Chapter 164: You Are Fired!!

[Chapter 164: You Are Fired!!]

"Are you saying... Ryan Rivers wrote this script???" Dawn kept checking for confirmation.

"That's right, absolutely," Julie nodded.

"Come on, don't kid yourself, that line might fool some brainless fans, but I'm not buying it," the content supervisor was the first to express doubt.

"I'm not making this up. Ryan personally dictated the entire script; I saw it with my own eyes. Though it might sound hard to explain ordinarily, every genius can't be understood in usual terms, right? Like Einstein and so on," Julie laughed.

It wasn't easy to convince others that Ryan wrote 2 Broke Girls. After all, there was a huge gap between electronic music and script writing.

"Then we need to reassess the commercial value of this series." Dawn immediately turned to the marketing head.

"We can leverage Ryan's name, promoting it as 'the debut scripted series by a genius musician.' Of course, Ryan must make guest appearances regularly; we'll have to create a role for him," the marketing head quickly stated.

If they could get a star to be part of the show, especially one with a bit of box office draw, the level of interest in the series would undoubtedly soar.

"But if we do that... the costs for the special airing rights will definitely go up, just keeping it real here," Julie reiterated Ryan's earlier comment.

"Do you think we can't afford it?" Dawn gave a slight smile.

"Of course not," Julie promptly denied.

....

Ryan returned the call sooner than expected.

"Yeah? They showed great interest. What? Aren't you considering it any further? I got it." Julie temporarily put the phone down and shook her head at everyone.

Dawn waved her hand, signaling her to pass the phone over.

"Hello, young man, I'm Dawn Ostroff. You can call me Dawn, and I'm the president of the CW network." Dawn introduced herself.

"Hello, Ms. Ostroff. I know you are quite interested, but..." Ryan Rivers's voice came from the other end.

"No, no, no, wait a minute, young man, let me finish. We are a television network, but we are also backed by Warner and CBS. The executives from both companies are right here, and I can let them talk to you. Ryan, you look great; I have to admit you're damn talented. I don't usually swear, sorry."

"I'm not in a rush, but you seem a bit anxious," Ryan chuckled on the line.

"Yeah... I might be a little hurried. I just want you to know we really need this show, and we really need you, very much," Dawn took a deep breath.

"So can you talk about the price?" Ryan asked.

"$750,000 per episode, which includes one premiere and one rerun. If the response is good, all subsequent reruns will come with additional fees. This is the highest budget we've allocated for a sitcom's first season."

"This is exactly why I don't want to work with you. You've never aired a popular sitcom; do you know how much money I make from my nightclub in a day?"

"Nightclubs rely on cash flow, but television shows depend on long-term revenue. I think Julie has made that abundantly clear. What I'm talking about is just the season one budget and only for one airing. I'm confident that this show can bring you returns that might equal what your nightclub does," Dawn reassured him.

The production cost of a sitcom is very transparent: fixed scenery, indoor shoots, a small cast -- production costs usually range from $500,000 to $1.5 million per episode.

However, the costs increase with each season because the pay for actors rises with each contract renewal, and other core positions see similar increases. Take Friends as an example; the early episodes cost no more than $1.5 million each, but in later seasons, the cost per episode skyrocketed to $5 million.

In other words, the price Dawn quoted was already pretty high; the network didn't have an obligation to shoulder all the costs.

"Sorry, I'm more short-sighted and care more about immediate benefits. If you want me to make a guest appearance, that will certainly raise costs," Ryan pointed out.

"Okay, let's settle on payments for one episode at $300,000 for your appearance and raise the fee for each subsequent season," Dawn suggested.

"Not just me, but also Taylor Swift Rivers and other celebrities like Paris Hilton; I think we should include those in the production costs," Ryan replied. "$1.2 million per episode -- this is my bottom line."

"$1 million -- this is the maximum I can offer. If it's any higher, you'll have to negotiate with the top brass at Warner and CBS."

"Alright, I'll get in touch with CBS..."

"Forget it; let's go with $1.2 million per episode. However, with this high cost, we do have extra requirements for our ratings. I'll start by ordering five episodes, and we'll see how it goes after that."

"Start with the first five episodes... fine, hand the phone back to Julie," Ryan instructed. Julie took back the call.

"Yes, there is a rule like that; in fact, most series aren't ordered for a full season unless unless they lead in the ratings," Julie informed Ryan.

After a bit more discussion, Julie hung up the phone.

...

"Ryan has nodded in agreement. The contract can be signed today." Julie sighed with relief. The negotiation for 2 Broke Girls was successful, which meant there was a good chance her other project, The Vampire Diaries, would also go through.

"Order the first three episodes of The Vampire Diaries and see how it goes for the rest," Dawn calculated carefully.

In reality, the network's annual profits were directly tied to her bonus, so she had to be meticulous.

...

$6 million in hand! Ryan hung up the phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

From then on, filming wouldn't require set builds, so costs would only go down. As for guest appearances, they are just guest appearances, so why should they be paid? In other words, future production costs could be very low -- in this $6 million, he'd clear at least half, moreover, this is only the first broadcast, and every rerun afterwards can earn profits!

"Where did we leave off?" Ryan looked up at the two secretaries standing before him.

"She hit me first," Teresa slowly spoke. Her collar showed signs of tearing, missing several buttons, her sleeves were ripped, her hair was a mess, blood smeared the corner of her mouth where her lip was split, and her eyes bore a bruise; her bra strap had been yanked apart in the scuffle, and she was left in a rather compromising state.

"She insulted me first!" Tyran said through gritted teeth. Her injuries were far less severe than Teresa's, but she had visible scratches on her face and her tights were torn in several places.

Ryan had just returned to Florida and waited half the day at the airport without a ride coming for him. By the time he took a cab back to the Bed Room, as soon as he stepped off the elevator, he heard screams, soon followed by two secretaries wrestling in the office -- pulling hair, ripping clothes, biting, scratching, it was a chaotic scene.

"How did she disrespect you? Tell me," Ryan pressed.

"She looked down on me, acting like she owned the place because you favored her. She paid no attention to what I had to say and even called me a whore," Tyran fumed.

"It was you who first said I was the one acting like a bitch," Teresa shot back coldly.

"Shut up, you bitch!"

"Do you want to fight?" Teresa yelled.

"Alright, alright, Tyran, you were the first to throw a punch, right?" Ryan squinted at her.

"She ignored me first!" Tyran insisted.

"Teresa, was she wrong about that?" Ryan turned to Teresa.

Teresa remained silent.

"I'm canceling your bonus for this month, now go back to your office," Ryan directed Teresa to leave.

"That's the way to go! You should've put her in her place a long time ago. She's been riding your coattails, doing nothing!" Tyran began complaining the moment Teresa left.

Ryan didn't reply but pulled a brand new contract from his drawer and tossed it at Tyran.

"What's this?"

"A non-disclosure agreement. Tyran, thank you for your contributions to the record label... I'm temporarily moving you to a marginal position."

Her jealousy was too strong; if he didn't kick her out now, it would lead to larger issues later. Rivalries like that weren't worth the trouble, but Ryan also didn't want to cut her off entirely.

Tyran stood in shock for a few seconds before coldly laughing, "Oh, so you're just going to toss me aside when you're done, huh?"

"I just want you to take a break. If you come to your senses, you can come back anytime," Ryan responded.

"Come back? Will there even be a position for me then? Do you honestly believe what you're saying? You're just going to get rid of me like this? Fine, since you're so heartless, don't blame me for being ruthless!" Tyran turned on her heel and stormed out of the office.

*****

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