After Simon's narration, Robert De Niro felt a sudden enlightenment.
Compared to the memorable films or characters in film history, the young man in front of him seemed more ambitious.
He wanted to create a complete fictional world; he wanted the audience to believe that everyone in this world was vividly alive; he wanted to subtly draw the audience's attention into this world through an unconventional plot structure, incessant dialogue, and incredibly rich details.
It's conceivable that if this goal were achieved, who would dare to say that this film wouldn't become a classic in film history?
Robert De Niro had already experienced his most glorious years. Films like 'The Godfather', 'Taxi Driver', 'The Deer Hunter', and 'Raging Bull' had brought him many honours. He originally thought it would be difficult for any film in this world to pique his interest much.
But at this moment, the ambitious work of the young man before him reignited his desire to perform.
Moreover, as a quintessential method actor, Robert De Niro also realized that the character of Butch Coolidge would definitely be a very interesting challenge for him.
Butch Coolidge was a fictional character from an absurd world. To build this character, he couldn't drive a taxi like he did when preparing for 'Taxi Driver', nor could he box like he did for 'Raging Bull'. In fact, he not only had to construct such a character out of thin air but also needed to fully believe that he lived in an absurd world like 'Pulp Fiction'.
Pondering these thoughts, once Robert Redford's figure disappeared, Robert De Niro no longer hesitated and directly said, "Simon, let's talk about the salary".
Simon quickly replied, "A base salary of $2 million, plus 15% of the net profit from North American box office. Bob, 'Pulp Fiction' only has a budget of $8 million, so this is the highest offer I can make".
Robert De Niro didn't hide his feelings, shaking his head and saying, "It's a bit low."
Over the years, although his box office performance ranked last among the four leading male actors of his time, due to his incredibly solid star power, De Niro's salary started at least $3 million, and the budget for films he starred in rarely fell below $10 million.
For example, 'Angel Heart', released concurrently with Warner's 'Lethal Weapon', had a production cost of $17 million.
As for profit sharing, due to Hollywood's unique accounting system, which makes it very difficult for films to show a profit on paper, current stars usually treat such promises as empty checks.
Simon, from 'Run Lola Run' to 'Final Destination' and 'Pulp Fiction', has insisted on direct box office percentage splits to avoid the 'Hollywood accounting' as much as possible.
Hearing De Niro's reply, Simon earnestly explained, "Bob, this time the net profit sharing is calculated as follows: Orion and the theatres split fifty-fifty, they will only deduct 15% for marketing and distribution costs. The remaining 35% of the total North American box office, minus the $8 million production budget, serves as the net profit sharing base, from which you will receive 15%. According to this sharing formula, if 'Pulp Fiction' reaches $50 million at the box office, your total salary will reach $3.5 million. 'Run Lola Run' is expected to gross over $200 million in North America. I can't guarantee my next film will be as successful, but I imagine $50 million will definitely not be a problem".
Robert De Niro still shook his head slightly, saying, "Simon, according to this formula, if 'Pulp Fiction' grosses $100 million in North America, I'll only get $6 million."
Simon said earnestly, "This might sound presumptuous, but, Bob, you really need a successful film right now. So, if 'Pulp Fiction' is truly fortunate enough to reach $100 million at the North American box office, you'll actually gain far more than just a $6 million salary".
Robert De Niro finally fell silent.
His most recent films, this year's 'Angel Heart', with a production cost of $17 million, is nearing the end of its run, with a North American box office of only just over $14 million; last year's 'The Mission', with a $25 million production budget, had a North American box office of $17.21 million. Even earlier, 'Once Upon a Time in America', with a production cost of $30 million, only grossed $5.32 million in North America.
It can be said that since the 1980s, none of the films he starred in had a North American box office exceeding $20 million, yet the production budgets for these films were all at the blockbuster level of tens of millions of dollars.
Hollywood is very realistic. No matter how high the star power, no matter how many Oscars, if you can't bring profit to the studio, you are destined to be discarded.
In fact, before this meeting, Robert De Niro had already suffered a setback.
He was interested in a project Fox was preparing, called 'Big'.
Director Penny Marshall also hoped he would play the male lead and actively recommended him to the studio. However, due to his increasingly lacklustre box office performance over the years, although Fox was interested in casting him, the salary offered was even more stingy than Simon's recent terms.
Now, that role had gone to a rising star named Tom Hanks.
Undoubtedly, Robert understood that he was indeed in an awkward situation where he desperately needed a hit movie to prove his box office appeal.
After a moment of thought, Robert De Niro finally made a decision, stood up, extended his hand to Simon, and said, "Well then, Simon, I hope we have a pleasant collaboration".
Simon also stood up, shook hands with Robert De Niro, and said with a smile, "Pleasant collaboration".
With Robert De Niro secured, both heavyweight actors planned for 'Pulp Fiction' were in place.
Before this, Amy had already negotiated with John Travolta.
After 'Grease', the North American box office champion of 1978, John Travolta was truly in the limelight for a few years. But the disadvantage of teenage stars having shallow roots and fading quickly soon became apparent. After the box office failure of 'Perfect', which had a production cost of $20 million two years ago, the 33-year-old Travolta even went to star in a TV movie last year to try and transition his career.
Therefore, after some contact, Travolta quickly accepted the terms of $1 million plus 5% of the net profit from the North American box office.
Similar to 'Final Destination', 'Pulp Fiction' was still fully controlled by Daenerys Pictures, with Orion only responsible for investment and distribution. In addition to the $8 million budget, Orion also gave Simon a total of 20% of the net profit share to attract talent.
Having secured Travolta and De Niro, Simon had already committed $3 million in salaries and all of the net profit sharing allocation.
According to the preliminary budget, offline costs for venue and equipment rental and crew salaries would require at least $3 million. For the other characters in the film, Simon only had $2 million left.
Although there were many characters, this amount, carefully budgeted, was actually sufficient.
Robert Redford's agreement to cameo as Mr. Wolf, however, introduced some new variables.
Unlike Travolta and De Niro, who were in a career slump, Robert Redford was definitely a top-tier male star who could confidently command a salary of over $5 million. Even for a cameo, Simon couldn't be too stingy.
This matter would definitely have to be discussed with Orion next week.
Simon continued to discuss some details with De Niro, and then the two left the villa and went to the party in the courtyard.