I Invest in You

Irene saw that her father had finished carefully reviewing the storyboard, and she said with a serious expression, "Yes, I want to direct this work myself. It has played out in my mind thousands of times, and I am certain I can film it well."

This was no empty boast. In order to write the script in its entirety, she had already played the movie over in her mind dozens of times; every line of dialogue and every plot point was deeply etched into her heart.

"I am very happy that you have such ambition, my dear." Francis gazed at her, his eyes full of tenderness and pride. "Then we shall film it ourselves! I will invest." He did not hesitate for long before making this decision.

Irene was so happy she jumped up and gave her father a big hug. "Really, Dad? Are you really willing to put up the money? But didn't you always say not to use your own money to make movies?"

Francis smiled and patted his daughter's shoulder, signaling for her to calm down. The best encouragement for a director is to invest in her film.

"Besides being a director, I am also an investor. Your script is clearly profitable, so why wouldn't I participate? Who would turn down a chance to make money?" His tone was gentle but carried the rationality of business. "Go make a few more copies of the script; I need to take them back to the company for a project evaluation. After all, no matter how much I believe in you, inviting a newcomer as young as you to direct still carries quite a bit of risk."

That night, Irene suffered from insomnia.

Her excited nerves kept jumping; she almost began to fantasize about "punching Spielberg and kicking Lucas" starting tomorrow, constantly planning what her next move should be.

However, the next day, her father cooled her down a little.

"A female director of your age is unprecedented, not just in Hollywood, but in the entire world. Regardless of how this movie performs in the end, controversy is unavoidable... My dear, have you thought about how you will face that?" Francis said earnestly.

Irene, however, was not too worried. "Dad, no matter what age I start filming or what kind of movie I make, there will always be people gossiping and arguing, simply because I am your daughter. From the moment I was born, I was destined to be 'extraordinary,' wasn't I?"

Francis suddenly felt that perhaps he was getting old. When he was young, he had also been this unstoppable, but now he inevitably found himself looking over his shoulder.

"You are right. But for now, your primary task is to be a good freshman."

"I have already asked Orphy to help me find a place near the school. If I am really going to make a movie, living off-campus is definitely more convenient." Now she had a legitimate reason not to live in the dorms.

"I don't care about those details, as long as Orphy is there to handle it."

"Dad, how much are you planning to invest in me?" Irene asked curiously. She had consulted her sister quite a bit during this time and estimated that to make this movie well, it would require at least 8 million, and that was assuming they didn't use star actors.

"I have prepared 10 million, which should be enough. Since our own company is producing it, we can save on many unnecessary costs. If we outsourced it to another company, it would be hard to say."

10 million! That was 2 million more than she had expected; there would definitely be no problem now.

"Then... if the movie makes money, who does it belong to?" she asked, pushing her luck.

"Hahaha, your movie is still just a script, and you're already asking an investor for a share of the profits? Are you that confident it won't lose money?"

"Of course! Even if I don't believe in myself, I have to believe in your eye for talent, Dad. If you knew it would lose money, how could you possibly invest? You would have kicked me out long ago!"

"Hahaha, alright, you clever girl!" Francis laughed heartily. "If it loses money, it's on me. If it makes a profit, after the costs are covered, I take 20%, and the rest is yours."

"It's a deal! It has to be written into the contract!" It wasn't that she didn't trust her father, but the production company wasn't his alone, and he had to be responsible to the shareholders. There was nothing wrong with making things clear in advance.

"Fine." Although Francis sensed that this movie should have a market and wouldn't lose money, he never expected it to become a massive hit, so he agreed quite readily.

After all, it is not easy to make a profit from the box office in Hollywood.

In Hollywood, box office revenue is first split with theater chains, with a share as high as 50%; distribution companies also take 10% to 40% in fees, including marketing costs.

After deducting staff salaries, insurance, and other miscellaneous expenses, what actually returns to the production company might only be about 20% of the box office.

In other words, a movie with a 10 million budget needs to reach at least 50 million at the box office to potentially turn a profit. Such a return on investment is not easy even for a veteran director, let alone an underage, rookie female director. It was practically an impossible mission.

Some might ask: if it is known to be difficult to profit, why invest?

The answer is simple: Hollywood movies never rely solely on box office profits. Overseas distribution, television broadcast rights, home video rentals, and merchandise—these are the revenue streams that truly attract capital.

And what Francis saw was exactly the potential in these areas. As the creator of The Godfather trilogy, no one understood the staggering benefits of off-screen revenue better than he did. Even though he had stepped back from the front lines, he still received a mountain of scripts every day. As long as one person was still watching The Godfather, his name would not be forgotten.

But he also kept a trick up his sleeve: he would only share a small portion of the North American box office revenue with Irene, and he didn't mention the other channels at all. This was also a lesson he wanted to teach his daughter: sometimes, even the people closest to you will deceive you.

Although the film's preparation was filled with a thousand details, Francis did not intend to let Irene get bogged down in these trivialities too early; he was afraid of wearing down her inspiration.

Afraid she would be bored at home, he simply had Orphy pack her luggage in advance and send her to the newly rented apartment near USC, letting her adapt to college life first.

After a period of excitement, Irene's mindset gradually stabilized, and she began to look forward to college life. In her previous life, she had missed out on university, so she naturally cherished this opportunity all the more.

Furthermore, with her father personally handling the film, she was completely at ease and soon relinquished full control, content to be a "hands-off manager."

Francis soon contacted Shelly Ovitz. As Irene's agent, he should be involved in the film's production, and his background at CAA was a valuable resource that had to be utilized well.

As the project gradually took shape, word inevitably leaked out.

"Have you heard? Coppola's youngest daughter is going to make a movie too."

"What? She's not even an adult yet, is she? Coppola is being way too reckless this time... Fame should be sought early, but not like this, right? Does she even understand storyboards? Does she know which way to point a camera?"

"Who's to say! Isn't his eldest daughter also making a movie? Pushing two daughters to compete against each other, what is that family thinking?"

"Oh, this is going to be a good show! Sisters competing in the ring—which side should the old man take?"

Such comments, and even more exaggerated ones, soon spread like wildfire. Even George Lucas, who was in the middle of intense filming, heard about it and specifically called Francis to ask what was going on.

Francis calmly reassured his old friend. Some of the rumors were things he had intentionally leaked to create confusion; he didn't want Irene to face skepticism before she had even done anything. Since that was the case, it was better to let others question him instead.