Marion Cotillard, who was in Hollywood for her first Hollywood film, "the da vinci code," and was entering the Hollywood circle, received an audition notice for the French film "la vie en rose."
The "Little Sparrow" Édith Piaf was the beloved singer in the hearts of countless French people, and Marion Cotillard was more than willing to portray her legendary life.
Therefore, Marion Cotillard rushed back to Paris from Los Angeles to participate in the audition for "la vie en rose."
That evening, Charles and Marion Cotillard, who had returned from Los Angeles, USA, were dining at a restaurant on the top floor of the Eiffel Tower, enjoying the night view of Paris.
"How is it? Isn't it wonderful to dine here? You can look up and overlook the Seine River and the night view of Paris," Marion Cotillard's excited expression was impossible to hide.
Charles put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth, and agreed that it was indeed nice to enjoy the Paris night view from the top of the Eiffel Tower.
"Actually, I've always wondered why this pile of iron, after so many years standing in the center of Paris, has become a symbol of Paris," The Eiffel Tower and the Grand Palais were both built when Paris hosted the World Expo in 1900.
An incredibly ugly lump of iron has stood in the heart of Paris for over a hundred years.
Marion Cotillard was stunned for a moment, not knowing how to explain it, and awkwardly said, "Indeed, when it was first built, many Parisians opposed this structure!"
"'la vie en rose' is a famous biographical film. If it's done well, it's easy to get support and praise from critics. You need to spend more time figuring out how to play Édith Piaf well," Charles brought up the film again.
Marion Cotillard nodded, "I will work twice as hard. Édith Piaf is also one of my favorite and most respected singers!"
After Marion Cotillard finished speaking, she looked at Charles again and asked, "Are you leaving France soon?"
Charles nodded and said, "It's already October, and I've been in Paris for more than three weeks."
"Charles, I bought a seaside vacation villa on Mallorca last year. The environment is very good. Don't you like the beautiful scenery of the Mediterranean Sea? Would you like to go for a few days during Christmas? I want to thank you properly!"
No matter what, Marion Cotillard's fate truly changed after meeting Charles, not to mention the millions of euros in cash income.
She was the female lead in "the da vinci code," and now the female lead in the big French film "la vie en rose" was also hers. Marion Cotillard sincerely wanted to thank Charles.
"We'll see if I'm busy then," Although Charles didn't directly refuse, it was highly likely he wouldn't have much time.
It was already late October when Charles left France. He also specifically communicated with some famous French filmmakers, including Luc Besson and Sophie Marceau, and other entertainment industry figures.
To promote exchanges and cooperation between French cinema and Hollywood, the script for "taken," which Charles had previously entrusted EuropaCorp's Luc Besson to adapt, had already begun to be conceptualized.
At the same time, under the management of Cape Entertainment's Philip Davis and James Tunan, Capet International Pictures' work to establish offices in mainland Europe also began in an orderly manner.
In Knightsbridge, West London, Charles was very satisfied with his newly purchased luxury villa estate. It had 7 bedrooms and 8 bathrooms, an indoor swimming pool, an audio-visual room, an entertainment room, a bar, and a study, among other amenities.
Standing in the huge living room, Charles thought that in ten years, this estate would be worth at least 30 million pounds or more.
"Boss, look, things are getting chaotic near Paris!" Fili Jones came over with several newspapers, including The Times, News of the World, and The Daily Telegraph.
"What's chaotic?" Charles sat on the sofa and casually picked up a newspaper to read.
"Last night, hundreds of people took to the streets near Paris, burning trash cans and cars, and attempting to storm the town council hall. After the police arrived, the immigrant groups on the street began violent resistance!"
As Fili explained, Charles initially thought it was just another strike or protest, a regular feature of French life, as demonstrations were as common as eating and drinking for the revolutionary people of Paris.
But the more Charles read, the more surprised he became. The scale of the riots in the Paris suburbs was huge, with at least several hundred vehicles burned in one night.
The cause was that two African immigrant teenagers in the town of Clichy-sous-Bois, in the northern suburbs of Paris, chose to flee to avoid a police check and, in their panic, hid in a power substation.
At the substation, the two boys were electrocuted and died on the spot, which directly caused strong dissatisfaction among the local African immigrant community.
"Really," Charles clicked his tongue, feeling that France always seemed uncomfortable without some kind of trouble.
He casually put down the newspaper. What did these things have to do with him? Even if he were in Paris, would the riots happen in the upscale hotel where he was staying?
"Anyway, France is almost becoming a black country now. Aren't strikes, parades, and demonstrations happening every two or three days?" Charles shook his head. Black people are a source of unrest wherever they go.
Charles felt some regret. He should have stayed in Paris to enjoy the beautiful scenery!
"By the way, the first season of 'prison break' has already aired several episodes. How are the ratings?" The first season of the TV series "prison break," produced by Cape Television Company, began airing last month!
"It's airing on Network A. The current average viewership per episode is approximately 8.7 million, with the premiere episode reaching about 10.5 million viewers. And the word-of-mouth is excellent!" Fili Jones said with a smile.
Charles nodded. It was coming soon; it should be taking the world by storm!
"It's Halloween, and our Matrix Pictures is about to release 'saw iii,'" Charles looked at his watch and smiled, saying that releasing a "saw" film around Halloween had almost become a regular feature for Cape Entertainment.
"Because of its low cost and high box office, and with many specific audiences always looking forward to it, plus good DVD sales, this series has been a great help to our company!"
Fili Jones didn't quite understand why her boss always liked to play with big commercial blockbusters. High investment and high promotion meant it would be very painful if they lost money. They should develop more low-cost horror-thriller films like this to make money.
Charles also laughed. Stealing a popular series from Lionsgate Films felt even better than developing one himself.
"At that time, I'll have to pay more attention to the scripts received by Matrix Pictures. Maybe there will be another low-cost hit film like this!" Who doesn't like low-cost, high-box-office films?
There are so many script projects; it's just that they are too difficult to discover.