The next day, many newspapers in Paris reported the news that a young Hollywood filmmaker had spent 6 million euro to bet on Greece and Latvia winning the European Championship.
There were admirers, scoffers, and those who mocked the american for not understanding football, all of which further proved that the people in the New World were a bunch of upstarts.
At EuropaCorp headquarters, Charles watched a new film in the screening room, "danny the dog," written by Luc Besson and starring Jet Li.
After watching, Charles shook his head, somewhat disappointed with the film. "Kiss of the Dragon," released last year, was also written by Luc Besson, and its sharp fight scenes had a certain market.
"How about it? This 'danny the dog' cost 45 million dollars to produce, with Morgan Freeman as Jet Li's supporting actor. The film has many expressions of love, which is different from Jet Li's previous films," Luc Besson introduced.
With a production cost of 45 million dollars, the budget was indeed higher compared to Jet Li's previous B-movies.
However, "danny the dog" was destined to be a failed film, and Charles had no interest in distributing it in the United States.
Moreover, "danny the dog" finished filming last year, and there were no plans for its release this year, clearly indicating that the test screenings had not gone well.
"Why did Jet Li participate in such a film?" Charles was a bit confused.
Luc Besson explained, "When 'Kiss of the Dragon' was released, Jet Li said he hoped to play some different roles, not just action and fight scenes! So I quickly gave him this script."
"Oh, and EuropaCorp hopes to get the French distribution agreement for 'the da vinci code,' and will also participate in the filming in France!"
Seeing that Charles was not interested in "danny the dog," Luc Besson brought up another matter.
Charles nodded; such matters would certainly need to be discussed slowly by professionals.
After staying in Paris for a week and creating a big news story, Charles was also returning home.
On the way to the airport, Marion Cotillard specifically came to see Charles off.
In the car, Marion Cotillard leaned into Charles's arms and said, "I bought 'the da vinci code' novel and am reading it. The story is brilliant, truly the work of a master of suspense."
Charles nodded and smiled, "'the da vinci code' is still in preparation and is expected to start filming next year!"
"What about after that? Aren't you going to Portugal to watch the European Championship?" Marion Cotillard thought Charles had bought millions of euro worth of lottery tickets, so he should go watch.
"Go? And be ridiculed?" Charles certainly wasn't going. Many sports and entertainment newspapers had reported on the matter, mostly with a skeptical tone.
"Also, didn't I buy 100,000 euro on the Greece National Team with you? If Greece wins, the prize money will be substantial," Charles reminded her.
Marion Cotillard smiled, "If we win, that's over 8 million euro! I can't even imagine!"
Charles shook his head. Marion Cotillard's luck was indeed good, meeting him. The time for both fame and fortune was not far off!
After being away from the United States for over half a month, Charles finally returned to Los Angeles.
In Beverly Hills, at Capet Manor, Evelyn looked at Charles sitting on the sofa, her face full of helplessness.
"How impressive! A young american wealthy man grandly spent 6 million euro to bet on a dark horse winning the championship!"
Evelyn clapped her hands as she spoke, Charles had become a laughingstock.
"Mr. Charles Capet, I heard you even asked if one million euro could win 200 million euro?" Evelyn said, sitting next to Charles.
"Come, tell mom, what were you thinking at the time?"
Charles raised his hands, stood up, and explained helplessly, "I've been back for a few days, and the games there will start in a few more days, maybe..."
Evelyn shook her head and said no more, letting her son be willful for once!
"Your film 'mr. & mrs. smith' has stopped filming. Is it because of Brad Pitt?"
Charles nodded. Brad Pitt was the male lead of the film, and without him, filming certainly couldn't proceed.
He continued, "'wedding crashers' is expected to wrap up next month. Currently, Capet Pictures has several projects that need to be managed."
"There's 'walk the line,' which I just invested in; 'the da vinci code,' which I'm personally overseeing; the remake of 'infernal affairs,' mainly led by Universal; and I also have the 'no country for old men' script being adapted!"
"Alright, I'm heading back. You can take your time with too many projects. You always need working capital to distribute films!" Evelyn had just come to see her son and it was time for her to return.
However, compared to Charles's minor news, the big news in the United States right now was that "fahrenheit 9" had overcome its ban.
Relying on the glow of the palme d'or and the lavish praise of liberal media in the United States, Lionsgate Films became the distributor of this controversial documentary.
"fahrenheit 9" directly pointed to the relationship between the current president and terrorists, and directly spoke of the conspiracy behind 9/11, indeed attracting a large number of followers.
Europe, not to mention, would certainly welcome "fahrenheit 9" with open arms, and within the United States, there was no shortage of conspiracy theorists.
The controversial nature of "fahrenheit 9" immediately surpassed the religious controversy of "the passion of the christ," and now it was just waiting for its release.
At Capet Pictures, Charles looked at the newspaper, which contained news about the MPAA rating "fahrenheit 9" as R, leading to great dissatisfaction from documentary director Michael Moore, who filed an appeal.
"The pressure from the White House is not small. Although the attention on "fahrenheit 9" is high now, and it has the support of so many celebrities, Michael Moore's chances of winning the appeal are not very high," Charles curled his lip. Although Hollywood is a Democratic Party stronghold, the MPAA is the link between the White House and Hollywood, facing this pressure without difficulty.
"It's set to be released on June 25th. Today is the 15th. If they want to change the rating, they need to speed up!" Donna echoed from the side, clearly not optimistic either. It's targeting the current White House occupant; how could the rating be lowered for more people to watch?
"By the way, 'the passion of the christ' made 200 million euro at the overseas box office. Capet Pictures received 25 million euro in revenue, plus 40 million euro from DVD and TV rights, all of which remained in Europe and were not converted to dollars and repatriated!"
Charles nodded and said, "Very good, keep the funds in Europe for now!"
Another subsidiary of Capet Pictures, Capet International Pictures, also registered in the Cayman Islands, is specifically responsible for the overseas marketing of films.
After all, establishing subsidiaries in offshore tax-free regions to deal with taxes is a common practice for many companies.
Charles's current idea is to quickly establish distribution offices in important box office markets in Europe, such as the United Kingdom, Germany, and France.
Many other smaller countries and regions can entrust local distribution companies or find distribution agents, but for important markets, it is better to set up one's own distribution channels.
Personnel and funds can only be built up slowly!