Chapter 78: Ambitious Goals

Every U.S. election year always attracted global attention, after all, it was the election of the president of the only superpower in the world.

Hollywood never lacked celebrities who loved to get involved in politics. They might not understand much, but they were excellent political figureheads.

In the evening, Charles went to his mother Evelyn's house to have dinner with her.

"Carpe Film acquired Pacific Theaters, and you've been recruiting a lot of film distribution personnel. Are you planning to distribute movies yourself?" Evelyn inquired.

Charles nodded. This wasn't a secret. He had also taken out a loan of $100 million, all of which Evelyn knew.

"Alright," Evelyn said. There wasn't much she could help with; the primary concern in distribution was cash flow.

"You're already on the radar of many people now. At least three major studios want to win you over. Independent distribution won't be easy," Evelyn pointed out.

The Big Six were not easy to deal with and wouldn't let a new company rise up so easily.

Charles took a bite of food, finished eating, wiped his mouth, and then smiled, "I've been preparing for this. Relying solely on the film market is impossible. Wall Street is also my target, and so is Silicon Valley. The impact of the dot-com bubble has almost dissipated. The future is still the Internet age."

Evelyn nodded. Being prepared was good. In the process of capital accumulation, everyone would do things that couldn't see the light of day.

John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, J.P. Morgan, and others all did the same.

"What are your plans?" Evelyn asked.

"I want Hollywood to become chaotic. Only amidst chaos do I have opportunities," Charles replied. The entertainment world was the most alluring place, but what was the most alluring thing in the entertainment world?

Scandals. Entertainment scandals were most effective in swaying public attention and opinion.

"The entertainment industry isn't already chaotic enough?" Evelyn asked without much emotion, uncertain why Charles wanted more chaos in Hollywood.

Charles shook his head, "Not enough. Right now, Carpe Film's movies are few, and their value isn't enough to make others have specific ideas. But in the future, what if I have IPs like the Harry Potter series or the Jurassic Park series, or even the Star Wars series?

How much obstruction will I face in distribution? Not to mention the reviews from the media, how much capital will I need to combat media blackouts?"

Evelyn understood. This was a tactic often used by many capitalists and politicians. When a scandal appeared, a new scandal from the entertainment world would quickly cover it up because, for ordinary people, politicians and capitalists were too distant.

"Hollywood is controlled by a few key members of the MPAA, and they need stability for greater benefits. If there are internal problems and you're stirring things up with your movies, they won't have time to deal with you?" Evelyn quickly grasped the idea.

"But have you considered that small companies have weak resistance to storms? Major studios have risk-resistant capabilities that small companies can't match!" Evelyn warned.

Charles responded, "Small companies are weak because they have fewer chances to make mistakes. Just don't make mistakes during the development process!"

"You..." Evelyn shook her head, finding it a bit far-fetched.

"Alright, it's still early. These are just plans in my mind," Charles interrupted, planning to tell his mother more specifics in the future.

Charles aimed to stand on the moral high ground; feminism, for example, was a card he could fully utilize.

Charles wanted his dazzling aura to shine over Hollywood, to rise above it and become the true King of Hollywood.

That night, Charles and Evelyn had a long conversation because Charles was Evelyn's only son.

As the second generation of European immigrants, Evelyn indeed had no other relatives. Her son was her only family!

The arrival of the summer movie season had no impact on the U.S. election. Hollywood, as the flag bearer for the Democratic Party, spared no effort in its promotional campaign.

Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 was filled with scandals about the Bush family. Big Hollywood stars like Leonardo DiCaprio and veteran sex symbol Sharon Stone traveled everywhere to campaign and promote.

Of course, the impact of Fahrenheit 9/11 was significant, but no American distribution company dared to take it on at the time.

Passion of the Christ was not picked up mainly because religious films weren't seen as profitable. However, for Fahrenheit 9/11, the situation was such that no one dared to touch it.

As for Leonardo DiCaprio and Sharon Stone, they were only seen as clowns performing for others.

How much campaign funding had the Bush team raised now? Their approval ratings were higher than those of the Democratic candidate.

On the day of the event, in the western time zone of the U.S., Universal Pictures held the premiere of the fantasy blockbuster Van Helsing at Universal City.

Charles was also invited and sat with Universal Pictures President Stacey Snider.

"Charles, has the third film project been decided?" Stacey Snider asked.

"I have an idea. This time it's a remake of a Hong Kong crime thriller involving undercover cops and gangsters infiltrating each other's organizations," Charles explained. "The film's budget is also substantial. I plan to make it an epic cop thriller. Apart from Martin Scorsese, I don't know who else could direct it. Of course, if Francis Ford Coppola is willing to direct, that would be even better!"

Shaking her head, Stacey Snider said, "Francis probably won't direct another gangster film, but Martin should be suitable."

"No problem with the shooting of Wedding Crashers and Mr. & Mrs. Smith?" Charles reminded Universal to give them good release dates next year.

Stacey Snider laughed, "Don't worry. Universal has just completed its acquisition. This year, we still need to complete the merger with NBC. The number of competitive films NBC Universal has next year isn't many.

Your films are very important to Universal!"

*****

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