Chapter 126: Chapter 126: First Confrontation
The next NovelFireorning, at the entrance to the Warner Bros. Studios, a black Cadillac pulled into the parking lot.
From the back seat, Harvey Weinstein said, "I fought a divorce case, went on a vacation with Joanna, and when I come back, a director I once collaborated with has launched a new project, and no one has reported it to me."
Stuart, sitting beside him, said, "Bob didn't want anyone to disturb you."
Hearing his younger brother's name made Harvey's expression soften a bit as he said, "I'll go talk to Craven."
Stuart asked, "Do you want me to come with you?"
Harvey waved his hand, "No need, I'll go alone. You've been friends with Wes for many years, no need to start a conflict over such a trivial matter."
Stuart was just stating his position.
Harvey got out of the car and glanced at Warner Bros. Studios, his brow furrowed.
Ever since the release of "The Lord of the Rings 3" the previous year, he had been embroiled in a legal battle with Warner Bros. over rights and profits, and now Craven had chosen this place as the production office.
Harvey couldn't help but ponder if he might have squeezed Craven's benefits too much in the "Scream" trilogy.
But with the series' great success, if he had to do it all over again, he would squeeze even harder.
......
In accordance with yesterday's agreement, the studio was set to officially sign the investment contract with Vincent and Sophia.
Early in the morning, Martin went to the hotel with Mene and Bruce to pick up their guests.
At the hotel entrance, Bruce said to Martin, "You stay with them, I'll drive behind you for cover."
Martin patted Old Cloth on the shoulder, "Brother, she's no longer interested in civilized men."
Bruce glanced at a curious-looking Mene and warned Martin, "Say one more word and the shit in your head will definitely hit the ground."
Mene, puzzled, asked, "What? What are you guys talking about? Why can't I understand?"
Bruce turned around to face Mene and opened his coat.
Mene, knowing better, quickly covered her mouth.
Bruce got back into the Volkswagen, planning to follow from a distance like the day before.
Martin and Mene entered the hotel lobby, and after about five minutes, Vincent and Sophia came down from upstairs, followed by the bag-carrying junior, Scott.
Once they were in the van, Mene drove towards Warner Bros. Studios.
Sophia, remembering the handsome older man who disappeared suddenly yesterday, asked, "Martin, I wanted to invite Director Craven to dinner last night, but he just disappeared all of a sudden."
Martin responded with a platitude, "The film project is starting up, Director Craven is very busy." He subtly reminded her, "The project has tens of millions of US dollars in investment, all resting on Director Craven's shoulders. If he can't handle it, the project and investment will collapse."
Sophia understood the implication, glanced at Martin with her face full of flesh and slightly smiled, "Let's talk about it later."
Martin felt uncomfortable under Sophia's gaze, his butt continually shrank back into the seat.
This must be the real Hyena Doctor.
Fortunately, they soon arrived at Warner Bros. Studios, and the group proceeded into the studio, where Sophia's attention was immediately captured by an unexpected situation.
Martin, leading Vincent and Sophia forward, was still a distance away from the semi-open conference room. Through the transparent glass walls, they saw a fat man.
The fat man was talking to Craven, his voice rather loud and somewhat domineering, "Wes, if I hadn't gotten the news, were you planning to never tell me about this project? Are we no longer the best partners?"
Craven looked at Weinstein, his expression somewhat helpless, "Harvey, this is just an impromptu project, and recently, you've been busy with personal matters, facing lots of troubles, so I didn't want to bother you excessively. Luckily, someone was willing to invest."
Harvey said, "Louise Mel's Pacific Pictures? A company that can only assemble, without the capability to produce or distribute?"
His chubby face was all smiles, "Just like with the 'Scream' series, Dimon Films will invest, produce, and distribute. Leave all the troublesome matters to me, and you just focus on making the movie."
Indeed, peaceful enough to let the other party take away most of the profits, but Craven didn't want to fallout with Weinstein, so he could only manage, "The studio is already established, and pulling out would be very troublesome."
Harvey gestured broadly, "I'll handle the sunk costs, Louise Mel will understand..."
Not far away, Martin had already stopped in his tracks, causing Vincent and Sophia to halt as well.
Vincent lifted his cowboy hat slightly, "What does this guy mean?"
Martin heard it clearly, a change of investor for the project would trigger a chain reaction, and they might even lose the leading role.
He had no relationship with Harvey Weinstein.
Martin didn't want to draw Harvey's attention. While Harvey was turned away, he stepped back slightly and used Vincent's cowboy hat to hide his face, saying, "You heard it, a guy trying to steal the project and the investment."
He didn't hide a thing, "That man is Harvey Weinstein."
Sophia had heard of him, "The man behind Gwyneth Paltrow?"
Martin nodded, "That's not wrong. He has collaborated with Craven on multiple films, has a forceful character and style, very troublesome." He looked at Sophia, considering her equally forceful nature, and said outright, "I'm from this circle; I can't do anything about him, and even attempting to could make things worse."
Sophia was quick on the uptake, "I'm not from Hollywood."
Martin's brain raced as he whispered, "We've done so much, we can't give up now. We must find a way to take him down! I don't have the power, but you, Sophia, you can."
Louise couldn't handle Harvey, but Sophia was different.
Sophia beckoned to Scott, "Come with me."
Martin pointed to an office nearby, "Let's wait inside."
A few people entered the office.
Martin's thought was simple, it was not the time to show up in front of Harvey Weinstein.
Sophia wasn't involved with Hollywood, her base was neither in New York nor Los Angeles, and she dealt with matters in a straightforward manner.
"Sophia wouldn't really shoot that fatso dead, would she?" Martin wondered with a hint of concern.
Harvey was "persuading" Craven when he suddenly noticed someone approaching. He turned his head and saw a figure larger than Tyson and Johnson, with bulging muscles all over that looked inflated.
"Who are you?" he asked.
Sophia acted as if she hadn't heard, stretching out her hand behind her, "Give it to me."
Scott, the bag-carrier, opened the leather bag and pulled out a pink kettle, handing it to Sophia.
Not the kettle again!
Sophia was strong-willed but not foolish, she gripped the egg-shaped base of the kettle in one hand, her other hand's veins popping as she kept rubbing the kettle up and down.
Her face shaking with folds of fat as she laughed, "Imbecile, thinking of stealing my investment, either get lost or I'll shove this up your ass!"
Harvey, seeing her unfamiliar face, said, "Where did you come from? Don't you know me?"
Sophia advanced toward Harvey step by step, her sharp gaze fixed on Harvey's large buttocks, prodding with the kettle then retracting it, then prodding again...
Harvey instinctively clenched his buttocks, feeling as if he was not facing a person but a female hyena.
The corner of his eye caught Scott's peculiar bow-legged stance, which made him very uneasy.
Since establishing Mila Max, Harvey had always been the aggressor, never the one aggressed upon.
This time, he truly sensed the danger of being violated.
If he didn't leave, his rear end was truly at risk.
As a boss, Harvey wouldn't suffer this kind of indignity. He promptly sidestepped Sophia, "Wes, we'll talk another day."
He zapped away like a spherical lightning bolt.
Craven glanced at the pink kettle in Sophia's hand and asked, "Is this the kettle Martin came up with?"
Sophia tossed it to Craven, "It's yours now, it's quite popular."
Craven caught it and examined the exaggerated design, "You were just joking earlier, right?"
"Of course not, if he hadn't left, I would have definitely stuffed this thing up his ass!" Sophia's mind was clear: "You'll testify for me that it was his own choice, right?"
The one who pays calls the shots. Craven didn't answer directly, took it as consent, and just reminded her, "Watch out for him, he's a Hollywood big shot."
Sophia said, "I don't mingle in Hollywood, if he pisses me off, I'll shake up people to take him down."
Craven finally got it, "Right, you're from Atlanta, he's from the North, your main business isn't in entertainment."
Craven wasn't worried about distribution since the studio was in talks with Warner Bros.
Martin and Vincent walked in from outside to see Craven holding the pink kettle, they couldn't help but laugh.
Craven quickly set it on the table and glanced at Sophia, "This is hers, it's got nothing to do with me."
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Sophia generously said, "I've given it to you, it's very practical."
Suddenly, Scott turned his head, striding with a bow-legged gait, and chuckled at Craven.
His smile was both cheap and swaggering.
Craven suddenly considered a possibility, realizing he had touched it with his hand, he quickly hid that hand behind his back and vigorously rubbed it on his pants.
Martin, not wanting any more surprises, said, "Boss, Wes, let's get the contract signed quickly."
Vincent chimed in, "Once the contract is signed, we'll send people to Mexico, and the funds will go straight there."
"Make sure the tax bills are in order, we can't miss a single penny in taxes." Wes Craven had full control over the project: "I'll have someone prepare the contract signing."
He added, "Just a moment, I need to use the restroom."
In the restroom, Craven approached the sink, applied soap and disinfectant, and washed his hands over and over.
Until his hands were red from the scrubbing.
Back in the conference room, Martin eyed the kettle and asked Sophia, "Did you bring this?"
Sophia replied, "Yes, I brought it."
The smile disappeared from Scott's face without a trace.
Martin quickly interjected, "Let's not talk about this, let's focus on business."
Subsequently, Wes Craven and the studio representatives officially signed the contract, making him the largest investor in "The Hills Have Eyes" project, with a total investment of 12 million US dollars and priority in promotional investment.
The crew immediately started a large-scale recruitment, giving preference to staff who had worked with Wes Craven and Alexander Aga.
Martin didn't need to involve himself in the crew preparations as an actor. Once he got the complete script, he began studying his role, preparing for the shooting.
Especially the action scenes.
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