Chapter 22

"As expected, with the continuous growth of "The Blair Witch" box office, various problems inevitably arise.

Perhaps with overwhelming publicity, some of the public can be deceived into believing that this is a real event.

As time goes on, some people will easily discover the tricks, especially with the numerous media outlets.

"The Blair Witch" is just a shameless scam, continuously harvesting movie tickets and making a lot of money through various media publicity and hype.

"Hollywood, and even the entire North America, is facing the biggest scam in history, and that is 'The Blair Witch,' this despicable fraud."

"I really hope those damn fraudsters go to hell and enjoy a demonic life there."

"Oh God, I can't imagine that once 'The Blair Witch' succeeds, those Hollywood distribution companies will definitely follow suit, and there will be one scam after another in the future, just because it's easy to make a lot of money at the box office."

Most media outlets attack "The Blair Witch" scam without reservation, with a very hostile tone.

However, there are also some relatively fair media outlets.

"'The Blair Witch,' this is a new form of publicity, enough to be recorded in Hollywood history."

"This is a very classic marketing case. You can curse it, attack it, curse it, but you can't deny the success of 'The Blair Witch.'"

"The new narrative techniques and promotional methods in the film are all refreshing, and it even made people think at one point that this was a real event, not a film produced by a Hollywood film company."

"Although the bar for Hollywood was already low, it has been lowered even further, but no one can deny the success of this film, which can be considered one of the most classic cases in Hollywood."

The media's opinions vary, which is what attracts readers.

Compared to the diverse opinions of the media, a group of film critics unanimously praised it, with no shortage of praise.

Of course, what role Twentieth Century Fox and News Corporation played in it, I'm afraid only they themselves know.

Faced with the overwhelming public opinion and curses, whether it's Twentieth Century Fox or Ryan, who is also an investor, producer, director, and editor, they all remained silent.

At this time, instead of coming out to refute, it's better to keep quiet.

Sitting on the office sofa, Ryan calmly read through the newspapers.

"It seems that next weekend, it's time for them to return from Africa and accept their honor."

Whether it's the media or the angry public, they need a target to vent their anger on.

Obviously, the three lead actors in the film are very suitable for this role.

Honor!

Helen glanced at him and said lightly, "You should be more worried about whether Twentieth Century Fox will default on the payment!"

"That's a capital of up to several million dollars."

According to the tiered sharing agreement on the box office, Ryan should receive at least $5 million in revenue from Twentieth Century Fox.

Hollywood film companies are not charities, and defaulting on payments is very common.

In his previous life, as the final installment of the Harry Potter series, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," the golden trio in the film and their agent jointly negotiated a sky-high profit-sharing agreement with Warner Bros., the film's production company.

But in the end, when the film was released, Warner Bros. calculated a huge loss, which meant that as the main actors in the film, apart from the remuneration in the contract, they didn't receive a single cent in additional income.

"Well, I'm not worried about that." Ryan didn't show any concern about it.

First of all, the film was recommended by George Lucas.

Now Twentieth Century Fox has already or will soon receive hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, and they will definitely not default on a few million dollars.

Of course, if it were hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars, that might be a different story.

"I think Twentieth Century Fox won't default on just a few million dollars. So you should be more worried about whether your three lead actors will come back and get angry, and start talking nonsense to the media out of anger."

As the three lead actors in the film, if they get angry and start talking nonsense, it would cause quite a bit of trouble.

"You don't need to worry about these things. Before shooting, I already had them sign a confidentiality agreement with a compensation amount of up to several million dollars."

"And as their agent, I have the right to remind them of what to do." Helen had already made arrangements for this.

"I hope so."

"By the way, pay more attention to the sharing, and it's better to receive the payment as soon as possible," Ryan said.

The script for the next film had long been prepared, but the copyright fee for "The Blair Witch" had not yet been received.

Also, the copyright fee for "The Blair Witch" was only $800,000. After deducting Helen's commission and the borrowed money, there would be some left for daily expenses, at most around $600,000.

The budget for the next film was around $1 million, so there was still a large gap.

"I will pay attention to it."

Helen nodded. As the largest income for Starry Sky Agency so far, she naturally wouldn't take it lightly.

"But I also need you to guarantee one thing: before the film is released, you cannot contact any of the main actors."

At this point, Helen's gaze became stern. She didn't want any accidents to happen.

"Twentieth Century Fox has already arranged a talk show, and once they come back, they will appear in front of the media and the public for the first time."

"So I hope you don't get involved."

Helen's tone softened slightly as she continued, "Whether it's the media or the angry public, they all have a time limit. As time passes, everything will be forgotten. Even if your identity as an investor, producer, director, and editor is exposed, the impact will be minimal."

"However, it's best for you to stay behind the scenes until your next film is released."

Obviously, she disagreed with Jacky Chan participating in the filming of Ryan's next film.

"Maybe you're right."

Ryan didn't insist any further. After all, the selling point of his next film is not the female lead, but blood, and more blood.

"Well, let's change the subject, like take a look at my new script." Ryan took out a script and casually placed it in front of Helen.

For him, "The Blair Witch" was just the beginning, not the end. The next film is the key.

After skimming through the script, Helen noticed the final budget number and straightforwardly expressed her opinion.

"The success of 'The Blair Witch' is not about the film itself or the director, so for investors, it's just an isolated case with not much reference value."

"Hollywood sees talented directors fall every day. It's impossible for investors to fork out large sums of money just because one film succeeded."

"Unless you continue to invest."

Looking at Ryan very seriously, Helen said, "No director in Hollywood will constantly invest in their own films, because that's a very foolish thing to do."

"Even though you will soon receive millions of dollars, you still need to consider it carefully."

Many Hollywood film companies have been losing money, but most of the losses are borne by investors. The film companies are actually profitable.

This is the norm in Hollywood, making films with investors' money.

"Helen, I've already said this last time."

"Instead of wasting time with investors or film companies, I'd rather invest the money myself."

"Besides, as a soon-to-be millionaire with millions of dollars, I can afford to be a little extravagant." Ryan smiled.

Millionaire!

Helen showed a helpless expression and asked, "May I ask Mr. Millionaire when he can repay the money!"

As soon as the topic of repaying the money came up, Ryan immediately laughed it off and didn't mention anything about being a millionaire.