The Best Entertainment Era

It's not difficult to buy a professional football team, but 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 opposite: I know something about the Premier League. All the teams are losing money. It's all a money game.

Will Smith, with his legs crossed, said: People who can afford professional sports clubs are not ordinary rich people.

Ronan understood the concerns of the two, and said: Tom, Will, we jointly funded the acquisition. Even if it is a top club in the Premier League, the funds will not be shared among everyone, and it will be mainly funded by me. As for the operation , In fact, some football clubs can make a profit.”

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

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

Ronan nodded slowly: That's right, 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 it, the fans may object wildly.

Ronan waved his hand: It's not as difficult as you think, the reputation of the two of you is persuasive.

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

Tom Cruise said half-jokingly: Because we are guarding against you. Will, you are a big mouth. If you say it, there will be no secrecy.

Will Smith distinguished: Am I that unreliable?

Ronan smiled and said, Unless you join in.

I don't know English football, and I don't know the Premier League. Will Smith said solemnly: But I know you, Ronan, and I believe in you. So, I count this as my share.

Ronan said: Don't trust me blindly. He still simply analyzed: Our target club has self-healing ability, and the annual revenue is enough to cover the expenses, and even has a surplus, so as long as the acquisition is completed, there is no need We invest money in day-to-day operations.

Will Smith nodded slightly,

Tom Cruise was thoughtful.

The two of you have a huge reputation all over the world, which can reduce the resistance of the fans. Ronan said again: Nowadays, the currency depreciates 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.”

Acquisition requires a lot of money, right? Will Smith asked a key question.

Tom Cruise said: Of course the main funds are raised by Ronan, we just need to be a minority shareholder.

Will Smith nodded and said, That's good, I don't have enough cash flow.

Ronan said: Fund raising can be solved in the form of loans, and it doesn't need to occupy your cash flow for the time being.

Neither Tom Cruise nor Will Smith had an opinion, with the former asking: When do we start?

Ronan replied: A team from Netflix 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 this season's Premier League to officially announce the news.

Okay. Will Smith has always had confidence in Ronan.

Tom Cruise and Will Smith are also very busy people, and they didn't spend much time at The Theory of Relativity for entertainment. 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 quickly said: I just received the news from the embassy film industry that Mel Gibson's Aiken film company, on the grounds that the producer was cheated by the distributor's embassy film contract, made a decision on Jesus Proceeds from The Passion, formally filed legal proceedings in the Los Angeles District Court.”

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

This is clear at a glance, and Connie is naturally clear, and said: The lawyer's letter from Aiken Films has been sent to the Embassy Films. revenue share.

Ronan shook his head: Industry practice?

If industry practices can be applied to every case, what is the need for laws and contracts?

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: Inform Lawyer Dana and let her and her team fully respond to the lawsuit. I have specifically emphasized that the whole process of negotiating and signing the agreement must be videotaped, and Garcia can call the video, and make more copies of the video. , leave a copy for Netflix, if Mel Gibson is stubborn and makes it public on the Internet...

He said with a bit of coldness, Since there is a legal lawsuit, let the embassy film industry accompany it to the end, and it is not allowed to settle with Mel Gibson out of court.

Connie kept it in her heart: I'll notify you right away.

Ronan added: Remember to tell Garcia that if Embassy Pictures takes one step back on The Passion of the Christ, there will be countless studios who will take two steps closer.

The embassy film company bought out the film, and lost money on its own account. When it saw the box office hit, it 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 make a fuss. After all, the producer of the movie also contributed a lot, so he specially prepared a bonus.

But once human greed arises, it is difficult to satisfy.

Obviously, in the face of the high income of The Passion of the Christ, even Mel Gibson, who has really seen the world, will inevitably lose his mentality.

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

There are two signed screenwriters of this film, namely Benedict Fitzgerald and Mel Gibson,

The day after Mel Gibson sued Embassy Pictures, Benedict Fitzgerald sued both Mel Gibson and Embassy Pictures in Los Angeles District Court.

Benedict Fitzgerald claimed that when he accepted Mel Gibson's invitation to write the script of The Passion of the Christ in 2001, Mel Gibson promised him that he would be the only one who wrote the screenplay. And all the screenwriting income and the film screenwriting share corresponding to the industry union belong to him personally, and Mel Gibson promises not to take any money.

With this shot in the arm, Benedict Fitzgerald spent the next few years devoting all his energy to writing the script, willing to share script ownership with Mel Gibson.

Benedict Fitzgerald believed that Mel Gibson, a big star, had crossed the river and demolished bridges, and had not fulfilled his original promise. Not only did he add his signature to the screenwriter column, but he also took away more than half of the project's screenwriter's compensation.

Therefore, Benedict Fitzgerald accused Mel Gibson of breach of contract and fraud, demanding that he pay $5 million in compensation, and that Embassy Pictures should not pay Mel Gibson the post-production share of screenwriters stipulated by the industry union. It is all divided into his own.

The Screenwriters Guild’s rigidly stipulated screenwriter share ratio is very low, and it doesn’t have much money in other films, but The Passion of the Christ is a huge hit at the box office, and future offline income can be expected. This part of the share may reach millions of dollars .

All big blockbuster movies have their share of trouble, and The Passion of the Christ is no exception.

In many movies, unrelated people jumped out to share the cake. In this movie project, people who jumped out were directly related to the movie.

Either way, it's troublesome business, bound to involve a small amount of energy from Embassy Pictures and Relativity Entertainment.

Benedict Fitzgerald is a registered screenwriter of the Screenwriters Union. The Hollywood union has never been a decoration, and it is also one of the most troublesome existences for the management. Moreover, Benedict Fitzgerald is not a malicious lawsuit. He also took out the agreement initialed with Mel Gibson.

With the emergence of this lawsuit, not only Mel Gibson is in trouble, but the embassy film industry is also involved, because the screenwriter union directly intervenes, and the embassy film industry needs to cooperate with the screenwriter union's investigation and other work.

The intervention of the trade union will complicate the relatively simple matter, and Garcia Rodriguez, the person in charge of the embassy film industry, also has some headaches.

Ronan smelled something else from it.

We've had a lot of trouble lately.

In the office, Ronan looked at Garcia and Robert Iger: First, there was the headhunting incident, then some theater companies rejected The Passion of the Christ, and now there are two lawsuits caused by interests. Are there any connections?

Garcia-Rodriguez has already aroused vigilance, saying: There is always a feeling that some forces are targeting us. There is no evidence to prove it, but it feels real.

Robert Iger said: On the surface, these two recent incidents are normal. The super high income of Passion of the Christ has caused the producers and screenwriters to be jealous, but considering our current situation, it is necessary to think about the worst.

Ronan tapped his fingers lightly: In the next few years, we will develop rapidly, but the situation will also be more difficult. Not everyone wants to see Relativity Entertainment become a first-rate company.

He directly concluded: Regardless of whether these two incidents are accidental or not, and whether there are other connections behind them, we should not treat them as simple lawsuits.

Robert Iger said: Mel Gibson, how should I put it, is arrogant, arrogant, and has a bad temper. It's hard to say whether he was regarded as a gun.

Garcia-Rodriguez said: Embassy Pictures has negotiated the buyout of The Passion of the Christ with Mel Gibson, and I am familiar with Aiken Pictures and the people around him. Take a look at the situation.

Ronan nodded: Yes.

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

Ronan said, I understand.