Chapter 266: UFC

Capet Pictures' 300 continued its box office success, maintaining its strength from the summer blockbuster season, extending the hot streak for Capet Pictures through to the end of the year.

In December, another highly anticipated movie, The Pursuit of Happiness, starring Will Smith, hit the theatres.

During the award season, Capet Pictures premiered some foreign films they had purchased, like the Spanish movie Volver, which was acquired at the Cannes Film Festival.

On Greenwich Street in Manhattan, Charles Capet and independent director Woody Allen discussed cooperation details in a cafe near Capet Pictures.

"Capet Pictures wants to collaborate with you and invest in your romantic drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona. We are perfecting our overseas distribution channels, and making films with local flavor is one of our strategies," Charles remarked, somewhat frustrated about the slow progress in establishing overseas channels after the Venice Film Festival.

Charles wasn't too fond of Woody Allen's recent films, Melinda and Melinda, Match Point, and Scoop, as they did not meet his commercial expectations.

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona is a collaboration with a Spanish film company. If Capet Pictures joins, at least the North American market wouldn't be a problem," Woody Allen explained to Charles.

"Have you already finished your crime thriller Cassandra's Dream this year?" Charles inquired.

Woody Allen nodded, "Yes, it's done. We're now considering a trilogy of love letters to cities, with Vicky Cristina Barcelona as the first!"

"Since it's about Spain, Spanish actress Penelope Cruz should definitely be in it. Do you have other cast ideas?" Charles suggested, knowing Woody Allen's knack for casting attractive actresses.

"For the male lead, I'm considering Javier Bardem. The rest of the female roles still need auditions," Woody Allen, though a renowned independent director, had to tread carefully with the now-influential Charles Capet.

Charles was indeed young, highly capable in moviemaking, and known for having a bit of a temper.

"Javier Bardem is good. He won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor with No Country for Old Men, making him a top Spanish actor," Charles nodded in agreement.

"Prepare well. James Thunan will assist you, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona gets the green light!" Charles gave the go-ahead.

Woody Allen nodded, and after a bit more discussion, they parted ways.

Back at the office, Evelyn Capet smiled, "So, what's the verdict? Did Woody Allen have any other ideas?"

"What could he be up to? Collaborating with me doesn't harm him. Besides, he's an ETA-contracted director and you introduced him. Would he even dare to object?" Charles shook his head. If not for his mother Evelyn mentioning the city love trilogy, he wouldn't have bothered with Woody Allen.

"You have a different status now, and indeed, there's hardly anyone who would refuse you directly," Evelyn nodded slightly, recognizing the importance of interpersonal relationships in Hollywood.

"Woody Allen's films don't cost much, and while they don't rake in huge box office numbers, as long as they have a decent reputation, they won't lose money," Charles had faith in Woody Allen's ability to handle female-centric films, understanding there wasn't a colossal profit to be made.

Woody Allen's artistic films had never been huge commercial hits.

"Vicky Cristina Barcelona's budget is estimated to be around 15 million dollars. With Woody Allen's fame, raising investment isn't hard," Evelyn couldn't help it if Charles looked down on Woody Allen's work since he's fundamentally an arthouse director.

"By the way, is ETA collaborating with TPG Capital from Wall Street?" Charles asked.

"We have been in talks. Why?" Evelyn didn't intend to hide anything from her son.

"What about acquiring iEntertainment? Are you interested?" Charles probed.

"iEntertainment isn't cheap, you know. Its market value is about 2.5 billion dollars. TPG Capital won't support us," Evelyn shook her head.

Charles sighed. ETA had neither merged with another Hollywood talent agency yet nor collaborated with Silver Lake Partners, making the acquisition of iEntertainment difficult.

"Do you know about UFC?" Charles decided to step up his game with his mother, understanding that holding onto just ETA wasn't the solution.

"Mixed Martial Arts tournaments?" Evelyn was indeed aware.

"The Fertitta Brothers and Dana White acquired the nearly bankrupt UFC in 2002 for 2 million dollars, forming the parent company Zuffa, with Dana White acting as president. He's quite capable," Charles provided context.

"Mom, I strongly suggest acquiring UFC. It will pay off greatly in the future!" Charles would never mislead his mother.

UFC's major issue was that most cable TV companies had ceased broadcasting its events. It was a bleak situation with almost all mainstream national sports committees refusing to recognize the legality of mixed martial arts competitions.

To save UFC, Dana White's first move was to reshape the image of mixed martial arts to make it legal.

He understood the necessity of changing UFC's previous "bloody" image in people's minds.

"Are such violent and bloody events worth investing in?" Evelyn queried.

Charles nodded, "Dana White is renegotiating the rules with national sports committees to make the competitions more entertaining. Plus, the fighters can also transition into Hollywood, melding with ETA. Didn't Dwayne Johnson make his shift from UFC to Hollywood?"

Evelyn brushed her long hair, seriously considering her son's suggestion.

"Alright, I'll talk to the Fertitta Brothers. I'll help you acquire it!" Evelyn Capet didn't have the funds to complete the purchase herself at that moment.

Charles chuckled and nodded, "Then we'll set up Capet Sports & Entertainment, under Capet Fund, and you can manage it. According to my estimate, UFC's value shouldn't exceed 30 million dollars now. Dana White and the Fertitta Brothers own 10% and 90% of the shares, respectively. Let's see if we can fully acquire it from the Fertitta Brothers. A few tens of millions in cash should be quite tempting!"

Evelyn nodded, "Okay, I'll head to Las Vegas soon to negotiate the UFC acquisition."

Charles found it amusing, knowing future ETA (Endeavor Group), after merging with iEntertainment, bought UFC for 4 billion dollars!

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