"The rest is simple. We negotiate with Warner Bros. to get the best possible cooperation terms. If we can't agree, we'll switch to another company; 20th Century Fox would certainly be happy to work with us again."
"Understood."
When the deal was finally finalized, Kazir and Salvatore began to chat.
Kazir really couldn't handle negotiating partnerships and writing scripts at the same time; he was stretched too thin!
This was also why he signed Salvatore in the first place—agents should handle these tasks, allowing directors to focus on creative work.
Writing scripts, casting, and filming each require careful thought; there's no energy to simultaneously manage negotiations.
As soon as the negotiations ended, the lawyer Terrence Downey left in a hurry, seemingly swamped with work recently.
The original owner had known Terrence for many years, and he was a good person.
When Terrence sighed upon hearing that he had made another decision regarding the house, Kazir felt that those troublesome matters were nothing.
After all, as he earned his first pot of gold, those worries vanished, and now he felt completely refreshed!
He received 2.3 million from the first round of negotiations with Fox Searchlight Pictures, and selling the copyright for napoleon dynamite brought in another 25 million. The number in his bank account was now incredibly huge!
And there was still the upcoming box office share!
He owned 5% of the North America box office share, and currently, napoleon dynamite's box office had already reached 120 million.
If Cassandra knew this news, she would probably be green with regret, wondering how she had so easily let go of such a promising "golden bachelor."
"Warner Bros. contacted me yesterday and said they are willing to pay 5 million for you to direct the hangover," Salvatore said.
Kazir's next film was also a comedy, titled the hangover.
He first gave the script to 20th Century Fox and Warner Bros. Both companies evaluated the script's profit prospects and unanimously believed that this film had the potential to be a massive hit.
Warner Bros. was the first to extend an olive branch, offering 5 million to have him direct.
For a new director, this amount was ridiculously high; it was estimated that some within Warner Bros. were calling him a "vampire"!
But Salvatore proposed another condition: a box office share must be included.
"Damn it, this agent business really requires a thick skin, like a city wall. To get more money for clients, they can haggle until the end of time," Kazir muttered to himself.
Salvatore clearly wanted Kazir to also profit from the box office share.
napoleon dynamite was sold for 25 million, and as an agent, Salvatore could get a 3% commission—this is why agents scramble to sign big-name clients; even just a sip of the soup can fill them up.
Salvatore was now grinning from ear to ear; he felt he had really made the right gamble this time!
750,000! That was almost ten years of his salary. With this money now in his bank account, he was so excited he couldn't sleep at night!
"Salvatore, you also contact 20th Century Fox. I'm going to the accounting firm to sort out the money matters," Kazir instructed.
"Don't worry, Kazir, I guarantee I'll negotiate a good deal for you. If Warner Bros. and Fox don't agree, I'll go to Universal and Paramount; those two have been bothering me every day, constantly wanting to discuss cooperation!" Salvatore said confidently.
"Alright, I'll leave it all to you," Kazir stood up.
He found an accounting firm to handle his money and tax matters. He dared not hire a private accountant, fearing he would repeat Nicolas Cage's mistakes; that guy was severely scammed by his financial manager.
According to the contract, Allen would receive half of napoleon dynamite's earnings.
Although this clause was not very favorable to Kazir, he believed in clear accounts between close relatives and didn't want to shortchange his family.
Half of the 25 million had already been transferred to Allen, who was practically hysterical with laughter on the phone.
Oh, and there was also that 5% North America box office share.
Kazir had already told Salvatore to urge Fox Searchlight Pictures to pay up quickly; he was certain they wouldn't dare to renege.
"If they try to screw me over, they can forget about future collaborations. It's that simple," Kazir said assertively.
After napoleon dynamite was released overseas, Ed Helms and the others had to go on promotional tours according to their contracts.
Kazir told Fox Searchlight Pictures that he wanted to stay in the United States to refine his new script, and they didn't dare to stop him. After all, he had new projects, and Fox still wanted to continue working with him.
He was also still brainstorming a sequel to napoleon dynamite with the screenwriting team. Both sides were treading carefully now; neither wanted to fall out, at least for the time being.
"What are the terms?"
After a week of negotiations with Warner Bros. and Fox, Salvatore returned looking exhausted, but his eyes gleamed with excitement.
"Both companies want to work with you," Salvatore said.
"I figured," Kazir replied.
Kazir nodded. These two companies had been practically blowing up his phone for days, so he had a good idea.
"20th Century Fox is willing to offer an 8 million base salary," Salvatore said.
"That's a lot!" Kazir responded.
"Indeed it is."
Salvatore also thought this amount was quite high, but it was still far from what big names like Spielberg and Cameron could command!
Those big shots could negotiate 20+20 deals with studios, meaning a 20 million base salary plus 20% of the box office share.
When Jurassic Park exploded, Spielberg alone made over a hundred million from it. Few people in Hollywood could negotiate such favorable terms.
"Unfortunately, 20th Century Fox isn't willing to give a box office share," Salvatore said regretfully.
"What about Warner Bros.?" Kazir asked.
"They're offering a 3 million base salary plus 10% of the box office share, but the condition is that the North America box office must exceed 150 million; otherwise, there's no share, only the base salary," Salvatore said.
"Heh, they're really trying to drive down the price!" Kazir couldn't help but laugh when he heard that.