Chapter 374

The Premier League season was about to end, and Arsenal had just lost to Chelsea in the Champions League semi-finals, missing out on the final.

In the FIFA Cup, they also lost to Manchester United. While Arsenal's youthful vigor was commendable, their midfield and defense were still unsatisfactory.

In the summer transfer market, Charles had already been sharpening his knives, and the team wasn't very stable either. There was a captaincy struggle between William Gallas and Gilberto Silva, and main striker Eduardo had broken his leg!

Adebayor and Sanchez partnering up front guaranteed Arsenal's attacking power.

"Selling the players who need to be sold is just fine. Wenger is really good at nurturing young talent, but there are too many young players on the team. There can't be that many geniuses," Charles said, sitting in his office at Colney Training Ground, chatting with David Dein.

"Look at it this way, without the signings of Ivanovic, Neuer, Modric, and Sanchez, would we have won this season?" Charles was planning to take advantage of the current championship to sell some players for a higher price.

David Dein nodded and explained, "I heard there's been a twist with Man City's owner. Some Middle Eastern capital seems interested in Man City."

"I know, the Abu Dhabi Group. I talked to a representative from the Dubai Royal Family who told me," Charles naturally knew this; Man City's financial football was on the rise.

"Get ready for the last match. We have a game against Sunderland the day after tomorrow afternoon!"

...

That evening, Charles invited Emily Blunt, who was filming Sherlock Holmes in London, to a bar on Regent Street in Soho.

"Charles, did you know? Christian Bale has to go shoot Terminator Salvation after finishing Sherlock Holmes!" Emily Blunt chatted with Charles in a private room.

"The fourth Terminator movie, right?" Charles knew the series well; James Cameron's first two movies were classics.

In 2003, Terminator 3 was still starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, but it failed. The Terminator rights now belonged to Halcyon Company.

The Terminator script was initially sold by the then-unknown James Cameron to Gale Anne Hurd for $1, who later became his second wife. In 1990, Gale Anne Hurd sold the Terminator rights to Carolco Pictures, which co-developed the second movie. In 1995, due to the box office failures of Cutthroat Island and Showgirls, Carolco went bankrupt and was acquired by MGM. During this period, producers Andrew Vajna and Mario Kassar bought the Terminator rights from Carolco for $15 million, which greatly upset Cameron, causing him to refuse to direct the third movie.

After the failure of Terminator 3, Halcyon company bought all Terminator rights for $25 million in 2007 from Andrew Vajna and Mario Kassar, starting the preparation of Terminator Salvation to create a new Terminator trilogy.

In October 2007, Warner Bros. obtained the North American distribution rights for Terminator Salvation, and Sony got the international distribution rights!

However, Charles was more interested in another James Cameron movie, Avatar, which was set to be released next year.

Emily Blunt took a sip of her drink, kissed Charles on the cheek, and laughed, "Charles, have you kept an eye on this year's Saint Denis Film Festival?"

Charles shook his head, "Haven't heard of any good movies at this year's Saint Denis Film Festival."

Emily Blunt hugged Charles, "A low-budget indie film I starred in with Amy Adams, Sunshine Cleaning, won Best Screenplay at the Saint Denis Film Festival. The producer of Sunshine Cleaning is the same person who developed Little Miss Sunshine for you."

A thirty-something single mom and her hot-headed and lazy, reality-avoiding sister face an odd family life and then start a crime scene cleanup company called Sunshine Cleaning.

"So, can't find a distributor?" Charles understood after listening to Emily Blunt.

Given the previous success of Little Miss Sunshine and Sideways, small-budget indie films focusing on small characters' lives and hardships, offering emotional comfort and therapeutic value, were in vogue.

Emily Blunt nodded, "No distribution company has picked it up yet!"

Amy Adams, who rose to fame last year with Disney's adaptation of Enchanted, was a late bloomer, too, being 34 this year.

Charles hugged Emily Blunt, "I'll make sure someone pays attention to this film. It's a low-budget indie anyway; distribution won't cost much!"

Emily Blunt nodded. Since she was Charles's woman, as long as he paid attention to it, it would be fine.

Then, Emily Blunt took the initiative to kiss him passionately, wrapping her arms around Charles's neck.

After responding for a while, looking at Emily Blunt's red hair, Charles whispered in her ear, "During the scriptwriters' strike this year, I heard you were cast in a historical drama, The Young Victoria. Do you still have the period costumes at home?"

Emily Blunt smiled, hugging Charles's arm, "Do you want to see my period look?"

Charles nodded, and Emily Blunt added, "I have some court and noble dresses at home from my previous stage performances and TV dramas!"

"Darling, let's go back then. I want to see your court lady dress," Charles said as he stood up and pulled Emily Blunt to leave.

Emily Blunt laughed, holding Charles's arm and whispering, "What are you up to now?"

"I'm thinking about how life was like for those royal or noble people in Europe back then," Charles said as he wrapped his arm around her waist, "I also want to experience the decadence of European royalty!"

Emily Blunt then leaned into Charles's ear, speaking seductively, "Your Majesty will feel it tonight!"

Charles couldn't help but smile. Truly, when it comes to role-playing, professional actors are the best - they can get into character anytime.

Actors should indeed be professional!

*****

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