Chapter 9: United Against a Common Foe

"This is Mr. Ronald Anderson, the president of Sahara Film Industries."

"This is my brother, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Director of the UAE Presidential Office and Minister of Affairs at the Abu Dhabi Investment Bureau."

Introduced by Saleh, Ronald shook hands and exchanged pleasantries with the Abu Dhabi bigwig. After the introductions, Saleh took his leave.

In the opulent meeting room, only four people remained. Ronald sat alone, with Mansour seated beside him. Behind Mansour stood two aides in their forties.

Ever since Ronald laid eyes on Mansour, his mind had been racing. He had a feeling of familiarity with the name, and upon seeing the man in person, it only intensified.

This man appeared to be about four or five years older than Saleh, with a typical Arab face. Ronald was certain he had seen him before.

"Mr. Anderson," Mansour said very politely, "welcome to Abu Dhabi."

"Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity Abu Dhabi has given me," Ronald responded with a smile.

A memory flashed in Ronald's mind. Wasn't this the same Mansour Sheikh from the past life, the leader of Manchester City Football Club in the English Premier League? Back then, he was already the frontman for the Abu Dhabi consortium, which had assets exceeding trillions of dollars.

He was undoubtedly a heavyweight.

Even without considering his past life, just his current titles alone were enough to label him as such.

Ronald had never dealt with someone of this caliber before, and he felt a slight nervousness suddenly creep in. Climbing up to this level required not only his royal lineage but also substantial abilities. Making the other party open their wallet obediently wouldn't be easy.

Moreover, if not handled properly, all his previous efforts would be in vain.

This was a crisis.

But Ronald didn't show it. His face remained calm and natural. After all, wasn't a crisis also an opportunity?

If it were ten years later, the Arab funds would have penetrated the Western world extensively, and he would have withdrawn politely after a few pleasantries. But now...

Since arriving in Abu Dhabi, he had been in frequent contact with people from the Investment Bureau and could sense their mindset. After accumulating oil funds, Abu Dhabi not only sought investment and profit but also aimed to establish a prominent presence globally.

Mansour had previously spent huge sums investing in the English Premier League, presumably representing this aspect.

If Mansour was willing to invest, the financial problem would be easily solved.

Though he harbored concerns, the opportunity was right in front of him, and he couldn't easily let it slip away. Letting it go might magnify the crisis manifold.

Both sides exchanged pleasantries, and then Mansour asked directly, "Mr. Anderson, I heard you recently messed up a movie?"

On the first day of the fundraising meeting, he had gone to the scene, gathered a lot of information, and even entrusted the investigation of Ronald Anderson and Sahara Entertainment Company's situation to the Abu Dhabi Investment Bureau's headquarters in the US.

Though the investigation results had not yet arrived, the performance of Mr. Anderson and the detailed information provided, including tax records, seemed reassuring.

"Yes," Ronald knew he couldn't hide the truth, so he would speak honestly about what needed to be said. "I raised six million dollars to produce a movie called 'Miracle in the Desert,' but it only made eight hundred thousand dollars at the North American box office."

Mansour frowned slightly, and a fat man behind him interjected, "Failed on the first attempt, can you ensure success on the second?"

Their money wasn't just blowing in with the wind; it came from oil.

Ronald observed carefully. This slightly impolite question wasn't something Mansour wanted to say directly, so he had his subordinate ask instead.

"Many top Hollywood directors and producers, like Spielberg and George Lucas, didn't succeed with their first films," Ronald wasn't afraid to mention past failures. "James Cameron, the director of 'Titanic,' had a disastrous first film, 'Piranha'."

"James Cameron's first film failed too?" The fat man seemed skeptical.

Ronald smiled. "It's not a secret in Hollywood." He continued, "I'm not comparable to these extraordinary individuals, but 'Miracle in the Desert' was my first film. At the time, I was impulsive and radical, and I made many mistakes. Failure made me fully aware of those mistakes and will prevent me from making similar ones in the next project."

Mansour smiled, changing the subject, "I heard from Saleh that you've encountered a lot of difficulties with Jews?"

Ronald smiled again, a bit bitter. "It's not much. Non-Jewish forces in Hollywood, uh..."

He deliberately glanced at the two men behind Mansour.

Mansour understood his implication and said, "Don't worry, I guarantee with the honor of the Al Nahyan family that our words will not be leaked."

In fact, Ronald wasn't worried about leaks. There were plenty of reasons to denounce Jews, such as allegations of Arab defamation, which he intentionally emphasized to get Mansour's attention.

"You should have heard that Jewish influence in Hollywood is very significant," Ronald once again steered the conversation towards Arab enemies. "They even control the trend of the entire Hollywood."

Frankly speaking, he wasn't very fond of either group, with Arabs slightly lower in his esteem. However, this wasn't the time for emotional decisions.

He once read the words of a Hollywood bigwig that made a lot of sense: Remember, don't be emotional. This is the entertainment industry, and if you take it seriously, you lose.

This advice could apply to both speaking for Jews in Hollywood films and personal emotions within the industry.

Mansour nodded solemnly. As long as people paid a little attention to Hollywood movies, they could see it.

Ronald spoke the truth once again, "Hollywood doesn't like non-Jewish influences either, but they are all oppressed and excluded by Jewish forces."

Just think of Mel Gibson, a top-tier star and Oscar-winning director, and how miserable he ended up.

Mentioning Jews made Mansour look serious, but he also knew that anti-Semitic sentiment had always existed in the US.

The Arab world and Jews had extremely sharp conflicts, and the vast majority of the UAE's military was used to defend against Israel.

"I and my father, along with Sahara Entertainment, belong to the non-pro-Jewish forces in Hollywood," Ronald wasn't making up stories; the Anderson family had almost no dealings with Jews. "The Anderson family has no Jewish bloodline and has always kept its distance from Jews. All the films produced by Sahara Entertainment have never spoken favorably about Jews."

Except for "Desert Survival," all the productions from Sahara Entertainment are typical B-level films, emphasizing simplicity, absurdity, violence, and gore, and have never mixed with anything that could easily provoke audience resentment, such as ethnic emotions.

Ronald began to slowly add some truth into the verifiable facts: "Since its establishment, Sahara Entertainment has only received a total of $2 million in loans from the film industry capital, which is deeply influenced by Jewish people, and all of them are asset-backed loans!"

There was a hint of resentment on his face. "My father was very capable, but limited by funds, he couldn't expand Sahara Entertainment."

The conservatism of Old Anderson, when spoken by Ronald, completely changed its appearance: "Many small companies established at the same time as Sahara Entertainment have become medium-sized companies, but what about Sahara Entertainment? Limited by funds and distribution channels, it remains a small company even after ten years, only able to produce direct-to-video films to maintain its barely surviving status."

"What about your father?" Mansour asked.

Ronald's eyes turned red. "He passed away in an accident."

Mansour hurriedly apologized. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Ronald continued to add, "My father told me a long time ago that he wanted to expand Sahara Entertainment and produce big films."

He seemed like a super filial son. "So, I impulsively made 'Desert Survival,' also to fulfill my father's wish."

Mansour comforted, "You will surely succeed in the future."

Ronald said solemnly, "If Hollywood weren't controlled by Jewish forces, Sahara Entertainment would never be in its current situation."

He spoke frankly again, "I applied for assistance from the 'Film Industry Subsidy and Health Plan' of Hollywood's Producers Guild. Sahara Entertainment is a member of the Guild and has to pay hefty dues every year. This plan is originally intended to assist companies and producers within the Guild who encounter difficulties. However, the Guild's decision-making power is in the hands of major companies."

He continued to add a little: "The top executives of the major companies are mostly Jewish, and Sahara Entertainment and I refused to align with Jewish forces and were rejected."

Mansour nodded slowly, associating Ronald's words with the situation in the Middle East. Jews have always been like this.

Suddenly, he felt a hint of camaraderie against a common enemy.

Ronald continued, "Banks wouldn't lend, and assistance couldn't pass. I had to raise funds to save myself. Even if fundraising is difficult, I won't sing praises for Jews in my films."

"You're right," Mansour agreed. "Bow to Jews in times of difficulty, and they will only become more arrogant and domineering."

Judging from Mansour's words and attitude, Ronald determined that at least there was no mistake.

There was no way around it. The simplest way to win the favor of Arabs was to focus on Jews.

"Mr. Anderson, I personally appreciate your attitude towards Arab characters in the script." Mansour changed the subject again. "Why not let Arabs be the protagonists?"