With the arrival of August, Charles "mr. & mrs. smith" was also set to begin filming immediately, and it was believed that the extra funds spent would be earned back twofold.
Early in the morning, Evelyn Capet had just woken up when she received a delivery call; Charles had bought her a car as a gift.
The butler opened the courtyard gate to reveal a red Ferrari sports car, a limited edition Ferrari Enzo that had only recently been released.
After receiving the sports car, Evelyn was beaming with joy. This limited edition Ferrari Enzo began production in 2002, with only 400 units worldwide.
With a price tag exceeding $600,000, Evelyn also received a call from Charles on her way to work.
"You received the car, right? How is it?"
"Haha, it's great, I love it. At least you remember your mom!"
Sitting in his office, Charles smiled and put down the phone. It was just a car, and only a limited edition Ferrari at that. Even a Bugatti would have been fine.
The DVD, VHS, and other rental and sales of "saw" achieved excellent results; now the DVD market for "the passion of the christ" has also opened, which will provide a large amount of cash income in a short period of time, and then, along with other film copyrights, will become one of Capet Pictures' continuous sources of cash.
He had to seize the opportunity to maximize profits before the DVD market was cut in half!
The blockbusters Charles was currently concerned about were "the departed" and "the da vinci code," as they were high-concept films with large investments, big stars, vast markets, and extensive promotions.
However, things that disappointed Charles were also frequent. "I Am Legend" was based on Richard Matheson's novel of the same name, and Warner Bros. had already adapted it into a film in the 1960s and 1970s.
As for the memorable "hancock," the current script, titled "he comes tonight," was completed years ago. Due to its anti-hero character, it was rejected for development by many film companies.
Now, it was also in Warner Bros.' hands, and Charles could only wait for Warner Bros. to give it up, as Charles remembered this film was produced by Sony.
But now Warner Bros. had just acquired the script and seemed to have intentions of developing it. He had to wait; there must have been some change later on.
At noon, another female assistant in Charles office, Phyllis Jones, came in to remind him of an afternoon meeting with Universal executives.
"Phyllis, how long have you been with the company?" Charles asked the beautiful Lady standing before him, with long black hair and a graceful figure, a subordinate Donna Williams had recruited due to too many tasks.
"I joined the company in February, about half a year, Mr. Capet!" Phyllis Jones had previously served as a receptionist before being promoted to assistant by Donna Williams.
"Just graduated from college?"
Phyllis Jones nodded, "I just graduated this year, and my company internship just ended!"
Charles nodded and instructed, "Go arrange the meeting place with Universal, and then notify them of the location."
Phyllis Jones acknowledged and then left.
Donna Williams was currently in New York, helping Charles monitor the acquisition of Marvel shares. Due to the soaring box office of "Spider-Man 2," the stock price seemed to be rising.
In the afternoon, at a fine Italian restaurant in West Hollywood, Charles hosted Universal Pictures President Stacey Snider and Head of Production Donna Langley.
Although Universal Pictures' production base was in Universal City, Hollywood, its distribution headquarters was located in New York, and the Los Angeles distribution department had a small number of employees.
Most of the films distributed annually by The Big Six in Hollywood were purchased from other film production companies, with only about a third being self-produced or co-produced.
"Charles, are you and Martin not seeing eye to eye?" Stacey Snider asked.
Charles nodded. Donna Langley frowned and asked again, "I heard you have disagreements over the choice of the male lead?"
"That's right, I don't think Leonardo DiCaprio can play this role well; his acting skills are still a bit lacking," Charles stated bluntly, as the script for "infernal affairs" was excellent and couldn't be taken lightly.
"Phyllis, bring out the script!" Charles said to his assistant beside him.
After taking the script from Phyllis's hand, Charles handed it to Donna Langley, "This is the script adapted by Martin and others in collaboration with the original screenwriter. The story has been greatly changed, and it's quite good;"
"However, I don't want the story to take place in Boston. Gangs are everywhere. I want to shoot the film in New York, so I will change the plot to feature New York Mafia, typical Italian-Americans, Jewish-Americans, all are acceptable. There's no need for it to specifically be an Irish gang story!"
Stacey Snider didn't look at the script. After thinking, she said, "New York has a 15% tax rebate, which we definitely need. Filming in Boston would certainly increase costs."
Universal, as the global distributor, certainly had its own requirements for the film.
"We also received Martin's ideas. He also wants to invite Robert De Niro and Mel Gibson to play roles in the film, along with Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio," Donna Langley also said with a smile.
Charles was momentarily stunned. How much budget would that require? Universal, as the distributor, definitely wanted to do the most with the least money. He would have to find a way to secure the remaining funds himself?
He would put in all the hard work, and Universal would definitely make money from distribution; the director would also gain both fame and fortune through good stories and good actors? As for Capet Pictures, how much would it get after doing all the dirty and tiring work?