Chapter 334: Bundling

Chapter 334: Chapter 334: Bundling

The meeting room of Universal Pictures’ copyright department was filled with the rich aroma of coffee. Victor Delacour leaned back in his leather chair, an unlit cigar between his fingers. His gaze swept over the cooperation proposal handed to him by Lisa Evelyn, a contemptuous smile curling at the corners of his mouth.

"Lisa, are you bringing Future World Pictures here because you want a slice of the pie from Universal?" His voice carried its usual arrogance, his eyes scanning up and down Lisa’s meticulously groomed professional attire. "I told you long ago, this kind of work that requires wrestling with capital and grinding away at projects is not suitable for women."

Lisa felt disdain in her heart, but she squeezed out a perfectly timed humble smile. Her fingertips lightly brushed the edge of the proposal, and her tone became soft: "Victor, you’re joking. Future World has just integrated its resources and indeed wants to borrow Universal’s momentum to expand the commercial volume of our film library. We know The Bourne Identity is Universal’s ace, and we didn’t have high hopes. We just came with sincerity to try. We will bear the full 30% of the production costs and add another 5 million in copyright cooperation fees, only seeking a co-production credit, even if the subsequent profit share is a bit lower."

She paused deliberately, observing Victor’s expression. Seeing a flash of smugness in his eyes, she continued to "play weak": "You also know that our boss, Irene, is currently busy filming Pirates of the Caribbean 2, and the company is indeed short on projects that can carry the banner. Being able to latch onto an IP like The Bourne Identity is an entry ticket for us to gain a foothold, allowing us to hold our heads high in the industry in the future."

"Didn’t your director hook up with Paramount to film Transformers next year? Could you still be short on projects?" Victor looked at the project cooperation proposal in front of him nonchalantly.

"Transformers is entirely a Paramount project. You also know how aggressive they are. They don’t give our company any chance to participate in production at all. It’s not like Universal, which always provides a lot of support to small companies like ours." Lisa’s words were full of flattery. "Besides, the future of Transformers is uncertain, unlike The Bourne Identity, which has already fully opened up the market. A sequel is almost a guaranteed success."

Victor sneered and threw the proposal onto the table, the papers scattering with a slight rustle.

"Lisa, you’re being too naive. You said it yourself, the sequel to this series is bound to succeed. Universal can make money lying down. Why should we give you a slice of the pie?" He paused and tapped his finger on the table. "However, for the sake of our ten-plus years of acquaintance, it’s not like Universal can’t give Future World a chance. Choose another project. The Bourne Identity is not something you can touch."

Lisa was secretly delighted, but her face still showed difficulty. "Victor, our company is very sincere. Can’t we talk further? You can make any demands. We are willing to consider them."

Victor waved his hand. "No discussion on this project. Choose something else."

Lisa pretended to think for a moment before saying, "Then how about Fast & Furious? Our boss thinks this project is also okay."

Victor couldn’t help but nod. Irene Coppola truly lived up to her reputation. She was indeed very good at picking projects. Although Fast & Furious wasn’t a phenomenal hit like The Bourne Identity, the first two films had brought good returns to the company and were considered high-quality assets.

But such a project was completely incomparable to The Bourne Identity. It could, however, be offered to Future World for cooperation. But if he let Future World achieve its goal so easily, wouldn’t it make their company seem too easy to talk to?

For some reason, he suddenly thought of Hulk, which had recently caused an earthquake in the company. Ron Meyer had criticized the person in charge of this project more than once during meetings and had even thought about returning it to Marvel.

However, not to mention whether Marvel would agree to such an operation, even if it were successfully returned, the copyright fees they had paid previously would go down the drain. It would be better to keep the copyright in the company, wait five or six years until the audience had forgotten the movie, and then bring it out to film again. Perhaps it could be brought back to life.

But in that case, the sunk cost would be quite high, and it might also face protests from Marvel fans. Perhaps he could find another way to make use of the waste and squeeze out some cash. That would also count as helping the company solve a major problem.

He looked at Lisa in front of him and said softly, "You have good eyes. Fast & Furious is also a key project for our company. It’s not that we can’t let you participate, but..."

Lisa’s brain worked rapidly, knowing that the critical moment might have arrived. "Victor, if you have something to say, feel free to be direct."

"It’s simple," Victor leaned forward. "A co-production is fine, but you can’t just choose Fast & Furious. We can give you partial co-production rights for the Fast & Furious sequel, paired with another project in a bundled cooperation."

Lisa’s brow furrowed immediately, and she followed up with feigned confusion, "Paired with what project? As long as it has potential, it’s not like we can’t accept it."

"It’s that Hulk that was just shelved," Victor said nonchalantly, as if talking about something trivial. "To be honest, although the reputation of this project is poor now, the foundation of the Hulk itself is still there. If it weren’t for the shareholders putting pressure every day, it would be a pity to throw it away. I wouldn’t intentionally screw you over. If you’re willing to take it over, it can help ease our burden. Of course, you’re mainly here to cooperate on Fast & Furious. Just treat this as helping us handle an ’idle asset’ along the way."

Lisa’s face instantly turned sour, and she deliberately raised her voice: "Victor, are you joking? Who in all of Hollywood doesn’t know the current situation of Hulk? The box office flopped, the reputation collapsed, and Marvel is still holding people accountable. Taking over this project is like taking over a hot potato! We came to seek high-quality cooperation, not to help Universal clean up its mess."

She stood up, making a move to pack up the proposal. "If those are the bundling conditions, then I’m afraid this cooperation can’t be discussed further. Although Fast & Furious is good, it’s not worth the risk of taking over Hulk. After all, Future World’s capital doesn’t just blow in from the wind."

Victor had long expected her to refuse, and the smile on his face grew wider. "Lisa, don’t be so impulsive. Why can’t Hulk be done? It was just not filmed well before. If you’re willing to take it over, Universal can lower the cooperation threshold and reduce the copyright cooperation fee by another 30%. Moreover, with the profits from Fast & Furious as a base, even if Hulk loses money, it won’t lose much." He paused, his tone carrying a hint of charity. "Besides, Future World is just starting out. Being able to get cooperation rights for two projects at the same time is already a huge bargain. Don’t be ungrateful."

Lisa bit her lip, showing a conflicted expression. She was silent for a full half-minute before speaking: "This... this is too sudden. I can’t make the decision. The risk of Hulk is too great. The boss definitely won’t agree." She took out her phone, pretending to send a message to Irene, her fingers tapping quickly on the screen, while actually synchronizing the negotiation progress with Robert in real-time.

"You can ask your boss for instructions first." Victor leaned back in his chair, his tone certain. "I believe Irene is a smart person and won’t miss the opportunity of Fast & Furious, let alone turn her back on money."