Back to 17, My Brother is the Cult Leader

The negotiations with Columbia Pictures were scheduled for two days later at their headquarters in Culver City.

Unlike the conference room at Fox, Columbia's development director, Sean McCormick, took Fang Yuan and Ellie to a private room in the company cafeteria.

This informal arrangement itself is a signal—the other party doesn't want to turn the negotiations into a formal, businesslike contest, but rather wants to bridge the gap between the two sides in a more relaxed atmosphere.

Sean was a white man in his early forties, wearing a dark blue polo shirt, with messy hair, looking like he had just come out of the editing room.

His attitude towards Fang Yuan was noticeably more enthusiastic than that of the people at Fox, and he repeatedly said, "I like this script."

"Fang, let me be direct with you. Our internal evaluation report gave the script for 'Identity' a score of 9.2 out of 10. That's the highest score Columbia Pictures has received this year."

Sean said as he tore open the wrapper of a sandwich.

"So I have more permissions than regular projects."

My initial proposal is: an advance payment of 1.5 million, a 10% share of net profits, and the right to negotiate casting and editing.

We've seen your registration records with the Writers Guild of America in North America, and we recognize your awards from the three major European awards; these are not issues.

An advance payment of 1.5 million was indeed a very high figure in the Hollywood screenwriting circle in 1999.

Fang Yuan knew this.

But he also knew that the higher Columbia's rating of "Identity," the more room he would have to negotiate on revenue sharing.

"Sean, a prepayment of 1.5 million is very generous."

Fang Yuan said, "But my proposal is similar to Fox's—I want a share of the total revenue."

"How many?"

"Twenty percent."

Sean paused for a moment as he took a bite of his sandwich.

He put the sandwich back on the plate, wiped his hands with a tissue, then leaned back in his chair and looked at Fang Yuan with a re-examining gaze.

"Is that the same thing you discussed with Fox?"

"right."

"How much did they agree to?"

"They're still considering it. My bottom line is 15% of the total revenue share plus a box office increase clause."

Fang Yuan did not hide anything, because he knew that Sean would find out this information from other channels sooner or later.

In this industry, news travels very fast.

Sean thought for a moment, "Columbia is not Fox. Our financial models are different, and our distribution channels are different."

Total revenue sharing is much more sensitive to us than net revenue sharing because total revenue is public, and we have no way to make financial adjustments.

Do you get me?"

Fang Yuan understood, of course.

Hollywood's "net profit" is a black hole; studios can turn a profitable film into a loss on paper through internal accounting.

But "total revenue" is different—box office revenue, DVD sales revenue, and television rights sales revenue are all figures that can be verified independently.

This is why studios have a much stronger desire to control their share of total revenue, because this concession is real.

"I understand," Fang Yuan said. "That's why I want a share of the total revenue."

Sean laughed; he was amused by the other person's directness.

"Fang, I'll give you a plan, listen to it."

An advance payment of 1.2 million was made, with a 15% share of the total revenue.

One more thing—if the North American box office exceeds 80 million, your share will automatically increase to 20%.

If the box office exceeds 100 million, we can discuss an additional bonus package.

The advantage of this plan is that we used a reasonable upfront payment figure for both you and your company, and the revenue sharing in the back end is directly linked to box office performance. If you win, we win too.

Fang Yuan did some mental calculations.

With a prepayment of 1.2 million and a 15% share of total revenue, the basic equity is already close to 18%. A 20% increase in box office revenue effectively raises the upper limit to over 20%.

This structure is cleaner and more motivating than Fox's proposal.

"Two additional conditions are attached," Fang Yuan said.

"explain."

"First, I want to be listed as a co-producer, not just a figurehead, but someone who is truly involved in the core decision-making process."

I need to have the formal right to negotiate on casting, director selection, and post-production editing; I can't just have the right to offer suggestions.

Secondly, if the project enters the production stage, I will arrange my own working hours and methods on set, and the production team cannot restrict me on the grounds that "the screenwriter does not need to be present."

Sean leaned back in his chair and thought for about ten seconds.

"We can give you the title of co-producer, but not the executive producer. We need to reserve that position for partners who bring their own funding. You have the right to negotiate casting, but you don't have a veto right."

You have the right to offer suggestions regarding the selection of the director, but the final decision rests with the production committee.

You can be present during post-production editing, but you won't have final cut rights. Is that acceptable to you?

Fang Yuan glanced at Ellie. Ellie nodded slightly.

"Okay," Fang Yuan said, "but all of this must be written into the contract. It can't be a verbal promise."

Sean held out his hand. "Deal. Send the draft contract to Ellie's email in three days."

"Fang, did you know? We've been paying attention to many of the scripts you've registered with the Writers Guild. Hopefully, this is the beginning of our collaboration."

"Thank you. That's what I was thinking too."

Compared to Fox and Columbia, Focus Features' negotiations were a completely different story.

Catherine Lee chose to meet at an independent coffee shop near Focus Features, rather than in the office.

The café has a very artistic atmosphere, with paintings by local artists hanging on the walls and deep jazz music playing in the background.

The very location itself indicates the focus of the project.

They weren't doing business with a commercial screenwriter; they were collaborating with an "author."

Catherine wore a black knit sweater, her hair was tied in a low ponytail, and she wore an unusual pair of tortoiseshell-rimmed glasses. In front of her was a latte, with fine droplets of water condensing on the inside of the cup.

"Mr. Fang, I won't beat around the bush with you."

Catherine stirred her latte, her tone direct to the point of being almost curt.

"There was a lot of internal debate about the script for 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'."

Some people think it's a masterpiece, while others think it's too convoluted to film.

I'm on your side.

But I must tell you that the commercial prospects of this project are uncertain.

Non-linear narrative, science fiction shell, art-house romance film —

These three labels combined make it too difficult for mainstream North American audiences to grasp.

"I agree with the first half of the statement, but disagree with the second half," Fang Yuan said.

Catherine raised an eyebrow.

"Non-linear narrative is not a barrier to entry," Fang Yuan said.