Zane Blackwood looked calm on the outside, but inside, he was very careful. He knew J.K. Rowling was going to be richer than the Queen of England one day. Her story, Harry Potter, was going to be worth hundreds of billions of dollars.
To protect himself, Zane had prepared two different contracts. He showed her the first one.
"Ms. Rowling," said David, Zane's lawyer, "this is the A-Version Contract. It covers the rights to the first movie, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, and all the other books in the series. It also includes the rights to sell toys, clothes, and even the books themselves. My boss, Mr. Blackwood, will help you promote the books."
Rowling nodded. She saw the bold words about book sales.
Actually, a movie studio didn't usually care about selling books. But Zane knew the future. He knew the seven Harry Potter books would sell over 400 million copies worldwide! He couldn't let that money slip away.
"Mr. Lawyer," Rowling asked, "what is the difference between Version A and Version B?"
Even though she was poor and living on welfare, Rowling was smart. A normal person would have just signed the first paper they saw to get the $100,000. But Rowling asked questions.
David looked at Zane. Zane nodded.
"Ms. Rowling," David explained, "the main difference is the price."
He pulled out the second contract.
Both contracts gave Zane the rights to everything—movies, books, toys, everything. The difference was how much Zane paid... and how much trouble Rowling would get in if she broke the contract.
Contract A
Zane pays $100,000 for the first book.
For each new book, the price goes up by 10%.
If Rowling breaks the contract, she has to pay a penalty of $80 million.
Contract B
Zane pays a one-time fee of $10 million for the entire series!
Plus, she gets an extra $1 million for every new movie.
If she breaks the contract, she has to pay a penalty of $800 million.
Hiss!
Rowling gasped. The difference was huge!
The first contract would give her about a million dollars over time. That was already a fortune for her.
But the second contract?
"Oh my God!" Rowling whispered. "$10 million right now?"
She was stunned. Even in Hollywood, paying $10 million for rights was rare. Zane had only paid that much for Spider-Man!
Christopher Nolan, who was watching, was also shocked. He knew this was a massive amount of money.
Mr. Blackwood must really believe in this story, Nolan thought.
Rowling took a deep breath. "Mr. Blackwood, David... I need time to think."
It was too big of a shock. She needed a moment.
Zane smiled politely. "Of course. Take your time."
He and his team left.
In a Hotel in Edinburgh...
"Mr. Blackwood," Nolan asked curiously, "are you really that confident in Harry Potter?"
"Absolutely!" Zane said, his eyes shining. "It is a gold mine. If I could, I would set the penalty at $2 billion!"
Nolan was surprised.
"But I can't," Zane explained. "It's illegal to set a penalty that high for a small payment. The court would throw it out, and I would lose everything."
That's why Zane created Contract B. By paying her a huge amount of money ($10 million), he could legally set a huge penalty ($800 million).
This made it very dangerous for Rowling to ever break her promise.
"When it comes to contracts," Zane said wisely, "don't be afraid of trouble now, or you'll have endless trouble later."
"I would rather pay more now," he said firmly, "than be held hostage in the future!"
Nolan nodded.
Zane knew the history. In his old life, Rowling and the actors constantly fought with Warner Bros. for more money. They threatened to quit unless they got millions more.
Zane was determined to stop that before it started.
A Few Days Later.
The deal was done.
Rowling chose Contract B.
Even though the penalty was scary, she couldn't say no to $10 million. It was a life-changing amount of money.
"Thank you, Mr. Blackwood," she said, shaking his hand gratefully. "I am truly grateful."
Zane smiled back, charming as ever.
But inside, he thought.
This woman, he thought. One day, she will try to take me to court to get more money. I have no doubt.
But Zane was ready. He had locked down the Harry Potter treasure tight.
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