Due to the success of “The Blair Witch,” Ryan easily gained membership in several guilds, including the prestigious Producers Guild and Directors Guild.
If the Producers Guild could be said to dominate Hollywood, the Directors Guild was only slightly less influential.
George Lucas once left the Directors Guild and never rejoined, yet he never left the Producers Guild.
Of course, no Hollywood guild can be taken lightly.
As North American media and public skepticism grew louder, 20th Century Fox finally paid the buyout fee for the rights, totaling $800,000.
However, 10% of that went to Helen’s commission, and over $50,000 was deducted for debts, leaving Ryan with just over $600,000 in his account—still some way from being a millionaire.
As for the box office tiered revenue share, it would take some time. If it took a bit longer, it might only come after “The Blair Witch” finished its run in North America.
Typically, for a blockbuster, 20th Century Fox, as the buyer of the rights, wouldn’t delay a few million dollars for too long. They would also allocate a portion of the income for bonuses to the director, actors, and crew.
It might not be much, but there would definitely be something.
And, of course, there would be a celebration party.
20th Century Fox was likely to host a large-scale celebration.
But these things had little to do with Ryan.
With the funds currently in his account, Ryan had to budget carefully and not spend all the money at once to avoid running out if future funds were delayed.
Helen also helped him set up a studio, which he simply named Ryan Studio.
The studio was essentially a shell company, registered in Delaware, like many other Hollywood companies, due to the lower taxes. It shared an office with at least five other companies and a receptionist.
Los Angeles taxes were notoriously high, while Delaware was much better. Even large film companies like Disney and Paramount registered in Delaware.
However, Ryan planned to rent an office near Starry Sky Agency and hire a receptionist who could also handle cleaning duties.
Delaware was too far away, and sharing a receptionist with five companies wasn’t very convenient.
He also needed an assistant to handle some daily tasks since Helen couldn’t always play the role of an assistant.
With Helen’s help, he rented an office near Starry Sky Agency at a very reasonable price.
The only downside was its small size. Apart from a decent office, it had only a tiny front desk, no private restroom, and no conference room. To use the restroom, one had to go to another floor.
Ryan hired a cleaning company to tidy up and placed job ads in the newspaper.
First, he needed a receptionist. The job was simple: answering phones, receiving mail and letters, and occasionally cleaning.
Next, he needed an assistant who could also manage the film crew.
This position was much more important than the receptionist.
The assistant would not only help with daily tasks but also needed some experience in film crew management to handle various unexpected situations.
The job ad quickly paid off, and the next afternoon, a middle-aged Black woman came to apply.
She was obviously applying for the receptionist position.
Oh, and she would also handle cleaning duties.
“Are you Mr. Ryan?” she asked nervously.
“I am Ryan Gosling. You can call me Ryan,” he nodded.
“Hello, Mr. Ryan. I’m Keisha, here to apply for the receptionist position,” she introduced herself and handed him a resume.
Ryan glanced at it briefly. It was an ordinary resume with no issues, so he said, “If you agree to come in each morning and also clean the office, you can start tomorrow.”
“The salary is clearly stated in the job ad.”
He was only hiring a receptionist, so he had no other requirements and didn’t care about race, as long as she was willing to clean.
“Sure, Mr. Ryan. I can agree to that.”
Keisha smiled, understanding that with her background and education, it was hard to find a suitable job, especially one that required only occasional cleaning.
“Good, here’s the office key. You can start tomorrow morning.”
Ryan handed her a key from his drawer. The office had nothing valuable anyway.
“Also, people might come to apply for the other position these days, so you’ll need to register them.”
After giving simple instructions, Ryan let her go for the day and continued to interview the next applicant.
Meanwhile, on Santa Monica Boulevard, a young blonde girl looked out the car window, checking the address numbers on the buildings as if searching for something.
“A genius director!”
“I hope Helen’s right.”
It was obvious Helen had recommended her.
Otherwise, with Ryan’s assistant requirements and the not-so-generous salary, finding a suitable assistant wouldn’t be easy.
In fact, if it weren’t for Helen’s recommendation and her desire to find a job to occupy herself, she wouldn’t have considered applying to a newly established studio, let alone taking a second look.
She came from a showbiz family. Her father was a famous director, and her cousin was a moderately famous Hollywood actor. She had appeared in a film as a baby.
She knew Hollywood very well from a young age.
If she hadn’t been so unhappy with her last film’s release, receiving the 11th Golden Raspberry Award for Worst New Star and Worst Supporting Actress and being ridiculed by numerous media outlets, she might still be an actress.
After quitting acting, she went to Paris and quickly found a job at Chanel, answering calls for Artistic Director Karl Lagerfeld—a very promising position.
Then, at her mother’s urging, she enrolled in California Institute of the Arts to study painting but dropped out shortly after and had been idle since.
That’s why she came to Los Angeles on her friend Helen’s recommendation to find a job and pass the time.
Anyone would envy her life resume.
Now, she just wanted a job to keep herself busy and pass the time.
Of course, she was also curious about the genius director Helen mentioned. Coming from a showbiz family, she knew very well what a film grossing over $100 million in North America represented—it wasn’t as simple as the media made it out to be.