On February 9th, Linton gathered Robert, Zach, Annie, Universal producer Tim Cassina, Mira, and Carnes at the studio to discuss the film budget and audit the crew list.
Logan, Vice President of WMA, also attended the meeting, while Mary and Bella, as usual, observed and provided services.
Unlike last time, a young lady had been hired as a receptionist, making the studio increasingly formalized.
Robert had already prepared a detailed film budget based on the script's shot breakdown and confirmed location scouting.
In this budget, production costs, including crew staff, venues, props, costumes, hotel accommodation, and catering, were estimated at 4.5 million US dollars.
The director's and main actors' salaries were estimated at 2 million US dollars, other non-main actors and extras at 800,000 US dollars, group dancers at 1.2 million US dollars, insurance at 300,000 US dollars, and Late Stage at 600,000 US dollars, totaling 9.4 million US dollars.
“What's with the 300,000 US dollars for insurance? There's no need for us to buy completion bond insurance for this movie, and there aren't any fight scenes or dangerous stunts, so why is the insurance premium so high?”
“step up is basically a movie that relies on a large number of people, requiring many dancers to participate.
And dancers themselves are a profession prone to injury; if someone gets injured during filming, it will be troublesome, so these insurance expenses are necessary.”
Robert explained, with Annie concurring from the side.
“Linton, as an A-list star, your director and lead actor salaries should match your status.
Isn't the 2 million US dollar cap for director and main actor salaries too low?” Mira was fighting for her own interests.
“My A-list star status is as a singer; for directing and acting, I'm still a newcomer, so a symbolic salary is fine; let's put more of the funds into production,” Linton replied proactively, and the others laughed.
“Does anyone else have any opinions?” Everyone shook their heads, indicating no objections.
“Then that's settled. Tomorrow, I'll have the accountant transfer the remaining 7.4 million US dollars to the studio. Mary, you'll manage the crew's finances.”
“Next, let's move on to the next agenda item: auditing the crew list.”
According to the list previously provided by WMA and initially reviewed by Robert and his team.
Linton mainly looked at the resumes of the cinematographer, gaffer, stylist, and costume designer.
He then had Carnes play long segments from two previous films for each of the four, totaling eight videotapes.
Although they were all low-budget films, it was clear that each had performed their tasks adequately, and their professional abilities were fully capable of handling the movie step up.
After confirming that none of the four had any negative records or drug addictions, they were hired.
For other positions, resumes were simply glanced at, and after confirming no negative records or drug addictions, all were approved.
At this point, the crew was largely formed, and Logan, Mira, and Carnes also breathed a sigh of relief, their expressions relaxing.
“Robert, Tim, find Goodman and have him work with you to sign the crew employment contracts as soon as possible.
However, I want to emphasize one point: drug use is not allowed on the set of step up. This must be written into the contract. If discovered, it will be considered a breach of contract, and the person will pay liquidated damages and leave.
Logan, is this acceptable?” Linton specifically emphasized.
“Okay, give us one day.” Robert and Tim nodded in agreement.
“No problem, we at WMA fully support your decision.” Logan quickly stated his position.
“Robert, do you have suitable candidates for the casting director?” Linton asked again.
“There are two suitable candidates: Jessica Stephen from Red Glue Casting Company and Musk Jon from Lucky Casting Company.
Both are well-known, experienced casting directors in the industry with good reputations, and production companies they've worked with speak highly of them.” Robert presented two sets of documents.
Linton opened their files and saw that both had participated in casting for many films, with long lists of credits, and the evaluations from film companies were all B or higher, indeed making them suitable candidates.
“What about their industry reputation? Do they have any bad habits or negative records?”
“I've checked, and their industry reputations are good. They don't have any bad habits or negative records.”
“What's your opinion? Who is more suitable?” Linton felt both were fine, so he asked Robert for his opinion.
“Jessica Stephen. From a personal standpoint, both are similar, but her commission quote is lower.”
Linton compared their commission quotes and indeed, Jessica Stephen's quote was 10% lower.
“Okay, let's choose Jessica Stephen. Sign the contract as soon as possible.”
Linton checked the time; it was already 4:30 PM without him realizing it.
“Does anyone have anything else to add?” Everyone shook their heads, indicating no issues.
“Then it's settled. You have one day to finalize the contract signing.
The day after tomorrow, we'll hold a crew preparation meeting here regarding casting. In addition to everyone present, please also invite the casting director, cinematographer, gaffer, stylist, and costume designer.”
Everyone agreed.
After the meeting, Linton notified them to return to the manor and, on the way, informed Zhou Haisheng to come to the manor to discuss the Charity Foundation.
After dinner, the two went to the office.
“Zhou Haisheng, how much have you learned about the Charity Foundation I mentioned to you last time?”
“Boss, I've thoroughly understood everything. Here are the detailed materials.” Zhou Haisheng handed Linton a document.
“Briefly explain it.”
“In a nutshell, establishing a Charity Foundation can help you avoid taxes and also help you better integrate into mainstream American society.”
“The principle of tax avoidance is simple: in the United States, private Charity Foundations only need to pay 1-2% in federal tax and allocate 5% of their net assets to charity annually, and then they don't have to pay any other taxes.
If you, Boss, want to pass the Charity Foundation to your next generation in the future, you also won't have to pay high inheritance taxes, gift taxes, or personal income taxes.”
“Furthermore, in the United States, charity is a culture. Wealthy people are happy to donate the money they earn to charitable organizations for public welfare.
The renowned economic commentator Lambert said: ‘In the United States, you can have enormous wealth, but you must give back to society, and it must be noticeable; otherwise, you will never truly become a big shot.
In the United States, people don't revere the rich; they revere the rich who give back to society.’
Leaving aside how much exaggeration there is in these views and moral standards, and how much is done out of necessity to avoid high inheritance taxes, gift taxes, or personal income taxes.
But from the results, over the past 100 years, American society has formed this culture of charitable giving.”
“Boss, if you want to develop and expand your career in the United States, you must actively integrate into this culture.”
“However, private Charity Foundations also have a drawback: once established, the ownership of the fund belongs to charitable causes.
You can have permanent control over its use, but not ownership.
However, when registering the foundation, we can specify that you are the sole executor of the ‘Charity Foundation,’ and you have the right to make all decisions for the Charity Foundation, including the transfer and inheritance of its management rights.
If something unexpected happens to you, the executor of the Charity Foundation must be chosen from your direct descendants.
This way, with permanent control over its use, ownership becomes less important.”
“Of course, private Charity Foundations can indeed avoid taxes, but that doesn't mean you can use these funds indiscriminately.
According to the US Constitution and tax laws, all donations, income, and expenditures of a Charity Foundation must have clear accounts and be regularly disclosed to the public for supervision.
You can use Charity Foundation funds for normal consumption, and even establishing trust funds for descendants is not a problem.
However, you cannot excessively use Charity Foundation money to buy luxury cars, yachts, or luxury villas, spending lavishly and pursuing female celebrities.
Otherwise, once exposed, it's easy to be scorned by the public and even ruin your reputation.”
“To sum it up simply, these are the points. Overall, I think the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, and it is now necessary for you to establish your private Charity Foundation.”
Zhou Haisheng had clearly conducted a detailed investigation, explaining both the pros and cons of the Charity Foundation and offering his suggestions.
“Okay, I'll consider it carefully first. Wait for my notification.” Linton was somewhat swayed but felt it was better to thoroughly review the materials at hand and make a decision after careful consideration.
“Moreover, I feel that private Charity Foundations seem to be a privilege specifically designed for the Family Legacy of the wealthy and powerful,” Zhou Haisheng finally said hesitantly, voicing his guess.
Linton was greatly surprised. Was Zhou Haisheng's analytical and judgment ability this strong? He saw through the essence of the matter so quickly.