After Halloween in 2005, Donna Langley, who had left Universal Pictures, also joined Capet Pictures as president.
When Charles Capet was not around, she would be in charge of all the work at Capet Pictures, so Charles, who had originally planned to stay in London, returned directly to Los Angeles.
"Not to mention mr. & mrs. smith and wedding crashers, Capet Pictures' performance is truly excellent with little miss sunshine, hostel, and saw iii," Donna Langley said, full of praise for Capet Pictures' projects after joining.
"I am also very confident about walk the line, which will be released this month, and no country for old men, which will be released next month," Charles said, his tone revealing strong self-confidence.
Donna Langley nodded and smiled, "I'm more concerned about the movies you're releasing next year. the da vinci code has a high budget, and 300 has also finished filming, which is close to the threshold of an A-list production!"
As for the departed, Universal Pictures is responsible for its distribution.
"Will Smith's the pursuit of happyness has also started filming in San Francisco. The company's key projects now are the live-action transformers and Marvel Studios' iron man," Donna Langley said somewhat seriously.
"Both are big-budget special effects blockbusters with production costs of nearly 100 million US dollars. Capet Pictures is very determined!"
"You know about the marvel universe. I am confident I can build this Marvel treasure trove well," Capet Pictures is currently just an independent film company. Taking on such 100-million-dollar-level productions requires no less courage than New Line Cinema playing with the lord of the rings.
"Warner Bros.' DC reboot, batman begins, has received good reviews and box office, so perhaps Marvel Comics will be transformed in your hands," Donna's confidence in Capet Pictures also stemmed from Charles.
Even if Marvel Comics currently doesn't have the Spider-Man and x-men series, perhaps Marvel Studios' newly launched Avengers Universe will be a pleasant surprise.
"What's Universal's view on hulk?" Charles suddenly asked. Two years had passed since the 2003 hulk, and if a sequel wasn't released in 2008, the rights would revert to Marvel.
Donna Langley shook her head, "Currently, Universal has no new plans for hulk. Perhaps after Marvel Studios' iron man is released!"
"However, is it really okay that Robert Downey Jr. has been cast as the lead in iron man?"
Didn't Tom Cruise express interest in iron man? Or Nicolas Cage, who has always been very fond of superheroes?
"This is Robert Downey Jr.'s last chance. If he doesn't repent, I believe his acting career should end," Charles smiled.
"His Agent said he quit drugs, and he himself has repeatedly guaranteed he won't relapse. The lead role in iron man suits his acting style very well, and he is also willing to sign a series of clauses. Plus, Robert Downey Jr.'s acting talent provides enough publicity for the movie!"
Donna Langley smiled. All Charles said was simply because Robert Downey Jr. is currently embroiled in scandal, is cheap, and obedient.
If the iron man movie fails, while it won't bankrupt Capet Pictures, Marvel Entertainment will certainly be greatly affected.
"However, Charles, you went to Europe this year to get involved in the overseas distribution market. Have you really thought it through?" Donna Langley, of course, knew that the overseas distribution market is costly in terms of money and manpower.
"It's no problem for you to bring the German film the lives of others for North American distribution. I also saw Capet International Pictures' French subsidiary investing over 20 million US dollars to produce a French film, la vie en rose. This kind of movie doesn't have a large market in North America!"
Hollywood pursues commercial films, and the market for art films mainly relies on the European market. It is clear that the box office for la vie en rose will mainly be concentrated in Europe, especially the French market.
"There's no other way. The box office from the overseas market is getting higher year by year, and the films produced by Capet Pictures are not just for the local market, like romantic comedies. The European market has always been Hollywood's stronghold," Charles said with a frown.
"I know it's very difficult, but for expanding into the overseas distribution market, this is essential. At least we need to lay the foundation in the important European markets first!"
"Charles, I'm also worried you'll follow DreamWorks' old path. Now, DreamWorks and Universal Pictures' negotiations for a sale have lasted for more than half a year, and they can't agree on a price!"
Donna Langley, when she was at Universal, knew many of the key negotiation points with DreamWorks.
Ronald Meyer, chairman of Universal Entertainment, had been trying to persuade the General Electric Board of Directors to agree to David Griffin and Steven Spielberg's terms, but Bob Wright, chairman of NBCUniversal, thought the price was too high.
"DreamWorks' profit losses are largely due to them taking too big a step. DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks Television, DreamWorks Records, and Internet entertainment almost all blossomed at once, but their revenue sources were singular, leading to high debts and forcing them to sell themselves!"
Facing Donna Langley's persuasion, Charles also nodded and reassured her, "Don't worry, those people at DreamWorks are investors. They didn't put much effort into running the company well; anyway, the funding came from later investors, and the debt ratio was already 120%!"
"Universal is pressing down the price for DreamWorks?" Charles smiled and then said somewhat mysteriously, "Tom Freston, chairman of the newly split Viacom Group, and his subordinate, Paramount chairman Brad Grey, are quite interested in DreamWorks."
Donna Langley nodded, "That depends on whether Paramount is willing to offer a bid of over 1.5 billion US dollars."
"After Sherry Lansing left, Brad Grey's approach became much more aggressive. He has already reduced collaboration with other film companies on distribution projects and has been more frequent in greenlighting film budgets."
During Sherry Lansing's era, Paramount was very strict with production budgets, and co-distributing films with other studios was common practice, ceding North American or overseas distribution rights to share risks.
While risks were shared, profits were naturally much lower. As one of The Big Six in the world, they couldn't even outperform DreamWorks at the box office.
Charles narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Sumner Redstone is even going to visit Paramount personally. With his support, Tom Freston and Brad Grey won't find it difficult to snatch DreamWorks from Universal's grasp!"
Donna Langley smiled, "That also depends on whether Spielberg is willing to work for Paramount. All right, I'm heading back to my office now!"
After Donna Langley left the office, Charles leaned back in his chair. Would his Cape Entertainment end up like DreamWorks? That would be a joke, wouldn't it?