Chapter 55: Chapter 227 – Negotiations

Upon hearing his mother's reprimand, Stuart teased Elisabeth by pointing his tongue at her before he returned his attention to the Rubik's cube in his hand.

After calming down, Elisabeth felt annoyed as she realized that she had been teased by an eight-year-old child. She gritted her teeth and squished the magazine in her hand before she suddenly turned her eyes to the closed meeting room.

"It's all that damn bastard's fault..." she muttered, turning Eric into the target of her annoyance.

 

**********

 

Sitting inside the conference room, Eric was unaware of the incident which took place outside. He had his attention on Brian Kurtzman and Charlie Runkle who were sitting across from him.

After a momentary silence, Eric asked, "$10 million plus 10% of the North American box office gross? Charlie, is this your will?"

It seemed like C.A.A. had not learnt its lesson from their previous encounter with Eric, having made an even more outrageous demand. During the negotiations for Running Out of Time when C.A.A. had represented both Tom Hanks and Tom Cruise, C.A.A. had only tried to obtain a percentage of box office gross profits. Box office gross and box office gross profit might have just a single word difference, but the actual difference could even reach tens of millions of dollars.

Charlie Runkle avoided Eric's gaze due to his guilty disappointment.

Seeing this, Brian Kurtzman quickly said, "Mr. Williams, Mr. Runkle has appointed me to lead the negotiations. He is just here to listen. If you have any questions, you can ask me directly."

"Oh, really?" Eric sneered and asked, "If this negotiation breaks down, Mr. Kurtzman, will you take responsibility for that?"

Just as Eric finished his sentence, Charlie Runkle subconsciously looked at the agent with a wary expression. Apparently, he was also aware that their demands were beyond the usual pay system in Hollywood, but he couldn't tame his greed. On the one hand, he wants his son to get this gold-studded contract. On the other hand, he is aware that if they insist on this contract, the possibility of a breakdown of negotiations is high.

Eric noticed the look of wariness in Charlie Runkle's eyes, and his lips curved up slightly. As long as Stuart's new agent didn't have complete power during the negotiations, he was confident that he could dominate this round of negotiations.

Eric didn't know why C.A.A. had replaced Horner Willie, Stuart's former agent, but he thought it might be due to the recent upheaval in the agency. Still, he didn't care. He was well aware of Charlie Runkle's character. He was a mediocre middle-aged man, but he tried to do things beyond his ability and inevitably failed.

Thus, Eric knew that Charlie Runkle was the weakest link in this negotiation. Regardless of Brian Kurtzman's eloquence and skill as an agent, the outcome of this negotiation was sealed.

Meanwhile, Brian Kurtzman was also inwardly swearing at his client. Prior to Eric's arrival, he had already discussed with Charlie Runkle that as long as he didn't intervene, he would win a very generous contract for Stewart. Unfortunately, the Runkle couple remained steadfast in their refusal to give him the complete power of negotiation.

Now, Eric had just barely mentioned it, but the incompetent middle-aged man had already exposed their situation to him. Brian Kurtzman was aware that if this continued, they would be left even more passive as the negotiations progressed.

"Mr. Runkle, maybe you wait outside," suggested Brian Kurtzman with a smile. He wanted Charlie Runkle to leave before he sabotaged the negotiation any further.

Eric acted as if he hadn't heard the agent's words. He had no plans to counter the agent's words, either. There was no need for anymore words since he had already planted a seed of distrust in Charlie Runkle's heart.

Sure enough, even after Charlie Runkle heard the agent's suggestion, he remained seated and said, "Brian, I'm fine here. You continue to talk. I promise that I won't interfere."

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Brian Kurtzman clenched his hand which was on the table, but a smile remained on his face. He turned back to face Eric and said, "Mr. Williams, we are aware that you signed a three-movie distribution deal with Fox, which includes the sequel to Home Alone, so I don't think that Fox will allow these negotiations to break down."

"Then you should also be aware that the box office of Running Out of Time has now broken through the $200 million. It was originally meant to be distributed by Fox, but was eventually taken by Columbia. Similarly, I can just shoot another film for Fox," replied Eric in a relaxed tone while fiddling with the pen in his hand.

When Brian Kurtzman heard Eric's words, he momentarily hesitated before he said, "Fox will certainly not allow you to change the film because there's no guarantee that your new film will be just as successful as the sequel to Home Alone."

Noticing the skeptical tone within Brian Kurtzman's words, Eric put down his pen and became sure that C.A.A. was unaware about the specifics of his contract with Fox.

Eric's three-movie distribution deal with Fox was focused on the sequel to Home Alone since no one had expected that he would direct a hit like Pretty Woman right after Home Alone. Thus, while Fox readily agreed to give a generous share of the two other films' box office to Eric, it also imposed a series of harsh conditions on the sequel to Home Alone. Chief among them was that Eric had to ensure that Stuart Runkle would reprise his role in the sequel.

Since C.A.A. knew nothing about it, Eric became even more confident. He smirked and said, "Even if Fox does not agree to change the film, I can still change the actor. There must be countless families out there who would be willing to let their child appear in the sequel to Home Alone at a low price of $10,000, or maybe even lower."

After he said this, Eric looked at Charlie Runkle who would understand his meaning. Although his pay in  Home Alone was quite low, thanks to his worldwide fame from the movie, this year, Stuart signed a number of high-priced endorsements that brought him tens of millions of dollars in income.

Eric asked, "Charlie, I think most of the endorsements signed by Stu are only valid for one year, right? If the advertisers learn that Stu will not appear in the sequel to Home Alone, do you think that he can still sign endorsements worth tens of millions of dollars next year?"

Brian Kurtzman urgently said, "Mr. Williams, you are talking about Stuart but what about yourself. Without the sequel to Home Alone, Firefly will lose hundreds of millions of dollars. Compared to that, our terms are very reasonable. After all, Stu is irreplaceable in Home Alone."

Eric shook his head and said, "If I agree to your outrageous demand, Firefly will only get 25% of the box office gross after paying Stu. In addition, the budget of the sequel may exceed $25 million. In the end, Firefly may not make much more than Stu.

And, you are wrong, Brian; no one in Hollywood is irreplaceable. I can tell you, Firefly has an alternative plan. If your price is too high, we will simply do a nationwide audition for the sequel to Home Alone. Through the nationwide audition, we can once again hype Home Alone and save on publicity costs. In addition, the sequel's budget may be just a fraction of $25 million."

Brian Kurtzman was just about to rebuke when Charlie Runkle, who finally couldn't hold back, said, "Eric, you still haven't mentioned Firefly's offer."

Brian Kurtzman inwardly groaned and felt a strong urge to punch the face of the man sitting next to him.

"$8 million," Eric said and immediately added, "Charlie, you shouldn't just focus on the pay. Many people can see that Stu has great potential in advertising endorsements. As long as he can maintain his fame with Home Alone, you can still get tens of millions of dollars in endorsement fees next year. With this, Stu can become the highest paid star in Hollywood. Whether it is Tom Cruise or Bruce Willis or Julia Roberts, none of them can get more than $8 million in pay. On top of that, it's impossible for them to get so many high-priced endorsements like Stu because they have many competitors of the same age group, unlike Stu."

"Mr. Williams..." Brian Kurtzman knocked on the table, wanting to interrupt.

But Eric completely ignored him and continued to speak to Charlie Runkle, "So, if Firefly is forced to implement the alternative that I just mentioned, there is no doubt that Stu's popularity will plummet next year. Meanwhile, for Firefly, although replacing Stu in the sequel might be slightly risky, the chances of success are quite high. If the sequel is a hit like the original, isn't it obvious whom the advertisers will choose as their brand ambassador between Stu and the new Kevin? Think about it, Charlie, would you risk tens of millions of dollars for this unrealistic contract, oh no, maybe hundreds of millions of dollars because Home Alone will have many sequels?"

After Eric finished his words, Brian Kurtzman leaned back in his chair, aware that he had completely failed in the negotiations. There was a layer of sweat on Charlie Runkle's forehead. The man had been completely played by Eric, so it was now impossible for him to convince him otherwise.

 

-TO BE CONTINUED-

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