A common theme at The 463 is how new technologies are bringing big industries together and how this results in simultaneous deal-making and knee-breaking.
Case in point, there is a fascinating story today in the New York Times about what happened to Microsoft when the tried to extract unprecedented terms when looking for a studio partner to produce the movie version of their video game "Halo". An excerpt of the piece:
Even studio executives, known for their lavish spending, winced at Microsoft's demands, including a $10 million upfront fee for rights, approval over the cast and director, and 60 first-class plane tickets for Microsoft representatives and their guests to the movie's premiere.
As a result, the auction Microsoft had hoped for never materialized. Within 24 hours of reading the script, based on the game about an alien universe, five studios dropped out of the bidding, including DreamWorks SKG and Paramount Pictures. The two that remained, 20th Century Fox and Universal Pictures, balked at the price.
But in the end, after intense negotiations, Microsoft and Creative Artists have negotiated a deal, although it is not yet final. The intense, high-stakes talks that got them there indicate just how big the video game business has grown - and how attuned to its power Hollywood studios have become.
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