Chapter 79: Universal Blockbusters

Van Helsing was an ambitious production by Universal Pictures, with a total production cost reaching up to 160 million dollars.

The cast wasn't very expensive either. Hugh Jackman had garnered some fame from X-Men, but he wasn't a top-tier superstar, capping his salary at ten million dollars.

As for Kate Beckinsale, she had just gained some attention from Underworld, with a salary ranging between five to six million dollars.

A large amount of the budget was spent on special effects, sets, and action sequences. Building sets in Eastern Europe, among other things, definitely required money.

Stacey Snider, although not the top head, served as the president of Universal Pictures, second only to the chairman Ronald Meyer.

Ronald Meyer also was the COO of Universal Pictures, overseeing Universal Studios and consumer markets.

Stacey Snider wielded significant power in production and distribution at Universal Pictures, with Donna Langley and Adam Fogelson reporting directly to her.

Universal Pictures had faced a sluggish market in recent years, and with General Electric acquiring Universal Pictures, there was bound to be some shakeup at the top. Stacey Snider, not performing up to par, seemed the most likely candidate for this.

Movies were the engine driving the entertainment media group, capable of propelling a range of industries. Although films didn't constitute a significant portion in terms of profit, they were highly important.

"Mr & Mrs. Smith had a massive investment and a summer release was very appropriate. Wedding Crashers also had potential for a summer release since Universal had some open slots. I had a lot of confidence in this movie."

Charles glanced at Stacey Snider, the president of Universal Pictures sitting beside him, and whispered a reminder.

Stacey Snider smiled slightly and nodded, "I will arrange it well! I hope you will continue to surprise me."

"Surprises need someone who appreciates them!" Charles flattered her, and both of them laughed.

"Is Carpe Films setting up its own distribution channels?"

Stacey Snider's casual comment caught Charles off guard, making him wary.

Charles nodded and said, "Yes, I'm planning to distribute some low-budget indie films in North America. One should always have some dreams."

Stacey Snider laughed, "Don't worry too much about it. Independent distribution companies have always been Hollywood's market balancers, but most art films lose money commercially, causing many indie distributors to go bankrupt.

If you can truly develop Carpe Films, then you might be the next Harvey Weinstein!"

Charles smiled silently. The next Harvey Weinstein?

Did he just want to play around with actresses in the film industry? The capital behind Harvey Weinstein could abandon him at any time.

When it came to Hollywood moguls, Charles only counted two: Rupert Murdoch, chairman of News Corporation, and Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom.

With net worths of tens of billions of dollars, holding media empires, they were at the pinnacle of the entertainment industry in Hollywood and beyond.

Soon, the lights in the theater dimmed, and the screen lit up. The movie was about to start.

Charles could understand Stacey Snider's feelings. After all, Universal Pictures hadn't produced any remarkable works in the past few years.

The Bourne Identity had a sequel releasing this year, a decent action spy movie. Last year's release of 2 Fast 2 Furious by Universal was somewhat successful.

However, Vin Diesel, who played the popular character Dominic Toretto, was dissatisfied with the script and did not join the project, which was a significant blow.

Many other successful Universal films were co-produced with DreamWorks, where DreamWorks handled the production and North American distribution.

Charles knew Universal was developing a third Fast & Furious movie, but it flopped. It wasn't until the reboot with the fourth movie that the Fast & Furious series became unstoppable.

Carpe Films wanted to take over this franchise IP at that time, but who knew if it was possible?

"Universal's film library is indeed impressive, with so many monster and dark characters in its vault," Charles remarked enviously while watching the movie on the screen.

"Universal is one of Hollywood's oldest film companies, founded in 1912, the same year as Paramount. Although it has changed hands many times, its strong film library has always been Universal's most important asset!"

Charles chuckled; Universal became one of the major studios mainly because of Spielberg's films. Without Spielberg, Universal's usual horror and comedy small productions couldn't have turned it into the behemoth it was.

The 131-minute Van Helsing left Charles feeling that the plot was unclear and the story was weak, both being significant shortcomings.

Classic monsters revived, and the special effects were stunning, but they failed to clarify even the story's background.

As for the North American release on Friday night, Charles watched with a detached attitude since Universal was planning a massive global release from the start.

With a production cost of hundreds of millions of dollars, plus at least sixty to seventy million dollars in marketing expenses, it was quite hard for Universal to recoup the costs.

After the premiere's promotional event, it was already 10:30 PM by the time Charles and Kate Beckinsale left together.

They walked along Highland Avenue to the Hilton Garden Inn Hollywood. After staying here with Camille last time, Charles found himself back again.

As soon as they entered the top floor suite, Kate Beckinsale took off her high heels and hugged Charles, saying, "After a few days' rest, I have to go to many places for promotion!"

Wearing a backless white dress, with wavy hair, and a classic beauty aura, she was indeed quite a looker.

"I had someone prepare dinner, so we can have a good meal," Charles laughed, not wanting to dampen Kate Beckinsale's enthusiasm.

Charles remembered that Van Helsing had grossed just around three hundred million dollars worldwide, with North American earnings of around a hundred million dollars.

"Thank you, you're so thoughtful!" Kate said and then took the initiative to kiss Charles.

"Okay, the food will be here soon. Let's enjoy our candlelight dinner first," Charles stopped Kate's further actions, reminding her.

Kate laughed, "Are you afraid I won't have enough energy? I trained for months for the action scenes."

Charles wagged his finger in front of Kate Beckinsale and laughed, "I want you to eat so you'll have energy to handle me! You know, a young guy like me is always full of energy."

Kate Beckinsale bit her lip and then licked it with her tongue, implying, "You just wait."

Then, she took out a pack of cigarettes from her bag, pulled one out, and lit it up.

*****

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