Investment Invitation

Trying to articulate the needs in his mind, James Cameron said, "We all know what the end of the Titanic was, but how do I present it on the screen?"

"I've tried using miniature models and swimming pool simulations, but I can't achieve that level of realism. The only thing missing is actually filming my giant model boat that I have in the Gulf of Mexico sink into the sea."

"But what I want is not just that one moment of filming opportunity. I want to film everyone at the moment of the shipwreck from every angle and every face."

"Pixar's animated films really opened my eyes. I also partnered with Scott Thaddeus Ross, a former Lucasfilm technician, and an old friend, Stan Winston, to found Digital Domain, intending to research this technology."

"But in the Hollywood industry, no other film company has a supercomputer dedicated to image processing like yours, and has demonstrated significant results."

"So besides seeking your expert opinion, I also hope that Stark Studios can collaborate with my Digital Domain to develop this technology and see if we can achieve what I want."

After pretending to think for a moment, Henry said, "If you also own a computer effects company, you should understand. We need a physics engine first, and then use computers to simulate what objects would do in reality."

"The difference lies in the fact that animated films have simpler visuals. We can tell from the polygon count of Toy Story's models that they used some tricks to achieve a sense of depth and smoothness in the visuals."

"What If...? you want to see the realistic effects of water splashes, whirlpools, and light and shadow on the human body, the complexity of the rendering is indeed on a different level of difficulty than that of animated films."

"Of course we can do it. If there's demand and the money's in place, we'll create something that didn't exist before. That's just how the business world works."

James Cameron was overjoyed. "Great, Mr. Brown! This gives us room to work together. There's just one small problem standing between us."

"What's the problem?" Henry asked, feigning ignorance.

"It's because I don't have any money."

Henry smiled wryly and said, "Director Cameron, let's be business. What you want me to do can't be done on a whim. It requires manpower and resources."

"For the sake of the film we both love, I can accept not making money, but I can't work for free at a loss. What if I agree today, and someone else comes to me with the same reason tomorrow?"

Ultimately, this approach of relying solely on passion to support filmmaking will only ruin Hollywood. Because everyone's level of passion is different, but everyone gets hungry every day.

James Cameron flashed a fawning smile, a far cry from his reputation as a "Tyrant on set." Though poorly executed, it was clear he wasn't used to such a fake smile.

"That's right, I know that too. But my film is a profit-making project. What If...? I invited you to invest, would you be willing? You told me before that if I needed funds, I could come to you."

Henry's eyes widened in surprise. "20th Century Fox agreed to such a thing?"

Although film joint ventures can help spread risk, because no one knows whether a film will make a profit or a loss before it is released in theaters.

However, there are always reliable and unreliable film projects. Generally speaking, sequels to popular movies, and movies starring big directors or stars are considered to be good projects that can make money.

If they believe a project can be profitable, which film company would offer such a project to "share the risk"? That's why Henry said that some good projects are held onto by film companies and they're unwilling to let go.

Last year's Kevin Costner's Waterworld, which he directed and starred in, and James Cameron's Titanic, are typical examples of projects that film companies consider promising because they have stars or big-name directors in the lead roles.

However, the massive explosion at Waterworld affected Volkswagen's confidence in Titanic.

So James Cameron frankly stated, "Volkswagen was unwilling to increase the budget, but without it, the film couldn't be made. So they compromised and agreed to let the project seek external funding."

"I'm not afraid to let you know that Volkswagen approached Universal. We had a good working relationship on ' True Lies ' in '94. But ' Waterworld ' caused Universal serious losses last year, so they didn't dare to join."

Last month, Volkswagen approached Paramount, with whom they had previously collaborated on Braveheart. Paramount was also interested, but the details had not yet been finalized.

"I thought I could use Stark Studios ' computer technology, so I wanted to ask you what your thoughts are. What If...? you agree, then future computer-generated visuals will naturally be handled by Stark Studios."

After a moment's hesitation, James Cameron struggled to say, "What If...? you want that little star you're promoting to star in it, I can reconsider."

"But it won't be a very important role. After all, many of the characters I create are tailored to the actors' characteristics, and the scripts are already designed."

Seeing the director's reluctant expression yet his own initiative in making this request, Henry secretly smiled to himself. It seemed he truly had high hopes for the Titanic; otherwise, he wouldn't have compromised at such a difficult time.

After he shouted "I am the king of the world" at the Oscars, who would still see him with such a troubled expression?

Henry didn't want to put the renowned director in a difficult position, saying, "As for the actors, just follow your existing arrangements, Director Cameron. Charlize isn't famous enough for just a small cameo role."

The implication is that important supporting roles are pointless, and background characters are uninteresting, so they might as well be eliminated.

Whether the renowned director understood his implication or not, Henry continued, "I'd like to ask, how much does a movie typically cost these days?"

Relieved, James Cameron, who didn't want to bother changing his main cast, didn't consider the Volkswagen executives' feelings at all and frankly admitted:

"To date, 20th Century Fox has spent approximately $135 million. This is mainly due to expenses on props, sets, locations, and the salaries of the initial staff."

"What If...? we divert the actors' salaries first, there would still be funds to continue operating the project. However, the actors' salaries are all in a special account and cannot be accessed. In reality, the film project is completely out of money."

"Filming will officially begin in a few days. But even the daily payment is nowhere in sight. You could say we're close to the deadline."

Frowning, Henry asked again, "So, how much more funding do you think you need to finish making the movie?"

James Cameron said, "Five thousand... well, no, sixty million. That includes the cost of the filming crew and staff, their food and lodging."

"We'll first film the modern scenes in Canada. Then we'll move the entire film to the Gulf of Mexico, where a model of the Titanic has already been built, for the main filming. I guarantee that as long as we have this funding, we can finish filming the movie."

The big director's guarantee... Henry feels like he's just made a promise, completely unreliable. Didn't 20th Century Fox also get on a sinking ship, only to hit an iceberg and be unable to get off?