Chapter 283: Going in Person

Chapter 283: Chapter 283: Going in Person

Robert flipped through the script, quickly scanning the core plot points, and his brow gradually relaxed.

"Your request is very reasonable." He looked up at Irene, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

"I thought you would take the opportunity to demand a share of the offline merchandise revenue. After all, the merchandise and theme park projects for this film have already generated massive profits."

"I know my place very well." Irene smiled faintly and said in a calm tone, "Offline licensing has always been Disney’s core interest. Even Steven Spielberg couldn’t change that, so naturally, I won’t waste my effort on a futile task."

She paused and added, "I only focus on the creation. As for how the two companies allocate distribution rights and coordinate promotional resources, that is your business."

Hearing this, Robert couldn’t help but laugh. "You really are a smart person." He closed the script, stood up, and extended his hand.

"Deal. I’ll have the legal department draft the contract as soon as possible. As for Fox, I will communicate with them personally. Believe me, no one wants to turn away money."

After seeing Robert off, Irene walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and gazed at the silhouette of the Hollywood Hills in the distance.

The sunlight was piercing, yet it only made her gaze clearer.

It wasn’t that she didn’t want the offline income; she simply understood that without enough bargaining power, blindly fighting for it would only backfire.

Just like in her previous life when Disney acquired Fox and renamed 20th Century Fox to 20th Century Studios to completely control the IP’s voice, only by having one’s own distribution channels can one truly escape the fate of being manipulated by giants.

She opened her computer and pulled up a document labeled "Target Acquisition List," which listed three independent film companies with full distribution qualifications.

Her fingertips tapped on the keyboard, and Irene’s gaze gradually became sharp. The success of Pirates of the Caribbean was just the starting point. She wanted Echo Pictures to no longer depend on any giant, and she wanted her works to be truly held in her own hands.

And all of this would begin with the acquisition of her own distribution company.

...

When Vera rushed into Irene’s office, fine beads of sweat still clung to her temples, and she tightly gripped a crumpled negotiation summary in her hand.

"Irene, something’s wrong, something is very wrong!"

Her voice carried an unmistakable anxiety.

"In this negotiation with Hasbro, they were completely perfunctory. Before, they would seriously discuss the direction of the live-action film adaptation.

Today, they only sent a mid-level manager who spent the whole time scrolling through his phone. Whatever I asked, he just said ’needs to be reported to headquarters,’ and he wouldn’t even reveal the specific contact person."

Irene frowned upon hearing this. "Stalling? Wasn’t the previous communication always smooth? They were clearly very interested in the anthropomorphization of Bumblebee."

"It’s precisely because it was so smooth before that the current contrast is unsettling." Vera slammed the summary on the desk, her tone urgent.

"I specifically asked around, and that manager’s eyes were shifty. He only vaguely said ’there are other partners in contact.’ I suspect a major company has intervened, so they don’t take our small studio seriously anymore!"

Irene stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. The sunlight spilled onto the glass, but it couldn’t penetrate the solemnity in her eyes.

As the largest toy sales company in the United States, Hasbro held massive channel resources and consumer groups.

Transformers, as Hasbro’s most core super IP, had a huge global audience. Previously, it had only been made into animations and had never touched live-action films; it was a top-tier cake that everyone wanted a bite of.

Getting the film adaptation rights from them was never going to be easy—otherwise, she wouldn’t have been doing it quietly—but now a variable had appeared.

"They are stalling and also observing." Irene’s tone was flat, yet it carried an indisputable certainty. "Echo Pictures’ current size is indeed not enough for Hasbro to hand such an important IP to us. But the success of Pirates of the Caribbean is our biggest bargaining chip. They know I can turn a toy IP into a movie and make it a hit."

"It seems I’ll have to make the trip myself." Irene turned around, her tone already regaining its composure.

"Help me make an appointment with Hasbro’s head, James Webb. Say that Echo Pictures’ CEO, Irene Coppola, wants to discuss the possibility of cooperation in person. Also, prepare the Bumblebee audience analysis, the preliminary design plans, and the full script for Transformers. I want to take those with me to the negotiation."

"You’re going personally?" Vera was somewhat surprised. "If you go now, our plan definitely won’t stay a secret. It will surely attract more companies’ attention, and our chances..."

"No matter how small the chances, we can’t give up." Irene interrupted her, her gaze firm.

"Compared to the Big Six, we are indeed inferior, but man proposes and God disposes. If we really can’t get it, we’ll just have to find another project to invest in."

A day later, Irene, dressed in a sharp black coat and carrying a heavy "Feasibility Report for the Live-Action Film Adaptation of Transformers," appeared at Hasbro’s global headquarters in Pawtucket, Rhode Island.

After the receptionist announced her, she waited in the reception area for a full forty minutes before being led into James Webb’s office by a secretary.

To be honest, she hadn’t encountered such treatment in many years.

James Webb was a tall, middle-aged man wearing gold-rimmed glasses, with eyes as sharp as an eagle’s. Seeing Irene enter, his tone was distant:

"Ms. Coppola, please sit. I know why you’re here. Pirates of the Caribbean was very successful, but Transformers is different. This is our ace IP; it cannot be easily handed over to outsiders."

Irene didn’t mind his coldness. She sat down across from him composedly and pushed the documents toward him:

"Mr. Webb, I didn’t come here today to waste your time, but to show you that a partnership between Echo Pictures and Hasbro isn’t a one-sided dependence, but a win-win." 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

She pushed the materials in her hand toward him. "This is the ’Transformers Live-Action Film Adaptation Plan’ that my team spent a month working on, including character reimagining, world-building, audience analysis, and a promotional synergy plan."

James picked up the materials and flipped through a few pages casually, then frowned.

"Adapting an animation into a live-action film is extremely difficult. How do the robot designs translate? How does the plot escape being childish? Many companies have tried these problems before and failed."

"Because they didn’t find the right direction." Irene met his gaze neither humbly nor arrogantly, her finger pointing to a page in the materials.

"Our plan isn’t just about robots fighting; it centers on the conflict between the Autobots and Decepticons, integrated with the growth and choices of human protagonists.

Just as Pirates of the Caribbean broke out of the framework of traditional pirate films, what we want to do is break out of the shackles of animation and give Transformers a more realistic emotional core and visual spectacle."

She paused and emphasized her tone: "Mr. Webb, you should be aware that today’s audiences are no longer satisfied with simple animation IPs.

They want more immersive live-action stories. Hasbro needs someone who can turn Transformers from a toy into a top-tier global film IP, and I can do it."