Tom Cruise's interest in starring in Iron Man was even more about maintaining his A-list status long-term.

Paula Wagner didn't seem embarrassed by Eric's insight; instead, she kept her composed smile and said, "Eric, I think this is a win-win situation. As long as you can loosen the contract restrictions a bit, everyone can gain significantly. Moreover, if the Iron Man series becomes successful, even if the three-film contract ends, Tom would surely be more than willing to renew."

Eric thought to himself that with Cruise's usual price tag, Firefly would be very unwilling then.

Shaking his head lightly, Eric responded, "Paula, I think we may have difficulty reaching an agreement. However, aside from Iron Man, we would welcome any other collaborations with Cruise."

Disappointment washed over Paula; with partnerships with Paramount and Sony, Cruise would still secure the most extensive production and marketing resources, but with Firefly holding many quality projects, they wouldn't offer him the same benefits. Consequently, Eric's proposal didn't hold much appeal for her. As she recalled Firefly's recent dispute with Paramount, she speculated if Eric was trying to diminish Paramount's position, given that the Cruise/Wagner Production Company was essentially affiliated with them.

Knowing Cruise would likely reject Eric's salary proposal, there was little interest on Eric's part to concede, leading both sides to halt discussions.

...

After lunch, Paula Wagner quickly left, as she needed to fly back to New York later that afternoon to handle matters regarding Cruise's ongoing film.

Avi Arad didn't rush to return; he planned to stay in Los Angeles for a few days. However, after Paula left, Avi appeared rather disheartened. He wasn't very familiar with Hollywood and had grown accustomed to the strategy of big productions, big directors, and big stars, much like peripheral investors.

Eric recalled that Marvel's initial concept for their superhero "dream team" included Tom Cruise as Iron Man, Brad Pitt as Thor, and Edward Norton as the Hulk. Ultimately, everyone knew the outcome: the rise of Marvel's superheroes proved the correctness of employing prominent directors and introducing emerging talent.

If Marvel had successfully realized that initial "dream team," the results would have been unpredictable. Just like Warner Bros.' Batman series in recent years, strong visionaries often had to tussle with producers over pay, scripts, and other factors. Over four Batman films, three main characters and multiple directors came and went, and this volatility within the creative team ultimately led to a progressively declining series.

Eric didn't explain too much further to Avi. They chatted a bit about the details of establishing Marvel Studios, and then Eric saw Avi off from the estate.

...

Christina felt somewhat gloomy today. She had been excited to be invited to the estate by Eric for the weekend after receiving his call yesterday. However, early this morning, a girl named Miranda Kerr had shown up uninvited, intruding on their "couple time." And closer to noon, two more guests arrived. With Eric leaving Los Angeles the next day, it felt like this weekend had turned out pretty poorly.

It wasn't until after 2 PM that the two guests finally departed, allowing Eric some free time.

However, seeing Miranda, who clung to Eric like a needy kitten, only made Christina feel worse. She had always been cautious around Eric and never dared to be as brazen as the girl in front of her.

Christina even wondered whether this "kitten," sitting on Eric's lap, truly didn't recognize that this was a lion reigning in Hollywood, or if she was simply too confident that he wouldn't devour her.

Miranda, on the other hand, paid no mind to Christina's mixed feelings and affectionately nestled against Eric, wrapping her arms around his neck and said, "Eric, I read in the paper that the world premiere of Casino Royale will be held in London. You're definitely going, right?"

Eric kept his hands on Miranda's waist, preventing her from getting too close, and smiled, saying, "Yeah, but I definitely can't take you along, so don't even think about it."

"That's just mean! I hadn't even brought it up yet," Miranda tugged gently at Eric's shirt collar, expressing her annoyance. "You promised me you'd celebrate my birthday last year. Last month, I didn't even see your shadow. So, how are you going to make it up to me?"

Eric knew Gisele wouldn't share their worldwide travel plans with Miranda, so he merely smiled and asked, "Oh, what kind of compensation are you hoping for?"

Miranda straightened her posture, swaying her hips lightly, and said, "The Disney Channel TV show I'm working on is just so boring. Eric, what if I could audition for Gwen, you know, Gwen Stacy from Spider-Man?"

"Ah, that won't work. How about I let you play one of the female classmates next to Gwen instead?"

"That's so ungracious! I don't want these minor roles," Miranda shook her head in disapproval, her eyes glinting as she suggested, "Well, Christina and I just saw a bunch of cars in your garage. There are so many nice cars; it's such a waste! You hardly ever drive them, right?"

Eric chuckled and playfully pushed the girl away, keeping a grip on her waist to prevent any more fidgeting. "If you want them, you'll have to wait until you're sixteen. It just won't work now."

Miranda glanced at Christina beside her, her eyes darting left and right, saying, "But don't I look like I'm sixteen right now? Eric, I know you can help me get a driver's license, right?"

"Sure, but that's why I can't help you," Eric laughed and playfully squeezed her cheek. "Don't be so restless. You're nowhere near the right age to drive. If something happens, I wouldn't know how to explain it to your parents."

After pleading for a while to no avail, Miranda switched tactics, saying, "Alright then! How about you drive us? Just now, Christina and I could use some fresh air."

*****

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