Hollywood (我就是好莱坞) Part II

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 was 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 learned 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.