*Chapter 206: Recasting the Lead Actress*

Harvey’s offer this time was quite sincere.

After learning about DreamWorks’ bid for Hotel for Dogs last time, he proposed a deal of $29 million in cash, plus a box office bonus: for every $10 million the movie grosses beyond $60 million, Hermola Pictures would receive an additional $4.08 million.

Based on the $249 million global box office of the original film, Hermola Pictures could earn up to $102 million in revenue.

For a horror film without major stars, this return is already astonishing.

However, for Wayne, the most significant development was that, after all this time, Marvel finally delivered a Hulk script that satisfied him.

At the same time, the Fantastic Four script was also approved.

Next, Wayne had to focus on casting and selecting directors.

In the original Hulk film, the male lead Eric Bana, despite winning a Best Actor award from the American Film Institute, lacked significant fame or box office appeal. Coupled with the lackluster storyline, even with Jennifer Connelly as the female lead, the movie's box office performance was underwhelming.

It was, in fact, the lowest-grossing film in the entire Marvel series.

Thus, even with the revised script, Wayne decided against casting Eric Bana again. Instead, he intended to approach Mark Ruffalo directly.

At this time, Mark Ruffalo had just won the Best Newcomer Award from the 26th Los Angeles Film Critics Association the previous year, so he wasn’t an unknown face.

Most importantly, thanks to Wayne’s memories from his past life, whenever he thought of the Hulk, Mark Ruffalo immediately came to mind.

As for the female lead, Betty Ross, Wayne also planned to recast her.

Since this reimagined film merged elements of two stories into one, the Betty Ross character would likely only appear once.

To ensure long-term viability, given the extended timeline of the Marvel series, Wayne ultimately chose Keri Russell, whose age was perfect, and who had a reliable "shelf life."

As for the role of the female lead in Pirates of the Caribbean, which had initially been reserved for Russell, Wayne decided to offer it to Mélanie Laurent, who had just turned 18 that year.

Both in terms of age and appearance, Mélanie Laurent was better suited to the role of Elizabeth Swann.

Neither actress had any objections to these changes. On the contrary, they were delighted.

At this point, no one knew just how astonishingly successful the Pirates of the Caribbean series would be. If Keri Russell had to choose, she would undoubtedly favor Marvel’s Hulk, produced by Hermola Pictures, over a pirate movie—a genre that had been outdated for decades.

For Mélanie Laurent, a Hollywood newcomer, landing a leading role in a mega-production with a budget exceeding $120 million was a dream come true.

Each year, countless girls flock to Hollywood. To have this kind of opportunity was a rarity; she was the only one in recent years.

That evening, when Wayne invited her for coffee, she showcased all the "fancy coffee tricks" she had secretly learned.

Under the influence of her performance, Wayne stayed longer than usual—twice as long.

For the remaining key roles, the most important was the villain Emil Blonsky. After careful consideration, Wayne decided to cast Tim Roth, who had played the same character in the original The Incredible Hulk.  

When it came to fame, Tim Roth, the lead actor of The Legend of 1900, undoubtedly outshone both Mark Ruffalo and Keri Russell.

However, despite his solid acting skills and popularity, films where Roth played the lead rarely performed well at the box office.

Conversely, movies where he played villains or supporting roles tended to fare much better.

His upcoming film, Planet of the Apes, where he played the villain, had already grossed an impressive $362 million.

This trend had firmly set Roth on a path of villainy.

Anticipating that the success of Planet of the Apes would lead to an increase in Roth's asking price, Wayne immediately asked Mélanie Sloan, the producer for the upcoming Hulk, to contact him after finishing Taken.  

In just one day, they secured Roth with a $5 million paycheck.

For the director, after much deliberation, Wayne chose Zack Snyder, who had spent 11 years directing commercials and music videos, hoping to break into Hollywood.

To establish a long-term partnership, Wayne generously offered Snyder $1 million per film and persuaded him to sign a 10-film contract.

After 11 years of waiting, Snyder was so thrilled to finally get his Hollywood break that he finished all his current projects within two days and flew straight to Los Angeles.

Without Mike's help arranging accommodations, Snyder might have ended up sleeping on the streets.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Mike successfully signed him, effectively tying the future Hollywood director to Wayne's production team.

Casting for Fantastic Four was much simpler.

The main cast was retained, including Chris Evans as Johnny Storm. Wayne no longer intended for Evans to play Captain America.

The only change was in the director's role.

Tim Story, the original director, was still an assistant director with no solo directing experience.

So Wayne opted to bring in Joss Whedon, the future director of The Avengers and The Avengers: Age of Ultron, who was currently working in television.

Since the film industry is traditionally regarded as superior to television, Whedon immediately accepted Hermola Pictures' offer without hesitation.

To make full use of Whedon's Oscar-nominated screenwriting skills, Wayne also appointed him as a co-writer for Fantastic Four.  

This decision was expected to significantly improve the film’s quality and reception compared to the original version.

Of course, both films, with production costs exceeding $100 million each, would only begin filming after Resident Evil finished production.

Wayne’s higher demands for visual effects compared to the originals had extended Resident Evil 1 & 2's post-production schedule.

Now, three months later, post-production was nearly complete.

Four days passed in a flash.

On July 17, Taken officially surpassed $100 million in North American box office revenue in its fifth day of release, with a global total of $240 million.

Although slightly behind The Bourne Identity, it matched the pace of Mission: Impossible 2.

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Major rating and prediction agencies, along with media outlets and film critics, have raised the box office expectations for this film to $500 million.

As a result, Warner Bros. is projected to make at least $200 million in profits from this movie.

This achievement has thrilled Alan Horn, leaving him overjoyed.

Now, no one is questioning his decision to sell the film and TV rights to DC superheroes to Wayne.

Wayne took advantage of this opportunity to sign early contracts with Warner Bros. for the streaming rights of their two most important IPs: the Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings series.

Of course, for other distributors, the success of Taken at the box office has little to do with them.

All they can do is watch in envy. Even the already-sold The Ring (American Version), now in Harvey Weinstein's hands, has become a thing of the past.

However, their eyes remain fixed on Hemera Pictures, filled with burning jealousy.

Because on this very day, after more than three months of production, Resident Evil 1 and 2 have finally been completed. Today, the screening for Resident Evil 1 will be held.

Even more surprising is that they’ve learned something beforehand.

Wayne, who did not attend the screenings for either Taken or The Ring (American Version), will be attending this one.

This instantly elevated everyone’s level of attention toward the film.

“Losing to Sony and Warner Bros. is understandable. Howard Stringer and Alan Horn played shamelessly, so we can’t say we were wronged.”

“But losing to Harvey and DreamWorks? That’s unacceptable!”

“This time, we must go all out to secure Resident Evil 1!”

Before heading out, the heads of various companies made bold declarations, signaling their determination.

Amidst this tense, competitive atmosphere, the first round of bids already stunned everyone with astonishing numbers.

“The highest outright purchase bid is $182 million from Universal, followed by $180 million from Fox.”

“For cash plus revenue sharing, Miramax leads with $29 million upfront, plus a 4.13% share of every $10 million in box office revenue beyond $60 million.”

“DreamWorks’ bid is only $30,000 lower in revenue sharing.”

That evening, Wayne, who was reviewing Supreme’s upcoming women’s collection with Jessica and Charlize Theron, raised an eyebrow when Mia reported the bids upon returning from overtime work.

An outright purchase price of $180 million to $182 million means the global box office would need to exceed $400 million for the film to break even after distribution and marketing costs.

For the original version of Resident Evil 1, such a figure was unimaginable.

However, the revamped version, directed by Nolan with upgraded cast, plot, visuals, and special effects, makes this a much more achievable target.

In Wayne’s opinion, the new Resident Evil 1 could easily surpass $400 million at the box office.

Combined with the momentum brought by Hotel for Dogs and Taken, Universal and Fox likely have even higher expectations for the film.

But their willingness to offer such high bids in the first round isn’t just due to confidence in the film itself. They also want to protect their upcoming blockbusters, Jurassic Park 3 and Planet of the Apes.

With multiple major releases already scheduled from mid-July to mid-August, a stronger zombie competitor could significantly impact the box office performance of their tentpole films.

Thus, while their bids are high, they remain within Wayne’s expectations.

What truly surprised him, however, was Harvey Weinstein’s offer.

“How does Harvey even have that kind of money?” Wayne asked, curious.

It wasn’t that he underestimated Harvey. Most of Miramax’s profits are funneled to Disney, leaving them with slightly more liquidity than Lionsgate or Warner’s independently operated New Line Cinema.

Given how many flops Miramax has suffered this year, it seemed unlikely they could afford such a large bid.

“Probably a loan,” Mia shrugged, sipping coffee handed to her by a maid.

The profit margin on the revenue-sharing offer was already slim. Adding loan interest to the mix showed Harvey’s boldness and willingness to gamble.

Unfortunately for him, Wayne had already excluded Miramax, DreamWorks, Lionsgate, and others from consideration for this auction.

“What about Sony and Disney’s bids?” Wayne asked.

“Sony offered $175 million—still a decent bid—but they likely didn’t expect the competition to be so fierce. Disney’s bid was more conservative at $170 million.”

Wayne fell into thought after hearing this.

Mia, sensing his focus, left him alone and joined Jessica and Charlize to examine the women’s collection.

After all, they planned to wear these designs once they launched.

A moment later, Wayne picked up his phone and dialed Howard Stringer.

“Hi, Howard, it’s Wayne.”

Howard Stringer was surprised to receive a sudden call from Wayne.

When he learned that Wayne wanted to sell Resident Evil 1 to Sony for $185 million—just $3 million above the current highest bid—on the condition that the film is released worldwide by the end of the month, he was even more taken aback.

“Is this to avoid competition or to target someone?”

Howard Stringer immediately considered these possibilities.

He quickly ruled out the former, as Hemera Pictures’ recent string of successes left them with no need to avoid competition.

The only logical explanation was to strategically target another film.

Howard’s mind raced with thoughts of upcoming releases, determined to investigate which film might be the target.

One possibility he quickly ruled out was Sony’s own release, Ugly American Sweetheart, set to premiere in just three days on the 20th.

First, Wayne and Howard had a good working relationship, and their collaborations had always been smooth.

Second, the second lead actress in Ugly American Sweetheart was Catherine Zeta-Jones, whose relationship with Wayne was no secret to industry insiders.

Finally, and most importantly, Ugly American Sweetheart was a $30 million romantic comedy with a modest box office expectation of $150 million—hardly worth targeting with a heavy hitter like Resident Evil 1.

With these thoughts in mind, Howard quickly agreed to Wayne’s proposal.

For Sony, this was a win-win situation.

Their internal predictions for the revamped Resident Evil 1 placed its box office potential above $450 million.

Acquiring it for $185 million, with additional DVD revenue, could yield nearly $100 million in profit.

(End of Chapter)