Chapter 646

At the end of January, the Korea National Pension Service agreed to Charles Capet's terms and bought 70% of Capet Realty's stake in the HSBC Tower in London for 770 million pounds.

Based on the current exchange rate, this equated to 1.2 billion dollars!

At the same time, in the U.S., the shareholders of the Los Angeles Dodgers Club and stadium agreed to sell at a valuation of 1.5 billion dollars.

Previously, Capet Universal had already paid $300 million for the first phase, so the subsequent funds just needed to be settled once the Korea National Pension Service's money was in the account.

Not only that, on the last day of January, as the Premier League winter transfer window was about to close, Liverpool announced that they reached an agreement with Chelsea regarding the transfer of Spanish forward Fernando Torres.

Chelsea then immediately announced that they had signed Torres to a five-and-a-half-year contract, paying Liverpool 50 million pounds for the transfer. At 26 years old, Torres became Chelsea's new number 9, setting the record for the highest transfer fee in Premier League history!

After losing their star forward, Liverpool urgently bid for Newcastle's English forward Andy Carroll.

Last season, Carroll helped Newcastle win the Championship and secure promotion to the Premier League.

Before the transfer deadline, Carroll transferred to Liverpool for a record-breaking 35 million pounds for an English player, becoming Liverpool's new number 9.

"It seems that the prices of local British players are indeed higher," Charles said, putting down the newspaper. British citizenship does come with a price in the Premier League.

However, Carroll did play well for Newcastle in the first half of the season!

...

At this moment, the head of Capet Universal (UK) Pictures, spoke up, "For the musical Les Miserables, I also think Tom Hooper is a good choice for director."

Tom Hooper was the director of the recent hit film The King's Speech.

Charles nodded, "Then start the official pre-production process!"

"Is Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1 being filmed in London now?" asked Charles.

He nodded, "Half the crew is here, mainly because some scenes with the main cast need to be shot at Pinewood Studios."

That evening, the thriller-adventure film Sanctum, produced by James Cameron, premiered in the UK.

In fact, during its internal screening, critics didn't give Sanctum high marks, but the film carried James Cameron's name.

Last year's global hit Avatar had once again showcased Cameron's grand style!

...

In London, at a villa in Knightsbridge, Kristen Stewart woke up and casually draped a man's white shirt over herself as she left the bedroom.

She went to the kitchen, opened the fridge, and took a big gulp of milk straight from the bottle!

In the small living room, Charles was sitting on the couch, watching the news about a phone-hacking scandal involving newspapers under News Corp.

The Guardian and the Financial Times had exposed this shocking global journalism scandal, with nearly 6,000 victims including murder victims, terrorist attack victims, movie stars, sports figures, politicians, and even royalty!

Charles was certain that his efforts played a part in this scandal blowing up.

Molly Bloom had spent several months gathering the evidence - they weren't fake. Even if they couldn't bring down Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch, who was responsible for News International's operations, would definitely have to resign!

"These British tabloids have no bottom line," Kristen Stewart said, suddenly sitting next to Charles, looking both lazy and sexy in her white shirt.

"Awake?" Charles asked, pulling her into his lap and running his hand over her silky thigh.

"Yeah, you're right. This time, only News of the World was exposed, but other tabloids like the Daily Mail, The Sun, and the Daily Mirror aren't clean either," Charles remarked with a smile. "The major papers like The Times and the Guardian are more serious, but British tabloids are a hotbed of gossip and entertainment!"

"Charles, have you seen my recent indie films The Runaways and Welcome to the Rileys?" Kristen Stewart asked, wrapping her arms around Charles's neck.

"In Welcome to the Rileys, you play a troubled stripper who gets involved with a middle-aged couple who lost their daughter. It's quite a heartwarming and touching story," Charles acknowledged, understanding Kristen's intentions.

"Do you really wanna shed your Isabella Swan image from Twilight that much?"

Kristen nodded earnestly, "Last year, New Moon got nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple. Who knows, Eclipse might get a Razzie nomination this year too!"

Charles kissed Kristen for a while, saying, "A few days ago, at the People's Choice Awards, Eclipse was the biggest winner. Best Movie, Favorite Female Actress, and other awards were aplenty."

While Twilight wasn't highly regarded by professional critics, it was hugely popular with audiences.

The People's Choice Awards and MTV Movie Awards frequently honored the Twilight series.

Kristen gave Charles a kiss on the neck, "Charles, I want roles that challenge me. Remember On the Road? I didn't take it because you advised me not to. I can't stay in Isabella Swan's shadow forever!"

Charles nodded, "Don't worry, I'll help you make the transition. No need to stress; I'm the son of Hollywood after all."

"Yeah, I know," Kristen responded, shifting to straddle Charles.

Charles undid her shirt buttons and kissed her neck.

Kristen held him close and teased, "Remember New Year's Eve?"

"This year, we're filming both parts of Breaking Dawn back-to-back. I'll be spending a lot of time with Alexandra Daddario."

"Once you're done with both parts of Breaking Dawn, I'll start prepping scripts for you," Charles said as he kissed her lips.

*****

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