A Chilling Filming Set

May 5, 1996.

As of today, Run Lola Run has been in North American theaters for a full month, with a cumulative box office of $15.375 million. Although North American theatrical films in the 90s generally followed a long-run release model—where they would continue to play in remote areas for two or three months as long as there was an audience—one shouldn't expect to rake in much more revenue.

$16 million is essentially the final box office projection for Run Lola Run in North America.

Consequently, several major Hollywood companies with overseas distribution qualifications took the initiative to contact Wald Pictures to purchase the international rights.

However, their offers were too low.

They didn't meet Zucker's expectations at all.

"Mr. Wald, you must understand that, generally speaking, overseas box office results are 1.5 times that of North America. Based on the performance of Run Lola Run in North America, the overseas box office will be at most $24 million. We at Paramount still have to invest a significant amount of manpower and resources, so a $2 million licensing fee is a very sincere price."

The person who said this was a contact from Paramount's distribution department.

In truth, logically speaking, this price did indeed align with market trends.

But others didn't know the overseas potential of Run Lola Run. Zucker, however, was a transmigrator; he knew that Run Lola Run had achieved over $100 million at the overseas box office. Even if Run Lola Run didn't have the boost of awards from the three major European film festivals as it did in the original timeline, and the overseas box office might not reach $100 million, even if you cut that in half, it would still be $50 million.

How could Zucker be content with selling it off cheaply for $2 million now?

As for the idea of getting a share of the overseas box office revenue? Don't even think about it! Do you think these big companies are charities?

"Thank you for Paramount's sincerity, but we still need to consider it. I hope you understand," CEO Victor politely declined.

Upon hearing this, the Paramount contact said with regret, "Very well. If your company makes a decision, please be sure to contact me."

Even if the deal doesn't go through, there's no need for hard feelings!

I have to say, this Paramount contact certainly had some skills.

There wasn't a hint of the arrogance typical of big companies in his words; on the contrary, his tone was as refreshing as a spring breeze.

"Boss, did you see that? This is the foundation of a major company. Even a random contact from their distribution department is a rare talent in Hollywood. If placed in any small company, they would be more than capable of serving as CEO," Victor said.

Zucker nodded.

Talent indeed!

The talent pool of large companies is truly terrifying!

Zucker found it hard to accept a $2 million overseas licensing fee, but he was helpless.

He didn't have his own overseas distribution network!

Oh, wait, even in North America, Wald didn't have a complete distribution network; currently, they could only influence the state of California.

Zucker gritted his teeth immediately: "Victor, I will inject another $3 million into the company later, including the first box office share sent over by the theaters. Use it all to build a distribution network in North America, whether by acquiring other companies or building it yourself. I don't care about the process; I only want results."

"Understood."

Victor nodded solemnly.

Without a complete distribution network, Wald Pictures would forever remain at the very bottom of the Hollywood food chain, existing only to be exploited. Take the big companies, for example: even if the films they produce every year lose money, they can still extract massive profits from small and medium-sized companies every year simply because their distribution networks are complete.

Companies with powerful distribution capabilities are the ones at the very top of the food chain!

The overseas rights for Run Lola Run are only worth $2 million?

Zucker gritted his teeth and sold them!

Not only that, Zucker sold the rights for Run Lola Run's DVDs, VHS tapes, television broadcasts, merchandise licensing, and more all in one go. He brought in $4.5 million.

Compared to its production cost of only $800,000, Wald Pictures could be said to have made a killing!

On the set of the film Hard Candy.

"All departments, get ready!"

I have to say, even though Zack Snyder was a first-time film director and lacked the deep directorial experience he would later have when filming Man of Steel, he still possessed remarkable directorial skills. He started right off the bat by filming the climax of the movie.

In his words: "At the beginning of filming, even though the actors and crew need to get used to each other because they are strangers, they are in their most energetic phase. If we can film the climax well, then everything else will be very easy to shoot."

Zucker also sat to the side, staring intently at the monitor in front of Zack.

"Please, please~!"

The actor playing the perverted male lead, Hulk—oh wait, it was Mark Ruffalo—was currently tied to a small bed, his pants removed, and ice cubes placed over his most sensitive area.

He was covered in cold sweat, and tears were streaming down his face uncontrollably.

This was a castration!

In contrast, the female lead wearing scrubs, Hailey—the young Black Widow—looked calm and innocent.

While handling a scalpel, she said: "I asked my friend if she wanted to castrate a man, and she made a disgusted sound, like I'd asked her to swallow a bug. Okay, you might feel a tug, because I'm going to tie it tight, okay? So, just bear with it."

"There, half done. Victory is in sight."

"Don't faint, don't faint, it'll be fine."

"Jeff, you know, some men go their whole lives with only one ball and do just fine, don't they? Of course, that's what I heard, but I think it's true. Hmm, I'll leave you one ball, so that doesn't count as punishing you. Don't faint, don't faint, Jeff, it'll be over soon. But, if I leave you one ball, you won't be able to walk straight, right?"

"You're about to enter a whole new world."

"Snip, okay, there. This was a very easy surgery, which is why I think girls should learn useful skills instead of camping or buying cookies. For the next eight or nine days, you'll face unprecedented pain. Oh, you might have to face taking out your own stitches; after all, you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of others. Oh, I'll introduce you to a website, Castration Q&A, it has everything you need."

"Oh right, should I leave you a souvenir? You don't need one? Then let me see how far this thing can bounce."

Thirteen-year-old Scarlett Johansson, with a tone as casual as asking "Have you eaten yet?", made every man present feel a sudden, icy chill in his lower regions.

Holy crap!

Zucker heard the crew members beside him whispering curses under their breath.

Man, that's castration!

Just hearing about it usually sends a shiver down one's spine, let alone witnessing it firsthand!

Zucker also stiffened all over.

Damn it, I'm not even the director anymore, but being a producer isn't a job for a human either!

Thankfully, this is just Hard Candy, not The Human Centipede.

That's right, Zucker's mind wandered, and he immediately thought of a future Hollywood cult film, The Human Centipede; by comparison, that was truly twisted!

Several young men and women are stripped, injected with anesthetics, and surgically connected to one another.

That's right, it's a story where, through surgery, the excretory organ of the person in front is stitched and sealed to the mouth of the person behind, and so on down the line. The person in front eats junk food, while the person behind can only consume the excrement (feces) of the person in front.

Now that is heavy stuff!

But even so, the castration scene in Hard Candy still made all the men break out in a cold sweat.

The filming over the next few days, just as Zack Snyder had predicted, went much more easily and smoothly now that the climax had been shot.

"As expected, a half-baked director like me really can't compare to the pros," Zucker couldn't help but sigh.

On May 12th, Zucker left the set and headed to Silicon Valley to attend an event.

Yes, it was an exchange event organized by Silicon Valley for both new and established internet companies.

Zucker naturally had to attend such an event; he might just stumble upon some valuable investment projects.

<> First update delivered.