novelinnhs Chapter 49 Anne Hathaway
Chapter 49 Anne Hathaway
The waiting time wasn't long, but every second of silence intensified the oppressive atmosphere in the club.
Sophie Durand walked onto the terrace with her phone in her hand. Through the glass door, Lin Ruiyang could see her speaking in a low voice with a serious expression.
He knew very well that what he had offered was not a simple sponsorship proposal, but a cultural weapon that would allow Pinault Jr. to stand tall in front of the board.
At that point in 2005, the penetration of luxury brands into Hollywood was far less blatant than it would become in later years.
They are arrogant and conservative, believing that movies are merely a backdrop for costumes.
But Lin Ruiyang's logic is the opposite: movies are idols of power, and brands are the gold paint on those idols.
Ten minutes later, the glass door opened, and Sophie sat back down opposite Lin Ruiyang, her eyes now filled with a complex emotion.
"Mr. Pinault has heard your theory of martyrs," Sophie said, putting down her phone and emphasizing each word.
"He said he really wanted to meet this twenty-year-old Eastern director who understood the essence of luxury goods better than those old-timers in Paris. But unfortunately, he's been dealing with the divestiture audit of Fnac all week."
Lin Ruiyang raised an eyebrow, waiting for that "but".
"But he authorized me to sign that memorandum." Sophie took a Parker pen from her briefcase and pushed it in front of Lin Ruiyang.
"The five million dollar cash sponsorship will be disbursed by PPR in two installments after Fox receives its first production budget."
The condition is that all the handbags Miranda carries in the film must be chosen from unreleased Gucci and Saint Laurent Fall/Winter collections, and there must be at least two close-up shots of the logos.
Lin Ruiyang smiled, picked up the pen, and neatly signed his name.
"It's been a pleasure working with you, Sophie. As for that Prada in the title..." Lin Ruiyang put away the contract, his tone slightly teasing.
"Since they're too busy establishing Prada SpA to deal with the details of the film, let them keep the empty title."
After all, isn't it an extreme irony that a woman dressed in Saint Laurent and carrying a Gucci handbag is called the Queen of Prada?
Sophie paused for a moment, then smiled knowingly: "Lin, you're really good at manipulating these symbolic logics. If you were in charge of brand PR, I think I'd be out of a job."
After leaving the club, Roger Sutherland waited in his car by the roadside.
When Lin Ruiyang tossed the memo stamped with PPR North America's seal onto the driver's seat, Roger stared at the amount on it, his eyes practically popping out of their sockets.
"My God... Lin, you really did it?" Roger's voice was slightly off-key with excitement.
"Five million dollars! Add in the sample garment support, and that directly offsets nearly seven million dollars of the budget. Those shrewd guys at Fox will be begging you to start filming!"
"It's not time to celebrate yet." Lin Ruiyang leaned back in his chair, looking out at the bustling Beverly Hills.
"Meryl has been holding out for three days, and today is the first day. After you get this contract, I want you to contact Kevin Huvani immediately and tell him that PPR has entered the picture."
"Understood." Roger started the car and honked the horn excitedly.
"That old fox Kevin, as soon as he smells the scent of capital, he runs faster than anyone else."
The following morning, at the headquarters of 20th Century Fox.
Elizabeth Gabler's office door was flung open, and Chris, the vice president in charge of budget review, stormed in with two faxes in hand, his face ashen.
"Elizabeth! You need to explain why the CAA people told me that PPR Group directly invested five million dollars in this project? And why their demand for brand exclusivity bypassed our business department!"
Elizabeth slowly picked up her coffee and pointed to the young man sitting on the sofa who was looking through a contract.
"Chris, don't shout. This is Ryan Lam, the screenwriter and director of this film. He's the one who secured the sponsorship, and I signed the licensing agreement."
If you have any objections, you can contact LVMH now and see if Bernard Arnault is willing to pay six million to replace PPR. If he is, I think Lin wouldn't mind making another trip to LVMH's North American headquarters.
Chris was speechless. In Hollywood, money is the ultimate power.
If a director can bring a third of the total budget to the set, the production company will turn a blind eye as long as the director doesn't go too far.
Lin Ruiyang closed the contract and looked calmly at Chris.
"Mr. Chris, if you still have questions about the budget, we can talk about it. But if you have questions about my directing rights, I think Ms. Meryl Streep might have a different opinion."
After all, she only agreed to consider the role because she liked my aesthetic of power.
Chris froze, and after a long pause, he managed to stammer, "I will... I will recalculate the production costs. But regarding the female lead, Mr. Director, you can't keep doing things so arbitrarily."
"I'm already in talks with the female lead," Lin Ruiyang said to Elizabeth, ignoring his emotions.
"Anne Hathaway. I need her agent to be in the CAA meeting room this afternoon."
In 2005, Anne Hathaway, like Meryl Streep, was in a delicate and awkward period.
The Princess Diaries series made her a global star, but it also cemented her image as a naive and innocent girl.
In an effort to reinvent herself, she made a bold attempt in last year's "Touch of the Wild," but the reborn Lin Ruiyang knew that the film received a lukewarm reception, and only "Brokeback Mountain" maintained its reputation.
Right now, she desperately needs a role that can prove her acting skills while also maintaining her commercial value, and of course, mainly to maintain that commercial value.
In the afternoon in Century City, Los Angeles, sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the CAA headquarters building, illuminating the interior.
Inside this building, known as the Death Star, every square meter is filled with Hollywood's top-tier power and money.
Josh Lieberman sat in the meeting room, his fingers tapping rhythmically on the marble tabletop. As Anne Hathaway's executive agent, he hadn't been in a very good mood lately.
Anne's attempt at a career change in "Touch of the Wild" was not well-received in the internal meeting before the film was completed. If it weren't for the positive internal screenings of "Brokeback Mountain" which allowed her to try her hand at appearing during awards season, her commercial empire would have taken a hit this year.
"Josh, the director of the Fox project has arrived." The assistant pushed open the door and entered.
Josh straightened up, his eyes regaining their professional coldness.
He had heard that the Chinese director Ryan Lam had not only won over Meryl Streep, but also secured a massive cash sponsorship of five million dollars from Paris.
"Director Lin." Josh stood up and politely extended his hand.
"I heard that you drove almost half of the budget auditors in Beverly Hills crazy because of this project."
"If you don't drive them crazy, they'll always be calculating the cost of those outdated film reels instead of the cultural premium that movies bring."
Lin Ruiyang took his hand and smiled slightly: "Sit down, Josh. I know your time is precious, and so am I."
After sitting down, Lin Ruiyang did not rush to take out the contract, but instead took out a carefully prepared visual concept drawing from his briefcase.
The first picture shows Anne Hathaway's classic look in "The Princess Diaries" with her fluffy hair and large glasses.
The second picture shows a figure walking down the street in Manhattan, wearing Chanel boots and a Saint Laurent trench coat, with a cold look in his eyes.
Although his face was obscured, the palpable aura of workplace aggression made Josh's eyes twitch.
"Josh, we are all aware of Annie's current situation," Lin Ruiyang said bluntly.
"She wanted to kill the princess, but she used too many methods. Going to the slums, taking off her clothes, playing a marginalized person... that was self-destruction, not a transformation."
Josh's breathing became heavier.
"In my film, Andy doesn't need to take off her clothes." Lin Ruiyang's finger traced the visual.
"I want to gradually wear away that cheap innocence of her by surrounding her with top-tier luxury goods."
I want the audience to see how a talented woman who initially viewed fashion as trash, under Miranda's torment, grows a thorny armor, and ultimately peels it away herself.
Lin Ruiyang stared into Josh's eyes, his tone low and seductive:
"This is the sophisticated transformation I want to give Annie. After this movie is released, girls all over the world will learn from her style, and white-collar workers all over the world will see themselves in her tears."
She will officially leap from a Disney girl to a Hollywood fashion icon.
Josh remained silent for a long time. He had seen countless directors make grand promises, but Lin Ruiyang's promises were backed by solid credentials.
"What price do we have to pay?" Josh's voice was a little hoarse.
"Payment." Lin Ruiyang held up one finger.
"One million and a half million dollars. I know that's less than her current asking price, but you have to understand better than me how much the fashion resources this movie would bring in offset the cost if Anne took the role."
"I need to talk to Annie first." Josh's expression had completely softened.