America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 126 First Encounter

The following morning, a black Cadillac drove into the parking lot outside Warner Bros. Studios.

Harvey Weinstein, sitting in the back seat, said, "I was in the middle of a divorce, went on vacation with Joanna, and when I came back, the directors I'd worked with launched new projects, and nobody reported it to me."

"Bob doesn't want to be bothered," Stewart said, standing nearby.

Hearing his younger brother's name, Harvey's expression softened somewhat, and he said, "I'll go talk to Craven."

Stuart said, "Shall I come with you?"

Harvey waved his hand: "No need, I'll go alone. You and Wes have been friends for years, don't let this little thing cause a conflict."

Stuart is simply stating his position.

Harvey got out of the car, glanced at Warner Bros. Studios, and frowned.

Since the release of "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" last year, he and Warner Bros. have been embroiled in a legal battle over copyright and revenue, and Wes Craven has surprisingly chosen this location as the film crew's office.

Harvey couldn't help but wonder if he had exploited Craven too much in the Scream trilogy.

But the series was a huge success, and if he were to start over, he would squeeze even more out of the series.

…………

As agreed yesterday, the studio will formally sign an investment agreement with Vincent and Sofia.

Early in the morning, Martin took Menne and Bruce to the hotel to pick them up.

Upon arriving at the hotel entrance, Bruce said to Martin, "You stay with them, I'll drive behind to cover you."

Martin patted Old Brooks on the shoulder: "Brother, she's not interested in civilized people anymore."

Bruce glanced at Mene, whose face was full of curiosity, and warned Martin, "If you say another word, the shit in your head will definitely fall to the ground."

Menezes asked in surprise, "What? What are you talking about? Why don't I understand?"

Bruce turned to face Menez and lifted his coat.

Menez, being quite sensible, quickly covered his mouth.

Bruce returned to the Volkswagen, intending to follow at a distance, just like yesterday.

Martin and Mene entered the hotel lobby and waited for about five minutes before Vincent and Sophia came downstairs, followed by Scott, their purse-carrying assistant.

After getting into the van, Menez drove to Warner Bros. Studios.

Sofia, remembering the handsome old man who had suddenly disappeared yesterday, asked, "Martin, I wanted to invite Director Craven to dinner last night, but he suddenly disappeared."

Martin casually remarked, "The film has started pre-production, and director Craven is extremely busy." He subtly hinted, "The burden of the production's multi-million dollar investment rests entirely on director Craven's shoulders. If he can't handle it, the project and the investment will collapse."

Sophia understood what she meant, glanced at Martin, and smiled slightly at her fleshy face: "Let's talk about it later."

Martin felt uneasy under Sofia's gaze and kept shrinking deeper into his seat.

This seems to be the real hyena doctor.

Fortunately, Warner Bros. Studios arrived quickly, and as the group entered the studio, Sofia's attention was immediately drawn to the unexpected situation.

Martin led Vincent, Sophia, and the others inside. They were still some distance from the semi-open conference room when they saw a fat man through a transparent glass wall.

The fat man was speaking to Craven, his voice loud and somewhat forceful: "Wes, if I hadn't gotten the information, were you planning to keep this project from me forever? Aren't we still the best partners?"

Craven glanced at Weinstein, somewhat helplessly: "Harvey, this is a project that came up on a whim. You've been busy with personal matters lately, facing so many troubles, I didn't want to bother you too much. Luckily, someone is willing to invest."

Harvey said, "Louise Mayer's Pacific Pictures? A company that can only put together productions and has no production or distribution capabilities?"

His chubby face was all smiles: "Just like the Scream series, Dimension Films will invest in, produce, and distribute it. Leave all the troublesome stuff to me, and you can focus on making the movie."

He was indeed at ease, at least to the point that the other party took the vast majority of the profits, but Craven didn't want to fall out with Weinstein, so he could only reply: "The studio has already been established, and withdrawing would be very troublesome."

Harvey waved his hand dismissively: "I'll handle the sunk costs. Louise Mayer will know what's good for her..."

Not far away, Martin stopped walking early, and Vincent and Sofia stopped as well.

Vincent adjusted his cowboy hat: "What does this guy mean?"

Martin understood clearly that if the project changed investors, it would trigger a series of chain reactions, and the main actors might even be gone.

He had no connection with Harvey Weinstein.

Not wanting to attract Harvey's attention, Martin stepped back slightly while Harvey's back was turned, using Vincent's cowboy hat to cover his face, and said, "You heard that, people who are scrambling for projects and investments."

He made no attempt to hide anything: "That man's name is Harvey Weinstein."

Sofia had heard: "The man behind Gwyneth Paltrow?"

Martin nodded. "That's true. He's worked with Craven on several films. He's assertive and troublesome." He glanced at Sophia, thinking of her equally assertive personality, and said directly, "I'm in this industry. I can't do anything about him, and it might even make things worse."

Sofia shrewdly replied, "I'm not from Hollywood."

Martin's mind raced. He whispered, "We've done so much, we can't give up now. We need to find a way to take him down! I don't have the ability, but Sophia, you can."

Louise couldn't handle Harvey either, but Sophia was different.

Sofia beckoned to Scott: "Come with me."

Martin pointed to the office next door: "Let's go in and wait a bit."

Several people entered the office.

Martin's idea was simple: don't show up in front of Harvey Weinstein at this time.

Sofia doesn't work in Hollywood; her base isn't in New York or Los Angeles, and she does things simply and directly.

"Sophia probably won't pull out a gun and kill that fat guy, will she?" Martin wondered to himself.

Harvey was "advising" Craven when he suddenly noticed someone approaching. He turned around and saw that the newcomer was bigger than Tyson and Johnson, with bulging muscles all over his body, as if they were inflated.

"Who are you?" he asked.

Sophia didn't hear her and reached her hand behind her back: "Give it to me."

Scott, the purse carrier, opened his briefcase, took out a pink water bottle, and handed it to Sophia.

A kettle! Another kettle!

Sofia was strong-willed but not stupid. She gripped the egg-shaped base of the kettle with one hand, while the veins on her other hand bulged as she continuously stroked the kettle from top to bottom.

Her face, bulging with fat, trembled as she laughed: "Idiot, trying to steal my investment? Either get lost, or I'll shove it down your ass!"

Harvey, seeing her unfamiliar face, asked, "Where are you from? Don't you recognize me?"

Sofia approached Harvey step by step, her sharp eyes fixed on Harvey's large buttocks. She poked the kettle out, pulled it back, then poked it out again...

Harvey instinctively clenched his buttocks, feeling as if the person in front of him wasn't a human, but a female hyena.

He caught a glimpse of Scott out of the corner of his eye, and his peculiar pigeon-toed gait gave him very bad ideas.

Since founding Miramax, Harvey has always been a tyrant and has never been the one to be tyranted.

This time, he truly felt the danger of being exposed.

If we don't leave, we'll really lose our jobs.

Why would a big shot like Harvey suffer such a loss? He quickly bypassed Sofia and said, "Wess, let's talk another day."

He shot away like a ball of lightning.

Craven glanced at the pink water bottle in Sophia's hand and asked, "Is this the water bottle Martin made?"

Sophia tossed it to Craven: "Here, it's yours. This stuff is very popular."

Craven took it, carefully examining the exaggerated design: "You were joking, weren't you?"

"Of course not! If he doesn't leave, I'll definitely shove this thing down his ass!" Sofia was perfectly clear-headed. "You'll vouch for me; he asked me to do it, right?"

Those who pay are always right. Craven didn't give a direct answer, but took it as an admission, offering a reminder: "Be careful of him, he's a big shot in Hollywood."

Sofia said, "I'm not in Hollywood. If you piss me off, I'll call my men and shoot him."

Craven's mind clicked: "That's true, you're from Atlanta, he's a Yankee, and you're not in the entertainment industry."

The studio is in talks with Warner Bros. as the distributor, and Craven isn't worried about distribution.

Martin and Vincent came in from outside and couldn't help but laugh when they saw Craven holding a pink water bottle.

Craven quickly put it on the table, glancing at Sophia: "This is hers, it has nothing to do with me."

Sofia generously replied, "Here you go, it's very useful."

Scott suddenly turned his head, swayed his hips, and grinned at Craven.

His smile was both sly and lewd.

Craven suddenly realized a possibility: he had touched it with his hand again. He quickly hid his hand behind his back and rubbed it vigorously on his pants.

Martin, not wanting any more surprises, said, "Boss, Wes, let's get to the signing."

Vincent chimed in, "After the contract was signed, the production team sent people to Mexico, and the funding went directly there."

"Make sure the tax bills are ready, and not a penny of tax is missed." Wes Craven completely led this project: "I had people prepare the contract."

He added, "Wait a moment, I need to use the restroom."

Once inside the restroom, Craven went to the sink, applied hand sanitizer and disinfectant, and washed his hands repeatedly.

Until their hands were rubbed until they were bright red.

Inside the meeting room, Martin glanced at the kettle and asked Sophia, "Did you bring this?"

Sofia said, "Yes, I brought it."

Scott's smile vanished without a trace.

Martin quickly stopped him: "Let's not talk about that, let's get down to business."

Subsequently, Wes Craven and his studio representatives officially signed a contract, making him the largest investor in the "The Hills Have Eyes" project, with a total production investment of $1200 million and priority rights to publicity investment.

The production team immediately began a large-scale recruitment drive, prioritizing those who had worked with Wes Craven and Alexander Aja for behind-the-scenes staff.

Martin, as an actor, was not involved in the production preparations. After receiving the complete script, he began to study the character and prepare for filming.

Especially the action scenes.

(End of this chapter)