The My Hollywood System
Chapter 52

Since Amanda has proven herself from the interview, Will has no qualms about hiring her.

Will is already talking to Jason and has all the paperwork necessary to hire a CEO and other employees who are ready with him, all he or she needs to do is enter the person's name and designation in the offer letter, including their salary and commission.

The salary offered by Will is quite large, which is $2 million per year. That's well above average for companies like Dream Vision Studios, but Will has made him sign an 18-month bond contract. It is stated that his salary will not increase during the contract period, and can only be reassessed after the contract expires.

Which Amanda happily agreed with because her salary was already a lot, but Will knew it would seem less after [Sherlock Holmes] started to produce, that's why he made such a contract. It also included pieces and such, but still, it was a huge sum. Currently, Amanda is Will's highest-paid employee.

After appointing him and signing all the necessary documents, Will does not ramble and begins to discuss the company's current structure and future plans. All existing Krown Studios employees were made to sign similar bond contracts like Amanda, and their salaries were well above what they had previously received.

According to Will, this is a way to boost their morale in the long run while getting the best performance out of them, along with their loyalty to the company.

It was night, everyone was getting ready to return home. Before leaving, Will is in a meeting with Amanda telling him about his next movie. He opposed the idea once he heard that it was based on Sherlock Holmes.

"Will, this is too risky! A Sherlock Holmes movie worth 90 million dollars? Tell me you're kidding."

Ananda said, looking at Will while shaking his head. He knew his boss was a bit eccentric. All geniuses, but such an idea was at the level of a madman.

"At least listen to my proposal." Will smiled, already expecting such a reaction. "I've finished my script."

He handed a thick document in front of him, and on the front page, the title of [Sherlock Holmes] was written in bold.

It was a script that Will had painstakingly typed for days.

"So, this really isn't a joke?"

Amanda frowned and opened the first page of the script.

"Of course not. Just read it, and I'm sure you'll like it a lot. There's a reason why I wanted to make a Sherlock Holmes movie."

"And what is it?"

"I found Sherlock Holmes one of the best characters ever written in fiction, but his legacy was never well preserved. The books are classics, but no good cinematic film was made there."

"That's because of what happened to the last one. You must have seen that one?"

He talked about [Detective Sherlock Holmes] and Will actually watched it and even laughed. It wasn't like a detective comedy, but it was made so badly that it made her laugh.

The background looks out of place, and the actor playing Sherlock Holmes has completely ruined his character.

Moreover, he had been given a stupid sentence that looked even scarier than cool. Even the story lacked a sense of mystery and flowed very poorly.

Overall, it was a total disaster. In fact, it gets so hot that no director or producer feels confident enough to consider a Sherlock Holmes movie or series again.

For Will, it's going to be a good challenge, and he's very excited.

"I did watch the latter, though," Will replied, "But our film is not based on that. I have the whole vision. Actually, I wouldn't lie if I said that the whole story, scene by scene, is in my mind."

Amanda looked at him for a moment before asking. "How confident are you?"

Will smiled, "There will be many challenges, but I'm sure."

"From the scale of [Sherlock Holmes Detective] to [Blair Witch Project], how many?"

Will thought for a moment, "If the vision I have for this film comes true, it will get three times more box office than the box office of a lifetime [Blair Witch Project]."

Amanda pursed her lips, "Alright, give me the script. I'll finish it tonight."

Will nodded while handing over the file, "Yes, please. Tomorrow, we'll have a board meeting on this."

"Oh? All right," Amanda nodded and left the office.

Will also immediately packed up and went to his apartment.

About four hours later, while he was watching a football game, his phone suddenly rang, showing a notice.

From:[Amanda] (a few seconds ago)

[It's good. Let's discuss this with the others tomorrow]

Will smiled slightly as he looked at the message.

'Let's get this over with as soon as possible.'

…

The Dream Vision Studios meeting room was suddenly shrouded in silence.

The board meeting just started a few minutes ago, and Will has revealed the first project.

He waited for almost a minute before someone spoke up.

"Will, 90 Million .. too many." It's Jeffery. His team is now part of Dream Vision Studios and Will has offered him a position on the board member's desk.

And as he spoke, others quipped.

"That's a lot. And in the Sherlock movie? No one wants to invest in it."

That's Mark Pierce, Head of the Public Relations Department. He was part of an old company and was offered a position on the table because of strong recommendations from others, years of experience and connections he made over the past few years.

"The last film really failed, and even that didn't have a budget of this magnitude. Also, how are we going to get funding for this film? From actors to producers, I don't think anyone would want to take such a big risk. If the film fails at the box office, it will be the end of their career ... "

He took a short pause before continuing.

"...And for our studio. We are still new to the market; let's take it one step at a time and start with low budget movies. Once we get our name out there, we will be able to score enough funds for that big project, although I still object due to the risk factor. That's too high."

Will spoke, "I'll be the producer."

"You're gonna….?" The others frowned.

Jeffery cleared his throat and asked, "Will, that's 90 Million. This can really be all you get from a horror movie. Do you really plan to throw it all away in one movie that the whole world thinks will fail?"

Will nodded.

That made Mark flinch. He tried to explain.

"Will, please understand. We are a new studio, and this will be our first project of any kind. This project will be how the company will step into Hollywood. We can't do this project. The chances of failure are too high. In fact, even if you make it really good .. Wait, you'll make it?"

Will nodded, "Indeed. I'll be the director."

Mark cleared his throat, "Will, I don't doubt your abilities or anything, you're doing a phenomenal job in your horror movies, but this kind of movie is a very different level of production. We can hire a director, you know?"

Will frowned, "Mark, do you know why I made this studio?"

"To make a movie...?"

Will shook his head, "I can make my own movies; why should I buy a studio? All right, let me tell you. This is so that I have complete control over everything in the production of the film, from day one to the end.the day the posters are plastered outside every cinema hall."

Mark nodded, "I understand that. But, you jumped from a 55k budget to 90 Million. It is hard to believe that this project will be a success. If you don't know, last year, only three movies had more movies than the 70 Miles budget, and all of them were directed by the world's top directors."

Will nodded, "I know that."

"Alright, then, let me swim and be honest here. You are not at the level of handling a big project like this. If we go like this, we'll probably go broke before we even start right." Mark added, "Also, as I said before, even if you're directing the perfect movie, the movie is a thousand times better than the shit show that came a decade ago, it will most likely fail."

"Why?" will ask.

"Well, it's pretty simple: ideas in people's minds." Mark replied, "There has never been a successful Sherlock Holmes movie, and now if you ask anyone walking down the street about their thoughts on the new Sherlock Holmes movie, it's a good idea, they will only give one answer: Why would someone make it?"

"Will, more than 80% of Americans think no one can make a good Sherlock Movie, and the remaining 20% are toddlers, give them a few years, give them a little, and they'll say the same."

Will remained silent and looked around at the table, indicating if there was anything else to add.

He was not surprised that none of them spoke. It was just their way of showing that they somewhat agreed with Mark's words.

Mark may sound negative, but that's the thought process. He has been in the industry long enough to understand what is good or bad for the company. Not to mention he was a pessimist - ending up looking at the worst aspects of things.

It may not be an inherent character, but after years in this highly volatile industry where nothing goes according to plan, Will cannot blame his opinion.

And since no one spoke, Will started with his response.

"90 Million is the maximum number" he said, "It takes into account all the risk factors, but I think there's a chance the film could compete with a lower budget. However, that was not his main point."

"Just because old movies directed by careless directors with wrong casting fail to make an impact on the audience, he said, You can't think that a future movie will fail - it's a thinking formula. And, formulaic thinking is the antithesis of art."

"The public has a taste for anything about imagination - anything as far away from reality as creatively possible."

Will paused for a moment, then he added.

"I just want to say this: I have every second of the movie etched into my brain, he said, and I will travel to hell and wrestle with this film of the Devil if necessary to make this a reality."