From Hollywood to Media Empire

In December, as the award season approached, many art films piled up for release, followed by public relations campaigns for the Oscars in the coming year.

Hollywood's various star-studded parties and receptions were abundant. Movie companies, talent agencies, and PR firms all revved up their promotional machines to publicize movies and lobby the judges.

Naomi Watts' outstanding performance in Mulholland Drive had already left a lasting impression. Evelyn, of course, did her best to help, but her influence was limited; securing a nomination for Naomi Watts in the Oscar acting categories was still very difficult.

This year, The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring and Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone each grossed over $300 million at the North American box office, both making it into the top ten highest-grossing films in North American cinema history. These were undoubtedly the biggest blockbuster movies.

The former was produced by New Line Cinema while the latter by Warner Bros. Pictures, and both companies were subsidiaries of the Time Warner Group.

New Line Cinema was originally a subsidiary of Turner Entertainment, the parent company of CNN, but after Turner Entertainment merged into Time Warner, New Line Cinema became a film subsidiary just like Warner Bros.

However, New Line Cinema, having risen to fame through horror films, lacked international distribution channels and naturally could not compare in size to one of the Big Six, Warner Bros.

This time, New Line Cinema took a huge gamble on The Lord of the Rings, and it definitely paid off, stealing the spotlight.

Meanwhile, the big gossip news in Hollywood this year was the divorce of megastars Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman.

After the divorce, Nicole Kidman achieved critical and commercial success with two low-budget films, Moulin Rouge and The Others, marking a career resurgence post-divorce.

Moulin Rouge and The Others both grossed over $100 million at the North American box office, and their Oscar nominations were practically a given.

The days of Nicole Kidman being known merely as the beautiful Mrs. Cruise seemed long gone.

My Big Fat Greek Wedding was also in post-production, set to release in April next year.

Meanwhile, Charles' mother had recently finalized Scarlett Johansson's contract and now secured Keira Knightley's contract too.

In the office rented by Carpe Films, after signing Keira Knightley to a talent contract, Evelyn said with a conflicted expression: "Charles, I have no one left now. Only these three actresses remain!"

"It's fine. Quickly recommend Keira Knightley's resume to Disney. Pirates of the Caribbean is in the works!"

"You really think Keira will get the part?" Evelyn was obviously worried.

"She has an advantage. She's pretty and has that British charm," Charles reassured. "That's a Disney production with over a hundred million dollars in investment, and the female lead has a significant role. This year's war romance blockbuster Pearl Harbor made the unknown British actress Kate Beckinsale famous, greatly increasing her popularity."

Now, Evelyn was also looking forward to it. Otherwise, what was the point of going through all the trouble to sign Keira Knightley?

"Kate Beckinsale?" Charles thought of this name. "Underworld seems promising."

Charles had already seen the trailer for Resident Evil; it would be released next year. News about Underworld, however, seemed absent.

"What, interested in her?" Evelyn asked, looking confused. "I don't have the resources to sign her!"

Charles shook his head, "No, just thinking about my next project. Forget it. Mom, you should focus on Keira Knightley's Disney project casting. That's the main thing!"

*****

https://www.patreon.com/Sayonara816.