Chapter 90: Tiered Profit-Sharing
"I won't change my style. That's right! Just explosions, and even more explosions!" As the press conference neared its end, Duke fielded questions from a few media outlets. When asked about the subject of his new film, his answer was simple and punchy: "Next summer, you will see unprecedented explosions. The entirety of North America, and even the whole world, will be engulfed in flames."
"Director Rosenberg!" a reporter called out. "Are you trying to destroy the whole world?"
"If I could," Duke shrugged, "I'd love to do exactly that in a movie! Hopefully, I'll get the chance in the future."
"Could you reveal the specific premise?" another reporter asked.
"It will be a sci-fi film," Duke answered right on cue. "Roughly speaking, it's a story about aliens invading Earth and humanity mounting a desperate counterattack."
With that said, he shot a look to the host, who took the cue and announced the end of the press conference.
Heading backstage, Duke tossed the signed agreement to Nancy Josephson. Leaving the Four Seasons Hotel's press hall, he turned into a side stairwell and went straight up to the third floor, where Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox were hosting another media party in one of the banquet halls.
The contract signed during the press conference had just been for show. The actual agreement had been finalized days ago, only after Nancy had waged several grueling rounds of tug-of-war negotiations against the joint production committee formed by Warner Brothers and Twentieth Century Fox.
Initially, Nancy had demanded a top-tier director's contract for Duke: a $15 million base salary plus twenty percent of the film's total gross revenue. The producers rejected it without a second thought. The two sides then locked into a lengthy bargaining phase. Warner and Fox knew perfectly well that Duke's current track record gave him the leverage to demand a share of the profits, but their counteroffer sat at a mere $5 million base plus fifteen percent of the net box office revenue.