George Lucas's visit came as a surprise to Kyle.
"Of course, you're surprised. Because I'm not here for you today; I have an appointment with Bill McNick. He should be arriving soon," Lucas said with a smile.
Instantly, Kyle's confusion vanished.
Although Lucas didn't say why he was looking for Mr.Bill, Kyle had been in Hollywood for many years, and in a few words, he guessed the correct answer.
"Is it to sign the supplementary agreement for the special effects production of the 'Spider-Man' movie?" Kyle narrowed his eyes.
"Hehehe, you know it," Lucas winked at Kyle.
Some things are understood implicitly, not explicitly stated.
The so-called supplementary agreement, in plain terms, is a method used by Hollywood production companies to "scam" investor funds.
That's right, it's to scam investors!
In the circle of Hollywood production companies, there's a term called "special effects fee reallocation."
The initial planned total production cost of the "Spider-Man" movie was 140 million US dollars. Later, during filming, Page Pictures added another 10 million US dollars, bringing the total cost to 150 million US dollars.
Among them, in addition to Page Pictures' own investment, four other companies also participated in the investment.
Carlos Foundation of Mexico: invested 30 million US dollars;
Cinemark, one of the three major American cinema chains: invested 20 million US dollars;
Daimler (Mercedes-Benz) AG of Germany: invested 40 million US dollars;
Shandi Capital of India: invested 40 million US dollars;
Page Pictures: invested 20 million US dollars;
...Judging solely from the investment amount, Page Pictures invested the least money in the "Spider-Man" project, on par with Cinemark, one of the three major cinema chains, investing only 20 million US dollars. However, in terms of returns, Page Pictures' returns were definitely the highest.
Initially,
When 10 million US dollars were invested, Page Pictures, as the producer, was entitled to 15% of the final box office revenue.
Later, an additional 10 million US dollars was added, which increased the final revenue share.
In addition, Page Pictures also secured 14 million US dollars from tax refunds in Germany, which was deposited into Page Pictures' own account, unrelated to the investors;
Of course, there were also substantial earnings from distribution.
Furthermore, there were copyright revenues, merchandise revenues, offline market operation revenues… all of which Page Pictures undoubtedly took the lion's share of.
Further exploiting the returns of external investors!
But, did you think that was all?
Did it end there?
No!
How naive!
The methods used by Hollywood production companies to scam investors are simply countless.
Why did George Lucas of Industrial Light & Magic want to sign a supplementary agreement with Page Pictures?
"Because there's a term called 'special effects fee reallocation.'"
In terms of special effects contracts, Page Pictures, as the production company, could again scam a portion of the investors' money!
The special effects for "Spider-Man," at market price, could have been completely done for 45 million US dollars. However, this did not align with the producer's objectives.
They insisted on signing a special effects contract for 55 million US dollars.
The price increased, yet the special effects remained the same.
Did Page Pictures lose out by paying an extra 10 million US dollars?
No, it did not!
There were also the two films, "Final Destination" and "The Butterfly Effect."
The special effects for these two films were also completed by Industrial Light & Magic. According to market prices, the bundled contract price would have been over 17 million US dollars.
However, the reality was… Page Pictures only had to pay over 7 million US dollars!
The question arises!
—Where did the money go?
Heh heh, Page Pictures played a trick.
The film production company collaborated with the special effects company to "reallocate" the investors' money from the "Spider-Man" project, through certain legitimate and legal means, to the "Final Destination" and "The Butterfly Effect" projects.
This kind of "high and low" priced special effects contract is a common and frequently seen method used by Hollywood film production companies to scam investor returns.
They are everywhere!
Therefore, as audience members, you often find that the special effects of some high-budget films are just so-so, feeling not worth that much money; while the special effects of some low-budget films can rival those of some high-budget blockbusters, with stunning visual effects.
All of these are because the special effects fees have been "legitimately reallocated"!
Before long.
Page Pictures President Bill McNick arrived at the set as scheduled.
"Mr.Bill, you're finally here! Come on, sign the contract quickly," Lucas immediately gave Mr.Bill a bear hug.
Mr.Bill first greeted Kyle, then had his accompanying lawyer review the contract.
After a while, the contract was signed.
From beginning to end, Kyle seemed like an outsider. Indeed, he even had a "not my business" attitude.
In fact, this is another unwritten rule in the Hollywood film production industry.
For matters like "scamming investors' money," "high and low special effects pricing," and "special effects fee reallocation," Kyle, as the company boss, absolutely had to pretend not to know.
Even if these methods were reasonable and legal, Kyle would still feign ignorance, as they were ultimately somewhat shameless and lacking integrity.
It sounds bad!
Moreover, if the incident were exposed, it would definitely affect Kyle's image as an upright boss. Of course, a clueless Kyle could also promptly shift the blame, letting others take the fall.
Is it shameless?
It certainly is quite shameless.
But looking across Hollywood, everyone plays the game this way!
"I can't believe that one day, I, Kyle, would also become this shameless?" Kyle felt a little uneasy inside.
"Boss, everything speaks to profit."
The cunning and experienced Bill McNick laughed, "I also yearn for the gentlemanly demeanor of 'the pure remain pure, the corrupt remain corrupt,' but such people cannot survive in Hollywood. They would become an anomaly, indeed, an anomaly that would be collectively attacked."
"I understand," Kyle nodded heavily.
A maverick style of doing things?
Heh heh, in Hollywood, that's a joke! If you want to be a part of Hollywood, you have to learn to go with the flow.
Kyle himself was a person who valued money above all else, not a stubborn moralist. Therefore, these minor qualms quickly vanished from Kyle's mind, leaving no trace.
"What if I'm a little shameless?"
"Even if I did scam some investors' money, it was all done within the rules of the game. Regardless, I still made money for the investors, and on that point alone, my character is much better than DreamWorks'."
In the time that followed, Kyle's face was once again adorned with a harmless smile.
"Huh?"
Just as Kyle was about to write something in his notebook, he suddenly noticed that the ballpoint pen on the small table beside him was gone.
"Mr. Page, are you looking for a ballpoint pen?" Director Sam Raimi suddenly asked.
"Oh? You know," Kyle asked.
"Of course."
Sam Raimi grinned at Kyle and immediately shouted to James Franco, who played the Green Goblin and was resting not far away, "Franco, you damned scoundrel, did you just pocket something again?"
Franco ran over, aggrieved, and said, "Director, I didn't take the ballpoint pen."
"Did I say it was a ballpoint pen?" Director Sam asked with a squinting smile.
Franco: "…"
Sam Raimi said to Kyle, "Mr. Page, you wouldn't believe it, but I lose several ballpoint pens here every single day, all pilfered by this kid. Alas, this strange habit, I don't even know what to say?"
After a pause, he added, "Franco, hurry up, Mr. Page is waiting to use it."
No sooner had he spoken than Franco, looking aggrieved, pulled two ballpoint pens from his pocket.
Kyle was instantly dumbfounded.
Franco's skill at pilfering was quite something!
In his previous life, Kyle had heard more than once about some strange habits of Hollywood stars, and one of them was pilfering!
Many stars had this strange habit, and they couldn't change it.