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To get the adaptation rights, not only Murphy convinced Frank Miller, but Bill Roses also contacted Frank Miller's agent and lobbyed from the side, and the lobbying target was Frank Miller's comic editor.

In addition, Murphy's new project was submitted by Bill Roses to the top of AA. Just like all directors who have succeeded continuously, the project was supported by AA without much effort.

AA is also in contact with Miramax and Dark Horse Comics. As long as Frank Miller nods, he plans to promote this cooperation.

After meeting Frank Miller for the first time, Murphy then talked to him again, this time with a plan to further prove to Frank Miller that he could turn the original soul, beauty and the Phantom of Black and White into a movie.

Multi-pronged approach, especially Murphy's convincing short film, prompted Frank Miller to gradually change his original stubborn idea. A week after Murphy met him, Bill Roses received good news from Frank Miller's agent, and Frank Miller agreed in principle that Murphy would adapt "Sin City" into a movie.

This is definitely good news that excited Murphy, but it doesn't mean that he can easily get the comic adaptation rights.

Frank Miller nodded and agreed that it was a prerequisite for copyright transfer, but part of the copyright of the comic is in the hands of Dark Horse Comics. If you want to get the copyright, you have to negotiate with Dark Horse Comics. The negotiations also need to be brought into the other party, that is, a company that can invest in Murphy's new project.

The adaptation rights of this comic are definitely expensive, and there are also production costs. According to Murphy's estimate, it is impossible to complete the film if the production costs are less than 30 million US dollars. Neither he nor Stanton Studio have that much money. If they raise funds, their qualifications are too shallow, and it will inevitably distract him as a director.

Another point is that Murphy remembers that the film has a very high rating and the box office seems to be bad, but I don’t know how much it is.

No matter from any perspective, it is most appropriate to find a film company to invest. Otherwise, the financing and pre-sales alone will make him, the director, frustrated, and there is no time to prepare for the film.

Miramax, who has just successfully cooperated, is the most suitable partner.

But if you want to impress people like Miramax and Harvey Weinstein, you will definitely not be able to speak verbally and you must take practical actions.

AA is still in contact with Miramax, and Murphy also agreed that Bill Roses will continue to operate the project in a one-stop package service.

He himself hid in Stanton's studio and began to formulate a plan for the project.

During this period, Murphy and Harvey Weinstein talked several times. The other party was a veteran and expert in the film industry. He knew that it would definitely cost a lot of money to implement such a strange style comic adaptation, and the budget issue that he was most concerned about was also the budget issue.

Hollywood film companies are far less comfortable than they see and imagined. Like all commercial companies, they also want to trade the smallest investment for the greatest profit.

Murphy promised in his book to Frank Miller that every picture of the future movie can correspond to the original drawings in the comics. The movie wants to integrate black and white colors like a comic, not as simple as creating a "nostalgic style", but there are some more complex and subtle treatments.

This requires huge and complex special effects technology.

Just like the movie short film he shot before, simple black and white images are not easy to restore with film lenses, but with many other effects, it is almost impossible to restore the style of comics with regular lenses. The latest model of digital cameras is a necessary choice.

In reality, the visual and light effects in Frank Miller's works cannot be achieved. During shooting, the actors must be allowed to stand in a green screen background, framing the scene with the most advanced high-definition camera, and then the special effects department will add computer-generated comic patterns to the background.

These will push up the budget of the video.

If they want Miramax to invest, and if they want to spend real money to buy the copyright of "Sin City" from Dark Horse Comics and Frank Miller, and hand it over to their own shooting, Murphy needs to come up with a convincing plan and create a recognized film budget.

The former has made a very specific plan and only needs to be slightly improved, but the latter is even more important.

There is also a saying in Hollywood that a director is better at making a movie than doing a good job. Although this is a bit exaggerated, after a director has a script, he will undoubtedly add a lot of persuasiveness to the film company.

If a director goes to a film company with only one script and whispers how great his project is, 200% will be sent out directly.

Murphy knew that Harvey Weinstein must know that this project would not be able to play without tens of millions of dollars. Investing millions of dollars and investing tens of millions of dollars are definitely two different concepts. The former can at most cause Miramax to suffer some losses, while the latter can cause them to get hurt. If they are not done well, there is a possibility that the capital chain will break.

Miramax showed a relatively cautious attitude during his contact with AA, which is also a normal reaction for a company.

The investment this time is larger, Miramax is more cautious internally, and Murphy also needs to come up with a sufficiently convincing plan, and this also requires stronger professional abilities.

Under the coordination of Bill Rossis, AA found two interim assistant producers for Murphy to assist him in completing the plan.

Just like celebrity actors, a successful director also has the support of a whole team behind it.

Of all plans, a movie budget that allows Miramax to see where the money you invest in the future may be spent is crucial.

Anyone who wants others to invest in you must tell the investor where the money you invest should be spent and whether it is worth it.

This is the simplest truth.

Moreover, the film budget is the basis and important reference basis for film investment, and is also the prerequisite for film management and market-oriented operation. High-quality film budget is the guarantee of the smooth progress of film shooting, production and distribution, and is also a guarantee of the interests of investors.

It includes the cost of the video script, the cost of the video props, the cost of the video shooting, the compensation of the video participants, the cost of the video post-production, the cost of the video market promotion, and other additional costs, etc.

It took nearly ten days for Murphy to complete the budget with the assistance of two sufficiently professional people.

The production budget for "City of Sin" he formulated is mainly divided into four categories.

The first is online expenses. Online expenses mainly include the expenses of obtaining script copyright or writing scripts, the salaries of the production department and director, as well as the salary and additional remuneration of the actors; these expense items are also collectively referred to as "creative elements" expenses.

This part has a very large elasticity. In addition to being able to confirm that James Franco, Seth Logan, Jonah Hill, Robert Downey Jr. and Sienna Miller are participating, other actors need to wait for the project to be established before recruiting. The salary of the main creative team cannot be determined, and the possible range is also very large.

For example, if you want to find Bruce Willis, you may have to pay $5 million to $10 million more than an ordinary-level actor.

The second is offline expenses, mainly for technical expenses, which are also the expenses incurred for each video.

In the budget of Sin City, offline expenses include salary paid to staff, the cost of using rental equipment, sets, props, clothing, makeup, transportation, food, sound effects and editing expenses, etc.

The third is recurring expenses, which include some other aspects of rent and water, electricity and gas expenditures. Murphy specially planned 10% of the total online and offline budgets as recurring expenses. This money can deal with some matters that are easily overlooked but will seriously affect the overall production progress.

The last item is buffering and emergency funds. If the project is finally completed, it will be his first time directing a production worth tens of millions of dollars. Although he has enough confidence, Murphy knows that he lacks experience in this area and will definitely have unpredictable situations during shooting. This money may save the entire project at critical moments.

Although this is a budget with uncertain future, Murphy still took 120,000 points of seriousness, because if the budget is passed, Miramax will make a final budget based on this. The aspects he overlooked may eventually become a big hole dug for himself.

In addition to these, Murphy also listed a range of factors that will affect the budget.

First of all, the weather is the weather. A small number of shots will be taken outdoors. Climate and seasonal factors need to be taken into account. It may involve climate change and other climate changes that lead to the suspension or cancellation of the shooting plan, which will more or less affect the expenditure details in all aspects.

On the other hand, children are children. Nancy must use underage actors when she was a child, and children are famous for being uncontrollable shooting elements.

Most children find it difficult to keep their attention focused for a long time. They may lose interest in shooting or feel irritated by losing patience in a short period of time, which slows down the overall production progress and leads to additional cost loss and increased budget.

Similar to the saying on the other side of the Pacific Ocean, preparing to shoot a movie requires that the troops and horses should be used first before they can move their food and supplies. A reasonable budget must be an important guarantee for the shooting, production and distribution of a movie.

After completing these things, Murphy immediately asked AA to submit it to Miramax, and he himself frequently contacted Harvey Weinstein by phone. After AA and Miramax officially contacted Miramax, Miramax was also evaluating the risks and benefits of the project. He received Murphy's plan and budget and immediately pushed it into the review process.

Murphy waited patiently, and finally waited for good news without expectation. Miramax was sure to invest in this project.
Chapter completed!