Through Hecht's negotiations, Lancaster signed a seven-year contract, the longest term a studio was legally allowed to keep an actor under contract at the time, with Hal B. Wallis' Paramount-financed, independent production company, Hal Wallis Productions. The exclusive contract gave Lancaster an option for one outside, independent picture a year, giving the agent/actor room to produce a yearly film, thought they initially never believed the clause would be used. A few months later, in April 1946, Hecht and Lancaster were sitting in the bar of the Barbizon-Plaza Hotel in New York City, having a last drink before Lancaster was off for the filming of "The Killers" for Mark Hellinger Productions. Lancaster was worried about the kind of movies he'd be getting in Hollywood when Hecht jokingly told him "Well Burt, if you don't like what you get into out there, we'll just produce our own films. That's the one way you're sure to get what you want!". Throughout the 1940s, every actor, producer and director wanted to start their own production company but few were able to accomplish it due to contractual obligations. The few that did manage to venture into productions of their own, most often did not last long enough to make an impact and rarely made more than a handful of movies.