Action Movie Plan

"Mr. Walker..." Irene was just about to raise her glass to initiate a greeting.

"Just call me Ira, no need to be so formal. Let me introduce you; this gentleman beside me is from 20th Century Fox..."

"Mr. Griffin, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Oh," Ira Walker raised an eyebrow, "you two already know each other?"

"Yes, we had the pleasure of meeting once before." This middle-aged man with brown hair was Adelaide Griffin, the head of distribution at 20th Century Fox, who had met with Irene privately once before.

At that time, he had been full of praise for Irene and hoped for a collaboration, but Irene had still been set on MGM. Who could have known how the world would change, and that she would truly end up in the same boat as Fox.

"Hey, Irene, I told you last time to just call me Adelaide. You've worked hard during this period; take a break for a while, though your participation will still be needed for post-production." Adelaide gently tapped his glass against Irene's, his posture very humble, treating her almost as if she were a top-tier director in Hollywood.

Ira Walker stood to the side, looking somewhat surprised.

To be honest, the only reason he had come to this wrap party was that he happened to be in Toronto handling business, and since Shelly had invited him and he had the time, he decided to show up.

But to say he held Irene in high regard would be an exaggeration.

After all, he was a man who held several major box-office superstars in his hands and had top directors like Steven Spielberg under his wing. In his eyes, Irene's small achievements were likely more a matter of luck.

But looking at Fox's attitude now, perhaps this Miss Coppola wasn't just relying on luck, but actually had some real talent?

"Thank you, Adelaide. I'm sure we can finish post-production before the New Year. I suggest we schedule this film for the summer release window; after all, our target audience is still predominantly students." Irene took the opportunity to offer her suggestion. According to her plan, the next few years would be filled with popcorn movies, and she hoped they would all be released during the summer, as it was the most popular golden window.

"We will certainly cooperate actively. The theater chains have seen the miracle you just created, and there will definitely be a place for you in next year's summer lineup." Adelaide spoke with certainty, as if he could finalize it immediately without needing to consult the company.

In reality, he had already held internal meetings with the company before coming here. They had reviewed the footage Irene had shot, and overall, it was quite good.

The filming style continued the relaxed and natural feel of her previous work, still featuring a combination of handsome men and beautiful women, and still maintaining a witty and humorous plot. It was likely that the market among the teenage demographic would not be low. Whether it could surpass the box office of Legally Blonde was hard to say, but it certainly wouldn't be far off.

"Perhaps our genius Irene has new plans after finishing this film?" Ira Walker, standing to the side and not wanting to be ignored, proactively brought up a topic that interested them all.

Irene certainly had subsequent plans.

In fact, in her original plan, she wanted to film one more romance with a higher production budget as the final installment of her debut trilogy, before starting to film action movies and officially entering the ranks of great directors.

But after her experience in Hawaii, she had added Pirates of the Caribbean to her filming schedule.

The release date for Pirates of the Caribbean was July 2003. Calculating that a film takes a year from planning to filming to post-production—and that large-scale special effects films require even longer preparation time—this meant the project would need to be greenlit in the first half of 2002.

If she wanted to seize the initiative, she had to finalize the script and key creative personnel by 2001.

But with her current status, even if she could immediately produce a project proposal, no one would be willing to invest, let alone convince Captain Jack to star in it.

Therefore, before officially launching Pirates of the Caribbean, she had to deliver a result that would make investors trust her. She needed to prove she had the ability to construct such a massive project.

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

"I do have a new plan, Mr. Walker. Afterward, I want to film an action movie," Irene said in a low voice, as if it were still a secret.

Adelaide's voice also lowered instinctively: "An action movie? I thought that even if you didn't continue with the campus comedy style, your next work would be a romance or something similar. That's quite a leap..."

Seeing that the other party didn't directly question or deny her decision, Irene felt there was a chance: "It's just a plan for now. You know, action movies are the standard for testing the market. Constantly filming campus comedies is not challenging enough."

This also fit the image of a young person with restless ideas.

"Then can we hear a bit about your story in advance?" Ira Walker asked promptly, seeing that Adelaide remained silent.

"Of course. It's an action movie about a group of thieves who team up for revenge and stage a gold heist in Los Angeles. In fact, this story is based on the 1969 British film The Italian Job; I just want to do an adaptation."

A non-original story would make the difficulty of this challenge slightly smaller.

"When will the script be ready?" Hearing that it was an adaptation of another film, Adelaide let out a sigh of relief without changing his expression. Action movies were indeed popular in Hollywood, but only on the condition that they were excellent action movies.

Countless unknown, failed action movies died in theaters every year. Irene was the young director he was most optimistic about right now. MGM had somehow lost their minds and given her up, so he wanted to do his best to win her over.

"Once the post-production for this current film is finished, I will start writing the script for the new movie. It shouldn't take long."

"Then we'll talk in detail once your new script is out," Adelaide said, raising his glass to Irene.

"No problem." Irene smiled and clinked glasses with him.

"Don't you two forget about me," Ira Walker immediately chimed in. Even for a standard action movie, the staff required would be far beyond what a campus comedy like Mean Girls could compare to; he couldn't miss out on this.

"Of course, Mr. Walker. This is my first time directing an action movie, and I will need CAA's help with many things like stunt coordination." At this stage, she still couldn't do without CAA, and the bundled service was also more worry-free for her.

"We are happy to serve you with any needs you have." Ira Walker raised his glass, and Irene and Adelaide followed suit, saying in unison: "To CAA."

After Ira Walker and Adelaide left, Irene finally let out a sigh of relief and found a corner to enjoy her dinner in peace.

Seeing Irene sit down, Edward walked over carrying a plate.

Irene took a look; it was her favorite escargot in cheese sauce and pre-cut charcoal-grilled pork ribs. It seemed he had specifically saved them for her.

"I saw you hadn't eaten all night, so I picked out your favorites and saved them for you."

"Thanks." Having known each other for so long, they no longer needed to be formal.

"What were you guys talking about for so long?" Edward asked curiously.

"The new movie, what else could I possibly do in their eyes besides making movies?" Irene picked up a piece of meat with her fork and ate it.

Her filming plans might be a secret to outsiders, but they were public information to the friends around her.

Edward didn't have many scenes in Mean Girls, but she had told him early on to work on his physical fitness in his spare time, so Edward wasn't surprised.