Chapter 171 - 169: Little Beauty, Invest More
The Spring Festival movie season calls for a festive, feel-good atmosphere, so the actors’ salaries alone accounted for a huge portion of the project’s budget.
On top of that, this was a large-scale road movie. Besides Cathay, all other filming locations were in Occidenta, spanning four major countries. The costs were astronomical.
The investors all just glanced over the plot summary. It was useless; a synopsis of a few hundred words would naturally expand into much richer content over the course of a two-hour film.
What they cared about most were the cast, the production team, and the final profit they could pocket.
For the Spring Festival season, as long as the cast was star-studded and the genre was a crowd-pleasing comedy, audiences were guaranteed to buy tickets. After all, Goldman Golding and Hewitt Entertainment had collaborated on a Spring Festival project before.
They had invested fifty thousand, and the final box office was three hundred sixty thousand. They absolutely made a killing.
After about fifteen minutes, everyone gradually closed their documents. Their expressions varied, but they were all waiting for the person at the head of the table to speak first.
After a moment, Wesley Yates was about to speak, but Mr. Young beat him to it. "The Spring Festival season is a sure thing."
James Lockwood and Whitt both smiled at the same time, but then they heard Wesley Yates scoff. "Mr. Young, what are you talking about? Is there really such a thing as a risk-free business in this world?"
"So, are you saying you don’t plan on investing, Yates?"
"You’re joking again, Mr. Young. I’m already here, aren’t I? I can’t just drink their wine for free. Whether I invest or not, I have to at least make a gesture."
This was the first time the two had spoken directly during this meeting, and it was easy to detect the tension in their brief exchange.
The others just smiled placatingly, but Cecilia Sterling found it all quite interesting.
James Lockwood said, "As you all know, President Whitt and I have collaborated on a Spring Festival film before, and the results were excellent. This time, as long as you’re willing to invest, we will definitely ensure you all see generous returns."
"That goes without saying, President Lockwood," someone said. "We wouldn’t be here if we weren’t interested. It’s just a matter of how much we invest."
James Lockwood nodded with a smile, and just then, Connie spoke up at the perfect moment. "The female lead is our Heather. The box office is practically guaranteed."
Heather Keaton, Goldman Golding’s top actress, a true A-lister.
"Alright then, how about I get the ball rolling?" Mr. Young straightened up, putting on an ostentatious display of wealth. "I’ll invest ten thousand. That’s generous enough, right, Lockwood?"
Ten thousand would certainly be a huge investment for an ordinary project.
But for a star-studded Spring Festival comedy like this, it was nowhere near enough.
To say nothing of the fact that Heather Keaton’s market rate for a film was 7,500. Even with a discount for an in-house project, it would definitely not be less than 6,000.
Mr. Young’s investment wouldn’t even cover the salaries of the male and female leads.
James Lockwood could only give an awkward laugh and look at Mr. Young. "Mr. Young, perhaps you could add a little more? The costs for this project are truly high, much more expensive than any of our company’s previous projects."
Mr. Young laughed at his words. "Your appetite is getting bigger and bigger. Now you’re saying ten thousand is too little?"
It wasn’t that James Lockwood thought it was too little. The problem was that if Mr. Young set the precedent, no one else would dare to offer a higher amount. Wouldn’t that be overstepping their bounds?
"Fine, fine. Money’s no object; I’ve got as much as you need," Mr. Young said, then suddenly turned to Cecilia Sterling with a lecherous grin. "But Lockwood, I see this little beauty you brought with you today has been a bit too quiet, don’t you think?"
James Lockwood froze. Before he could explain, Mr. Young had already spoken up with a laugh. "How about this? You have this pretty little thing here toast me, and I’ll add more money!"
"That’s not it, Mr. Young..." James Lockwood quickly stood up, his expression serious. "You must have misunderstood. Miss Sterling isn’t from our company. She’s also an investor whom I’ve invited to participate in the project."
Cecilia Sterling remained calmly seated, smiling slightly at Mr. Young. "Hello, Mr. Young. My name is Cecilia Sterling."
Hearing that Cecilia Sterling was also an investor, the expressions of everyone present changed subtly.
’An investor this young?’
But the interest in Mr. Young’s eyes only grew more obvious. "I don’t care what her status is. If you want to make it in Lorcain, toasting me isn’t too much to ask, is it?"
"Of course," Cecilia said, not letting James Lockwood continue to run interference for her. She took the initiative and explained, "As a junior, it is my duty to toast everyone present. However, I’m truly not feeling well today. If you don’t mind, Mr. Young, may I use tea instead of wine?"
The room fell deathly silent. Everyone subconsciously held their tongue.
Only Morgana Dyer hesitated for a moment before suddenly picking up her wine glass and standing with a cheerful smile. "Mr. Young, a girl on her period shouldn’t drink; it’s bad for her health. I’ll toast you on her behalf, and I’ll drink an extra glass as a penalty."
The atmosphere was painfully awkward. Morgana Dyer was seen downing one glass of red wine, pouring another, and then gulping that one down as well.
Cecilia Sterling glanced sideways at her, her brow furrowing slightly.
But Mr. Young wasn’t buying it. He didn’t even spare Morgana Dyer a glance, his gaze still fixed squarely on Cecilia Sterling.
Apparently, it seemed Cecilia had no choice but to drink.
Just then, a sudden, mocking laugh cut through the silence. It was Wesley Yates.
He shook his head with a smile, his voice full and resonant. "At your age, why are you making things difficult for a young lady? Your own daughter is about her age, isn’t she? Is this appropriate?"
His words sounded like an admonishment, but they were laced with unconcealed mockery.
And Wesley Yates was the only one at the table who dared to speak to Mr. Young like that.
For a moment, the others didn’t know what expression to wear, let alone what to say. Speaking up now would mean clearly taking a side.
And siding with one meant offending the other.
"Haha..." Mr. Young suddenly burst out laughing. "I was just joking! Lockwood asked me to add more money, so I figured if I had a drink with the pretty lady, adding the money would be a natural next step, wouldn’t it?"
Wesley Yates snorted softly. "The young lady is an investor herself. You’re investing in Lockwood’s project. What does that have to do with her?"
Mr. Young shrugged. "Then what’s there to talk about? I just won’t add any more, simple as that. Let the little missy here invest more instead."
He then turned to Wesley Yates. "Yates, it’s quite a novelty seeing you stand up for a little girl. Don’t tell me it’s because she’s pretty, and you’ve taken a fancy to her?"
Wesley Yates glanced sideways at him, his eyes behind his glasses turning cold. "I don’t share your tastes."
James Lockwood’s expression soured. He wanted to speak up for Miss Sterling, but he truly didn’t dare to offend Mr. Young.
But he was even less likely to make Miss Sterling toast Mr. Young just to get him to increase his investment.
"I’ll also invest ten thousand," Wesley Yates said, looking at James Lockwood.
Seeing the topic had returned to the main agenda, the others quickly chimed in. "I’ll do 5,000, then."
"Me too, 5,000!"
"I’ll invest 7,000, but I need to get someone a role!"
"I’ll put in 4,000, and I need a role for someone, too. A small part is fine."
...
Everyone offered their bids one after another. The project was a good one, and as long as there were no major screw-ups, it was sure to be profitable, so none of them were worried in that regard.
Finally, James Lockwood and Whitt tallied up the investments. The total came to sixty-eight thousand.
They were still a full thirty-two thousand short of the hundred-thousand budget.
And Cecilia Sterling had yet to make her offer.
All eyes fell on Cecilia Sterling. Mr. Young smirked, raising an eyebrow at her. "Still thinking, little beauty? Why haven’t you made a bid?"
Cecilia Sterling smiled faintly and said in a slow, unhurried voice, "I was just waiting for everyone else to make their offers. You’re short thirty-two thousand. I’ll fill that gap for President Lockwood. We can’t let the project fall through, can we?"
As her words fell, Cecilia’s expression turned serious, and her entire aura shifted. "But President Lockwood and President Whitt will have to agree to a few of my conditions."