"Henry, join Capet Pictures and help me manage the production department. The company now has over twenty people, and the frameworks for production, marketing, and finance are already in place," Charles said, inviting Henry Winster, the producer of 'underworld,' to join Capet Pictures.
Charles felt that Henry Winster had ample producing experience and excellent on-set management, and Capet Pictures needed someone like him.
"Charles, thank you for your trust. I believe I will repay you in my future work." Without much surprise, Henry Winster agreed. As a production management producer, joining the company was a good choice.
As for Capet Pictures being small now, its potential was still great.
Charles smiled. With Henry, he could relax a lot more. Henry had also been in the industry for many years and would surely have some connections.
Capet Pictures' current ongoing project was Ang Lee's 'brokeback mountain,' after Liv Tyler signed the acting contract.
The crew would then travel to Calgary, Canada, to begin filming.
In June, the main cast and crew of 'brokeback mountain' held a press conference at the Los Angeles Hilton Hotel before flying to Canada.
At the same time, Capet Pictures also signed a cooperation agreement with Universal for the production of three films.
Charles drove a BMW Z8 convertible from Beverly Hills, taking his mother, Evelyn, with him to Universal Pictures headquarters at 100 Universal City Plaza.
"Will Universal agree to you?" Evelyn, Charles's mother and also his Agent, accompanied him to lobby.
"We'll know if we try. Universal needs influential blockbusters right now," Charles was in a good mood, all because 'brokeback mountain' had started filming!
Upon arriving at Universal headquarters, Charles also passed by Steven Spielberg's office at DreamWorks.
Due to Steven Spielberg's many years of cooperation with Universal and the achievements he had made, Universal Pictures specially built a luxuriously decorated office for Spielberg within Universal.
After Spielberg established DreamWorks, his office was still here, not at the DreamWorks headquarters next to Glendale in Burbank.
Glendale served as DreamWorks Animation's main production base, while the live-action film office was in Spielberg's office within Universal City.
Of course, the annual rent paid by DreamWorks was indispensable. Would Universal Pictures really help DreamWorks provide office space?
One could only say, they knew how to play! Anyway, the money earned was in their own pockets, and the money spent was DreamWorks', so there was no problem.
In the small conference room at Universal Pictures, Donna Langley, the head of production, Stacey Snider, the president, and Ronald Meyer, the ceo, were all present.
"The script idea for 'mr. & mrs. smith' is about two assassins who become a couple, live a peaceful seven years, and then suddenly discover each other's identities..." Charles presented the project plan, and Evelyn was responsible for lobbying from all aspects.
"As a fashion thriller action film, the movie also carries a metaphor for marriage. The seven-year itch of marriage is perfectly reflected. Life needs passion!"
It was Charles's first time seeing his mother's eloquence, and it was indeed impressive. Why hadn't he thought of these things? Wasn't it just an action-suspense film with a handsome couple and some humor?
To be an Agent, you really had to be good at bluffing.
"The story has some novelty, and according to the plan, the scale isn't small. It requires actors with strong appeal!"
Stacey Snider expressed her opinion. There were many action scenes, explosions, gunfights, and so on.
Charles smiled and said, "Indeed, it requires top stars with strong influence. For the male lead, I prefer Brad Pitt, with Will Smith and Johnny Depp as backups;"
"For the actress, Nicole Kidman is currently the hottest, having just won the oscar best actress winner. Backups include Catherine Zeta-Jones, who performed excellently in 'Chicago' and won Best Supporting actress, and the sexy actress Angelina Jolie, who became famous with 'lara croft: tomb raider.'"
"For the director, Doug Liman, the director of 'the bourne' which was released last year, is very suitable!"
"Doug Liman is indeed suitable," Ronald Meyer also thought he was suitable.
"Using influential stars is also necessary!"
Donna Langley agreed with this idea.
Director Doug Liman, actors Brad Pitt and Nicole Kidman—these indeed made for a commercial blockbuster.
Charles had found someone to adapt the script himself, but even if filming started, the director would study it and make some changes.
A movie project, of course, wouldn't be as fast as everyone imagined. Universal Pictures still needed to conduct its own risk assessment, budget, and revenue forecast report.
For such a large project, the capital demand was high, and it would take a long time, but with Capet Pictures covering half of the budget, it would be much better.
This was a lengthy process, and Charles didn't have money right now.
"Charles, we will consider it, but we hope you can first present a medium-budget film project, preferably a romance," Donna Langley hadn't forgotten the company's internal discussion; Charles still needed to prove himself.
"Okay!" In that case, let's go with 'wedding crashers.' After this, they should give his projects the green light, right?
After Charles and his mother left, Ronald Meyer asked, "What do you two think, can 'mr. & mrs. smith' be approved?"
Stacey Snider smiled and said, "I think it's pretty good, it's just that the budget is too large. According to this kid's plan, the production budget would be 100 million dollars!"
Donna Langley also nodded, "He said he would bear half the budget, but where does he have 60 million? He bought a large villa with the money he earned before, invested in 'the passion of the christ,' and started filming 'brokeback mountain.' He must be out of money."
"However, he hasn't sought investment; he invests in all his films himself, which is very unique!"
"This script is actually good. Let's first do a profit and risk assessment report, and then wait for Charles to present a medium-budget film project!" Ronald Meyer couldn't make a decision on his own; he needed to report to the committee to secure funding.
Unless Charles genuinely brought in a significant amount of his own capital, they would certainly have to look for other collaborators.
In fact, regarding 'saw,' few Universal executives cared. A horror film with a budget of over a million dollars—how many such films come out of Hollywood every year?
Out of hundreds, how many can make a splash? However, Charles started with low-budget films, so if 'saw' really succeeded.
Then Charles's vision would truly be accurate, and his voice would naturally become more and more influential, making it legitimate for everyone to greenlight his projects.
The profit-seeking nature of capital means that as long as someone can make them money, they are certainly willing to trust them.