Chapter 246
At the Sundance Film Festival Headquarters...
When Zane Blackwood arrived in the small town of Park City, everyone noticed.
Robert Redford, the famous actor and founder of the festival, frowned. "Leonard, why do you think Zane Blackwood is here personally?"
"I don't know," his assistant, Leonard, said, looking confused. "He's way too rich and famous for a small festival like ours. It doesn't make any sense."
The Sundance Film Festival was a great place for new, young directors to show their movies. But it wasn't like the Oscars or Cannes. It was more like "elementary school" for filmmakers.
Usually, only the mid-level workers from movie studios came here. The big bosses never came.
So why was Zane here?
...
Meanwhile, at other movie companies...
All the other movie studios were freaking out.
At Miramax Pictures, the boss, Harvey Weinstein, was on the phone.
"What?!" he yelled. "Zane is in Park City? Is he just on vacation?"
"Wait... Park City is not a vacation spot. He must be there for the festival! Damn it!"
"Keep a close eye on him!" Harvey ordered. "Tell me everything he does!"
Harvey was nervous. A few years ago, he could compete with Zane. But now? Zane was a billionaire. If Zane wanted to do something big, Harvey couldn't stop him.
At New Line Cinema, they were also watching. "Hehe," they laughed. "He's probably just there to buy more junk movies. Everyone knows he loves buying trash!"
At Lionsgate, the boss, Frank Giustra, was so worried that he got on a plane and flew to Park City that very night!
"I can't stop him," Frank thought, "but I need to see what he's doing!"
...
But... when the festival started, everyone was confused.
Zane wasn't doing anything weird. He was just... watching movies.
"Is this it?" Frank Giustra asked, feeling silly. "I flew all the way here for nothing? He's just being a normal guy?"
It was true! Zane had heard about Sundance in his old life but had never been. He just wanted to visit and have fun! He wasn't trying to trick anyone.
But on the fourth day, something changed.
A movie caught Zane's eye. It was called "The Blair Witch Project."
This movie was... well... trash. It only cost $60,000 to make. It was shot on a shaky hand-held camera that made people dizzy.
But Zane knew a secret. In his old life, this tiny, cheap movie made $248 million!
How? Because of a giant lie.
The movie was about three students who went into the woods to find a witch and disappeared. A year later, their camera was "found."
The people who made the movie pretended it was real.
They made a fake website with "missing person" posters.
They posted fake news stories.
They put up flyers in real video stores asking for help finding the "missing" students.
People believed it! They thought they were watching a real documentary about missing kids. It was a huge scam, but it made the filmmakers rich.
"This movie is garbage," Marco, Zane's distribution boss, complained after watching it. "The camera shakes so much I want to throw up."
"Yeah," Alexander agreed. "Is this even a movie?"
They were pros. They knew it was fake.
"Haha!" Zane laughed. "It can't trick you, but... don't you think it can trick regular people? Don't you think it can make money?"
"What?" Alexander and Marco were shocked. "Make money? Boss, this movie is terrible!"
Zane just smiled. He knew exactly what he was doing.
Chapter 247
At the Sundance Film Festival...
"What's the deal with this movie?"
"Yeah? Are home videos considered movies these days?"
"This is terrible!"
Everyone in the theater hated The Blair Witch Project.
"The picture is so bad!" one person complained. "The camera is shaking so much I want to throw up! And there are so many mistakes. Is this even a real movie?"
Even Zane's own team hated it.
Alexander and Marco both gave it a terrible review. Frank Giustra, the boss of Lionsgate, was so angry that he left after only 20 minutes. "It hurts my eyes!" he declared.
When the movie started, there were 60 people in the theater. 30 minutes later, there were only a few left.
"Boss," Marco said, holding his head, "I'm dizzy. I need to go outside."
Alexander just stared at Zane, pleading with his eyes. Please, let's go.
Zane stood up. "Since you don't like it, let's go out," he said with a smile.
Alexander and Marco were surprised. "But boss, you just said this movie was going to make money!"
"Hehe," Zane thought to himself. "Just because I know it will make money doesn't mean I want to torture my eyes watching it!"
He knew that in his old life, the company that bought the movie had to completely re-edit it because it was so bad. The editors had said, "Calling these guys 'beginners' is too generous!"
...
That afternoon, at a cafe...
A representative from Artisan Entertainment met with the two directors of The Blair Witch Project, Daniel and Eduardo.
"Let's be straight," the Artisan man said. "We want your movie. We'll buy all the rights for $30,000."
"Really?!" The two directors were so excited. Everyone else hated their movie, so getting an offer was amazing!
"Cheers, young men!" the representative said proudly. "Getting picked by the great Artisan Entertainment means you have a bright future."
But...
"Sir," Daniel asked nervously, "is $30,000 a little low? It cost us $60,000 to make the movie."
"Yes," Eduardo agreed. "If you like our movie, you should pay us more."
"Hmph!" The Artisan man's smile vanished. He looked angry. "If that's how you feel, we have nothing more to discuss."
He stood up to leave.
"Wait!" Daniel and Eduardo panicked. They jumped up.
"Sir, maybe you can add a little bit more?" Daniel pleaded. Selling for half the cost meant they would lose money!
The representative sighed, looking annoyed. "Fine. I'll add another $20,000. That's it. I'll give you three days. If you agree, we sign. If not, forget it."
He walked out, ignoring them.
...
Back at the hotel...
Zane, who had just watched a few good movies to cleanse his eyes, returned to his room.
"Marco," Zane said, "I want you to go talk to those two directors. Buy all the rights to The Blair Witch Project."
"Boss, how much should I offer?" Marco asked.
Zane thought for a moment. "Under $150,000."
This was a very generous price. In his old life, Artisan had eventually paid $120,000, but it took them 9 days of arguing.
Artisan didn't really believe in the movie. They were just taking a small gamble. They didn't even spend much on ads until the movie started making money by accident.
But Zane knew better. He saw an opportunity.
Sure enough...
Marco was a pro. He went straight to the directors and made a deal. Within a few days, Wald Pictures owned everything: the movie, the rights, and even the "fake" website about the missing students.
The price? $130,000!
"Gentlemen, it's time to sign," Marco said with a smile.
"Thank you!" Daniel said, full of gratitude. Eduardo was excited, too. They had actually made a profit!
"Gentlemen, I want to remind you," Marco added seriously. "You must help us promote the movie. You have to do exactly what we say. If you don't, you'll have to pay a $2 million penalty."
"No problem!" they agreed happily. They were just happy to be working with a big studio.
But... they would regret it later!
The movie was going to be a hit because of a giant lie. It was a "scam" marketing campaign. When people found out they had been tricked, they would be angry.
Zane's plan was simple: The directors will take the blame, and we will take the money.
It was a clever (and a little sneaky) plan.
...
At the same time, the man from Artisan heard the news.
"Hehe," he laughed. "A junk movie. Wald Pictures treats garbage like treasure."
He didn't care at all. He had no idea he had just lost a $240 million gold mine.
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