The My Hollywood System

Chapter 123

The end of New Year's Week marks the return of Will Evans' daily work. He was excited and hopeful about the prospect of the future to come. Many ambitious, bold, yet creative plans for the future and 2012, come to mind for transmigrants. He wanted to build many major franchises in the film industry, which were the main stage of the modern film industry in his previous life, and he was sure they would do the same, if not better, thing, than what they do in the other world.

But, before all that came to fruition, there was a big task that [Liberty City] had to do. Her excitement for her first truly original film in Hollywood was palpable. He wanted to be able to prove to himself that he could produce a good original film, albeit based on great inspiration, he wanted to prove to himself that he could write a good story on his own merits. Although he knows he is not in the same league as the giants JK Rowling and George RR Martin, he still wants a story of his own to do good in modern cinema.

It was the morning after New Year's week, and he had a meeting with Amanda about the turnover and profits from the previous business year. Will sits in an office conference room, with Amanda and she presents a graph to him that shows him the investment take, profits, expenses, and future projections for the coming year.

"As you can see, we had a fantastic first year at Dream Vision, and some of the success was attributed to [Sherlock Holmes] and [The Blair Witch Project]. Apart from the box office returns of both films, we have received money support for [500 Summer days] and an independent ad featuring Robert and Ewan." Amanda showed me the graphics on the screen.

They did not earn money to support the product either in [The Blair Witch Project] or [Sherlock Holmes], with the latter being a period film, but they had received an offer for [500 Summer days]. Careful placement of the product, where the logo of a particular product symbol, common things like mugs in the background, or vending machines whose characters are waiting on the side, are, is a good way to support the product without actually having to add a special sequence in it. Film to the product and make the support smooth and inconspicuous.

"After we had eliminated our employees' expenses and salaries, we still had a considerable amount to reinvest into projects such as [1917] and [500 Summer days]. Some capital was diverted into the DTA concept and how it works as well, but we have a lot of capital left to work on at least two films of the same scale as [Sherlock Holmes], he said, and this is still considering that the DTA and Dream Vision are in an early phase." Amand's done.

"That's great. I expect good returns for [1917] and [500 Summer days] and I have plans for expansion and acquisition of new departments, especially in VFX, CGI, and animation in general. I also want to reduce the workload of our film crew and hire more skilled artists from film schools or scout talent from the open market. Jeffery's team stretched thin between [1917] and [500 Summer days], and I wanted to increase productivity and flexibility in that department." Will told her about the plan.

"Master, I suggest taking steps a little slow, expansion at this stage is a risky endeavor, plus we are not guaranteed commercial success from all of our projects. There is a high probability that [500 Summer days] will sting low returns, he said, and big projects like [Sherlock Holmes] have greatly reduced profit margins as distribution channels and independent theaters take up most of the pieces." He advises her, a little worried by Will's high and ambitious plans.

"I know, but I have faith in most of our current projects, plus that's also the reason why I want to improve as well. I want to have a separate department working on small budget and big budget movies. So that we do not have to allocate resources individually for each project. I have a lot of ideas for more movies for this year, and beyond" Will said, to calm his concerns.

He wanted a separate department at Dream Vision, to work on high-risk, high-reward films, which had a small initial investment, but big returns like [The Blair Witch Project]. [500 Days of Summer] Directed by Carlson Duckstein will be a product of this department, if it is already set at Dream Vision.

Other departments will be working on Big Budget films, which are larger in life, and have a high potential to become giant franchises in the future, such as [Sherlock Holmes], and the next project under [Liberty City]. The separation of all his future projects in both departments will help him organize and evaluate the value of each project for his company and the amount of involvement he will personally need for the project to succeed.

"Yes, ultimately, this year, I will need a reliable animation department for Live Action and animated film production. I've got a lot of ideas to jump into that field." He insists.

"You can hire an independent team if that's the case." He's trying to show it.

"No, it's not going to work, with the number of ideas I have, I'm going to need a special department, just to hit it." He reveals.

Amanda's brows furrowed, and she knew Will wouldn't explain any further. "Alright, I will give a big estimate of the initial capital that will be needed for this venture, no later than next week." She's telling.

"We still have Blaire Witch as our IP, (Intellectual Property) right? If I remember correctly, we've sold the sequel rights to Wheel Works, huh? He asked when an idea came to his mind.

With his nod, he continued, "See if you can make a deal to trade some products based on the Blair Witch, I would like to see what kind of response we get from the general public, he said, now Wheel Works has ruined the sequel. I want to know how good the product will be if it is sold by us."

He looked for Will's face, trying to understand his intentions with this, but still nodded. It would not be a big challenge for him to settle this, nor would it make a scratch on their overall budget.

Will had already thought of another experiment he wanted to do with the camcorder he used for [The Blair Witch Project]. He intends to donate a camcorder, and follow its history and market price to determine its own marketability the next few years. He was sure that movie fans would be crazy about this camcorder, but he wanted to know the value they were willing to pay in the next few years.

However, for now, he would have to start working on [Liberty City] and wanted to enter the pre-production stage with the film.

"It just leaves a report and works behind your new project, [Liberty City]. Based on the script, I suggest starting the casting process as soon as possible, and if you want to direct this, I can start sending out flavorings in other open markets and studios, he said, and our own agency for a suitable cast. What are you thinking?" He asked finally.