Every American election year always attracts global attention, after all, it's the presidential election of the only superpower.
Hollywood has never lacked stars who love to meddle in politics; perhaps they don't understand anything, but they make the best political standard-bearers.
In the evening, Charles went to his mother Evelyn's house for dinner.
"I don't know why you suddenly developed a liking for Chinese things in the past two or three years—culture, cuisine, and so on. This was specially made by a Chinese chef I hired," Evelyn said with a smile, looking at the dishes on the table.
"Authentic Chinese food!"
Char was a bit surprised to see liquor next to him. He poured himself a glass and then asked, "Want to try it? It's a different feeling from high-proof liquors like brandy or vodka."
Evelyn nodded, and Char poured his mother half a glass of liquor.
"Because I've found that Chinese culture can help me see many things clearly; there's so much valuable and applicable knowledge within it," Charles said, taking a small sip. He had drunk liquor so few Times in his past life that he could count them on one hand.
Evelyn also took a sip. It was indeed strong and quite pungent, a difference in taste caused by different brewing processes.
"Capet Pictures acquired Pacific Theatres, and you're massively recruiting film distributors. Have you decided to distribute films yourself?"
Charles nodded. It wasn't a secret. He had also taken out a $100 million loan, all of which Evelyn knew about.
"Alright," Evelyn said. There wasn't much she could do to help. Distribution primarily relied on cash flow.
"You've already entered many people's sights. At least three major studios want to bring you under their wing. Breaking free to distribute independently won't be easy!"
The Big Six are not to be trifled with; they won't let new companies develop so easily.
Charles picked up a dish, ate it, wiped his mouth, and then smiled, "I'm prepared. Relying solely on the film market is impossible."
"Wall Street is also my goal, and Silicon Valley too. The impact of the tech bubble has almost dissipated, and the future era will still be the internet era."
Evelyn nodded. It was good to be prepared. In the process of capital accumulation, everyone does things that cannot see the light of day.
Rockefeller I, Ford I, Morgan I, and so on, were all like this.
"What's your plan?" Evelyn asked.
"I want Hollywood to be in chaos. Only when it's chaotic will I have an opportunity," Charles responded. The entertainment industry is the most attractive place, so what are the most attractive things in the entertainment industry?
Scandals. Entertainment scandals are best at diverting public attention and opinion.
"Isn't the entertainment industry chaotic enough now?" Evelyn asked without much emotion, wondering why Charles wanted Hollywood to be in chaos.
Charles shook his head and said, "Not enough. Currently, Capet Pictures has few films, and its value isn't enough for others to have any specific ideas."
"What about in the future, when I have IPs similar to the harry potter series, or the Jurassic series, or even the star wars series?"
"How much obstruction will there be in distribution? Not to mention MPAA audits, what about the news media? How much capital will I have to spend to fight against media smears?"
Evelyn understood. This was a common tactic used by many capitalists or politicians. When a scandal emerges, an entertainment scandal quickly appears to cover it up, because for ordinary people, both politicians and capitalists are too distant.
"The core of Hollywood is the members of the MPAA. They need Hollywood to be stable to facilitate greater transfer of interests. If internal problems arise, their first priority is to stabilize internally. Even if you cause trouble in the film industry, they won't be able to pay attention, right?" Evelyn understood with a thought.
"But have you considered that small companies have very weak resistance to storms? The risk-resistance capability of major studios is not something your small companies can compare to!"
Charles said to himself, "Small companies are weak because they don't have many opportunities for trial and error. As long as they don't make mistakes during development, that's fine!"
"You..." Evelyn shook her head, finding this a bit fanciful.
"Alright, it's still early. These are just plans in my mind for now!" Charles interrupted. He would tell his mother the specifics later.
After all, Charles was someone who wanted to stand on the moral high ground, and feminism was a trump card he could fully utilize.
Charles wanted his dazzling holy light to envelop Hollywood. Only by rising above that holy light could he become the true King of Hollywood.
That night, Charles and Evelyn talked about quite a few things, as Charles was Evelyn's only son.
As a second-generation immigrant from Europe, Evelyn indeed had few relatives; her son was her only one!
The arrival of the summer box office season had no impact on the American election. Hollywood, as the standard-bearer organization of the Democratic Party, spared no effort in its vigorous promotion.
Michael Moore's documentary "fahrenheit 9" was filled with dirt on the Bush family; Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and veteran sex symbol Sharon Stone campaigned tirelessly from east to west, and from north to south.
Of course, the power of "fahrenheit 9" was significant enough that no distribution company in the US dared to take it on at the moment.
The main reason no one took on "the passion of the christ" was that religious films generally don't make money. But for "fahrenheit 9," it was truly a case of no one daring to touch it.
As for Leonardo DiCaprio, Sharon Stone, and the like, they were just clowns in the eyes of others.
How much campaign funding had the Bush team raised by then? Their support rate was higher than the Democratic Party's candidate.
On [Date, Day of the Week] Western US Time, Universal Pictures' epic fantasy blockbuster "van helsing" held its premiere in Universal City.
Charles was also invited to attend, sitting with Universal Pictures President Stacey Snider.
"Charles, have you decided on the third film project yet?" Stacey Snider asked.
"I have an idea. This Time it's a remake of a Honk Kong crime thriller, involving triads and police departments sending undercover agents into each other's organizations," Charles explained.
"The film budget is also considerable. I plan to make it an epic crime thriller. Besides Martin Scorsese, I wonder who else could direct it?"
"Of course, if Francis Coppola is willing to direct, that would be even better!"
Stacey Snider shook her head and said, "Francis probably won't direct gangster films anymore, but Martin should be suitable."
"There's no problem with the filming of 'wedding crashers' and 'mr. & mrs. smith,'" Charles reminded Universal to give them good release slots next year.
Stacey Snider smiled, "Don't worry, Universal Pictures has just completed its acquisition and still needs to finalize the merger with NBC Television Station this year. NBCUniversal won't have many competitive films next year."
"Your films are highly valued by Universal!"