Hollywood Immortal

[Chapter 346: Harry Potter]

In Hollywood, even top-tier screenwriters couldn't hope to earn a million dollars a year unless they successfully transitioned into directors or producers. Moreover, even the best screenwriters faced constant torment from financiers, producers, directors, and stars during the creation process.

Now that these two had found a way to ghostwrite novels for Linton, their incomes had catapulted into a new social class. So why envy screenwriters anymore? Besides, Linton promised that when these novels were adapted into films, they would be credited as the screenplay writers.

With the massive success of The Fault in Our Stars, they naturally trusted the power of Linton's film company. There was no reason not to continue wholeheartedly being ghostwriters for Linton.

Returning from the Independence Day set to the company, Linton once again asked about their work attitude. Both eagerly urged him to start a new book as soon as possible.

This was ideal and in line with Linton's intentions. He had already highly acknowledged their capabilities. If they wanted to switch fields, he would have to recruit new people and go through a new adjustment period.

He handed Eddie an outline of The Da Vinci Code and gave Rosa an outline of The Hunger Games. Naturally, these two novels were quite demanding to write since they involved lots of specialized knowledge. Linton advised them to take their time researching in the library to supplement relevant knowledge.

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But what Linton valued even more was Harry Potter. He had already written the novel's setting and outline, and completed copyright registration.

This book was entirely different from other bestsellers. It required a magical world and boundless imagination. Finding a suitable ghostwriter for such a fantasy setting was very difficult in America. After searching through all the novels in the U.S., there was nothing quite like it. Simply put, America lacked the fertile ground for such literature.

The Harry Potter series was hugely important. In his previous life, over 450 million legitimate copies were sold worldwide, not counting countless pirated editions.

The seven Harry Potter books were adapted into eight movies, which grossed nearly $8 billion globally. Including various merchandise, games, animations, TV shows, toys, and licenses, the entire Harry Potter IP generated a value exceeding $100 billion.

After much thought, Linton decided that only the original author, Joanne Kathleen Rowling, could write the authentic Harry Potter. If someone else were to write it and mess up the story, the losses would be enormous.

Although he had read the books and seen the movies and recalled most of the plot, writing a complete novel himself was impossible. Creating a detailed outline was already challenging enough.

At this time, J. K. Rowling was probably going through the lowest point in her life -- abandoned by her husband, working odd jobs at a college in London, receiving meager pay, and raising her one-year-old daughter alone. Hiring her now with a good salary as his ghostwriter shouldn't pose any problems.

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After arranging Eddie and Rosa, Linton called in his agent, Mira.

Thanks to the rapid rise of Linton's career, his agent Mira's fortunes soared as well.

Not only did Linton's commissions bring William Morris Agency huge profits, but through a half-packaged deal with Linton Films, numerous newcomers were launched, boosting the company's profitability and influence in the industry. Now, among Hollywood agencies, WMA was on par with CAA.

Moreover, Linton had introduced Mira to manage contracts for big stars like Sophie Marceau, Cristiana Reali, Monica Bellucci, Izumi Sakai, Noriko Sakai, Vivian Chow, and Michelle Reis.

With this roster of A-list clients, Mira earned massive commissions, becoming a millionaire admired by many and a senior partner at WMA.

After receiving Linton's call, she hurried over, accompanied by attorney Goodman.

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Linton gave them two tasks to complete as soon as possible.

The first was to travel to the Leeds College in London to locate Joanne Kathleen Rowling.

Linton detailed the Harry Potter project to Mira and Goodman, handing over the novel's setting, detailed outline for the first book, and personal information on Rowling. Mira was to offer her $500,000 to work as his ghostwriter.

As for writing location, there was no strict requirement. Joanne could continue working at Leeds College or come to Los Angeles. If she came to L.A., Linton would cover all her living and accommodation expenses.

Most importantly, she had to sign a ghostwriter employment contract to prevent future copyright disputes.

After reviewing the Harry Potter novel setting and first book's outline, Mira asked, "Boss, can't we find a ghostwriter in America? Eddie and Rosa have done excellent jobs. Why do we have to go to England to find Joanne Rowling?"

Linton explained, "Because this is a magical fantasy novel. America doesn't have the cultural soil for that kind of story. But Britain has produced classics like The Lord of the Rings and The Chronicles of Narnia."

"Boss, I assume this novel isn't just one book?" Mira inquired.

"Yes, there are seven books in total in my plan."

"Will Joanne write the sequels too?"

"Yes, if the first book meets my expectations."

"In that case," Mira suggested, "we should clarify the payment terms for the sequels upfront. Otherwise, if the novel takes off, she might demand a big pay raise."

Goodman gave his opinion: "I agree with Mira. It's best to clarify upfront. But to prevent the sequel from being stalled due to poor market response, we can set a condition for sequels to take effect, like sales thresholds."

"That works. We'll set the trigger at one million global sales for the first book. Once sales exceed that, we'll start the second book's creation. The ghostwriting fee for the second book increases by 20% over the first; subsequent books follow the same rule."

"Boss, isn't that growth rate a bit high?"

"No problem. As long as she delivers what I want, the pay is no issue."

"Alright, we'll set out this afternoon and complete the task. What's the second task?"

"After returning from England, help me go to Broadway in New York and acquire the film adaptation rights for the classic musical Chicago."

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