Chapter 278: The Tree Wants Calm, but the Wind Will Not Cease

The root of the issue stemmed from the script of "The Sixth Sense".

On July 22nd, a low-profile gossip newspaper in Los Angeles suddenly exploded with the news that "The Sixth Sense" script was not actually written by Simon Westeros himself, but by Bruce Joel Rubin, the screenwriter of "Scream". The newspaper article vehemently attacked Simon for allegedly stealing creative work. Since Westeros was not the scriptwriter of "The Sixth Sense", the recent hot debates like 'He can see people' were naturally dismissed as nonsensical.

Simon admitted he indeed took credit for others' creative achievements, but the original author of the script remained unknown. However, the newspaper's report completely contradicted the established facts of this timeline, attributing the entire credit of "The Sixth Sense" script to Bruce Joel Rubin, who had merely expanded on Simon's story outline.

With "The Sixth Sense" nearing a box office of $120 million in its third week, other films struggled to breathe under its dominance, and Hollywood's other production houses were eager for any negative news to emerge. Thus, the newspaper article became a fuse.

Driven by certain forces, the media immediately seized upon this matter.

Bruce Joel Rubin naturally became the first target of media inquiry.

Initially, if Rubin had firmly denied these claims, the issue might have dissipated. However, Rubin did not do so immediately, primarily for financial reasons.

Given the current box office trend, "The Sixth Sense" was widely predicted to gross between $250 to $300 million in North America alone, with global earnings potentially doubling to $600 million. Such a global box office meant massive returns from video sales and TV broadcasting rights.

If Rubin had signed a contract with Daenerys Entertainment under the Writers Guild of America's Basic Agreement, he would easily receive millions of dollars in residuals.

However, of the three-movie deal Rubin signed with Daenerys Entertainment, only his original "Ghost" was under a WGA Basic Agreement. The other two, "Scream" and "The Sixth Sense", were under a long-term employment contract, making him a staff writer for Daenerys Entertainment with a weekly salary of $2,000.

For both "Scream" and "The Sixth Sense", Rubin spent approximately 10 weeks on each script, earning $20,000 per script. Given Rubin's status at the time, this salary was not meager.

Following the success of "Scream", despite rumors that Simon was the creative force behind the script, Rubin rose to become a top Hollywood screenwriter, a chance that many in Hollywood might not achieve even if they were willing to pay for it.

As a staff writer, Rubin did not have the right to residuals, a common Hollywood practice to circumvent the WGA Basic Agreement and save on budgets. Hollywood studios commonly employ staff writers to create scripts based on ideas from executives or others. Even WGA members often do not receive residuals as outlined in the Basic Agreement.

So, does the WGA not care about such practices contrary to its Basic Agreement?

The answer is, they generally do not intervene unless there is a complaint from a willing member.

In fact, not just the WGA but also the Screen Actors Guild and the Directors Guild of America experience similar phenomena.

Steven Spielberg, for example, has been publicly criticized by actors for being stingy with salaries. To reduce actors' pay and residuals as outlined in the basic agreements, he often requires actors in his films to sign contracts that circumvent those agreements.

However, Hollywood also sees a common phenomenon where if a film unexpectedly becomes a box office hit, disputes over interests inevitably arise, whether it's uneven distribution of benefits, accusations of plagiarism for compensation, or claims that the studio is hiding profits.

Over the years, phenomenon-level films, from the '70s "Jaws" and "Star Wars" to recent "Top Gun" and "Rain Man", have all failed to escape this 'curse'.

For "The Sixth Sense", if the film had only made $100 million at the box office, Rubin might have remained content. After "Scream", he rose to the top echelon of screenwriters, and despite high-paying offers from other studios, he did not complain about his initial compensation.

However, a global blockbuster potentially grossing $600 million made it hard for him to maintain his composure, a sentiment that had been accumulating since the release of "Scream".

When the gossip newspaper article surfaced, Rubin did not deny it as Daenerys Entertainment had requested. Instead, he juggled the media while demanding Daenerys Entertainment for compensation, unapologetically asking for a whopping $5 million.

Simon was furious with this situation.

Another individual unwilling to honor contracts and even resorting to threats.

Simon valued contracts highly, as seen with "Pulp Fiction", where Orion Pictures made at least $100 million in net profit from over $300 million in global box office earnings, but he only received $15 million in box office shares. However, since that was the agreement, Simon had no regrets.

There was also the outstanding contract with Disney, which Simon could terminate by paying a few million dollars in penalties. Compared to his net profits of hundreds of millions from a single film, this would be worthwhile, but Simon had no intention of doing so.

Although Simon adhered to contracts, Daenerys Entertainment faced repeated breaches.

Initially, Simon had no intention of compromising, as everyone's contracts were clear, and many details were documented. Even if the case went to court, Daenerys Entertainment was not afraid.

However, at Amy's persuasion, to avoid affecting the excellent box office performance of "The Sixth Sense", Simon reluctantly agreed to a private settlement. Rubin, probably aware his demands would not fare well publicly, quickly settled with Daenerys Entertainment's lawyers for a $2 million settlement.

But, the tree wants calm, and the wind will not cease.

Just as Daenerys Entertainment was about to settle with Rubin, the Writers Guild of America, already at odds with Daenerys, suddenly stepped in, announcing a public investigation into Daenerys Entertainment for signing contracts that violated the WGA's Basic Agreement and harmed its members' interests.

In Hollywood, not just lower-tier screenwriters, but even top-tier screenwriters often take private jobs, working for a few weeks as 'script doctors' for lucrative one-time payments without seeking credit or residuals, and without being accountable for the film's commercial success.

There are numerous instances where entire scripts are completed anonymously; for example, the original script of "Dumb and Dumber" in the original timeline was not by the Farrelly brothers but was penned by "Home Alone" writer John Hughes.

Things are fine until they are scrutinized, which then becomes troublesome.

With deep grievances from last year's writers' strike, possibly fueled by other forces, the WGA seemed eager to confront Daenerys Entertainment on this matter, even demanding cooperation with the investigation or facing a blacklist, prohibiting its members from working with Daenerys Entertainment.

The severe consequences of last year's WGA strike were still fresh, making the WGA's threat of a targeted 'strike' against Daenerys Entertainment something Simon could not ignore.

If the worst-case scenario occurred without preparation, many of Daenerys Entertainment's ongoing projects could grind to a halt. With the television fall season approaching, if TV series lacked writers and could not be delivered on time, it would not only severely impact Daenery

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