Chapter 319

In the evening, Charles Capet's Ford Cobra pulled up in front of his villa in Palisades, Santa Monica.

Inside the car, Charles was kissing Kristen Stewart passionately, their lips and tongues intertwined, and his hands were inside her T-shirt as he was about to take the next step.

"Charles, it's getting late. I need to go home now!"

Kristen Stewart said with a smile as she pushed Charles's mouth away with her hand.

"Do you really have to go?" Charles asked.

Kristen Stewart nodded. "I still need to go back and read the script you gave me."

Charles's hands, still inside her T-shirt, gave a playful squeeze, and he nodded. "Next time, let's drive straight to Santa Barbara!"

"Sure, I love road trips," Kristen Stewart agreed cheerfully.

After that, Charles and Kristen Stewart separated and straightened their clothes.

"See ya, bye-bye!" Kristen Stewart leaned out the window, kissed Charles on the cheek, waved, and drove away.

...

In the following days, Charles focused on the Twilight movie project.

The novel's author, Stephenie Meyer, had ideas early on about the male lead and wanted the British actor Henry Cavill to play the role.

But not only did director Catherine Hardwicke think he was unsuitable, Capet Pictures also didn't think he was right for the role now.

"That actor from this year's British series The Tudors? He's too old to play a 17-year-old high school student," Charles disagreed as well.

Director Catherine Hardwicke and author Stephenie Meyer understood Charles's meaning: they needed a young and handsome new actor.

"I want to make the vampire family multiracial, with Asian, African-American members..." Catherine Hardwicke's idea left Charles speechless.

"I disagree with that. In the novel..." Author Stephenie Meyer was unhappy with such a significant change.

Director Catherine Hardwicke tried to persuade Stephenie Meyer, but Meyer seemed unmoved.

"Let's talk about the leads," Charles knocked on the table. "Catherine, do you have anyone in mind?"

Author Stephenie Meyer's opinion wasn't that important as long as the adaptation roughly adhered to the original work and contract.

After all, Stephenie Meyer was busy writing the fourth book Breaking Dawn and didn't have much time to be involved in the film. Director Catherine Hardwicke's opinion was what Charles valued.

"There's a young British actor named Robert Pattinson, 21 years old, who has good looks and had a role in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. I think he's suitable," said Catherine Hardwicke, who, considering the film's budget, didn't dare to hire big-name actors and had to choose affordable and practical ones.

"As for the female lead, I think Kristen Stewart is good. Let's give her a try," Charles didn't want to waste time either.

"Kristen Stewart?" Catherine Hardwicke was surprised. "Someone did recommend her to me not long ago. She has a film called Into the Wild coming out. I saw the finished version, and Sean Penn, who wrote and directed this biographical film, did a good job!"

"Kristen Stewart's look and acting style in the film match our Twilight well," Catherine Hardwicke explained.

"That's great. Assemble the cast and crew as soon as possible and start shooting. We need to release it next year," Charles said, standing up from his chair. No wonder the project was progressing so slowly.

"Stephanie, write the fourth book well. Catherine directed Thirteen before, and she has experience with teen films. I'm confident in Twilight. Trust the director," Charles reminded Stephenie Meyer.

Stephenie Meyer smiled and said, "I understand. I get along well with Director Catherine Hardwicke. We've talked several times before, and I'm happy she's directing Twilight."

After all, the adaptation of the Twilight novel into a film brought considerable benefits to Stephenie Meyer.

It was already September, and Catherine Hardwicke needed to hurry up, or the film wouldn't be delivered to Capet Pictures on time.

As the subprime mortgage crisis fully erupted, there were daily news reports about it.

On August 20, 2007, the Bank of Japan injected 1 trillion yen into the banking system, and the European Central Bank also stepped up efforts to stabilize the market.

On August 21, 2007, the Bank of Japan injected another 800 billion yen into the banking system, and the Reserve Bank of Australia injected millions of Australian dollars into the financial system.

On August 22, 2007, the US Federal Reserve injected billions of dollars into the financial system, and the European Central Bank added 40 billion euros in refinancing operations.

On August 23, 2007, the Bank of England lent billions of pounds to commercial banks to cope with the crisis, and the US Federal Reserve injected another 7 billion dollars into the financial system.

On August 28, 2007, the US Federal Reserve injected another 9.5 billion dollars into the financial system.

On August 29, 2007, the US Federal Reserve injected billions of dollars into the financial system again.

*****

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