บท 661: Chapter 661
"Go back now," Charles said as he found Megan Fox ready to leave the hotel.
"Hey, that's Johnny Depp and his new girlfriend, Amber Heard," Megan Fox pointed to a spot near the entrance.
Charles also looked over. Johnny Depp's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides was one of Disney's major summer releases that year.
"Let's go," Charles glanced at Amber Heard as well. She was indeed beautiful with a great figure.
They got in the car and headed straight to the Capet Manor in Beverly Hills.
"Men, they all just like young and pretty girls," Megan Fox complained in the car.
"Johnny Depp probably hooked up with Amber Heard during the filming of The Rum Diary last year!"
Charles smiled and patted Megan Fox's thigh, "Amber Heard is just a fringe character in Hollywood. Would she have gotten this role if she didn't know Johnny Depp?"
So, it must have been at some party or event where Johnny Depp saw Amber Heard, and everything fell into place.
The Rum Diary was an independent film that relied heavily on Johnny Depp for investment. He could choose any actress he wanted with just one word.
"Now, Amber Heard's exposure has increased a lot. Many people in Hollywood know she exists. Quite the success!" Megan Fox said with a laugh.
...
The next morning, Charles arrived at Capet Universal's office in Burbank to check out Matrix Pictures' horror film Insidious.
After all, it was a project James Wan and Leigh Whannell had been working on for years!
Matrix Pictures had scheduled the film for release at the end of September or early October.
"Phyllis, go and see if Matrix Pictures can look into that story about Conjuring that we bought earlier. James Wan's skills in horror films are well-known," Charles reminded.
"Oh, okay. It's a bit of a shame that after the Saw series, James Wan had a few failures in recent years and stayed low for a while," Phyllis Jones noted.
Phyllis Jones had witnessed Capet Pictures' rise firsthand. Saw II was the first film Capet Pictures distributed on their own.
In Capet Pictures' early rise, the Saw series played an undeniable role!
"Also, reject all these scripts," Charles handed Phyllis a file.
Phyllis Jones took a look: low-budget martial arts films The Man with the Iron Fists and Man of Tai Chi, high-budget films R.I.P.D. and 47 Ronin!
The Man with the Iron Fists was a kung fu film co-produced by China and the U.S., directed and starred by a rapper with Russell Crowe making a cameo.
R.I.P.D. was an action-comedy based on a Dark Horse comic, featuring veteran actor Jeff Bridges, who was nominated for Best Actor at the Oscars this year for his role in True Grit.
"47 Ronin is a fantasy-action film based on a Japanese historical event, with a budget of 175 millions, starring the now chubby Keanu Reeves as a Japanese samurai," Charles didn't know what to say. "A Japanese samurai seeking revenge, with fantasy elements, and an Eastern woman falling in love with a Western samurai? Do they not know what shape Keanu Reeves is in now? Do they think it's the same as Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai? And this director, Carl Rinsch, is an ad guy with practically no film experience. How dare he make such demands?"
Michael Bay and Zack Snyder also came from ads, but they built their reputations on low-budget films; even the framework directors of the Marvel series had multiple directing experiences, and the Marvel series films were much simpler!
"Fire the producer who sent in this script," Charles was genuinely angry.
Phyllis Jones nodded, "Okay, boss, I'll handle it right away!"
"The Man of Tai Chi is because Keanu Reeves participated in a low-budget film, Kung Fu Man, in China, which has not been released for almost two years now; And because the lead in Kung Fu Man is Keanu Reeves' action coach, he wants to make Man of Tai Chi and have his Chinese kung fu coach as the star; plus, he'll make a cameo in Man of Tai Chi too!"
Charles shook his head, "Forget it, who even knows his kung fu coach? Do they really think just anyone can act? And the story is just terrible! I've told you guys before, be cautious with Russell Crowe, Johnny Depp, and Keanu Reeves, who are out of shape now," Charles sighed, "They're barely holding onto a bit of fame. If it's a low-budget art film or a B-movie, we can consider them, but not for commercial films!"
The Man of Tai Chi and Kung Fu Man, who knows what they are. Do they really think slapping Keanu Reeves' name on it will make money?
Now Keanu Reeves himself has flopped badly, how did 47 Ronin even think of casting him as the lead, spending 175 millions on a fantasy-action film based on Japanese history?
"Got it, boss," Phyllis Jones continued to report, "The promotion for The Green Hornet has started;. The internal screenings have received good reviews!"
"If the screenings are good, promote it well. Sony handles the North American market, have NBC cooperate," Charles said, touching his chin, "A good performance in the North American market will greatly help international distribution. We handle the international market through Universal, keep the promotional scale up. Bradley Cooper seems to have The Hangover Part II and Silver Linings Playbook releasing this year as well. Universal has three movies starring Bradley Cooper releasing this year. The anticipation for The Hangover Part II is especially high!"
Phyllis Jones nodded, "The Green Hornet has already been featured in our programming, and local stations in Los Angeles and New York have also arranged special segments. The crew is currently promoting in San Francisco!"
"That's good. I'm actually looking forward to this movie too," Charles smiled, "The premiere is at the Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, right?"
"Yes, the North American premiere is on April 20th at the Chinese Theatre, a little over half a month away!"
Sony didn't get the distribution rights for Skyfall, so besides The Green Hornet, they really had nothing else notable this year.
*****
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