Chapter 697: Box Office Profit Sharing

The Premier League was in its offseason, so Duke naturally could not head to Stamford Bridge Stadium to catch a match right away. He had only verbally accepted Roman Abramovich's invitation; making it happen would have to wait. Regardless of when his next trip to London might be, he had far more pressing matters to handle on his current visit than watching football.

The Harry Potter Studio—an entirely separate legal entity—was in the process of being registered. Meanwhile, the production team was deep in negotiations with Emma Watson and the other principal actors.

As the producer of the series, Duke attended one of these negotiation sessions himself to lay down a hard line: if their demands proved too exorbitant, he would not hesitate to recast the roles.

That was only one part of the strategy, of course. On the other side, Robin Grande had finally made a concession regarding box office profit sharing.

In truth, both sides understood that neither would get every demand met. The negotiation was bound to be a struggle of give and take.

Once the new Harry Potter Studio was successfully registered, Robin Grande reached an agreement with the representatives of the core cast members.

Both the production side, represented by Robin Grande, and the actors had made their share of concessions.

Beyond the baseline shares mandated by the agreement between the Screen Actors Guild and the Producers Alliance, Emma Watson and the other leads would receive a massive cut of the box office profits for the very first time.

"A base salary of ten million dollars per film, plus a five percent cut of the box office profits for each of them..."

Reading over the terms of the finalized agreement, Duke let out a sigh. "Even Hollywood A-List Stars don't get treated much better than this."

In fact, plenty of top-tier actors could not command that kind of compensation.

"To offset the merchandising revenue their agents were demanding," Robin Grande said, shaking his head, "I had no choice but to raise their cut of the box office profits."

"You did a great job, Robin!" Duke smiled at him. "Isn't this exactly what we were aiming for?"

Robin Grande chuckled. The agreement made it look like the young actors were poised to rake in massive paydays, but this was actually the exact outcome they had deliberately steered the agents toward.

Under normal circumstances, the two parts of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows—serving as the grand finale—were guaranteed to generate staggering box office revenues. Turning a massive box office profit would be practically effortless, and a five percent share of those profits would conservatively net each actor another twenty million dollars...

Unfortunately, the reality of the situation was going to play out quite differently than they imagined.

If the contract were actually executed that way, Emma Watson, the other two leads, and the rest of the cast with backend points would walk away with hundreds of millions of dollars combined. How could investors like Duke simply sit back and let that happen?

They were not Joanne Rowling; they didn't hold that kind of immense value. Once the franchise concluded, their usefulness would evaporate completely.

At least, that was how Duke and Warner Brothers saw it.

After thoroughly reviewing the negotiated terms, Duke spoke up again. "Robin, get them to sign the contracts as soon as possible."

"Don't worry," Robin Grande nodded. "They're even more anxious to sign than we are."

While Duke was a relatively mild-mannered director on set, his overall reputation in Hollywood was honestly not much better than James Cameron's. Plenty of people knew about his ruthless tactics.

After all, anyone with eyes could see that the current plights of Sean Connery, Mel Gibson, and Michael Ovitz were closely tied to him.

Just thinking of that Two-Face moniker made it easy to understand how some people in Hollywood viewed him.

It was perfectly normal for agents to fight for their clients' interests, but they were also worried: if they pushed the production team too hard, would a ruthless producer like Duke actually replace the actors?

They could see things clearly enough. Outside of the Harry Potter Series, Emma Watson and her two co-stars were essentially nobodies.

The production team's concession allowed them to breathe a sigh of relief. The prospect of tens of millions of dollars rolling in was enough to satisfy the appetites of both the agents and their employers for now.

Once Emma Watson and the other two signed their acting contracts with the core terms of "a ten-million-dollar base salary plus a five percent box office profit share for each," Duke did not linger in London, boarding his private jet to return to Los Angeles.

He had hurried back primarily to attend a charity party hosted by Steven Spielberg.

Socializing was always a two-way street. Last year, Spielberg had not only attended the inaugural dinner for Duke's children's charity foundation, but had also donated a substantial sum of money. Duke naturally had to return that small favor now.

A charity party naturally included an auction. Perhaps Spielberg's reputation was just that great, as someone had actually donated a Monet painting for the block. Duke, however, had absolutely zero interest in antiques or classic paintings; he had no intention of raising his paddle.

"Four million dollars!"

It was a rather unremarkable piece as far as Monet's works went, yet the bidding had reached four million dollars. Standing on the stage, the auctioneer shouted energetically, "Four million dollars, going once! Four million dollars, going twice! Four million dollars..."

Just as the auctioneer was about to bring the gavel down, a different paddle shot up.

"Five million dollars!"

The staggering bid seemed to echo through the massive banquet hall alone. Heads turned all across the room to see who had spoken. Tina Fey, sitting right beside Duke, was no exception; after catching sight of the bidder, she leaned in close to Duke's ear.

"It's David Ellison. I heard he's planning to work with Spielberg," she whispered. "He's kissing up to him."

Duke merely smiled and asked, "What do you think of the painting?"

Tina Fey glanced at the impressionist master's hanging work and shook her head without a second thought. "I don't have any interest in blurry things either."

"Then forget it." Duke moved his hand away from his paddle. "We'll wait for the next item."

Five million dollars was no small sum even for the vast majority of Hollywood's stars and socialites. After the auctioneer brought the gavel down, David Ellison claimed the painting.

Later in the auction, Duke also successfully bid on an item, writing out a one-million-dollar check to Spielberg's charity foundation to return last year's favor.

With the auction concluded, the charity party transitioned back into a networking event.

After doing a lap around the banquet hall, the cold air from the air conditioning started to feel uncomfortable, and many guests had left the hall for the rear garden. Los Angeles bordered on a desert climate, so it was blisteringly hot under the sun during the day, but the temperature dropped rapidly once the sun dipped below the horizon. While not as extreme as a true desert, it was nowhere near as hot as the daytime.

Duke left the hall as well, chatting idly with Tina Fey as they strolled into the brightly lit garden.

They grabbed a drink each and walked out onto a lawn dotted with tables and chairs. They found a quiet spot with fewer people and sat down, but before they could even finish their drinks, someone approached them.

"So this is where you are."

Charlize Theron, dressed in a cocktail dress, was familiar enough with both of them to skip the pleasantries and sat directly beside Duke.

"Where have you been lately? Emma has been answering all the calls at the house."

Duke set down his glass. "I went to London."

Speaking of this, he remembered their upcoming collaboration. "How is your prep work coming along?"

"Aside from studying the character and the script, I've been working out."

Charlize Theron flexed an arm. She already had a tall, robust frame and had never been the petite type to begin with, and thanks to her recent workouts, the bulging muscles on her upper arms were quite prominent. "How's this? Does it meet your requirements?"

Duke didn't answer. Instead, his gaze settled on Charlize's beautiful blonde hair.

Dropping her pose, Charlize Theron raised a hand and ran her fingers through her silky golden hair. "I really can't bear to part with it."

She frowned slightly and asked Duke, "Can't the female lead keep her long hair?"

"My dear, that is a post-apocalyptic world where all order has completely collapsed," Duke said, shaking his head firmly. "In a world like that, do you honestly believe a pretty woman could become the commander of a squad?"

"God, I'm starting to regret this now."

The two of them had known each other for years and had maintained an intimate relationship for a long time. Charlize Theron understood Duke very well and was deliberately complaining, "For this role, I have to cut off my hair, and lose an arm..."

Duke arched an eyebrow. "If you don't do this, how do you expect to break out of your established image?"

Charlize Theron naturally understood this. Her previous image change had brought her an Oscar Golden Statuette, but the statuette hadn't brought a fundamental change to her career. Because that film's audience was extremely limited, in the eyes of mainstream moviegoers, she was still just the eye candy from The Matrix.

"I heard Charles Roven is negotiating with Tom Cruise?" Charlize asked, inquiring about something that directly concerned her. "Does that mean he's going to be the male lead of the film?"

"That's right." Duke had no intention of denying it. "Your character inherently holds the advantage. I need a male actor powerful enough to hold his own opposite you."

Charlize Theron's brief lip curl vanished in a flash. She was smart enough not to say more; even though she thoroughly disliked Tom Cruise, she knew perfectly well she had absolutely no power to sway Duke's decision.

Since she had already made up her mind to star in his film, she would just have to automatically ignore the minor details that weren't to her liking.

She turned her attention to the side. "Tina, are you going to be the producer?"

"I suppose..." Tina Fey offered a reserved smile. "My primary job is still to assist Duke."

With Charles Roven returning from his vacation, Tina Fey's brief stint as a producer was over. While she would still serve as a producer on the new project in the future, her main role was to stay by Duke's side and assist him.

Tina Fey didn't converse much with Charlize Theron. The actress was notoriously aloof within the industry, and Tina had never intended to become close friends with her. After dealing with Charlize with a few pleasantries, she looked into the distance and happened to spot someone walking their way.

"David Ellison is heading this way," Tina Fey warned Duke.