Chapter 64 The situation has not yet collapsed

In the luxurious suite's reception room, Ronan received Hassan and his group of five.

"This script is quite interesting," Hassan, clearly the leader, remarked. "Much more intriguing than the story of 'The Purge'."

Ronan spoke frankly, "But to achieve the desired effect, the costs will also be higher."

Hussein chimed in, "We believe in Mr. Anderson's abilities."

"The business plan and script have been reviewed by all of you, and I want to emphasize a few points," Ronan continued to maintain his usual demeanor. "The director of this film is James Huang, the director of 'The Purge'. An outstanding director is crucial for a film, I'm sure you all understand that."

Aziz jumped in, "Doesn't this increase the chances of success?"

Ronan smiled, "Indeed." He added, "Furthermore, this film requires a larger investment than 'The Purge', longer filming time, and a longer return on investment period."

Hassan nodded lightly, "We understand."

"Very well," Ronan pointed to the business plan. "Apart from these, if you have any other questions, feel free to ask."

With a glance exchanged among the group, Hassan smiled and said, "This business plan is very detailed, let's discuss the investment aspect."

Ronan certainly didn't object, "Of course."

Hassan said, "The five of us will jointly invest $8 million in the project 'Death is Coming'. The investment return terms will remain consistent with the contract for 'The Purge', with Abu Dhabi as the venue for contract enforcement in case of legal disputes. The contract duration shall not exceed three years, and you must settle the investment returns with us immediately upon clearing project income."

He emphasized another point, "Just like the film being screened tonight, our names and images should be displayed in the opening credits of the film."

Ronan pondered for a moment and said, "No problem." He smiled and added, "I also have a few requirements."

Hassan nodded, "Please go ahead."

Since they were unfamiliar with the Hollywood model, the other party's requests were not unreasonable at all. Ronan simply stated, "You must not interfere with the production, distribution, and other operations of the film. I need professionals to handle professional matters."

Hearing this, Hassan chuckled. Ronan Anderson was still the honest American.

"I can guarantee that," he said. "We trust Mr. Anderson's professionalism."

With agreement reached on the main terms, this investment cooperation would basically have no further problems. The rest were just minor details, which Ronan could leave to Robert to negotiate.

Two days later, the two parties signed the contract smoothly, and Ronan also received the first investment from his second trip to Abu Dhabi.

During this period, he took the time to carefully read the script for "Arabian Life".

This script targeted ordinary people in the UAE, although it featured many aspects of Abu Dhabi's wealth, the theme leaned towards revealing the society's dark side.

How should I put it? This was a realistic script.

It was very much in line with the normal state of human society. Anyone with a slightly clear mind knew that any country and society would not only have a bright side.

Moreover, from Ronan's perspective, it was not difficult to judge that this was a heavily artistic film.

Once an artistic film was made, the focus would often be on the dark side.

Afterwards, the financing meeting was held on time.

Hassan's team of five was also invited and appeared at the financing meeting held by Sandsea Entertainment for "Death is Coming".

While "The Purge" was being screened in Abu Dhabi, the project investors received returns, with the recommendation of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the appearance of the famous influencer Salih, this financing meeting was much smoother than the first.

Like the first financing meeting, which took three days and only raised $3 million excluding the funds from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, this time the meeting reached an intended investment of $12 million, with actual signed contracts raising $7 million.

In this way, the "Death is Coming" project raised $15 million in funding. Although it fell short of the ideal budget of $20 million, the news brought by Salih, that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority basically approved the investment in "Ace Agent", with investment amount possibly around $25 million, was a significant factor in the continued support of Sandsea Entertainment by the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

Ronan couldn't afford to give up this project with limited audience appeal. Not only because "Death is Coming" was $5 million short of the ideal budget, but also because it involved the funds needed for Sandsea Entertainment to acquire a distribution company.

Even though it was only the late 1990s and the US dollar was still relatively strong, without distribution companies with slightly more complete channels, it was impossible to secure tens of millions of dollars.

If a company with a more complete distribution channel could be acquired for just a few million dollars, or if a distribution channel could be easily established, there wouldn't be so many production companies willing to endure the high commissions of distribution companies.

Like in the early 1990s, many famous films produced by Carolco Pictures, including "Terminator 2", were distributed by other companies.

Similar examples included Orion Pictures, the producer of "The Silence of the Lambs".

Although he had not formally contacted Embassy Pictures, Ronan was determined to solve the distribution problem.

Moreover, it was also an opportunity to bring back some investment from Abu Dhabi.

After signing the agreement with the investors at the financing meeting, the investment from the Investment Authority side was temporarily not approved.

Ronan accepted Mansour's invitation to attend a small meeting, bringing along suggestions for the script "Arabian Life".

He was still striving for the investment from the Investment Authority, so Mansour formally sought his opinion, which of course had to be taken seriously.

"This script was handed to Mansour by a Frenchman."

Walking along the corridor of the building, Ronan told Robert the information he had inquired from Salih, "The news about the investment in 'Death is Coming' is gradually spreading. It's not just us targeting Abu Dhabi anymore."

Robert looked a bit troubled, "More people are coming over, it's easy to make mistakes."

Ronan nodded gently, "After this time, let's suspend seeking investments from Abu Dhabi for now. We can't wait until there are real problems."

Perhaps once or twice would be fine, even three times would be smooth, but if it happened too many times, it definitely wouldn't always go smoothly. Currently, the information was not equal on both sides, Abu Dhabi didn't understand Hollywood, but they couldn't remain ignorant forever.

Robert had mentioned several times that doing financing was better than making films, but he could control his greed. Now he said, "Right now, it's just one Frenchman. Once he succeeds in raising funds, the British, Italians, and Germans might follow suit."

Ronan agreed deeply and said, "It's time for us to change our target."

Sandsea Entertainment was still in its infancy and needed a large amount of capital. The company had limited liquidity, so they could only find a way to borrow eggs by borrowing chickens.

Furthermore, filmmaking was ultimately a high-risk investment. At the startup stage of the company, using their own money to make movies wasn't wise, was it?

When the company had sufficient funds and strong risk resistance, then self-financing could be one of the many options.

Robert reminded again, "When settling the funds for these two projects, we don't need to come in person anymore, international settlements aren't that troublesome."

Obviously, he was worried that they wouldn't be able to return if there were problems.

After all, this was Abu Dhabi, not Los Angeles.

"Don't worry," Ronan patted his arm. "The situation hasn't collapsed yet."

Robert couldn't help but shake his head and smile. Indeed, it was far from collapsing.

The two arrived near the meeting room door, and a middle-aged man in a suit suddenly walked over from the opposite side.

Ronan glanced at him. This man seemed to be of mixed race, with some Arab facial features.

"Are you Ronan Anderson from Sandsea Entertainment?" the man spoke English with a strange accent.

Ronan could tell that he had a French accent and said, "I am. May I ask..."

Before he could finish, the French-accented English came again, "Didn't you raise $15 million? Why haven't you left yet? Don't be too greedy!"

Ronan was initially confused, then he remembered who this person was.

Perhaps hearing the sound from outside the door, the meeting room door was opened from the inside, and a skinny man walked out, smiling, "Mr. Anderson, Mr. Fandane, you're both here, please come in."