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Chapter 135:

“Good evening, Mr Hayes, It is wonderful to meet you finally. I have to say I was surprised when I received your invitation.” Will greeted as he walked toward the Albino man to shake his hand.

Abraham Hayes shook the offered hand and said, “An excellent evening to you as well, Mr Evans, and it is hardly a surprise that a company like mine would like to get in touch with Hollywood’s biggest topic. I really enjoyed watching [Sherlock Holmes]. It was exciting to see how you brought a legendary character to life, especially after the rest of us had given up on ever being able to produce a good movie out of the titular character. Please take a seat.”

“I am glad that you liked it. It was a passion project of mine. Mainly because I was disappointed with how my predecessors handled the series. I was an Avid reader of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s magnificent works.” Will said as he took the offered seat.

“Would you like some tea?” Abraham Hayes asked after he had sat down.

“That would be delightful, two sugars, please.” Will requested.

Mr Hayes nodded and pressed a button on his intercom “Susan? Would you please send us two cups of tea? Two sugars, each.” He requested his assistant.

Will admired the various posters of the many movies that Mega Works had worked on. Mr Hayes’ room was adorned with posters on the wall to their left. His eye caught the poster of their latest movie [Extraction Point: Charlie].

“I must congratulate you on your latest entry into the action genre, [Extraction Point: Charlie], which was artfully executed. I particularly loved the non-dramatized and glorified fight scenes in the movie. They were especially captivating.” Will congratulated the man.

“Ah! Yes, [Extraction Point: Charlie] was our latest endeavour into the military action genre. I hear you’re working on a period piece, [1917] if I recall correctly. [Extraction Point: Charlie], while it was able to do good enough at the box office, it was not able to help us achieve one of our main goals. That is also why I have requested this meeting, Mr Evans.” Hayes said, looking at Will.

“Oh, how may I help you and Mega Works, Mr Hayes?” Will said as he became curious.

A knock on the door cut off his reply, and a brunette dressed in formal attire came in with a tray with two steaming cups of tea in her hand.

“Ah, Susan! Please, place the tray on the table. Thank You, Susan.” Hayes said as she placed the cups on the table. Mr Hayes offered one of the cups to Will and took a sip from the other.

“As I was saying, [Extraction Point: Charlie] could not help us achieve one of our main agendas, with the movie. What we wanted was to establish a reliable franchise out of the title. But, based on the response from the viewers, it won’t survive another sequel. You have recently started work on another title, [Liberty City], if my sources are right. Mega Works would like to invest in the film. We are ready to put forth half the initial estimated budget for the film, and we are ready to distribute the film once it is complete.” Hayes said, getting to the crux of the matter. “We would like to enter a partnership between Dream Vision Studios and Mega Works for the coming film.”

This whole situation seemed too good to be true, and Will was highly sceptical of the reasons behind Mega Works’ interest in working with Will.

He asked, “If you will excuse my boldness, why me? I don’t just think it is because I have a good history in the industry until now or just because of my talent. So what is the caveat?”

Abraham Hayes looked straight at Will for a few seconds and then laughed, “You are direct. That is good. Most people in our industry like to weasel their way around a deal. To be honest with you, I called for this meeting mainly because my company’s shareholders wanted it to happen. And with the way things are headed for this company, I am nothing more than a figurehead following their instructions.” He explained.

Mega Works Studios was a part of the conglomerate that was Mega Corporation. The entire company was in rough waters because of the poor production history that it had endured in the past three years. In the last year itself, only three out of the seven productions could perform adequately at the box office, and out of those three, [Extraction Point: Charlie] was the only noteworthy title in their lineup of films. It was no secret that Mega Corporation’s shareholders were slowly shifting towards liquidating the company, and there were rumours of them having entered talks with a middle east based company to do just that. This gambit with Will might just be their last move before they decide to entirely sell the company and dust their hands with the film industry.

The CEO of Mega Works was a figurehead who owned negligible shares in the company. Usually, companies offer their CEOs stock options to subtly align the CEO’s interests with the company shareholders. It usually often devolves into many illegal practices like insider trading to reduce corporate control over the company, which seemed to have been the case with Mega Works. Abraham Hayes had only 1 – 2 percent fixed shares in the company that he retained. He had sold all the stocks that he owned in the company and let the stockholders do whatever they wanted with the company. Which meant that if their last gambit didn’t pay off, and Will either refused to enter a partnership with them or [Liberty City] didn’t meet its mark, then within a year or two, Mega Works Studios would be liquidated, and the Big Six would be reduced to the Big Five.

Their other option would be that they are interested in using Will and many other directors in attempting the last gasp by producing the last few films that they can before two years end, and they reach their agreement with the Middle East firm to increase the value of Mega Works Studio’s stock value. Thereby increasing the overall liquid assets that they would generate once the deal went through, which was probably their actual motive. If they were adamant about liquidating the company, Will could use their resources to fund [Liberty City] and soften the workload on himself.

“Mr Hayes, what are the terms of your proposal?” Will asked, trying to establish their true motive.

“We are ready to fund forty-nine percent of the film’s initial budget and distribute the film, both locally and internationally. You would retain proprietary ownership. We just want to enter a temporary partnership with your company.” Abraham Hayes informed him.

That meant that Will’s hunch was right. With Mega Work’s not angling for proprietary ownership in the film or in the IP, the Shareholders were using Will Evans to increase their stock value before ultimately liquidating the company. That was something that Will could very easily use and take advantage of. They were desperate to increase their value, and Will acquired investment for his film. But, Will saw yet another opportunity here.

“The terms that you have proposed are extremely attractive. Tell me, Mr Hayes, are the rumours of the eventual liquidation of Mega Works Studios true?” He asked directly.

Abraham Hayes laughed yet again and said, “Yes, yes they are, Mr Evans. I knew you would catch on to that, eventually.”

Will smiled and said, “Well, I am interested in going through with this deal, provided the contract includes a clause that after [Liberty City] is complete, Dream Vision acquires the rights to your VFX and CGI department. We are looking to expand, and Mega Works will have no use of your VFX and CGI departments after liquidation. If we acquire a part of your company outright, right after [Liberty City], you will be selling it to us at least five percent higher than the current stock value after the movie, plus you will have shares and box office returns from the movie as well.”

Abraham Hayes was surprised at the counteroffer and paused. He slowly nodded and said, “I will have to discuss with my Shareholders, but you can rest assured, they are more than likely to jump at the offer, Mr Evans.”

Will then got up. “It was a pleasure doing business with you, Mr Hayes. Please send the final copy of the contract to my CEO, Amanda Garcia, and send a copy to me as well. I wish you luck in your future endeavours.” He said as he shook his hand.

“It was a pleasure doing business with you as well, Mr Evans.”

…

//DreamNote//

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