Feeding the Dragon by Chris Fenton

Author:Chris Fenton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: N/A
Publisher: Post Hill Press
Published: 2020-05-22T16:00:00+00:00

20.

Momentum

Shortly after Tim Connors got back to LA from his Beijing trip, Marvel executives began to cooperate. Nothing was mentioned, but everything was good. He had the experience in Beijing we wanted him to have. That was obvious. It felt like we’d get a deal finally closed. Both sides understood what each other wanted. We knew how, in theory, we could work together to achieve a Chinese co-production.

Some of the requirements on our side would bite the dust. Some on theirs too. But there was a path to a deal. And both sides understood that we could work together on necessary contractual changes down the road if needed. A bond was formed, and trust had been earned at a basic level, at least enough to commence the collaboration. Marvel even asked for creative ideas on how to insert China relevancy into Iron Man 3. That kind of request almost felt surreal. This thing was finally feeling real.

A smart, young creative executive under Kevin Feige named Stephen Broussard became our point person. Through the production process, he became a close confidant to me. He also became a shoulder to cry on when Marvel couldn’t deliver on some items, or when things went awry.

“Okay. So, Stephen will chat with our creative team. They’ll sketch out rough ideas for Chinese locations. Then we’ll all brainstorm on how those sequences can be Marvel-quality, yet also practical,” I said to Tim Connors, recapping action items we discussed in a September 2011 meeting. “Then a meeting will be set with you, Stephen, Kevin, and Ike while Mintz is in LA. The agenda to discuss DMG creative thoughts on IM3 co-pro sequences.”

“That’s the plan. Agreed.”

We shook hands. Parts of the deal were finally getting closed. Each layer comprised a battle victory in the greater war.

Shortly after that, Disney gave its first projection for Iron Man 3’s box office in China—$44 million. Now if Disney went without our services, their share of that $44 million would be somewhere between 13.7 and 17 percent of the gross. Let’s call it 15 percent, so they’d net a whopping $6.6 million as a “lone wolf,” a terrible return for such a large media company. Although, as bad as that projection was, the modest sum at least doubled Marvel’s next-highest-grossing movie in China.

With that line in the sand, we knew we had to better it—and by a lot. A “Show me the money” kind of thing. Disney expected to gross that amount simply by submitting the film to China Film Group. That was simple and painless. It also wasn’t risky. Our way, on the other hand, required Marvel to jump through hoops, lots of them, some challenging and some just a pain in the ass. And in some cases, they may make Marvel look like panderers to the Communist Party. The latter posed a potential public relations nightmare or even a potential fanboy revolt, and neither was appetizing. But the upside was 43 percent of the box office and the ability to raise the projected $44 million much higher.

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