[Chapter 71: Universal's Stance, Tax Season]
From the day the film officially started shooting, Linton moved into the hotel arranged by the Universal Studios for the cast and crew. There was no other way; he was not only the lead actor but also the director. The entire crew operated under his direction and schedule. They filmed during the day and held meetings at night to review the day's progress and arrange the next day's plans. Commuting back and forth from the estate every day was just too time-consuming.
Today, the filming location changed to inside a theater, shooting a scene depicting a performance report.
Linton, Zack, and Anne gathered around Naomi, reminding her of the key points for her upcoming scene.
"Here are your costumes," the stylist said. After everyone wrapped up the scene, Linton returned to his dressing room to find two outfits ready. One was a modern dance ensemble consisting of a tight tank top and baggy leggings; the other was a street dance outfit featuring a two-piece T-shirt set with a red and black baseball cap.
"Fits well," Linton said. He tried on the outfits and did a few dance moves. Both looked great and would appear in many scenes throughout the movie, promising good merchandise potential.
Dressed, Linton took to the stage and saw Naomi and Halle positioning themselves with the dancers. Naomi wore a tight bodysuit with an elegant, flowing short skirt sponsored by the high-end fashion brand, Brown. The skirt barely covered her hips, and the upper part was minimal, perfectly showcasing her stunning figure.
Unlike the original movie, all costumes for her character in this film were sponsored by Brown, designed by their chief designer Joe Bass. The classy and sophisticated outfits helped firmly establish her wealthy heiress persona. Beautiful girls in beautiful, high-end attire naturally drew more audience attention.
Zack and Anne had collaborated before on many dance-focused music videos and were skilled at capturing such scenes.
"Alright, everyone to your positions, action!"
As the crew warmed up to each other, the filming ran more smoothly and progressed well each day. Linton kept the schedule steady, knowing there was enough time. Follow current novels on ⓝovelFire.net
Levitt Gore, director of distribution at Universal Pictures, was keeping a close eye on the filming of Step Up.
Initially, he had paid little attention to this low-budget film and agreed to distribute it under favorable terms mainly because of Daniel. Of course, Daniel had later rewarded him generously.
However, since the project began, media attention had been overwhelming, with daily headlines about the film, almost all of it negative.
The film's buzz stemmed from many controversial points:
- A newly minted pop star investing heavily to produce and star in a film.
- A singer with no directing experience insisting on directing.
- Casting a female lead who had no prior acting credits.
- The entire directing and lead acting crew were industry newcomers.
- The film was independently produced by a fledgling studio without any established production partners.
Each point was enough to make critics deem it a flop, and together they made the media frenzy inevitable.
Moreover, Linton's bold moves annoyed many in the industry -- producers, directors, actors -- who likely pushed back with negative media campaigns.
At first glance, failure seemed certain. Normally, the company would question a distribution contract for such a project.
Since the Japanese takeover of Universal, executives were busy with internal power plays rather than focusing on corporate interests. Complaints were few and mostly whispered.
Besides, Universal, as the distributor, would not lose money regardless of the film's success; earnings would vary but losses were unlikely.
One day, while he was at home, Levitt's 16-year-old daughter, Christie, asked about Step Up's release date, saying many of her classmates were eagerly awaiting it. This piqued his interest.
"How do you know about this movie?" he asked Christie.
"The media reports on it every day; it's hard not to know. Besides, it's my idol Linton's first film," Christie pointed to a newspaper on the table.
"But all the press is negative; no one believes Linton can make a good movie." He casually handed her a newspaper.
"When do you think people ever trust newspapers? Anyway, all my classmates believe in Linton. He's so talented and handsome, so his movie will definitely be good. And since he invested his own money, we want to support it even more."
"Who exactly do you mean by 'all your classmates'? Are there many?"
"We, meaning Linton's fans. There are a lot of us -- over 100,000 just in Los Angeles."
"Where do you get those numbers?"
"From the Linton Fan Club -- I'm a fan, so I joined."
"What is this Linton Fan Club?"
"It's a fan-organized group with chapters in every school. We often gather to discuss his songs, albums, awards, daily life, and even gossip about his relationships. Basically, we're interested in everything about him."
Hearing this, Levitt's perspective shifted. Linton had significant influence, and a large fanbase. He seemed like the next Tom Cruise -- when Cruise was young, any movie he starred in had strong box office numbers, even if the quality was lacking. To fans, every movie was a must-see. If the quality was good, the box office was guaranteed.
As the distribution head at Universal, Levitt understood that the media's negative coverage was, in a way, good publicity.
At least a lot of people knew about the film. With proper guidance, the media narrative could be changed, and the movie might even succeed at the box office.
With this in mind, he called Tim, the producer assigned to Step Up's crew, to get an update on the filming.
He initially expected chaos and low quality, but Tim praised Linton highly on the phone. The crew was well-managed, Linton was a capable director, and the filming quality was high. Tim believed the movie had a good chance of success.
Was Tim under Linton's spell or had Levitt underestimated him? He decided to visit the set personally. If Tim's words were true, they could consider upgrading the distribution strategy.
April came quickly, marking tax season. Linton had to spend an evening with Henry Zhou and Goodman calculating last year's taxes.
Thankfully, only last year's income was counted; earnings from the first four months of this year would be counted next year.
Thanks to his purchase of an office building in Silicon Valley, a luxury estate, and a $3 million charitable donation -- combined with Henry's smart tax planning -- his actual tax burden wasn't high.
"Is something wrong? Why is it so low?" Linton asked, seeing the final tax rate. Not because it was too high, but because it was surprisingly low.
His tax rate was only 2.5%, paying just $1.33 million in taxes, far lower than the average American middle class, though the total amount was still substantial.
"Boss, don't worry. This is the most important annual task; I won't make mistakes. Your income last year was $52.74 million, but you bought $36.71 million in properties and d $3 million to charity. With my tax-avoidance strategies, this is the amount you owe."
After reviewing, Linton signed carefully, thinking that professional matters must be handled by professionals. This saved him a significant amount of money.
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