America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The internal screenplay of the company had not yet circulated outside, and after Thomas made contact, Carlton Cuse and his agent agreed to talk to Thomas first.

Whether they could make a deal or not was merely a matter of the cost of the rights.

Carlton Cuse was not a novice screenwriter but a top client of WMA; although he's not a gold-list screenwriter, his scripts wouldn't come cheap, not for a few hundred thousand US Dollars.

Martin was willing to spend money in this area, and for a licensing fee of up to two million US Dollars, Thomas could make the decision.

Thomas had also taken a look at the screenplay and offered a reminder, "Martin, if you were to play the male lead, many aspects would have to be adjusted. Your age doesn't fit that of an adult's father."

Martin thought it over and said, "When you negotiate the rights, talk about revising the screenplay and character as well, adjusting them according to my situation."

Thomas responded, "Normally, a screenwriter wouldn't refuse."

Unlike the more discerning Martin, many movie companies, after buying the script rights, didn't care about the original author's ideas and changed it however they wanted.

Even from the producer to the director to the leading men and women, as long as they carried enough weight, they could all meddle with the screenplay, leaving the screenwriter with no choice but to comply.

"You handle the negotiations," Martin said, then suddenly recalled what Scarlett Johansson had mentioned the day before about Ryan Reynolds.

This asshole had approached Michel Brian and did those shameless and bottom-line things to impress the top executives at Fox, aiming to make Deadpool come to fruition as a standalone film.

Ryan Reynolds had been sent to prison, and his ex-wife Scarlett still wanted to torment him; there was no need to think about him starring in "Deadpool" anymore.

Martin, with the mindset that resources shouldn't be wasted, said to Thomas, "Touch base with 20th Century Fox, aiming for Deadpool from X-Men, and see if we can get the rights to adapt the film."

Thomas frankly said, "It's very difficult. The X-Men series is one of Fox's flagship movie franchises, and both Disney and Marvel have tried multiple times to repurchase the rights to X-Men and Fantastic Four, all of which were refused by Fox."

Martin knew it would be difficult and said, "Give it a try. We could even do a joint production, and if that doesn't work... then forget it."

Thomas said, "Alright, I'll make contact with Fox."

Half an hour later, Carlton Cuse and his agent came over. Martin didn't show up but let Thomas talk to them first.

Because Martin offered a not insignificant amount, WMA was internally inclined to facilitate the deal, and talks went smoothly. By that afternoon, a preliminary agreement had been reached, and Davis Studio acquired the script rights for "San Andreas," also known as "Doomsday Collapse," for 1.5 million US Dollars.

At the same time, the screenwriter Carlton Cuse also agreed to make appropriate modifications to the content and character settings of the script according to Martin's actual situation.

In fact, Martin was also quite interested in the rights to some of the old movies in the Warner Bros. catalog, but the issues that had cropped up beforehand made him cautious, deciding to wait and see how things turned out with Daniel's side.

He was in no hurry and could completely wait until after the release of "Joker."

Martin still had reservations about the Warner Bros. Team.

The next day, after all terms were agreed upon, Martin, on behalf of Davis Studio, signed the rights agreement with Carlton Cuse for "Doomsday Collapse" at a buyout price of 1.5 million US Dollars.

According to the agreement, Carlton Cuse needed to make modifications to the screenplay, and these revisions had to be completed by August of next year.

...

California State Prison, a separate visitation room.

Ordinary inmates and their families would never get such treatment, but the visitor today was no ordinary person, wealthy and famous, and a vocal supporter of the Donkey Party, as well as having connections in politics.

Ryan Reynolds, covered in bruises, was restrained to a chair, looking across at Scarlett Johansson and asked, "What are you doing here?"

"I heard you're not doing so well. After all, we were once husband and wife, so I brought you some things." Scarlett handed over what she brought to the guard, along with an insinuating glance, "Can I talk to him alone for a bit?"

The guard peeked inside the bag and said, "Not for too long. I'll be right outside. Call me if you need anything."

Scarlett nodded, "No problem."

Once the guard left, she took out a cigarette, lit it, and took a strong puff, blowing the smoke toward Ryan Reynolds.

As the smoke hit his face, Ryan Reynolds, with his hands bound, couldn't do anything but shout, "Light me one."

Scarlett pulled out a cigarette and held it in front of Ryan Reynolds, but didn't give it to him.

Ryan, craving a smoke, felt terribly uncomfortable.

Scarlett asked, "It's very uncomfortable, isn't it? That's how I felt when we divorced!"

Ryan said, "You said you brought me something to make my time here easier!"

Because the Fox Group and many left-wing organizations had made moves behind the scenes, after he was sent to State Prison, his cell was very special, not only was he sleeping right in front of the toilet, but he was also beaten up from time to time.

Recently he had been beaten so badly that he hoped Scarlett was actually there to help him and agreed to meet.

The situation was quite clear; Ryan had thought too much, underestimating the frightening nature of an ex-wife.

"I heard your cell conditions are very uncomfortable." Scarlett put the cigarette into Ryan's mouth and lit it for him, as if she was just teasing him earlier.

Ryan said, "You help me switch cells, and I'll be grateful to you for life."