From Hollywood to Media Empire

Over the next half month, Charles and his mother Evelyn continuously looked at houses, being meticulous since they would be living in them.

Charles preferred modern-style decor, while Evelyn favored luxury homes with a touch of historical and classical ambiance.

Ultimately, Evelyn settled on a villa in the Bel Air community. It had over 4,500 square feet of living space, 4 bedrooms, 5 bathrooms, along with garden and an outdoor swimming pool, altogether covering more than 10,000 square feet. They agreed on a price of $6.6 million.

Charles, on the other hand, found a newly built hilltop mansion in Beverly Hills. The property covered about 20,000 square feet, with the house itself being about 15,000 square feet.

It featured 7 bedrooms, 9 bathrooms, a private cinema, a bar, entertainment room, study, and both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, along with a large garage.

However, it was expensive, priced at a hefty $14.5 million.

In addition, Charles spent nearly $4 million on a 5,000 square-foot beach villa in Santa Monica, which was much better than the one he had leased earlier.

Just like that, he spent $25 million as if it was nothing, and it felt incredible.

Soon, Charles moved into the Santa Monica beach house. The Beverly Hills hilltop mansion still needed some tidying up. That place was going to be his future base, which he would call Carpe Manor.

Evelyn sold her previous house in West Hollywood for $320,000 and moved directly into the Bel Air community, part of the Platinum Triangle.

...

Burbank, Carpe Films, morning.

Charles was researching a Hong Kong crime thriller film titled Infernal Affairs, which was released in Hong Kong last December. It grossed over HK$55 million and was currently being shown across Asia.

"Dona, send a fax to Media Asia in Hong Kong. Carpe Films wants to purchase the remake rights for Infernal Affairs," Charles promptly decided. It was morning in Los Angeles, so it should be evening in Hong Kong with a 12-hour time difference.

Charles knew that Infernal Affairs was eventually remade by Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment, which secured the remake rights for $1.75 million in his previous life.

However, Infernal Affairs was still in the early stages of its release in Asia, so while Hollywood studios might have noticed it, not many would have taken significant action yet.

Dona Williams took on the task quickly.

Currently, Carpe Films had about $5 million in liquid funds, more than enough to produce a horror movie helmed by James Wan.

The most crucial thing for Charles now was to stock up on good scripts, the more, the better. Unknown to many, various studios' vaults contained numerous creative ideas and scripts awaiting development.

By the afternoon, Carpe Films welcomed Mr. Bill Kong, a manager from Edko Films, Hong Kong.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Kong!"

"Good afternoon, Mr. Carpe!"

In the meeting room, Bill Kong explained that he had received a phone call from Media Asia to discuss the script of Infernal Affairs.

"Infernal Affairs has received high acclaim, covering themes of gangs, police, entertainment, and psychological elements," Charles praised.

"Indeed, Infernal Affairs is regarded as the best crime thriller in the past twenty years in Hong Kong, with high ratings and box office success. We are delighted that Hollywood wants to remake it."

"Carpe Films aims to develop a Hollywood version of Infernal Affairs!"

Bill Kong nodded and smiled. "Hero has been nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year's Oscars, so I'm here to discuss promotional activities with Miramax. Other members of the Hero crew might arrive by the 20th!"

"Only a few days away," Charles, who hadn't paid much attention to the Oscars, remarked casually.

"Media Asia will send representatives to discuss the Infernal Affairs remake script around that time," Bill Kong explained.

"No problem, Carpe Films is very interested in the Infernal Affairs script!" Charles smiled. As for competition, he wasn't worried. Other studios wouldn't spend too much on the remake rights.

After Bill Kong left, Charles was almost certain that Media Asia had already been in contact with Hollywood studios in Hong Kong.

It was a bidding war; the highest offer wins!

He casually called his mother to inquire about the situation at Plan B Entertainment.

"It's an independent film company co-managed by Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston under Brad Grey, formed two years ago. They are currently producing an epic war film Troy with Warner Bros., with a budget of $150 million, starring Brad Pitt."

"So, it operates under Warner Bros.?"

"Why are you asking about this?"

"I'm interested in a Chinese film and thinking of purchasing the remake rights. Plan B seems to be a potential competitor."

"Really? Warner Bros. has a distribution deal with Plan B, paying them around $2 million annually for operational costs. Any films developed by Plan B are distributed by Warner Bros. first!"

"By the way, the script by James Wan and Leigh Whannell has been finalized. When will you support their film production?"

"After the Oscars. I'll hire an executive producer to assist them. They can start casting and pre-production," Charles said, thinking that a horror movie with over a million-dollar budget wasn't that challenging.

"Alright!"

After hanging up, Charles suddenly felt like he was running out of money again. It was so easy to spend.

He needed money to buy the Infernal Affairs script and to produce Saw.

Driving back to the Santa Monica villa, he passed through the bustling Santa Monica Boulevard, which didn't seem to calm down despite the U.S. starting a war in Iraq.

After arriving home, Charles received a call from Kate Beckinsale. She had finished filming in Prague and was back in Los Angeles for some studio shoots.

"I just moved into a new house, come visit!"

"Sure, I'll drive over!" Kate said.

Charles then sent the address to the British Rose, Kate Beckinsale.

The house was somewhat empty, but Charles only planned to live there for a while, so he hadn't prepared much.

Half an hour later, Kate Beckinsale's car pulled up in Charles's driveway.

*****

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