[Chapter 24: An Endless Stream of Content]
"Yes, I have to congratulate you, beautiful lady!" Charlie said cheerfully, leaning in with a smile. "You've found yourself a young, strong, and career-driven boyfriend."
Rachel's eyes sparkled with excitement, unfazed by her boyfriend's rough stubble as she rested her head against his.
They shared a warm moment before finally starting the car and hitting the road.
Rachel said excitedly, "Darling, my career is also looking up. My agent told me he's talking to Universal; they're preparing a big-budget fantasy film, and I have a chance to be the lead actress."
"Oh, really?" Charlie replied nonchalantly, offering a formal congratulation. "That's great, I'm sure you'll succeed. Hopefully, participating in Fifty Shades of Gray helps."
"Definitely!"
Rachel was overjoyed, daydreaming about a prosperous career and happy home life.
Little did she know, her boyfriend was actually a shameless womanizer with no real commitment to their relationship.
Men usually have to go through a few relationships or career setbacks to grow.
Women are no different, and clearly, Rachel had found her opportunity for growth through happiness.
...
Upon arriving at the company, Charlie warmly responded to congratulations from Spike, Kevin, and others.
The team members were increasingly confident about the Fifty Shades of Gray film project.
Especially at first, Lamont and Mord, who initially just followed the boss's lead, gradually began to believe that Charlie's venture into filmmaking was a solid move.
Mord reported good news, "Boss, Daddy Kirk reached out to me. He said he's been strapped for cash recently and can't invest in us, but he sends his congratulations. He said you're the pride of our street partners in Los Angeles."
"Is that so? Tell him thanks from me!"
Charlie didn't dwell on why this minor issue was resolved before he even stepped in.
Nearby, Etto expressed some concern, "Godfather, is the 2Pac matter settled?"
"I hope so, but with gangsta rappers, who knows? Anyway, let's focus on moving forward quickly!" Charlie frowned.
Quick fame was good, but it often meant unstable foundations. Handling enemies at the same level was always challenging.
By Charlie's nature, when faced with immature and unstable enemies, he struck to kill -- like with Jada.
But with Tupac, he'd done all he could; now all he could do was defend and hope the other side was sensible.
...
"How's the financing negotiation going?" Charlie shifted focus and asked Gert and Melche, who led the negotiation team.
Though called financing, they were actually reaching out to local private capital.
The funds came from small vendors and average working families -- those who couldn't afford high-priced stockbrokers.
From many perspectives, Fifty Shades of Gray was a hot project with 20th Century Fox investment.
Lacking major capital, it was still attractive to ordinary investors.
Private financing was common in America. In The Wolf of Wall Street movie, protagonist started by selling unregistered shell company stocks.
There were many such private funds, legally managed with licenses or other methods.
For big projects, they were marginal. For smaller ones, securing their investment wasn't easy.
Gert quickly presented the ten or so funds he and Melche approached, with all sorts of names.
After multiple rounds of talks and presenting their project plan, investment, and distribution agreements, they had signed about $900,000 worth of investment intent contracts -- just waiting on Charlie's signature.
Charlie smiled as he took the documents. "That's a significant amount. They seem very confident in this investment."
"Exactly!" Melche smiled. "Getting money from these small funds isn't as easy as it seems; they're very cautious investors."
Charlie said, "Ha! Well done. I think you deserve a bonus!"
Everyone was pleased; the project was progressing smoothly and soon would bring rewards.
...
Besides raising funds, the project had one last task: signing the final contract with the female lead.
Kevin raised the issue, saying Alicia would soon come with her agent for negotiations.
Charlie squinted, "Kevin, I'm leaving this to you. Don't let me down."
Kevin Feige replied, "We signed a letter of intent earlier. I think we can negotiate a lower salary budget. But Godfather, with you attending, it would be more effective."
Charlie waved his hand; he'd already given up on Alicia.
Seeking personal gain was fine, but being dumb was hopeless.
Charlie said, "You handle it. I not only want our project to succeed, but also to help our team grow. While I'm still hot and known, I want to release more content quickly to get returns and investments."
This was about cashing in on fame and striking while the iron was hot.
As the boss, he had to think ten steps ahead.
Kevin Feige, Gore Verbinski, and others were young, so Charlie tried to let them take the lead and grow fast.
Career success wasn't just launching quality products but also building a capable team.
Without a team growing with him, managing assets, earning big money only benefited others.
...
After over an hour, Charlie and Melche finalized the $900,000 investment details, including distribution beyond box office revenues.
They set the schedule and arranged negotiations with Yorkton Securities and Mafia Distribution Company in a few days.
Then, he called two prepared screenwriters, Nina Charles and Garen Sali.
...
"I have countless interesting stories in mind. I want to form a commissioned writing team to create content within the outlines I set."
Charlie was eager, painting big pictures for them, discussing the future and profits.
He told them that if they wrote diligently and performed well, they'd share royalties on book sales.
Furthermore, if the books were adapted into films later, the creative team members could be promoted as main screenwriters and possibly producers.
Commissioned book writing was legal and reasonable, but inevitably, some profit had to be shared. Charlie alone didn't have the time or energy to write books all day.
For these two young newcomers, cooperation based on shared benefits was his best plan.
"I'm already familiar with your writing styles. Nina, Garen, you will write these two books separately, which will become series. I expect you to be heads of your respective series."
Nina noticed her file was for How to Train Your Dragon, while Garen's was for Saw.
"The story is fresh -- a world where people ride dragons!" Nina said quickly.
Garen scratched his head, "Mine's good too -- a game teaching you to value life."
"There will be even more interesting stories!" Charlie smiled. "Initially, I'll need you to write tens of thousands of words for me to review. Once familiar, you'll manage the team. I've got endless stories in mind!"
"Godfather, your goals are so ambitious. I'm glad to be part of this!"
They said happily, fully satisfied by both the salary and future prospects.
Soon, they signed strict commissioned writing agreements with Charlie.
*****
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