Chapter 660

"The rich kids these days are really something, huh," Charles and Megan Ellison chatted for a while, and Charles thought it sure felt great to be a rich kid.

Back then, David Ellison invested in Flyboys just because he liked flying planes; Now Megan Ellison was even more remarkable. She gave off the vibe of, "I just love indie films, if you have a good script, come to me; money is no issue!"

"You know, she's not short on money," Evelyn shrugged. Having a dad worth tens of billions of dollars certainly allowed one to be willful.

Charles smiled, "My kids will probably be like this in the future too!"

"Megan genuinely loves movies, especially indie films she's interested in. She supports them a lot!"

Evelyn's EDR often helped independent producers or directors find investors, and Megan Ellison was someone they really liked for this reason.

She's the type everyone wanted to chase after - a dream investor willing to put money into ideals but not too savvy about business operations. In other words, having more money than sense.

"Maybe it's because she feels for the struggles of minority groups that she's dedicated to low-budget art films!" Evelyn sighed.

"Minority groups?" Charles was puzzled for a moment.

"She has a partner, a woman!" Evelyn explained directly. "Movies she invested in like Passion Play, The Master, and Spring Breakers are all standard art films. The Master focuses on women with multiple personality disorders. Spring Breakers is about modern youth culture and crime!"

Alright, these were basically movies no one wanted to invest in, scripts gathering dust until they crossed paths with Megan Ellison.

"So, what do you think of Megan's suggestion?" Evelyn asked.

Charles sniffed, "Mom, I'm a Hollywood big shot now. Why would I waste my time with these low-budget films? Why would I even care about Focus Features?

Besides, I'm now a Hollywood legend. Even if Megan Ellison wants to be Capet Universal's piggy bank, she has to wait in line.

And she only focuses on the art film market? Maybe independent producers or directors working with Focus Features could form a good relationship with her, but if her films don't even recover their costs and lose money on distribution fees, they won't make it!"

She might as well find her own independent distributors.

"Okay, got it. You're not interested. But a lot of our clients want to chase after her," Evelyn wasn't too concerned, as many of EDR's clients truly couldn't secure investments.

"By the way, James Wan, the director of the first three Saw movies, has filmed a low-budget horror movie. Your Matrix Pictures' head, Jason Blum, is really optimistic about it. It might even become the next Saw! Do you remember James Wan?"

Jason Blum is also the producer of the Paranormal Activity series.

"Of course I remember. The Saw series is a flagship IP of Matrix Pictures; how could I forget James Wan? What's this movie he's making? Is it The Conjuring?" Charles recalled buying the rights to that story a few years back.

Evelyn shook her head, "Nope, it's a low-budget haunted house movie developed by Wan and his old partner, writer Leigh Whannell. It's Insidious! The budget is only 1.5 million dollars, and James Wan plans to make his comeback with this film."

"Insidious," Charles felt a surge of excitement. No wonder, Charles typically wouldn't pay attention to low-budget films unless they were his own projects.

"Sure enough, he wants to replicate the miracle of Saw, full blood revival after years of silence!"

Charles felt gratified; Matrix Pictures' head Jason Blum really did have some vision.

...

"Good evening, Charles!" Disney CEO Robert Iger greeted warmly.

"Good evening," they embraced.

"Star Wars is practically an American national film IP. Now it's Disney property; it's really enviable," Charles pouted.

Robert Iger smiled, "Capet's Marvel series is sweeping the global box office market. This year, all of us in the movie business are quite nervous about Universal's lineup. The Avengers, The Hangover Part II, Fast Five, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, plus The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1. Not to mention the year-end releases of Skyfall and The Incredible Hulk 2!"

The mutual flattery made Charles feel elated.

"With Steven Spielberg joining Disney, the future looks promising," Charles was most envious of Pixar, of course.

"By the way, how's Steve Jobs' health?" Charles asked about the current Apple CEO's condition.

Robert Iger shook his head, "Steve's not doing well. I really hope he pulls through. Pixar and Apple's greatness are inseparable from his management!"

"Let's hope," Charles wasn't personally close to Steve Jobs, though he did own some Apple stock.

No big deal.

*****

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