The current situation was that Matthew and Zack Snyder had neither the money nor the initiative when facing Frank Miller. The four million dollars they expected couldn't even begin to satisfy Frank Miller's exorbitant demands. Frank Miller wasn't stupid; he had been stalling until the release of sin city because he wanted to hold the absolute dominant position in the subsequent negotiations.
Matthew and Zack Snyder lacked the experience of actually operating a film, and many things were not sufficiently prepared.
Among these, the most important factor was money.
Without paying a high enough price, it was simply impossible to move Frank Miller. The reception for sin city had been good, and although no one was eyeing Frank Miller's other works yet, Matthew knew very well that it wouldn't be long before other film companies caught on.
Compared to those medium-to-large production companies, he and Zack Snyder had no advantage whatsoever.
The right path was to secure Frank Miller as quickly as possible.
In the short term, Matthew couldn't find a more suitable financier than David Ellison.
After he and Helen Herman had their first talk with David Ellison, Zack Snyder also specifically flew back from New York, bringing test footage to meet David Ellison again along with Matthew.
David Ellison had money but had been unable to make a breakthrough in Hollywood. Now that someone was actively seeking a partnership, especially with a star as popular as Matthew involved, he was indeed somewhat tempted.
In the days following the first meeting, David Ellison also had his people conduct a careful investigation, and it wasn't hard to find that Matthew and Zack Snyder had been planning this for a long time.
Just as mid-April arrived, David Ellison personally came to Matthew's office, determined to cooperate with him and Zack Snyder.
"I can join your negotiations with Frank Miller and provide the funds to acquire the adaptation rights for 300 spartans."
Sitting on the sofa chair in the office, David Ellison spoke directly to Matthew, "I can also be responsible for all the production costs of the film!"
Matthew personally brewed a cup of tea for David Ellison, placed it on the side table next to him, and said, "I believe this will be a very successful partnership."
"But I have one condition!" David Ellison emphasized.
Matthew frowned slightly, feeling a bit worried, but still said, "Go ahead, David."
"I need to add a remark clause to our agreement!" David Ellison looked at Matthew with a serious expression and said very solemnly, "You must be the lead actor of this film!"
Hearing this, Matthew relaxed.
David Ellison emphasized once more, "This is the prerequisite for our cooperation. Most of my confidence in this project comes from you. If you don't play Leonidas, I will never invest."
In his eyes, things like Zack Snyder, strong stylized visuals, or adaptations of Frank Miller's classic graphic novels were far inferior to the dazzling box office results of Matthew's past three films.
He was very rich; even if an investment of tens of millions of dollars failed, it wouldn't hurt his foundation. Since he had come to Hollywood to invest, he never intended to fail, and he also wanted to use a successful case to prove to his father that the path he chose was not wrong.
Matthew Horner was undoubtedly the guarantee of success!
Since that night, he had specifically studied Matthew Horner's resume. This actor, who came from an ordinary background with limited education, had a very keen eye for picking films. Not only had none of the films where he served as the lead actor failed, but every single one had been a box office hit.
David Ellison had attended film school, specifically the USC film school near Hollywood, so he could be considered half a professional. Coupled with his business background, he knew that such success could definitely not be explained away as simply good luck.
"I will play Leonidas!" Matthew was now completely at ease and promised solemnly, "This can be added to our contract."
"Good!" David Ellison laughed.
"It's a deal!"
Of course, neither side would be satisfied with just a verbal promise; it would definitely be put into a formal contract later.
Matthew thought for a moment and then said, "David, I also have a condition."
David Ellison said directly, "Just say it."
"It would be best to add another clause to our agreement," Matthew said without beating around the bush. "Zack Snyder must be the director of this adaptation."
"You have that much faith in Zack Snyder?" David Ellison was a bit puzzled. "I recall he has only directed one film so far, dawn of the dead, right?"
"I know Zack Snyder," Matthew spoke the truth. "You've seen the test footage. The concept and core of this project all originate from Zack. I highly doubt anyone else could capture the style shown in that test footage."
David Ellison pondered for a moment and said, "Fine, I agree to that!"
Matthew stood up and proactively extended his right hand. "It is my luck to work with a decisive investor like you!"
David Ellison also stood up and gave his hand a firm squeeze. "Our cooperation will surely be successful."
Later, Zack Snyder and Helen Herman also arrived at Matthew's office. The group gathered to discuss many details, and then lawyers joined in. Based on the opinions reached by the group, they drafted the agreement as quickly as possible.
Two days later, David Ellison signed a formal agreement with Matthew and Zack Snyder.
The core content of this agreement was roughly that David Ellison's "Skydance" film company would provide the funds to purchase the film adaptation rights for the graphic novel 300 spartans and be responsible for the film's production investment and so on.
Additionally, the agreement explicitly stipulated that the director of the project must be Zack Snyder and the lead actor would be Matthew. Most of the future cast and crew of the film would be represented and handled by Helen Herman and the Angel Talent Agency. Three percent of the future profits from 300 spartans would serve as the agency and representation commission for the Angel Talent Agency.
To be more precise, because David Ellison lacked experience and connections in Hollywood, Helen Herman and the Angel Talent Agency would provide a simplified version of a one-stop packaging service for this project.
Therefore, the Angel Talent Agency would also need to contact distributors for the film in the future.
David Ellison's Skydance film company had money but no distribution channels, and it was impossible to build one in a short amount of time.
The contract involved hundreds of clauses regarding details. Signing an eight-figure agreement like this was never a simple matter.
After reaching the cooperation agreement, Matthew, Zack Snyder, Helen Herman, and David Ellison, along with hired PR experts, traveled to New York together to engage in a tug-of-war negotiation with Frank Miller's side.
Frank Miller was indeed moved by Zack Snyder's test footage and production concept. He agreed in principle to the film adaptation licensing of 300 spartans. The points of contention in the negotiations were mainly focused on the licensing fee and the profit sharing after the film's release.
Matthew and Zack Snyder's original roles were very simple, just being an actor and a director. They lacked sufficient understanding of the film rights adaptation market. The initial four million dollar rights fee might have been fine two years ago before Frank Miller's works had been adapted for film, but now it wasn't even enough to satisfy him.
Frank Miller's side demanded a base licensing fee of 15 million dollars plus a condition of ten percent of the global box office gross during negotiations.
These terms were simply too harsh.
But David Ellison didn't care. After the first contact and negotiation, he expressed his intention to use money to smash through the rights cost.
In his words, problems that could be solved with money weren't problems at all.
Fortunately, he was just talking. Although he was young and had some of the impulsiveness of a wealthy scion, he wasn't so stupid that he didn't understand the logic of starting with an outrageous price and haggling down.
Over the next three days, the two sides conducted three more rounds of negotiations. The disparity in the core adaptation fee gradually narrowed, and by the end of the third day, an agreement was finally reached on this key issue.
Skydance Productions would provide nine million dollars as the base adaptation fee for 300 spartans. After the film's release, five percent of the North American box office would serve as backend participation.
With the biggest disagreement resolved, the speed of the subsequent negotiations increased. For example, terms like Frank Miller having a credit as a producer and receiving a producer's salary were all within an acceptable range for both parties.
Moreover, as the financier, David Ellison didn't much care about such minor expenses.
Seeing that there were no major issues, Matthew prepared to leave New York and return to Los Angeles. Because Michael Bay had changed the script, the advertisement for the Mercedes-Benz G-Class SUV had been delayed and was about to start filming at Disney Studios. As the sole protagonist of the commercial besides the car, he couldn't be absent from the shoot.
On the day he left New York, Skydance Productions had already signed a preliminary agreement with Frank Miller's side. The formal agreement would be signed after the last few small issues were resolved.
As long as no unexpected events like a world war occurred, the film rights for 300 spartans would be successfully resolved.
After returning to Los Angeles, Matthew rested for a day and then arrived at a small soundstage in Disney Studios on the date notified by the Mercedes-Benz Company.
The filming of this commercial was divided into two parts: interior and exterior scenes, with one day of shooting scheduled for each. Before entering the film industry, Michael Bay had been a director of commercials and MTVs for many years. Even after becoming a film director, he would occasionally make guest appearances to film commercials for big brands.
Arriving at Disney Studios, Matthew also met the man who was said to be born when a comet struck the Earth.