As Owen drove back home, he couldn't help thinking about the negotiation.
The payment was almost a hundred thousand dollars more than what he had earned on The Hunger Games.
Even the number of working days would be almost the same, just a few more. Four weeks of filming, roughly 24 actual shooting days, since Sundays would be off.
Saturdays would be half-days, so the effective shooting time was around 22 days, because the four Saturdays would be 4–5 hour sessions instead of the usual eight or nine.
Filming would begin on Monday, October 17th, 2022, in the state of Georgia, specifically in Atlanta, and would wrap on Saturday, November 12th.
The choice wasn't random: Georgia offered very attractive tax incentives and significantly lower production costs compared to California, which allowed A24 to maximize the budget.
Another piece of good news were the bonus clauses Larry had managed to include in the contract.
If the movie surpassed 15 million dollars at the worldwide box office, Owen would receive a one-time bonus of $25,000. If it reached 25 million, the bonus would increase to $50,000.
On top of that, an additional $15,000 incentive would be paid if Owen received any major nomination at the festivals where A24 planned to premiere the movie before its commercial release.
It was a common practice in the independent circuit: first go through festivals, Sundance, SXSW, or Telluride, to gain critical visibility, and then hold the national premiere.
In the best-case scenario, if the film reached 25 million and was well received at festivals, Owen could pocket an extra $90,000, bringing his total earnings to $292,500.
Even so, he couldn't avoid making a mental comparison. With Paranormal Activity, his share of the box office was generating more than $150,000 per day on weekends.
Here, to reach the contract's maximum payout, he'd have to work over an entire month, achieve a box office target considered difficult, and earn nominations that were far from easy to obtain.
The conclusion was obvious: being the producer and creator of his own films was still, by far, the most profitable path.
Back to the topic, being the lead actor meant flights, lodging, transportation, and meals were fully covered, something standard for productions of that level.
On the other hand, as Cristian walked them to the door, he mentioned that between today and September 19th they would finish locking the main cast.
So it was logical to assume that in the coming days they would hold auditions for Aimee, the female lead. There would probably be around four to eight candidates for the role, following the same closed process they used with him, Elrodi, and Hedges.
Thinking about the female lead made Owen frown for a moment. His girlfriend already had an audition scheduled to see if she could convince the director and the A24 team to cast her as the female lead.
Owen had never said a word; they simply contacted Margaret, Sophie's agent, offered her the audition, and of course they accepted.
However, getting the role wasn't guaranteed. And at no point after signing did Owen make any comment in Sophie's favor. He could have made a casual remark, an innocent suggestion, but he knew that would cross a line.
Casting is generally the territory of the director, the casting director, and the film's producers.
Owen technically has no authority there, and that is the ethically correct boundary. Sophie will have to compete in a closed casting, likely against four to eight other actresses. And he doesn't want to come off as unprofessional or as someone trying to favor his girlfriend.
Everything will depend on Sophie, and that's probably how she prefers it, given her personality.
'Although soon I'll know how many and which actresses they're considering for the role…' Owen thought.
Since he was the male lead, the actresses auditioning for Aimee would have to test their chemistry with him. Which meant that once auditions began, Owen would need to be at A24, where he would see exactly who Sophie's competitors were.
Owen, with all of this on his mind, arrived at his apartment. He parked the car in the building's garage and went up to the second floor.
When he opened the door, he found the place in semi-darkness.
'Weird,' he thought.
Sophie, although not a morning person, was usually awake by this time. She didn't get up at eight in the morning for fun, of course, but by eleven or twelve she was normally active. And now the clock had passed noon.
He turned on the light as he closed the door behind him and hung his jacket on the coat rack.
"Sophie?" he called, walking toward the living room.
A faint groan answered him.
He found her lying face-down on the three-seater couch, wearing her pajamas, with a full untouched cup of coffee on the coffee table.
Owen raised an eyebrow and sat down beside her. From that angle he couldn't see her face, it was buried in the pillow.
"Everything okay?" Owen asked, gently moving a strand of hair away from her face.
"Mmm…" was all he got in return.
"Have you been awake long?"
"Mmm…" she repeated, not moving.
Owen couldn't help but smile with a hint of irony. "Are you going to talk to me like a normal person, or do I need to start learning the language of Minecraft villagers?"
Sophie slowly turned her head. Her dark hair half covered her face, the dark circles under her eyes and the drowsy expression giving her an air of annoyance.
Owen noticed the slight twitch at the corner of her lips, his comment had almost managed to pull a smile out of her.
"I'm fine… and I woke up fifteen minutes ago," she finally said, translating her earlier sounds.
"I see," Owen replied, leaning over to give her a short kiss.
Sophie returned it, but without her usual energy.
"You're acting strange…" Owen murmured, frowning.
Sophie sighed and turned back around, burying her face again in the pillow. "I'm fine."
Owen watched her in silence for a few seconds. Bad mood from just waking up, or is there something else? he wondered.
The night before everything had gone great. They'd had dinner at his parents' house to celebrate the release of the short film where Sarah made her debut and the good news of the lead role Owen had landed with A24.
Sophie and her mother had been at the dinner and everything went perfectly. Which made seeing her like this now even stranger.
"Your definition of 'fine' is getting out of bed, making yourself coffee, not drinking it, and collapsing on the couch to sleep when you've only been awake for fifteen minutes?" Owen said, using logic, and then added in a joking tone, "Did your period start?"
Sophie whipped around, offended. "I did not get my period!" she exclaimed.
"If you say so…" Owen replied, trying not to laugh. "But then what's wrong? I can't read minds, Sophie, and it's weird seeing you thrown on the couch like a depressed teenager on a Tuesday at noon."
"My mom called me as soon as I woke up…" Sophie finally said. "It was news about the short film I auditioned for yesterday."
Owen understood immediately. The low mood, the untouched coffee, the lack of energy. Clearly, the news hadn't been good.
"Oh…" he murmured, not quite sure what to say at first.
He knew exactly what it felt like, that mix of frustration and disappointment, the feeling of having given a good audition but still not being enough.
"Did they give you any feedback?" Owen asked carefully.
Sophie nodded slowly. "Yeah…" she replied in a low voice. "The usual generic feedback. 'You did really well, but we're looking for something a little different for the character.'" She made air quotes with her fingers, then sighed.
Owen leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. "Don't get discouraged," he said calmly. "Castings are like that. Subjectivity rules. No matter how talented we are, even if we give the best audition of all, if the director has a different idea of the character, rejection is normal."
As he spoke, he couldn't help remembering his own beginnings.
In his first life, it had happened countless times. Even here, when he started doing auditions through Backstage, despite knowing that his acting level was far above the average of the actors there, he still didn't get the roles.
And he understood why: acting can't be measured in data or speed, there's no exact metric.
It's not like sports, where if you're a phenomenon the results are obvious. Here, everything depends on someone else's vision and on connections.
Even already successful actors can be rejected. A close example: Jacob Elordi and Lucas Hedges. Owen beat them, despite being far less famous and having a much lighter résumé.
"I know," Sophie said, cutting through his thoughts. "I know you're right. But still… let me be depressed for a few hours, okay?"
Owen looked at her for a few seconds and nodded. "Sure," he said with a half-smile.
You can get used to being rejected at auditions, but that doesn't mean it stops hurting. It always stings and affects your mood, even if only for a few hours.
"But it's their loss. And tomorrow, when we shoot our new short film and upload it, it's going to be a hit with more reach than that super dramatic thirty-minute short," Owen added, shifting to a more optimistic tone.
Sophie smiled faintly. "You're right. This short film will be much better," she said, sounding a bit more enthusiastic. It was horror, her favorite genre, and she'd get to work with Owen and Matt again.
The short they planned to film was titled Lights Out, and the script was already finished. Tomorrow would be the shoot, which would last only one day and take place right there at home.
It was barely three minutes long, but its concept was as simple as it was brilliant: a woman who, when turning off the lights, sees a figure that only appears in the dark.
In his other life, that short had become a viral phenomenon on YouTube and later a studio feature film with a 4.9-million-dollar budget that ended up grossing 148 million worldwide.
All thanks to a perfect jump scare and an idea that could be explained in a single sentence.
Owen's plan was to upload the short within ten days at most. The shoot would take one day. Post-production was what took the most time.
And the timing was ideal: Paranormal Activity was still climbing at the box office, probably already surpassing 20 million dollars, and the previous short, One-Minute Time Machine, was likely already past a million views.
Riding that momentum, Lights Out had the potential to break the internet. And when that happened, Owen would already have the next piece ready: the feature screenplay.
His strategy was clear. Once the short went viral, he would leverage his reputation and track record: Paranormal Activity, The Spectacular Now, Paperman, One-Minute Time Machine, and The Black Hole, to sell the script to the highest bidder.
No producing or starring this time: the lead role was female, and he wanted to focus exclusively on creating, selling, and solidifying his name as a screenwriter.
According to his calculations, the value of that screenplay could be at least double what he earned for The Spectacular Now. In reality, probably much more: he had a soon-to-be viral short film on his side, a streak of successful projects, and the huge media momentum of being the creator behind the indie phenomenon of the year.
The budget for the new short was minimal: barely $5,000. It was three minutes long, would be filmed the very next day in his own apartment, and the entire production required only a single full day of work.
The team was already set and confirmed:
– Sophie, the lead, agreed to a $1,000 payment.
– Matt, the director, would earn the same: $1,000.
– Tyler and Eric, as technicians, would each receive $500.
– The remaining $2,000 would go to post-production: editing, sound, VFX, and color grading.
A compact, precise project, perfectly designed to maximize results.
Seeing her a bit more cheerful, Owen smiled and stood up from the couch while pulling his phone out of his pocket. "You must be hungry. Let's order something to eat, and dessert. My treat."
Going out to eat, with Sophie in this mood, wasn't a great idea. The best plan was to stay home, order something delicious, get comfortable, and watch a movie in pajamas.
Besides, Owen knew that for her, bad moods were usually cured with food.
Sophie straightened up instantly, as if she had heard a spell. "I want something chicken-y and ice cream."
"As you wish," he said with a conspiratorial smile. "Mint chocolate chip, right?"
Sophie nodded without hesitation.
Owen shook his head, amused. "Seriously, it's been months and you're still ordering mint chip. I'm starting to lose hope that you'll ever mature when it comes to ice cream flavors."
Sophie let out a laugh and threw a pillow straight at his chest. "Shut up! It's the best flavor in the world no matter how much you refuse to admit it."
"Whatever you say," Owen said, laughing as he caught the pillow with his free hand.
Now in better spirits, Sophie stood up, hugged him, and kissed him, this time with more energy.
"And how did the negotiation go? Did you manage to squeeze A24 as much as possible?" she asked, resting her head against his chest.
Owen smiled, gently running his fingers through her hair. "Let's just say they didn't walk away with their wallet intact. Larry did a great job with the deal."
They began chatting in a more relaxed mood, waiting for the food to arrive and deciding what show to watch.
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