Chapter 55 Castle Rock

In North Hollywood, on Burbank Boulevard, Arthur and his agent Tracy Jacobs visited a nearby cafe after inspecting the renovations at Galaxy Films.

"Deducting taxes actually costs thousands of dollars," Arthur looked at the bill in his hand. He had an income of over 800,000 dollars last year and paid quite a bit in taxes!

"I heard President Bush is going to raise taxes. He'll probably propose it this year," Tracy Jacobs reminded him.

Arthur shook his head, "It's okay. Bush is a Republican, so Reagan's low-tax policies will still be in effect. If he raises them, it won't be by much. The top personal income tax rate is 28%. Even if it goes up, it will only be around 30%. When the Democrats come to power, that's when the real tax hikes will occur. The highest tax rate could exceed 40%!"

Tracy laughed, "You can run the numbers through Galaxy Films now."

Arthur frowned, "With this annual income, it doesn't make much sense," he sighed.

"Is the filming of Sleeping with the Enemy going smoothly?" Tracy inquired.

"Pretty smoothly. That guy Brad Pitt is not bad. I have high hopes for him. Aside from being a bit of a playboy, he's quite talented at acting," Arthur suddenly started talking about Brad Pitt, a supporting actor in Sleeping with the Enemy.

"He's been around for a few years now, so he's not exactly a newcomer. He has his own dedicated agent, so I can't poach him," Tracy knew Arthur was hinting at something. But there are so many young actors like him in Hollywood, it's up to luck.

Arthur took a sip of coffee, "Castle Rock seems to be interested in The Silence of the Lambs. You'll probably need to approach them first. Moreover, I plan to use the distribution contract for The Silence of the Lambs to get a bank loan. ITA should have a list of banks that handle these kinds of deals."

Tracy knew Arthur had always wanted to develop his own projects. Unexpectedly, it might come to fruition this year.

"I'll contact Castle Rock. There are many banks and funds that deal with film investments. Japanese banks might be more willing to offer loans!"

Arthur nodded. In the 1980s, most external hot money in Hollywood came from Japan.

The world's second-largest economy truly had some might.

"By the way, are you still taking on roles?" Tracy asked.

Arthur was surprised, "We'll see. Acting and producing are both options. My producer salary for Sleeping with the Enemy is 150,000 dollars, plus performance bonuses if the movie does well. Not bad."

"Even if I continue developing The Silence of the Lambs, there's still time. I could take supporting roles or produce other movies if the opportunity arises."

However, different producers have varying salaries. The more responsibilities they have, the more power they hold, and, consequently, the higher their pay.

But it's only April. The Silence of the Lambs will certainly be released next year. Arthur couldn't just take a few months off in a row.

As time passed, by late April, the crew of Sleeping with the Enemy left Iowa and returned to Los Angeles to continue filming.

Most of the scenes featuring Brad Pitt, who played the male supporting role, were in Iowa. In Los Angeles, the focus was on the lead actors Hugh Grant and Meg Ryan.

Of course, Arthur's supporting role also had two or three scenes here.

In a beach house in Malibu, Hugh Grant's character violently beat Meg Ryan's character, who lay on the ground, and then remorsefully comforted the bruised Meg Ryan!

"Cut! Excellent!" Director Joseph Ruben was quite pleased with this scene. Hugh Grant hurriedly helped Meg Ryan off the ground.

"My character truly has a bit of a psychotic streak," Hugh Grant had to constantly switch between two personas.

Meg Ryan laughed, "I find your character quite interesting, sometimes violent and other times gentle!"

Hugh Grant nodded. This role indeed demanded some acting skills.

After Meg Ryan went to her dressing room to rest, Hugh Grant found Arthur Smith, who had just changed his clothes.

"Arthur, are you leaving?"

"My scenes for today are done. There's only one sea scene left, which we'll shoot next Monday evening," Arthur replied with a smile. "Are you thinking of asking me to take you to a nightclub?"

Hugh Grant shook his head, "I want to treat you to dinner tonight. Hurley has arrived in LA!"

"Visiting the set?"

"Yeah, there was no need for her to visit in Iowa, but LA is different."

"Alright, see you tonight."

"Don't forget to bring a date!" Hugh Grant reminded.

"I know," Arthur responded. Winona Ryder was still in Los Angeles and would leave early next month.

However, Arthur had to go to Castle Rock to discuss the investment for The Silence of the Lambs.

After Tracy contacted them, the box office for Sleepless in Seattle kept rising. A month after its release, the North American box office exceeded 80 million dollars, and it was certain to surpass 100 million!

At the same time, Castle Rock paid Arthur 500,000 dollars for the screenplay, as per the contract.

This was timely for Arthur, who had just paid taxes and formed Galaxy Films, leaving him with less than 200,000 dollars in hand.

The next bonus would likely be paid after Sleepless in Seattle finished its run.

"Congratulations, Arthur," Castle Rock's head, Alan Horn, was much warmer this time.

Arthur smiled, "Castle Rock should be congratulated for developing another great movie. Last year it was When Harry Met Sally..., and this year you have Sleepless in Seattle!"

Alan Horn knew the topic, so there was no beating around the bush. "Castle Rock is indeed interested in your The Silence of the Lambs. Your production budget is 20 million dollars. Castle Rock will invest 10 million for half of the rights. What do you think?"

"Mr. Horn, The Silence of the Lambs stars Jodie Foster. I have great confidence in this project," Arthur refused. "I've painstakingly put this together. Do you think I'll sell half for the original price? I can only give up half of the North American rights for 10 million dollars," Arthur's price wasn't high but fit the situation since Castle Rock needed to provide upfront development funds.

This covers half of the North American theater screenings, videotape, and TV broadcasting rights!

"Arthur, Orion only paid 5 million dollars for the North American distribution rights?"

"Orion didn't invest much, but the screenplay was originally theirs..."

After a heated negotiation, Castle Rock agreed to pay 9 million dollars for half of the North American rights to The Silence of the Lambs.

After deducting cinema shares and Orion's distribution commission, The Silence of the Lambs only needed to reach a 50 million dollar North American box office for Castle Rock to break even, plus the additional income from videotapes and TV rights...

*****

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