….
Deonte Maravich - the President of Red Pictures Distribution, sat at the head of the boardroom table, along with other board room members.
The meeting they were holding now was about their next distribution venture.
[Death Note] directed by Regal.
And just then, taking the lead Pete Harty, sitting two seats to Deonte's left, began -
"Since I was one of the team members who watched the movie, I will start by sharing my thoughts."
He continued. "One thing I can say for sure, it was made in a… pretty unorthodox manner. But personally…" He took a pause, and finished with a casual shrug. "I still believe it was a good watch. I liked it."
Hearing Pete's opinion, there were a few subtle nods around the table, though most remained quiet. Deonte's fingers flexed slightly against each other, but he didn't say anything.
He just kept watching as he couldn't attend the private screening - the other board members who had watched the film alongside Pete gave a collective, wordless nod, quietly affirming his assessment.
"But, President." Vanessa Reeds chimed in. Her eyes displayed unfavorability. "I think we need to be prepared for some backlash from the critics if you decide to greenlight this project."
She leaned back slightly, folding her arms. "Unorthodox movies aren't exactly… critics'-pleasers."
Her words flew across the table. The subtle shifts in posture from some of the others made it clear, many of them who hadn't seen the film were now paying close attention to her words.
Deonte included. As said, he was tied up with other obligations, but he had seen the trailer, enough to get a rough grasp of what Pete meant by 'unorthodox'.
Vanessa's voice sharpened slightly. "We are talking about [Death Note], here. A movie with a notebook that kills people. The public perception alone is going to be a nightmare to manage. Morality debates, controversy…"
Deonte's lips pressed together slightly at that.
She wasn't wrong - the concept alone was a loaded gun waiting to go off.
But Pete chimed in again, this time firmer. "True." He admitted. "But that is also why it will work."
"The moment this movie hits theaters, people will want to see it just to be part of the conversation. Whether they agree with it or not–" He made a faint, dismissive gesture. "–they will still buy the ticket."
Deonte's nodded calculatingly, shifted from Pete to Vanessa and then back again. Finally, he exhaled slowly through his nose, resting his forearms on the table.
"Alright…" Deonte finally said, his voice calm but firm. "Then, let's be clear about this before we make any offers."
He glanced around the table.
"We are distributing this film."
…just like that, the decision was made.
Despite their earlier doubts and wariness among the board members, a heavy silence settled over the room confirming their supportiveness, or more like their acceptance to his declaration.
Also they can't ignore the main factor in place - their last venture with Regal had left a deep mark, one they weren't eager to revisit.
Some still found it infuriating how he had outmaneuvered them right under their noses, while they could do nothing but watch as it unfolded.
But the bitter truth remained, if they had been a little more careful, they could have bagged even more.
….
In fact, Red Studios, specifically Deonte, had been the first to propose a collaboration with Regal, fully prepared to invest in his second project.
Even the most disgusted people agreed that it was worth it.
They didn't have to say it out loud, but everyone was thinking the same thing - it was Regal himself.
Despite their occasional pulling down, they all knew the truth - Regal could direct.
He was someone who could take a script and turn it into something alive. His debut film, [Following], hadn't just been good - it had been remarkable.
Regal's vision, his precision, and his ability to breathe life into a story were undeniable.
Of course, they had their doubts about him doubling as the writer.
Hollywood didn't have a shortage of scripts.
What it lacked were people who could do justice to them.
Regal was one of those people.
Even so, there had been discussions, heated ones, about pushing Regal to work on one of the studio's existing scripts.
There were plenty of them gathering dust on studio shelves. Projects with potential that had been shelved, rewritten, and abandoned over the years.
But Regal had refused.
However it didn't end there.
When Regal went on to lay out his terms… they had to step back.
The conditions he presented were nowhere near industry standard…. for a second film director.
Literally, if they had agreed to his terms, they would have become a laughingstock among their competitors once the word gets out.
No interference in auditions.
No input on casting decisions.
Zero influence over the story, runtime, or any creative choices.
Essentially - Give me your money, stay out of the way, and don't ask for anything until the product is finished.
It was a bold demand, one that no sane studio would ever accept from a first-time director.
So, the deal fell through.
….
However, Deonte made a final request, one that seemed insignificant at the time - He offered Regal to show him the film before reaching out to other distribution studios.
Actually, he regretted that he hadn't used such a golden opportunity to corner Regal to sign the - first right of refusal - clause for his second film, before finalizing the [Following] distribution contract.
Meaning, if Regal wanted to release his next movie in theaters, he had to offer it to Red Studios first. And only if they turned it down would he be free to approach other distributors.
But alas, that didn't happen - except for a verbal word from Regal - when he decided to produce the film by himself.
Which meant Regal had every right to ignore it.
Yep, Deonte only foolishly hoped Regal would be a fool enough to respect such a thing.
But surprisingly, he did.
He honored their contractless word, regardless of reason, or simply he is such a character.
Though, truth be told, Deonte hadn't expected things to unfold the way they did.
When he claimed he had let Regal go after failing to secure him for his second film, it was a lie.
In reality, Deonte had been biding his time, patiently waiting.
He knew Regal was talented, but that didn't mean he believed everything he touched would turn to gold.
His assumption was simple, that Regal's second film would inevitably flop.
He genuinely believed that, no matter how talented Regal was, he couldn't replicate his debut success without first hitting a few setbacks.
It wasn't that Deonte thought [Following] was a fluke, no, he wasn't that foolish.
Deonte, and co weren't amateurs - they were veterans of Hollywood, people who had seen it all. And despite what some outsiders might say, they understood one thing clearly - Regal wasn't just lucky.
So regardless of the fact a portion of people scoffing Regal's success as one time wonder or crediting it to Stephen Hawking - as the people part of the project they knew that Regal had been the driving force behind it.
He had been the one to insist on marketing the film around Hawking, turning it into his long awaited comeback.
And despite there is still a chance for him to indeed be a one time wonder, they all agree to the fact that Regal had skills in directing the film.
His vision is very unique and his Direction was impeccable that of a veteran.
Dismissing Regal's talent would have been stupid and self-deceptive of Deonte.
But he was a realist.
In contrast, he had been fully prepared to take a few of Regal losses, if it meant securing him once he was more vulnerable.
Because to Deonte, the long game was worth it.
A few short-term losses were a small price to pay if it meant locking down a director like Regal in the future.
However, his plans were all shattered the moment he learned that Regal's next movie was going to be a $60 - 70 million project.
That was totally out of syllabus.
When he said he was willing to take a few losses, he meant $5-10$ million at most.
Anything beyond that?
A definite no-go.
And so, Deonte's dislike for Regal grew.
Because Regal didn't play by the rules.
Like - at all.
Still, rather than making any rash moves, Deonte shifted his strategy.
For now, he would watch.
Observe.
Try to figure out what exactly Regal was trying to make.
And then, just a few minutes ago -
He watched the trailer.
One thing became clear - His dislike for Regal had increased.
Who makes a film like this?
Once again, he was left in a loop, and unable to properly evaluate its potential.
Yeah…
Potential.
Because the moment the clip ended, the question was no longer whether or not to distribute the film.
That was a given - there was no question about that anymore.
The only thing left to decide was:
How to proceed?
Not if. But how?
However, his focus wasn't on the film's quality.
No.
Instead, this time - he was intent on determining its box office potential - with as much accuracy as possible.
And he wasn't alone.
Pete Harty and the other board members - Five seasoned industry professionals.
All scrutinizing the trailer with a singular purpose - to gauge the film's commercial ceiling.
But the truth was, Deonte didn't know. For all his experience, for all the films he had evaluated over the years, something about this one made it impossible to pin down.
The same thing happened with [Following].
It wasn't about market trends or genre appeal. It wasn't about star power or target demographics. It was simply… Unpredictable.
And that bothered him - because no matter how exceptional a film was, there was always a ceiling - a border it couldn't cross, no matter how strong the reviews or how viral the marketing.
But this film…
This…
For the second time, that border was unclear.
And Deonte… He didn't realize it yet.
But one day, he would come to understand, it wasn't that he couldn't evaluate the film's potential.
It was that, deep down, his own mind had refused to accept the judgment it had already made.
….
"We are distributing this film."
…just like that, he made his decision.
Deonte continued to break the silent approval of the board members.
"...Alright then."
"First, let's start with the terms. We go in strong - favorable to us. This is Regal we're talking about. If we give him an inch, he will take the whole goddamn mile."
The others gave small, knowing nods.
"Let's outline the base terms." Deonte's eyes flicked to one of the legal team members seated further down the table. "Run through the numbers."
The legal executive, a middle-aged man with square glasses and a sharp suit, cleared his throat and flipped open the folder in front of him.
He adjusted his glasses slightly and began.
Deonte's face hardened in confidence. This time he wasn't going to be the one on the losing side…
No matter what.
The legal executive took notes swiftly, finalizing the key points.
Contract Terms Proposal -
Domestic Share: 40% → Escalating by 2% for every $50M above $250M (Capped at 50%)
International Share: 35%
Marketing Split: 65% (Distributor) / 35% (Production)
Streaming/Home Video: Performance-based clause tied to backend bonuses
Minimum Guarantee: Locked with a backend performance clause
License Period: 10 years for global streaming and physical distribution rights
….
.
Regal flipped through the contract.
The words on the page were precisely what he expected.
A blatant power grab.
Deonte the Red Studio were trying to pull the same old tricks, crafting an aggressive opening offer, making it seem like they were the ones dictating the terms.
They wanted him to fight back, to push and negotiate so that when he eventually 'won', he would settle for the terms they wanted from the start.
"...sigh…" Regal let out a sigh. Then added. "Pass me a pen Samantha."
"Here. I prepared it earlier on."
"Hah…"
….
Seeing the scribbled up contract terms Deonte's responded. "We are not fools, Regal. We are not falling for the same trick twice."
Regal's gaze was steady. "True."
He nodded slightly, then added with a casual shrug. "But… there are still plenty of idiots waiting outside to fall for it the first time."
Deonte's narrowed his eyes silently. "...."
He understood what Regal was trying to say.
It was simple, if not them, there are other distribution companies out there. Ones willing to fall for his tricks. At least if it's their first time, unlike their.
Because during the distribution negotiations for [Following], the same thing had happened.
Back then, they hadn't known the film's real potential.
So when Regal put on his act, spinning his tale about how he wanted Deonte to take the risk alongside him, to share the profits rather than just playing it safe and buying out the film, Deonte had bought into it.
And because of that, Red Studio ended up giving away the major share of the film's backend profits in the later half of its run.
It was a clean trick.
Regal wasn't sure if he himself could pull it off again. But he was certain there were definitely other companies out there, desperate for a hit.
Hungry enough to fall for it.
Unless Red Studio disclosed their contract details, which would never happen, those companies would be none the wiser.
Deonte's lips thinned, his voice low and sharp.
"But did you forget about the promise?" He leaned in slightly. "The first right of rejection belongs to us—"
"Huh… what promise?" Regal's eyes widened slightly, his expression blank.
He blinked once.
Then again.
As if he were genuinely confused.
Deonte's mouth twitched.
Because he knew.
He knew damn well that Regal remembered. But he also knew there was nothing he could do.
Because there was no contract, and Regal was now acting as though it had never existed.
Deonte's jaw clenched, the corner of his mouth pulling in irritation.
The shamelessness.
The utter, brazen shamelessness Regal displayed at times was… beyond his comprehension.
And what infuriated him more was, he had once thought this man was actually a man of his word.
Now?
He was taking those words back.
…..
.
[To be continued…]
★─────⇌•★•⇋─────★
Author Note:
Visit Patreon to instantly access +1 chapter for free, available to Free Members as well.
For additional content, please do support me and gain access to +10 more chapters.
–> p@treon.com/OrgoWriters