Chapter 64: Camille

Charles stayed in Thousand Oaks for two days and told Britney to cooperate with the PR of the management team and not to worry about anything else.

By the end of November, Lionsgate Entertainment completed its acquisition of Artisan Entertainment for a total of 220 million dollars. Since Lionsgate already had its own North American distribution system, the first step was layoffs.

The marketing and operations departments of Artisan Entertainment were mainly affected by the layoffs. Charles intended to use this opportunity to expand Carpe Productions.

He planned to establish a distribution department and also expand the advertising and commercial operations staff. Carpe Productions was preparing to distribute movies on its own.

The Wedding Crashers was quickly approved, with a production budget of $42 million. Universal invested 30% and would handle global distribution, splitting the profits proportionally.

Carpe Productions would handle the rest because Universal saw Mr. & Mrs. Smith as the potential blockbuster.

Charles' producer fee, along with the script's initial investment, needed to be accounted for, resulting in Carpe Productions needing to invest $25 million.

Although Charles had taken out a $15 million loan, it was not yet fully utilized. Saw had grossed $55 million in North America, with Rogue Pictures' 12% distribution fee and theater cuts, leaving $22.55 million in profits.

Rogue Pictures also had advertising expenses, but those would not be calculated until after the overseas box office revenue was settled and promotions costs deducted.

The North American box office profits of Saw were almost enough, and Carpe Productions only needed to invest about $2.5 million.

"Charles, we've finished talking about the project for The Wedding Crashers. Let's discuss the project for Mr. & Mrs. Smith. A budget of $100 million shouldn't be a problem!" Donna Langley exuded confidence about the current situation.

Today's Charles Carpe was different; his vision really showed promise.

"Like with The Wedding Crashers, Universal needs the global distribution rights, will charge a 10% fee, and will invest half the funds. We'll also fully cooperate with Carpe Productions to make this film. You choose the actors!" Universal, as the co-producer, let Charles take the lead.

"The director's opinion is also important; we need to discuss with Doug Liman," Charles knew he needed to talk with the stars too, considering their schedules.

"Principal photography should begin in March next year, right? Changing hands won't have a big impact on Universal, will it?"

Donna Langley shook her head, "No, it won't. General Electric's acquisition of Universal Entertainment won't cause significant internal changes."

"When do we sign the contract?"

"Psh, Charles, you worry too much! Both Mr. & Mrs. Smith and The Wedding Crashers are projects I'm leading. Don't worry, I'm very optimistic about their prospects," Donna Langley found Charles' concern amusing.

Charles nodded helplessly, thinking he wasn't worried about that but rather about the stage of the acquisition negotiations.

"Ms. Langley, looking forward to working with you! Carpe Productions will make you proud!"

"Hope so!"

They shook hands and Charles left Universal Studios.

Donna Langley sat in her chair and lit a cigarette after Charles left.

Her assistant asked, "Why didn't you discuss the distribution of the Saw sequel with Charles just now?"

"James has already inquired; Charles has his own ideas for the sequel. Universal should only aim for the overseas market in the future." Donna Langley and Charles hadn't discussed the Saw sequel during their conversation.

"Carpe Productions wants to distribute it themselves?" The assistant was puzzled, "Can Carpe Productions meet the large personnel and financial needs for distribution?"

Establishing distribution channels required maintaining relationships with theaters, handling theater distribution, TV stations, DVDs, online streaming, hotels, and more, which involves the entire downstream industry.

Purchasing advertising costs for movies without substantial financial backing was difficult for small companies.

After all, many independent distribution companies were subsidiaries of theater companies whose main business was running cinemas, rarely self-producing films.

"Young people, you know how it is. He probably wants to try distributing some low-budget films himself. With his current box office record, it's not too difficult; many on Wall Street will support him!" Donna Langley, who had worked at both 20th Century Fox and Paramount, saw few young people like Charles Carpe.

In the evening, Charles met Camille, whom he hadn't seen in months.

"Hey, Charles!"

Charles stopped his Corvette and saw Camille waving.

After Camille got in the car, Charles drove her to an Italian restaurant.

Charles quickly ordered a few dishes and then said with a smile, "I've been here many times."

"This one is good. By the way, I heard you work in the film industry. What exactly do you do?"

Camille, with short blonde hair, had dyed it back to her natural color.

"My name is Charles Carpe. Carpe Productions is my company. Saw is a movie I developed," Charles did not hide it anymore. Producers worked behind the scenes, and who cared about them?

"Wow, Saw!" Camille stood up excitedly, "A lot of theaters near our school are showing it. Many students think it's great! The creative kill methods, although scary, make people want to keep watching."

"Graduating next year, right? What job are you looking for? I could help," Charles shrugged as he spoke.

"I'm very interested in law right now, planning to apply to Southwestern Law School in Los Angeles. I want to become a lawyer," Camille smiled, "My dad is a lawyer, and my mom is a ballet dancer!"

"A lawyer, not bad!" Charles decided to stay in touch with Camille because she not only was beautiful, fitting his aesthetic, but also smart, with a good life plan.

As for Elizabeth, she was completely out of Charles' mind.

*****

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