Chapter 151

On July 7, 2005, a few explosions in London once again brought the long-lost shout of terrorism to Western citizens.

"Los Angeles has also stepped up public transportation enforcement, the London bus and subway bombings served as a wake-up call for the government," Charles said, sitting in his office chair with a newspaper in hand, which was quite conspicuous.

Dona Williams frowned and said, "Not just Los Angeles, basically all major cities in the United States have strengthened public controls. This London bombing is the largest terrorist attack after 9/11 in the United States and the 3/11 incident in Spain."

The 3/11 incident in Spain was a bomb attack on the railway system in the outskirts of Madrid last year, killing 200 people and injuring over 2000.

The 7/7 London bombings also resulted in the deaths of more than 50 people and injured over 700.

"The world is too unsafe," Charles said, throwing down the newspaper. The more people there are, the greater the unsafe factors.

Now Charles had 4 to 10 bodyguards, varying depending on different occasions. But was the number still somewhat small?

Dona Williams just shrugged at her boss's mumblings, knowing Charles's security measures were quite meticulous.

After a while, Phyllis Jones knocked and came in to report to Charles about Sofia Coppola's next directing project, Marie Antoinette.

"Sony Columbia invested $40 million for her project?" Charles smiled. Sofia Coppola's cooperation with Capet Pictures on Lost in Translation had forged a good relationship.

But a Mary Sue romance film depicting French Queen Marie Antoinette with a $40 million budget, Charles certainly couldn't make that happen.

"Francis Coppola's American Zoetrope is the producer, and one of Coppola's old students also took the role of producer," Phyllis Jones explained.

Charles stood up, stretched lazily, and sighed, "Ah, having a good background in Hollywood is really enviable!"

Lost in Translation, when discussed, wasn't as great as reported, but everyone thought it was the beginning of Sofia Coppola's directing career, yet it turned out to be her peak.

Thinking about Sofia Coppola's future movies like Marie Antoinette and Somewhere being highly praised and awarded at film festivals, media even called it Hollywood's Shameless Boost.

"Right, is Universal releasing a comedy The 40-Year-Old Virgin next month?" Charles suddenly asked.

Phyllis Jones checked the list and nodded, "Yes, it's a public release. It's the debut film of new director Judd Apatow, a low-budget comedy starring Steve Carell."

Charles nodded and said, "Keep an eye on this new comedy director Judd Apatow and that comedy actor Steve Carell as well."

"The Frat Pack is about to add new members!"

Frat Pack was a term coined by Entertainment Weekly last year, referring to a group of comedy actors led by Ben Stiller, including core members like Will Ferrell, Owen Wilson, Jack Black, and Vince Vaughn.

They often played in comedies featuring scoundrels, vulgarity, and pranks.

Wedding Crashers, featuring Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn, was also categorized as a Frat Pack movie.

Phyllis Jones nodded, understanding that the boss meant future collaborations with these two, so the production department had to be prepared.

Lowbrow and slapstick comedy had always been a big part of American culture. Maybe it didn't fare well internationally, but it still had considerable appeal in the North American market.

"Boss, there's a lot of opposition from the Vatican against the release of The Da Vinci Code. Our crew faced protests from some religious groups while filming in the UK," Phyllis Jones mentioned another headache for Charles.

Charles sneered, "Ignore it. The louder they protest, the more it attracts audiences to the theaters to see the movie. A bunch of people maintaining their status through the religious system, and they can't accept Jesus being turned from God to man?"

The Da Vinci Code was just an adaptation from a novel, touching upon some Christian mysteries and secret societies. At least it didn't cause as much religious controversy as The Passion of the Christ.

"Boss, Lionsgate seems interested in that Red Bus Movie company in the UK we've been eyeing," Dona Williams reminded.

"Lionsgate? Isn't Red Bus just a small British independent film distributor with not many copyrights in its library? Does Lionsgate want to acquire any company selling film libraries?" Charles needed to open up overseas distribution channels, targeting English-speaking countries like the UK and Australia first.

After merging Atlantis Distribution in Canada, Capet Pictures had a more comprehensive presence in North America, and now the focus shifted to the UK.

In terms of cultural heritage and production capabilities, the UK was just as strong. After all, British and American cultures are closely related.

"Red Bus Movie Company owns about 130 film copyrights, most of which are British films they invested in. The price is higher than Atlantis," Dona further explained.

Charles nodded. Atlantis was primarily a small distributor buying films for Canadian local distribution.

"Red Bus Movie Company is my first attempt to expand the overseas market. Does Lionsgate have as much cash flow as we do?" Charles sneered dismissively.

"Send someone directly to negotiate. Pay up to $25 million in cash."

British low-budget films still couldn't compare to mainstream Hollywood movies, and Capet Pictures urgently needed a base in Europe.

"Understood!" Dona Williams nodded and left the office to convey the instructions.

Building overseas distribution channels was indeed a tough task for Charles, unlike operating seamlessly in North America.

Apart from a few developed countries where it was easy and quick to set up, most other countries and regions would take time to cultivate.

Capital, personnel, and film heritage were all constraints for Charles now.

"Phyllis, looks like I'll have to go to Europe again this year," Charles said after sitting back and pondering for a while.

"Hmm, Europe. When do you plan to go, boss?"

"Let's wait for a while," Charles really didn't want to go to Europe now. Who could tell if there would be another attack like the 7/7 London bombings?

*****

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