Chapter 363

At the Plaza Hotel in New York, Charles and Ivanka attended a charity gala together.

"After the big renovation, the Plaza Hotel is truly different," Ivanka sighed. Located at the southeastern corner of Central Park, and close to Grand General Plaza, the Plaza Hotel holds countless stories as one of New York's century-old landmarks.

The Trump Group bought the Plaza Hotel in 1988 and sold it again in 1995.

After changing owners several times, the Plaza Hotel was bought by Israel's El-Ad Properties in 2004. It closed for renovations and reopened on January 1st this year.

"Really?" Charles shook his head, wrapping his arm around Ivanka's waist. "I feel like it's filled with the scent of nouveau riche decay. It's all gold and glitter without any real elegance!"

Ivanka chuckled. The Plaza Hotel has always represented the rise of new American wealth, while the old European aristocracy viewed these new rich as upstarts.

"Alright, I'm going to the restroom. I'll come find you later!" Ivanka kissed Charles on the cheek before walking away.

Charles then encountered Jeff Robinov, the president of Warner Bros. Pictures. "Jeff, good evening!"

"Oh, Charles, good evening," Jeff Robinov replied with a smile. He then looked at Charles and sighed gently.

"You've accomplished a lot at such a young age. Next year, Capet Pictures will become an official member of the MPAA Association!"

Thanks to Rupert Murdoch's efforts, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Sony, and Universal all supported Capet Pictures becoming the seventh official member of the MPAA Association.

"It won't be official until January next year," Charles said, feeling a bit annoyed but knowing he could wait a year.

"Warner Bros. just announced they're splitting the last Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows into two parts, and they also delayed the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince from November this year to next summer, causing a lot of fan frustration!"

Jeff Robinov chuckled, "Charles, you're a Harry Potter fan too? You should be able to guess why we did that."

The reason was no more than fears about the impact of the financial crisis.

"I'm more interested in New Line Cinema's recent announcement of Guillermo del Toro directing The Hobbit and its sequel," Charles said. He genuinely liked The Lord of the Rings trilogy. New Line Cinema, recently acquired by Warner Bros., just announced these plans.

It seemed that Warner Bros. had reached a settlement with the Tolkien Estate.

As for Guillermo del Toro, his fame skyrocketed with the 2006 release of Pan's Labyrinth. In the commercial field, he also directed Sony Columbia's Hellboy. Last year, he even turned down Warner Bros.' offer to direct Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince to work on Hellboy II: The Golden Army!

"With Peter Jackson as the producer, we all believe Guillermo del Toro can handle The Hobbit series," Jeff Robinov affirmed, offering no hidden information about the already public details.

Charles just smiled. Let's not forget, New Line had the production rights to The Hobbit, but the distribution rights were with MGM.

MGM also wanted to distribute The Hobbit, but they were mainly focused on the upcoming Bond film Quantum of Solace this year. Besides, MGM's debt was piling up.

New Line wanted to develop The Hobbit, but MGM as the distributor would have to fund it. Otherwise, would New Line pay for production only for MGM to handle the distribution?

Was Warner Bros. lighting a candle to burn themselves to illuminate others?

With MGM nearing bankruptcy, did they even have the funds to work on The Hobbit?

Charles patted Jeff Robinov's shoulder meaningfully, "If the distribution rights for The Hobbit were in my hands, we could directly develop it together."

"Ah, what a pity!"

Jeff Robinov laughed, "Soon, though. We'll start production next year. Pre-production and script work are already underway."

"Haha, that's great. I'm a huge fan of The Lord of the Rings series," Charles chuckled and parted ways with Jeff Robinov.

After chatting with Jeff Robinov, Charles suddenly noticed a stunning beauty who made his heart flutter.

With captivating light blue eyes, long brown hair, fair and delicate skin, and a figure that even a black strapless evening gown couldn't hide, she exuded a cool, natural beauty.

Charles, holding his wine glass, approached the woman and said gentlemanly, "Lovely lady, may I join you for a drink?"

"Oh, Mr. Charles Capet!" The woman's eyes sparkled with excitement.

"My name is Alexandra Daddario, and I'm an actress too," Alexandra Daddario introduced herself with enthusiasm.

"Well, let's go over there. It's quieter for drinking and chatting," Charles said, extending his arm for her to take, leading her to a quiet corner lounge area.

Alexandra Daddario, 22 years old, came from a good background with both her parents being lawyers. She entered the entertainment industry at 15, playing a role in a TV series.

In 2005, she participated in her first film, The Squid and the Whale, which received good reviews. However, as a supporting actress, it didn't bring her much in terms of resources.

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