After the director's contract and team member contracts were signed, funds from Disney, Warner, and smaller investors were deposited into a third-party insurance company's account.
After receiving his share of the box office from Speed, Gilbert under the name of Cantaloupe Studio, also invested ten million US dollars, taking an eighth of the investment share.
The third-party insurance system is quite complex. Every financial expenditure of the film crew needs to be audited by the third-party insurance company.
This system also protects the interests of the film's investors and production team, preventing losses due to delays, incomplete work, or various accidents.
Gilbert wasn't particularly fond of working under this system because the procedures were cumbersome.
But at this point, even if you combined Spielberg and James Cameron, they'd still have to complete their films under the third-party insurance system.
Individuals cannot fight against the rules of an entire industry system; Gilbert understood this clearly.
Hollywood isn't a wuxia world of immediate revenge or a web novel where the male protagonist decisively slays foes.
It's full of interests, compromises, deals, and politics.
Before you have a certain amount of capital, if you start making threats, scrambling for copyrights, and shouting about changing the world, you're bound to be crushed.
For example, with the movie Final Destination, Gilbert's acting fees were converted into an investment.
He held a tenth share, which, in theory, should entitle him to a full tenth of the profits.
However, that wasn't the case. Besides the box office share, Gilbert could only receive a share from video and TV rights, and he couldn't be bypassed for sequel production.
Other merchandising revenue had absolutely nothing to do with Gilbert; it belonged solely to Disney.
If Disney's live-action business hadn't been so stagnant, and they hadn't promised Gilbert conditions for a sequel, Disney wouldn't have needed to buy the sequel rights from him at all.
There's an unspoken rule in Hollywood: non-primary investors don't acquire long-term film rights.
Gilbert could, of course, object, but that would inevitably touch upon the core interests of the film companies.
Not just the major studios, but even second and third-tier production and distribution companies wouldn't agree to external investors getting long-term film rights.
The reason Hollywood giants are giants isn't just because of their strong distribution capabilities and wide channels; it's also because they control tens of thousands of film copyrights.
When Panasonic acquired Universal Pictures, they also had to spend money to buy Universal's vast film and television library, and that's the reason why.
These things are the real cash cows...
Some films, just looking at their box office, might seem like money-losers. But as long as the copyright is held, long-term revenue can be generated.
Since George Lucas's Star Wars, Hollywood has seen a significant change:
Box office revenue has decreased significantly, while revenue from ancillary rights has increased, and this trend has become increasingly apparent in recent years.
Cantaloupe Studio holding an eighth of the investment share and being able to profit from box office, video, and TV rights was enough for Gilbert.
Of course, he wouldn't overestimate the trustworthiness of unscrupulous film companies.
Kevin, the accountant with whom he had collaborated successfully on several projects, would bring his team to fully participate in the film's preparation, shooting, post-production, publicity, and financial auditing of revenue sharing.
Kevin was also shrewd; he didn't ask for a fixed fee but instead requested a five percent share.
This is inevitable; the kind of scenario in novels where a charismatic leader attracts loyal followers who work for free is impossible in Hollywood.
If someone offers to work for free, or for very little money, you should be wary; there's definitely a trick involved.
---
Soon after the project launch conference, a preparatory meeting for Real Steel was held in an office provided by Warner.
The financial officer from the third-party insurance company rattled off a dizzying list of financial expenditures. The film had no beginning or end, and actors hadn't even been cast yet, but ten million dollars had already been spent.
The most crucial aspects of Real Steel are the special effects and robot design.
In Hollywood, no company is better at this work than Industrial Light & Magic. That ten million dollars was all given to ILM.
However, this is far from enough; an estimated forty to fifty million more will need to be spent to achieve the effect Gilbert desires.
From Gilbert's perspective, current special effects technology is somewhat behind what it will be decades later.
But Spielberg's Jurassic Park had already amazed audiences of this era with its dinosaurs, which gave Gilbert confidence in Real Steel.
After hearing about the financial expenditures, Gilbert discussed casting with his team members. The film's first production manager was Cain Waxman, who had worked well with Gilbert and the second production manager was Charles Roven.
Along with Gilbert these three formed the highest tier of power in the production team.
The rest were department heads and management personnel, who were only qualified to participate in the project preparatory meetings.
Unlike the relatively quiet Cain Waxman, Charles Roven was very actively involved in the production team's management affairs.
Regarding the male lead, Charles Roven suggested, "For the male lead, I think Tom Cruise is very suitable.
However, his agent proposed changing the male lead's son to a daughter..."
Charles Roven hadn't finished speaking when he saw Gilbert's gaze, and he immediately shut up.
Alright, he still couldn't forget his Tom Cruise.
Gilbert glanced at Charles Roven and then said, "I think Sylvester Stallone would be good. He's played boxers before, and the male lead, Charlie, is also a boxer."
Cain Waxman expressed doubt, "Will Stallone agree? After all, we had some disagreements during the competition between Speed and Cliffhanger."
Gilbert said not to worry: "That's normal business competition; competition and cooperation are very common, and Mr. Stallone surely understands that.
Let's send him an invitation first, and keep Schwarzenegger and Bruce Willis as backups."
Cain Waxman nodded; he usually handled actor negotiations.
If possible, Gilbert would have preferred Hugh Jackman.
But at this time, Wolverine seemed to be yet to debut, and he was also very young, not suitable for the male lead.
This film doesn't have a very prominent female lead role; it mainly focuses on robot boxing and the father-son relationship.
However, there are still female characters, and their roles are quite substantial.
"Regarding the role of Bailey, I propose Naomi Watts. Charles, what do you think?" Gilbert asked.
"Naomi?" Charles Roven actually wanted a more popular actress for the female lead.
But Naomi Watts was Gilbert's close associate, so he couldn't object and could only say, "Let's audition and see!"
"Let's audition and see" essentially meant it was confirmed.
The petite woman had made great progress recently. After starring in Speed, she had consecutively appeared in important roles in several films and was now a recognizable face in Hollywood. Handling such a role wouldn't be a problem.
There was also another female character, the villainess, a rich second-generation heiress.
If he could, Gilbert would really like Gwyneth Paltrow to play the role; her personality seemed to fit the character well.
But Gwyneth Paltrow's popularity was rising rapidly, and she wouldn't take such a supporting role.
She was currently filming Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle and had also worked with Nicole Kidman on Dead Calm, and she had a new boyfriend.
However, according to Winona Ryder, Gwyneth was not very satisfied with her new boyfriend's performance in that area, feeling he wasn't as good as Gilbert.
Winona Ryder and Johnny Depp had completely broken up, and she had sought out Gilbert a few times afterward.
Gilbert being a "ladies' man," naturally had to comfort and console the heartbroken and dejected woman, and they spent a few nights together.
This rebellious girl had even shared her experiences of shoplifting from supermarkets with Gilbert saying it was thrilling and inviting him to join her.
Gilbert refused; if caught, wouldn't his reputation be ruined?
He also advised Winona Ryder to behave herself, as with her current popularity, she could steadily become an A-list actress.
Given their pleasant times together, Gilbert wouldn't have said these things to anyone else.
But whether Winona Ryder took his advice to heart was unknown.
The roles of the rich second-generation heiress and several other important supporting characters would all eventually require auditions to see the results before making a decision.
And the second most important role in the film was undoubtedly Max, the son.
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