Chapter 300: Luxury Properties
In May, the North American summer box office season began. Spider-Man 3 was the first big film of the season and, being a global release sequel, it stood out among the competition.
It premiered in 4,250 theaters in North America, raking in more than one hundred and fifty million dollars in its opening weekend and an equally impressive amount in the overseas market.
In its first week globally, Spider-Man 3 earned $400 million at the box office.
On a yacht in Deep Water Bay, Charles Capet lounged with three bikini-clad beauties: Lin Chi-ling, Phyllis Jones, and Amelia Caldwell.
On the deck, Charles read a Hong Kong newspaper while listening to Phyllis Jones's report: "There's a 7,000 square foot villa in Repulse Bay priced at 200 million HKD."
She continued, "A 6,000 square foot villa on The Peak costs 350 million HKD."
"In Kowloon Peninsula, there are two luxury high-rise apartments in Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, each over 4,000 square feet, priced at 400 million HKD!"
Charles sniffed, "800 million HKD - it's over 100 million dollars. Including my largest villa in Deep Water Bay, my property in Hong Kong is nearing $200 million!"
Charles's villa in Deep Water Bay was originally purchased for $67 million, with construction spanning feet and gardens adding up to even more square footage. The current value exceeded $90 million.
"Enough, that's enough. This time, I'm planning to spend $200 million," Charles said. The cash came from Capet Pictures, with more to be invested in multi-screen theaters in China.
"Notify Robert Capone, the head of Capet International Cinemas. Continue seeking support from local Chinese banks for new theater constructions. The plan for at least ten new cinemas annually can't change!"
With funding from Capet Pictures, capital from local partners, and bank loans, a high-tech multi-screen cinema could be built.
"Got it. Mr. Bill Kong from Edko Films invited you to a soiree tonight to discuss film cooperation," Phyllis Jones reminded.
"I know," Charles replied. Edko Films was the distributor for Capet Pictures' movies in Hong Kong. This year, Capet had commercial blockbusters like Iron Man and Transformers.
After Phyllis arranged the work, Charles looked at Lin Chi-ling sunbathing nearby on the deck.
She had a great figure. Charles walked over and sat next to her. Lin Chi-ling sat up, "What's up, all done with your work?"
"Almost. Come with me to the film company soiree tonight. You've already stepped into showbiz; meeting more people will be good for you," Charles said, thinking he'd prefer bringing Gao Yuanyuan, but she had returned to Beijing.
"Sure. I'd love to meet more people from the Hong Kong film industry," Lin Chi-ling agreed. It could mean resources in the future.
"By the way, I heard Taiwan's richest man, Terry Gou, wants to invest in movies. Interested in collaborating?" Lin Chi-ling suddenly asked.
"Terry Gou, chairman of Foxconn?" Charles was surprised but shook his head, "Does that guy know movies?"
"It's his son, Gou Shouzheng. He started a company called Mountain Water Entertainment to enter the entertainment industry," Lin explained.
"Is it to make movies?" Charles's tone was mocking, "Are you familiar with him?"
"My agent got a message. Terry Gou wants me to perform at Foxconn's year-end event, but I declined. No time."
Lin wasn't foolish. She knew some things couldn't be done or they'd embarrass Charles, unless she planned to part ways with him and give up this golden opportunity.
Charles smirked and patted her thigh, "Seems like the old man's interested in you!"
"You can go if you want."
Lin shook her head, "No interest. I just want to break into the film industry. Modeling required staying sexy all the time, which I didn't enjoy. This kind of career doesn't last long. I need my own thing."
"Fair enough," Charles stood up. There was no real honesty in entertainment; it was all about mutual benefits.
But by following Charles, her prospects were much brighter.
Additionally, the young and handsome Charles was a huge plus.
"Charles, I'm all yours!" Lin stood up and hugged him.
Holding her waist, Charles kissed Lin and undid her bra.
"Let's go inside the cabin," Lin suggested, looking around. It was all ocean, but it was daytime.
"Let's go," Charles agreed, not wanting the paparazzi to see them heading to the cabin. Hong Kong's paparazzi were all-pervasive.
...
In the evening, Charles Capet's yacht docked at the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon Peninsula. He then took Lin Chi-ling to attend a cocktail party at the Hong Kong Intercontinental Hotel on Salisbury Road, Tsim Sha Tsui.
"Charles, welcome, welcome," Jiang Zhiqiang greeted Charles warmly upon seeing him arrive with the beautiful Lin Chi-ling. "Miss Lin, you truly are Taiwan's number one beauty!"
"Thank you," Lin Chi-ling replied politely, which was one of the reasons Charles liked to bring her along.
"Quite a crowd," Charles remarked as he saw many familiar faces, including celebrities like Aaron Kwok, Carina Lau, Rosamund Kwan, Jackie Chan, Nicholas Tse, and Louis Koo.
There were also many directors and movie company executives at the party.
"Everyone wants to collaborate with Hollywood film companies," Jiang Zhiqiang said with a smile.
"Isn't The Forbidden Kingdom already in production? The investing company Relativity Media has been doing well in Hollywood these past years," Charles chatted with Jiang Zhiqiang.
Soon, Jackie Chan approached them, accompanied by actresses Liu Yifei and Li Bingbing.
"Good evening, Charles, welcome to Hong Kong!"
"Good evening, Jack," Charles had met Jackie Chan earlier at the Venice Film Festival.
"Good evening, Miss Lin," Jackie Chan greeted Lin Chi-ling as well.
"Oh, Brother Jackie, you're the idol of us Chinese! I'm so excited to meet you!" Lin Chi-ling said excitedly.
Jackie Chan laughed, "Charles, these two beside me are famous actresses in China, and they're in The Forbidden Kingdom."
"The Forbidden Kingdom will have an opening event in Hengdian in July. Right now, the director and crew are setting up the scenes; we have quite a few outdoor locations."
Jackie Chan basically answered the question that Charles had just asked Jiang Zhiqiang.
Charles looked at Liu Yifei and Li Bingbing, nodding with a smile, "Very beautiful. It's great to see more cooperation between Chinese actors and Hollywood. The exchange is beneficial for everyone."
Lin Chi-ling suddenly whispered to Charles that she saw someone familiar and wanted to say hello.
Charles nodded, then Lin Chi-ling walked towards producer Zhang Jizhen, a long-time collaborator with John Woo.
"Jet Li is filming The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor right now, so he's not in Hong Kong. Otherwise, you'd get a chance to meet him too," Jiang Zhiqiang joked.
Li Bingbing, who had been quiet for most of the conversation, took the opportunity to hand Charles a drink, surprising him with her keen sense of timing.
"Cheers!" Charles said, looking at Li Bingbing and the others.
Jackie Chan and the others all laughed and raised their glasses.
After a while, Jackie Chan and his group left Charles's side; many other filmmakers wanted to meet Charles.
After chatting for a bit, most people indeed seemed to be looking for collaboration or investment opportunities.
"They're all veterans from Hong Kong's golden age," Jiang Zhiqiang remarked, shaking his head as he and Charles sat down in the lounge after Wong Pak-ming left.
"Currently, Oriental Films' Wong Pak-ming is preparing a kung fu movie, a biographical film about Bruce Lee's master, Ip Man," Jiang Zhiqiang said with a sigh.
"He invited Jet Li, who demanded a fee of 100 million RMB. Wong Pak-ming then approached Jackie Chan, who asked for 70 million RMB, but it's still too expensive."
"Wong Pak-ming's Ip Man doesn't have such a high budget!"
Charles laughed, "You guys can try having a profit-sharing model, where actors get a share of the box office revenue. This way, you can save a lot of money for production and deeply tie the actors to the movie!"
Jiang Zhiqiang shook his head and laughed, "Charles, you don't quite understand the situation here in China. This model is hard to implement here."
"Maybe in the future!"
Charles realized this must be the Ip Man movie starring Donnie Yen, who had lowered his fee to 3 million RMB to get the role.
Why hasn't the lead actor been finalized yet? Charles thought he should inform Gao Yuanyuan to consider investing in this film.
*****
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