# What would you do if someone paid you $4 billion for your ideas?



## Leif Notae (Oct 30, 2012)

The theme today is the idea of selling ideas/selling yourself/selling out.

While the topic isn't fantasy (Disney buying Lucasfilms), the concept behind it is very real in a capitalist society. We all want the big score, the one deal that will set us up for life.

So, where do you draw the line? How easy is it to go from selling an idea to selling out?

And, if the money gun was pointed to your head, would you sell an idea (your baby project, your novel idea, whatever) to someone else?


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## Steerpike (Oct 30, 2012)

For $4 billion dollars, I'd sell someone every idea I've ever had up until now. Think about it - for the rest of your life you'd have absolute artistic and personal freedom to do whatever you wanted.


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## Leif Notae (Oct 30, 2012)

True, but then there is the concept behind what happened to Lucas. He is a majority stock holder in Disney and only a "creative consultant" for the films. 

I am sure there is a non-compete clause in the contract.

So, would you do it with a non-compete clause? You couldn't create anything other than works that will never see the light of day until far after you passed for $4 billion right now?


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## Steerpike (Oct 30, 2012)

I live in California, where non-compete clauses are presumed to be void as a matter of law. They might be able to have a little more effect re: Lucas, though I doubt they could prevent him from making any movies at all (say if he wanted to start a new company). 

I wouldn't do it if nothing I did could see the light of day, but I don't see a company being able to reach that broadly, at least in the U.S.


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## Leif Notae (Oct 30, 2012)

I live in California as well. Hello fellow left coast sibling.

There are some contracts that give specific times for non-compete, so it wouldn't be a "forever" thing. However, this is more for a "what price is too high for your creative decision" more than a valid statement on law. 

Good to know about the clause though!


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## Steerpike (Oct 30, 2012)

Leif Notae said:


> I live in California as well. Hello fellow left coast sibling.
> 
> There are some contracts that give specific times for non-compete, so it wouldn't be a "forever" thing. However, this is more for a "what price is too high for your creative decision" more than a valid statement on law.
> 
> Good to know about the clause though!



Yeah in most places if you have a reasonably time and geographic limitation, courts will enforce non-competes. In California, they're presumed void even with those. Companies still use them because employees don't know they're void and might still abide by them. 

I don't know where the price is, exactly. Anything that would enable me to be completely free of a need for income for life so I could do what I wanted would be very tempting indeed!


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## Zero Angel (Oct 30, 2012)

I'd sell out and be miserable about selling out, but I think that I might have different socioeconomic conditions than others. 

Any amount of money that would mean that I would never have to worry about having enough money to have a house, make bills on time, get married, not have to worry about what groceries to buy. It would be immoral to NOT sell out.

However, I think of Star Wars relatively the same way I think of my epic. I have other stories that I want to write, but I have about 50 stories that I want to write with Star Wars. That said, didn't Lucas already write the three trilogies  of Star Wars twenty years ago? The second trilogy was the first set of films, the first trilogy was the second set of films, and ostensibly the third trilogy will be the next set of films.

Also, no offense to Mr. Lucas, I enjoyed his stories, but his writing in these last three was quite bad. Removing him as the writer could mean that the films would be even better. And if he still is a creative-consultant, then that means that he will be able to have input, just not be in charge of everything. That kind of seems like he can sit back and watch his imagination come to life. Sounds pretty awesome really.


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## Leif Notae (Oct 30, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> Also, no offense to Mr. Lucas, I enjoyed his stories, but his writing in these last three was quite bad. Removing him as the writer could mean that the films would be even better. And if he still is a creative-consultant, then that means that he will be able to have input, just not be in charge of everything. That kind of seems like he can sit back and watch his imagination come to life. Sounds pretty awesome really.



You haven't read his fantasy book... Yeesh.

The caveat here is that he is already wealthy beyond his imagination because of the franchise and the other houses that Lucas built. I agree he can let others do the work and see what they do with the world he created since he loves to see what people do with Star Wars anyway.

So then let's kick it up a notch here and say you CAN'T consult at all with any aspect. They bought it lock, stock, and barrel.


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## Shockley (Oct 30, 2012)

Absolutely. Hell, I'd sell out for substantially south of that. Seeing as how I'm a poor student living on my own, every idea (fantasy or no, related to writing or not) that crossed my mind to this point is on the block for, oh, 100k. 

 Now, twenty years down the line I'll probably have a very different answer to 100k - but 4 billion? Take my future wife and kids while you're at it.


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## Saigonnus (Oct 30, 2012)

I think Timothy Zahn did a better job at the post "Return of the Jedi" Star Wars universe in his books than George Lucas did and perhaps those should be the basis for the new films. The basic ideas are probably similar to what George Lucas outlined... Luke becomes a jedi master, Han and Leia have jedi twins and the remnants of the empire struggles to recover from their defeat at Endor.

To answer the question though: I would easily take 4 billion for every idea I have had to this point as it could potentially lead to other projects that could be worth even more.


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## Sheriff Woody (Oct 31, 2012)

There's not much I wouldn't do for $4 billion.


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## Anders Ã„mting (Oct 31, 2012)

What are you kidding? I think I'd sell my ideas for a lot less than that.

Goodness, imagine all the swords I could buy for that kind of money!



Leif Notae said:


> True, but then there is the concept behind what happened to Lucas. He is a majority stock holder in Disney and only a "creative consultant" for the films.
> 
> I am sure there is a non-compete clause in the contract.



I don't see what the point of that would be. Isn't part of this that Lucas basically decided to retire? Dude is almost seventy years old and made more money than _God._ It's impressive he's bothered to stay in the game this long.

Also, what has the man created otherwise that could possibly compare to Star Wars? It's his life's work, he's not just going to churn out another one.


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## Sparkie (Oct 31, 2012)

What an interesting thread.

Fact is, I have no idea what I'd do.  I've thought about it while reading these posts, and I really don't know.

On the one hand, you have the money.  Money money money.  We'd all love more money.  Money makes life better, or at least easier, right?

On the other hand you have...  Well what do you have?  More self-respect for not 'selling out?'  More principle?  More credit as an artist?  Well, do you?

I dunno.  And I doubt I'll ever know, seeing as wealthy people aren't lining up to buy any of my ideas.

I do know this though.  As a single man with no dependents, I currently have the luxury of doing as I choose.  If, however, I had someone who relied on me, who needed resources I could provide, then I might not be able to do as I wished.  Rather, I would do what I had to do in order to care for my family.


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## Chilari (Oct 31, 2012)

I know what I'd do with $4bn. And yes I'd sell whatever I've come up with so far in my life for it.

Hell, I'd do it for $4*m*. I can build a nice ecohome with a massive library and a vegetable garden and nice views for that, what, Â£2.6m in real money? I've got more ideas in me, and if the stipulation is that the stories I've begun so far can't be used (even the ones that never saw the light of day) then fine, I'll have more ideas, I'll create new worlds and new characters, and if I can't I'll just paint all I like in a massive studio instead of writing. But with that kind of money I'll be set for life.


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## CupofJoe (Oct 31, 2012)

Leif Notae said:


> We all want the big score, the one deal that will set us up for life.



Not personally - give me a small quiet farm somewhere with trees and I'd say goodbye to the rest of the world very happily... If it wasn't that pesky "being Xtian" and praying all the time I'd be a monk.



Leif Notae said:


> And, if the money gun was pointed to your head, would you sell an idea (your baby project, your novel idea, whatever) to someone else?


In a second - and it wouldn't have to be a gun, just money...


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## WyrdMystic (Oct 31, 2012)

Of course I'd sell. Especially if I was Lucas's age - he can retire now, if he wanted, safe in the knowledge that he had chosen the company to carry on his legacy long after he pops it.

Though, I couldn't justify keeping $4 billion to myself. I'd have to off-load half of it.


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## Chime85 (Oct 31, 2012)

If someone offered me $4mil for my novel ideas, I'd call them a liar before searching for the candid camera!

x


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## SeverinR (Oct 31, 2012)

WyrdMystic said:


> Of course I'd sell. Especially if I was Lucas's age - he can retire now, if he wanted, safe in the knowledge that he had chosen the company to carry on his legacy long after he pops it.
> 
> Though, I couldn't justify keeping $4 billion to myself. I'd have to off-load half of it.


In the US, goverment expects at least half.  So 4b becomes 2b.  Share the wealth, you know.


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## WyrdMystic (Oct 31, 2012)

SeverinR said:


> In the US, goverment expects at least half.  So 4b becomes 2b.  Share the wealth, you know.



Same here, though that half becomes less than that seeing as half is taken in shares so isn't cashed in and isn't taxed in the same way. So $2 bill is 'safe' and $2 bill is halved, so the package ends up with $1 bill cash and a $2 bill stake in Disney which will generate more than that over time - eventually $4 bill becomes $10 bill even after tax.

Still with $1 bill cash and no shares I'd still have to splash AT LEAST half out to charities or something.....having that much money would just make me feel sick, don't think I could cope with it.


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## Leif Notae (Oct 31, 2012)

Thanks everyone for responding, this is great. 

I think the problem here is that he will forever be tied into the films, even after he's gone. Sure, we all look at I, II, and III and think they're garbage, but it might look like Casablanca after what Disney could do to them if they are looking to get more family friendly with the IP.

Now, they haven't done it yet. They're hands off with Marvel and Pixar, so I don't see it happening with Lucas either. 

However, that might be the next price you pay. It might not apply to single people like myself, but could you imagine the hell your children or grandchildren will pay if someone else destroyed the IP you were known for? Sure, rational people might see it, but there are some pretty irrational people out there as well.

So are you willing to trade that in for this money? Yes, your children and maybe your grandchildren wouldn't have to want for anything, but they would have to suffer "rage hatred" for your villain sporting mouse ears throughout the film or having a singing weapon teaching the virtues of goodness and light.


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## Zero Angel (Oct 31, 2012)

Chilari said:


> I know what I'd do with $4bn. And yes I'd sell whatever I've come up with so far in my life for it.
> 
> Hell, I'd do it for $4*m*. I can build a nice ecohome with a massive library and a vegetable garden and nice views for that, what, Â£2.6m in real money? I've got more ideas in me, and if the stipulation is that the stories I've begun so far can't be used (even the ones that never saw the light of day) then fine, I'll have more ideas, I'll create new worlds and new characters, and if I can't I'll just paint all I like in a massive studio instead of writing. But with that kind of money I'll be set for life.



Quick question. Is 4 billion in England 4 million million or 4 thousand million? I've always heard a billion in UK English is a million million (which is a trillion in American English). If it is a million million, then do yins get confused when reading stories with billions or trillions?


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## CTStanley (Oct 31, 2012)

How many is a billion? - Oxford Dictionaries Online

In British English, a billion used to be equivalent to a million million (i.e. 1,000,000,000,000), while in American English it has always equated to a thousand million (i.e. 1,000,000,000). British English has now adopted the American figure, though, so that a billion equals a thousand million in both varieties of English.

The same sort of change has taken place with the meaning of trillion. In British English, a trillion used to mean a million million million (i.e. 1,000,000,000,000,000,000). Nowadays, it's generally held to be equivalent to a million million (1,000,000,000,000), as it is in American English.


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## CupofJoe (Oct 31, 2012)

Zero Angel said:


> Quick question. Is 4 billion in England 4 million million or 4 thousand million? I've always heard a billion in UK English is a million million (which is a trillion in American English). If it is a million million, then do yins get confused when reading stories with billions or trillions?


There was a point in the 1980s when the Government officially accepted that a billion had 9 zeros and not 12... so it only if reading stuff written in the 1960s and before that you might get confusion and even then I've seen it written "million million" just so there wasn't any confusion...


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## Mindfire (Oct 31, 2012)

I'd ask them to allow me to retain significant creative control in exchange for a substantially reduced figure, say $2b instead of $4b. They get to pay me less, I get to make sure my masterwork isn't tarnished. Everyone's happy.


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## Amanita (Oct 31, 2012)

From my current position, I'd say no. I don't really many wishes that require large sums of money and given the current situation in Europe, I couldn't be sure to keep it. My story world gone and my money gone to hyper-inflation, the end of the Euro or anything along those lines would be too much for me I'm afraid. If the situation turns bad, I need the story and simply creating another one isn't that easy for me that I'd force myself to do it without really good reason.
If I were unemployed for a longer time and would start to live off the state or if I had a family to provide for, my opinion would probably change though. In such a case, denying such an opinion would be quite selfish. I'd still try for Mindfire's option though.


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## Zero Angel (Oct 31, 2012)

Amanita said:


> From my current position, I'd say no. I don't really many wishes that require large sums of money and given the current situation in Europe, I couldn't be sure to keep it. My story world gone and my money gone to hyper-inflation, the end of the Euro or anything along those lines would be too much for me I'm afraid. If the situation turns bad, I need the story and simply creating another one isn't that easy for me that I'd force myself to do it without really good reason.
> If I were unemployed for a longer time and would start to live off the state or if I had a family to provide for, my opinion would probably change though. In such a case, denying such an opinion would be quite selfish. I'd still try for Mindfire's option though.



You know you could immediately invest in things like fortresses, bunkers, stores of food, weapons, trade goods and the like, right? So you could have your money and your safety and peace of mind.


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## Benjamin Clayborne (Nov 1, 2012)

First thing I'd do if I had $4 billion is buy a tract of land in the Mojave, and then build a pyramid there larger than the Great Pyramid at Giza. *Just because.*


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## Chilari (Nov 1, 2012)

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> First thing I'd do if I had $4 billion is buy a tract of land in the Mojave, and then build a pyramid there larger than the Great Pyramid at Giza. *Just because.*



Totally awesome. You could really mess with future archaeologists if you put things that are really really old in it too, and create random items with no purpose whatsoever, little things that couldn't even be considered art, and then leave no records; they'll think they've found some sort of religious item (the go-to answer when they don't have a real answer). As someone who has studied archaeology, the idea of messing with future archaeologists really appeals to me. Keep them on their toes. It makes them better archaeologists in the long run. I mean, if they aren't expecting trolling from the generation that invented internet trolling, they clearly aren't considering enough factors in their studies.

Leif: I think you're overreacting a bit. Disney are best known for animated films with songs about friendship, but they actually produce an awful lot of films that are quite different, including live action films. It's just easier to market Mushu or Tinkerbell in merchandise than some kid who learned how to be a better person through ice skating. Having said that, they've not had any problems marketing Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not saying all their films are brilliant - they've produced a lot of rubbish too (like Pirates of the Caribbean 4) - but they generally know what they're doing. And they know they've got a valuable asset on their hands and will do everything they can to keep it a valuable asset and not screw it up.


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## WyrdMystic (Nov 1, 2012)

I've always wanted to blow up a ghost town.


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## SeverinR (Nov 1, 2012)

WyrdMystic said:


> I've always wanted to blow up a ghost town.



Little House on the prairie, the last farewell?


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## WyrdMystic (Nov 1, 2012)

SeverinR said:


> Little House on the prairie, the last farewell?



5.....4......3........2.......1........Goodnight Jim Bob!

(I know wrong show...but still)


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## Zero Angel (Nov 1, 2012)

Chilari said:


> I mean, if they aren't expecting trolling from the generation that invented internet trolling, they clearly aren't considering enough factors in their studies.


Agreed. I do this in my books, so I'm surprised I never considered doing it in real life.



Chilari said:


> Leif: I think you're overreacting a bit. Disney are best known for animated films with songs about friendship, but they actually produce an awful lot of films that are quite different, including live action films. It's just easier to market Mushu or Tinkerbell in merchandise than some kid who learned how to be a better person through ice skating. Having said that, they've not had any problems marketing Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not saying all their films are brilliant - they've produced a lot of rubbish too (like Pirates of the Caribbean 4) - but they generally know what they're doing. And they know they've got a valuable asset on their hands and will do everything they can to keep it a valuable asset and not screw it up.



Agreed again. Disney owned Miramax films and had several hard R films released over this period of time. Disney owns Marvel and released the Avengers. They can do films that are entertaining for everyone. 

Also, I really would like a Smash Bros style video game from Disney now that they own so many different intellectual properties that I'd like to smash.


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## Leif Notae (Nov 2, 2012)

Chilari said:


> Leif: I think you're overreacting a bit. Disney are best known for animated films with songs about friendship, but they actually produce an awful lot of films that are quite different, including live action films. It's just easier to market Mushu or Tinkerbell in merchandise than some kid who learned how to be a better person through ice skating. Having said that, they've not had any problems marketing Pirates of the Caribbean. I'm not saying all their films are brilliant - they've produced a lot of rubbish too (like Pirates of the Caribbean 4) - but they generally know what they're doing. And they know they've got a valuable asset on their hands and will do everything they can to keep it a valuable asset and not screw it up.



I appreciate the opinion, but I am not putting it past any corporation that wants something this bad. While they don't touch Pixar much, they have put more pressure on them and some people are grumbling about quality. If Avengers didn't do well as well as it did, they would have people there to monitor and adjust as needed.

The thing here is about money, but it's also about standards the parent company maintains.

EA is a very poor example because they do stupid stuff to the extreme, but that's what can happen. They buy Bioware and tinker with things. Small things at first, some things that make sense, but other things that didn't work the thousands of other times they did it before now. Then they start using things that work in different genres or methods and start making odd moves like putting multiplayer into a single player game because "the market supports it".

Now it is very possible they might not do anything with it. I accept it and I would hope that's the case. However, it is a corporation first. They aren't artists, they are in business. Money is always the bottom line, never let them fool you into thinking otherwise.


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## Weaver (Nov 2, 2012)

I wouldn't do it.  I would not sell all of my stories and ideas to anyone for any amount of money.  I wouldn't sell _all _rights to even _some_ of them.

Had a discussion with my twin (using the mundane term this time 'cause, y'know, _clone_ would make people think the wrong thing here) yesterday about this.  As he pointed out, neither of us could sell our ideas without the consent of the other anyway, since _all_ our stories are tied together.  He'd be _tempted_, heh said, but even if it was entirely his own work up for sale, he wouldn't do it.  And I'm far too rabid about creative control -- I would never give someone else the right to make up whatever stuff they wanted about _my_ characters and settings.  Hard enough to let my twin mess with 'em sometimes, and I _trust_ him.


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## Reaver (Nov 6, 2012)

Benjamin Clayborne said:


> First thing I'd do if I had $4 billion is buy a tract of land in the Mojave, and then build a pyramid there larger than the Great Pyramid at Giza. *Just because.*



And, being an android, you could build it by yourself in a matter of months AND be around a thousand years later to see it still (as Chilari suggested) baffling future archaeologists.  Lucky!!!


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