Chapter 30: Chapter 30: Success
"Ding ding ding..." Early in the morning, a cell phone's alarm woke Charles from his sleep.
Reaching out to grab the phone and turning off the ringer, he saw that in his arms, Kate Beckinsale, still drowsy, shifted her position and continued to cling to Charles.
"Sleep a bit longer. We did stay up quite late last night," Charles whispered as he gently patted the woman.
An hour later, Charles got up for real and had to head to work.
He even made two breakfasts, ate one himself, and left the other for Kate Beckinsale when she woke up.
Charles brainstormed the creative idea for Wedding Crashers, bringing in screenwriters Steve Faber and Bob Fisher to write the script.
"A love story involving two atypical playboys, with elements of comedy that make you laugh and cry, and ultimately, a romantic ending where they find true love!"
Charles provided the general framework, and the specific story details were left to the screenwriters to develop.
Steve Faber and Bob Fisher, of course, accepted Charles' commission. After all, adapting screenplays is the main job of screenwriters.
Otherwise, the tens of thousands of screenwriters on both coasts would all be living by writing original scripts or novels?
From the idea to the script, the time spent on this stage could be very long. Sometimes a script requires dozens of revisions by multiple screenwriters to match the producer's or director's vision.
In December, Charles Carpe went to New York to cooperate with Focus Features in promoting and distributing Lost in Translation.
Since 9/11, New York's economy had started to decline, facing the pressures of economic and public finance collapse, and New Yorkers were seriously lacking confidence in the future.
This year, billionaire and Bloomberg founder Michael Bloomberg, who took office as mayor of New York, initiated a comprehensive economic recovery plan.
In the entertainment sector, tax breaks were introduced to develop New York's film and television industry. New York, second only to Los Angeles, was already an entertainment capital.
However, while Los Angeles focused on commercial films, New York was a sanctuary for independent art films. The distribution headquarters of Focus Features was also located in New York.
New York, Manhattan, in a suite at the luxurious Carlyle Hotel.
Charles stood by the window, overlooking Central Park from a high vantage point. The Carlyle was located in the Upper East Side, a prime location.
"Charles, Focus Features is going to release Lost in Translation in 223 theaters!" Evelyn said as she handed over a screening plan.
Charles took a look. "Wow."
"On the same day, there's the romance film Two Weeks Notice and the gangster movie Gangs of New York. Although the latter stars Leonardo DiCaprio and is directed by Martin Scorsese, it's a gangster film and different from our genre. Two Weeks Notice should be the real competitor," Charles said, shaking his head.
This didn't even count the early releases like The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers or the next week's release of Catch Me If You Can, which starred both Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio and was directed by Steven Spielberg.
Another movie around the same time was Chicago, which Charles was also aware of.
"Two Weeks Notice is a formidable opponent. The two main actors, Sandra Bullock and Hugh Grant, are long-established stars," Evelyn commented, frowning as she analyzed. "They are both perfectly suited for a romance film, and Warner Bros. won't be stingy with their promotion!"
"A formidable opponent? Their film has a budget of $60 million. Ours? $4 million, which is just a fraction. In their eyes, we're probably just cannon fodder," Charles said helplessly, knowing that Two Weeks Notice would debut in over 2,000 theaters.
"Focus Features is arranging some interviews and talk show appearances for the main cast to get some exposure, but their promotion budget isn't very large. They're not going to spend much on TV ads and newspapers," Evelyn said.
She was very concerned about this film, not just because the director and leading actress were her clients, but because it was also her son's film company's first production.
"I've prepared $1 million. Once Lost in Translation is released, I'll invest it in promotion based on its reception in the second week. Hopefully, it'll help!" Charles added.
"How much money does Carpe Films have left now?"
"About $200,000." It had originally been $300,000, but Charles had bought a Ferrari 360 and paid for the screenplay adaptation of Wedding Crashers, along with other expenses.
"Next year, I aim to develop at least two films. Hence, the box office performance of Lost in Translation is crucial," said Charles, planning for Wedding Crashers and Brokeback Mountain. If another good script came along, who knows what ideas might strike.
As Christmas arrived, Lost in Translation began screening in over 200 theaters. Compared to Two Weeks Notice, which opened in 2,800 theaters, there was hardly any comparison.
Two Weeks Notice earned $14.5 million in its opening weekend, ranking second at the box office; Gangs of New York opened with $9.1 million.
Lost in Translation opened with $3.1 million in North America.
In its second week, the number of theaters increased to 480, and its weekly box office reached $3.5 million.
With the Christmas holidays in between, by New Year's, Lost in Translation had grossed $8.1 million in North America.
"Lost in Translation uses Coppola's romantic and comedic ways in unexpected and fitting manners. That's what the Chicago Sun-Times had to say," Charles said, nestled with Scarlett Johansson in his Santa Monica home, reading the newspaper.
Focus Features had previously invested $2 million in promotion, and now they added another $2 million or so.
Charles himself also invested $1 million in promoting Carpe Films.
"Are we going to the Golden Globe Awards at the end of the month?" Scarlett asked.
Charles kissed her on the lips before smiling and replying, "Of course, we'll also be heading to London for the BAFTA Awards and others. Lost in Translation is beloved by some in the industry."
"Will it get an Oscar nomination?"
"Not much of an issue; the film is of high quality. The Oscar judges won't overlook it," Charles said, though he lacked the funds for an Academy Awards campaign.
After New Year's, the theaters showing Lost in Translation increased to 850, with the weekly box office reaching $4.5 million.
The word-of-mouth and box office were both good. For a film with a production budget of just $4 million, grossing $14.5 million in North America after about 20 days of release was undoubtedly a success.
At this point, the film's international distribution attracted the attention of many film companies.
*****
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