The My Hollywood System
Chapter 134

"Good night, Mr. Hayes, Good to see you at last. I must say that I was surprised when I received your invitation." Will greeted as he walked towards the albino man to shake hands.

Abraham Hayes shook the offered hand and said, "A great night can be for you too, Mr. Evans, and it's no surprise that a company like mine wants to get in touch with Hollywood's biggest topic. I really enjoyed watching [Sherlock Holmes]. It's nice to see how you bring legendary characters to life, especially after we all give up on being able to produce a good movie of the titular character. Please sit down."

"I'm glad you like it. It was my passion project. Especially since I was disappointed with the way my predecessors handled the series. I am a faithful reader of the extraordinary works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle." Will said as he took the offered seat.

"Do you want tea?" Abraham Hayes asked after he sat down.

"That would be nice, two sugars please." Will requested.

Mr. Hayes nodded and pressed the button on his intercom, "Susan? Please send us two cups of tea? Two sugars, each." He asked for his assistant.

Will admires posters from many of the films Mega Works has worked on. Mr Hayes' room was decorated with posters on the wall to their left. His eyes caught a poster of their latest film [Extraction Point: Charlie].

"I've got to say over to you over your latest entry into the action genre, [Extraction Point: Charlie], which is executed with art. I really like the fight scenes that are not dramatized and glorified in the film. They're so charming." Will congratulated the man.

"ah! Yes, [Extraction Point: Charlie] is our latest attempt into the military action genre. I hear you're working on a period work, [1917] if I remember it correctly. [Extraction Point: Charlie], while it was able to do quite well at the box office, it couldn't help us achieve any of our main goals. That's also why I asked for this meeting, Mr. Evans." Hayes said as he looked at Will.

"Oh, how can I help you and Megas Works, Mr Hayes?" Will said while becoming curious.

A knock on the door cut his answer, and a brunette in formal attire walked in with a tray with two steaming cups of tea in her hands.

"A, Susan! Please, put the tray on the table. Thank you, Susan." Hayes said as he placed the cup on the table. Mr. Hayes offered one of the cups to Will and took a sip from the others.

"As I said, [Extraction Point: Charlie] couldn't help us achieve any of our main agendas, with the film. All we wanted was to build a reliable franchise of the title. But, based on the response from viewers, it won't last another sequel. You've just started working on another title, [Liberty City], if my sources are correct. Mega Works wants to invest in movies. We're ready to submit half of the original budget estimate for the film, and we're ready to distribute the film once it's finished." Hayes said, get to the core of the problem. "We want to forge a partnership between Dream Vision Studios and Mega Works for the upcoming film."

This whole situation seems too good to be true, and Will is very skeptical of the reasons behind Mega Works' interest in working with Will.

Abraham Hayes stared straight at Will for a few seconds and then laughed, "You go straight. That nice. Most people in our industry like to outsmart deals. To be honest, I had this meeting mainly because the shareholders of my company wanted it to happen. And by the way everything goes to this company, I'm nothing more than a puppet following their instructions." He explains.

Mega Works Studios is part of the conglomerate Mega Corporation. The entire company is in difficult waters because the history of labor production that it has experienced in three years is over. In the last year, only three out of seven productions were able to perform reasonably well at the box office, and out of all three, [Extraction Point: Charlie] is the only title noteworthy in their film lineup. It is no secret that Mega Corporation shareholders are slowly turning to the liquidation of the company, and there are rumors that they have entered into talks with the company based in the middle east to do just that. This initial step with Will may just be their final step before they decide to fully sell the company and clean their hands with the film industry.

The CEO of Mega Works is a figure who owns a meaningless stake in the company. Typically, companies offer their CEO stock options to subtly align the interests of the CEO with those of the company's shareholders. It often moves to many illegal practices such as insider trading to reduce the company's control over the company, which seems to be the case with Mega Works. Abrham Hayes has only a 1-2 percent fixed stake in the company he maintains. He has sold all the shares he has in the company and let the shareholders do whatever they want with the company. Which means if their last move doesn't work out, and Will refuses to forge a partnership with them or [Liberty City] doesn't meet his target, then in a year or two, then, Mega Works Studios will be liquidated, and the Big Six will be reduced to the Big Five.

Their other option is that they are interested in using Will and many other directors in the last attempt by producing the last few films they could before the two years are over, and they reached an agreement with a Middle East firm to increase the value of the Mega Works Studio share value. Thus increasing all the liquid assets they will generate once an agreement is reached, which may be their real motive. If they insist on liquidating the company, Will can use their resources to fund [Liberty City] and ease the workload on himself.

"Mr Hayes, what's the condition of your application?" Will asks, trying to establish their true motives.

"We are ready to fund forty-nine percent of the film's initial budget and distribute the film, both locally and internationally. You will retain ownership. We just want to establish a temporary partnership with your company." Abraham Hayes told him.

That means Will's hunch is right. With Mega Work not seeking ownership in the film or IP, Shareholders used Will Evans to increase the value of their shares before eventually liquidating the company. It was something that Will could easily use and utilize. They are desperate to increase their value, and Will acquires an investment for his film. But, Will sees another opportunity here.

"The terms you submit are very interesting. Tell me, Mr Hayes, are the Mega Works Studios disbandment rumors true?" He asked directly.

Abraham Hayes laughed again and said, "Yes, yes, Mr. Evans. I know you'll understand, in the end."

Will smiled and said, "Well, I'm interested in doing this deal, as long as the contract includes a clause that once [Liberty City] is completed, Dream Vision acquires the rights to your VFX and CGI departments. We are looking to expand, and Mega Works will not use the VFX department and your CGI has been liquidated. If we acquire a part of your company directly, right after [Liberty City], you will sell it to us at least five percent higher than the current stock value after the movie, he said, plus you'll have stock and box office returns from the movie too."

Abraham Hayes was surprised by the counter-offer and quit. He slowly nodded and said, "I have to discuss with my Shareholders, but you can rest assured, they will most likely accept the offer, Mr. Evans."

Will then got up. "It's nice to do business with you, Mr. Hayea. Please send a final copy of the contract to my CEO, Amanda Garcia, and also send me a copy. Wish you luck in your future endeavors." He said while shaking hands.

"It's nice to do business with you too, Mr. Evans."