Evelyn Capet's biggest gain from her trip to Italy was signing Charlize Theron, as neither "lost in translation" nor "21 Grams" brought any awards to her actresses.
"21 Grams" was nominated for the main competition unit, but Sean Penn won the Best Actor award, which is the Venice Film Festival's Best Actor.
"lost in translation" was nominated for the secondary unit, the Cinema Controcorrente section, where Sofia Coppola received the Human Rights Film Network Award; Scarlett Johansson, on the other hand, won the Grand Prize for Best Emerging actress.
These were consolation prizes, but for "lost in translation," it had already proven itself at the American Golden Globe Awards and the Oscar.
At Evelyn's mansion in Bel Air, Naomi Watts and Evelyn returned together.
"'21 Grams' is very artistic, and the film's quality is not low; Sean Penn's performance was great, but your performance was also good," Evelyn had just attended a screening with Naomi at Universal City.
"Professional critics gave good reviews."
"The story is good, and the director and collaborating actresses are all excellent, so I also have a platform for acting," Naomi Watts herself was quite satisfied with "21 Grams."
Evelyn nodded and asked, "What do you think of the 'King Kong' script that Universal Pictures submitted?"
"Peter Jackson had already approached Universal in '96 to reboot 'King Kong.' At that time, Jackson's reputation wasn't big, and there was concern it would cause aesthetic fatigue with Sony's 'Godzilla' or 20th Century Fox's 'Planet of the Apes.' Universal halted the project during development;"
"Peter Jackson then went to film the 'the lord of the rings' trilogy. Now, with the backing of 'the lord of the rings,' Peter Jackson has been invited back by Universal to reboot this film he loves, 'King Kong';"
"This 'King Kong' has a very high budget; Peter Jackson requested 200 million US dollars, and Universal didn't cut it!"
In any case, Evelyn certainly hoped Naomi Watts would participate; it was a 200 million US dollar commercial blockbuster!
"Me, this type, acting with monsters, I've never tried it!" Naomi Watts had a slight reservation, as this type of film doesn't really demand much from an actress.
"The film's producers and director highly praised your terrifying performance in 'the ring,' and they believe you can complete this role very well!"
"Commercial blockbusters of this caliber are rare; you can't miss it."
Naomi Watts nodded; commercial blockbusters are a good way to increase fame and expand influence.
After all, the art-house film circle is too small, and the commercial value isn't high. As a star, commercial value is definitely higher than artistic merit.
"I will prepare well for this role!"
Evelyn was very pleased. Naomi Watts is now famous, with no shortage of film projects, and now she is joining Peter Jackson's colossal production.
If she has some outstanding performances in the film, it will greatly boost her influence, and commercial value also represents income.
As Evelyn's faction of actresses within ETA grew, her status also rose. Now, not only does ETA heavily rely on her,
but they are more concerned about other agencies poaching Evelyn, otherwise the consequences would be severe.
Meanwhile, Charles was attending an entertainment industry fundraising event hosted by Arnold Schwarzenegger at his huge mansion in Santa Monica.
Upon Charles arrival, he entered with Donna Williams, who was wearing an evening gown and holding his arm.
"Welcome, Charles, Hollywood's youngest producer, good evening!" The Schwarzeneggers shook hands with Shale.
"Good evening, Mr. governor!" Charles blurted out, then quickly realized,
"You will be very soon!"
"Hahahaha," Arnold Schwarzenegger laughed.
His wife, Maria Shriver, also laughed and said, "Charles, you're too humorous! The election is on the 7th of next month!"
"That's less than half a month away. Hollywood will have a governor," Charles winked,
"The public's support rate is very clear now!"
"But many Hollywood stars are against Arnold running for governor. Today's guests are at most only 50," Maria Shriver laughed again.
"Is that so?" Charles looked around, then continued to laugh, "If Hollywood stars could decide, then America wouldn't have Republican Party officials!"
After a few more words, Charles and Donna entered the main hall together.
Hollywood is a Democratic Party stronghold, and the Democratic Party's influence in California is huge. Arnold Schwarzenegger is running as a Republican Party member, so of course he wouldn't get much support from Hollywood stars.
He even wouldn't get too much support from Maria Shriver's family resources, as they are also Democratic Party members.
However, Maria Shriver is from a political family, after all, and her ability to campaign and rally votes is not something an ordinary person can compare to. At least many female votes in California went to Schwarzenegger because of her.
"Am I that famous now?" Charles asked, as Schwarzenegger recognized him at a glance.
Donna Williams pursed her lips, "I replied three days ago that you would attend, but, Boss, you are indeed known by quite a few people in Hollywood."
Charles nodded. Never mind, he was going to be the governor anyway, so it was good to be recognized. The ticket for this party was 5,000 US dollars, but Charles donated a total of 30,000 US dollars to the campaign fund.