After the film crew started shooting, Rowan deliberately lowered his presence on set, maintaining the director's authority during normal shooting, which was a basic ability for a producer, unless the director made a major mistake.
Rowan was self-aware. When it came to shooting on set, he couldn't match James Wong now, even if he tried his best.
Maintaining a proper humility in one's heart was never a bad thing.
Besides, the set had always been under Rowan's control. He needed to sign off on the daily financial expenses, and he would review the shots filmed by James Wong.
James took his role very seriously. On one hand, it was to compare the relevant scenes he could recall, and on the other hand, it was to increase his own experience.
A producer might not be a director, but they still needed to have a rough idea of what kind of scenes were needed for what kind of scenario.
A week after the shooting began, Rowan confirmed one thing: James Wong was really good at handling horror scenes. The shots he took, although not processed yet and somewhat fragmented, really had a feeling to them.
Moreover, after a week of coordination and adjustment, the actors and various backstage workers were getting familiar with each other, and the shooting was getting on track.
From Rowan's observations, the male and female leads, Robert Knaup and Melissa Rio, were both quite good in acting. For actors like them who had struggled for years without gaining fame, most of the problems didn't lie in their acting skills.
The two Arab actors were also good.
In comparison, Michelle Williams and Amanda Seyfried seemed a bit inexperienced.
But this was normal and entirely manageable.
As a producer, Rowan also had to deal with inquiries from several social organizations.
"The Human Purge" had received some publicity initially and had some degree of fame. The crew had attracted the attention of some organizations.
However, the project wasn't registered with any union in Hollywood. It was a typical non-union project, so there weren't any union organizations causing trouble for the time being.
In this day and age, non-union theatrical films were becoming increasingly rare, but they weren't nonexistent either.
The first organization to visit the crew after filming began was the Producers Guild. After all, "The Human Purge" had been registered with the Producers Guild for record, and the investment and production company, Sand Sea Entertainment, was also a member of the Producers Guild.
The Producers Guild wasn't there to cause trouble but to remind Rowan that projects registered with the guild needed to pay a fee once they started making profits.
The amount wasn't large but had to be paid nonetheless.
This was actually a rule set by the Producers Guild to emulate the practices of the major unions in Hollywood. Projects registered with the unions needed to pay a certain percentage of industry fees to the unions. When the total revenue of a project (including box office but not limited to it) exceeded $100 million, this fee could be as high as $1 million.
When a crew hired a certain percentage of union members, they had to register with the corresponding union; otherwise, the union would cause trouble.
Rowan was well aware that if "The Human Purge" succeeded, as future investments increased and the number of crew members grew, they would inevitably have to deal with the unions, and new projects would evolve into union-registered projects.
Thinking about having to wrangle with some unions in the future made his head ache. Wouldn't it be great if Hollywood's unions just followed capital's orders?
Another organization that visited the crew took their job much more seriously.
Two commissioners from the Los Angeles branch of the Child Welfare Bureau were dispatched to the crew to verify Amanda Seyfried's protection of her child actor rights.
This was a necessary procedure for crews with child actors.
California law had clear provisions for actors under the age of eighteen, limiting their working hours, ensuring a minimum number of hours for education, prohibiting them from participating in dangerous or health-hazardous shoots, and so on.
In addition, California also stipulated that a portion of child actors' compensation could not be paid directly but had to be deposited into a trust fund in the child actor's name.
This was also to protect the future of child actors, especially in cases where the parents of many child actors were unreliable.
Children represented the future, and any civilized country would actively protect children's rights.
Rowan didn't want to cause trouble in these areas, and there was almost nothing to find fault with what he did. After the Child Welfare Bureau's commissioners conducted an on-site inspection and interviewed Seyfried and her daughter, they quickly left the crew.
Seeing off the Child Welfare Bureau, Rowan began to prepare for another crucial task for "The Human Purge," which the director couldn't handle and needed him, the producer, and Sand Sea Entertainment's boss, to personally negotiate.
"What does a film need after production is completed?"
In the office of Sand Sea Entertainment, the four of them gathered again, and Rowan answered his own question, "It's obvious—distribution!"
Rowan looked at Robert, who nodded, and added, "Whether it's going directly to the home video market, broadcasting on television, or screening in theaters, it all falls under the distribution category."
"As everyone knows, the distributor is at the top of this industry chain, able to take a cut from the producer's various incomes, and the overall highest percentage can reach up to forty percent!"
George and Mary remained silent. If "The Human Purge" couldn't enter the distribution stage after filming, it would be meaningless.
Rowan knew what Robert said was true. A forty percent distribution rate was quite exaggerated, but it often appeared in the industry. Companies that played with such high distribution rates were mostly production studios under the same group company as the distributor.
The benefits were obvious. A significant portion of the budget for Hollywood films came from financing, and well-known directors or actors often enjoyed profit sharing. If the distribution share of a film was high, the cost naturally increased, leading to a significant decrease in profits for the profit-sharing parties.
The financial calculation rules of Hollywood were something he had been carefully studying in his spare time recently. There was great potential in this area, especially for attracting overseas investors.
It wasn't just the oil funds from Arab countries; Hollywood attracted capital from overseas, especially after the massive success of "Titanic", which could easily create an illusion for outsiders that making profits through Hollywood movies was an easy task.
Suddenly, Ronan asked, "Have you heard about an Indian delegation visiting Hollywood for inspection recently?"
George, well-informed as always, replied with a wrinkled face, "They came in early May, not many people, stayed for less than a week, and then left. It's said they intend to invest in Hollywood movies, but it's still in the preliminary inspection stage."
Ronan nodded and turned to Robert, saying, "Collect information about India, Bollywood, and Mumbai, especially regarding Indian investment in Hollywood."
Robert responded eagerly, "Are we going to make a big move in India?"
Thinking about the feats they accomplished in Abu Dhabi, not only with monetary rewards but also with a sense of excitement, Ronan replied directly, "I just have an idea for now. The specific plan hasn't been formulated yet. You guys gather information first, and the plan needs to be targeted."
"Okay!" Robert agreed without hesitation.
George raised his hand, "Can I stay out of this?"
"We'll see about that later," Ronan smiled. "Ideas turn into plans, plans turn into reality, sooner or later."
Mary reminded, "It's better to consider this carefully; the more meticulous, the less trouble."
It was a good sign that even Mary, the most conservative one, didn't object.
Ronan made a note in his notebook specifically for George, perhaps there would be a place for George to be useful in the future.
It seemed like George had some wealthy people behind him?
Ronan changed the subject back, "These are all matters for the next stage. The priority now is to find a suitable distribution company for 'The Human Purge Plan'."
George took over, "Sand Sea Entertainment has no distribution capabilities and needs to rely on other companies for distribution. This is not something that can be changed in the short term."
Of course, Ronan understood this. He had only been here for a few months, and there was no time to deal with distribution matters, given the need to understand the socio-economic situation, solve the company's financial crisis, attract investment for new film projects, and adapt to American society.
"We'll take it step by step," he said slowly. "For now, we rely on external labels for distribution. In the future, we need to establish our own distribution channels." He looked at the three of them and asked, "What do you think?"
With his arms crossed, Robert said, "For a film company to establish distribution channels in North America, there are generally two ways. One is to build and expand distribution channels themselves, and the other is to directly acquire an existing distribution company."
Although he had been with Sand Sea Entertainment for the past few years, he had been in the industry for over a decade and was very knowledgeable about the film and television industry. "The former is time-consuming and laborious, as exemplified by DreamWorks. DreamWorks was established in 1994 and only established a relatively complete distribution channel last year, distributing the first film after its establishment, 'The Fierce Tide.'"
"The latter requires money, acquiring a distribution label or the distribution department of a company requires a large amount of capital. Lionsgate, for example, was established just last year. Frank Gusta managed to raise sufficient funds through the bank behind him and spent tens of millions of dollars to directly buy a distribution company and released a new version of 'Lolita' last year."
George added, "Even if we have distribution channels, we can't compare with major companies."
Robert agreed, "Exactly."
Ronan nodded slowly. For Sand Sea Entertainment to truly develop, rather than being like companies such as Calroc or Orian, which had almost no ability to resist risks, it was necessary to establish its own distribution label.
Distribution in North America was manageable, but distribution overseas was the challenge.
Neither DreamWorks nor Lionsgate had overseas distribution capabilities at present.
The distribution industry was firmly controlled by the Big Six, and while the Big Six might become the Big Five in the future, the near-monopoly on distribution resources would not change.
The possibility of a seventh major company appearing in Hollywood in the next twenty years or even longer was almost nonexistent, something even the DreamWorks trio couldn't achieve.
The traditional distribution route was simply not feasible; perhaps the internet was the future?
"We currently can't allocate funds, and the earliest we can establish the distribution part is next year," Ronan said very clearly. "George, pay attention to see if there are any suitable distribution companies that can be acquired."
Mary interjected, "We don't have the funds."
Ronan frowned slightly, "I'll find a way to raise the money." He instructed again, "Organize the information about 'The Human Purge Plan' and send formal business letters to all Hollywood distribution labels. Also, Mary, from tomorrow onwards, you'll accompany me to visit several distribution companies."