Chapter 48: Persuasion
[Chapter 48: Persuasion]
The next morning at breakfast, Amy neatly placed the newspaper on the dining table and reminded Linton, "Sir, you and Miss Watts made the newspaper today."
Linton picked up the top newspaper, the Hollywood Entertainment News, whose front-page headline read, "Popular Singer Linton Keeps a Secret Lover, Moves into Mansion with New Flame."
Sure enough, Naomi hadn't avoided the paparazzi's eyes when she entered Linton Estate yesterday. There was even a photo of Naomi stepping out of a car on the estate. Linton handed the paper to Naomi and said, "You better discuss with your agent whether this is a problem. When you go out later, paparazzi will definitely ask questions. You need to prepare your answers."
Actually, Naomi was mentally prepared. After discussing with her agent, she told Linton, "I'm fine with this. Just say I was visiting an old friend, and don't answer anything else. If the paparazzi want to stir rumors, let them. Gossip about you and me can boost my fame and won't hurt you, right?"
"I have no problem with it either. I'll call Mira later and make sure we stick to the same story," Linton said.
Linton was no longer bothered by gossip news. It could boost his popularity and also fulfilled Daniel's requirement for keeping media exposure.
"Naomi, my security team will be ready today. When you have time, you can pick your favorite car. I had one bought already. Next time if you don't want to be disturbed by paparazzi, the security can pick you up in the new car."
Naomi left after breakfast.
---
At 9 a.m., Goodman brought in four new security personnel to the estate: Hayden Coleman, David Reid, Sandy Glick, and Gully Gott had completed their onboarding.
Today officially marked their first day on the job. Linton handed over scheduling and duties to Danny, finally feeling relieved about security at Linton Estate.
---
Soon after, Mira arrived with two script doctors: a white man in his thirties and a black man in his forties.
After signing NDA agreements, Linton handed over two copies of the full script. After reading, the white script doctor said, "This script is already very complete."
"Yeah, the logic is tight, with good callbacks. It's a rare quality script," the black script doctor nodded.
Mira's eyes lit up, gaining more confidence.
"Today I didn't bring you just to discuss the overall script. Two things: first, I feel some dialogue lacks life and humor; second, it's missing some street vibe. This, after all, is a street dance movie, and I lack real life experience. So I'd like your help to polish these points."
"No problem, we'll take the job," the two script doctors exchanged glances and nodded.
Then, Mira negotiated payment with the script doctors -- $3,000 each, no credit, but the results must satisfy Linton. They began revising at Linton Estate, signing their contracts with Goodman's assistance.
This generous pay motivated them greatly. They quickly divided the work and started in the office.
---
At 2:45 p.m., Danny accompanied Linton to a quiet corner at Sunshine Cafe on Hollywood Boulevard. Linton ordered a coffee and quietly awaited Robert.
At 3 p.m., a sturdy white man in his thirties, dressed sharply in suit and tie, approached. He carried an air of calm charm.
"I'm Robert Lewis. Are you Mr. Anderson?"
"Call me Linton, Mr. Lewis," Linton stood and shook his hand. "Want some coffee?"
"Coffee sounds great. You can call me Robert. We're both students of Mr. McKay. He called me last night."
After ordering coffee for Robert, Linton said, "I visited the school yesterday to see the professor. He had nothing but praise for you."
"It was just the professor's compliment. Compared to you, I'm nothing. You graduated less than a year ago, and you're already a superstar icon."
They exchanged compliments and the conversation warmed, gradually shifting from school to Hollywood.
"Linton, I heard from the professor you want to make your own film?"
"Yes. I studied directing in school. I recently wrote a script and really want to shoot it. Can you take a look?"
He handed Robert the script for Step Up.
"The script is well-written, but have you assessed the market prospects?" Robert asked after careful reading.
"I did. It's a youth musical idol film targeting teenagers. As long as the leads are good-looking and the songs and dances are captivating, it will attract young audiences to theaters. I conservatively estimate $40 million box office."
"That's optimistic. Ever since the '80s films Breakin' and Flashdance, musical films have been made, but their box office results were disappointing, and audiences are tired of them."
"I know pure musicals don't do well now. But this film isn't just a musical -- it's about chasing dreams, love, and inspiration. It will connect emotionally with viewers. Frankly, Hollywood musicals lately have been old-fashioned and fail to attract viewers. I want to blend modern dance styles into the musical to please the youth audience."
"That makes sense. Hollywood musical films do need change. Your film does have unique selling points. Judging by the script, there are no big scenes or special effects. The highest cost is probably talent fees. If total investment is controlled, the chances of loss are low." Robert usually considered risks first.
"From your professional view, how much investment is needed?"
"A rough estimate: no big scenes or effects, only top-tier choreographers and music needed. Lighting, cinematography, costumes can be mid-level. Production costs can be kept under $4.5 million.
Then the director and cast fees. Hiring famous directors and stars will be costly.
But this film doesn't require a famous director. With you as the male lead and a recently popular female lead, costs can be controlled under $2.5 million.
However, with many extras and dancers, that will cost around $2.5 million. So overall under $10 million."
"That's close to my estimate. I plan to invest $10 million, directing and starring myself, also handling the music. That saves money on director and soundtrack, allowing more for production to improve quality."
"What? You'll direct and star yourself?"
"Yes."
"You only made student shorts before?"
"Yes, but I got A+ for my shorts at school."
"That's just school grades. Also, have you worked as assistant director or anything else on sets?"
"Does making music videos count?"
"That's your own song's video, right?"
"Yes."
"Linton, your look fits the male lead and will attract fans to theaters. But as a director, investors won't risk such a big investment on you."
"No problem. If I can't find investors, I'll self-finance. I can afford $10 million."
"It's not about money. You've never directed before or worked in related fields. How will you ensure the crew works well and you deliver a high-quality film?"
"I don't have a good answer, but I'm confident. You can watch the music video for Sugar; most of the shots were directed by me. And my investment is for me to make a film."
"You know there's an unspoken rule in Hollywood?"
"What?"
"Directors never use their own money."
"I know, it's because of the huge risks, but I'm confident this film will succeed."
Robert thought Linton was just wealthy and didn't care about losses, but couldn't say that openly. Instead, he continued cautiously.
"The worry is if you don't command respect on set, it'll get out of control; costume, lighting, actors will slack off. The film will be poor quality; distributors will lose interest. The film will flop, and your investment will be wasted."
"No worries. I'm confident I can manage the crew. Besides, as they say, he who pays the bills is boss. If someone disrespects me, I can just remove them. Plus, there's a producer overseeing things."
Robert hesitated. Running a commercial film with over $10 million investment alone was tempting, but as a producer, his reputation and salary depended on past film successes.
If this film succeeded, all would be well. But if it failed, his reputation and future projects would suffer. Based on current info, failure seemed more likely.
"Here's a deal, Robert -- if you're the producer, I'll pay you $500,000."
This stunned him. On his last film as executive producer, he was paid only $200,000. His earlier independent arthouse films brought less than $150,000. $500,000 was an extraordinary sum. He couldn't refuse, out of loyalty to their mentor and himself.
*****
https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.