Chapter 109: New Company, New Atmosphere
[Chapter 109: New Company, New Atmosphere]
Ten minutes later, Robert walked into Linton's office.
"Zack and Anne left?" Linton asked first.
"They both copied the screenplay for Step Up 2 and left. Boss, how did you talk to them? At first, it seemed like they were enemies, always on guard against each other. But now, they're joking and chatting like old friends? That doesn't make sense."
"Nothing surprising. I asked them to storyboard based on the script and make shooting plans. Whoever does it better gets the job."
"Isn't that still outright competition? How did it turn into friendly chatter? That makes no sense."
"I added a clause: if the losing candidate's plan satisfies me, I might entrust them to direct The Shallows."
"Ah, so there's a fallback clause. No wonder. But boss, you really believe in both of them. They've only worked with you on one movie, and in our film industry terms, both are still rookies as directors."
"You might not have noticed, but while filming Step Up, I carefully observed both of them. They both have natural directing talent, are very insightful, and have been studying hard from start to finish - real promising director prospects. But whether they can independently direct a good movie will depend on their performance now."
"Boss, you are impressive. You directed and starred in Step Up, and still managed to keep a keen eye on the people around you. That's not something ordinary people can do. That's the difference between a genius and everyone else," Robert flattered.
"No need for flattery. Tell me about the progress with the new company."
"Everything is progressing smoothly. The new office is under renovation and should be finished in about three days. The office furniture and equipment have been ordered. Once the renovation is done here, they'll be delivered within five days, and then we can officially operate."
"What about post-production equipment?"
"That's already ordered too, but it won't start arriving for about a month."
"How's the hiring going?"
"The production team is basically assembled. They all have more than two years of experience, and half of them graduated from the University of Southern California's film and television school."
"Any outstanding producers?"
"I found three. All have been graduated from our school for over ten years. They've all worked as executive producers on major commercial productions. After learning about our company, they are eager to join, just waiting for your interview."
"Good, schedule it for this afternoon. How about the other staff - writers, finance, office?"
"All hired. We narrowed down three candidates for office manager. You'll need to make the final decision."
"Schedule all for this afternoon, interview together. Notify Goodman. The panel will be the three of us. Let's have the interview in the small conference room here."
"Got it. I'll arrange it immediately."
"Also, notify the writers to come in tomorrow morning for a script discussion on Step Up 2."
"Okay."
...
In the afternoon, Linton, Robert, and Goodman formed the interview panel for three producer candidates.
All three graduated about ten years ago from USC's film and television production program. They were about 30, in their prime, all with continuous producing experience since graduation, starting from entry-level production work, finally serving as executive producers on major commercial projects.
All three candidates were white males named Kenneth Talley, Blake Hans, and Frank Slater.
Through the Step Up production, Linton gained a clear understanding of a producer's role. He asked them about challenges faced during production. Their solutions were practical and showed experience and ability. He approved all of them.
...
Next, they interviewed candidates for office manager and selected a white woman named Megan Oster, 28, above average looking, smart and capable, with strong communication skills. She previously worked in the administration department at MGM Studios.
After the interviews, Linton asked Goodman to expedite their onboarding so they could start working soon.
---
The next morning, Linton and Robert gathered the three new writers, producer Frank, and Zack and Anne to discuss the Step Up 2 script.
Among the three writers, there were two white males and one black female, a great combination to cover various scenes well.
Thanks to Robert's recommendation, Linton planned to have Frank as the producer for Step Up 2 while he himself would serve as co-producer.
...
Step Up 2's story was still set at the Maryland School of Arts, but the plot and characters were entirely different from the first film.
The story followed Andie, a rebellious dancer and member of Baltimore's most prestigious dance troupe, 410. She got a chance to study at Maryland School of Arts but struggled to fit in. She also drifted apart from her 410 friends. Unwilling to give up, Andie decided to prove herself with strength. She gathered members from her class, including the school's most charismatic dancer, Chase, to form a new dance group.
When they learned about an underground street dance competition called "The Streets" in Baltimore, they eagerly set out to compete, only to find their opponents were none other than the 410 troupe.
After a real showdown, Andie reclaimed her dream and won back her place in both worlds.
...
Linton had already written the complete script, but like the first film, he lacked real-life experience and knowledge of grassroots life. He needed professional writers to help improve the street life and dialogue.
The seven discussed the script. It was already well-written, just needing polish to be more authentic to the community and street dance lifestyle, and to refine the dialogues. The three writers would collaborate, and it would take about three days to finalize the script.
...
At the end, Linton told Zack and Anne, "Universal will film two music videos for me in early October. The crew might come to you. My suggestion is to focus on preparing the storyboards and shooting plans for Step Up 2 and not get distracted by worrying about any gratitude."
They were thrilled and thanked Linton for his generosity.
---
The next day, Linton took Goodman to the charity foundation office to hear from investment assistant Winnie and auditor Edward about the organizational structure and position needs for Linton Property Management.
After Edward's on-site survey of seven Silicon Valley properties, considering that each office building's property management was outsourced to professional companies, he proposed setting up four departments: General Affairs (3 people), Finance (3 people), Operations Management (15 people), and Quality Management (3 people). Property management roles would be considered later when contracts expired.
The General Affairs and Finance departments would have standard responsibilities. Operations Management would focus on increasing office rental occupancy, timely rent collection, with two staff per building, totaling 15 positions.
Quality Management would oversee the company's quality management system, supervise service quality of seven office properties, evaluate tenant satisfaction, handle customer complaints, and manage client relationships, with three people.
The property management office was planned to be located in the basement of Linton Tech Park. Edward also created an office layout and renovation budget.
After explaining his reasons and answering questions from Linton, Goodman, and Winnie, all agreed on Edward's plan.
Linton asked Goodman to issue recruitment announcements. Edward, Goodman, and Winnie would form a hiring team to quickly fill positions. They approved Edward's office renovation budget and instructed the property management company to begin work as soon as possible.
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