Chapter 611: Catwoman

In Southern California, along the Pacific coast, in San Diego, just north of the border with Mexico and the third largest city in California, lay the Santa Fe area.

The Santa Fe Ranch was a luxurious estate, resembling the style of Beverly Hills, situated 20 miles north of Santa Fe.

Charles had his eye on a 228-acre luxury ranch estate being sold by diet expert Jenny Craig.

"There are 30 stables, more than 21 horses, and several 40-acre pastures," an aide explained.

"There's a guesthouse, an office, four barns, and a 1-mile race track," the aide continued.

"And finally, a 6000 square-foot Spanish-style vacation villa," he concluded.

Charles and his mother Evelyn listened intently to the aide's introduction.

"This place is nice; the environment here in Santa Fe is perfect for a vacation," Evelyn noted. She had recently purchased a ranch in California's Central Valley but hadn't been there much, compared to Charles's frequent visits.

"You like riding, but mom, don't you have vast pastures for riding too? Plus, there's the Capet Ranch in Colorado with everything you need!"

Evelyn thought her son had developed quite an interest in investing in ranches.

Charles smiled. "It's just an investment. They offered an $18 million discount. I guess Jenny Craig needs quick cash flow," he speculated. Jenny Craig was a renowned diet expert in America, after all.

Evelyn nodded. For her, $18 million was insignificant in the Capet family's current financial state.

With a smile, she asked, "So you brought me here just to see this ranch estate?"

Charles shook his head. "I want to buy the Dodgers from the MLB. The current owner, Frank McCourt, is in San Diego. I've met the guy; he won't budge on selling the Dodgers. I was hoping you could meet him and see how much he wants."

"After all, EDR has substantial connections in the American sports world, right?" he added.

Evelyn nodded. EDR was an agency intermediary. Especially after merging with IMG, their resources in the sports world were incomparable.

CSE wanting to buy the Dodgers had her full support; it was a hometown team, after all. Unlike when they had to buy the Miami Dolphins in Miami or the Nets in New Jersey out of necessity.

"The Dodgers have deep roots. Even though they haven't done well in the past decade, being in a big city like Los Angeles means they won't come cheap," Evelyn said, analyzing the situation with folded arms.

"Frank McCourt bought the Dodgers from News Corporation in 2004 for $430 million," Charles added. "But sports club prices have been skyrocketing annually. When I bought the Miami Dolphins along with the Bank of America Stadium, it cost over a billion dollars."

"The Dodgers will definitely be more expensive than the Miami Dolphins. Even though the NFL is more influential than MLB, the Miami market can't be compared to Los Angeles!" Charles explained.

Evelyn looked at her son, "Isn't the Dodgers' situation stable right now?"

"Frank McCourt is going through a messy divorce; he's running out of money. Selling the Dodgers is something he's already considering," Charles confessed. "But he'll definitely demand a sky-high price."

"Alright, I'll meet him first, then add some fuel to the fire. Frank McCourt has mismanaged the Dodgers for six or seven years. Los Angeles fans must have serious complaints," Evelyn began strategizing. She realized that once her son had his sights set on the Dodgers, he would stop at nothing to get them.

Charles also smiled, "Not just that. Mobilizing the fans isn't enough; I've also arranged people to target his real estate company. Guys like him won't cave unless absolutely necessary. His wife, filing for divorce, must know some dirt."

"We'll get someone to pry some info from her and leak it. That'll put additional pressure on the league and help her get a bigger settlement," he concluded.

...

After spending a day in San Diego, Charles and his mother returned to Los Angeles.

Frank McCourt did have thoughts of selling the Los Angeles Dodgers, but the price was too high, with Dodger Stadium alone costing over $1.7 billion!

"Seems like he wants you to back off, considering such a team increases in value every year," Evelyn reminded Charles after they returned to the Capet estate in Beverly Hills.

Charles sat on the sofa, seemingly unconcerned. "Let's stick to the plan. We're not in a hurry anyway."

Early morning, Burbank, Capet Pictures headquarters.

In the morning, Charles reviewed some blockbuster projects submitted by Phyllis Jones, and he was quickly drawn to Les Miserables. It was a musical film adapted directly from the classic Broadway production, which itself was based on the famous novel by French author Victor Hugo.

"Les Miserables can move into pre-production, but being a musical film, we need to secure a director first," said Charles. Musical films demanded high levels of directorial skill.

Phyllis Jones nodded. "Boss, should we renew our agreement with Russell Crowe's production company? Universal has a collaboration with them."

Charles shook his head. "The era of tying down stars with production deals is over. From movies like Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, State of Play, and Robin Hood, Universal has basically financed most of his films; except for early successes like A Beautiful Mind and Gladiator with DreamWorks, most of them were flops.

"Remember, from now on, Universal should tie down directors or producers, not actors!"

After Capet Pictures acquired NBCUniversal, Charles' first move was to replace Universal Pictures chairman Ronald Meyer, which wasn't a random act.

Much of Universal Pictures' plight could be attributed to him. Though Meyer managed to attract big stars thanks to his resources from his days at CAA, the dismal financial reports proved his failure.

It was a situation mirrored by his CAA contemporary, Michael Ovitz, only Disney removed Ovitz in under two years; Meyer, however, held power at Universal for over a decade.

Since his dismissal from Capet Pictures last year, no other film company had extended an invitation, reflecting how big studios felt about executives who were pure agents without production experience.

...

Night, Charles arrived at Anne Hathaway's villa in Long Beach. When he opened the door, he was startled by Anne Hathaway, who was wearing a facial mask.

"Hold on, let me wash my face," Anne said as she urged Charles to sit on the sofa and went to the bathroom.

"Ah, much better," said Anne, emerging shortly afterward. "I've been doing voice work for Blue Sky Studios' animated movie Rio and just finished filming the romance flick One Day. I haven't had much rest yet, but at least I won't start shooting Silver Linings Playbook right away!"

Charles pulled Anne onto his lap and kissed her. "Alice in Wonderland grossed over $1 billion worldwide. Your role as the White Queen was truly memorable."

Anne snuggled into Charles' embrace. "I recently received an audition notice for the role of Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Rises. What should I do? I feel really conflicted!"

"Conflicted? Nolan's Batman series is almost flawless both commercially and artistically, but the role of Catwoman can be tricky," Charles smiled, lifting Anne's chin. "Are you worried it might turn out like Halle Berry's Catwoman?"

A few years back, Oscar-winning actress Halle Berry played the lead in Warner Bros.' Catwoman, only to face harsh criticism and a poor box office.

Anne nodded. Although she was now a top-tier actress in Hollywood, she wasn't on the same level as Angelina Jolie, who could single-handedly pull in massive box office numbers. She was concerned about backlash from such a big movie.

Charles wrapped his arm around her waist. "But this is Christopher Nolan we're talking about. He's incredibly talented. Even with the controversy over Inception being accused of plagiarism, it still grossed $800 million; Sweetheart, you have a perfect body and face. Give it a shot. I'd love to see you as a sexy Catwoman!"

Anne smiled, leaned in close to Charles, and whispered into his ear, "I actually have a Catwoman outfit here. Should I go change into it?"

"Oh, absolutely," Charles said as he leaned in for another kiss...

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.