Chapter 552: Thankless Efforts

Keira Knightley had just walked out of her room in a bikini when Scarlett Johansson ran over and suddenly kissed her.

Feeling something from Scarlett Johansson's mouth, Keira Knightley, who was very familiar with it, forcefully pushed Scarlett away and stared at her wide-eyed, "You..."

"Holy cow," Charles Capet, who was fastening his pants, saw it clearly and exclaimed silently in his heart. Then, he rushed out of the room and headed towards the private beach.

Scarlett laughed loudly at Keira Knightley's reaction, "Serves you right for ganging up on me with Charles last night!"

She licked her lips, showing she hadn't fully enjoyed the moment.

Keira stood with her arms crossed, "Hmph, it's not like I haven't tried before. What's the big deal?" She said and then swallowed down.

"Let's go swimming, and tonight, let's team up and teach Charles a lesson," Keira proposed.

"Charles is really good!" Scarlett reminded her.

"Then show your skills. Can't the two of us handle one of him?"

Scarlett nodded in agreement and took Keira by the hand. "Let's go surfing!"

Mallorca is the largest island in Spain's Balearic Islands and is called the "Mediterranean Paradise." Palma is the capital of Mallorca, located on the southwest coast. The picturesque Palma Bay is a great harbor.

Lying on the beach and sunbathing, it was no wonder that a few years ago, Marion Cotillard had bought a vacation villa here. It was indeed a great place!

...

However, at this moment, Hollywood was buzzing due to the emergence of Avatar, which, with its enormous box office successes, posed a threat to the award-sweeping The Hurt Locker.

James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, the former couple, were about to clash over box office and artistry at the awards ceremony!

Los Angeles, Burbank, Capet Headquarters.

In Donna Langley's office, Kevin Feige of Marvel Studios had arrived.

"So, you're saying that Robert Downey Jr. came to you hoping Capet would give Mel Gibson a chance?" Donna Langley frowned.

Kevin Feige nodded. "Robert Downey Jr. was once notorious, and Mel Gibson helped him out; The Edge of Darkness is about to be released, and he hopes Mel Gibson can participate in promotional activities to redeem his image! Of course, he also hopes Marvel could give Mel Gibson an opportunity to work!"

Donna Langley paused for a moment. Robert Downey Jr. had made a huge comeback thanks to Iron Man and was now incredibly important to Marvel; But Mel Gibson was still in his period of being boycotted, and any film he starred in wouldn't be widely released or do well at the box office.

The Edge of Darkness was financed by Mel Gibson himself. Before Capet Pictures acquired Icon Productions, they couldn't find a distributor. Capet bought Icon Productions just to expand their library, as The Passion of the Christ's rights were partially owned by Capet, and they never saw much value in The Edge of Darkness. Focus Features, their division, didn't plan to spend many resources promoting it either.

"We can let him bring The Edge of Darkness to some film festivals, but in North America, theatres are still boycotting him strongly, internationally it might be different. As for Marvel Studios, we can't be associated with him. Right now, appearing in some low-budget movies is good enough for Mel Gibson," Donna Langley flatly refused to allow Mel Gibson to appear in Capet's major films.

"Robert Downey Jr. is very important, but don't forget that Marvel made him, and his multi-million dollar salary for Iron Man 2 is proof!"

Kevin Feige nodded, "Understood, and he has a full contract with Marvel. I'm sure he understands the importance of this."

Robert Downey Jr. wouldn't even dare behave arrogantly in front of Capet, especially given his previous scandals.

...

In Malibu, at Mel Gibson's luxury villa, Robert Downey Jr. had just answered a phone call and returned to the living room.

In the living room, Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster were sitting on the sofa. "What did Capet say?" Jodie Foster asked anxiously.

Robert Downey Jr. responded, "Capet's Focus Features will distribute Edge of Darkness and allow Gibson to participate in its promotional activities. However, according to Focus, many theaters still won't show it!"

Since his DUI in 2007, Mel Gibson had been subject to an unspoken boycott that no one wanted to break. Capet was one of the largest studios in Hollywood and clearly didn't want to set a precedent for Mel Gibson!

Mel Gibson stayed silent; he knew the difficulty of the situation. His good friend Jodie Foster continued to ask, "Will Focus be willing to distribute The Beaver?"

Robert Downey Jr. shook his head, "Even though Focus has changed heads, they showed no interest in The Beaver."

The Beaver is an art film directed by Jodie Foster herself, starring both Mel Gibson and Jodie Foster.

An Oscar-winning director and a two-time Oscar-winning actress collaborating on a film couldn't find a distributor?

Everyone knew the reason: despite the low $19 million budget for The Beaver, it was the funding Jodie Foster managed to secure to cast Mel Gibson. Now, The Beaver wasn't getting interest from major studios or even independent distributors.

"Forget it," Mel Gibson stood up from the sofa, shaking his head, looking disheartened.

This April, Mel Gibson had started divorce proceedings with his wife of nearly 30 years, facing high alimony payments that already annoyed him. Now his comeback was full of difficulties!

"Let him calm down," Robert Downey Jr. stopped Jodie Foster as she tried to comfort Mel.

"These things take time for people to forget," Robert Downey Jr. was very grateful for Mel Gibson's help in the past. Now, after finding great success with Marvel's Iron Man, he wanted to help Mel Gibson make a comeback.

Jodie Foster sighed, "Charles Capet is the most capable of helping him right now, but unfortunately, they've had conflicts before!"

During The Passion of the Christ, they had a cooperative relationship and made money together;

But later, Mel Gibson viciously insulted Capet's film Brokeback Mountain, which created a rift. Now, why would Capet bother to help him with these thankless efforts?

*****

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