Little Girlfriend

The movie Wrong Turn, strictly speaking, wasn't much to talk about—just a story of a few young people recklessly courting death, only to be killed by forest cannibals.

This type of film falls under the horror-slasher genre. The fact that Wrong Turn managed to churn out nearly ten sequels shows it had a market in America and even worldwide, especially in the DVD and video rental markets.

On the set, when Adriana Lima—one of the future top ten supermodels in the world—stripped off her top and bottoms by a stream in the wild, leaving only a bikini, the entire crew was filled with the sound of swallowing saliva.

What a body!

Man, she's going to be a supermodel in the future, of course her body's amazing.

"Ahem~, assistant director, tell them to keep it professional. This is a shoot." Zucker said quietly to the assistant director.

The assistant director immediately nodded in agreement.

Zucker continued, "Also, tell them not to bother Lima on set. It could cause trouble. Yeah, you know what I mean."

"Don't worry, I get it." The assistant director gave Zucker a knowing look that words couldn't convey.

"Mm, you've got a bright future." Zucker praised.

What was on Zucker's mind? How could the seasoned assistant director not know?

Or rather, any normal man would get restless seeing a sexy beauty, let alone a rich, young man like Zucker. Having thoughts about her body was only natural!

When filming wrapped that day, Zucker took the initiative to chat with Lima for a good while, and they even exchanged phone numbers.

That's right, Zucker had bought a phone!

Even though it was a clunky old-school model, in 1996, it was considered a very advanced and lightweight phone—one you could fit in your pocket.

Over the next few days, Zucker chatted with Lima enthusiastically.

He was practically doting!

"Lima, you look gorgeous today!"

"You're doing an amazing job acting!"

"My god! Forget those damn modeling ideas, you should be in Hollywood!"

"Darling, you've misunderstood me. I'm a good guy, a really, really good one!"

Anyone with eyes could see that Zucker had designs on Lima.

But on set, Zucker never crossed the line!

God!

Adriana Lima was only 16 this year, still a minor. If Zucker had forcefully made a move, he could've ended up in deep trouble.

Three years minimum, that kind of trouble.

Of course, Lima's body was explosive—nothing like a 16-year-old! Well, Western women generally mature early.

In his past life, Zucker had never married, but he'd had a few relationships. Not exactly a playboy, but he was an old hand at this.

Treating her to meals, watching movies, shopping and buying things—under the assault of Zucker's money, romance, and occasional little surprises, Lima finally gave in!

"Zucker, I'm your girlfriend now, but don't you ever lie to me, or else..."

Before Lima could finish, Zucker cut her off: "My god, don't you know me by now? I'm a straight-up guy. If you don't believe me, ask anyone at Wald Pictures—have I ever had a girlfriend? Have I ever messed around at bars or places like that?"

"Hmph! You'd better behave."

Lima pretended to be angry, then happily kissed Zucker.

Actually, Lima had done a little digging into whether Zucker had fooled around.

Since Zucker had transmigrated, he really hadn't been much of a womanizer—he barely had any female friends. The only pretty woman around him was Charlize Theron, and she was just a casual friend. Of course, if it weren't for Charlize's weird preference for "a boyfriend like a father" that disgusted Zucker, he might've already slept with her.

Sleeping together!

Well, that was practically a grudge Zucker held since his transmigration!

"I'm lifting iron until I'm practically sparking!" Zucker complained internally.

Although the laws of each American state differed, there were clear rules protecting minors. But during school days, driven by hormonal impulses, plenty of underage kids snuck a taste of forbidden fruit. As long as it didn't end up in court, it was usually no big deal.

Lima was young and beautiful, with an explosive body—she didn't look like a 16-year-old minor at all. If you said she was 20, no one would doubt it. Zucker had been lusting after her body for a while.

But.

Zucker didn't dare.

Maybe it was the cautious mindset of a transmigrator.

June 15th.

That day, Run Lola Run officially ended its run in North American theaters, grossing a total of $16.82 million. After deducting the theater's box office share, copy fees, and so on, Wald Pictures ended up with $7.2 million in revenue share.

Of course, since Run Lola Run had no other distribution companies involved in the Americas, otherwise another portion—or a large portion—would have gone to the distributor.

The $7.2 million in box office revenue, plus DVD and video tape sales, including licensing fees, netted $4.5 million in profit. Selling the overseas rights to Paramount brought in $2 million. After deducting the $800,000 production cost and $500,000 in marketing expenses, Finally, with just Run Lola Run, Wald Pictures made a total profit of $12.4 million!

Making movies really pays!

It's no exaggeration to say that, thanks to the profit from Run Lola Run alone, Wald Pictures' financial report this year would absolutely surpass a whole bunch of small Hollywood companies.

"Not bad at all." Zucker looked at the data and smiled.

Ring ring ring~!

Right then, the phone on Zucker's desk rang.

"Hello, this is Zucker Wald."

"Mr. Wald, this is Jordan from Paramount."

That's right, the caller was none other than the Paramount executive who had negotiated with Zucker last time over the overseas rights for Run Lola Run. His name was Jordan.

Of course, he wasn't Jordan the basketball player, but Jordan Dervelman.

"Mr. Wald, I'm calling to tell you that the opening weekend box office numbers for Run Lola Run overseas are out. My god, I can hardly believe it!" Jordan's voice cracked with excitement.

"How much?" Zucker pressed.

"$19 million! And that's not even from a wide overseas release. You know what, Zucker? Paramount has decided to go all in on the overseas marketing push to drive Run Lola Run's box office even higher!"

Jordan's rambling, excited chatter made Zucker's kidneys ache.

Holy shit!

Damn bloodsucking Paramount!

Old Man only sold the overseas rights for Run Lola Run for $2 million! Now, even if it still pulls in over $100 million overseas like it did in the original timeline, it wouldn't have a damn thing to do with Zucker. But goddammit, his kidneys ached even more.

Selling Run Lola Run cheap—Zucker hadn't wanted to do it in the first place.

But his company had no overseas distribution capability! The Big Six Hollywood Studios were called behemoths precisely because of their powerful global distribution networks!

Was Spielberg's DreamWorks impressive?

Of course it was!

But in front of the Big Six, it could only eat scraps!

"Jordan, your Paramount made a killing off me this time. Next time you distribute one of our films, you'd better give me a better cut!" Zucker shouted into the phone.

"Haha, no problem, Zucker. You know, as long as the film's quality is solid, we'll definitely bump up the price."

In the time that followed, Zucker and Jordan chatted freely.

For now, Run Lola Run had nothing more to do with Zucker, but that didn't stop him from building a closer relationship with Paramount. After all, there was plenty of time ahead.

Distribution!

Distribution!

Distribution!

This had practically become another obsession for Zucker.

<> Second chapter delivered.