Chapter 647: Voluntarily Giving Up

"I didn't expect to see you here, Duke."

In the exhibition area, David Ellison sat down uninvited across the small round table. He looked at Duke, gestured at their surroundings, and said, "I thought you'd be too busy to pay attention to this sort of mess."

David Ellison had specifically gone to watch clips of that movie before coming over, so Duke could naturally guess some of his motives. He smiled.

"If a movie wants to be a massive hit, it requires a huge investment in marketing and promotion. Transformers won't be an exception."

"Mr. Ellison, Director Rosenberg..."

The vice president of Anchor Bay Entertainment Company walked over. Given his experience, he naturally recognized the two men sitting there as top-tier wealthy figures in the industry, both of whom owned their own film studios.

"I am Justin Lively, in charge of the film business at Anchor Bay Entertainment Company."

"Hello..."

Duke shook his hand, while David Ellison simply waved dismissively.

"Justin, I'm a bit interested in that movie."

Duke's tone made it clear he didn't really care much about the film.

"Would your company consider transferring the rights to me?"

David Ellison kept his eyes on Duke, as if trying to see through his indifferent expression to his true intentions. He didn't believe for a second that Duke had come all this way to buy a movie's rights out of mere interest.

Sitting between Duke and David Ellison, Justin Lively offered a polite smile but didn't answer immediately.

Sure enough, just as he had expected, David Ellison slowly spoke up.

"I'm also a bit interested. Sky Film Studio would like to acquire that movie as well."

David Ellison believed that it wouldn't take long for that movie to become the star among the small independent productions at the exhibition.

The reason was simple: this was a film that Duke Rosenberg was interested in.

That alone was enough. As long as the price wasn't too outrageous, many people would buy the rights just to try their luck.

Justin Lively looked at Duke, then at David Ellison, and put on a deeply conflicted expression.

Duke leaned back in his chair and tilted his head slightly. He studied the arrogant look on David Ellison's face, then spoke.

"David, business always operates on a first-come, first-served basis."

"First-come, first-served?" David Ellison shook his head. "In the business principles of Oracle and the Ellison family, deals are always won through maneuvering and competition."

With that said, he turned to Justin Lively.

"I heard Duke just offered one hundred thousand dollars for the rights?"

He didn't care about Duke sitting on the other side at all, simply declaring, "Five hundred thousand dollars!"

Justin Lively didn't reply, looking toward Duke instead.

In today's Hollywood, everyone knew that David Ellison and Duke didn't get along.

Duke smiled.

"Justin, five hundred thousand it is. Do you choose Warner Brothers, or Sky Studio?"

Did that even require a choice? Justin Lively wanted to nod in agreement immediately. For a film that the company had bought for only a few tens of thousands of dollars and that no one else cared about, he had full authority to make the call.

Using a movie like this to curry favor with Duke Rosenberg and Warner Brothers was definitely a highly profitable trade.

David Ellison's lips curled up slightly. He had seen this exact situation countless times when he shadowed his father in business negotiations; many people claimed to be disinterested, but their hearts told a different story.

Even though the man calling himself God in the broadcasted clip seemed utterly absurd, he trusted Duke Rosenberg's eye. If he hadn't gotten the news fast enough, and if the Illumination Entertainment booth where he had just been wasn't right next door, he never would have had the chance to intervene.

Quickly forming his own judgment, David Ellison held up two fingers at Justin Lively.

"Two million dollars."

Hearing that number, Justin Lively immediately swallowed the words he had been about to say. His gaze instinctively shifted toward David Ellison.

Building a solid relationship through a deal was important, but actual profit was even more so.

Duke turned his head and looked at the LCD screen again, shaking his head inwardly. This movie, called The Man from Earth, simply wasn't worth continuing to haggle over.

However, he had already guessed David Ellison's intentions earlier. Mentioning a huge investment in marketing had been a psychological suggestion meant to preempt David from adopting Larry Ellison's style of carelessly shouting out a massive price.

When it came to throwing money around, David Ellison wasn't even in the same weight class as him. But given Duke's personality, there was no way he would do something so classless in a setting like this.

Most importantly, while The Man from Earth held some value, it wasn't worth going to such lengths. Duke had always disdained doing things where the investment was disproportionate to the return.

It was just that David Ellison's personality was exactly like his old man's—impossible to like.

After shouting two million dollars, David Ellison stared intently at Duke.

He had a decent understanding of the film market now, so he wasn't just throwing out random numbers; two million dollars was his absolute limit. The business world was filled with mutual deceit, and if Duke Rosenberg continued to bid on such an inconspicuous small production, he would really have to think things through carefully.

After all, this was just an independent small production. Much like how British dark comedies were met with a cold reception in the North American market, its audience was limited, and that fundamental fact wouldn't change just because someone willed it to.

From I Am Legend, Duke could see David Ellison's growth. He wouldn't have water in the brain to the point of treating all wealthy heirs as fools like Rick Salomon...

If David Ellison were a fool, Duke offering another two million dollars would surely make him double it to five million.

Even Paris Hilton, whom he had seen recently, wasn't foolish to that extent, let alone David Ellison, who had already accumulated a certain amount of experience.

Shaking his head, Duke didn't waste any more time there and stood up without hesitation.

"Director Rosenberg..."

Seemingly not expecting Duke to do this, Justin Lively couldn't help but stand up as well.

Duke just smiled faintly. He wasn't going to bicker over such a trivial matter. As he prepared to leave, he noticed the corner of David Ellison's mouth curling up.

"This film is not suitable for a theatrical release." Duke shook his head at Justin Lively again. "If pushed into the Videotape market, who knows how long it will take to recoup the costs..."

Leaving it at that, he lingered no longer and walked out of the exhibition hall without looking back.

David Ellison turned his head, watched Duke leave, and furrowed his brows slightly. Not suitable for a theatrical release? Was it really not suitable?

The curve of his lips rose even higher. Sky Studio was currently establishing a distribution department; perhaps he could let them give it a try.

Duke genuinely felt no regret or lingering attachment toward that film. Moreover, saying it wasn't suitable for the theatrical market was the honest truth.

Of course, given David Ellison's style of doing things, he probably wouldn't care and would instead do the exact opposite.

Pushing it into the theatrical market required investments in marketing and distribution, such as film prints. Coupled with the two million dollars used to purchase the rights, the total cost for The Man from Earth could pile up to four million dollars or even more.

David Ellison might not care about that amount of money, but from a businessman's perspective, this was not a cost-effective deal.

If this kind of film entered theaters, even with a two-million-dollar marketing budget, there was a ninety-nine percent chance it would bomb. And if even more marketing funds were allocated? A larger investment would likely only result in a greater final loss...

In the past, rumors from overseas once claimed that this film had traded a production cost of less than one hundred thousand dollars for over a hundred million dollars in box office revenue. However, Duke knew very well that The Man from Earth had never actually been screened in North American theaters. The so-called hundreds of millions in box office earnings were nothing more than the wishful thinking of the film's fans.

Even if it were forcibly pushed into the theatrical market, given the audience base and viewing habits for this genre of film, how many people would actually go to the cinema?

The greatest value of The Man from Earth came from the disc and Videotape markets, and even there, it was only a niche choice. If millions of dollars were invested into it, how long would it take to recoup the costs?

The North American film market had its own laws, and those laws wouldn't bend to individual will. Let alone David Ellison, not even Duke or James Cameron could change the inherent laws of the market.

A niche film was a niche film. Just like Quentin Tarantino's movies—most of them were brilliant, but their theatrical box office was rather ordinary compared to the director's personal fame. A North American box office breaking one hundred million dollars would be considered a standout among them. This was simply dictated by market laws. Even if Quentin Tarantino's behind-the-scenes backer was Harvey Weinstein, it couldn't change the fact that Quentin's film box office was relatively average. His movies' profits all relied on backend offline broadcasts such as television, discs, and Videotapes.

Indeed, in the eyes of many, The Man from Earth was a good movie. But a good movie didn't necessarily guarantee a high box office. There were simply too many examples of good movies bombing at the box office.

Perhaps The Man from Earth would undergo some changes in David Ellison's hands, but that possibility was far too low.

A film's genre largely influenced the theatrical market's response. Just as Duke had told reporters, nowadays people could watch movies through various channels like television, the internet, and discs, and watching at home was far more comfortable than going to a theater. Why would audiences leave their houses to buy a ticket for a movie?

The most important reason was that the big screen had to deliver an immersive viewing experience that small screens simply couldn't achieve.

Take a film like Transformers, for example. Not only would Duke continue using IMAX technology for its production, but he would also film it using the 3D technology improved by James Cameron. The audio-visual enjoyment it could bring was absolutely something that couldn't be experienced on a small screen.

After leaving the exhibition, Duke tossed The Man from Earth to the back of his mind and continued his prep work for Transformers.