Chapter 60: New Project - Pirates of the Caribbean

After a passionate encounter with Mira Jovovich in the hotel room and leaving his personal business card with her, Kevin returned to the party. It was now around ten o'clock in the evening, the liveliest time at the party.

Kevin's reappearance immediately drew everyone's attention. Executives from Paramount and Warner Bros. gathered around him to offer their congratulations.

Kevin responded to each one with courtesy. If he only wanted to be a simple director, he wouldn't have to bother with these social interactions. However, Kevin's ambitions extended beyond being just a director. In the future, he would inevitably collaborate and network with major film companies. Therefore, it was necessary for him to cultivate these connections.

After completing a round of socializing, dozens of his shared business cards were distributed, and he also received dozens of business cards in return.

As the crowd dispersed, only a few top executives from the film companies remained, including Kevin's familiar acquaintances. Among them were the President of Warner Bros. and the senior executives from Paramount.

Kevin silently assigned the nickname "Barry" to Roderick Hensbarry, the Chief Operating Officer of Paramount, because his name was too long to remember easily.

Barry approached Kevin with enthusiasm, wearing a friendly smile on his face. His demeanor was so amiable that his subordinates couldn't believe their eyes.

"Kevin, Mission: Impossible - Resurgence owes its success entirely to your plan. This time, Paramount is truly grateful for your contributions."

"How about this? We want you to direct Mission: Impossible 2. Paramount is willing to offer you the highest director's fee in the industry. You'll have the same crew as before, plus Tom Cruise reprising his role..."

Barry's face exuded confidence. He believed that Kevin wouldn't refuse Paramount's terms.

Mission: Impossible 2, building on the success of Mission: Impossible 1, had no possibility of incurring losses, even if it turned out poorly. It was essentially giving money to Kevin.

Of course, compared to being an investor, the benefits were incomparable. But the advantage was that Kevin had no risk.

As for asking Kevin to invest, that was simply impossible. The success of Mission: Impossible 1 had already caused several rounds of arguments among Paramount's top executives. They were lamenting the benefits they had let slip away and could only watch Warner Bros., MGM, and Dawn Studios feast on the profits.

There had been thoughts of finding loopholes in contracts, but considering the influence of Warner Bros. and MGM, the only aspect they could target was Kevin's 30% investment. Whether Warner Bros. and MGM would stand up for Kevin was uncertain.

After careful consideration, Paramount dismissed these thoughts of seizing Kevin's investment.

They shifted their entire focus to the sequel of Mission: Impossible.

With the foundation Kevin had laid, as long as the sequel wasn't too bad, Paramount could make a huge profit.

Moreover, after Mission: Impossible 2, they could even release Mission: Impossible 3, 4, 5, and more.

The real goldmine was still in their hands.

Instead of being entangled in the benefits Kevin had obtained, it was better to continue developing the sequel of Mission: Impossible, a big IP.

And the safest approach was, of course, to keep the same director, cast, and production team.

So, upon learning about Tom Cruise's party, they immediately sent Barry to invite Kevin.

Faced with Barry's confident invitation, Kevin firmly shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but I already have plans for my new movie, a high-budget fantasy pirate film. I myself plan to invest at least 20% or more."

Kevin's response was a polite refusal.

Of course, if Paramount was willing to offer him an investment share of 30% or more for Mission: Impossible 2, he wouldn't mind breaking his own rule.

Although he was a man of principles, if someone offered him too much, he couldn't refuse.

Barry felt somewhat disappointed with Kevin's attitude.

But Paramount could offer the highest movie fee in the industry, yet they would never give him an investment share.

They wouldn't give any opportunity for investment to the outside world when Mission: Impossible 2 was a guaranteed success. Paramount wanted to enjoy the profits alone.

Since Kevin was unwilling to continue as the director of the Mission: Impossible sequel, as the Chief Operating Officer and producer, Barry naturally had to find another trustworthy director for Mission: Impossible 2.

With that in mind, Barry smiled, exchanged pleasantries with Kevin, and then left.

On the other hand, Warner Bros. CEO, Robinov, keenly picked up on Kevin's mention of a new movie plan.

A fantasy pirate film?

With these thoughts in mind, he couldn't help but feel uncertain.

Looking at the box office performance in recent years, there hasn't been a fantasy film that sold well.

Oh, wait!

There was Aladdin last year, but that was a world-class IP and also an animated film.

Although it had a fantasy theme, it was clearly different from the pirate film Kevin mentioned...

However, even though this genre doesn't seem to be as popular in the market, if the director is Steve Kevin, Warner Bros. would still be willing to invest a portion of the share.

But all of this would certainly have to wait until Kevin's project proposal is finalized.

With these thoughts, Robinov couldn't help but sigh for Kevin in his heart.

At just twenty-five years old, he was already a highly accomplished producer and director in Hollywood.

The producers of Mission: Impossible and Get Out were practically nonexistent on set. Their main role was to ensure that Kevin didn't misuse the film's budget.

In reality, there were also staff from the insurance company responsible for that.

In other words, in Kevin's next film, he occupied three positions on his own.

Producer, director, and screenwriter.

If this person wasn't a genius, then who was?

With these thoughts in mind, Robinov approached Kevin and asked directly, "Kevin, I wonder how much investment your pirate film needs?"

"Warner Bros. is willing to provide a minimum of $30 million in funding for you!"

After considering it, Robinov settled on $30 million as the investment amount.

Based on Warner Bros.' recent profits, even if it all went down the drain, it wouldn't be a major setback.

On the contrary, if it did end up losing money, it would be an opportunity to suggest to Kevin to return to his expertise in the horror genre and work on smaller-budget projects.

Kevin nodded but didn't respond immediately. He simply declined, saying, "The project proposal hasn't even been finalized yet. There's no rush. Let me conduct a thorough market analysis first."

Robinov nodded and temporarily concluded today's discussion.