Chapter 56: Britney

Charles leaned back on the sofa, thinking while letting Britney release her emotions in his arms.

After crying for about half an hour, Britney finally calmed down, wiping her tears and hugging Charles tightly, not wanting to let go.

"Charles, I asked about you. Some people told me you were a young prodigy producer in Hollywood, nearly snagging an Oscar with two low-budget films and making sixty or seventy million dollars," Britney said, quoting her team manager. "What should I do now?"

"Ah, let me think," said Charles, who had been pondering, "The first step is definitely to rebuild your image. You need a good PR team. In terms of career, personal life, and so on, everything needs to be arranged properly!"

"Okay," Britney lifted her head and then leaned in to kiss Charles.

Earlier it was emotional comfort, now it turned into physical comfort, comforting each other all night long.

In the morning, sunlight streamed into the room through the gaps in the curtains. The autumn weather in New York was quite pleasant.

In the bedroom, Britney clung to Charles with a face full of satisfaction.

"Aren't you hungry?" Charles patted Britney's back.

"Let's lie down for a while longer. Do you have anything to do?" Britney asked lazily.

Charles shook his head, "No rush, I'll be in New York for a while. The vampire and werewolf movie I produced, Underworld, is about to be released in the next few days."

"Underworld? I saw the trailer. Kate Beckinsale looks really cool in it!" Britney said, not forgetting the main topic.

"By the way, Charles, last night you said I need to rebuild my public image. How should I do it?"

"Manager. You need to replace your manager with a professional one to handle your affairs," Charles said firmly. "Otherwise, the negative reports will keep coming, and you won't be able to handle it mentally!"

"But my parents..."

Before Britney could finish, Charles interrupted her again, "Also, you must have professionals handle your business contracts, and professionals manage your assets. For your parents, just buy them a house, give them good food and drinks, and take care of them. Don't let them handle your professional matters!"

"My attorney thinks so too!"

Britney, who wasn't very educated, didn't understand much. She often ended up being a puppet on strings.

"In short, trust me. You can go to Los Angeles next month and consult my mother, Evelyn Carpe. She is a professional!"

"Can Mrs. Carpe be my manager directly?"

"Well, this..." Charles didn't know what to say for a moment. Was that even possible? You're an A-list celebrity, don't you need to understand more about your new manager?

Charles still nodded. After all, someone at Britney's level usually had a whole team of managers. His mother wouldn't need to handle her music production, dealing with her media marketing, record contracts, crisis PR, endorsements, etc.

"But still, you should have a good talk with my mom first. But first, you need to fire your current manager!" Charles felt a bit like he was pimping.

"I got it," Britney, who was naturally carefree, got convinced by Charles' detailed explanation last night, especially given her current negative news cycle.

It's easy to believe someone when you're at your lowest. Maybe people need something to cling to during tough times.

"Next, I need to record and shoot a duet song with Madonna, so I can't go to Los Angeles at least until November!"

Charles nodded, "Don't worry. Just keep a low profile and avoid doing or saying anything out of line for now."

Thankfully, Britney wasn't familiar with Paris Hilton yet, nor did she know Lindsay Lohan.

The legendary trio wasn't formed yet.

Maybe Britney was starting to rely on Charles, staying at the hotel with him all day.

It was not until night that Charles drove Britney back to her place.

Meanwhile, the release of Underworld was fast approaching, set for a North American premiere on Friday.

On Wednesday night, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre near Times Square on 46th Street in Midtown Manhattan, the North American premiere was held.

The gentle, pretty nurse image from Pearl Harbor still lingered in people's minds, and the sexy vampire with dual pistols played by Kate Beckinsale drew a lot of media attention.

Charles was chatting with Peter Schleicher, the head of Screen Gems, in the theater's lounge.

"Opening in over 2,900 theaters, not bad!" Charles hadn't expected them to have such huge confidence in this movie.

"We received a lot of positive feedback during the test screenings, and the viewership stats for the trailer gave us a lot of confidence," Peter Schleicher was quite optimistic about the film.

"Kate's star power, we believe in it."

Charles nodded and smiled, "The live-action Resident Evil was quite a success. Screen Gems indeed has a say in distributing this type of film."

The two shared a knowing smile. Screen Gems had struck gold with the female-led action film Resident Evil, and Kate Beckinsale was no less a star than Milla Jovovich.

"However, Resident Evil's production rights belong to Constantin Film, while Screen Gems has the distribution contract!"

"Still, it's pretty good. Resident Evil, as a game-adapted movie, performed well. Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life didn't do so well this summer, with its box office and reviews not up to par. The third one is definitely out of the question. Resident Evil's budget was only a third of theirs." First Tomb Raider was the highest-grossing game-adapted movie, but unfortunately, the second one, with a production cost of $95 million, only grossed a little over $60 million domestically, and just about $100 million overseas.'

"Resident Evil: Apocalypse is scheduled for next year. We hope to maintain the good momentum," Peter Schleicher naturally hoped to turn it into a successful film series. If Underworld does well, the same could apply.

Soon, a staff member came in to remind them about the interviews.

Producers, directors, and main actors went on stage together for the media interview and questions.

"Kate, you look stunning tonight!" Kate Beckinsale, dressed in a low-cut white gown with wavy long hair, was quite the eye-catcher.

"Thank you, let's catch up later tonight!" As they embraced, Kate whispered in Charles' ear.

Charles smiled but said nothing. Everything was obvious without words, and the reporters presented their microphones.

Director: We based our film on science rather than mysticism.

Charles: Wiseman's talent surprised us all, and the actors' performances were exceptional.

Kate Beckinsale: I have been looking forward to this role for a long time. Trying my hand at action films has been a different experience for me!

*****

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