He stood there in a daze for a while before Rick Solomon finally got into the driver’s seat. He glanced at the sun about to sink below the horizon and furrowed his brows tightly. “This... how is this possible?”

Chapter Seven: Preparations Begin

“Duke, this is Robin Grant.”

In the conference room of Lucasfilm, George Lucas was introducing a middle-aged man to Duke. “Robin is the production manager that Lucasfilm has hired for ‘Speed’.”

“Hello, Duke.”

The other party stood up first and extended his hand. “I watched the footage you edited—very impressive.”

“Nice to meet you, Robin.”

Duke also stood up, reached across the long conference table, and shook his hand. “I believe this will be a pleasant collaboration.”

As a company with a mature system and a well-established production process, Lucasfilm had officially kicked off preparations in just over a week since notifying Duke to attend the first meeting. Even the key positions in the crew already had suitable candidates, fully displaying the confidence of a seasoned Hollywood company.

As the future representative of producer George Lucas in the crew, Robin Grant undoubtedly held significant authority. Since Duke had not yet signed a formal director’s contract with Lucasfilm, the main focus of the discussion was on Duke’s compensation and authority.

“Your director’s salary is $120,000.”

He looked at Duke, and seeing no reaction, continued, “We’ll pay $50,000 up front; after filming is completed, another $50,000, and the final $20,000 will be paid after the film is pulled from North American theaters.”

Duke understood that this was standard practice in Hollywood. “I have no objections.”

After that, Robin Grant went over a series of the director’s rights and obligations. In line with Duke’s own requests, he would participate in building the crew and in many aspects of pre-production. But like most new directors, he would have the right to speak and make suggestions, but not the final say.

As for casting the main actors, Duke would also have the right to make suggestions, but not the final decision.

“I hope you’ll seriously consider my suggestions regarding the cast.” Within reason, Duke would certainly fight for appropriate authority for himself. “I also request to be involved in post-production editing, and that my suggestions be considered during the final cut.”

Editing can completely determine a film’s fate. Duke knew it was impossible for him to get final cut rights, but he hoped to have as much influence as possible to achieve the editing effect he wanted.

These requests were already beyond Robin Grant’s authority, so he looked toward George Lucas, who was seated at the head of the table.

“As long as your suggestions are reasonable.” George Lucas had no intention of refusing.

Duke breathed a sigh of relief. For a new director, being granted this much authority was extremely rare. In the Hollywood production model, let alone final cut rights, quite a few directors are excluded from the editing process altogether.

“There’s one more thing.”

As the meeting was about to end, Duke tentatively raised a request. “Uncle George... well, George, could my initial $100,000 salary be rolled into the film’s production budget...”

“And then you’d get a proportional share of the film’s profits?” George Lucas tilted his head at him.

Realizing his request was a bit much, Duke made a few meaningless gestures and completely gave up on these unrealistic ideas.

But what he didn’t expect was that, that afternoon, when he signed the formal director’s contract with Lucasfilm accompanied by his mother’s lawyer, this clause was actually added to the film’s additional terms...

Of course, this would only be a small amount of money, after deducting all kinds of expenses like theater and distributor fees.

Signing his name on two copies of the contract, Duke suddenly had a strange feeling—had he just gained a bit more authority?

But that’s a good thing, isn’t it?

As producer, George Lucas was only responsible for the big picture. The specifics were basically left to the production team led by Robin Grant. During the preparation, shooting, and production stages, he would be the representative of the production side, dealing with Duke and, in the future, the entire crew.

“The tentative budget for the film is $15 million, and the initial $10 million in funding has already been received.”

As he left with Duke, Robin Grant was still discussing preparation matters. He had clearly received instructions from George Lucas, and was passing on some experience to Duke through both words and actions. “The remaining $5 million will soon be raised by Lucasfilm. Our studio will be set up in West Hollywood, near Santa Monica, which is our main location.”

“Does the studio have a name yet?” Duke asked.

“Not yet.” Robin Grant shrugged.

“How about ‘Speed’?”

“Not bad...”

The two of them chatted as they walked to the parking lot, got into their respective cars, and went their separate ways.

Duke had already quit his temp job long ago. From then on, he reported to the “Speed” studio in West Hollywood on time every day.