Chapter 417: The Actual Winner

Chapter 417: Chapter 417: The Actual Winner

"Then what is your offer?" Jay raised an eyebrow, his tone clearly unconvinced.

"A fixed salary of $5 million, with no box office percentage," Shelly said, enunciating every word. "This is our base offer at the current stage, and it is the standard rate for A-list actors in top-tier biographical dramas. There is absolutely no exploitation involved."

Upon hearing this offer, Jay frowned immediately and shook his head in rejection, his tone filled with clear dissatisfaction and firmness.

"$5 million? Shelly, are you kidding me? The last time Will received a $5 million salary was for Men in Black in 1997. Seven years have passed; he has gone from a popular newcomer to a top-tier Hollywood superstar, and his box office appeal has multiplied several times over. You want him to take a step back and accept a salary from seven years ago? I cannot take this price back to Will and his team; there is absolutely no room for negotiation."

The two went back and forth, trading barbs, and the situation instantly reached a stalemate, causing the atmosphere in the conference room to tighten suddenly.

One side was demanding an exorbitant price, holding firm to the status of a top-tier star, while the other was strictly controlling the budget, adhering to the pricing rules for biographical dramas.

Neither side was willing to be the first to yield.

Seeing this, Ella Walker, who was mediating, immediately interrupted, gently neutralizing the extreme attitudes of both sides.

"Alright, I understand both of your concerns, and they are both reasonable."

She first looked at Jay, offering an objective persuasion.

"Jay, your demands are not problematic; Will’s commercial value is beyond doubt, but you must face the nature of the project. Biographical dramas do not rely on special effects or grand spectacle; the production costs are far lower than commercial blockbusters. There has never been a precedent in the industry for a biographical drama to offer a $20 million base salary plus 10% of global revenue. This offer is truly detached from market rules and is not feasible. Forcing a stalemate will only lead to the cancellation of a high-quality project, which would be of no benefit to Will or CAA."

She then turned to Shelly, adding impartially.

"But Shelly, your offer is indeed too conservative and too harsh. $5 million is truly unworthy of Will’s current industry status; the increase in his market value over seven years cannot be completely ignored. We must control the budget for the project, but we must also maintain the dignity of our top-tier artists. Compressing artist compensation too much will instead cause an imbalance in internal resources, which is not conducive to the company’s long-term development."

Ella pondered for a moment, a flash of inspiration crossing her eyes, and immediately threw out a compromise solution she had already thought of to break the deadlock.

"Since we cannot agree on the salary, let us change our approach. In this film, the protagonist’s young son, Chris, has a very significant role with a complete character arc. I think we can have Will’s son, Jaden Smith, play the part."

"Having a father and son perform together in a story based on a real father and son naturally brings topic engagement and emotional bonds, making the audience’s empathy stronger and providing more promotional gimmicks. It can save the production team a lot of costs in casting, team-building, and publicity. More importantly, this is the resource Will and his wife have always wanted. Helping their child enter the industry, building a resume, and networking in Hollywood is more valuable to them than short-term salary."

After hearing this, Shelly’s brow twitched instantly; this was exactly the ultimate negotiation chip that Irene Coppola had secretly instructed him with beforehand.

Irene Coppola had long anticipated the stalemate in this salary tug-of-war, and she was very clear that in the previous life, the couple was very keen on promoting their son Jaden, often going as far as to lower their own salary or take on supporting roles as a favor, just to pave the way for their child.

The pre-reserved spot for the parent-child appearance was the key to breaking the deadlock and grasping the other party’s core demands.

But Shelly did not immediately agree.

Instead, he deliberately lowered his head and pondered for a moment, feigning a posture of repeated weighing and extreme reluctance, before slowly opening his mouth.

"Since you, Ella, are mediating and genuinely trying to facilitate this, we can make an appropriate concession."

He looked up at the two and stated the new terms.

"The fixed salary will be increased to $8 million, with still no box office percentage set. We will count the extra $3 million as Jaden’s performance fee. Frankly speaking, for a child actor who is a newcomer with zero resume, zero fame, and zero acting experience to receive a $3 million salary is an unprecedented, sky-high rate in Hollywood. No production company would be willing to give this condition. This is our greatest sincerity."

Even though the conditions had been conceded and Shelly considered it very sincere, Jay still did not compromise.

He frowned deeply, continuing to tug and negotiate.

"A $3 million child actor salary is indeed exceptional, but a son is a son, and a father is a father. We cannot accept Will’s own $5 million salary in the current context. His commercial popularity is right there; a simple fixed salary has no room for appreciation. I cannot convince myself."

For the next hour or so, the three started a detailed and extreme tug-of-war negotiation.

This was the norm in Hollywood; even if Irene Coppola came, she would have to say it was impressive.

If one ignored that the monetary unit everyone was talking about was in the millions, listening to it roughly would be like three farmers selling vegetables.

Jay kept raising the percentage of the share and fighting for a higher base salary, while Shelly kept compressing the premium space and holding firm to the budget red line.

Ella, in the middle, kept making minor adjustments and mediating compromises.

It was back and forth, fighting for every inch, with every number and every clause being repeatedly contested.

After several rounds of back-and-forth tugging and mutual compromise, the three parties finally finalized a unified and undisputed cooperation plan: Will Smith would receive a fixed salary of $12 million, plus a 3% North American box office share, with no global box office percentage, and Jaden Smith would make an exceptional appearance as the protagonist’s son.

The moment the contract was finalized, a look of relief finally appeared on Jay’s face as he let out a sigh.

"I can take this result back to Will’s team; both sides can be considered to have gotten what they needed."

In his view, securing an eight-figure base salary plus box office share for a biographical drama, while also taking the opportunity to launch his son’s career, was definitely a huge victory.

Ella also nodded with satisfaction, smiling as she summarized.

"This is the best three-way win-win. It preserves the artist’s compensation while also balancing the project’s budget, and CAA has successfully stabilized two core resources. A perfect ending."

The conference room was full of harmony, and everyone assumed that Will’s team had secured the unprecedented top-tier treatment in the history of biographical dramas and was the winner of this game.

Only Shelly saw clearly in his heart that Irene Coppola had been the absolute winner of this negotiation from beginning to end.

The figures on paper looked generous, but when calculated carefully, even if the North American box office of The Pursuit of Happyness exploded to a theoretical peak of $250 million, the 3% North American share would only be $7.5 million.

Adding the $12 million fixed base salary, the maximum total remuneration would be no more than $19.5 million, far lower than Jay’s initial outrageous offer of a $20 million base salary plus 10% global share, and it did not even touch the budget red line that Irene Coppola had set in advance.

More importantly, the box office ceiling for an inspirational biographical drama is full of unknowns.

$250 million in North American box office is just an extremely ideal estimate, which is highly unlikely to be reached in reality.

At that time, the 3% share can almost be ignored, and Echo Pictures’ actual expenditure will be even lower.

With a contract that seemed exceptionally favorable but was actually low-risk and highly cost-effective, Irene Coppola firmly locked in the top-tier lead actor most suitable for the script.

In the process, she fulfilled the couple’s wish to promote their son, earned plenty of goodwill, and stabilized CAA’s top-level connections.

It was zero risk, high return, and she perfectly grasped all the initiative in the entire game.