Chapter 26: The First Victory

  Entering the late July, "Sixth Sense" began to drop down, looking at that stunning number, many people realized that this year's North American box office champion has already been determined in advance.

  In Burbank's office, Harvey Weinstein was looking at the latest report, even though the air conditioner was blowing full blast, but sweat kept flowing down.

  All I did was believe in a clever and quirky boy, and the story he created. A $200 million investment yielded over $2.9 billion at the box office, and that's just North America. As Eastern Europe opens up, overseas box office has already shown signs of surpassing North America's. What kind of returns will this film get then?

  Even if the studio's share of the box office exceeded fifty percent, it would still be heavily taxed by the tax authorities, but the film's net profit still exceeded $70 million, which is just a little more than the total annual profits of the seven major film companies at the box office.

  Particularly with this film, Miramax established itself in Hollywood and attracted a number of independent filmmakers seeking financing.

  Harvey Weinstein wiped the sweat from his forehead, took out two checks that had been prepared long ago, and a bitter smile appeared on his face. According to Hollywood's convention, after a movie becomes a big hit, the production side will give red envelopes to the crew members, and the amount depends on their position in the crew.

  Just thinking about the red envelopes that had been distributed to the siblings, and looking at the numbers on the check in his hand, he couldn't help but feel a sharp pain. Who would have thought that the seemingly trivial profit-sharing clause signed earlier to save expenses would become a reality?

  Okay, that boy is a gold mine. The $80 million they spent on the two of them upfront will be considered an advance investment. He's already heard that Touchstone Pictures, under Disney, is in contact with his agent, and Nicole Kidman has another script from him in her hands.

  Although the boy has only had one script made so far, Harvey Weinstein believes in his instincts, just as he did when he thought "The Sixth Sense" would make money. He is very confident that this success is not accidental and if possible, he really wants to buy the adaptation rights of all Ryan Jenkins' works, just like the "Lord of the Rings" adaptation rights he has just acquired, which will bring huge returns in the near future.

  Similarly, he also knew that this was almost impossible, not to mention his beautiful guardian with long sleeves and good dance skills, as well as the cunning broker. Alone, the 10-year-old boy was not easy to deal with. Having known him for a year, he had been led astray by him more than once in their conversations.

  He even suspected that when he and the little guy first met, the little guy had already dug a hole for him to jump into.

  Of course, he had no regrets or complaints, after all, this huge gain was real.

  It is said that the Golden Stone Film Company has reached a preliminary agreement with him, so he must hurry up and not let Nicole Kidman's script fall into their hands again.

  "Mr. Weinstein, Ms. Goldsmith, Miss Kidman and Mr. Jenkins have arrived." The secretary's words broke his train of thought.

  "Let them in."

  Ryan followed Nicole into the office, looking around. The office was very simple, just like the rumors said. The Weinstein brothers were not only stingy with others but also with themselves.

  Both parties were familiar with each other and didn't have much small talk, so after a simple greeting, the secretary brought coffee and juice, and they quickly got down to business.

  "Haven't congratulated you yet, Harvey," Ryan said with a smile after Nicole and the others finished their conversation. "Two hundred and ninety million dollars in North American box office, it should be ranked among the best in film history. What a pity, if we could extend the screening period for a while longer, who knows, maybe we can break through three hundred million dollars."

  "Congratulations, Ryan," Harvey Weinstein handed Nicole two checks for $2.9 million each. "Jurassic Park is still the number one bestseller in America and both Harry Potters are in the top twenty. That's something Stephen King has never done at your age."

  "Come on, Harvey, you're not unaware of this. All these books are riding the coattails of being popular among all age groups. Haven't you heard what those book reviewers say? If it weren't for noisy kids, these books wouldn't sell a few copies."

  Ryan finished speaking and mischievously snatched the check from Nicole's hand, took a look at the numbers on it, and was thrilled by the thick stack of green cash.

  After Nicole nodded, Ryan stuffed the check into Kim's hand and said with a smirk, "Pat, didn't think so."

  Kaijin Lili could only helplessly roll her eyes, she really hadn't expected that the contract from back then not only didn't decrease her income, but instead increased it by a lot. To think that ten percent of the money on these two checks belonged to her.

  After chatting for a few more sentences, he simply slipped away and let Harvey's assistant take him on a tour of the company. Ryan knew that Nicky and the others would probably be discussing "Sleepless in Seattle", but didn't want to get too involved.

  He didn't want to be like Tom Cruise in his past life, who intervened too much in Nicole's affairs and caused conflicts between them.

  I don't know what conditions Harvey Weinstein offered, but Nicole agreed to work with Miramax, and judging from her expression, the terms were probably pretty good.

  "Four million dollars for the picture, plus one and a half percent of the North American box office." This was what Goldie told him after he got on board. "Your script, Harvey opened with a hundred thousand dollars."

  Ryan shrugged and didn't say anything. In fact, $100,000 wasn't a small amount for him, who had only one script sold well. He believed that after his scripts were sold well one after another, he could ask for box office or even peripheral share just with his identity as a screenwriter.

  Negotiations with TriStar Pictures were concluded when Sixth Sense grossed $250 million, and it's safe to say that Bruce Willis' previous success had earned him a lot of leverage. He was able to secure a $20 million salary and 2% of the North American box office gross for himself, which accounted for all his compensation as an actor and writer.

  The movie has entered the preparation stage and may start shooting next month. It is said that they will go to northern Canada for filming. When Ryan heard this news, he let out a sigh of relief. Otherwise, although Christmas snow scenes can be created in the studio, if you wear thick winter clothes to shoot, you will inevitably get prickly heat.

  This film wasn't complicated to shoot, Chris Columbus said, and if Ryan could be half as good as he was in "Sixth Sense", he guaranteed they would finish the location shooting in Canada within a month.

  Fortunately, summer vacation is still long, otherwise, just asking for a long leave from school would be a trouble.

  The car didn't go back to Ximu District, but directly entered Beverly Hills. In the afternoon, they made an appointment with a real estate agent to take a look at several independent villas in his hands.

  "The Sixth Sense" terrifying high box office, many media again focused on Ryan's body, downstairs paparazzi more and more active, not only affecting their lives, but also causing a lot of trouble to the surrounding neighbors, Nicole simply entrusted Goldie to find a suitable house source.

  There are many affluent neighborhoods in the Greater Los Angeles area, such as Malibu, Santa Monica, and Brentwood within the city limits, but Ryan doesn't know why Nicole has a special preference for Beverly Hills, explicitly stating that the mansion must be located on Beverly Hill.

  It's okay, Beverly Hills is actually not bad at all. It's close to Hollywood and many stars live here. Ryan comforted himself after looking at several villas.

  "Miss Kidman, how does this look?"

  "Leading the way is Corinne Miller, a real estate agent who caters to the rich and famous. With eloquence and poise, she maintains the necessary respect and decorum, 'This French-style villa with gardens spans 2.4 acres, featuring an outdoor tennis court and outdoor swimming pool, as well as a four-car garage, is the masterpiece of renowned villa designer Paul Kosinski.'"

  In his past life, he had a small nest of less than thirty square meters, which was also rented. In this life, most of the time was spent in the orphanage, and even after being adopted by Nicole, he didn't consider living arrangements at all. Ryan was completely an amateur when it came to choosing a house, so he simply held Nicole's hand and looked without saying anything.

  As we walked into the empty villa, the real estate agent continued, "The villa has two floors, with a total of seven bedrooms, three dressing rooms, five large storage rooms, an indoor swimming pool and gym, and there is also a small rooftop terrace on the top floor."

  After a circle of inside and outside, this villa is much larger than the one in London. From the details, it can be seen that the design is indeed unique. Even without furniture, it looks a bit empty, but Ryan can clearly feel that Nicole is quite satisfied.

  "Ryan, what do you think of this place?" Nicole asked for his opinion. Ryan believed that as long as he shook his head, Nicole would absolutely turn around and leave without even considering it.

  "With such a big place, do we have that much money?" Ryan had lived in a country with the most terrifying housing prices in his previous life, and in this life, he had no understanding of American housing prices. Seeing this luxurious villa, he naturally felt some trepidation.

  "Darling, you should be asking if I have that much money!" Nicole laughed.

  "That's okay, this place is not bad, as long as the price is reasonable."

  Next, in the conversation between Nicole and the real estate agent, Ryan finally realized that this villa is not expensive at all compared to their income, and they can even apply for a loan. Moreover, once you buy a house in the US, there's no time limit on its use, although you have to pay taxes every year, but it's still better than a 70-year lease.

  "Nico, when are we moving?" Ryan asked before leaving.

  "Move?" Nicole shook her head and smiled, "It will take a long time, the house needs to be renovated again, and we need to buy furniture."

  Collecting~~ Those who have tickets, please give some! Thank you~