"Come to Earl Pictures to make a movie. If you work hard, my Earl will make you a knight or even a baron, bringing honor to your family!"
Just this one sentence.
Cameron was speechless!
What baron or no baron, he felt it was too far away from him!
But Jazz...
Is there anyone in the entire Commonwealth who doesn't care about the title?
Compared with this kind of thing, the Oscars would seem boring!
After packing his luggage and stuff, Cameron was ready to go!
He is a member of the Commonwealth, it is his honor to go to Britain, and serving His Excellency the Earl is the most sincere thought in his heart!
As for the title, it's just incidental!
He simply wanted to join Lord Allen and make a movie for him!
…
Old Carl patted Cameron on the shoulder and said, "Well, you've met your Excellency. Go pack your bags and take a rest. Your Excellency and I still have something to talk about!"
"Okay, sir, I'll go down first."
Cameron was not unhappy at all when he heard old Carl start to drive away the guests. The atmosphere here was a bit depressing. The earl opposite him seemed young, but he put a lot of pressure on him and he had wanted to slip away a long time ago.
He bowed to Allen again, and when he saw Allen smile and nod, Cameron lowered his head and slowly walked out of the terrace.
…
"Master? Are you satisfied with this candidate?"
As soon as Cameron left, old Carl spoke more casually and asked Allen a question in a way that seemed to be seeking credit.
"How did you find this kind of person?"
Alan was also a little puzzled. Theoretically speaking, someone like Cameron wouldn't come to him like selling himself. He was mainly in Hollywood. Although he was Canadian, in America, wasn't it enough to have money?
Are people nowadays so eager for honor and titles?
…
"Haha, Master, you don't know this, right?!"
Old Carl took a sip of tea and began to tell Alan about Cameron's tragic experience.
From the time he launched his beauty trap, got married and divorced, to his financial problems.
“He can’t raise funds?”
Alan blinked, feeling a little puzzled. How could a director who specialized in making commercial films fail to raise funds?
"It's not that he can't bring it in, but the big film and television companies have their own directors. He has only made a few low-budget movies, and they are all science fiction films. The big companies don't think highly of him!"
Old Carl smiled and continued to answer Alan's questions.
Large film and television companies employ more than one or two regular directors, and their annual funding is limited. If a big money-making director comes along to make science fiction films, how should the funds be divided?
And why do small investors invest in movies?
make money?
Overthinking!
Making money is secondary, money laundering is the primary thing!
Take a look at the financial reports of all the major Hollywood film and television companies. Which one is not losing money?
But they live a pretty comfortable life. Do you really think they are losing out?
…
Cameron's science fiction movies are most suitable for money laundering!
But... the two sides had a dispute here. Cameron has to spend real money to make a science fiction movie. Props and special effects all require real money. The investment amount of his movies is quite real!
Investors can invest the amount they want, but this money cannot be used entirely to make movies. If you use up all the money, wouldn't that be the end of making a serious movie?
Then how do they launder money?
Unless they increase investment, but want to satisfy Cameron, the investment will not just be hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars.
But it’s tens of millions of dollars!
With this much money, who would invest in his movies? They have more covert and mature channels!
so……
Cameron is stuck in this awkward position, neither high nor low.
The rich look down on him, and those who look up to him are not rich enough.
It's that simple.
In this situation, suddenly a nobleman appeared like a god descending from heaven, who could give him funds to make a movie and also give him a title. How could he not be tempted?
cannot!
…
"Oh... Americans are so unpresentable..."
After listening to old Carl's explanation, Allen had a little understanding of Cameron's current situation. This was also a coincidence, very good!
Hiring this person to be a director in the company can save him a lot of time and energy, and besides, this person can stand the test!
"You and Patrice did a great job!"
"Ha ha!"
Old Carl laughed happily at Allen's exaggeration.
The purpose of his remaining life is to help the young master. Now that he is eating and drinking well in America, wouldn't he be letting the young master down if he fails to do one thing?
…
Inside the villa three days later.
In the meeting room...
Christmas is approaching, and there is no snow in the southern hemisphere, so the atmosphere is missing.
Tanaka Kubo looked at the few unfamiliar newcomers in the conference room and didn't pay much attention.
Wait until Alan, who arrived late, walked into the conference room accompanied by old Carl.
Everyone in the meeting room who arrived early quickly stood up and bowed their heads.
"Haha... Today's meeting is not too formal. It's just a meeting between shareholders. Don't be too nervous."
"Tanaka Kubo! Let me introduce you, this is my new director - Cameron!"
When Cameron heard his name being called, he nodded towards the short Asian man. From the name, he sounded like he was from Japan?
"Cameron, this is our partner, the representative from Sony, Mr. Kubo Tanaka."
Sure enough, they are Japanese. Cameron doesn’t know why there are Japanese involved in the Earl’s business, but he roughly guessed that it might be because they are rich!
…
Alan sat in the main seat, and the servant put a map stand behind him. On the world map, many places were pinned with small red pushpins.
Tanaka Kubo looked at the map and found that most of the areas with pushpins should be Commonwealth countries.
"This is a map of the divisions of our group's existing film and television subsidiaries. With you as our new partner this year, the group plans to expand its scale, increase staff, and broaden its channels next year."
Alan briefly talked about his plan.
Each of these subsidiaries actually exists, but has a small number of employees and can only maintain basic functions.
Now that Sony has acquired a stake, it will just go with the flow.
But development costs money!
Buying equipment, renting venues, adding staff, all of these cost money!
There are quite a lot of subsidiaries under Earl Pictures, and Allen is not willing to pay for the money himself.
so……
This is when his ATM comes in handy!
Sony, you can't make movies, and you can't distribute them. You're a useless bunch who can't do anything. It's not too much to ask you to pay some money, right?
…
Tanaka Kubo nodded. According to Mr. Allen, the company needed to be bigger and stronger, and they couldn't just buy shares and leave it there without caring about it.
Since Mr. Allen is in charge of the overall situation, it is reasonable for Sony to be responsible for paying the money.
Never mind whether what this person said is right or not, this is all what Sony had anticipated a long time ago, and this time, he is not here just to pay. Won't Mr. Allen introduce him to the Governor in a few days?
This is the main purpose of Sony's investment in this gentleman!
Not only can they make movies and increase their influence, but they can also build connections.
If other companies want to meet a governor, especially a governor who governs a region as large as Australia, can they meet him just because they want to?
…
"Next year, first of all, we will expand the scale of the company, and secondly... it will also be the first time since we started working together that we will produce a new movie together!"
It’s called a co-production, but Sony is only responsible for paying the money!
Allen is responsible for taking Sony's money, making movies for fun, and then depending on the situation, he can give them some soup and meat...
Don’t think about it!
All the meat belongs to Master Allen.
…
"Here's my plan. Next year, I'm going to make a new movie, and Cameron, you should also make one. Our company will focus on these two movies next year, and the budget..."
Alan stretched out his left hand, made an OK sign and said, "Three hundred million pounds! I want a big production!"
Cameron swallowed his saliva. He had never made a big-budget movie with a budget of hundreds of millions, let alone hundreds of millions of pounds.
I have never fought such a rich battle!
Three hundred million pounds for two movies. Even if you only give him one hundred million pounds, it will be enough for him to make a living!
…
It's not surprising that Tanaka Kubo saw Alan talking about the size of the company and then instantly moved on to the topic of making a movie. This gentleman does not get involved in the small, specific matters of the company!
Just like the last time when they bought shares, when both parties were negotiating the price, Mr. Alan didn't care at all the time.
Now the company is just saying that it wants to expand its scale. As for how much more money Sony will need to spend to expand its scale?
That will of course be discussed with the people below, and the rest is what this gentleman is good at, which is making movies. He will tell you directly how much money is needed.
Tanaka Kubo carefully recorded Alan's words in his notebook.
There is no need to negotiate on this amount of money. Sony will give him whatever amount he wants!
Now that you have boarded the big ship of Earl Pictures, you must abide by the rules of the ship!
…
Seeing that they had almost finished talking, Allen stood up and motioned to Cameron, "Come on, talk to me. You can discuss the remaining funds needed for the company's expansion."
Tanaka Kubo quickly stood up and said, "Sir, please take care..."
"Um!"
…
Walking in the garden, Alan waved his hand, and a large white bird glided silently in front of him like a glider, fluttered its wings a few times, and stood at Alan's feet.
This scared Cameron, who was following behind Allen.
This thing flies silently, unlike other birds, which at least make the sound of flapping wings. When it arrives in front of me, I feel a white shadow coming towards me.
It’s okay during the day, but if it happened at night, it would scare people to death!
"Uh hehe... Your Excellency, what are you doing...?"
"Oh, this is my little pet, Xiao Huang! Do you know him?"
"I know them! There are a lot of these snowy owls in Canada!"
"Hahaha, any new plans for next year's new movie?"
Alan was walking and talking when he suddenly stopped. Xiao Huang, who had been following him, waited for a long time and stopped when he saw that Alan was not moving.
This thing's neck is very strange. It can twist 180 degrees from the front to the back. It looks very scary!
Xiao Huang did this. When he saw that Alan was not leaving, he turned his head curiously and looked at Alan.
"Ha ha!"
Alan kicked Xiao Huang lightly with his foot and said, "Go play by yourself!"
“Coo-coo!”
Xiao Huang cried out, jumped twice, flapped his wings, exerted a little force on his body, and flew away.
…
Cameron looked at this bird, which seemed quite smart, and was very envious. However, the Snowy Owl was a protected animal, so he didn't dare to raise one, especially in a place like America, where animal protection organizations would always come out to seek attention.
"Sir... since you have seen The Terminator, then we will film The Terminator next year?"
"Oh? Didn't you say the special effects weren't good enough?"
Allen had always wanted to make a science fiction movie, as he felt that this was something that would look cool.
But the special effects are really lame, most of the special effects nowadays are still physical effects!
As for computer special effects, it’s not that there aren’t special effects produced by current computer equipment, but they’re too fake and expensive!
Just like the special effects of web games many years later, there are light beams all over the ground, which means "brothers, come and cut me." This is a brand new version that I have never played. Such special effects are considered super high-end special effects nowadays!
…
"If we have the funds, it's not impossible, it's just that it will be a little more than the budget..."
Cameron explained carefully.
"oh?"
Allen was just asking casually, but when he found out that Cameron really had a plan, he became interested and asked, "Tell me more about it, the budget and the process!"
"Your Excellency, this is the case... In the second half of The Terminator, I plan to use CG special effects and make a few CG animations to be inserted into the movie."
Cameron gestured with his hands and told Allen his idea.
…
As Alan listened, he suddenly realized that this was the Terminator movie that left the deepest impression on him.
There was a clip of the advanced robot made of liquid metal and wearing a police uniform walking through the cell.
The whole person crashed into the iron fence. There was a close-up of his face, which was cut like metal, and then returned to its original state after passing through the iron fence.
What a classic shot!
So it was made with CG?
"CG? Can current technology achieve that?"
Recalling the scenes in the movie, Alan doubted whether current computer special effects could produce such an effect.
He has adapted to the era he lives in. Some technologies have not yet developed. As for computers, Alan has never played with them. Although there are personal computers now, those computers are almost equivalent to electronic garbage in Alan's opinion.
…
"Of course, sir! As long as the funds are in place, it will be no problem to make it, but it will take a lot of time."
Cameron somewhat embarrassedly repeatedly emphasized the funding.
"No problem! You are responsible for the technical matters. Can you win over the people in charge of special effects? Let's acquire their company and keep it for our own use? Funding is no problem!"
Allen thinks more deeply. Whereas Cameron only considers the production of special effects, what he wants is to catch all those who do special effects and make them his own!
Although it will cost some money in the early stage, as long as you acquire them, you will save money in the future!
"ah?"
Cameron was stunned by what Allen said, and then his heart started pounding.
It's because I have a narrow mindset!
I just wanted to make a movie, but when it came to Mr. Allen, he thought about acquisition!
In this way, making a movie can not only train the team, but also make it easier to produce special effects in the future.