Modern family: Addition

Back story : Star wars (5)

Me : For now, I'm willing to commit to the budget of 8 million. Of course, my team will prepare my estimates and verify yours, if our estimates match in tolerance range, I will agree at your budget estimate.

Lucas : Fair enough.

Me : Okay for now it's enough. Let's discuss next item: Financial structuring of profit sharing. I'm proposing upfront payment according to industry standards ie. 400,000$

Lucas : I'm willing to take less money if I can retain full merchandising rights and film sequel rights.

Me (knowing that this is the same condition that Lucas negotiated with 20th century Fox in response to accepting only 150,000$ instead of 500,000$) : It's quite unusual for you to negotiate on these terms Mr. Lucas. Afterall it is well known fact in the industry that merchandising rights doesn't generate much money. (It was common known fact at that time. But this made Lucas earn billions of dollars; so I will not let it slip from my hand. But it is only known to me, how much these things will be of worth in future. So I showed my "apparant goodness" by reminding Lucas that his terms will be seen loss making as per current industry standards)

Lucas : I have enough confidence in my film's success so I'm willing to gamble.

Me : As you know Mr. Lucas. I own comic & toy company. And I very much like prospects of star wars and it's potential of expansion. So I would like to have full exclusive merchandising rights including toys, action figurines, clothing, Apparel, books, comics, home decor, collectibles, video games, accessories, Licencing and partnership. Also characters, technology, vehicle, story and plotline etc.

Me : So in my counteroffer, I can increase your fee to 500,000$ but you have to relinquish these rights to me completely and indefinitely.

Lucas : I think. I'm quite confident in my film so I know how much it will be worth. So I will still insist on retaining full merchandising rights and sequel rights in exchange for 275,000$ as fee.

Me : Mr. Lucas, your gamble can also put you on short end of the stick and for the expansion of my toy company, I would like to have merchandising rights. So, how about I give you 500,000$ fee and some percentage of Box office profits and you give me complete merchandising rights and film sequel rights and we have ourselves a deal.

After my continued insistence and more upfront fee and few percentage of Box office profits; George Lucas started to loose his stubborness and moved to discuss on what percentage of Box office profits will be appropriate.

Lucas : How much box office percentage we are talking about.

Me : How about 1.3%.

Lucas : Low.

(Meanwhile, I'm smiling inwardly that it's very good. That's how I want it to be. Lucas wanted to retain the merchandising rights for himself but I wanted this goldmine for myself. Only difference is that he has no idea of it's future worth but I'm completely aware of it. So only way for me to have him relinquish these rights to me is to stuff his mouth with money beforehand.)

Me : Okay. I will give you 1.5% of Box office profits and 600,000$ upfront fee. And we shake our hands on this.

Lucas : Still low for me to completely give up on merchandising and sequel rights.

Me : Okay. 2% box office profits + 700,000$ upfront fee + right to direct sequels if we decide to shoot it; for full exclusive indefinite merchandising rights and film sequel rights. It's my final offer, take it or leave it.

Lucas : Deal.

Me : How about creative input in scripts?

Lucas : I'm open to any such valuable creative input but I want full control during production process.

Me : Fair enough but final right to say during final editing of the films is upto me.

Lucas : It's difficult.

Me : You know yourself Mr. Lucas. No producer or production house gives free reign to directors. Degree of autonomy which I have given is is quite rare in the industry. So let's not make fuss in this final thing.

Lucas : Okay, fair enough.

That's how our meeting ended. After two days when my team matched out estimates with their, I and George Lucas met for final signing of the legal contract.

Me : I think we can reduce some budget by shooting in England or countries who provide subsidies for films etc. But I'm agreeing with the budget of 8 million dollars. Let's sign the contract.

Lucas : Yes.

Afterwards we signed the contract with above mentioned terms and few more terms regarding liability and accountability of what would happen if other party doesn't fullfill their end of bargain. After signing the contract, we shaked hands and film production Started as per schedule.

Plot was same as original star wars episode IV; Amid a galactic civil war, Rebel Alliance spies have stolen plans to the Galactic Empire's Death Star, a massive space station capable of destroying entire planets. Imperial Senator Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan, secretly one of the Rebellion's leaders, has obtained its schematics, but her ship is intercepted by an Imperial Star Destroyer under the command of the ruthless Darth Vader. Before she is captured, Leia hides the plans in the memory system of astromech droid R2-D2, who flees in an escape pod to the nearby desert planet Tatooine alongside his companion, protocol droid C-3PO.

The droids are captured by Jawa traders, who sell them to moisture farmers Owen and Beru Lars and their nephew Luke Skywalker. While Luke is cleaning R2-D2, he discovers a holographic recording of Leia requesting help from one Obi-Wan Kenobi. Later, R2-D2 is missing, and Luke is attacked by scavenging Sand People while searching for him, but is rescued by elderly hermit "Old Ben" Kenobi. Ben, an acquaintance of Luke's, reveals that "Obi-Wan" is his true name. He tells Luke of his days as one of the Jedi Knights, former peacekeepers of the Galactic Republic, who drew mystical abilities from a metaphysical energy field known as "the Force", but were ultimately hunted to near-extinction by the Empire. Luke learns that his father fought alongside Obi-Wan as a Jedi Knight during the Clone Wars until Vader, Obi-Wan's former pupil, turned to the dark side of the Force and murdered him. Obi-Wan offers Luke his father's old lightsaber, the signature weapon of Jedi Knights.

R2-D2 plays Leia's full message, in which she begs Obi-Wan to take the Death Star plans to her home planet of Alderaan and give them to her father, a fellow veteran, for analysis. Although Luke initially declines Obi-Wan's offer to accompany him to Alderaan and learn the ways of the Force, he is left with no choice after discovering that Imperial stormtroopers have killed his aunt and uncle and destroyed their farm in their search for the droids. Traveling to a cantina in Mos Eisley to search for transport, Luke and Obi-Wan hire Han Solo, a smuggler indebted to local mobster Jabba the Hutt. Pursued by stormtroopers, Obi-Wan, Luke, R2-D2, and C-3PO flee Tatooine with Han and his Wookiee co-pilot Chewbacca on their ship the Millennium Falcon.

Before the Falcon can reach Alderaan, Death Star commander Grand Moff Tarkin destroys the planet in a show of force after interrogating Leia for the location of the Rebel Alliance's base. Upon arrival, the Falcon is captured by the Death Star's tractor beam, but the group evades capture by hiding in the ship's smuggling compartments. As Obi-Wan leaves to disable the tractor beam, Luke persuades Han and Chewbacca to help him rescue Leia after discovering that she is scheduled to be executed. After disabling the tractor beam, Obi-Wan sacrifices himself in a lightsaber duel against Vader, allowing the rest of the group to escape the Death Star with Leia. Using a tracking device, the Empire tracks the Falcon to the hidden Rebel base on Yavin IV.

The schematics reveal a hidden weakness in the Death Star's thermal exhaust port, which could allow the Rebels to trigger a chain reaction in its main reactor with a precise proton torpedo strike. Han leaves the Rebels to pay off Jabba, after collecting his reward for rescuing Leia. Luke joins their X-wing starfighter squadron in a desperate attack against the approaching Death Star. In the ensuing battle, the Rebels suffer heavy losses as Vader leads a squadron of TIE fighters against them. Han and Chewbacca unexpectedly return to aid them in the Falcon, and knock Vader's ship off course before he can shoot Luke down. Guided by the voice of Obi-Wan's spirit, Luke uses the Force to aim his torpedoes into the exhaust port, destroying the Death Star moments before it fires on the Rebel base. In a triumphant ceremony at the base, Leia awards Luke and Han medals for their heroism.