[Chapter 192: I Have a Big Plan]
When Eric heard Drew's words, he noticed a glint of concern in her eyes. "Staying out late, turning off your cell phone; who knows if you got lost? People worry about you."
Eric pretended not to notice Drew's sudden change in mood. He walked over, picked her up, and tossed her aside before sitting down in his big chair. "Alright, spill it!"
Drew, undeterred by being shoved to the side, casually moved around the desk and pulled out a chair to sit down. Eric couldn't help but notice that she had changed into a more conservative light purple long-sleeve shirt. It seemed she was also wearing white casual pants and some little leather shoes instead of her usual sandals with exposed black toenails. This prim and proper look was oddly out of character for her.
Could it be... she was turning over a new leaf?
As Eric pondered Drew's unusual appearance, she suddenly declared, "Eric, I have a big plan..."
Drew's rare seriousness threw him off, and he couldn't resist cracking a joke, "Did you find yourself a wild man to help you wrestle my fortune from me?"
"You're awful! I'm trying to talk about something important here."
Drew immediately lost her temper, grabbing a random file and hurling it at him.
Eric fumbled to catch the folder and set it down beside him. "Alright, alright. Let's hear about your 'big plan.'"
After giving him a glare to ensure he was done being silly, Drew retrieved a small backpack from the corner of Eric's desk. She pulled out two printed documents and handed one to Eric while keeping one for herself. "Wasn't it you who wrote up a copyright acquisition list a while back, Eric? I'm planning to put together a team to acquire all of those. Here's the proposal. What do you think?"
Copyright acquisition list?
Eric blinked as he pieced it together. That day Drew secured the copyright and insisted he help with something else. Out of boredom, he had jotted down a list from memory of famous Hollywood films and their original novels or adapted television series, including many classic blockbusters. He even noted a handful that wouldn't be feasible to start filming until a decade later. There were over twenty titles in total. He had thought Drew would only want to pick one to pursue, but here she was wanting to take them all on.
Raising an eyebrow, Eric opened the thin brochure Drew had prepared and began to read.
"Drew, you spelled 'redemption' wrong. You're missing an 'e.' Here, let me teach you..."
"Eric, if you keep this up, I'll get sad," she pouted, looking like she might cry.
Eric quickly stopped joking, closing the file. "So, what exactly are you thinking?"
"I just want to do something. Plus, I'm really interested in this," Drew said with a pleading look. "Please, Eric?"
As Eric considered the papers, he mentally calculated, "At an average of two million dollars per copyright, we're looking at at least fifty million dollars to secure all of these..."
Drew, thinking he was about to refuse, exclaimed anxiously, "You can come up with that money! You'll clear several hundred million this year. And I'm not asking for fifty million all at once."
"Hold on," Eric raised a hand to quiet her. "Sure, I can come up with fifty million, but have you thought this through? Making a huge move to buy adaptation rights will definitely attract attention from other Hollywood studios. Once they see you, they'll think of me. You know the situation with each film I'm producing. If I'm interested, they'll surely try to go for it too. Even if no one competes, just knowing I'm the buyer will drive the price up. We might end up spending an unexpected fortune."
Drew's head drooped at Eric's analysis as she started picking at her fingers in disappointment.
Seeing her look so down, Eric quickly thought of a compromise. "Alright, Drew, don't be upset. Here's what we'll do: finding a large team won't work, but you can hire two or three people, put them under Flower Films, and proceed with private acquisitions. Doing it one by one will keep things low-key and won't raise alarms. This should keep you busy until you turn sixteen, and then you can do even more things when you're an adult."
Drew perked up at Eric's suggestion, "But do three people really suffice?"
Eric held up his fingers to count, explaining, "One assistant to handle your day-to-day tasks, one lawyer who knows the legal side, and one negotiator for dealing with the copyright holders. Three people are perfect; anything more would just be unnecessary."
"Guess I'll have to make do with that," Drew replied, still sounding a little glum.
Eric added, "I can have Edward recommend a lawyer. An assistant is easy to find, but the negotiator might be tough."
"I'll find that person myself," Drew replied eagerly.
Eric assessed her decision, recalling the last contact she had -- Lawrence Bender -- so he didn't object. "Alright, you handle that. And don't go making promises using my name."
Drew pouted. "Am I that foolish?"
"It's the smart ones who get reckless that are more dangerous," Eric chuckled.
Not one to back down easily, Drew huffed lightly before standing up and organizing her bag. "Well, I'm off then."
Just as Eric was about to nod, he remembered something. "Oh, one more thing. Since you want to secure all the copyrights on the list, I'll make some annotations regarding the adaptation rights. You'll need to negotiate according to those when the time comes."
"What annotations?" Drew plopped back down in her seat.
"Some novels require at least twenty years of adaptation rights; others need to be permanent. Some TV shows need both broadcast and adaptation rights, while others only require a one-time adaptation right." Eric briefly explained as he flipped to the last page of the plan Drew had just given him. He had compiled a list of his own notes. "I'll annotate it tonight and give it to you."
"You're actually going home tonight?" Drew raised an eyebrow, not hiding her usual annoyance, but she quickly stood up again. "Well, I'll head back now."
"Be careful on your way," Eric called after her as she walked out.
"Yeah, yeah, old man!" she replied.
*****
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