Chapter 223: Avoiding

Chapter 223: Chapter 223: Avoiding

"So, do you have someone in mind?" Shelly looked into Irene’s eyes.

Irene didn’t answer directly. "Let’s put the casting aside for a moment. I don’t intend to collaborate with any other film studio for this movie. The budget isn’t high, so I’ll be investing in it myself."

Shelly was slightly taken aback. He admired Irene’s bold idea. After all, this film had heavy subject matter and a depressing tone—it was visibly not profitable, and self-funding meant bearing all the risk of loss alone.

But then he thought, the person in front of him was Irene Coppola. From Legally Blonde to The Italian Job, she had never missed. Even if My Big Fat Greek Wedding might not replicate its previous glory, with a budget of just 5 million dollars, it had already made 780,000 dollars in midnight screenings alone. Turning a profit would be easy.

This made him inexplicably believe that she wouldn’t do something that would clearly lose money. Everything must be under her control.

"So, what do I need to do?" Shelly quickly reined in his expression.

"For this film, I intend to hand over the operations entirely to CAA. You are most skilled at project packaging services, aren’t you? I’ve been signed with you for so long, yet I’ve never truly experienced this kind of one-stop service."

Shelly was somewhat surprised and raised an eyebrow. "I thought you had always been against this model. After all, every time we cast, you have your absolute insistence. You rarely completely follow the artists we recommend."

"What I dislike is being kidnapped by capital and processes, not efficient collaboration." Irene shrugged lightly, her tone candid.

"I am willing to try any method that can help me save on trivial matters and focus on creation. This is my first project where I am completely in charge independently, and it cannot afford the slightest mistake. If the start is ugly, it will directly drag down all my subsequent plans. So this time, I need you, I need CAA, to be my most reliable support."

"I understand." Shelly suddenly realized.

"What you want isn’t a vampire that points fingers while taking your money, but a versatile logistics team that acts only as a backup and does not interfere with creation. This is exactly CAA’s strength. Leave it to me, it’s absolutely secure."

"There is one more thing. You have the widest network in the Hollywood PR circle. Help me assemble a professional Oscar campaign team. At the end of the year, I need them to operate the whole process."

Shelly was stunned, his tone carrying genuine surprise. "In such a rush? Are you trying to catch the next Oscars?"

Irene sighed helplessly and silently. She didn’t want to be this rushed either. She knew many Oscar-contending films were prepared at least a year or two in advance. But if her film didn’t release this year and join the list for the 75th Oscars, it would likely clash with her own sister’s work at the 76th.

Sophia’s Lost in Translation was, unsurprisingly, already quietly in preparation. This work would shine at the 76th Oscars in 2004, sweeping four major nominations including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actor.

Sisters from the Coppola family competing on the same stage would be a great opportunity for the outside world to watch the show. Not to mention whether she could compete with her own sister, even if she could, there was no need for it. So she had to avoid this time window, and this year was her only chance.

But she couldn’t confess this to Shelly. She could only analyze the reality in a calm tone:

"Strike while the iron is hot. Once Pirates of the Caribbean explodes at the box office, a sequel will inevitably be put on the agenda immediately. I plan to shoot the second and third parts back-to-back to compress the cycle and save costs, but this will take up all my time for at least six to ten months.

Calculating it, this year is the only window in the next two to three years where I can free up time to delve into an art film."

She paused and tapped the cover of the script with her fingertip. "Besides, Million Dollar Baby has concentrated scenes and streamlined characters, and the shooting cycle is short. It’s just that the early actor training and script polishing will take some effort. The timing is just right to catch the awards season."

Shelly nodded repeatedly as he listened. Every step of Irene’s plan was interlocking and precise to the extreme. This foresight, far beyond her peers, completely put his mind at ease.

"I understand everything." He picked up the script on the table and held it tightly in his hand. "Casting, team, PR, Oscar layout—I will start everything immediately. You just focus on polishing the script, and leave the remaining miscellaneous tasks to me."

After the words fell, Shelly said no more, turned around, and walked quickly out of the office.

Shelly quickly returned to the company with the script and project proposal, walking straight into the core office on the top floor of the CAA headquarters.

When he pushed the door open, Ella Walker was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, looking at the back of the black sedan that Nicole Kidman had just left in, thinking calmly.

On the coffee table in the office, there was still a cup of cold champagne that hadn’t been finished, as well as several brochures marked with Moulin Rouge.

Obviously, just a few minutes ago, the Hollywood actress who had just missed the Oscar for Best Actress had left here with full unwillingness and urgency.

As one of the most powerful leaders currently at CAA, Ella Walker knew Nicole’s state of mind at this moment too well.

For Moulin Rouge, what Nicole Kidman paid was not just weight loss, vocal training, and high-intensity dance practice. She was originally the highest-voiced seed player in the awards season, but in the end, she lost to Halle Berry, who made history.

That honor, which was supposed to be in the bag, fell through. Not to mention a top-tier actress with high pride like Nicole, any actor would be sleepless all night.

But Hollywood never cares about losers. Winners drink champagne, losers accept their bad luck.

Obviously, this lady didn’t want to swallow this anger easily. Visiting in person today, bypassing her exclusive agent Cran Gerard who was responsible for project docking, and finding her, the general manager in charge of the whole situation, her intention was more than obvious.

She needed CAA to use the top-tier connections to tailor a perfect, undisputed role for her to win the Oscar and wash away the shame.

Ella turned around and saw the script in Shelly’s hand, a flash of shrewdness crossing her eyes. "Back? Nicole just left, and her mood isn’t great."

Shelly nodded indifferently and placed the project proposal for Million Dollar Baby gently on the desk, getting straight to the point: "I’m here for Irene’s new project. She has confirmed she wants to shoot this one, with full personal investment, and needs us at CAA to package and operate it throughout."

Ella picked up the script and flipped through it quickly.

She had been immersed in Hollywood for twenty years, and her eyes were extremely vicious.

She didn’t need to finish it. Just scanning a few pages of the core plot and seeing the character arc of the heroine Maggie—from a bottom-level waitress to a dreamer in the boxing ring, from the bottom to the peak, and then falling from the peak to a choice of dignity—that kind of tough, tragic, and highly dramatic female image was exactly the type of role that Oscar judges favored most and was easiest to canonize.

"This project must be supported with all our strength. Irene’s vision has never been wrong. As long as this film is shot, it will definitely be a big hit for the awards season." Her tone was very solemn.

She looked up at Shelly and cut straight to the core question: "Does she have a candidate for the heroine in mind?"