Besides buying stocks, Gilbert. also had his assistant, Anna Singer, contact the Tolkien Estate. His goal, of course, was to acquire the rights to the famous Lord of the Rings series. He loved the film franchise and naturally hoped to personally produce it.
The negotiation process went smoothly; once Anna Singer raised the price to $1 million, the Estate happily signed the film rights transfer agreement. This included the rights to the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Silmarillion, The Hobbit, and other related books, all acquired by Gilbert. This payment for the rights would be settled in full over the next two years.
However, it was still too early to talk about Lord of the Rings. Such a massive project couldn't be driven by Gilbert. alone. He would definitely need to partner with a film studio to complete this epic series together.
Meanwhile, Gilbert. submitted the script for Speed to Touchstone Pictures, and also sent it to Universal Pictures, Warner Bros., and several other film companies interested in working with him.
The script's submission sparked discussions within Touchstone Pictures. This time, Gilbert. didn't ask for his salary to be converted into an investment share, but he did propose a $5 million fee, plus a minimum of 10% of the worldwide gross box office revenue.
Gross box office revenue sharing is different from profit sharing. Profit sharing only kicks in after a film becomes profitable and only applies to the profit portion. Gross box office sharing, however, means a certain percentage of the total box office is paid out, regardless of profitability. And this was for global box office, not just North America. With two consecutive blockbuster films, Gilbert. was in a strong position to make bold demands from the film companies.
Simply put, this revenue-sharing proposal was a "beggar's version" of Steven Spielberg's deal for Jurassic Park. Spielberg's contract with Universal Pictures included a $15 million upfront fee plus 20% of the total box office and an additional 5% from merchandising. This deal propelled Spielberg to become Hollywood's highest-paid director, without a doubt.
Gilbert. certainly couldn't be compared to Spielberg; he was simply using the tactic of asking for the sky to settle for something reasonable. He also revealed his terms to other interested companies and proposed a production budget of $20 million for the film. While this budget still wasn't on par with an A-list blockbuster, the jump from $3.5 million to $20 million marked Gilbert.'s steady growth. If his first film had failed, no studio would have been willing to fund his second or even third movie. Now, it wasn't Gilbert. who was anxious, but rather the film companies eager to collaborate with him.
One October weekend, the Final Destination celebration party was held at the Hilton Hotel. The film's immense success had given Robert Iger a significant boost with the Disney board, so the celebration was naturally high-profile. Many film company executives showed up uninvited, including Universal Pictures President Akio Tanai, Warner Bros. CEO Jeff Robinov, 20th Century Fox CEO Tom Rothman, Paramount Pictures CEO Sherry Lansing, and others.
You might wonder why these film executives felt compelled to cozy up to Gilbert., who was just a "lucky kid" who had only made two movies. The answer is, don't question why they're doing it, but rather how they, as CEOs, are willing to humble themselves and forge connections with Gilbert. This is the difference between you and a film company CEO, so don't ask too many questions, just learn.
A 22-year-old director who has made two successful films cannot be explained away by luck alone. Success once is luck, success twice is luck, but what if Gilbert. succeeds a third time? Although Hollywood doesn't have the custom of worshipping gods like Hong Kong, film companies are equally superstitious about luck.
Robert Iger watched these shameless CEOs, muttering under his breath, but he couldn't actually kick them out. After all, they came under the guise of congratulations, and you can't just turn away guests.
The undisputed star of the celebration tonight was Gilbert., who was still outside giving interviews to reporters. Before Gilbert. even arrived, Robert Iger couldn't resist showing off: "Ladies and gentlemen, let's raise our glasses and toast to Final Destination, and to Gilbert.!"
"Cheers!"
Gilbert. was still dealing with reporters outside, but inside, people were already drinking to him – this showed the shift in his status. When Gilbert. finished with the reporters and entered the ballroom, many film executives and industry professionals greeted him with enthusiastic smiles, eager to speak with him.
Robert Iger secretly grumbled, "These shameless people," before quickly putting on his most charming and approachable smile and walking towards Gilbert. Now, Gilbert. was worthy of warm treatment from any film company CEO.
After finally dealing with a hodgepodge of people, Gilbert. managed to find a moment to rest.
"How does success feel, Gilbert.?" Matt Damon's voice rang out from behind him.
"Great. How about you, Matt? How does fame feel?" Gilbert. turned and asked.
"Fantastic!" Matt Damon giddily described his incredible recent days. "Can you imagine the feeling? Everywhere you go, people recognize you, call your name, and ask for your autograph."
"Hey, Matt, calm down. You're spitting on my face," Gilbert. urged Matt Damon to settle down.
"Oh, sorry." Matt Damon grabbed a tissue for Gilbert. to wipe his face and then asked, "Did you submit a new project to Touchstone Pictures? Can I be the male lead?"
"You?" Gilbert. looked Matt Damon up and down, then shook his head. "Your face is too soft, too young. You can't play the part."
Matt Damon quickly retorted, "What do you mean 'too young'? Critics praised my 'very mature' performance in Final Destination."
"They were insulting you," Gilbert. twisted the truth. "You played a high school student; you were supposed to have a youthful innocence. Saying you were mature was an insult."
Matt Damon was momentarily confused by Gilbert.'s logic, rubbing his head and saying, "What you're saying actually makes sense." But then he saw Gilbert. smirking, instantly realized Gilbert. was joking, and burst out laughing himself. It was pretty normal for close friends to tease each other.
At this point, Warner Bros. CEO Jeff Robinov approached Gilbert., who was chatting with Matt Damon. Although Gilbert. had directed two successful films, he was still young, and Jeff Robinov didn't find his demeanor unprofessional.
Once Gilbert. noticed him, Jeff Robinov stepped forward and began, "Director Gilbert., are you interested in collaborating with my company, Warner Bros.? We have extensive distribution channels and the best producers. Working with Warner Bros..."
Jeff Robinov rattled off a plethora of benefits, showering Gilbert. with praise. However, Gilbert. wasn't swayed by Jeff Robinov's pitch and simply said, "Mr. Robinov, please discuss the details with my agent. I just focus on making good movies; I'm not very good at other things."
What else could Jeff Robinov say? He could only offer more pleasantries before leaving. After that, Sherry Lansing, Tom Rothman, Akio Tanai, and other film executives also approached Gilbert. to try and win him over, making Robert Iger anxious.
Akio Tanai was quite interesting. He asked, "Gilbert., are you interested in making a movie about Japanese culture?" To his surprise, Gilbert. directly shook his head and refused: "Sorry, I only make movies I'm interested in, and I'm not interested in Japanese culture." Akio Tanai was taken aback by Gilbert.'s bluntness and felt a bit awkward.
However, he was thick-skinned and quickly recovered, then put on a smile. Coupled with his handlebar mustache, he looked incredibly shifty. "Our Japanese audience also loves your movies. Both films have done well in Japan. Japanese fans hope you can visit Tokyo or Osaka to meet them."
This was true; The Shallows and Final Destination were very popular in the Japanese film market, with Japanese fans contributing a significant portion of the box office. Before film market boomed, Japan was Hollywood's largest overseas market. No matter how much Gilbert. disliked the Japanese, he couldn't let money pass him by. Hearing this, he replied, "Alright, if I get the chance, I will go..."
The celebration dinner was a joyous occasion for both hosts and guests, with Gilbert. at the center of the party. This experience deeply reinforced a truth for him: in Hollywood, everyone always chases success. The world of Hollywood is the world of the successful.