Complex sentence: Sturges famously sold the story for "The Great McGinty" to Paramount Pictures for $1, in return for being allowed to direct the film; the sum was quietly raised to $10 by the studio for legal reasons.
Split into simpler sentences: Sturges famously sold the story for "The Great McGinty" to Paramount Pictures for $1, in return for being allowed to direct the film. The sum was quietly raised to $10 by the studio for legal reasons.