章節 369: Chapter 369
In the afternoon, Charles met Liu Yifei for dinner after she participated in the promotional event for The Forbidden Kingdom.
The meal lasted two hours, and they initially hit it off well. But then, Liu Yifei received a call from her mother asking her to return to the hotel.
"I'm sorry, my mom wants me to head back. I have to return tomorrow," Liu Yifei said awkwardly, saying goodbye to Charles.
Charles nodded, "I'll drive you back."
He drove his Audi R8 and took Liu Yifei to the Hilton Garden Inn in Hollywood. "I'll visit you soon."
Liu Yifei unbuckled her seatbelt, "Sure, I'll show you around!"
Charles pointed to his cheek, "In America, we say goodbye with a kiss."
Liu Yifei was momentarily taken aback but then smiled and gave Charles a quick peck on the cheek. Charles then swiftly turned and kissed her on the lips.
"Hahaha, bye-bye, see you!" Charles waved as he watched Liu Yifei walk into the hotel with a smile.
...
In Hollywood, at a private club, Charles met with Woody Allen in a room with Camille.
Affected by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, independent director Woody Allen was being bashed in the newspapers by his ex-wife, Mia Farrow, and both were embroiled in a legal battle.
"I don't care if you did it back then or not. Handle that crazy woman properly," Charles didn't care about good or bad people; Woody Allen and Mia Farrow weren't saints.
For now, Woody Allen was still useful, whereas Mia Farrow had been written off by Charles.
Woody Allen nodded, "She has no support this time. She can't win the case."
Charles looked at Camille, "Gather a strong legal team. Give that crazy woman a lesson she won't forget. Isn't she supposed to have mental issues? Best to send her to a mental hospital!"
Charles wasn't being overly cruel; he had already made it clear that he wouldn't allow feminism to spread this time. Yet Mia Farrow dared to stir things up under the banner of feminism.
This was a blatant challenge to Charles's authority and disrespectful.
"Rest assured, Mia Farrow doesn't stand a chance. Just like before, we can counter-sue for defamation, false accusations, slander, and reputational damage," Camille had prepared for this, recognizing that it was a mismatch in terms of power. "Even if she isn't jailed, we can at least bankrupt her!"
Charles nodded and turned to Woody Allen, "Be more cautious from now on. I don't want to control Hollywood's endless scandals, but I won't allow anyone to challenge my authority or damage my interests. Do you understand?"
Woody Allen nodded. Now that Charles Capet's wealth had soared, and Capet Pictures was set to become an Academy member next year.
The steps of Hollywood's golden child ascending the throne were drawing nearer. The young and vigorous Charles Capet was destined to be the future king of Hollywood.
Who would dare provoke Charles Capet now? Small-time actors had no power, and Mia Farrow wouldn't be able to resist at all.
Camille nodded, "Mia Farrow has no substantial evidence. Even if she had, you could sway the outcome in your favor."
"Heh," Charles chuckled, "Hollywood has never been short of sex scandals. The news is already spreading in Europe, isn't it? "The domestic scene is still chaotic. Looks like we need to stir up some trouble in the European entertainment scene too!"
With Charles's influence in France, it was easy to cause a little stir.
After that, Charles left the club with Camille.
...
April was an exceedingly slow season for the North American movie market, even worse than August.
At Capet Pictures, aside from the February release of Taken produced by Luc Besson, and the March release of Cloverfield, they had no movies lined up for April. Next up in the summer blockbuster season were Thor in May and 27 Dresses, in June.
Other movies in their lineup included Mamma Mia!, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Slumdog Millionaire, Saw VI, Twilight, and The Reader.
This year, aside from Thor, there were no big blockbusters. This was mostly because a lot of the funds had been spent on marketing and other aspects last year.
In actuality, Capet Pictures' cash flow was quite robust this year. Transformers, released on DVD and Blu-ray since last November, sold around 13 million units, generating over a 220 million dollars in revenue!
Iron Man and other titles like Saw V and Juno, which were released at the end of last year, also had their DVDs and high-definition Blu-ray versions, providing a continual cash flow for the company.
This year's major film, the new version of Hulk, had a budget of a hundred million dollars for special effects. Transformers 2 and Iron Man 2 both had budgets reaching 200 million dollars!
Looking ahead to next year, movies like Twilight 2, The Blind Side, and District 9 would undoubtedly make Capet Pictures a dominant force in Hollywood.
"How's it going? Does Roland Emmerich's disaster film need a third-party collaborator?" Charles asked directly upon arriving at the office in the afternoon.
Phyllis Jones shook her head. "Roland Emmerich's Central City Productions has already signed a global distribution deal with Sony. Sony Columbia is responsible for worldwide distribution, and they are confident in Emmerich's disaster film."
"Goodbye Atlantis is a project Roland started two years ago. After the failure of 10,000 BC with Warner Bros., he sped up the development of this new film, set to start shooting in July!" she added.
Charles nodded. He hadn't expected much. It was just one movie, after all. Who knew how early Sony had signed the deal with Emmerich's Central City Productions?
"Hmm, Nicholas Cage's investments failed, his net worth plummeted, and he's selling off assets and collectibles to pay off high taxes?" Charles glanced at the newspaper in front of him.
So, his $20 million paycheck from The Da Vinci Code in 2006 didn't do him much good?
Last year, he had two blockbusters, National Treasure 2 and Ghost Rider, both earning him $20 million each!
This year's Angels & Demons had at least a $20 million paycheck, plus bonuses from the sequel.
Was he gearing up to become the king of bad movies?
"Haha, boss, Nicholas Cage's life is quite complicated. He has a lot of jewelry, famous paintings, yachts, planes, and luxury cars. He alone owns nine Rolls-Royces and over 50 luxury cars in total," Phyllis Jones responded.
"More importantly, he has properties, villas, and apartments worldwide. Not to mention ancient European castles - 14 of them - private islands in the Bahamas. The subprime mortgage crisis hit him hard," she continued.
"He's also made some bizarre investments, like keeping albino cobras, sharks, and crocodiles. Plus, buying dinosaur skull fossils stolen from Mongolia and haunted houses, Mayan pyramid tombs, and other weird stuff!"
Phyllis Jones seemed to know all about Nicholas Cage, having paid close attention to him.
Even if he got another $20 million, it wouldn't change his bad spending habits.
"True, we need to be cautious about movies involving Nicholas Cage. When someone needs money, they'll stop caring about their reputation," Charles noted. He not only had to watch out for Nicholas Cage but also for Keanu Reeves and Johnny Depp, whose movies would mostly bomb in the next ten years.
Phyllis Jones nodded. Nicolas Cage was, after all, an Oscar-winning actor. Would it really come to that?
Later on, Charles exerted pressure through the Hollywood Women's Club to revoke the Best Director award given to sexual predator Roman Polanski by the Oscar Academy.
This fire spread from Hollywood to Europe as Hollywood's seven major film groups pressured the Cannes Film Festival and Venice Film Festival to ban Polanski, who had a standing arrest warrant.
Allowing him to participate would be an affront to women's dignity!
A flagrant disregard for human rights!
A blatant challenge to the law!
Hollywood's non-political stance? The biggest joke ever. The seven major film groups, the Producers Guild, the Directors Guild, the Screen Actors Guild - all hoped to move past the Harvey Weinstein scandal quickly.
When they pressured the major European film festivals, they didn't hesitate. Polanski, despite his fame, had indeed abused a 13-year-old girl in the U.S.
Targeting him drew support from women's rights organizations, children's rights organizations, and various human rights organizations.
The Golden Globes and the Oscars were the first to show support. The Foreign Press Association and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences separately called for revoking all of Polanski's awards and honors.
Golden Globe Best Director Award, Oscar Best Director Award, everything was to be taken back.
A few days later, the Berlin International Film Festival was the first to boycott Polanski, banning him from participating; the Venice International Film Festival issued a similar statement.
Finally, it came down to the Cannes Film Festival in France. They wanted to protect him, as Polanski was a French citizen.
However, with the 2008 Cannes Film Festival just a month away, the refusal of Hollywood's seven major film groups to participate would significantly impact Cannes.
So Jacques Jacob, the 78-year-old chairman of the Cannes Film Festival, announced: Roman Polanski is an unwelcome person at the Cannes Film Festival!
*****
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