Chapter 320: The Perfect Bait

Chapter 320: Chapter 320: The Perfect Bait

To make the "monster universe" act convincing enough, Irene and Robert specifically made some simple plans for the project. Irene didn’t even have to rack her brain, because in her previous life, there was indeed such a film that was highly anticipated during its preparation.

That was the film Van Helsing, starring Hugh Jackman, Kate Beckinsale, and Richard Roxburgh, written and directed by Stephen Sommers.

The production cost was about $160 million, and the global box office was around $300 million. Calculating it out, Universal suffered a loss of at least $100 million.

Thinking of this, Irene couldn’t help but feel a surge of joy. Universal might currently be hesitating to officially launch the project. After all, such films carry immense risk, and the company surely needs multiple rounds of evaluation.

But stolen fruit is always sweeter. Once Universal discovers that Irene is also preparing a film with a similar theme, they will definitely become more proactive with Stephen Sommers’ project, speeding up the approval process and perhaps even increasing investment in post-production. This way, the resulting losses might be even greater than in her previous life.

Consequently, Irene wanted Van Helsing to get off the ground as soon as possible.

Future World Pictures, after its acquisition and integration, already had a group of veteran employees familiar with genre film operations. Irene specifically chose a Friday afternoon to gather core members from the distribution, planning, and visual effects coordination departments of both companies for a "Project Feasibility Seminar" in the Future World conference room.

On the conference room’s whiteboard, the "Initial Concept for a Monster Universe" was clearly written in marker: Core IP combination (Vampire + Werewolf + Frankenstein’s Monster), target audience (primarily males aged 18–35, with consideration for female fantasy fans), and estimated budget ($150 million).

Irene sat at the head of the table, holding a printed "fake script outline," and posed a question in a serious tone: "From a distribution perspective, how is the acceptance of this multi-monster ensemble theme in the North American lower-tier markets? Will rental channels worry that the audience is too niche?"

The veteran distribution employee, Tom, was a founding member of Future World. Having worked with the company for over a decade, he knew the channel situation like the back of his hand.

He pushed up his glasses and analyzed seriously: "Vampire and werewolf themes have always been evergreens in the rental market. While Frankenstein’s Monster’s popularity has dipped slightly in recent years, the combination of the three offers a sense of novelty. However, we must be careful with the balance. Too many monsters can lead to a chaotic plot. It’s best to have a core protagonist to tie it all together."

Robert added at the right moment: "Regarding special effects, the image designs for the three major monsters must be differentiated. The vampire should focus on elegance and mystery, the werewolf should highlight primal strength, and Frankenstein’s Monster should emphasize tragedy and horror. The budget needs to lean toward special effects, accounting for at least 40% of the total investment."

The entire meeting lasted for two hours, with heated discussions covering everything from market prospects to risk mitigation, and from actor selection to distribution windows. Every detail was discussed with incredible specificity.

As the meeting neared its end, Irene tapped the table, her expression becoming exceptionally solemn: "This project is currently in the confidential stage, restricted only to those attending today. Future World has just merged into Echo, and we don’t want any information leaked early to affect subsequent preparations."

Robert followed up with emphasis: "We will arrange for you to conduct a detailed market research report, including box office data for similar themes over the last three years, audience profile analysis, and channel feedback predictions. Submit it to me within a week. Remember, this investigation must be conducted low-key. Externally, just say it’s ’routine genre film market research.’ You must absolutely not expose the core of the project."

The participating employees nodded in agreement, but their minds were already racing. A major project of this level, personally led by Irene Coppola—once successful, it would mean both fame and fortune.

Although the leadership repeatedly emphasized confidentiality, Hollywood’s "non-disclosure agreements" have never been able to stop the flow of information.

Within three days, news that "Echo Pictures is going to film a monster universe" quietly spread through the Future World employee circles into the industry. Some said the "script had been polished to the third draft," others rumored that the "special effects team had already started concept designs." With added embellishments, the fake project appeared increasingly real.

Meanwhile, a pre-production meeting for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was held at Disney.

Johnny Depp, Henry Cavill, and other key creators were all present, discussing the sequel’s plot direction and action choreography.

During a break in the meeting, the producer in charge of special effects suddenly asked Irene curiously, "Irene, there are rumors in the industry lately that you’re working on a monster movie featuring a vampire, a werewolf, and Frankenstein’s Monster, and that you’re looking to collaborate with Leonardo. Is it true?"

As soon as he said this, all eyes in the conference room instantly focused on Irene.

Johnny Depp raised an eyebrow and teased with a smile, "Oh? A monster theme? Are you trying to develop another Pirates of the Caribbean?"

Irene put down the script in her hand, a trace of "exposed" helplessness appearing on her face as she spoke half-seriously, "Your information is quite fast. I do have such an idea. After all, I’ve loved my father’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula since I was a child, and I’ve always wanted to do a monster-themed film. However, the current Pirates of the Caribbean 2 is the priority. That monster project is just a preliminary concept. We don’t even have a complete script. It’s not certain if it will even happen."

She deliberately spoke vaguely, neither admitting nor denying, with a hint of "secrecy" in her eyes.

"And regarding Leonardo, it was just a preliminary contact. He’s already preparing to join the set of The Aviator and has no energy to consider other projects," Irene added, seemingly clarifying, but in fact further solidifying the rumors of the "project’s existence."

After the meeting, Irene stood up to pack her things and intentionally left a folded sketch paper in the corner of the conference table.

On the paper was a simple sketch of a vampire: a high bridge of the nose, deep eye sockets, and a well-defined profile. If one looked closely, it did bear some resemblance to Leonardo.

The assistant responsible for tidying the conference room found the paper, looked at it curiously, and quickly recognized the "potential male lead" in the drawing. They immediately sent this "accidentally leaked" sketch to a familiar industry reporter.

Not long after, the vampire sketch appeared on Hollywood gossip websites with the headline: "Exclusive! Prototype of the Male Lead for Irene Coppola’s Monster Project Exposed, Strongly Resembling Leonardo."

Below the image was a textual analysis: "According to insiders, this sketch was accidentally left behind by Irene at a Pirates of the Caribbean 2 meeting. Combined with previously leaked project information, the possibility of Leonardo joining is extremely high."

When Robert sent this report to Irene, she was reviewing the "market research report" submitted by Future World.

The report analyzed the market potential of the monster theme in detail and even listed over a dozen potential special effects teams.

"It seems our bait is enticing enough," Irene smiled and forwarded it to Robert. "Universal probably can’t sit still anymore."

Robert replied with a "thumbs up" emoji: "Just got news that Universal has already started contacting special effects companies and is inquiring about Leonardo’s schedule. That low-level employee, Maddy Hansen, has probably become a ’hero’ for Universal now."

Irene put down her phone and looked at the sunlight outside, a flash of cunning in her eyes.

She knew that Universal had completely fallen into the trap she had set. Next, she just had to wait and see them pay the price for this fake project, while Echo Pictures could take this time to focus on advancing the production of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and the channel integration of Future World, consolidating its position in Hollywood step by step.