Chapter 296: 27 Dresses

New York, Manhattan, Greenwich Street.

At the Capet Pictures' New York office, Charles leaned back in his chair, smoking a cigarette while talking to Rupert Murdoch on the phone.

"Charles, we're offering $55 per share for your Dow Jones stocks," Murdoch's voice came through the phone, slow yet authoritative.

Charles was silent for a moment, and Murdoch waited patiently for his response.

After half a minute of thought, Charles said, "Alright, but a third of it belongs to the Hearst Corporation, so I can't make the decision for them."

"The Hearst Corporation has already agreed!" Murdoch replied.

"Congratulations, Mr. Murdoch. News Corp has completed its business newspaper suite," Charles sighed inwardly. He wasn't really disappointed, just a bit irked.

"Haha, Charles, this is how the game is played in America. You know just as well as I do how much the Wall Street Journal is worth. My highest offer was $5 billion, but your little maneuver cost me a few hundred million more!" Murdoch chuckled.

"Mr. Murdoch, gains come with losses. I doubt News Corp would make a losing deal," Charles responded with a smile.

"Perhaps. I guess our competition in Hollywood will get fiercer from now on. Goodbye, have a great day!" Murdoch ended the call cheerfully.

At $55 per share, Capet Entertainment held 8 million Dow Jones shares, half of which belonged to them, a third to Hearst, and the remaining sixth to Arianna Huffington's investors.

In less than six months, Charles' investment had skyrocketed.

No wonder so many finance companies made so much money!

Charles then called Anne Depp, the CFO of Capet Entertainment, instructing her to proceed with the handover to News Corp.

He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray. News Corp owned film and TV production businesses, broadcast networks, cable networks, satellite TV, a newspaper publishing group, and new media operations - a real behemoth.

Murdoch already had significant media control in Australia and the UK and was further strengthening his grip on the US market.

Charles didn't dwell on it much longer and quickly got up to leave the office.

...

Dona Williams was busy setting up Angel City Capital with Charles' support.

Phyllis Jones, his personal confidante, stayed by Charles' side, as Amelia mostly managed his personal life.

"Has the prep work for Thor been completed?" Charles asked.

"Yep, we start shooting in June. Right now, Marvel Studios is preparing the new Hulk script and also gearing up for Captain America," Phyllis Jones quickly answered Charles.

Thor's director was young British filmmaker Matthew Vaughn, this being only his third directorial project.

Matthew Vaughn had previously produced movies like Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels, Snatch, and Mean Machine. In 2004, he directed his first movie, Layer Cake, marking the start of his directing career. Last year, he directed his second movie, the fantasy adventure Stardust.

Thor's main plot was about the Norse god of war being banished to Earth and growing into a hero.

Charles's request to Marvel Studios was simple: make it entertaining, for families to enjoy, and stick to a popcorn movie theme without adding unnecessary depth or metaphors.

...

At the end of last year, Capet Pictures released The Pursuit of Happiness, which has now finished its run. It earned fantastic box office results with hundreds of 163 million dollars in North America and 140 million overseas. It achieved both commercial and critical success.

A biographical film with a production cost of just 55 million dollars managed to achieve a high global box office revenue more than three hundred million dollars.

Will Smith showcased his dominance in both commercial and artistic aspects of film. Charles Capet always remembered meeting Chris Gardner, the African-American investor and the real-life inspiration for the movie, in Harlem, Manhattan. On his way home, he even encountered a mugging incident.

Starting in mid-April, the Tribeca Film Festival in New York would last for over ten days.

Charles had no actions planned. However, while in New York, Charles wasn't idle. At this moment, he sat on the sofa in his Hudson River-side villa, pondering over a script project.

Ivanka Trump, dressed in pajamas, casually walked over and hugged Charles from behind, saying, "Didn't expect you to be working so hard, reading scripts even now?"

Charles looked up and kissed Ivanka, putting down the script. He smiled and said, "Hollywood produces so many movies every year, and only less than 20% make money. Choosing the right project is crucial!"

Ivanka sat down beside Charles, curiously flipping through the script. She read, "It's called 27 Dresses!"

Hugging the attractive Ivanka, Charles explained that this script was submitted by a writer who had adapted The Devil Wears Prada. The female lead is a "professional bridesmaid" who has attended 27 weddings of friends and family but has never found her own happiness. Until a columnist named Kevin appears, after a series of misunderstandings, they finally get together. It's a romantic comedy.

The film, 27 Dresses, directed by Anne Fletcher, who was a choreographer before directing last year's Step Up, was ready for production.

Charles was previously focused on a sports novel published last year, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game. He had the production department acquire the adaptation rights. It's based on the real-life story of African-American football player Michael Oher.

Now, the company had also received this 27 Dresses project and naturally proceeded with its development. The script for The Blind Side, however, still needed adaptation work.

"You brought the script home, so you're planning to invest, right?" Ivanka easily flipped through the script and put it down.

Charles nodded, "An investment of less than 30 million dollars, I'm pretty optimistic about it!"

After all, the plot reminded Charles of his previous film Wedding Crashers. It could be said that 27 Dresses is like a female version of Wedding Crashers with the added fashion elements of The Devil Wears Prada.

Ivanka lifted her legs onto the sofa and leaned into Charles's arms, sighing, "I've been researching some golf clubs recently, but there doesn't seem to be anything suitable for acquisition. Unless we increase the investment to buy them from the original owners at a premium."

"Then let's wait a bit, no rush," Charles said, running his hand along Ivanka's long legs, "Those are some beautiful legs, no wonder you used to model."

"Many people think there's a crisis in subprime loans in the US, the real estate market is cooling off, and house prices will drop," Ivanka, whose family owned a real estate group, was very interested in these matters.

"Prices are definitely going down. The bubble is quite serious," Charles laughed. Back then, many people knew the property market was heading for a low, but few believed the stock market would crash as well.

Ivanka turned around and straddled Charles, "Many banks and funds that invest in subprime mortgage financial derivatives are experiencing losses. You're waiting for the real estate slump to acquire golf clubs?"

Charles nodded, his hands sliding into Ivanka's nightgown to feel her 34C curves, "By then, when the golf clubs are discounted, it'll be the perfect time for us to strike."

With that, Charles pushed Ivanka onto the sofa and kissed her neck.

Soon, moans echoed from the sofa.

Not only did Charles have the statuesque Ivanka to ride in New York, but he also had the seductive Britney Spears.

Of course, he didn't forget business. Capet Pictures directly invested in 27 Dresses with a budget of 30 million dollars, which wasn't a small amount.

"For the female lead, contact Blake Lively to come in for a screen test," Charles said. She's also a blonde beauty. Another suggestion was Katherine Heigl, who starred in Knocked Up, another comedy that Capet Pictures was releasing this year.

However, Blake Lively was also starring in the upcoming first season of Gossip Girl this year, which would increase her popularity significantly.

With the boost from Gossip Girl, 27 Dresses' performance was expected to be better. Although Katherine Heigl was good, Blake Lively seemed more appealing.

Phyllis Jones, sitting beside them, nodded, "I will notify the director, Anne Fletcher, and Blake Lively to come in for the screen test."

*****

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