Chapter 126 True Cases, False Tales

"The Thanksgiving box office competition is fierce, and this 'Ace Agent' has no advantage," said Thomas, the head of theatrical distribution, in the embassy's conference room.

"So, the premiere date we settled on was November 19th," he continued.

Ronan skimmed through the information about "Ace Agent" without saying much.

Garcia asked, "Do we have a confirmed number of theaters for the premiere?"

Thomas replied, "We had a theatrical test screening, and the theaters were satisfied with the genre and action scenes of the film, but they questioned the identity setup of the male lead..." He glanced at Ronan and spoke frankly, "The theaters unanimously questioned the identity setup of the male lead, which also affected their investment."

This was completely within Ronan's expectations. An Arab as the absolute protagonist had little chance of major success in the North American film market.

"We'll have around 1,500 theaters for the premiere," Thomas added. "But each theater will have only one screen, and some will even share a screen with other films."

Regarding the specifics of the film, Garcia inquired, "What about the marketing?"

David-Bilia's deputy, Gilberto, said, "We've already invested $1.3 million in marketing, mainly focusing on outdoor billboards and newspaper ads in areas with minority populations. We'll invest another $700,000 before the film's release."

Ronan closed the documents and said, "We'll decide on additional investment based on the premiere results."

"Alright," Garcia added, "Prepare 1,500 copies and deliver them all before November 18th."

He then turned to the financial director, Fiona, and said, "All expenses for 'Ace Agent' and 'Death is Coming' will be covered by loans from Relativity Entertainment."

"Understood," Fiona replied.

Switching the topic, Garcia said, "Now, let's discuss the situation with 'Death is Coming.'"

Robert spoke first, "Director James Huang is not entirely satisfied with a voice-over and the soundtrack. He started gathering several key actors for re-dubbing last Thursday, and it will take about a week to complete. The media and theaters' test screenings are scheduled for next Monday morning."

Thomas continued, "Due to the success of 'Human Purge,' theaters have some confidence in James Huang's new film. With no strong competitors over the weekend, we can guarantee around 2,000 theaters for the premiere. The final number of theaters and showtimes will depend on the representatives of several theaters after they've seen the test screenings."

David-Bilia added, "Pre-release marketing is progressing steadily. We'll intensify promotions starting from mid-November. Ads for 'Death is Coming' will also be included in 'Ace Agent.' Additionally, we've reached an agreement with Sony Columbia, and ads for 'Death is Coming' and 'Ace Agent' will be inserted into the latest James Bond film, 'Black Crisis.'"

Hearing this, Ronan asked Garcia, "Have the negotiations with Sony Columbia for the rights been finalized?"

"The major terms are mostly agreed upon, with only a few minor details left to negotiate," Garcia replied. "We could sign the formal agreement as early as this week."

They were discussing the overseas rights negotiations for "Witch Blair."

Ronan wasn't directly involved in the negotiations for the overseas rights of this film. He entrusted Embassy Entertainment to handle it, with Garcia personally in charge. Garcia had contacted five companies capable of overseas distribution, and the final cooperation partner remained Sony Entertainment.

There was no other reason behind this decision except that Sony Entertainment offered the highest bid.

Under the finalized authorization terms, Embassy Entertainment sold all the rights to "Witch Blair," including overseas screenings, home entertainment, television, and merchandise, to Sony Columbia Pictures for $50 million.

The current disagreement between the two parties was regarding the duration of the authorization.

This was a movie that could generate revenue of over $100 million for Embassy Entertainment.

The trailer inserts for "Death is Coming" and "Ace Agent" in "Black Crisis" were also part of this deal.

James Bond's influence was enormous, and having trailer inserts would save Embassy Entertainment a significant amount in promotional expenses, with good promotional results as well.

Trailer inserts could be considered one of Hollywood's oldest and most effective promotional methods.

Selling overseas rights for hot movies in North America was never difficult. However, this time, Ronan didn't bundle "Witch Blair" with the several videotape films from Sahara Entertainment for sale. He didn't have many films left to sell overseas, so he had to cherish them and use them at crucial moments, such as with "Death is Coming," an external investment project.

Although he had thought about it before, Ronan quickly realized that there was no need to play profit-sharing tricks with "Witch Blair." The rights were entirely in his hands, and there was no need to share profits.

Ronan temporarily set aside the matter of overseas rights for "Witch Blair." Some tasks only required him to set the direction; the specifics could be delegated to subordinates, as long as supervision was done well.

"How many media and theaters have been invited?" Ronan asked.

Thomas replied, "Seven chain theaters, including Empire Entertainment, AMG, and All-American Artists, will send representatives. The managers of some independent theaters near Los Angeles will also attend."

David-Bilia added, "The full-time reporters from the top three industry publications, 'Variety,' 'Entertainment Weekly,' and 'The Hollywood Reporter,' will be present. Representatives from professional film magazines like 'Premiere' will also attend. I've also contacted many entertainment reporters from major newspapers."

Ronan was quite satisfied with this outcome. After the tremendous success of "Human Purge," director James Huang had substantial influence.

"Robert, how's the collection of real-life incidents going?" Ronan asked again.

"We have quite a few cases, many of which are based on true events. I've contacted several relatives of the involved parties, and it's a bit..." Robert shuddered. "I almost believe there's such a thing as a death god in this world."

He chuckled and then got back to the point. "I've gathered a lot of information, especially from cases in the past two years. I've arranged for video interviews with several family members and negotiated payments for using these for promotion. I've handed all of this over to David."

David-Bilia said, "We'll hype up these true incidents at the most critical moment of pre-release promotion."

Ronan pondered for a moment and said, "Find a suitable way to mix the fictional story of the film into these true stories."

Mixing a dozen true events into one fictional story would easily make people believe it. Ronan vaguely remembered from his previous life seeing reports on online media that mentioned the plot of "Death is Coming." Although he was still in school at the time and didn't pay much attention, he remembered that when online media first introduced "Death is Coming," they said it was based on real encounters from the 1970s.

Afterward, he looked for the film everywhere to watch it. At that time, with limited exposure, it was truly terrifying.

To be honest, it was one of the few horror films that scared him. Perhaps it was because of his young age at the time.

Later, when he watched "Saw," he didn't feel the same way; it just made him feel uncomfortable.

Ronan has always appreciated James Huang's concept of horror, believing that what cannot be seen is the most terrifying.

Many moviegoers share a similar mentality. For instance, in the movie "Se7en," Ronan found the first half extremely captivating, but when Kevin Spacey's character was revealed, the movie's appeal diminished instantly.

After the meeting, Ronan didn't linger at Embassy Pictures. Instead, after lunch, he went to the Merrill Lynch Los Angeles branch to talk to his stockbroker, Scott.

It was early November 1999, and it was time to deal with the investments in the NASDAQ.

"Mr. Anderson, are you looking to increase your investment?" Scott asked, his face filled with excitement and enthusiasm. "NASDAQ is on fire right now, with many stocks skyrocketing every day, creating wealth miracles!"

When Ronan entered Merrill Lynch, he observed that most people there, like Scott, seemed unusually excited.

The stock market had driven many people crazy.

Remaining calm, Ronan said, "Scott, I'm not here to increase my investment."

Scott was taken aback by this unexpected response and asked, "You're not looking to increase your investment anymore?"

"I've just acquired a film distribution company and need substantial funds to expand its overseas distribution channels," Ronan said, not willing to discuss the stock market further. He had already prepared appropriate reasons and excuses: "I'm currently short of funds and need a large amount of money for liquidity."

Glancing at Scott, who looked somewhat surprised, Ronan continued, "Scott, I want to sell my holdings in Cisco and Yahoo."

Scott hurriedly responded, "Now is not the best time to sell! Yahoo's stock price is close to $230 per share..."

Interrupting him, Ronan said, "Starting in December, manage it carefully. Sell off my holdings in both stocks gradually, and they must all be sold before the new year!"

Due to his limited understanding, Ronan only remembered that the NASDAQ crashed rapidly after 2000, but he didn't know the exact time.

Furthermore, without specific research, who would remember the exact timing of a crash?

Moreover, with the NASDAQ and internet stocks being hyped up so much, who would believe that there weren't any big players behind it? It was wise to cash out while things were still good.

When he initially bought Yahoo, the price per share was less than $70, and now it had more than tripled.

Cisco had seen even greater gains.

Ronan had made significant gains.

He had invested twice, first with $9 million after Abu Dhabi, and then with $5 million from the settlement of "The Purge." That was a total investment of $14 million.

Compared to the skyrocketing market value of Yahoo and Cisco, this amount was insignificant.

Selling off in batches probably wouldn't cause any market tremors.

Although Scott tried to persuade him, Ronan had made up his mind.

In the following days, Ronan visited Merrill Lynch several times. Scott quickly devised a selling plan, starting in December, selling off Yahoo and Cisco stocks every other day based on market conditions. They would surely be sold out before the new year.