Chapter 418

On Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles, a grand premiere took place at the Egyptian Theatre. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Russell Crowe and Leonardo DiCaprio, the crime action film Body of Lies officially premiered.

After directing The Departed and American Gangster consecutively, Ridley Scott's new action film Body of Lies attracted a lot of attention!

However, the leading actress of Body of Lies, Iranian actress Golshifteh Farahani, was banned from leaving the country and couldn't attend the promotional events for the film.

Golshifteh Farahani was stopped by officials at Tehran's Khomeini Airport while she was preparing to board a flight abroad. She was informed that she had been placed on a list of people prohibited from leaving the country. Iranian officials discovered she wasn't wearing a veil or headscarf in the film's trailer.

The Iranian government had previously issued regulations that required actors to obtain permission before accepting overseas performance tasks.

Not far from the Egyptian Theatre, in a private club, Charles had just finished meeting with George Lucas. He had tactfully suggested that Capet Pictures was interested in acquiring Lucasfilm.

However, George Lucas didn't seem inclined to sell Lucasfilm at that time, stating he wouldn't consider selling until he decided to retire.

"How did it go? He's not interested, right?" Evelyn asked as she entered the room where Charles was after George Lucas had left.

Charles shook his head. "The old man probably is still ecstatic over the huge box office success of the recent Indiana Jones 4."

"You know, Indiana Jones 4 grossed nearly 320 millions in North America and 800 million globally!" Evelyn nodded, looking at her son's calm face, and smiled.

"Lucasfilm owns Star Wars and Indiana Jones. And Industrial Light & Magic, the visual effects company. The post-production sound editing and dubbing company, Skywalker Sound. And Lucas Arts, which develops animation and game technology. Lucasfilm still has a lot of valuable assets!" Evelyn concluded.

Charles nodded and asked, "So, why did you come over tonight?"

"Ridley Scott's new film Body of Lies is having its premiere at the Egyptian Theatre. I just discussed Ridley Scott's next war epic, Robin Hood, with Universal," Evelyn replied, mentioning that Ridley Scott was a director associated with her company.

"Robin Hood? I know. Another one starring Russell Crowe. Ridley Scott sure likes casting him. Gladiator, American Gangster, A Good Year, this Body of Lies, and now Robin Hood," Charles said, with a bit of a sneer.

"Gladiator was very successful. American Gangster did alright after changing leads to Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. That romance film A Good Year was critically panned though."

"I've seen Body of Lies. It's pretty unremarkable. And about Robin Hood, hasn't he learned from the failure of Kingdom of Heaven?" Charles added.

Evelyn widened her eyes, surprised at her son's critique. "By your standards, the most successful thing Ridley Scott has done in recent years is The Departed!"

"Our Capet TV's big production, Game of Thrones, adapted from the novel, has Ridley Scott as director. After Robin Hood, he won't have time for other films," Charles said, not too concerned about movies from other companies, focusing instead on making their own company's films well.

"Whatever, let's wait and see how Body of Lies performs. Russell Crowe isn't an artist with our company. I don't want to use him," Evelyn added, expressing her preference for using her company's actors.

Charles stroked his chin. "Leonardo DiCaprio, the lead in Body of Lies, seems to have another love story, Revolutionary Road, coming out by the end of the year, right?"

Evelyn nodded. "Yeah, it's co-starred with Kate Winslet."

"That guy, Christopher Nolan from Warner Bros. seems to have a new script, Inception, inviting him to star. And Paramount's new film Shutter Island has confirmed the Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio duo. I wonder when he'll get around to developing our company's The Wolf of Wall Street!"

Leonardo DiCaprio was already having someone adapt the script for The Wolf of Wall Street, but he was indeed very busy.

"Oh, I see," Evelyn smiled. "I better get going. What about you?"

Charles shook his head. "Waiting for a friend!"

Evelyn didn't ask further and left the club.

Shortly after Evelyn left, Anne Hathaway drove over and picked up Charles.

Anne Hathaway had starred in a family drama, Rachel Getting Married, currently in limited release, with good reviews from critics.

Returning to Anne Hathaway's mansion in Long Beach, she couldn't wait and climbed on top of Charles in the garage, not even getting out of the car.

"Mmm," Charles responded to her passionate kiss. Facing the excited Anne Hathaway, he said, "You really can't wait, huh?"

Anne Hathaway licked her lips, took off her top, and then removed her bra, tossing it aside.

"I'm a bit excited. Rachel Getting Married received a lot of praise at the Venice, Toronto, and Rio de Janeiro film festivals. My performance deserves an Oscar nomination for Best Actress!"

Charles smiled, moved his hand across her cheek, then stopped at her chest. "Honey, your summer comedy, Get Smart, also did pretty well."

"Not bad, right? North America's box office hit a hundred and thirty million dollars, and overseas made another hundred million, globally just about two hundred and thirty million dollars," Anne Hathaway said, unable to hide her smile despite her indifferent expression.

"That's good. Get Smart is a full-on commercial film," Charles replied, turning her over onto the reclined seat.

"Rachel Getting Married and that movie Passengers are both drama films, aiming for awards. Balancing commercial and artistic is not bad at all!"

"Charles, let me be on top," Anne Hathaway requested before he could make a move.

"Uh, alright," Charles agreed and switched positions with Anne Hathaway.

After, Anne Hathaway, who played by her own rules, surprised Charles with her moves.

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.