Chapter 229: Gao Yuanyuan

Early in the morning, Charles woke up enjoying Britney Spears' morning service.

"Hmm," after an unknown amount of time, Britney Spears lifted her head, looked at Charles, swallowed somewhat discontentedly, and entered the bathroom with a face full of mess.

An hour later, Charles and Britney Spears had breakfast together. She said, "Alright, I have to leave to prepare for my concert."

"Is that so? I almost forgot; you still have to hold a concert," said Charles, half-lying on the sofa with his head in Britney Spears' lap.

"And you? When are you heading back?" Britney asked while stroking Charles' hair.

Charles shook his head. "Not that soon. It's only mid-July now; I still need to go to Korea and Japan."

"Alright, then. Come find me when you have time. I'm going to be busy preparing for the concert and recording an album," Britney said, pinching Charles' nose.

"I know, of course, I'll come find you!" Charles said as he stood up. He whispered in her ear, "What was up with this morning? It was different from before!"

Britney Spears smiled, "I'm not telling you now, wait for next time..."

Afterward, Charles arranged for his plane to send Britney Spears so she could prepare for the next two concerts.

"Boss, these are the scripts Mr. Han sent over this morning. He said you promised to look at it last night," Phyllis Jones brought some files in for Charles.

"Last night? I promised?" Charles touched his chin. He had drunk too much last night and seemed to have forgotten a lot of things.

"Well, let me take a look!"

"The new film by Ang Lee, Lust, Caution? Focus Features is also involved in investment? With a budget of $15 million and still lacking $5 million!" Charles glanced at the file briefly and tossed it aside.

"So fast?" Phyllis Jones, sitting beside Charles, looked surprised.

"An erotic film by Ang Lee? Pointless!" Charles casually explained while picking up another file, his hand still caressing Phyllis Jones' thigh.

Picking up the last file, Charles seemed to find something intriguing - a script project received by Silver Moon Studios: Painted Skin!

...

In the afternoon, Charles attended a large banquet organized by Han Sanpin. Many people from the Chinese film industry attended, including owners of both public and private film companies, cinema chain managers, film directors, and actors.

Huayi Brothers, Poly Bona, Xingmei Pictures, and Enlight Media, along with Zhang Yimou's New Pictures Film Company, were currently the leading private film companies in China.

"Charles, how about it? Do you want to keep drinking tonight? I've prepared a lot more," Han Sanpin appeared beside Charles at some point.

Charles shook his head and smiled, "Look, there are plenty of pretty girls from the film academy here tonight. Isn't it better to dance with them?"

Han Sanpin nodded and smiled, just about to say something when Charles spoke, "I'm interested in Silver Moon Studios' Painted Skin. With its blend of Eastern fantasy, action, and romance, it will be worth investing in special effects."

Han Sanpin's eyes lit up. He pulled Charles aside and gave a signal to his assistant. "Come on, let's talk slowly over there."

"Oh, come on, Han Sanpin, it's just a movie!" Charles couldn't refuse and followed him to the rest area.

"You'll naturally have a chance to dance with whichever pretty girl you want later. Let's chat about the movie first," Han Sanpin quickly said after sitting down. "This movie is planned to be a fantasy blockbuster, with a budget of not less than $10 million."

"$10 million? Even with all new actors, that wouldn't be enough," Charles said, shaking his head and explaining, "I estimate the production budget can't be less than $12 million."

Han Sanpin became anxious. "Does this mean it's another major production? Capet Pictures really wants to make this Chinese film?"

"China Film Group can provide some funds. With Silver Moon Studios and there must be other domestic film companies willing to join, and also from Korea and Japan..." Han Sanpin started calculating how to raise the filming funds.

"Han Sanpin, first confirm the director. Can the director from Silver Moon Studios handle it?" Charles asked.

Han Sanpin quickly shook his head, "No, for a major production like this, they are not enough!"

"Alright, Capet Pictures will support the development of Painted Skin. I'll have Capet International Pictures issue a formal cooperation agreement, entrusting China Film Group and Silver Moon Studios with the film production..." Charles was not quite used to the fact that a single movie in China often involved a dozen investors.

"This will be the first Chinese film invested by Capet Pictures, marking the beginning of our collaboration," Charles didn't expect to come across Painted Skin.

...

"You are the actress who got nominated for the Palme d'Or and Best Actress at last year's Cannes Film Festival for the movie Shanghai Dreams, aren't you?"

After chatting with Han Sanping for a while, Charles Capet went to the banquet hall and found a somewhat popular Chinese actress in recent years, Gao Yuanyuan.

He quickly invited her to dance, and Gao Yuanyuan happily accepted.

"Yes, it's a movie directed by Wang Xiaoshuai," said Gao Yuanyuan, who was only 27 and in her prime.

"I just heard you have a movie coming out soon with Jackie Chan?"

"Yes, the comedy Rob-B-Hood will be released in September. I don't have a major role," explained Gao Yuanyuan with a smile.

Gao Yuanyuan was very nervous. After all, even though he looked young, Charles was a big boss of a Hollywood movie company!

"Are you working more on television or movies?" asked Charles.

"More on television. I have a romance movie to shoot this year," Gao Yuanyuan said without hiding anything.

Charles nodded, smiled at her, and said, "My name is Charles Capet. I hope we can meet again!"

After saying that, Charles left. He was thinking about the two female leads for his new project Painted Skin.

The public budget for Painted Skin was over $15 million, but only they knew the actual amount.

With Capet Pictures financing the project, China Film Group managing it, there was no need to waste time finding investors.

Since Charles's time was valuable, he wouldn't waste it over a small amount of money. The directors recommended by China Film Group suggested Hong Kong director Tsui Hark, known for his expertise in special effects and action films.

...

As for Charles, he had been dating Gao Yuanyuan these past few days in Beijing, where she showed him around the city.

In the evening, at a high-end cinema near the International Trade Building, Charles and Gao Yuanyuan entered a VIP room to watch the Hollywood blockbuster Superman Returns.

"Charles, your movie The Da Vinci Code has made over a 760 million dollars worldwide! Converted to RMB, that's over 6 billion. That's amazing!" Gao Yuanyuan said while sitting on a two-seater sofa with Charles.

"Too bad The Departed can't be released in China; otherwise, it would be great too," Capet Pictures' The Departed had just grossed $27 million on its opening weekend in North America.

"Charles, do you really think I can play the wife of Wang Sheng in Painted Skin? I heard it's one of the lead roles and the movie has such a big budget!"

Charles laughed. "Of course, no problem," Charles said, lowering his head to kiss her lips, and Gao Yuanyuan responded passionately.

While kissing her, Charles reached into her blouse to feel her rounded bosom.

"Come to my place tonight," he whispered in her ear.

"Mhm!" Gao Yuanyuan, feeling his hand roaming her chest, was moved.

"What about the male lead and the other female lead for Painted Skin? Are they decided yet?" Despite the passion, Gao Yuanyuan still retained some rationality.

"We'll finalize them by the end of the month. I don't have much time to stay here," Charles said, giving her another smile.

"With an investment of over 100 million RMB, it's considered a major film in China!"

"Definitely a major film. Very few films have such a large budget here, and they usually invite actors who have broken into Hollywood. Last year's Seven Swords featured many Hong Kong stars but still failed," Gao Yuanyuan was a bit worried about Tsui Hark failing again.

"Don't worry, the two movies are different," Charles said, leaning in for another kiss.

*****

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