System in Hollywood

Wayne's eyes once again landed on *The Bourne Identity* as he thought this over. He then instructed Hannah to visit the upscale dessert shop near the company to pick up some sweets and coffee before heading to the office.

About 40 minutes later, Wayne arrived at the company and saw Mia working diligently.

"Hey, darling, what brings you here?"

"I came to bring you some snacks and check in on your work~"

Wayne put his arm around her and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, making a light-hearted joke.

But Mia, being clever, quickly saw through his intentions.

"I bet you're really here to check on the post-production progress of *The Bourne Identity*, right?"

While she spoke, Mia opened the box in her hand, pulled out a pink macaron, and fed it to Wayne. Then, she took one for herself and gave another to Hannah. "You came at the perfect time. Industrial Light & Magic just finished the visual effects today, and they sent them over this afternoon. Let's go take a look~"

Wayne was pleasantly surprised to hear this; he hadn't expected to arrive at such a perfect moment. 

However, the thought of how long it had taken to finish the visual effects—despite the fact that there weren't many effects in *The Bourne Identity* and that the visual effects team had been present during filming—left him a bit frustrated.

"Just wait. Once that threefold return on *The Bourne Identity* kicks in, it'll be time to start acquiring Industrial Light & Magic!"

A short while later, the three arrived at the post-production editing room. Doug Liman was there with his team, meticulously working on the edit. 

When Doug heard the knock behind him, he frowned in annoyance, but upon seeing that it was Wayne, his face immediately brightened. He quickly stood up and walked over.

What else could he do? In this industry, the biggest thing is the financier, especially someone like Wayne, who not only gives lots of money but also grants full creative control. Financiers like that are extremely rare.

For such a benefactor, what's wrong with putting on a smile?

"Hey, Wayne! Long time no see. I heard your movie *Accepted* made it through the first round of voting and is headed for an Oscar nomination? Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Doug, but I'm more focused on this film's box office performance than the Oscars."

After a bit of small talk, Wayne asked about the current progress.

"The rough cut will be ready in the next two days. If there aren't any major changes after you see it, the final version will be done in about two weeks."

Wayne mentally calculated the timeline and smiled in satisfaction.

If Doug Liman could finish by around the 20th, then the funding issues could be resolved.

*The Bourne Identity* had a production budget of $56 million, and a threefold return would mean $168 million!

"That's great, Doug. I'll leave it to you then!"

Wayne spent another half-hour reviewing all the visual effects from Industrial Light & Magic. Not finding any issues, he left the editing room with Mia and Hannah.

One had to admit, Hollywood's visual effects were truly impressive.

Even though it was only 2001, with the right budget, films like *The Lord of the Rings* and *Pirates of the Caribbean* could have visual effects just as stunning as those from 20 years later.

As for action movie effects, there was no need to even mention it.

For a movie like *The Bourne Identity*, using a company like Industrial Light & Magic for such simple effects was, frankly, overkill.

"Do you have anything else urgent to take care of today?" Wayne asked Mia as they left the editing room.

"If not, let's leave early~ I suddenly feel like having a family barbecue today."

A small family BBQ party gave Wayne a rare sense of homey warmth.

What he didn't know was that as Steven Soderbergh, having finalized all his investments, celebrated at a bar all night, Wayne earned the nickname "Big Fat Target," catching the attention of many top producers and directors in the industry.

For example, Laura Ziskin, the producer of the *Spider-Man* trilogy, who was worried about the *Spider-Man* budget possibly being overrun, and Jerry Bruckheimer, the legendary producer scrambling for investments for *Pirates of the Caribbean*.

"I remember Hemera Pictures inquired about *Pirates of the Caribbean*, right?" Early the next morning, Jerry Bruckheimer called in his secretary and asked with a serious expression.

"Yes, I even sent them a project proposal," the secretary recalled clearly after thinking for a moment.

"They were the first to inquire about the project, so I remember it very well."

"And then?"

"After I followed your instructions and quoted them an initial investment of $10 million for 8% of the box office revenue, they never got back to us."

Hearing this, Bruckheimer frowned.

The budget for *Pirates of the Caribbean* was between $125 million and $140 million. An 8% share for $10 million was already a generous offer.

Tapping his fingers on the armrest, Bruckheimer grabbed his phone and dialed Steven Soderbergh's number.

As one of Hollywood's top producers, he naturally had some dealings with the red-hot director.

"Hey, Soderbergh, it's me."

After a 10-minute conversation, during which Bruckheimer made several promises, Soderbergh finally revealed the terms he had negotiated with Wayne, along with some of the details.

Upon learning that Soderbergh and Warner Bros. had given Wayne control over casting the lead actress to secure his investment, Bruckheimer recalled some rumors about Wayne, and a strange look crossed his face.

"Could it be because I didn't offer him casting control for the female lead?"

After hanging up, Bruckheimer twirled his pen in thought for a long time before calling his secretary back in.

"Reach out to Hemera Pictures again. Raise the investment to $20 million for 15% of the box office revenue, with priority recoupment before marketing expenses. We can also offer them casting control over a supporting male role and the female lead, as well as global online rights. However, they won't get any share of DVD or merchandise sales."

"Got it, boss!"

The secretary quickly jotted down the instructions and left the office.

Meanwhile, Bruckheimer ran through the numbers again in his mind and nodded to himself.

There's a big difference between recouping box office revenue before or after marketing expenses. This was a common way Hollywood distributors squeezed external investors.

(End of Chapter)