"What's going on with Summit Entertainment, Billy?"
The next morning, Luca drove to the hotel where the film crew was staying and found Billy to discuss Summit Entertainment pulling out of the investment.
At the start of filming, Billy had secured $4 million in funding from Summit Entertainment and Touchstone Pictures, which made up half of the total investment. After a little over a month of filming, Luca and two other investors had contributed their $4 million, and Touchstone had added its $2 million. However, Summit Entertainment had only paid $500,000 in the first batch, and the remaining funds had never been transferred to the crew's account.
Now, as the project reached a critical phase, production expenses were growing. Billy contacted Summit's production department to push for the remaining funds, but they initially delayed payment, and then yesterday, they outright refused and announced they were pulling out.
"Summit is very unhappy with the recent changes in the crew. They're against the decision to replace the director mid-production and no longer see this project as worth the investment," Billy explained with a frown.
"Didn't we discuss the change in directors beforehand?" Luca asked, clearly frustrated. "You got sick and couldn't continue shooting, so to avoid delaying the schedule, we collectively recommended Annie to take over. Now the film is being co-directed by you and Annie—how does that hurt the project?"
Billy shook his head and sighed. "Changing directors is just an excuse. There have been a lot of problems with the crew lately, and some of it leaked to the media. Summit probably lost confidence in the project and decided to cut their losses early."
Luca nodded. In recent days, rumors about the film crew had been swirling. It was hard to say if someone inside the crew had been feeding information to the media, but stories about Luca mortgaging his house to fund the film, internal conflicts within the team, Billy fainting from stress, and the director change had all been circulating. Public opinion was overwhelmingly negative, so it was understandable why Summit had backed out.
Just then, Billy's phone rang.
"It's Mr. Goldsman," Billy said, referring to Akiva Goldsman, the production manager at Summit Entertainment and the person in charge of their partnership.
After a brief conversation, Billy hung up, looking both relieved and confused.
"What happened?" Luca asked, curious.
"Mr. Goldsman wants to meet you for coffee to discuss the investment," Billy said, frowning.
"Discuss what with me?" Luca raised an eyebrow, but since the other party was asking to meet, he figured there was no harm in hearing them out.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Goldsman."
That afternoon, Luca met Akiva Goldsman at a coffee shop on Sequoia Street in Baltimore's Inner Harbor. They had met once before, last year at a Greenwood Publishing celebration, when Akiva had approached Luca about the movie rights to Twilight.
Luca quickly realized why Goldsman wanted this meeting—it was about Twilight again.
After some brief pleasantries, Akiva once again brought up adapting Twilight into a film, expressing Summit's strong interest in moving the project forward.
"If you agree, Summit Entertainment is willing to continue investing in Step Up, even though we don't have high hopes for it," Akiva said.
"Mr. Goldsman, if you don't believe in the movie, there's really no need to force it," Luca replied nonchalantly. He sat by the window, stirring his coffee slowly, the sunlight casting a soft glow on his fair, handsome face.
"Mr. Kelly, this is our show of good faith. We want to collaborate with you," Akiva said.
Luca smirked. Two million dollars was a small investment—what did they mean by "good faith"? If they really meant it, they wouldn't have pulled out at such a critical moment. Using this kind of leverage in negotiations hardly demonstrated sincerity. Not to mention, last year, Summit had participated in blackballing him in the industry after bad press surrounding his audition for Constantine, another Summit film, where they didn't even offer him the sixth male lead.
Last year, they had also dangled the second male lead role in Mr. & Mrs. Smith as bait. Now, production was about to start, and they hadn't even contacted him for an audition.
"I'm not interested in working with people like that," Luca thought.
Shaking his head, he replied, "Mr. Goldsman, I think it's better if we keep these two matters separate. If Summit still believes in Step Up, we can continue working together. If not, then feel free to exit. Filling a $2 million gap won't be too difficult for me."
Akiva furrowed his graying brows, then smiled suddenly. "Mr. Kelly, I heard you mortgaged your house to fund this movie?"
"Yes, I haven't made much money as an actor or model," Luca shrugged casually.
"Then—"
"But my sister has money," Luca added with a grin.
Goldsman almost dropped his coffee cup. "You're a grown man, and you're still asking your sister for money? Have some pride!" his face seemed to say.
Luca smiled, unfazed. "I believe Step Up will be a success, so even if I have to sell my house, I'll see this project through to the end."
Goldsman shook his head. "Mr. Kelly, investing in movies is like gambling. Until the film is released, all predictions are unreliable. I advise you to be more rational in your investments and listen to the advice of professionals."
Luca nodded in agreement. "Thank you for your advice, Mr. Goldsman. But I've made up my mind. If this works out, great. If it doesn't, well, it'll be a learning experience. Failure is the mother of success, right?"
Akiva's lips twitched. "You'll learn the hard way how deep Hollywood really goes," he thought.
"Good luck, Mr. Kelly."
"Thanks!" Luca raised his coffee cup in a cheerful toast.
"Now, let's continue our discussion about Twilight," Akiva began again, though internally, he was growing frustrated. He couldn't understand why Kate Kelly had entrusted such a significant matter to her brother, this carefree fool.
Since last year, numerous studios had been reaching out to Luca, trying to secure the adaptation rights to the Twilight series. But Luca had no concept of how to negotiate, and at times, he would make outrageous demands, leaving people at a loss for words.
"Mr. Goldsman, if you're truly sincere, then let's cut to the chase: one billion dollars for the entire Twilight series," Luca said after some thought.
"A billion?!" Akiva nearly lost it.
Sure, the Twilight series was popular, but it wasn't on the same level as Harry Potter. Even when J.K. Rowling negotiated with Warner Bros., she hadn't asked for a billion dollars upfront.
Luca nodded. "Yes. I've seen my sister's writing plans. The Twilight series will have six books in total. While it might not surpass Harry Potter, the difference isn't that significant. Harry Potter has released three films so far, and they've made over $2.6 billion at the box office. Given the subsequent movies, the total could easily exceed $10 billion. So how much is the Twilight series worth? Is a billion dollars really too much?"
Akiva pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "Twilight won't be as successful as Harry Potter. That series' success is one of a kind."
"Nothing's impossible. Like you said, investing in movies is a gamble. I've placed my bet. Will you follow?" Luca smiled.
One billion dollars was a staggering sum, but not completely absurd. If Summit dared to match that, Luca was ready to sell. With a billion dollars, he could invest in ventures like the soon-to-IPO Google, the booming Apple, and the hot real estate market in the U.S.
But he knew Summit didn't have the guts.
"Mr. Kelly, that's not how business is done," Akiva replied, exasperated. Normally, deals were negotiated gradually, with both parties leaving room for flexibility. But Luca's approach left no room for further discussion.
"Mr. Goldsman, I'm not a businessman," Luca said with a hint of regret.
Akiva sighed. "Mr. Kelly, I hope you seriously reconsider. We're very sincere in our offer, and if you're unsure, you should consult a professional. I believe they'll offer more reasonable advice."
"I'll think about it," Luca said with a nod. With the conversation at an impasse, there was little left to discuss. He bid Akiva farewell and left the coffee shop.
"Luca, how did your meeting with Mr. Goldsman go?" Billy asked when Luca returned to the hotel.
"We couldn't reach an agreement. Summit is sticking to their decision to pull out," Luca replied, taking a sip of water.
"What should we do now? The 8 million budget was already tight, and now they've suddenly pulled their funding. Ugh, this is all my fault. I was too impulsive before," Billy sighed.
A few days ago, during the shoot, he wasn't sure what had gotten into him. He was just inexplicably irritated, feeling awkward and not wanting to continue filming.
After a few days of holding it in, he finally snapped and walked off.
Looking back now, he regretted it. Luca's script was excellent, and filming it his way wasn't a big deal. Unfortunately, he didn't realize it at the time.
Now that he understood, it was already too late!
Luca shook his head. "Billy, it's fine. It was just a small 2 million investment. It won't affect our work. You guys keep filming and maintain the crew's morale. I'll figure out the funding."
"Alright," Billy sighed in relief. Luca wasn't short on money, and 2 million wasn't much if he was willing to invest.
But in reality, Luca was a bit worried.
He had indeed made quite a bit of money earlier this year, earning over 4 million from both commercials and movies. It sounded good.
But the expenses were huge.
He had invested over a million in a film in Brazil and over 2 million in the money-pit that was YouTube, leaving him with little pocket money.
Now that Peak Entertainment had suddenly withdrawn, how was he going to fill the 2 million gap?
Should he ask Kate for money?
That felt a bit like mooching.
And as an independent, self-reliant man, how could he do that?
"Luca, good news!"
The next day, just as he was reluctantly preparing to ask for help, Anne Fletcher brought in a middle-aged man.
"This is Mr. Chris Hahn, the general manager of Echo Films. He's interested in investing in our movie."
"Echo Films?"
Luca was taken aback for a moment. Isn't that Aniston's production company? Why is she getting involved?