Chapter 484: Hard to Fool

"Charles, let's meet another day. It's already very late!" Mubarak said goodbye to Charles and left the Annabelle Club.

Mubarak was indeed intimidated by Charles. He kept praising Eduardo Silva's prowess, saying PS10 million was enough for a transfer deal - a markdown price.

Manchester City did have money, but Eduardo Silva had a broken leg, significantly lowering his value.

"Hey, Eva, weren't you saying that Middle Eastern tycoons were easy to fool? Just PS10 million to get Arsenal's champion player, and Manchester City doesn't seem interested," Charles took a sip of his drink. "Last year, when they sold Adebayor, they were practically drooling!"

Also, Manchester City took Kolo Toure and William Gallas off your hands last year, right?

Eva Green chuckled, kissed Charles on the cheek, and joked, "Maybe you made PS10 million sound like PS1,000!"

Charles shook his head, "Forget it; I don't need to worry about these things," checking his watch, it was already 1 AM.

"Let's go, we should head back!"

...

This summer in Hollywood, 20th Century Fox's release of X-Men Origins: Wolverine started off the season: It premiered in 4,100 theaters across North America, earning $85 million in its opening weekend, which was a solid start!

In London, at the Emirates Stadium, Charles witnessed Arsenal's home victory, a 2-0 win over Manchester United, advancing to the finals with a 3-1 aggregate score.

The next day, Chelsea drew 1-1 with Barcelona at their home, but Barcelona moved on with the advantage of an away goal.

Barcelona's controversial advance to the Champions League final, aided by the referee, led to that night being called the "Stamford Bridge Disaster!"

However, Charles had already returned to Los Angeles. The final would be held on the 27th of the month at Rome's Olympic Stadium, and he'd travel there when the time came.

In Los Angeles, at the Burbank headquarters of Capet Pictures, Charles sat in his office.

The Proposal's opening weekend grossed $33 million in 3,028 theaters across North America, making it second in the weekend box office. Paramount's Star Trek made $75 million in its opening weekend in North America, claiming the top spot!

Leaning back in his chair, Charles couldn't help but take note of the impressive $75 million opening for this reboot of Star Trek by J.J. Abrams.

"Looks like J.J. Abrams has some decent skills as a director. He managed to pull off Star Trek while also working on Transformers 2!"

Charles had high hopes for him. Despite the poor reception for the previously directed Mission: Impossible III by Paramount, Abrams' Transformers was quite good. Last year's Cloverfield, produced by his Bad Robot Productions, was a critical and commercial success!

"Star Trek was actually completed in 2007 and underwent post-production last year before its release this summer," Phyllis Jones explained.

Charles smiled, "J.J. Abrams isn't an exclusive director for Capet. We have a contract with his company, Bad Robot Productions. It's normal for him to direct films for other companies. Next up is Iron Man 2. Marvel Studios is really in the spotlight now!"

Capet Pictures had no new films in the first quarter of 2009, with reliance on several art films released towards the end of last year.

Like the Academy Award-winning Slumdog Millionaire, which had a $25 million production cost but grossed over $140 million domestically and 380 million globally;

The Reader had $32 million in production costs, achieving $34 million in North American box office and a 110 million global total;

Also, Sunshine Cleaning grossed $12 million domestically; and The Wrestler made $26 million domestically - both films Capet bought at film festivals, with North American distribution rights.

However, in March, Capet's release of District 9, made for $30 million, earned over $115 million domestically and $105 million overseas, totaling around $210 million worldwide.

Because the producer of District 9 was the renowned Peter Jackson, Charles returned to the Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills to host a celebration party!

Peter Jackson recently finished a mid-sized production, The Lovely Bones, funded by DreamWorks and distributed by Paramount;

At the same time, he was producing Steven Spielberg's 3D animated film, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn!

After clinking glasses with the portly Peter Jackson, Charles joked, "Seems like after the Lord of the Rings trilogy and King Kong, you've shifted your attention to mid-low budget productions?"

District 9, with a budget of $30 million, was not directed by Peter Jackson but rather he produced it;

The Lovely Bones, with its modest fantasy-thriller budget of $65 million, was directed by Peter Jackson himself - small potatoes for Jackson!

"Charles, you know all the issues surrounding The Lord of the Rings and King Kong didn't meet commercial expectations, so I'm just trying a different approach," Peter Jackson laughed.

"Trying a different approach?" Charles nodded. "If I were investing in The Lovely Bones, I'd definitely cap the budget at $40 million."

*****

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