[Chapter 323: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire]
The next morning, Jas Caron arrived at Linton Films with his agent. Since the project was still in its early stages and the director's salary was not yet involved, both sides quickly signed the intent agreent for the Titanic project. According to the agreent, Linton readily paid $500,000 as startup funding. Both parties were very satisfied after signing, and Linton was ecstatic. After all, Titanic had held the global box office record for eight years; to get it so easily was thrilling.
Unable to contain his excitent, he decided to leave work early and throw a party back at the estate to share the joy. Seeing him back in the day was rare, so at his ho, Madonna, Nicole Kidman, Sophie Marceau, Cristiana Reali, Naomi Watts, Caron Diaz, Monica Bellucci, Jennifer Connelly, Winona Ryder, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Noriko Sakai all enthusiastically joined in various party scenes and role-plays.
...
At midnight, Get Out opened with 1,600 screens. The movie exceeded expectations with an attendance rate over 75%, grossing $1.02 million at the midnight showings.
On the morning of October 30, Sophie Marceau and others started a promotional tour across major North Arican cities led by director Ryan. Get Out soon showcased a strong box office draw. On Friday, it launched in 2,800 screens, earning $6.83 million on the first day. Adding the midnight show earnings of $1.02 million, the total first-day box office reached $7.85 million, claiming the top spot for that day.
Second place was the simultaneously released Stargate, with $5.78 million.
Third place was Legends of the Fall, which had opened the previous weekend, earning $3.27 million. None of the competitors could match up.
Following that, Get Out continued its rapid rise: $8.53 million on Saturday, $7.91 million on Sunday, and $6.84 million on Monday, a day when so states observed Halloween holiday. The four-day opening weekend in North Arica totaled $31.13 million, securing the weekend's box office crown.
More importantly, the reviews were positive. According to CinemaScore, a survey company's onsite audience polling gave the movie an overall grade of A, far surpassing typical horror movie ratings. CinemaScore predicted the North Arican box office would exceed $100 million.
...
In other news, Korn Ferry International, a globally renowned headhunting firm, worked with impressive efficiency. In just five days, they provided three candidates each for the CEO, COO, and CFO positions at UPN TV Network.
They booked a clubhouse where Linton t all nine candidates individually, swiftly making his decisions.
Chris Smith, who had risen from entry-level to Operations Director at ABC Network and had extensive experience and insight into television operations, was hired as CEO with an annual salary of $200,000 fixed plus $300,000 performance bonuses.
Synapse Lance from Fox Network was appointed COO, offered $200,000 fixed plus $200,000 performance bonuses.
Alice Russ, from HBO's finance departnt under Warner, beca the financial manager with $100,000 fixed and $100,000 bonuses.
After selecting the candidates, Linton signed contracts with them the sa day under the witness of lawyers, then personally took them to start their roles at UPN TV the next day.
After announcing the appointnts, Linton asked Chris to lead an analysis of UPN's current situation and quickly propose a restructuring plan.
...
Five days later, Chris submitted a report.
Chris identified the biggest problem as poor ratings: whether for dramas, variety shows, or news programs, none attracted viewers. Low ratings directly led to reduced advertising revenue, worsening financial indicators, and even causing franchise stations to grow uneasy.
The root cause, he said, was the unclear and non-transparent incentive system. From leadership down to staff, compensation and promotion were not truly linked to performance. Whether people perford well or poorly, the outcos were the sa. Promotions and raises depended solely on leadership's whims. Workers were demotivated, breeding corruption.
His key recomndation was to establish a systematic, scientific performance evaluation system that assigned responsibility to every position and genuinely motivated employees. On that basis, he proposed improving the quality of the three major program segnts: dramas, variety shows, and news.
He planned to start with variety shows, suggesting introducing a talk show.
Obviously, this new CEO had so serious skills: he'd diagnosed the core problem and proposed solutions in no ti.
...
"Chris, your report is excellent. Implent it as planned."
"Thanks for your support, boss."
"But don't rush the talk show. I've got an even better variety show idea." Linton handed him a program proposal: Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?
The rules of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire were simple. Contestants participated by phone answering, starting with three multiple-choice questions of increasing difficulty. Those who answered correctly advanced to semifinals. The semifinals and finals were televised, with finalists answering 15 multiple-choice questions within a set ti limit. A perfect score won $1 million.
During the contest, contestants could use three lifelines each once per round: asking the studio audience, phoning friends or family, or eliminating two wrong answers.
Chris read the proposal, growing more excited. As a seasoned television dia professional, he quickly recognized its value.
"Boss, this is genius. The show is highly interactive with low participation barriers -- anyone can play. Plus, it educates viewers, broadening their knowledge. Combined with the big prize, it's a shortcut to the Arican Dream. It will attract countless participants and explode in ratings."
The program's potential was proven in the previous era. At its peak, more than 100 countries and regions purchased the show's rights, where it garnered imnse viewership. Reportedly, ABC Network earned over $1 billion in three years from the show.
Another reason Linton chose this program was its simplicity: it didn't require complex stage lighting, expensive guests, or even a demanding host. He worried about UPN TV's ability to produce complicated shows, but Who Wants to Be a Millionaire would be a guaranteed success.
"Chris, start preparing for this program imdiately."
"Thank you, boss. I will move forward with full energy and make it our TV network's flagship show."
*****
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