From Hollywood to Media Empire

Early in the morning, Charles Carpe woke up and glanced at Kate Beckinsale, who was still sound asleep beside him. Without waking her, he got out of bed.

Leaning on the sofa on the balcony, Charles Carpe read the newspaper while enjoying the Pacific Ocean breeze of the early morning.

"Charles," Kate Beckinsale came to the balcony slowly, wearing a loose men's shirt casually draped over her and walking over barefoot.

"Awake?" Charles put down the newspaper, letting her sit on his lap as he embraced her.

"Nice house!" Kate Beckinsale knew that Charles had made a lot of money with Lost in Translation.

"Thanks! How was filming in Prague?" Charles asked before kissing her for a while.

After the kiss ended, Kate Beckinsale smiled and shook her head. "It was a long shoot in the mountains, with a lot of action scenes. Good thing I trained a lot before filming Underworld!"

"Vivendi Universal is having a tough time right now," Charles pondered about Universal Pictures' parent company, Vivendi, while holding Kate Beckinsale.

After Canadian liquor giant Seagram acquired Universal Studios from Panasonic in 1999, they implemented a series of merger plans. The following year, they merged PolyGram with Universal Music. Then, the tech stock crash and Seagram's high debt came along.

French giant Vivendi stepped in, acquiring all of Universal Entertainment and forming Vivendi Universal Entertainment Group.

Vivendi Universal's debt was also quite high, and now General Electric from the US was offering an olive branch.

"I heard from the producer that Universal intends to continue developing old vampire and werewolf movie rights!"

"Ha, the success of the two The Mummy movies boosted Universal's confidence quite a bit," Charles smiled, knowing that the concept of a cinematic universe was still non-existent and that Universal certainly didn't have plans for a Dark Universe.

"However, Universal's vault has plenty of monsters like Dracula, Frankenstein, the Wolfman, the Invisible Man, and the Hunchback of Notre Dame. They definitely aren't lacking in material," Charles couldn't help but be envious.

Big studios had a deep catalog full of material to adapt, and remakes were much easier than original creations.

"It depends on how Van Helsing performs at the box office!" Kate Beckinsale wasn't foolish. If the box office returns were low, why would the studios stay motivated?

"Alright, I have to head to the office. You can relax for a couple of days," Charles felt a bit melancholy about Kate Beckinsale's career. After Underworld, she'd be tied to that character.

The failures of Pearl Harbor and Serendipity essentially ended her romantic drama prospects, and Van Helsing, in production now, would be her last major project.

Oscar season was fast approaching, bringing many filmmakers to Hollywood, including actors, singers, directors, producers, agents, media reporters, and fashion brands.

In a meeting room at Carpe Productions, Charles was discussing new script ideas with screenwriters:

"John and Jane are a mundane couple married for seven years, living a passionless life.

Until one day, their respective organizations give them orders to kill the same target. Unbeknownst to each other, both are assassins for different organizations.

They start to suspect each other, probe for secrets, and eventually clash.

In the end, they realize the truth and team up against their organizations.

This is the idea. I need a full screenplay adapted."

Yes, it was Mr. & Mrs. Smith. After thinking about Brad Pitt from Plan B Entertainment, Charles immediately thought of it.

Brad Pitt didn't have many high-grossing films, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith happened to be one of the better-performing ones.

Without registering the concept with the Writers Guild, the idea was his. Whether to shoot or not aside, having the screenplay ready meant it could be filmed any time.

Moreover, if a producer or director discovered the script and had ideas, they might proactively seek collaboration opportunities for film development.

That night, Evelyn Carpe called, inviting Charles for dinner.

Driving over to Evelyn's Bel-Air villa, he found Sophia Coppola and Scarlett Johansson already there.

"Is there something important to discuss?" Charles asked at the dinner table.

"No, with the Oscar ceremony coming up, Lost in Translation has nominations for several major awards. We're just seeing what needs to be prepared," Evelyn was excited; after all, the Oscars were still considered a sacred venue by many.

"We're all first-timers at the Oscars. Consider it a learning experience. Except for Sophia, who should have some experience," Charles joked.

Sophia glanced at Charles, rolling her eyes nonchalantly. "I used to go with my family. This time it's different since I'm the nominee. And Charles, you're becoming more and more like a businessman!"

"This time, our film has some impact. Sophia and Scarlett just returned from the UK after winning awards there. At the BAFTAs, Lost in Translation was a big winner!" Evelyn undoubtedly planned to use the Oscars to push Sophia and Scarlett to greater heights.

"Let's eat. Being nominated is good enough!" Sophia had earlier made a small film called The Virgin Suicides using a hand-held camera.

Lost in Translation was essentially Sophia's first proper feature-length film, and its success had now reached significant heights.

As for Scarlett Johansson, she hadn't been nominated for Best Actress, but Lost in Translation did boost her fame, though not enough.

After Sophia Coppola and Scarlett Johansson left, Charles stayed over at his mother's place.

"So, how's that Zack Snyder guy?" Charles asked.

"Remaking Dawn of the Dead, distributed by Universal Pictures. Zack is interested in such gory and violent films, so he was chosen to direct his debut movie!"

"And you, it seems like you spent all your money on buying houses. Any working capital for the company?" Evelyn said with a playful look.

Charles replied, " The Passion of the Christ should have started filming by now. Brokeback Mountain is still in preparation, but it will definitely be shot this year. My eyes are on Saw next!"

"With a budget of over a million dollars, Saw shouldn't take long to film. You need to secure a distributor quickly."

"I know. My plan is to release it this Halloween!"

"But it's almost April. Can you make the deadline?"

Charles thought for a moment and replied, "It shouldn't be a big problem. Saw filming won't take long, and there are plenty of independent distributors for horror films."

*****

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