Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 368 A Country Within a Country
The comedy-horror film "Scream," produced by Twilight Pictures, a subsidiary of Dawn Studios, was released at Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles.
With an opening weekend gross of $700 million, the film has accumulated $1100 million in North American box office revenue in 10 days and has received much praise from the media!

Premiere: "Besides its horror elements, Scream also cleverly critiques popular culture, turning the sting of the horror formula into a kind of fun."

The Hollywood Reporter: "Scream cleverly and ingeniously tweaks many of the conventions of horrific killing with an extremely clever and complex plot; while the film begins and ends with necessary gore and violence, it skillfully blends satire, self-reference, and social commentary with horror and bloodshed."

The female lead in "Scream" is British actress Kate Beckinsale, who gave an outstanding performance in "Legends of the Fall" starring Brad Pitt last year;
Her starring role in "Scream" has earned her a large following among teenage audiences.

Meanwhile, another erotic film produced by Carlock and distributed by MGM, "Showgirls," received a lot of negative reviews.
Carlock invested $4500 million in "Showgirls," with Joe Ezethaas as screenwriter and Paul Verhoeven as director, but the box office was only $2000 million!
At this point, Carlock Pictures had no other way out and officially declared bankruptcy, with its assets taken over by banks.

Even though Carlock has another blockbuster, Cutthroat Island, to be released next month, he ultimately won't be able to wait for it.

“Mmm,” in the bedroom of Belair’s villa, Aaron on the bed embraced the sexy and beautiful Kate Beckinsale and gave her a passionate kiss.

"Hmm," Kate Beckinsale said, panting heavily as she lay on top of Aaron after some time.

"The writers and directors of 'Showgirls' are the same writers and directors of 'Basic Instinct,' but they failed to replicate the success of 'Basic Instinct.'"

Kate Beckinsale kissed the man on the cheek as she spoke.

Aaron smiled, running his hand along the woman's smooth, white back. "Indeed, Carlock's plan is to replicate the miracle of *Basic Instinct*."

"Unfortunately, 'Showgirls' received a lot of criticism!"

Paul Verhoeven's "Showgirls" is a hodgepodge of nudity, fighting, profanity, seduction, and luxury.

Excessive nudity and meaningless plot make the whole movie seem absurd.

The failure of "Showgirls" was the fuse that led to Carlock's bankruptcy, especially since the upcoming "Cutthroat Island" was plagued with problems.
In addition, Universal's summer blockbuster "Waterworld" also had many problems and ended up being a failure.

Neither Carlock, nor MGM, nor even other investors had confidence in Carlock's Cutthroat Island.
Unable to attract new funding, Carlock had no choice but to declare formal bankruptcy!
Mario Casal, the former president of Carlock, also went to Japan to serve as a jury member at the Tokyo International Film Festival.

"Well, thankfully, Scream received pretty good reviews," Kate Beckinsale must have been a little nervous, as it was her first time playing the lead role in a film.
Even though Scream only cost a mere $1400 million.

In her previous roles in "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Legends of the Fall," she wasn't even the lead actress, but rather a supporting actress!

"That's good. Your performance in 'Scream' was excellent. With the film's release, you've gained some recognition in Hollywood."

"Hollywood should be offering you more roles going forward."

As he spoke, he patted the woman on the shoulder, "Besides, don't you still have me?"

Kate Beckinsale is only 22 years old this year. If she hadn't dropped out of Oxford University, she would be a recent college graduate.

Kate Beckinsale nodded. "Of course I know. I'll be attending some movie promotion events these next few days. Go to sleep!"

The following day at noon, at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Aaron and Tom Williams stood in a hollow within the park. "Is this where they'll build the WaterWorld theme park next year?" "Yes, after the excavation, they can build the post-apocalyptic WaterWorld scene, and then there will be all sorts of water shows."

"A lake has formed here, which can be connected to the river over there."

Because the movie "Waterworld" was a huge loss, Tom Williams had someone investigate it after Aaron's suggestion.

The plan to build a future water park is entirely feasible.

Aaron thought for a moment, "Oh, right, remember to build a pirate ship amusement park on the water."

"Didn't the news report that the wreck of the Queen Anne's Revenge pirate ship was discovered this year in Pamlico Bay, North Carolina?"

HMS Queen Anne's Revenge is a historically famous pirate ship, and the flagship of the infamous 18th-century pirate captain "Blackbeard"!
“A pirate ship amusement park?” Tom Williams thought for a moment, then nodded.

"This idea is feasible. Universal Studios doesn't have many water activities, so we can implement it!"

Aaron glanced at it again, but in his heart he was preparing for the movie "Pirates of the Caribbean";
In its previous life, Disney's fantasy film series "Pirates of the Caribbean" originated from their pirate ship project.

Since Disney hasn't developed it yet, Aaron definitely can't miss this opportunity. He can take advantage of the construction of WaterWorld and secure the pirate ship project, killing two birds with one stone.

"How are the preparations for Universal Studios Japan in Osaka going?"

"Everything is going smoothly. Construction can begin next year, and Universal Studios Orlando will also be expanded. Rank Films has also agreed to sell 50% of its shares in Universal Studios Orlando."

Aaron asked, "How much are they asking?"

"$3.5 million."

Aaron chuckled. "Indeed, what a surprising price!"

Tom Williams said with a wry smile, "Rank Films won't lower the price."

"Alright, agree to their terms. A few days ago, I reached a verbal agreement with Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of the Kingdom Holding Company in New York."

"We plan to build two new resort hotels at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Orlando, with Universal Studios Hotels participating in the project."

"Especially in Orlando, we're going to build a Universal Studios-themed hotel, and we're also trying to buy up as much land as possible near Universal Studios Orlando!"

It's worth noting that Disney owns over 120 square kilometers of land in Orlando, while Universal Studios occupies only 2.2 square kilometers.

Walt Disney World in Orlando is essentially a country within a country, and Universal Studios needs to minimize the gap between the two.

(End of this chapter)