Chapter 89

At a cocktail party in the Ritz Hotel, Paris, Charles met Luc Besson, the man famously dubbed France's Spielberg.

"Nice to meet you, Charles, welcome to Paris!" Luc Besson said as he gave Charles a hug.

"Likewise!" Charles responded.

"Paris has some lovely sights and great places to visit," Luc Besson said, glancing at Marion Cotillard beside Charles.

"It also has beautiful and passionate French women!"

"This is Marion Cotillard. She did an excellent job in Love Me If You Dare. Carpe Films has a script that's perfect for her," Charles explained.

Marion Cotillard was taken aback. A script that fits me? Why hadn't Charles mentioned it before? From Cannes to Paris, Charles hadn't said a word about a script for me.

However, Marion Cotillard, with her experience, just smiled and said, "Good evening, Mr. Luc Besson!"

"Are you planning to use French actors? Will the filming take place in France?" Luc Besson nodded at Marion Cotillard and then questioned Charles about the film.

Charles nodded and smiled. "The American bestseller The Da Vinci Code. I bought the movie adaptation rights from the author, and many scenes need to be shot in Paris.

Also, a lot of significant props from the movie are in museums, so we might need to apply to film inside the Louvre!"

"Filming inside the Louvre? Charles, you know that's no easy task," Luc Besson said. "I've read the novel The Da Vinci Code. It has many religious mysteries, which might stir up a lot of controversies!"

Just as Luc Besson finished speaking, he suddenly remembered something, religious controversy? Then how do you explain the success of The Passion of the Christ?

"Haha, Charles, you're really something!" Luc Besson said, patting Charles on the shoulder.

"The film investment must be considerable, right?" Luc Besson asked.

"Not less than one hundred million dollars!" Charles said casually, causing the two people beside him to feel a bit breathless.

It was well-known that France favored art films, which were usually low-budget because many French filmmakers were quite conservative. With low-budget art films, selling TV and DVD rights right from the start, coupled with subsidies and tax incentives from France, these films generally didn't lose money.

This conservatism, combined with safety, made French commercial films stagnant. The 2001 film Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre was a bold attempt at a French commercial film. It not only starred Sophie Marceau but was also the first film approved to shoot inside the Louvre.

Unfortunately, Belphegor, Phantom of the Louvre left nothing behind apart from Sophie Marceau's beautiful face.

Luc Besson developed movies in the Hollywood style to compete against Hollywood, despite criticism that his films were just Hollywood movies shot in France.

"Carpe Films producing independently?"

"I'll handle the North American market myself and sign pre-sale distribution agreements for the overseas market to gather funds. Carpe Films can manage the development!" Charles said confidently.

Luc Besson nodded. Whether EuropaCorp would participate still needed internal discussion.

"Come on, let me introduce you to some influential people!"

Following Luc Besson, Charles realized the high standards of this cocktail party. Besides executives from longstanding French film companies like Gaumont and Pathe, there were quite a few businessmen.

"This is Antoine Arnault, one of the Vice Presidents of Louis Vuitton."

"Good evening, Mr. Arnault," Charles greeted. He knew this guy; the crown prince of LV, the eldest son of Bernard Arnault, the Chairman of LV, and already a VP at the age of 26.

"Good evening," Antoine Arnault nodded politely but didn't linger.

Charles didn't mind. At that time, his father's net worth was over $12 billion! The LV group wasn't as terrifying as it would be later. That would wait for the Asian market to develop.

"These people, they think they're part of the nobility?" Marion Cotillard whispered, holding onto Charles' arm.

"Nobility?" Charles shook his head and patted Marion's arm, signaling that it was no problem. Charles smiled, gave her a kiss, and said, "They have a reason to be proud. I'm just a young movie producer!"

However, Charles was already planning in his mind to buy some shares in luxury brand companies later. Diversify the investments!

"Charles, these people are businessmen and many are also movie investors. We need their money, they need our films to promote their products and brands!"

Luc Besson didn't seem too familiar with those luxury goods shareholders but was more acquainted with bankers.

As they sat down, Charles glanced at Jerome Seydoux and Nicolas Seydoux, Presidents of Pathe and Gaumont respectively, who were seated nearby. These were two brothers!

France's Gaumont Film Company was the world's first film company; Pathe dominated the global film industry before the 1920s.

The rise of Hollywood made it tough for these two oldest film companies, and now Pathe and Gaumont had merged their theatre businesses and co-built cinemas.

"Luc, I heard you're planning to build a film city in the northern part of Paris, in the 93rd district?" Charles asked.

Luc Besson nodded and explained, "France lacks large studios. When I shot The Fifth Element, it was in the UK.

Europe has three major studios: Cinecitta in Italy, Pinewood Studios in London famous for the 007 series, and Babelsberg Studio near Berlin, renowned for Fritz Lang's Metropolis and Josef von Sternberg's The Blue Angel.

But in the whole of France, the birthplace of cinema, we have never had a modernized large-scale shooting facility."

Charles understood. Even without comparing to Hollywood, France lagged behind other European countries!

"Charles, excuse me for a moment!" Luc Besson left to take a call.

Charles nodded and then turned to chat with the two Seydoux brothers, knowing they controlled a lot of cinemas through Gaumont and Pathe.

The Seydoux surname made Charles think of Lea Seydoux, the future Bond girl from Spectre, who seemed to be their granddaughter.

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