Chapter 96

"Tom, I wonder if you're interested in playing 'Richard'?"

With these words from Ye Wei, the meeting room fell silent for a moment. Solton, the lawyer who had not had much chance to speak, felt his heart race dangerously. Investment and acting were two entirely different matters!

Hanks' expression did not change much, his trademark honest smile clearly indicating he had thought about this.

The meeting call then transmitted Brian, the agent's, laughter: "This is quite frightening."

Of course it was frightening! Gotsman didn't know what to say. If it was an investment, it could be kept low-key, and even if it failed, it would just be a crazy investment failure. Success and failure go hand in hand. However, if he acted personally, a failure would tarnish his acting career and damage his screen image. Although even Spielberg had confidence in Ye Wei, ...

Ye Wei said seriously, "Tom, 'Richard' is really very suitable for you. When I was selecting the target star, you were the first person I thought of. I asked the screenwriter Arndt, and his ideal choice was also you. It's a great story, a great character, isn't it?"

"Of course the script is great, and I like 'Richard' very much," Hanks replied seriously. "Wei, forgive me for not being a passionate person in this matter. I can't make the decision to act easily."

Brian's voice sounded again: "Yes, this has nothing to do with trust. From a professional standpoint, Tom cannot act, at least not now."

"I understand," Ye Wei nodded. This result was expected. Hanks was no fool, but what made his heart skip a beat was that Hanks showed very little interest in acting, tilting the balance towards "NO." Clearly, this was not the time to push. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, there was a chance to tip the balance towards "YES."

He took a step back and said, "Gentlemen, since I am the producer and director of the project, I must do my job well. To do that, the first priority is to invite Tom to play 'Richard.' So I won't give up, but I know it's not easy to make such a surprising decision. Tom, since we're not doing overseas pre-sales, and there's still some time before the cast is finalized, why don't you see how my work is going and what my public image is like, and then make your decision?"

"Alright," Hanks did not refuse, smiling. "That's my thought too. We'll see how things go when we reach the casting stage."

Brian added, "That's right. The shooting schedule and availability are also factors to consider, no need to rush."

Ye Wei could tell that Hanks was really keeping the possibility open, while Brian was just being polite, probably already firmly rejecting it in his heart. But having a hope was better than nothing. He smiled and pointed at Hanks, "OK, I'll do my best, for your joining!"

"I'll be watching," Hanks said.

Lawyer Solton felt relieved. This way, whether Tom Hanks would join and what the final cast of 'Little Miss Sunshine' would look like were still unknown. Maybe he would, maybe he wouldn't, maybe other stars would join, all depending on Ye Wei's future achievements.

If he could, he would really want to travel to the future to see how Ye Wei would fare, how the movie would fare, and how he himself would fare... It was truly exciting!

They then discussed some production details, such as setting the shooting location in Toronto for tax rebates, lower labor and living costs. $5 million in Los Angeles is $5 million, but in Toronto, it could be $7 million to $8 million.

To reduce Ye Wei's burden and compensate for his lack of production experience, they would still hire two executive producers. Hanks wouldn't be his assistant, and Gotsman would serve as the representative of Preton, overseeing the production. Who would be Ye Wei's right-hand person was still unknown.

The most discussed topic in this meeting was not the 'Little Miss Sunshine' project, but the next step, the current top priority: building Ye Wei's image.

This was like a string of firecrackers; once ignited, it had to explode one after another. Too fast or too slow wouldn't work, and missing any step was even worse. So timing was crucial.

After discussions with Brian, Leslie, and Ye Wei, they initially decided to release the remake of 'The Wedding Date' at the beginning of the summer, around June. Three months before that, they would launch 'Dance of the Angels,' starting the first step of the plan, in March.

Ye Wei had to complete the production of the remake by June, including test screenings and revisions, which gave him about three to four months.

Ye Wei felt it was doable. The script was almost finished, and a week of reshooting could complete everything. Post-production for two months was enough, so he could finish by mid-May, though he would need to take more leave from school.

"Alright, we'll get 'Dance of the Angels' on the Nick channel next month. They were already interested in broadcasting it, so it should work. Wei, you'll start appearing in the public eye, and your life will change a lot. Be prepared."

"At that time, I'll arrange at least one newspaper interview for you. You don't need to feel too much pressure. I'll teach you how to deal with the media during this period."

Brian and Leslie said in succession. Their plan was not much different from Lowitt and Brougham's, but their tone made people feel much more comfortable. They were not overly cheerful but more sincere and considerate of his feelings.

Ye Wei really started to like this team, though he still maintained a certain level of caution.

He smiled confidently, "I'm already prepared, maybe even from birth. I'm a genius, ha ha!"

Hanks recalled Spielberg saying that Ye Wei was a natural communicator with communication skills beyond his age. He wondered what Ye Wei would be like when facing the media.

As the meeting neared noon and everyone left, they were all in good spirits, with the intention of cooperation already very clear.

After this day, in the following week, Lawyer Solton was so busy that he almost fainted several times, with several contracts to discuss, draft, and review.

These included the joint production contract for 'Little Miss Sunshine' between the Dream Alliance and Preton, the joint remake contract for 'The Wedding Date' between Wei Duo Image and Preton, the employment contracts for Ye Wei as the producer and director of these two projects, the agency contract for Ye Wei signing with CAA agent Ryan Spelicher, and the public relations contract for Ye Wei signing with Leslie Dart.

This time, Lawyer Solton did not allow himself to make any mistakes. In the process of drafting contracts with several different opposing lawyers, he was fully focused, showing his spirit and the heart of a top lawyer!

What needed to be clarified must be clarified, and what needed to be protected must be protected, regardless of who the other party was.

A good lawyer is like a vicious dog; even if they can't win, they will still leave you with a lot of injuries!

However, the CAA agency contract and the Dart team public relations contract were truly treasures that countless entertainment industry underlings dreamed of, with the responsible parties being high-level executives of the two companies! What did this mean? Half of his body was already shining with stardom!

Moreover, signing a public relations team usually required paying the other party's salary, which was not a 10% commission but a fixed amount for the work done.

Someone like Leslie Dart, Ye Wei would have to pay her $2 million a year, and she wouldn't even care.

But because he was a special case, a new star being created, both parties adopted a deferred payment method.

For the first three years, Ye Wei had to pay Leslie $500,000 annually, which would accumulate. He would only start paying when he had the "ability to pay," specifically when he received a film project with a salary of over $1 million.

From the fourth year onwards, based on his annual income, the public relations fee would be set at $1 million to $2 million annually. In any case, he could not change his public relations team for the next five years unless he paid a high breach of contract fee, over $10 million.

If by the fifth year, Ye Wei still did not have the ability to pay, it would mean the star-making failed, and the Dart team had the right to terminate the contract without Ye Wei having to pay the outstanding fees.

So this was an eight-year plan, with Leslie investing $3 million in him, hoping to gain a return of over $10 million and a star client.

The agency contract also had a special clause: Ye Wei could not change his agent within five years of signing, or he would have to pay a breach of contract fee of several million dollars.

These clauses were not excessive but ensured the interests of Leslie and Brian. They also had to guard against the situation where they nurtured a sapling into a big tree, only for the tree to kick them away.

In fact, these were two very favorable contracts, and many people who had been in the entertainment industry for years but remained unknown would be envious!

They were favorable because of Ye Wei's age; he would be only 21 in five years and 24 in eight years.

Faced with this fact, Lawyer Solton was very moved. If the star-making succeeded and the relationships were well established, how many more years could they cooperate? And his mysterious business potential, who knew what his annual income would be in five years?

If not for this, the two big shots wouldn't even bother with him.

On the other hand, Ye Wei's rights were also protected by many clauses, including the "work effectiveness" of the agent and public relations team, ensuring that they would not just throw him into a trash can but would genuinely work to build him up.

How to judge "work effectiveness" involved another thing: Q Score.

Q Score is a rating system introduced by Marketing-Evaluations in 1964 to measure the fame of celebrities (entertainment, sports, politics, including presidents) in various industries. It's not mysterious; it's determined through professional and large-scale sample surveys.

For example, if you are a respondent for ME, the surveyor asks, "Do you know Ye Wei? What do you think of him?"

You have six options to choose from, from highest to lowest: "One of my favorites," "Very good," "Good," "Average," "He's just a poor (or inferior) guy," "Never heard of this person." The first three options generate positive Q Scores, while the last three generate negative Q Scores.

The Q Score reflects many things: fame, attention, public affection, appeal, influence... in short, value!

Since 1964, the Q Score has been the most authoritative and scientific way to judge a public figure's fame. If you claim to be a star, what is your Q Score?

Typically, a top TV star has a positive Q Score of around 30; a top movie star, around 40; and a superstar like Tom Hanks, consistently over 50, often topping the charts: 57, 56, 58...

Only figures like the President of the United States and Michael Jordan could compete with him.

Currently, Ye Wei's positive and negative Q Scores are both 0, not even on ME's survey list.

The contract clearly stipulates that if his positive Q Score does not reach 10 within a year, 20 within three years (which means he is a minor star), and if his negative Q Score exceeds 30 at any time, it will be considered a failure of the agency and public relations team, and Ye Wei has the right to terminate the contract without any breach of contract fee.

But it can also be said that if Ye Wei doesn't want to be a failure in a few years, he must work hard and cooperate, improving his positive Q Score!

It's like playing an online game called "Star Dream." He is now a pre-player who hasn't even created a character. Soon, he will create the character "Genius Boy Ye Wei," and within a year, he must level up to 10, and within three years, to 20, the higher the better!

The higher the level, the more of a person he becomes, the more commercial value, power, and influence he has!

Success or failure? Idol or nobody? Almost entirely depends on the Q Score!

February 11, Wednesday, a great day, the day of signing.

To be able to finalize the contract so quickly, they really had to thank the groundwork laid by the Willis team and the sincere attitude of both parties.

"I'm excited, I'm about to get the contract!"

It felt like a month ago when Ye Wei sent the same text message to the members of the Dream Alliance and many others. Those who saw the message all smiled happily, looking forward to the long-awaited good news...