The commander frowned. “Why?”
“Well, aside from the fact that you have more experience dealing with money people, there’s the fact that-“
“No,” Phule interrupted. “I meant why tell them that there’s no movie?”
“Sir?”
“Why not just form a film company and make the movie? Between the backers and the distributors, you already have the main necessary ingredient: money. If anything, it sounds like it might be a worthwhile investment for the company fund.”
“But we don’t know anything about making movies!” Armstrong protested.
“So hire people that do to run it for us,” the commander said. “People like … say, actors and stuntmen? Maybe even a cameraman? I’ll bet that any aspect of the industry they can’t cover, they’ll know someone who can.”
“My God!” Battleax said, starting to giggle uncontrollably. “That’s so outrageous, it just might work!”
“No reason why it shouldn’t,” Phule said. “It’s got a lot more going for it than most of the companies I bought or founded when I was first starting out. Heck; we even have Dee Dee Watkins signed to a multiple-movie contract.”
“She’s going to scream bloody murder when she finds out,” Rembrandt said. “Can I be the one to tell her, Captain? Please?”
“First, let me review the contract with Lex,” the commander insisted. “I think we’re going to have to renegotiate it with fairer terms. It doesn’t really pay in the long run to have your contract help sullen and bitter because they think they’re being exploited.”
“Oh, that’s no fun!” Rembrandt said, dropping into a mock sulk.