_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____
Contract:
In 2020 you <insert actor's name> will play a lead
role in a movie produced by the owner of this
contract for a non-negotiable fee.
To terminate this contract a payment of $25
million is paid to the owner of this contract.
_____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____ _____

Movie producers, agents and acting scouts search high and low for 'the next big thing'. When they find someone with promise, they offer them the above contract for a reasonable upfront payment (e.g. $50,000).

The 'option' to exercise the contract can then be traded and sold between producers/studios.
-- xaviergisz, May 02 2007

Hollywood stock exchange http://www.hsx.com/
[xaviergisz, Feb 25 2010]

Ex-Googlers Design an Algorithm for Investing in Young Entrepreneurs http://www.xconomy....s/?single_page=true
[xaviergisz, Mar 18 2013]

Leading to "junk actors", Enron/Hollywood crashes, and spam in my email like "Xaviergisz, the next Big Thing, buy now before it soars".
-- normzone, May 02 2007


The realistic version of this exist - that is, stars bought "cheaply" by studios, put under contract, with money paid in case of breach of contract; as well as trade between studios. (Although that's become rarer.)

So, this seems like a mix between just plain reality and a reductio at absurdum that doesn't happen because it would be stupid.
-- jutta, May 02 2007


I guess this allows actors to be 'free-range' for a large part of their career, thus not being tied into a single studio. Thus you are speculating on the 'star-potential' of an actor, and play virtually no part in getting them there (as is the case with a normal studio contract).
-- xaviergisz, May 02 2007


Rather than 'searching high and low' you could hold auditions and publicise them, perhaps even show them on television. You could call it something like "This Particular Area Has a Small Percentage of Talented People".
-- marklar, Mar 18 2013



random, halfbakery