[Chapter 79: Parting, Universal Pictures Faces Performance Dilemma]
Happy times always flew by fast. Seven days had passed in the blink of an eye. On the last night, the two stayed up all night, not wasting a second. Their time together was intense and prolonged.
Sophie had benefited from Linton's essence for seven straight days, boosting her energy and strength greatly. She barely held her own against Linton in their encounters.
After breakfast, while packing, Sophie was puzzled. "It's strange. We had sex the whole night yesterday without any rest. Why don't I feel tired at all?"
"Maybe we've both been completely relaxed these past few days," Linton replied.
He thought to himself that it was because he had been giving her the essence daily, improving her physical condition, which made her healthier and more radiant. But he couldn't tell her the real reason and just came up with a casual explanation.
"Is that so? It does seem like having sex with you has magical effects. Look, we've been sunbathing here for seven days, yet my skin hasn't darkened at all. It's even brighter and smoother than before. I thought it was the sunscreen and protectant, but now it seems our sessions brought this miracle. I feel younger by a few years and full of energy," Sophie said.
"It should be. It's probably a unique effect from us being together."
"Also, you're so amazing that now I can't feel anything with other men. What do you think I should do?"
"That's even better. You belong to me now, so don't think about anyone else," Linton shamelessly replied.
"But we're so far apart. Calculate how long it's been since we last met -- half a year. If I hadn't called to invite you this time, who knows when we'd meet again? No way, we need to meet each other more often. I can't go half a year without it."
"Why don't you come to Hollywood? You've already achieved great success in France with little room to improve. Only Hollywood can take you further, globally."
"Alright, I'll think about it. But if I come to Hollywood, you have to help me a lot."
"Of course, just give me a heads-up before coming."
They reluctantly ended their vacation and took a seaplane back to Male. At the airport, Linton said a heartfelt goodbye to Sophie Marceau, then boarded his flight back to Los Angeles.
---
Back in LA, Linton first went to the Swiss bank's Los Angeles branch to open two secret accounts -- one for himself and another for Skycrest Capital's offshore funds. Before the U.S. government cracked down hard in 2009, Swiss banks were synonymous with security and secrecy, regarded by countless wealthy elites as a refuge for their fortunes.
To avoid trouble, Linton planned to first deposit money won from European Cup betting into his secret Swiss account, then gradually transfer it to Skycrest Capital's account in the Virgin Islands. The main reason was tax avoidance; under U.S. tax law, if the money went directly to his domestic account, it would be subject to 40% personal income tax without legal avoidance.
Also, it was difficult to explain such a large sum's origin to others and more convenient for future overseas investments and real estate.
---
Time truly healed wounds. Nearly fifty days had passed since the LA riots. The streets of downtown LA slowly revived, business activities resumed normally, shops reopened, and foot traffic increased.
The government was organizing repairs and demolitions for buildings damaged in the riot.
Linton called Mira to his estate to discuss buying a luxury wooden bead bracelet. He asked her to research the best wood types, gather data on the most prized woods, and find the finest processing companies. Ideally, he preferred buying a finished product.
Mira brought two pieces of good news. "Last week, Universal Pictures held premieres of Step Up in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Houston, and Boston. The response was fantastic. Audience surveys rated it mostly an A, with the lowest being B+, and those very few. Looks like our movie is going to be a blockbuster."
"That's great! So our tastes align with the audience's. Were the attendees all my fans?"
"No, Universal carefully selected the audience to ensure your fans didn't exceed thirty percent."
"Okay, and what's the other good news?"
"Mercedes-Benz in Germany sent word their advertising campaign is ready and asked when we could film."
"Definitely good news. I'll be busy at the end of June, but early July sounds good. You handle scheduling with them to film quickly. After that, we have the movie promotion."
"Right, we must promote Step Up well. I'm confident it'll bring strong box office returns."
...
As they spoke, Robert heard about Linton's return and came over excitedly. He hugged Linton warmly and said, "Linton, you really kept your cool -- ten-plus days with no updates and no concern for your movie. But you know, the early screenings look very promising."
"We must talk to Universal about increasing the release scale and setting the premiere date soon, pumping up promotion, and aiming for a wide theatrical release."
"Okay, I'll contact Levitt now to see if he's free tomorrow."
...
Linton promptly called Levitt, who happened to be preparing to reach out to him. They scheduled a meeting at Universal for 9 a.m. tomorrow to discuss distribution details.
"Meeting set for 9 a.m. tomorrow. Let's go together. Also, inform Tim to join us."
---
This year, Universal Pictures was still performing poorly. Most films they invested in and produced flopped. Though distribution was profitable, they hadn't found any big hits.
It appeared none of the top ten North American box office hits this year involved Universal.
Even the highly anticipated film starring Tom Cruise, Far and Away, with a $60 million budget, only earned $59 million domestically. Including overseas, it was a losing venture, relying on long-term rights exploitation to recoup costs.
This situation likely meant Universal would remain near the bottom among the Hollywood Big Seven, battling Sony Columbia for second-to-last place -- or maybe last.
Amid the struggle, unexpectedly, Step Up gave everyone great hope.
Levitt's biggest regret was not securing movie rights and sequel priority in the distribution contract. Who'd have thought Linton would produce such a great film?
He remembered agreeing out of respect for Daniel, only to be ridiculed by many Universal executives at the time.
*****
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