Preparation for the New Movie

Over the next three days, she and Henry played through the entire Glenvaria Hotel.

From surfing on the ocean to scuba diving beneath the waves, from the hotel's "waterway network" to the "spa center," from the sky to the ground, it was both thrilling and romantic. Life felt so relaxed and simple, and every day was happy and fulfilling.

Just as Irene was returning later and later each day, feeling that if things continued this way, they would inevitably have some deeper interaction, Shelly Ovitz arrived.

When Shelly saw Irene slowly walking in from outside, he couldn't help but praise, "The water in Hawaii really nourishes people. Irene has only been here a few days, and she looks absolutely radiant."

Britney, standing nearby, couldn't help but let out a snort of laughter, "I don't think the Hawaiian ocean has such heaven-defying functions." She took the opportunity to wink at Irene.

In truth, they had often run into each other over the past few days, but even when they met, they hadn't greeted one another out of a bit of caution. Of course, Britney had been tracking them specifically out of curiosity about Irene's date.

Irene ignored Britney's teasing and asked Shelly directly about the purpose of his visit.

"I suppose you two have been living so carefree that you forgot I said I'd come to join your vacation in a couple of days."

"Oh? Then why are you only here now?"

"That's because the mess you two left behind when you ran off was so huge that I only just finished dealing with it!" If the resentment in Shelly's voice could take physical form, it would likely be a sharp blade, ready to stab at Irene and Britney at any moment.

"Oh, then my agent has truly worked hard."

"It's not hard; it's part of my job. I see you've played long enough, so it's time to get back to business. I'm here for two main things, one for Irene and one for Britney, which is very fair."

Shelly Ovitz's professional demeanor made Irene's previously relaxed mood turn somewhat serious, and she pulled Britney to sit down across from him.

"I'll start with Britney's matter. Jive has already begun planning your second album and is in the stage of collecting songs. If you don't want to be completely led by the nose, I think you should go back and properly plan your music career. By the way, your interview requests are overflowing in your inbox; go back and pick some, it's time to get to work."

Upon hearing that she would soon be welcoming her second album, Britney was incredibly excited. She grabbed Edward's hand and shook it vigorously, as if this were the only goal left in her heart, and she wanted to fly back to Los Angeles immediately.

"As for Irene, the task you gave me before I came is basically complete. The company has been established and registered in Delaware." As soon as Shelly Ovitz finished speaking, Britney raised a question: "Irene, why did you suddenly want to register a company?"

Before Irene could answer, Edward Nelson chimed in to join the fun: "Boss, does your company lack capital?"

She first smiled and explained to Britney, "Because I want to invest in my own movies," then turned her gaze to Edward, "Not lacking for now. If there were a gap, how much could you pull out?"

Edward seemed to be calculating his assets, pondering for a full minute before answering: "If you need liquid funds that can be transferred immediately, within 20 million dollars. If it's not urgent, I could scrape together 50 million dollars."

I have to say, Irene was hit quite hard. She had originally thought that relying on Legally Blonde would earn her at least seven figures, which was already far ahead of her peers, but she hadn't expected to still be unable to compete with these second-generation wealthy kids.

"Alright, if I'm really short, I'll come to you."

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"What is the word inside CAA?" Irene then asked a question that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Part of the reason I arrived two days late is because of this. Our company has thoroughly evaluated your new movie, and the boss said he hopes you can let us handle the packaging."

"Mr. Ira Walker stepped in?" Irene feigned surprise.

"Yes. Because our decision-making error caused us to miss the chance to invest in Legally Blonde, the boss scolded me severely. But fortunately, I signed you and Britney, which at least allows me to make up for my mistakes. So for this new movie, the boss told me I must secure it no matter what."

"Then what troubles can you help me solve?" Irene raised an eyebrow. It wasn't impossible to let CAA handle the packaging; on the contrary, it could save her a lot of time. But CAA's packaging wasn't a free service; their standard fee was 2%-5% of the total revenue.

"I reported your request to invest in the movie. The boss indicated that he could help you persuade 20th Century Fox, because their funds are still tied up in Titanic, so they might just accept your request to invest yourself, but only for short-term returns."

"Box office, video tapes, and television rights distribution shares—that's enough for now. I haven't reached my father's status yet, so I really don't have the capital to negotiate for more."

Irene was very clear about her situation. A blockbuster movie could certainly make many people know who she was, but many still doubted her abilities. Even now, some tabloids were still claiming that the actual director of Legally Blonde was Coppola, and that Irene was just a puppet.

Therefore, many companies were still skeptical about her.

"Then what are your requirements?"

"Regarding the choice for the lead actress, Cady Heron... the company hopes that Reese Witherspoon can continue to star."

Upon hearing this, Irene began to tap her fingers on the table slowly.

The original lead actress of Mean Girls was the famous Hollywood child star Lindsay Lohan. She had almost perfectly portrayed the transformation of Cady Heron from a naive girl to someone who lost herself and then found her way back, possessing both comedic timing and emotional depth, which added brilliance to the film.

At the same time, the movie brought her huge profits, allowing her to quickly cross the awkward phase of being a child star and become one of the most popular actresses in Hollywood at the time, gaining a lot of favor from the public. If not for her self-destructive behavior later on, she would definitely have been a superstar-level talent, and someone similar to her was this silly girl, Britney.

But at this moment, besides playing the twin sisters in The Parent Trap, Lindsay Lohan had no other works, and she was far too young to carry this role.

Seeing Irene hesitating, Shelly Ovitz decided to throw out another piece of bait.

"Perhaps you might still be interested in the reply from MGM."

"Tell me about it." Irene stopped thinking for a moment to see what the situation was with MGM. After all, she had been very satisfied with their first collaboration, and under equal conditions, she didn't want to switch to 20th Century Fox.

"Their new head of the marketing department completely rejected your investment proposal and even indicated that the distribution fee for the new movie would need to add another 6 points on top of the Legally Blonde deal—meaning they want to take 18% of the North American box office and 18% of the North American television and video rights as a distribution fee." Shelly remained expressionless, as if he had no opinion on their reply.

"Are they crazy?" But Irene clearly had an opinion. She looked at Shelly Ovitz in disbelief, as if trying to confirm if there was any possibility the other party was lying.

If you like this book, please remember to add it to your bookshelf so you don't lose it next time.