Hollywood Production - Chapter 13

“Duke, this is Robin Grande.”

In the conference room of Lucasfilm, George Lucas introduced a middle-aged man to Duke, “Robin is the production manager hired by us for “Speed”.

“Hello, Duke.”

The other party stood up and extended his hand for a handshake, “I’ve seen the video you edited, it’s impressive.”

“Nice to meet you, Robin.”

Duke also stood up and shook his hand, “I’m happy to be working with you.”

Since Lucasfilm has a mature system and perfect production system, they were able to start preparatory work a week after notifying Duke to participate in the first meeting. They even have candidates for the important crew positions, which shows the company confidence.

As the spokesperson for producer George Lucas on the crew, Robin Grande undoubtedly has a lot of power. Since Duke has not signed a formal director contract with Lucasfilm, he first focused on the issues of Duke’s treatment.

“Your director salary is $120,000.”

He continued speaking after seeing that Duke didn’t say anything, “We will pay $50,000 up front; after the filming is completed, another $50,000 will be paid, and the final $20,000 will be paid after the film is pulled from North America cinemas.”

Duke understood that it was the Hollywood norm, “I have no opinion.”

Later, Robin Grande talked about a series of director’s rights and obligations. Combined with Duke’s own requirements, he will participate in the preparation of the crew and the pre-production of the film, but like most new directors, he has the right to speak and advise, but not the final say.

Duke also has the right to advise on the selection of main actors, but not to make the final decision.

“I hope you will take my suggestions for actors into consideration.” Duke will definitely fight for the appropriate power for himself within a reasonable range. “I want to participate in the post-editing of the film, and the final editing.”

If a film’s editing is done poorly, the film will likely not do well. Duke understood that he would not have the ability to control the editing of his film, so he did everything he could to achieve the editing effect he wanted.

These demands are beyond the scope of Robin Grande’s power, so he looks at George Lucas who was sitting at the head of the table.

“As long as your suggestion is reasonable.” George Lucas didn’t mean to refuse at all.

Duke breathed a sigh of relief because it is very rare for a rookie director to get such power. Under the Hollywood production model, quite a few directors will be excluded from the editing work, not to mention the final editing rights.

“There’s one more thing.”

When the meeting was about to end, Duke tentatively put forward a request, “Uncle George… well, George, put my $100,000 upfront payment into the production cost of the film…”

“And then you get a proportional share of the film’s revenue?” George Lucas look at him with a tilted head.

Probably knowing that his request was excessive, Duke made a few meaningless gestures and then completely gave up on this unreliable idea.

But what he didn’t expect was that, when he signed a formal director contract with Lucasfilm that afternoon, accompanied by his mother’s lawyer, this clause was added to the additional terms of the film.

Of course, his share of money can only be distributed after deducting various expenses such as theatre’s and distributors.

After signing his name on the contract, Duke suddenly had a strange feeling that he seemed to have gained more power, right?

That’s a good thing, isn’t it?

George Lucas is only responsible for the general direction of the film. The specific matters are basically handed over to the production team headed by Robin Grande. he will be the representative producer during the preparation, shooting and production stages of the film.

“The film’s budget is currently set at $15 million, with $10 million of that already being funded.”

When he came out with Duke, Robin Grande was still talking about the preparations, he was apparently asked by George Lucas to teach Duke some lessons, “the remaining $5 million. Lucasfilm will be raising funds for it soon, and our studio will be located in West Hollywood, near Santa Monica.”

“Does the studio have a name?” Duke asked.

“Not yet.” Robin Grande shrugged.

“How about ‘speed’?”

“Not bad……”

The two walked to the parking lot while talking, got into their respective cars, and left separately.

—

Duke had quit his temp job, and for the rest of the day, he would report to the ‘Speed’ studio in West Hollywood on time every day.

The studio system can be said to be the practice of major Hollywood companies. Whenever a film with a high investment is approved, the production company will set up a corresponding studio to coordinate the film’s funds, preparations, personnel, shooting, advertising, sponsorship and surrounding areas. Depending on the work, some studios that make big movies can often exist for several years or even a dozen years.

Pre-production and post-production for a film can often be more tedious than the actual shooting, especially for commercial productions with lots of big scenes…

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