Chinese Entertainment: Academic Director

Chapter 501 Planning the Marvel Universe
According to Marvel Studios and Paramount's filming plans, Iron Man 2 was originally scheduled to begin preparations in May and start filming by the end of August at the latest.

However, Disney halted the plan after reaching an acquisition agreement with Marvel Entertainment, the parent company of Marvel Studios.

Paramount was initially somewhat dissatisfied, thinking that Disney wanted to exclude them, and even prepared their lawyers.

Paramount is certainly not afraid. They have a distribution agreement with Marvel Studios, a contract that has already been reached in black and white, and the agreement will remain valid even if Marvel is acquired by Disney.

Disney did have the idea of ​​repurchasing the distribution agreement, and even sent people to Paramount to try, but it failed.

Paramount isn't stupid. Their collaboration with Marvel on "Iron Man" did very well at the box office, so why would they easily give up on a sequel?

In Hollywood, sequels are the least risky of all movies.

Sequels have many advantages over their predecessors, such as brand recognition, influence, and existing fanbase, which greatly reduces the risk.

Some sequels may seem to fail and not make money, but very few actually lose money, and there are almost no reports of film companies going bankrupt because of sequels.

Since the distribution agreement cannot be revoked, Iron Man 2, as well as the subsequent Captain America and Thor films, will definitely require Paramount's cooperation.

So Robert Iger spoke with Paramount CEO Brad Gray, saying that Disney was planning to get Cao Yang involved in these films.

Brad Gray was surprised to hear this.
stand by!

Of course I support it!

Strongly support!

The preparation for Iron Man 2 was thus halted.

After agreeing to work with Robert Iger on that big project, Cao Yang immediately obtained the script framework for "Iron Man 2".

This script framework was not written by the screenwriter of the first Iron Man movie.

The original writing team had disagreements with Robert Downey Jr. In the first Iron Man movie, Robert Downey Jr. was very dissatisfied with the writing team. There was a lot of improvisation in the content of Iron Man.

These were all supported by director Jon Favreau at the time.

With the success of the first Iron Man movie, Robert Downey Jr. became a hot commodity, and his salary skyrocketed from $50 for the first movie to $1000 million. He even proposed to take a share of the profits from Iron Man 2.

These were all still under discussion, but with Disney halting the preparations for "Iron Man 2," the profit-sharing negotiations also came to a standstill.

Furthermore, Robert Downey Jr. made a condition when joining "Iron Man 2": the screenwriters of the first film could not be used; instead, his good friend Justin Theroux should be the screenwriter.

The reason is that Justin Theroux knows him better and would create a storyline that suits him better.

The script framework that Cao Yang received was created by Justin Theroux.

Cao Yang knew nothing about Justin Theroux, or rather, he didn't know him at all.

To this end, Cao Yang even specifically looked up information about Justin Theroux.

Justin Theroux is not a professional screenwriter; he was an actor before, appearing in films such as Mulholland Drive, Charlie's Angels 2, and Miami, though never as the lead.

As for his identity as a screenwriter...

Ben Stiller wrote, directed, and starred in Tropical Thunder last year. Justin Theroux was one of the screenwriters, marking his screenwriting debut.

If he's cast in Iron Man 2, then this will be his second time as a screenwriter.

Cao Yang looked at the outline of the script he had written. It was just a plot script at the moment, and the dialogue and other details had not yet been filled in.

Well, the script is very well-structured, closely following the typical narrative pattern of mainstream Hollywood commercial films. Especially within the superhero genre, it almost perfectly replicates the classic three-act structure and character template.

This is also the model used by some mainstream Hollywood commercial films. By using this formula to ensure a minimum commercial success, the chances of failure can be reduced.

The downside is that by focusing most of the attention on the protagonist and relying too much on tropes, the development of villains and the integration of side plots are subpar, and the plot also has many logical loopholes.

In Hollywood, anyone who has participated in screenwriting training can generally write a script with this kind of well-structured framework.

In other words, this framework can be used not only in "Iron Man 2", but also in almost all commercial films that follow Hollywood formulas.

"Robert Downey Jr..."

Cao Yang murmured the name.

As far as he knows, the most difficult person to deal with in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe is Robert Downey Jr.

A widely circulated news story from later generations tells of this.

It is said that Robert Downey Jr.'s salary for "Avengers: Infinity War" was $100 million, while the highest salary for other "superheroes" such as Chris Evans, Captain America, and Chris Hemsworth, Thor, was only $12 million.

By the time of Avengers: Endgame, Robert Downey Jr.'s salary had risen to $150 million, plus a significant share of the profits.

Other actors also received pay raises, but the highest increase was only $1500 million for Chris Evans, who plays Captain America.

Cao Yang didn't know if the rumor was true.

However, according to sources from Disney, Robert Downey Jr. believes that the main reason for the success of "Iron Man" is him.

Therefore, he wants to benchmark himself against Tobey Maguire, the actor who plays Spider-Man in Marvel's most successful film to date.

When Marvel invited him to star in "Iron Man 2", he not only wanted the same salary as Tobey Maguire, but also the same profit share - 8% of the North American box office.

Marvel finally succeeded with a comic book movie adaptation, so of course they didn't have much leverage to negotiate with Robert Downey Jr.

They agreed to increase Robert Downey Jr.'s salary from $50 to $1000 million, but were reluctant about the 8% profit-sharing, so negotiations have been ongoing.

In this life, thanks to Cao Yang's intervention, Disney reached an acquisition agreement with Marvel four months ahead of schedule. So before Marvel could finalize the deal with Robert Downey Jr., Disney temporarily halted the process.

Cao Yang has also analyzed why, despite being "superheroes" like Chris Evans (Captain America) and Chris Hemsworth (Thor), their salaries differ so much.

Before starring in "Iron Man," Robert Downey Jr. had made a comeback, but he could only get roles in low-budget films by relying on his connections, and his popularity and influence were almost non-existent.

Perhaps it was Robert Downey Jr. who launched the Marvel Cinematic Universe; if Iron Man had failed, there might not have been a subsequent Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In addition, the three Iron Man movies made Robert Downey Jr.'s image so deeply ingrained in people's minds, and in the first Avengers movie, he was the biggest star and the most popular.

As a result, even when Disney wanted to replace actors, they didn't dare to try it easily.

After all, the Marvel Cinematic Universe had already been formed by then, and he was the most important member. If the "golden goose" that was laying golden eggs failed because of the change of actors, no one could bear the responsibility.

Even Disney CEO Robert Iger couldn't withstand it and would almost certainly be ousted.

Given the scale of the Marvel Cinematic Universe at the time, Disney wouldn't dare to attempt it even with a one in ten thousand chance of failure.

Even if Robert Downey Jr.'s salary is high and he also gets a share of the profits, so what if he earns more than Disney in "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame"?

Disney doesn't rely solely on box office revenue to make money.

Based on the box office success of "Avengers: Infinity War" and "Avengers: Endgame," they've already made a fortune in the stock market.

Of course, that was the situation in the previous life. But things are different now.

Cao Yang has many options.

Robert Downey Jr. only starred in one Iron Man movie; to say that the Marvel Cinematic Universe can't do without him is nonsense.

If he's really worried that Iron Man 2 might fail without him, then he can just put Iron Man 2 on hold for a few years, wait for other Marvel movies to become popular, and then find a new actor to direct it.

Moreover, Robert Downey Jr. only starred in one Iron Man movie, which is far from enough to make him a household name. Even if the actor is replaced, Iron Man 2 will most likely not be a failure.

If Cao Yang's influence is added to the equation, the probability of success will increase significantly.

So, it remains to be seen whether Robert Downey Jr. knows what's good for him.

With the rights to so many Marvel "heroes" in his hands, Cao Yang will definitely be in charge of the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe and will not allow any overly "powerful" actors to cause trouble.

Rather than negotiating salaries, profit sharing, and signing contracts for every film, Cao Yang prefers to follow Samuel L. Jackson's approach and sign long-term contracts directly.

The salary can increase in stages, and a small share of the box office revenue can be given, but the situation of "the customer bullying the host" like Robert Downey Jr. should never occur.

Samuel L. Jackson once signed a nine-film contract with Marvel for the role of Nick Fury.

In fact, he actually starred in 11 Marvel Cinematic Universe movies.

Even so, there were rumors that Robert Downey Jr. and Disney had a conflict over salary and profit sharing, and Scarlett Johansson also had a conflict with Disney over salary and profit sharing.

But there has never been any news of Samuel L. Jackson having a conflict with Disney.

Even though he had already exceeded his film contract and portrayed Nick Fury in a way that resonated deeply with audiences, he didn't raise his salary and profit sharing to an absolutely outrageous level like Robert Downey Jr.

Although Cao Yang hadn't fully figured out the actors, or rather, his own system, he wasn't stupid and had vaguely noticed a problem.

That is, every actor who has starred in a film he directed, specifically those actors who have had the opportunity to immerse themselves in the role, all have great respect for him, and not one of them has ever spoken ill of him.

Cao Yang didn't know if it was because of his status as an actor or because the system had added an immersive experience.

However, the reason for adding an immersive experience is still more significant.

This might not be apparent to actors in China, because his status is different there, and no actor would dare to disrespect him.

But Hollywood is slightly different.

For example, Johnny Depp.

Once you reach Depp's level, you can be less concerned about directing.

Or, to put it another way, in Hollywood, personal relationships are personal relationships, and business is business.

Johnny Depp was made famous by Tim Burton, and he has always been grateful to Tim Burton.

However, in "Alice in Wonderland," his seventh collaboration with Tim Burton, Depp still demanded an exorbitant salary and profit-sharing based on his star power, which strained the production budget considerably.

Because this film was invested in by Disney, Disney CEO Robert Iger told Cao Yang that due to Depp's exorbitant salary, Disney had to add a lot of additional funding.

Otherwise, without sufficient funding, the special effects will be greatly compromised.

Robert Iger told Cao Yang this because he was afraid that Depp would demand an even more outrageous salary and profit share for "Pirates of the Caribbean".

After all, as a sequel to an extremely successful film, it's a Hollywood "tradition" to have the key characters in the movie demand an outrageous salary and take the opportunity to "extort" them a bit.

Robert Iger was prepared to be overcharged. His bottom line was that Depp's salary could not exceed $5000 million and his share of the profits could not exceed 30% of the North American box office.

However, to Robert Iger's surprise, Depp simply said in a very calm tone that he would pay him the market price...

WTF! Market price?

Robert Iger couldn't believe that Depp only asked for "market price"!
This is fucking incredibly generous!

This made Robert Iger wonder why Depp, who is so dedicated and conscientious, would ask for a salary and profit sharing that exceeded the market price for "Alice in Wonderland".
Could it be that Tim Burton took a kickback?
It wasn't until Robert Iger found out that Depp was an eccentric character who was very picky about scripts, and that he couldn't be hired at market price under normal circumstances.

In short, if you want to hire him, you'll have to pay extra.

Johnny Depp is an example.

Jude Law and Eva Green are in similar situations.

To reiterate, when the male and female leads of an extremely successful film are cast in a sequel, they typically take advantage of the production company's reluctance to easily replace them and take the risk, resulting in a significant increase in their salaries.

However, Jude Law and Eva Green did not take the opportunity to raise their prices; they asked for the market price.

This is only what Robert Iger knows.

What he didn't know was that Johnny Depp, Jude Law, and Eva Green all spoke with Cao Yang by phone before negotiating their salaries with Disney.

The point is simple: can Cao Yang and his team ask Disney for market-rate salaries?

Depp, in particular, felt that his market price was a bit too high, and even took the initiative to ask Cao Yang whether the film's production budget would be affected by his high salary.

If he is affected, he can reduce his salary...

This is also why Cao Yang believes that the immersive experience made them feel good about themselves.

Unfortunately, unless Cao Yang directs the film himself, he can't help the actors immerse themselves in the role.

He tried, even taking on the roles of producer and screenwriter himself, but it wouldn't work if he wasn't the director.

Cao Yang can't possibly direct every Marvel movie himself, but are there any loopholes he can exploit?

If the previous guesses are correct, and if every major "hero" actor in the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies has undergone immersion training, then it's not just about being able to "control" these actors.

It could even be said that no one could kick Cao Yang out of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, not even Disney.

Of course, as long as every movie is successful, Disney will not think about kicking Cao Yang out; they will only treat him like a father.

"Iron Man 2 is a major turning point. Pirates of the Caribbean is already in preparation, and I definitely can't abandon this movie to direct Iron Man 2."

If Robert Downey Jr. were to star in Iron Man 2 again, it would be difficult to replace him in the future.

Either Iron Man 2 will be put on hold, but given the success of Iron Man 1, neither Paramount nor Disney would allow Iron Man 2 to be shelved.

That leaves only two options.

Either sign Robert Downey Jr. to a long-term contract, like Samuel L. Jackson did, if he'll agree.

"Or just replace them."

(End of this chapter)