Made in Hollywood

"Independence Day" just wrapped up its 10th weekend in North America and has racked up $328.75 million at the North American box office, although it's a far cry from the North American box office of the multi-rerun "Star Wars" franchise and "ET Alien." , but is very hopeful to hit the North American box office of "Jurassic Park" of 357.06 million US dollars.

It took "Jurassic Park" more than 60 weeks to make this North American box office, and Duke estimates that "Independence Day" will take dozens of weeks to break through the $350 million.

Ten weeks after its release, the North American box office of "Independence Day" has weakened, and the number of theaters has dropped to about 1,000. Although the weekly box office decline has remained healthy, the number of theaters is still shrinking. It is estimated that by October, there will be enough left. The next few hundred theaters would be good.

As long as the film can bring benefits to the theaters, "Independence Day" will not be forced down like "The Shawshank Redemption", but will continue to be shown in North America with a small number of theaters, which is very likely to continue. 30 weeks or more.

This is also a situation that Duke is happy to see. The higher the North American box office number, the more income he will bring in by 20%.

In fact, up to now, the theater chain has made two North American box office splits with 20th Century Fox, involving a total amount of up to 300 million US dollars, which means that the distribution and production side of the 300 million US dollars has been divided into the 20th century. On Fox's account, it's just that Twentieth Century Fox, like all Hollywood companies, has not paid a share to other parties for the time being.

Duke's compensation is easy to calculate, $300 million multiplied by 20 percent, or $60 million.

This figure almost accounts for nearly half of the box office share received by 20th Century Fox, which seems to be extremely unfavorable to the distribution and producers. In fact, Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox signed this contract with Duke. It already has the capital to bid, and secondly, the sharing agreement is stepped, and the most important point is that the box office is only a part of the film's income.

"Independence Day" is a big hit at the box office, and peripheral products such as TV, video tapes, and original soundtracks will all rise. These are long-term benefits. As long as the copyright is in hand, it will bring a steady stream of income.

Knowing that the share was on the books of 20th Century Fox, Duke asked his accountant to urge Fox to settle with him as soon as possible. Now Duke is no longer a small director who could only wait before, even in the face of Warner Bros. and 20th Century Fox. Hollywood giants like Century Fox speak loud enough.

Moreover, the two companies also hope to continue to cooperate with him.

While such a huge income is gratifying, it also brings another annoyance, that of taxation.

If the tax is paid according to the normal situation, a considerable part of Duke's share of "Independence Day" needs to be paid, and the tax bureau is definitely not an existence that can be easily provoked. He will develop in Hollywood for a long time. For those who are fiercely competitive, tax evasion is just asking for trouble.

Legal tax avoidance is the best option.

Over the next few days, Duke met frequently with his accountants and lawyers, and listened to advice on setting up a foundation for legal tax avoidance when the shares arrived. Most of the high-income earners in the United States have this Funds that are used for tax avoidance under the guise of charity or other are the norm in the entire Western society.

But the number of shares that "Independence Day" can bring to Duke is too high. According to accountants and lawyers, even if he uses legal tax avoidance methods, the tax he needs to pay is still a terrifying figure, and the funds for tax avoidance are still too high. , it will also be subject to certain supervision, and there are many restrictions and inconveniences when using it.

In this land, only taxes and death are eternal.

Due to the failure of his trip to Europe, Duke went to Duke's studio almost every day during the negotiation with major film companies in Nancy, and exchanged opinions on the writing of the new script with the two hired screenwriters. A screenwriter who signed on the scripts of "Brave Island" and "Independence Day", the income from the two films completely exceeded the combined income of the past.

Duke could sense that both of them had some ideas. He probably wanted to practice for a while to become completely independent. He had no intention of holding back. In this circle, no one wanted to become famous, and he didn't need a screenwriter full of whimsical ideas. Just part of the pipeline that populates script outline templates, such writers are not too hard to find in Hollywood.

According to his guess, the two screenwriters will probably leave the Duke studio after filling in the scripts they are writing.

The Duke’s studio, which was used to avoid taxes, is still an empty shell. The finances are outsourced to an accounting firm. The only real full-time employee is a middle-aged Latin woman who is responsible for cleaning and answering the phone.

"The studio is still the same..."

Following Duke, who was carrying the thick documents, into the office, Naomi Watts put the documents in her hands on the simple desk, pulled the chair to sit on it, rubbed her chest, and panted, " "Independence Day" hasn't come out yet, and you've collected so much material!"

"You've talked all the way when you came, my dear."

After taking the water bottle, Duke poured a glass of water for Naomi and pushed it over, "Singing and dancing, especially jazz singing and dancing, is a relatively unfamiliar field to me, so I always need to have some basic understanding."

"You always put the preparations first..." Naomi Watts took a sip from the water glass, "Everyone else is going into vacation time, and you are still busy."

Duke gulps down the water in the glass, feeling the coolness it brings, and then fills up for himself and Naomi, "Transformation is not an easy task, although the next one is about war, but..."

He shook his head and did not continue.

"Only the well-prepared will succeed."

Naomi Watts, who gradually became famous, was quite sure of the applicability of this sentence in Hollywood. She looked straight at Duke, "Actually, what you said to me helped me a lot."

"This is the result of your hard work." Duke turned a blind eye to the fiery gaze, and joked with a smile, "Maybe after a few years you become an A-list actress, and looking back, it's no big deal."

Although first-tier actresses are still weaker than first-tier directors, they also have enough capital to speak out, and actresses who step into the first-tier are often eager to make a clean break with the past.

"I will always remember you!" Naomi's eyes were full of sincerity.

Duke just smiled, but said nothing, flipping through the thick documents, clearly ready to start work.

Seeing Duke start work, Naomi Watts wisely chose to shut up, drank the glass of water safely, and found a random copy from the pile of materials on the desk. The singing and dancing that I practiced, I read it carefully.

After turning around for about ten minutes, Naomi seemed to feel uncomfortable in her neck. Naomi stood up carefully, walked to the window, looked into the distance for a while, and then turned to look at Duke.

Years have passed, and this guy has changed from an obscure young director to a first-class commercial director in Hollywood, but he still maintains a serious and dedicated work attitude, and can always automatically block and forget other people around him.

Naomi was very convinced of this, and kept her feet softly without making any sound. She had known Duke for a few years, and she gradually figured out many of his habits,

"What do you think?"

After closing the document, when Duke looked up, he saw Naomi looking at him.

"Seeing the materials you prepared, I think I have to hurry up and prepare."

Walking back and sitting in the chair, Naomi Watts flipped through a book about jazz dance. "If I don't do well then, you're not going to use me, are you?"

"You just understand." Duke didn't mean to deny anything.

Although he suggested that Naomi Watts practice singing and dancing as soon as possible, he would not guarantee anything. If he failed even the most basic audition, there was no need to talk about the rest. After all, an unqualified actor would ruin a movie. Not without.

After staying in the studio until the evening, Duke and Naomi Watts went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. After dinner, Naomi did not intend to go back to Beverly Hills, and followed Duke to North Hollywood in a tacit understanding. In the apartment, the two of them didn't ask anything else, they just explored and soothed each other's bodies with the greatest enthusiasm. While asking for their physiological needs, they also provided the other party with the most direct sensory stimulation.

Petite Naomi Watts is still so weak, and can always inadvertently make Duke wilder, and even stimulate his desire to destroy, but fortunately he understands that this kind of thing can only bring the greatest happiness if it is enjoyed by both parties, Not as rough as those models.

The next day, because his mother had returned to Santa Monica from New York the other day, Duke sent Naomi Watts back to Beverly Hills and went straight home to Santa Monica.

"Mother……"

As soon as he walked out of the garage, he saw his mother coming from the villa with her goddaughter, "Are you going out?"

"The company has some work to do."

"Hi, Duke." Scarlett waved to him.

"No class today?" Duke asked curiously.

"Scarlett's school has a short vacation." Mrs. Leah took over the topic and pushed Scarlett directly to Duke, "Since you are back, Scarlett will take care of you today."

There was no negotiation in his mother's words, Duke said embarrassedly, "I made an appointment with a real estate agent this afternoon to go to Malibu."

"I won't disturb your work." Scarlett said obediently.

"Going to see the house?"

Hearing his mother's question, Duke nodded, "I've seen a seaside villa from the documentation, and I'm going to take a look at it on the spot."