Chapter 44: Britney Spears

Throughout the charity gala, Tom Ford and Charles Carpe talked a lot about filmmaking. Tom Ford also had plans to establish his namesake fashion brand and agreed to let Charles invest.

"This guy wants to be a movie director!" Charles laughed to Scarlett Johansson after Tom Ford left.

"He's the dreamboat of countless women," Scarlett, who also liked Tom Ford's designs, replied.

Charles casually glanced around the hall. There were at least 500 guests at the event, many of whom had bought expensive invitations.

Fashion, it truly is an incomprehensible visual experience!

Scarlett Johansson was wearing a sexy low-cut dress tonight, showing off her stunning figure.

"I'm going to the restroom," Charles said, giving the lady a kiss before getting up.

There was a lounge area outside the restroom where many people were smoking and chatting. After returning from the restroom, Charles decided to stay there and lit a cigarette.

Blowing out white smoke, Charles found a quiet spot to sit down.

"Can I borrow a light?"

Charles turned around, surprised, but handed over his lighter. It was none other than America's sweetheart, Britney Spears, asking for a light.

"Have a seat," Charles made some room. At this point, Britney Spears was still very sexy and beautiful, and not yet troubled.

However, she had just broken up with her boyfriend, Justin Timberlake, at the end of last year.

"Thanks!" Britney said as she sat down. "Boring banquet, eh?"

"Heh, it's alright. I've never been to this kind of event before," Charles smiled and then looked at Britney Spears, asking, "Do you know me?"

Britney nodded, smiling, "Of course, I know you - you're the young Hollywood producer.

Last year, I was in a romance film, Crossroads. Too bad it flopped. Sadly, the reviews were terrible. It'll be hard to get another movie role." Britney's first attempt at acting ended poorly, despite her fans contributing nearly 20 million dollars at the box office.

"When's your new album coming out?" Britney was still at her peak, sexy and beautiful, with a lot of fans.

"End of the year, my fourth album. I'll be doing a tour in the second half while recording," Britney responded.

"I'm a fan of yours; a lot of young people love you," Charles said, putting out his cigarette and throwing it into the ashtray.

"The VMA awards in August and September should be fun. I can get you an invitation, sound good?"

"VMA awards? That sounds interesting," Charles didn't refuse. Last year's VMAs were memorable, where Britney Spears and Michael Jackson had a mix-up during the awards.

Charles glanced at Britney again, thinking to himself how simplistic her mind seemed.

"What's up?" Britney asked, seeing Charles staring at her.

Charles shook his head, "No, your look today is great, very beautiful, very sexy!"

"I'll be in New York for a few days. We could hit up a bar together."

Charles nodded, and the two exchanged contact information before he left.

Britney Spears was indeed beautiful, but she wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, and her manager probably wasn't much better.

The tedious charity gala hadn't ended yet, but Charles decided to take Scarlett Johansson back to their suite at The Carlyle Hotel.

...

While Charles and Scarlett were busy in their New York hotel suite, James Wan was excitedly announcing the wrap-up of filming for his first feature, Saw, in Toronto.

The entire shoot had taken less than 20 days, and they were ready to head back to Los Angeles to start editing at Carpe Films.

Early in the morning, at The Carlyle, Charles was holding Scarlett in the suite's bedroom when he was woken up by a phone ringing.

"Who calls this early?" Scarlett asked, waking up as well.

"It's not that early, it's past ten!" Charles checked his phone; it was Dona calling from Los Angeles.

With the current daylight saving time, Eastern Time in the U.S. is about two hours ahead of Pacific Time, making it just past 8 AM in Los Angeles.

"What's up, Dona?" Charles asked.

"Saw has finished filming. Director James Wan is already back at Carpe Films and ready to start editing!"

"Hmm, that quickly?" Charles was a bit surprised as he began to sit up. Scarlett, however, wanted more affection, clinging to Charles' neck.

"Saw wrapped up in just 18 days," Dona Williams seemed a bit surprised on the other end of the line as well.

Lost in Translation took at least 28 days to film.

"Got it," Charles acknowledged, knowing the film's simple production would be quick. The speed was indeed impressive.

"We need to start looking for a distributor," Charles started to think, absentmindedly patting Scarlett's head.

*****

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