Chapter 27 Cold and Hot

"Hello," Ronan introduced himself as well. "I'm Ronan Anderson, but you can just call me Ronan."

The two exchanged greetings and walked downstairs together.

Catherine Hagel was also straightforward. "Ronan, I've been seeing you around a lot lately. Are you working here?"

Ronan nodded gently and explained, "My crew is holding auditions here and renting some offices at Warner Bros."

"My crew?" Catherine immediately grasped the key point.

She probed, "Is it the crew for 'The Human Purge Plan'?"

Being on the same floor, she had heard about this crew quite often.

Ronan confirmed, "Yes, it is. I'm a producer for the crew."

Catherine widened her eyes, "A young producer like you is rare in Hollywood."

"It's my own company," Ronan stated as they exited the stairwell. When Catherine caught up, he continued, "Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to be a producer."

Catherine's eyes flickered with surprise. A crew with a budget of ten million dollars, his own company...

"Can I know the name of your company?" She was a bit impatient, being only twenty years old.

Ronan remained composed but kept a close eye on her, casually saying, "Sandy Entertainment."

Catherine's surprise faded away. She hadn't even heard of the company's name; it must be one of those small companies at the bottom of Hollywood.

Instantly, her curiosity and interest in Ronan diminished.

Ronan seemed oblivious to her reaction and commented, "I managed to secure a $11 million investment in just ten days. Unfortunately, time is limited; otherwise, more people would have invested in my project."

Hearing this, Catherine inwardly berated herself for being naive. Eleven million dollars in budget! Could a small company handle that?

This must be a rising film company.

Catherine quickly put on a smile and said sincerely, "Securing a ten-million-dollar investment is quite remarkable. Ninety percent of people in this circle can't achieve that."

She genuinely meant what she said, admiring Ronan's accomplishment.

Ronan just smiled modestly, seeming unimpressed, as if it was nothing special.

Seeing this, Catherine felt even more convinced that this man was extraordinary.

As they entered the lobby, hurried footsteps sounded from behind. A Latin man in his twenties caught up with them.

"Miss Hagel," he said hastily, "there's been a change in plans. Director Berlin asked me to inform you that dubbing starts at eight tomorrow morning."

Catherine turned back, her smile turning frosty. She replied icily, "I know."

The Latin man seemed accustomed to her attitude and quickly left.

Catherine turned back to face Ronan, her icy demeanor turning into a warm smile again. "I've been working on the same floor as you lately."

Ronan asked timely, "Are you an actress?"

"Yes," Catherine replied as they reached the door. She quickly stepped forward to hold the glass door open for Ronan and followed him outside. "I've been working on the set of 'Roswell' recently, um... I'm the second female lead."

Ronan nodded. "That sounds like a significant role."

Catherine didn't see it that way. "It's just a TV show, not a movie."

"Take it step by step," Ronan said earnestly. "You'll find your place eventually."

Catherine hesitated, wanting to ask if there was a suitable role for her in "The Human Purge Plan," but she held back.

As they entered the parking lot, she suggested, "Would you like to grab a drink together sometime?"

Ronan thought for a moment and regretfully said, "Sorry, I have work to attend to tonight. Maybe another time."

"Okay, I'll give you a call another day then," Catherine said, taking the opportunity to ask, "What's your phone number?"

Ronan recited a string of numbers, then waved goodbye to Catherine and drove off in his Cadillac, heading back to his apartment in North Hollywood.

After a simple dinner and a shower, Ronan sat down in his study, opened his laptop, and sifted through his emails to find the one from Glenn Morgan.

This was the main reason he declined Catherine's invitation.

After the final draft of "The Human Purge Plan," Glenn Morgan further polished the script for "Death Comes," the latest version of which he now wanted Ronan's opinion on.

The email was duplicated and sent to both Glenn Morgan and James Huang.

Ronan's suggestions were straightforward: to make the film's external expression as Americanized as possible and to cater to the tastes of American horror movie audiences. For instance, when characters die, it should be done in a way that aligns with the style of American splatter films, with blood splattering and limbs flying.

All of this was, of course, for commercial reasons.

Before going to Abu Dhabi, Ronan had conducted thorough research. In horror movies, blood and gore were absolutely essential in certain situations.

Successful horror series like "Scream" had maintained some elements of splatter films even after incorporating elements of youth and mystery.

Different regions had obvious differences in taste. While in the East, excessive blood and gore could be nauseating rather than terrifying, most American audiences were easily frightened by blood and severed limbs.

Strictly speaking, "Death Comes" could be considered as a preliminary integration of Eastern and Western horror elements.

However, the Eastern elements portrayed in the previous life's movie were few and far between. Those unfamiliar with Eastern culture might not even notice them, but the concept of Death and the various gruesome death scenes made it easily acceptable to North American audiences.

Just like how Chinese food had to be Westernized for Westerners. If it was for business, one had to proactively adapt to the market.

After sending the email, Ronan reviewed the content of the first part of "Fifty Shades" that had already been written.

The outline for the first part of the novel had long been completed, and the first twenty thousand words had been revised several times. Ronan even posted six thousand words on his blog.

Unfortunately, there had been zero views so far.

Ronan logged into his blog, glanced at it, and updated it with another two thousand words before closing it and focusing on writing his novel.

His fingers continued to tap on the keyboard, and paragraphs of text gradually appeared on the screen.

"I don't like left turns," Edward admonished.

Bella's breathing became rapid, her chest heaving dramatically. "Why not?"

Edward led her into the game room and said, "Because I only like right turns!"

Then, Ronan's fingers stopped above the keyboard.

Writer's block! He had hit writer's block!

Next, he needed to write about the male lead training the first female slave, but Ronan's mind was blank.

It wasn't that he couldn't write; there was simply no content to write about.

Art comes from life, but it transcends life.

How could he write about something he had no experience with?

Sitting in front of the computer for half an hour, Ronan wrote and deleted, deleted and wrote, repeating the process seven or eight times before simply closing the document.

He once again felt severely lacking in professional ability.

How could he strengthen it?

Ronan pondered for a while but couldn't come up with a clue. Frustrated by his inability to focus on reading due to his writer's block, he had no choice but to go to bed.

The next day, he woke up early, went for a run, bought breakfast outside, and arrived at Warner Bros. Studios on time.

Today, he had negotiations with the agents of the main actors.