August 14th, 1979
"Yes, Mr. Harper, we would absolutely LOVE to have you on board with us. Your latest movie, "Alien," was just a wonder to watch. Our studio loved it, everyone here was awe-struck at the originality of the movie. so being able to get started on your next work would be a dream come true."
James was having a meeting with who he assumed to be part of the management of the company. His name was Edward Plague. Although, it didn't seem that he had anything to do with the production, and he was more of the PR or paperwork side of the company. James said this because when he asked him a more in-depth question about the VFX, he didn't seem to understand what he meant.
This was worrying for James because it was the most important reason for choosing this company.
As he was contemplating how to respond to him, he heard footsteps outside the door, followed by three knocks.
*Knock knock knock*
"John, please."
Just as soon as Edward heard the knocks, he already looked up with a look of displeasure on his face. Although, for some reason, the person on the other end of the door took that as a sign to come in.
"Who's this?"
A man with a bizarre, but intense-looking face came in. His eyes were incredibly open as if someone put tape above his eyes to keep them that way.
As soon as he heard the question the man took out a cigarette, seemingly already forgetting what was asked.
"Dammit, John, you can't smoke in here," Edward said, clearly fed up.
"It's fine."
"*Sigh* -Well, what do you want?"
"I'm just looking for our posterboy, this is him, right? The screenwriter?"
"Yes, and we are in the middle of an important business meeting."
"Well, why wasn't I invited? And why are you here? You know James, this guy is just part of management, I'm the one you want to be talking to."
"John, get out."
"James, you just remember me, alright? I've actually got stuff to do, but if you sign with us, it's me you're gonna be working with, not Edward, alright?"
John left just as fast as he entered, leaving Edward in a foul mood. Edward was seemingly contemplating how to explain what just happened to James. He was thinking of a suitable excuse and trying to figure out how to still make him sign the contract.
"What was that?" James asked
"Mr. Harper," Edward paused for a moment before saying:
"Well, how do I explain this? That man, well, he is in charge of most of the production. There are various roles in this company and he happens to be responsible for the oversight on set and making sure everything runs smoothly during the making of the movie.
He is very good at his job as well, but recently there has been some change of ownership within the company. This has made many people worried about their job, but some people have taken it as an opportunity to get even more power within the company. This is there are currently vacant positions on the board and someone like John would actually have a good chance at making it."
James took a second to process this.
"I see..."
"BUT, there is nothing you have to worry about Mr. Harper, it will have ZERO effect on our ability to portray your movie to the best of our abilities. If anything, people will be trying even harder to get everything right and put in the extra effort to make it look great! I promise you, you will face nothing but professionalism here at the company."
"Well, thank you for the meeting, I'll be sure to talk to my agent about this, and we will let you know," James said as he picked up his comic and started to walk out."
"Wait! Actually, we prepared another contract. This one, I think will be a little more favorable than the last. Take it with you, make sure your agent sees it."
James quickly flipped to the salary portion of it and became very surprised.
"Wow."
"Yes, we are prepared to compensate you heavily for your work, and IF the project goes well, we shall also increase your overall salary. I hope this proves to be satisfactory and that we can work together shortly," Edward says as he leads James to the door and shakes his hand.
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"So, what do you think?"
"You have to sign this contract right now James. These are insane numbers, especially for a rookie. There is no way they should be paying you this. I mean this is ridiculous. What in the world are they thinking?! I mean, your idea is very good, but..."
His agent looks at James' unamused face and backtracks a little.
"Well, I mean, your last movie has been doing really well, it's at what $70 million now? With ONLY a $10 million budget? AND it's going to well pass over $110 million? I can definitely understand why they value you so highly, if anything they are UNDER paying you!"
"Oh, really, should I ask for more then?"
"Absolutely not! Just sign right here. Are you crazy? Take this pen," His agent takes his pen out of his jacket pocket and presents it to James.
James thinks for a bit, looks at his lawyer, and asks him if there is anything wrong.
"No worries. It'll still be your intellectual property and they can't cause legal complications unless you back out of the deal. You don't even have to work on the movie if you don't want to, you're just giving them the licensing right for one movie, the one portrayed in the comic and in your script."
"...Alright, fuck it."
James had officially signed his first $500,000 deal for one of his screenplays. He also got a 3% box office deal. James was officially one of the happiest men in the world right now.
"Wow... what the hell is my life," James thought out loud
"You're an enviable bastard, that's what you are. Welcome to Hollywood I guess," his agent responded.
"The world is just so unfair," his agent said as he lit up a cigarette, probably thinking about his bonus, but still not believing how much money his client just made.