In the next few days, Helen was in negotiations with Fox Searchlight Pictures. The biggest point of contention was the distribution fee, starting at twenty-five percent and gradually decreasing.
Sometimes even a mere 0.1 percent share required a long time to negotiate. And according to Ryan’s request, it was preferable to include the costs incurred by publicity.
Once the distribution share and publicity costs were separate, it often resulted in exorbitant publicity fees, which were not worth it compared to buying the rights outright.
Fortunately, Helen was not in a hurry, but Fox Searchlight Pictures was. Nancy Uttley was eager to make her voice heard among the independent film production companies in Hollywood, so she made significant concessions in the contract.
The North American distribution share was reduced from twenty-five percent to twenty percent, including all costs incurred by publicity.
As for peripheral rights, such as the rights to offline video tape distribution, first-round television broadcasting rights, etc., the income share was thirty percent, and they also enjoyed priority purchasing rights for overseas distribution and priority release rights for the next “Saw” series film.
Such a seemingly harsh agreement was actually quite generous. If it weren’t for Fox Searchlight Pictures being eager to make a move and Ryan’s previous film’s box office success, it would have been almost impossible to obtain a similar distribution share agreement.
For example, publicity fees, labor costs, venue fees, transportation costs, insurance costs, etc., were all considerable expenses, all of which were paid by Fox Searchlight Pictures. The only thing Ryan’s studio needed to pay was the film copy fee, which, although seemingly not expensive per copy, could add up significantly due to large-scale duplication.
Normally, a film copy of about 100 minutes would cost around $650 each. One hundred copies would cost $65,000, and one thousand copies would cost $650,000.
Even though Nancy Uttley promised to use 20th Century Fox’s channels to duplicate copies, which would save a lot, it would likely still cost over a million dollars in the end.
All of these expenses would need to be paid by Ryan’s studio, meaning Ryan himself. The box office share from his previous film had already been received, so he was not currently short on money and could afford the copy fees.
In fact, Ryan had also made some concessions, such as the share percentage for peripheral rights.
At the same time, over the next week, Fox Searchlight Pictures held fan-style screenings continuously to determine the film’s publicity direction and release time based on fan feedback. Considering that “Saw” was a horror film, no film critics were invited.
Looking at the screening plan in his hand, Ryan felt a bit speechless. A release at the end of August, just in time for the end of the summer season, with only 430 screens, was not very satisfactory overall.
The publicity plan was equally frustrating, with a total of less than $200,000 in publicity expenses. Television advertising and trailer previews were estimated at $160,000. Outdoor poster posting, including labor and material costs, was estimated at $5,000. The rental fee for outdoor billboards, including printing and installation costs, was estimated at $20,000. The estimated cost of publicity events, press conferences, and previews was $15,000.
Exactly $200,000, pitifully low.
And there was still no premiere.
Ryan felt a bit speechless. He didn’t expect it to compare to the massive publicity budget of “The Blair Witch Project,” but at least it should have been passable.
What could $200,000 do at this point?
But he understood that this publicity plan was not so much made by Fox Searchlight Pictures as it was made by the 20th Century Fox distribution department, so he didn’t even bother to ask.
At that moment, Ryan called Helen. Even if he had to pay out of pocket, he needed to increase the publicity budget. A million-dollar publicity budget might be a bit exaggerated, but it would need to be at least several hundred thousand dollars.
Otherwise, a mere $200,000 in publicity expenses, especially during the summer season, might not even make a ripple.
Helen didn’t try to dissuade him, but immediately called Nancy Uttley, sounding slightly displeased.
“Ms. Nancy, I hope you can explain what can be done with a mere $200,000 in publicity expenses!”
“And just now, Ryan called me. If Fox Searchlight Pictures cannot increase the publicity budget, he’s prepared to pay out of pocket.”
Nancy Uttley immediately understood Helen’s meaning and was not satisfied with this publicity plan, and even prepared to pay out of pocket.
There was nothing she could do about it. Fox Searchlight Pictures was just an empty shell company, and many things relied on the 20th Century Fox distribution department.
“I’m sorry about this matter.”
“I will try to increase the publicity budget as much as possible, while also increasing the number of screens for the release.”
Getting what she wanted, Helen’s tone relaxed, and she chatted with Nancy Uttley for a while before hanging up the phone.
Nancy Uttley hung up the phone, her expression slightly grim. As a distribution company, having the film director pay out of pocket to increase the publicity budget was very embarrassing.
Next moment, Nancy Uttley suddenly shouted to her assistant, “Immediately contact Mr. Robert from AMC Theatres, Mr. Jin from Cinemark Theatres, and Mr. Gis from MTI Theatres. Tell them I want to personally discuss with them about the release plan for ‘Saw’.”
In the afternoon, over twenty people came, including several major theater chain executives and many small theater company owners, as well as some advertising businessmen.
Nancy Uttley wasted no time and said, “I don’t need to say much. I need more screens and advertising space.”
“Don’t waste time with me. I know you all will find a way. As long as ‘Saw’ is released, everyone here will make a lot of money.”
Robert from AMC Theatres looked troubled and said, “The summer screens are already full, and there are no spare screens. Unless we increase the number of screens significantly after September, AMC Theatres can’t do much.”
Nancy Uttley firmly said, “Not enough.”
“Far from enough.”
Everyone continued to negotiate and also made phone calls back to their companies.
More than three hours later, after night had fallen, these theater chain companies agreed to free up some screens, adding up to barely 650 screens for the first day of release. As long as the first week’s box office results were good, it was likely to continue to increase to over 1,000 screens in the following weeks.
The reason was simple: “Saw” was scheduled to be released on a Friday in the second-to-last week of August, with just over a week before the end of the summer season, and the quiet fall season would arrive after Labor Day in early September.
At that time, the number of screens freed up by theater companies would only increase.