Chapter 94: The Fat Lamb

In the office of Seashore Entertainment, Ronan received a visit from Sameer, representing the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's Los Angeles office.

"Mr. Anderson, I've just been transferred from Abu Dhabi to Los Angeles," the Arab man, impeccably dressed, spoke English as fluently as Saleh: "Minister Mansour sends his regards through me."

Ronan wasn't sure of Sameer's purpose, but his face was all smiles: "Thank you," he politely replied. "Once the film projects in progress are completed, I'll definitely visit Abu Dhabi again to personally thank Minister Mansour."

After exchanging pleasantries, Sameer got down to business: "The Minister is very interested in your two new projects. Are they progressing smoothly?"

Ronan raised his guard internally, but casually replied, "Everything is going smoothly. One of the films will be released in November, and the other is scheduled for early December."

While speaking, Ronan also pondered Sameer's intentions. If the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority wanted to interfere with the film crews' affairs at this time, it could be quite troublesome. This wasn't the stage where large sums of money were circulating between projects, leaving room for financial discrepancies.

Sameer, having arrived in Los Angeles from Abu Dhabi not long ago, bore a special mission entrusted by Mansour. The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority had tried several times to acquire Hollywood companies without success. Most of the mid-sized and large companies had already been acquired, and purchasing smaller companies would be meaningless.

Their last hope rested on Ronan Anderson's Seashore Entertainment, a familiar entity. Currently, it was just a phase of observation and evaluation. According to the senior management of the investment authority, the plan was to wait until Ronan Anderson's company expanded further in scale and stabilized its operations before making a move.

Sameer then inquired, "I heard you recently acquired a distribution company?"

"It's a very small distribution company," Ronan deliberately sighed. "The distribution of 'Human Cleansing Plan' faced numerous setbacks due to the severe limitations imposed by Jewish-controlled major companies. Finding a distributor for 'Ace Agent' was even more challenging. To avoid a situation similar to what happened with 'Human Cleansing Plan,' I decided to establish my own distribution channel."

Sameer praised, "Mr. Anderson has a plan, ideas, and execution capability. Truly a business elite."

After his arrival and understanding of the situation, Sameer recognized the importance of distribution channels in the film industry. If Seashore Entertainment succeeded in distributing films, its value would increase.

Ronan sensed Sameer's recurring focus on film companies. Could Abu Dhabi have its eye on his company? His somewhat heavy tone implied, "In Hollywood, it's not easy for small companies to develop. They might attract suppression from big companies at any time."

Sameer looked at Ronan meaningfully, saying, "Mr. Anderson needs to garner more support from friends."

This statement made Ronan suddenly remember the visit from those representatives of the investment authority during the 'Human Cleansing Plan' issue. He now had a better understanding of Sameer's intentions.

"Of course," Ronan replied in agreement. "Without Abu Dhabi's support, Seashore Entertainment wouldn't be where it is today."

For now, he decided to placate the situation. Several projects were underway, and he didn't want any trouble.

After seeing Sameer off, Ronan returned to his office and sat behind his computer, lost in thought. He realized he might have underestimated Mansour. It seemed that Mansour supported him and Seashore Entertainment for a reason. Could this be a game of fattening up the lamb only to slaughter it later? And Seashore Entertainment was that lamb, perhaps even a backup one.

Ronan speculated that the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's unsuccessful attempts to acquire other companies had led them to focus on Seashore Entertainment. After all, they were more familiar with his company, and he, as the company's owner, had a good relationship with Abu Dhabi, being their "old friend."

However, unless they were willing to buy an empty shell company, selling the company was out of the question.

Ronan weighed the feasibility of such a move. Whatever the case, he wouldn't tie himself to the Arabians.

This incident raised Ronan's awareness once again. Coupled with the recent encounter with the French director, he raised Abu Dhabi's danger level another notch.

Each incident was telling him to temporarily put aside the Abu Dhabi line.

Entering April, Jessica Felton completed the final editing of "Witch Blair."

"Have you finished watching?" Jessica, now rid of the grease in her hair, returned to the editing room and asked Ronan.

"The director's material is limited. Apart from the obvious flaws, almost everything else has been used," she said.

Ronan had just watched it and commented, "It's too long, a hundred minutes."

Jessica, jotting down notes, asked, "What else?"

Ronan played another segment and pointed at the screen, "Add a caption at the beginning saying that the film's footage was retrieved from a lost camera found in a forest, implying to the audience that the story is based on real events."

He coughed lightly and continued, "The initial interview part needs to be further shortened. Cut the third person directly; their acting is too obvious."

"Okay," Jessica nodded. She then asked, "Anything else?"

"Make the pacing slightly tighter. Cut all the hesitations near the end before the final ending near the witch's hut. Also, when the camera falls, remove the middle part and directly cut to another shot of a person facing the wall. In the initial interview section, a villager mentioned that the witch doesn't like her victims staring at her, so she always makes them face the corner."

"Got it, no problem," Jessica affirmed.

Ronan thought for a moment and added, "Use the scarecrow in the tree and the screams at night reasonably. We rely on these to create a horror atmosphere."

"Is that all?" Jessica asked.

"For now, yes. I'll let you know if I think of anything else later."

No matter how it was edited, the film wouldn't become a good movie. Having good shooting techniques doesn't necessarily make a good film. That's why some classic films stood the test of time; it wasn't because they pioneered anything.

If it's not good, it's just not good. If it's not scary, it's just not scary. This has nothing to do with the era it belongs to.

Seeing Jessica sit back at her workstation and lay those two massive tufts of hair on the table out of habit, Ronan lightly tapped the table and said, "Take the afternoon off. Let's go, Jessica. I'll treat you to lunch."

Jessica firmly shook her head, "No thanks. Eating makes me nauseous after watching these scenes shake."

Ronan persisted with his invitation, "Lunch won't take long."