Chapter 82: Signing Ceremony

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Signing Ceremony

Irene listened patiently, knowing these were the practical issues that came with commercial deals. She waited for the other side to finish before speaking calmly.

"I understand BMW’s concerns. But please pass this key message to them. In this movie, the MINI Cooper isn’t just a prop. The cars are protagonists too."

Her words made everyone in the room pause.

Irene continued, her eyes bright with the vision of the scenes. "What we want to show is their toughness, agility, and how essential they are in extreme situations.

When bulky police cars crash and break down in narrow streets and tunnels, the nimble MINI Cooper will weave through traffic and complete impossible missions."

"The message to the audience won’t be ’this car breaks easily.’ It’ll be ’this car is incredible. It can do anything.’"

She emphasized her point. "We can make three promises to BMW. First, any stunt that could put a driver at risk will be handled by professional stunt drivers using reinforced stunt vehicles.

Second, in the final cut, we will use editing and sound design to highlight the MINI Cooper’s cleverness and courage, while downplaying the visual damage to the cars. Third, and most important..."

Irene laid out her final offer. "We can even invite the BMW team to review the film in post-production, especially the key scenes involving the vehicles.

If they feel a shot hurts the brand’s image, we can negotiate to change or remove it. We want partners, not just suppliers."

The Fox business representative quickly wrote down the main points, and her expression eased. Irene’s proposal showed both creative vision and a practical approach to problem-solving.

"In addition," Irene added with a sly smile, "please tell them we need far more than three cars. Between stunt backups and wear from filming, we’ll need a fleet of at least thirty MINI Coopers. For them, that’s a significant order."

That number raised a few eyebrows, but it also proved how serious and large-scale the project was.

"I understand, Director Coppola," the business representative said, closing her laptop. "I’ll pass your points and proposal to BMW in full. This sounds far more convincing than our original request."

After that, they discussed filming locations. Since Irene already had the original film in her mind, choosing locations wasn’t difficult. They decided on streets in Venice and Los Angeles.

They also set a general direction for props, sets, and special effects.

When the meeting ended, Irene reached for Shelly Ovitz’s briefcase. She had a question for him.

Shelly sat back down. After signaling his colleague to leave first, Irene asked, "What’s going on? When did Matt Damon move to your CAA agency?"

During the meeting, the CAA rep had kept pushing Matt Damon, and Irene couldn’t ignore it.

"We’re trying to recruit him," Shelly said, a bit helpless. Before the meeting, he had told his colleague that Irene wouldn’t cast Matt Damon, but the other agent hadn’t listened. He had only managed to annoy her.

"So you’re using my movie as a bargaining chip to sign Matt," Irene realized. No wonder they were so aggressive. "Don’t treat me like an easy mark. I don’t care about the other roles, but you don’t get to pick the male lead."

"My lady, when have I ever made decisions for you?"

"That’s what I thought. You can go now." Once she had her answer, Irene waved Shelly off.

Shelly was used to being called over and dismissed by Irene, so he picked up his briefcase and left.

"Irene, there’s a party after the signing ceremony next week. You have to attend," Adelaide Griffin said as Irene was about to leave the conference room. "It’ll be full of young people like you. It would be a shame to miss it."

Although the director’s contract had been signed last month, the production team still planned a signing ceremony that doubled as a press conference to promote the film.

That kind of event was only for blockbusters. Her previous three movies had all started quietly.

There aren’t many people in Hollywood as young and successful as me, Irene thought. But she was on good terms with Fox Pictures right now, and it was just a party.

"Don’t worry," Irene said with a slight nod. "I’ll be at the party on time."

"Haha, good. Your life is too quiet. That’s not very Hollywood. I’ll introduce you to some peers. It’s fun to spend time together," Adelaide said, patting her back and laughing.

Irene thought about it. Her circle of friends was small. Her close friends were Britney Spears and, now, Edward Nelson. Among her classmates, only Vivian Taylor got along with her.

But when she got busy, she didn’t have time for anyone.

Making friends with a few superstars didn’t sound bad.

"This time, I won’t be filming school stories like before. I’m turning my camera to bigger, more intense scenes," Irene said as the press conference neared its end.

"Yes, this is my first major change, and I hope the audience will love it."

When asked about the new film’s genre, she answered directly, "This is a crime action film."

"Director Coppola!" a reporter called out. "Are you confident directing a genre you’ve never handled before?"

"Of course," Irene answered with confidence. "I’m not working alone. I have a whole team behind me, and I believe we can handle it."

"Can you share the basic plot?" another reporter asked.

"It’s roughly a story about a group of thieves using their wits to fight over gold," she said.

After that, she glanced at the host, who took the cue and announced the end of the press conference.

That evening, Irene drove her new car to pick up Britney, and then they headed to the Beverly Hills Hotel.

This was her first time driving alone since getting her license.

"When did you get your license? This car is nice," Britney said from the passenger seat, looking around with curiosity.

"I got it last week. You’re my first passenger, so buckle up," Irene joked with a smile. "How has everything been lately?"

"Hmph, it’s going fine, but it’s exhausting. Every day I’m either doing promotion or traveling to promotion, and I barely get any sleep."

"I’ll talk to Shelly. You need to balance work and rest. Don’t burn yourself out."

"Hmph, even though he’s our agent, Shelly only listens to you. Whenever I want to do something, he always says no or refuses to cooperate. He’s more controlling than my dad." Although Britney’s words sounded like complaints, there was a familiar, family-like warmth in them. Maybe Shelly had unintentionally taken on a father role.

"That’s why I brought you out tonight to have fun. I heard there will be a lot of great Hollywood actors there. How’s that for a best friend?"

"It’s okay, I guess," Britney said reluctantly, but she couldn’t hide the smile on her face.

Just as she was excitedly wondering who she might meet tonight, she got out of the car and immediately saw Edward Nelson dressed like a member of The Beatles.

"The great Hollywood actor you mentioned wouldn’t be him, would it?" Britney asked Irene, unable to believe it.