Including Ryan, Starlight Entertainment had only four employees left. Mary was temporarily managing the company's daily operations and finances, while Robert Lee from the marketing department and George Clint from the publicity department had nothing to do for the time being.
Ryan's upcoming plan required manpower, and he needed to at least hold on to these three people.
Salaries had to be paid on time. People worked to earn money, and that was just a fact.
Nonsense like "I'll give you a platform to grow" only worked on fresh graduates who didn't know any better.
Beyond the salary, people also needed to see some hope. More specifically, they needed to stay busy. Idleness led to overthinking, and overthinking led to people walking out the door.
Ryan called a company-wide meeting in his office.
"George, you've worked in the media industry, you know publicity, and you have good connections," he said. "You need to keep those relationships warm. We're going to need the media for our next step."
George Clint was in his thirties but had a naturally aged look. When he frowned, his face filled with deep lines, like a man in his sixties. He frowned now. "Mr. Anderson..."
"Ryan. Call me Ryan." Ryan kept his tone easy and approachable.
"Are we going to launch a new film project?" George asked.
Mary and Robert Lee both looked over with concern.
Ryan nodded. "Yes. We're starting a new project to save ourselves."
Surprise showed on all three faces. Before anyone could ask the obvious question, Ryan got ahead of it. "I'll handle the financing. Starting in February, everyone gets a ten percent raise, and I guarantee salaries will be paid on time."
That had an effect. The three of them relaxed a little.
Ryan turned to the curly-haired man in his forties. "Robert, how much do you know about the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority?"
"They just opened an office here in Los Angeles," Robert said. "Mainly responsible for evaluating investment opportunities."
"Just evaluating for now?" Ryan watched him nod, thought for a moment, then said, "Go and make contact with the people running that office. Find out what their impression of Hollywood is. Also pull together some background on Abu Dhabi itself — their investment activity, their cultural environment, anything useful."
Robert thought it over. "I have a friend who does a lot of business with Arab clients. I can ask him to make an introduction." He seemed to guess where this was going. "Are you thinking about finding Arab investors?"
Ryan nodded. "I have a classmate from Abu Dhabi back at USC. I've been talking to him these past couple of days. Arab oil money is enormous right now, and they're actively looking for places to put it."
George cut in. "Arab investment in the company? As for film investment... Ryan, we just had a very public failure."
Ryan shook his head. "If Arab capital takes a direct stake in the company, we'd be under enormous pressure."
The three understood immediately what that meant. There was a deeply established force in Hollywood that didn't get along with Arab interests, and walking into that conflict wasn't a smart move.
"We'll prioritize the film project," Ryan continued. "A single film project is much less sensitive." The plan needed these people on board, so he made his pitch directly. "Gentlemen, you are the veterans of this company. You didn't walk away from Starlight, and you didn't walk away from me in the middle of a crisis. I'm genuinely grateful for that."
"You don't have to say that, Ryan," Mary said. "It's just what you do."
Ryan understood the importance of keeping a team together. After saying what needed to be said, he moved to the practical part. "If we can close this financing, each of you will receive one percent of the total raised as a bonus."
The plan ahead required all of them to execute it, and they were all experienced people.
Robert Lee and George Clint exchanged a glance. George was the one who asked, "How much are you hoping to raise?"
"My target right now is the Arab side," Ryan said, keeping his tone relaxed. "Raising a few million dollars shouldn't be a problem. And I have backup options if needed."
These three had stayed with the company this long, so they clearly had some attachment to Starlight. The financial incentive on top of that lifted their spirits a little.
As soon as the meeting wrapped up, Ryan took Mary with him and headed to the Blockbuster branch in Century City.
Back in the office, Robert said to George, "I feel like Ryan has changed."
"Hmm." George sighed. "It's normal to change after a failure like that."
"I just hope this one doesn't blow up the same way," Robert said. He didn't have much confidence in Ryan yet.
George, though, said, "Hollywood is built on people who came back from failure. Ryan has talent. What he's been missing is experience."
There were things he wouldn't say out loud. He'd been thinking about resigning himself these past few weeks. But he'd wait and see for now. What if they actually pulled this off? Those Arabs who made their money from oil were said to never lose much sleep over a few million dollars.
Ryan and Mary arrived at the Blockbuster branch in Century City and were taken to a reception room, where they met the copyright buyer, a man named Anthony.
Blockbuster was the largest video rental chain in the country, primarily involved in video production, sales, and rental. It had been acquired by Viacom in the early nineties and was well on its way to dominating the video market.
Anthony was an ordinary-looking man, completely unremarkable, but his manner made clear that he didn't think much of small production companies. Companies like Starlight were a dime a dozen in Hollywood.
"Two hundred thousand dollars is completely out of the question." His voice was calm, but the dismissal underneath it came through easily. "Desperate Survival was a box office disaster. It isn't worth that price."
Ryan knew his opening number was too high, but he pushed anyway. "Desperate Survival is a distinctive action film. It incorporates the bloody elements of B-movies, and that style has always done well in the video market. There are also plenty of examples of box office failures finding a second life on video. The Shawshank Redemption has been one of the most rented titles at video stores for years now."
Anthony's response carried a hint of contempt. "That film still hasn't turned a profit. Maybe it will in another five years. But isn't time also a cost?"
"What's your number?" Ryan asked directly.
"Eighty thousand dollars."
"That's impossible." Ryan let some genuine disbelief into his voice. "The production cost on Desperate Survival was six million dollars."
In reality, eighty thousand was a normal offer. The standard video licensing fee for most films ran between ten and twenty percent of North American box office, and the more successful a film was theatrically, the higher the transfer fee plus royalties. But eighty thousand was still too low to walk away with.
Starlight Entertainment had been an old client of Anthony's, though that counted for little when commercial interests were on the table. Especially not when Starlight was on the edge of bankruptcy.
Anthony shrugged, his tone carrying the same faint contempt. "Let me remind you that Desperate Survival grossed eight hundred thousand dollars at the North American box office."
A flop that thorough didn't give Ryan much room to stand on. But eighty thousand was still too little.
Ryan offered a concession. "Beyond what the industry association requires, Starlight Entertainment won't ask for any backend participation at all."
Anthony's expression shifted slightly. He thought it over. B-movies were an important category in the video market, and bloody action films had a consistent rental audience.
"A one-time buyout," he said, raising an eyebrow. "Video and television rights together."
Ryan gritted his teeth deliberately. "Three hundred thousand dollars."
Anthony laughed. The smile was full of mockery. "Young man, Starlight Entertainment is nearly bankrupt. Nobody in this town is going to give you a premium price right now."
"Starlight hasn't gone bankrupt yet," Ryan replied, perfectly calm.
Anthony shrugged, as if he were listening to someone tell a joke, then said flatly, "A hundred and fifty thousand. One-time buyout for video and TV rights. Don't waste any more of our time."
Ryan considered it for a moment, then said slowly, "Alright. A hundred and fifty thousand." He added, "Full payment on signing the copyright transfer agreement."
"Fine," Anthony said without hesitation.
Both parties signed a preliminary agreement. The formal contract would follow after Blockbuster's internal approval. According to Mary, deals this small almost never ran into problems at that stage.
For a company Blockbuster's size, a deal worth tens of thousands of dollars was about as small as it got.
Walking out of the Blockbuster branch, Ryan glanced back at the nameplate above the entrance. The attitude of the buyer had left him with a quiet, pressing anger he had no outlet for. It wasn't just about today. Even at its best, Starlight Entertainment had never been taken seriously by a company like Blockbuster. The gap between the two wasn't a matter of product or talent. It was purely a matter of scale and leverage.
Ryan's determination to push the plan forward grew a little stronger.
Mary fell into step beside him. "Is this money going toward the startup capital?"
Ryan smiled. "Without operating funds, how are we supposed to attract anyone?"
Mary reminded him, "Under the distribution agreement, New Line Cinema is entitled to fifteen percent of the copyright transfer fee."
Ryan had already read the contract. He thought for a moment. "Go through the proper channels to notify them, but take as long as you reasonably can before the payment actually goes out."
"Two months of delay should be fine," Mary said.
Ryan exhaled quietly. Distribution companies sat at the very top of the Hollywood food chain. They took a cut from box office, and then another cut from ancillary rights income on top of that. Typically anywhere from ten to forty percent. There wasn't much to be done about it.
"Is the script ready?" Mary asked.
Ryan nodded. "It's ready."
With the startup capital coming in, the next step was putting together a project convincing enough to hold up under real scrutiny. And everything started with the script.