Chapter 5 Sex, Lies, and Videotapes
As the St. Denis Film Festival came to an end, in the eyes of many people, the well-received "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" was a failure and was not recognized by the St. Denis Film Festival, this directly made Steven Soderbergh, who had some confidence, feel difficult, and several independent distributors who had originally paid attention to the film also backed off from the film.
"Don't worry, Steven, don't worry," Aaron comforted Steven Soderbergh in the hotel room.
"Hey, can I not be anxious?"
Steven Soderbergh sighed, "Independent film companies such as Resher Entertainment, Savoy Films, and Trimark Films are all in a wait-and-see stage and lack confidence in the film;"
"Sex, Lies, and Videotape did not get the recognition of St. Denis, which made them worry that the work they spent a lot of money to buy would fail!"
Aaron Anderson smiled, "It's not that they dare not buy this movie, but they just don't want to spend the price that this work should have;"
"You don't want to sell it at a low price, right?"
Is "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" because it is not easy to sell?
No, it's still a price issue. The prices these companies are willing to offer are far from the expected prices of Steven Soderbergh and Aaron Anderson.
Sure enough, in the evening, another representative of Miramax, an independent distributor, came.
The representative of Miramax, Harvey Weinstein, can be said to be famous in the future, but now he is just an independent film distributor who relies on "sex" works to attract attention!
"I also heard that the negotiator of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" is a young man, but I didn't expect him to be so young?"
Harvey Weinstein looked at Aaron Anderson and couldn't help but be amazed.
"With your figure and looks, it would be a waste if you don't become a star!"
Aaron Anderson smiled and shook hands with the other party out of respect for his profession. "Good evening, Mr. Weinstein. I am Aaron Anderson, the representative of director Steven Soderbergh."
Harvey Weinstein nodded. "Let's not waste time. Here's a price. Miramax offers $600,000 to purchase the North American theater screening rights and videotape copyright of "Sex, Lies, and Videotape";"
"I don't think any film company will bid higher than me, right?"
Steven Soderbergh's eyes moved, and he was obviously tempted. Aaron Anderson stopped him with a look, motioning him not to interrupt!
Aaron Anderson sat on the sofa, lit a cigarette for himself, and took a puff. "Sex, Lies, and Videotape is an excellent movie, you know it, and I know it too;"
"The disregard of the St. Denis Film Festival doesn't really mean anything!"
"No," Harvey Weinstein shook his head.
"It represents risk!"
"Hahaha, risk is opportunity," Aaron looked at the other party, "Now in addition to the popularity of Stallone's action blockbusters, gangster dramas and family ethics films also have a large market;"
"'Rain Man', which was released at the end of last year, just won the Best Picture in the Drama Category at the Golden Globe Awards, and the box office is also rising steadily, which means that the family ethics market has always been large;"
"Although 'Sex, Lies, and Videotape' is not as good as 'Rain Man', its prospects are not worth this much, right?"
"Harvey, you have to know that there are many art films about sex and lies, but Steven's one adds videotapes, which is a genius idea!"
"Aaron, film distribution also depends on the input and output ratio!" Harvey Weinstein reminded.
Aaron shook his head. "We don't care about the St. Denis Film Festival at all. Sex, Lies and Videotape will be sent directly to Cannes for exhibition next."
"This kind of movie must be very attractive to the Cannes Film Festival. We have several producers at CAA who are optimistic about it."
"If there is no film company to distribute it, CAA will send this movie to Cannes for exhibition, using the platform of the Cannes Film Festival to seek buyers. A good work cannot be buried!"
Harvey Weinstein was tempted when he saw the name of this movie, and he became more determined after seeing the finished product.
But he didn't expect that the other party's representative was also optimistic about it?
"What price do you want?" Harvey Weinstein asked.
Aaron held up two fingers and said, "$2 million to sell the North American screening rights!"
"That's impossible," Harvey Weinstein stood up.
"Then can you give us a screening schedule and guarantee that the screening scale will not be less than 200 theaters?"
"Of course not. Steven Soderbergh is not only a new director, but the actors in the film are even more unknown. We can't promise!"
"Harvey, you and I both know that this movie has great potential, and Steven Soderbergh is equally confident in his film," Aaron said with confidence.
"This movie will surely shine at the Cannes Film Festival. By then, it will be a bidding war among distributors!"
Harvey Weinstein's face changed. "No independent film has ever sold for a million dollars at the St. Denis Film Festival."
"Well, I believe it will be this year!"
"Two million dollars is impossible. One million dollars is required to acquire the theater screening rights and videotape copyright."
Aaron shook his head. "Impossible. The minimum price for North American screening and videotape copyright is $3.5 million!"
"Aaron, you are too greedy. If you do this, "Sex, Lies, and Videotape" will definitely not be able to enter the theater."
"No, you underestimate CAA. I have contacted Ms. Paula Wagner before and sent her a copy. She likes it very much!"
Aaron now has to bring out a big shot to support the scene. Tom Cruise's agent is still enough;
as for CAA Chairman Michael Ovitz, he is traveling between the United States and Japan to acquire Hollywood studio Columbia TriStar Films for Japanese electronics giant Sony.
"Don't forget, Cannes is the main battlefield. I think you should understand the love of European filmmakers for this kind of art film."
Harvey Weinstein sighed, "800,000 US dollars to acquire the theater screening rights!"
"Hey," Aaron shook his head, "I think we should wait until the Cannes Film Festival to talk about it."
Aaron stood up.
Harvey Weinstein took a deep breath, "North American screening rights for $1 million!"
Steven Soderbergh was breathing rapidly and his face was already red.
Aaron put out his cigarette, "Just one price, $1.2 million, we will fully cooperate with Miramax to participate in the exhibition in Cannes;"
"Because Steven's filming funds come from loans, Miramax must pay in cash within a week!"
"Okay, I'll have someone prepare the contract as soon as possible," Harvey stood up and prepared to leave first.
Then, he looked back and said, "Aaron Anderson, right? You are very good!"
After seeing Harvey Weinstein leave, Steven Soderbergh could no longer control himself, he jumped up directly, "Aaron, did I ever tell you that you are a genius?"
"$1.2 million for the North American screening rights, do you know that this makes history?"
Steven Soderbergh's mental price was only $800,000 to $900,000, and that was for the North American screening rights plus the videotape;
he himself was not as confident as Aaron Anderson about this movie.
Aaron took a breath, "Miramax has also created a piece of news for itself, the most expensive independent film deal at the St. Denis Film Festival!"
Looking at the other party's performance just now, Aaron has already reacted, and the price is still too low;
no wonder Harvey Weinstein will have such a big reputation in the future, this fat man sometimes has a really good vision!
END OF THE CHAPTER....