Young man, want to bet on your future?

"Then tell me, what am I worried about?" President Smith said.

"If I'm not mistaken, you're worried about theater release dates and scheduling issues caused by insufficient promotional expenses, aren't you?" Lin Yuan said.

The release of a movie primarily involves three main parties: the production company, the distributor, and the theaters.

The distributor is responsible for the film's promotional expenses and the overall marketing strategy. Universal Pictures typically handles both production and distribution.

To secure popular release dates and higher screen counts in theaters, distributors need to use various means to strengthen their persuasiveness: for example, having big stars appear, allocating huge promotional budgets, or even offering minimum box office guarantees with revenue-sharing clauses.

All of this is to increase the confidence of the theaters.

And Lin Yuan, by agreeing to Director Sommers' request, immediately gave up nearly $40 million in promotional expenses.

This would lead to a shortage of promotional funds for both The Fast and the Furious and Jurassic Park 3 themselves.

In such a situation, even theaters might be unwilling to schedule the films for popular release dates.

It's no wonder President Smith tried to stop this.

"Which movie are you planning to sacrifice? Haha, Director Johnston, are you intentionally cutting promotional expenses because you know the box office will bomb, so you can shift the blame?" Director Sommers taunted.

Director Sommers sneered, ready to watch the drama unfold. With insufficient promotional funds, both films would have to cannibalize each other, fighting for each other's resources.

Otherwise, it would be impossible for theaters to schedule the movies during peak seasons like the summer blockbuster period.

"It's fine, Mr. President. We can do joint promotions for these two films. I'll provide a basic plan," Lin Yuan offered his solution.

"Joint promotions? While it's not impossible, it's still risky," President Smith cautiously refused.

"How about this: if my plan doesn't secure the theater slots, we will increase the promotional investment until the theaters' requirements are met," Lin Yuan said confidently.

"Increase investment if we can't get the theaters??" President Smith suddenly remembered that Lin Yuan was Mr. Eisen's representative.

Although Mr. Eisen no longer directly invested in films these days, he still held significant influence in the film industry.

However, theaters operated on a business basis; they wouldn't likely make an exception just for Mr. Eisen, would they?

But since Lin Yuan had promised a guaranteed plan, he had no reason to refuse.

President Smith then said, "Alright, I'll wait for the results of your negotiations with the theaters."

"Mr. President, please believe that my joint promotion plan will bring you a surprise."

"Young man, I look forward to seeing your miracle."

In reality, President Smith wasn't very optimistic about joint promotions. While bundling them for publicity saved money, the effect was generally weaker.

Unless the two films could create some kind of chemistry, achieving a 1+1>2 effect.

What could The Fast and the Furious and Jurassic Park 3 possibly have to benefit each other?

"Since the promotional budget is settled, let's confirm the release dates," President Smith continued. "There are two slots available: May 4th and June 22nd. How do you want to allocate them?"

"Director Sommers is the lead, so he should have the spotlight first. We'll tag along and benefit from his success. Leave the June 22nd slot for us," Lin Yuan replied.

"No problem."

"I agree."

Both directors readily agreed.

In the North American film market, the summer season from May to September and the Christmas season are the hottest release periods, accounting for over 70% of the year's box office revenue.

During these highly competitive and valuable slots, the competition among major film companies is extremely fierce.

The May 4th slot was theoretically better than June 22nd, so Director Sommers raised no objections.

"I have no problem with the release date, but I have a suggestion," Director Sommers said.

"Go ahead," President Smith's brow furrowed slightly.

"These three films were all filmed with significant company investment. If any of them lose money, someone has to take responsibility, right? Otherwise, anyone could just come up with some joint promotion idea and mess around."

Director Sommers' target was obvious. Even after securing the largest share of the promotional resources, he was still being relentless.

"What do you want?" Director Cohen was furious, standing up from his chair, his shiny bald head turning red with anger.

"It's okay, Director," Lin Yuan pulled him back down, placating him.

"You're not wrong. Adults should pay for their mistakes," Lin Yuan said with a smile as he looked at Director Sommers, but his eyes were extremely cold.

"Whoever's movie loses money gets kicked out of Hollywood and is forbidden to return!" Director Sommers was surprised that Lin Yuan dared to engage him.

He immediately revealed his true intentions, having disliked Lin Yuan and his group for a long time.

In Director Sommers' eyes, Hollywood should be a Hollywood for white people.

He viewed Director Cohen, who had many mixed-race actors, and Director Johnston, who actually cast a Chinese lead, as tumors in Hollywood.

They were targets that needed to be cleansed and purified.

Today was a perfect opportunity. If they dared to accept his challenge.

Faced with Director Sommers' aggressive push, Lin Yuan fell silent.

He could gamble his own safety on the success of an action film, but he couldn't risk the careers of the two directors.

Even if he was confident he would win, he had no right to gamble with other people's futures.

"Lin Yuan, we believe in you," Director Cohen said.

"Betting against him? What's there to be afraid of! If we lose, we just retire early!" Director Johnston added.

They had been fed up with Director Sommers for a long time and had been holding in a lot of resentment. Even if it wasn't for Lin Yuan, they wanted to teach him a harsh lesson.

As for what would happen if they actually lost? The two directors didn't care. They were both over fifty, and if they lost money on two more big-budget productions, they probably wouldn't have many opportunities left anyway, so they might as well retire.

Therefore, it was essentially a no-risk venture.

"Alright! Whoever's movie loses money has to get out of Hollywood," Lin Yuan replied formally, now feeling more confident.

"I'll add a condition. Even if the movie doesn't lose money, the one with the lower profit has to get out!" Director Sommers, afraid his goal wouldn't be achieved, added another clause.

This was hardly fair. The Mummy Returns was a big production and had received the largest promotional expenses. Now he wanted to compare profits? That was shameless!

Hearing Director Sommers' words, President Smith's expression turned grim. Although he and Director Sommers had always had a good personal relationship, his performance today was truly awful. It also made President Smith re-evaluate the man and whether their friendship should be maintained.

Strictly speaking, President Smith was also a holder of white supremacist views. However, he prioritized profit. If there were sufficient benefits, he was willing to cooperate with anyone, rather than completely excluding and rejecting them. He wouldn't engage in such a self-defeating gamble like Director Sommers.

Lin Yuan smiled and nodded, "Then it's a deal. Cherish every remaining day you have in Hollywood."