Chapter 65 Making SandSea Run Out of Options

"Minister, the script you provided for 'Ace Agent' is a typical commercial script."

In the meeting room, Fandan glanced at Mansour and Saleh sitting in front, then turned to Hollywood producer Ronan Anderson across from him, the rival he had identified in fundraising competition. "When a film is treated purely as a commodity, it acquires a series of flaws associated with commodities, such as mass production, populism, and shallowness."

He emphasized with a hint of disdain in his French-accented voice, "This is the biggest characteristic of Hollywood films, and it's a well-known flaw!"

Ronan remained composed. Upon entering the meeting room and hearing Mansour ask him and the French director to share their opinions on each other's scripts, Ronan roughly understood why Fandan, the French director, had made those remarks.

Fandan saw Ronan's silence as an opportunity to dominate the meeting, treating it as a battleground.

Ronan shook his head inwardly. This man seemed to have the appearance of an Arab but lacked an understanding of Sheikh Mansour. Considering what Mansour had said when handing him the script, it was highly likely that this prominent figure from the Investment Bureau wanted both scripts to be more refined to ensure excellent results in production.

Although Sheikh Mansour's intentions were good, he was ultimately an outsider to the film industry.

Of course, this was just Ronan's speculation. Who knew what Sheikh Mansour's true intentions were? He needed to assess the situation first.

Seeing Ronan remaining silent, Fandan's confidence grew stronger. "It's easy to see from the 'Ace Agent' script the filmmaking philosophy behind this movie. It relies solely on visuals to attract viewers without requiring them to think deeply about the content. It simplifies real-life issues, completely ignores a country's independent history and culture, and this tendency seriously undermines the value of the film."

Mansour remained calm, seemingly contemplating Fandan's words.

Saleh was somewhat surprised. He had no idea that today's meeting would turn out like this, and he couldn't help but look towards Ronan, finding him sitting calmly, seemingly with no intention of rebutting.

He glanced at his elder brother again but couldn't discern his true thoughts.

Ronan maintained his composure because the Abu Dhabi Investment Bureau was wealthy enough to easily invest in both projects. If the French director only criticized the commercial bias of "Ace Agent," he wouldn't mind; after all, it was a fact.

Fandan swept his gaze around the seven or eight people in the meeting room, finding no one willing to refute him. A sense of confidence, coming from the artistic capital, filled his heart.

"When a film targets a global audience, it must delve into the film's real value! It needs to have a sense of history, philosophical speculation, and humanistic thoughts, encouraging viewers to think!"

His words echoed in the meeting room, sounding reasonable.

Ronan couldn't help but nod slightly. This French director's theoretical level was quite high, and what he said made a lot of sense. Even if Ronan wanted to refute him, he wouldn't know where to start for a moment.

From the perspective of film art, almost everything Fandan said was true.

Refuting from the standpoint of a commodity would undoubtedly leave an impression of vulgarity, philistinism, and mercenariness.

This contradicted the conscientious and high-quality image he had been building for SandSea Entertainment in Abu Dhabi.

Hopefully, this French director would come to his senses and realize that their two projects didn't necessarily conflict.

However, Fandan didn't think so. In his view, with their rich Arab brothers, and Mansour expressing admiration for him, why couldn't the investment come through?

France was the birthplace of cinema and a noble country of film art, but it was entirely suppressed by Hollywood films. Directors like him, making art films, always regarded resisting the invasion of Hollywood films as their duty.

This long-standing confrontational mindset had also seriously affected his judgment.

"Fandan, Director." Mansour, seeing Fandan suddenly stop speaking, said, "Please continue."

Fandan felt greatly encouraged by Mansour's words and continued loudly, "The film 'Ace Agent' lacks any ideological or artistic value. Such a film, with its only goal being commercial profit, may bring monetary returns, but Minister, do we lack money?"

He placed himself in the Arab camp, saying, "I also have Arab blood, and I am also one of the Arab brothers. Therefore, I feel obliged to remind everyone that apart from money, what else can 'Ace Agent' bring to us? Can it bring honor? Can it showcase Arab cultural achievements? Can it realize the artistic value of Arabs? Can it seriously explore the complex problems in life?"

Ronan looked at the French director, his calm gaze gradually becoming sharp.

What did Fandan want to do? Every word he spoke was like a dagger to the heart.

Fandan loudly proclaimed, "No! Apart from money, it cannot bring anything to us Arabs! Such a film has no value to us Arabs!"

Mansour's expression changed slightly, his gaze becoming somewhat gloomy, as if carefully considering Fandan's words.

Robert couldn't help but want to stand up and refute, but Ronan gently pulled him back, reminding him with his eyes to remain calm. Hasty rebuttal at this point wouldn't be beneficial.

Saleh kept glancing towards Ronan's direction. He had never interacted with the French director before and had always leaned towards Ronan's side.

Among the influential people he had encountered in Hollywood, there was no one like Ronan who treated the Arab world fairly.

It was not easy to refute what the French director had said.

Ronan was clear about this. Fandan came prepared, seemingly intending to force SandSea Entertainment into a corner in Abu Dhabi.

Clearly, they could coexist, but Fandan insisted on undermining "Ace Agent" just because he hailed from the artistic capital, Paris, while SandSea Entertainment belonged to Hollywood?

Ronan knew that European directors generally looked down upon Hollywood commercial films and related professionals.

In a way, this situation caught him off guard.

Ronan had been contemplating, where was the counterattack?

Since they didn't want to coexist peacefully, it might be best to force Fandan out. After all, this plan was of significant importance, involving not only the production of "Death Comes," but also his next step of planning the distribution company.

From the perspective of a business company owner, anyone who touched fundamental interests was definitely an enemy.

Fandan once again surveyed the meeting room, feeling that he had gained a certain advantage. He continued, "The benefits brought by commercial films are superficial, all based on money, something we Arabs least lack!"

How many people dared to say that the Abu Dhabi Investment Bureau lacked money? They would definitely be drowned in money.

"As for my project." Fandan rambled on, finally connecting back to his own film, "A film that deeply reflects Arab society and the current reality of Abu Dhabi. Such a film can show the true face of Abu Dhabi to the world, allowing people to truly understand the social and cultural reality of Abu Dhabi."

Mansour nodded slightly, as Arab countries always gave off a sense of mystery. If they wanted to become a globally influential country, they first needed to eliminate this so-called mystery.

Upon hearing the French director's words, Ronan suddenly had a clear idea.

Continuing, Fandan said, "As for the future of this film, I will take it to compete in the Cannes Film Festival's competition section, striving to win an award and garner worldwide attention! At that time, the honor will belong to all Arab brothers!"

The Cannes Film Festival? Ronan suddenly smiled inwardly, his train of thought becoming clear in an instant.

Mansour was quite pleased with Fandan's remarks, nodding gently, thinking of the honor of the three major film festivals...

At this moment, Ronan finally spoke up, saying, "Minister, Mr. Fandan, I have a few questions."

If Mansour were to announce investment in Fandan's project, even if "Ace Agent" might not be completely sidelined, it could still be influenced later.

Furthermore, with Fandan repeatedly reminding Mansour not to invest in "Ace Agent" time and time again, did he really think Ronan was sitting there as a mere spectator?