Chapter 591: Inception and Despicable Me

The opening of the Harry Potter World at Universal Studios Orlando was supposed to be a very exciting event.

But Charles Capet was very dissatisfied with J.K. Rowling's excessive interference, and the next day he left for Lake Tahoe with Ivanka Trump!

At the same time, on July 16th, Capet Illumination Studio released its first 3D animated feature film Despicable Me, debuting with a North American opening weekend gross of $56 million.

Thanks to good word-of-mouth and a production cost of just $70 million, Despicable Me put Capet Illumination Studio on the map!

Despicable Me involved a lot of European staff, with producers, directors, and writers from Argentina, France, and Spain respectively. The Paris-based Mac Guff Studio took part in most of the animation work.

In the animation, Capet's mascot Minions played the cute role, with simple designs and various attires. Their bright yellow costumes brought a joyful feeling to the audience.

Plus, their unique language and naughty personalities were loved by the viewers!

Capet Universal had a weak spot in 3D animated movies. Their Universal Animation division wasn't strong enough to compensate, but Capet Illumination Studio's Despicable Me showed the potential of becoming the next Blue Sky Studios.

...

In Los Angeles, at Capet Universal's headquarters in Burbank, the Universal Pictures President Adam Ferguson, who just returned from vacation, could only admire Despicable Me's opening results and word-of-mouth.

In the same period, Warner Bros. released Christopher Nolan's Inception, which debuted in North America with $62 million.

Disney's fantasy blockbuster The Sorcerer's Apprentice, starring Nicolas Cage and costing 150 million, only managed a $17 million opening, which was a complete flop!

"Considering Disney's May release, the $200 million video game adaptation Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time grossed only $90 million in North America and $300 million globally, Disney had already flopped twice with major blockbusters this year. Meanwhile, Thor 2, which released the same time as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, achieved $200 million in North America and $500 million globally!"

Adam Ferguson muttered to himself. Earlier in the year, Capet and EuropaCorp's action film Taken 2 earned $100 million in North America and $300 million globally, with a production cost of just $45 million.

In comparison, Universal's self-developed big-budget movies floundered, with The Wolfman costing $150 million and earning only $61 million domestically and $140 million globally.

Green Zone had a production cost of $100 million, but got just $35 million domestically and $95 million globally.

Robin Hood, with a $200 million production cost, managed $105 million domestically and $321 million globally.

The Adjustment Bureau, which released earlier this month, had a $55 million investment, but earned just $40 million in North America after half a month.

If Capet hadn't acquired NBCUniversal, who knows how bad Universal's results would have been this year. No wonder Charles quickly slashed 80% of Universal's future projects.

Currently screening, Sherlock Holmes had released just a week before The Adjustment Bureau, but had already earned $105 million domestically and $300 million overseas, heading toward $400 million globally.

The success of Sherlock Holmes and Despicable Me was already unquestionable.

In the second half of the year, Capet Universal had two more heavyweight blockbusters, The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and Marvel's Captain America set to screen!

Adam Ferguson's mind held only one thought, "Capet Universal's rise is absolutely unstoppable..."

...

At this moment, at the Lake Tahoe resort on the California-Nevada border.

In a South Lake Tahoe resort villa, Charles lay back on a beach chair. The sunlight, lake view, and Ivanka's sexy bikini created a beautiful picture.

"Inception, Christopher Nolan is really something," Charles said, holding a newspaper filled with reviews of Inception and Despicable Me.

Ivanka, wearing a sexy bikini, walked over slowly and kissed Charles. "Want something to drink? I'm grabbing some whiskey."

"Uh, sure, and bring some snacks too!" Charles said, playfully pinching her behind.

Ivanka rolled her eyes at him and headed toward the villa.

Charles picked up the phone and called his assistant Phyllis Jones.

"Boss, what's up?"

"Oh, nothing much, just saw that Inception is getting great reviews and results," Charles smiled,

"But such obvious plagiarism is unacceptable. Satoshi Kon, the Japanese anime director, even asked Nolan online if Inception copied his Paprika, but Nolan just ignored him. Hollywood's big directors shouldn't bully others like this. Don't they respect intellectual property?"

"Boss, should we write something about this in the papers?" Phyllis Jones, over the phone, clearly understood her boss's intentions.

"Exactly, focus on the plagiarism aspect. Words like 'referencing' and 'homage' are okay too. Christopher Nolan claims he hasn't seen Paprika and doesn't know Satoshi Kon. This can be highlighted. The similarities between Inception and Paprika are so significant that it's definitely newsworthy!" Charles said, with a smile, feeling quite pleased.

"Got it, I'll handle it right away!"

Charles then put down the phone. Inception's success was undeniable, but the plagiarism allegations could not be overlooked.

In his last life, this scandal broke out later, but now Charles aimed to expose it early, targeting Christopher Nolan.

A small Japanese anime director couldn't possibly take on a world-famous Hollywood director, but now Capet Universal had their back!

Christopher Nolan was Warner Bros.' star director, much like how Jerry Bruckheimer had been for Disney.

"Charles, what's making you so happy?" Ivanka asked, bringing drinks and snacks over and placing them on the nearby table.

Charles pulled her onto his lap, "The movie's box office is high!"

He said, kissing the girl and letting his hands wander over her bikini-clad body...

*****

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