Although someone had set for himself a "great" goal, accomplishing it was not easy. Traditionally, men who attract women either have money or power, or both.
Imagine if Adrian could control Hollywood and make anyone a superstar at will, how could those actresses he fancied not fall into his arms? But his current fortune of a few million dollars was far from sufficient, so making money became imperative.
If it were an ordinary person, they would certainly worry about how to make money, but for someone reborn like him, it was relatively simple. Thanks to novels he read in his past life, he remembered quite a few methods for making money. For example, asking Claude to help speculate on the yen.
However, knowing is one thing; actually doing it is another. In his past life, he had merely been a small director with enough insight into movies but no understanding of finance. While one could find a lot of related information on money-making methods online, applying them practically was almost impossible.
Therefore, if he wanted to capitalize on this opportunity to make money, he needed someone by his side who could help him in financial matters.
Every pampered young master had a group of fair-weather friends, but there were also trustworthy ones, like Claude Ronris, whom Adrian persuaded. Their families were quite close, especially considering both their fathers were not only Harvard graduates from the same year but also very compatible partners in the Brotherhood, and godfathers to each other's children. After Adrian's parents' accident, the Ronris couple had helped him a lot.
If one were to describe Adrian and Claude using Chinese terms, "childhood friends" or "friends who peed in the same sandbox" would be the most fitting. In short, the two had grown up causing trouble together, bullying others, and chasing women, even after Claude graduated and was called back to help at his father's company, he still found time to gather with Adrian. After Adrian's parents' accident, he stayed by his side for a long time, figuring out ways to help him out of his predicament.
Although the current Adrian was no longer the same pampered young master, he who inherited all the emotions and memories of the original Adrian still felt a natural fondness toward Claude. Moreover, based on past memories, this guy's business acumen was exceptional, so Adrian thought of him immediately.
Convincing Claude, however, took a great deal of persuasion. Luckily, the trump card based on past memories worked — six million dollars was not much, but there were few opportunities where he could fully demonstrate his ability. Furthermore, Adrian mentioned that even if it failed, he wouldn't lose anything anyway. Coupled with the fact that they had been friends since childhood, the first step was finally accomplished.
But then again, had Claude agreed to such a seemingly inexplicable and almost flawed plan easily, Adrian would have had to consider whether he had ulterior motives.
"Since the first step is made, the second step should be taken quickly," Adrian muttered as he returned to the villa after securing the crucial beginning.
From February 1990 to May 1990, he spent almost three whole months at the villa, except for a visit to the Screenwriters' Guild and the library, hardly stepping out, much to the surprise of Mrs. Galen, who managed the house.
During this time, he began to loathe this era. Computers still ran on DOS programs, mobile phones were huge and cumbersome, laptops could only be described as crude, and there was no internet or convenient search engines.
This forced Adrian to prepare a large number of books and dictionaries, and spend at least a week learning and familiarizing himself with the typewriter before he could start transcribing scripts.
The second step was naturally entering Hollywood and building his influence with films. Though he had no ties to the movie industry, Adrian had set clear goals and plans; starting with screenwriting was undoubtedly the easiest.
If he initially had uncertainties about his goals, he made an astounding discovery when he began to recall the scripts he had read and analyzed before reincarnation — as long as he spent enough time, he could practically retrieve the scripts he had once read, clearly and completely.
Perhaps it was related to his memory being fused and reorganized after reincarnation, who knows? But this gift from God undoubtedly made the stakes in his hands more sufficient. Thus, over the past three months, he relentlessly completed at least six full scripts, along with outlines for ten more.
Bertrand Erwin parked his car, observed his surroundings, and confirmed the location before muttering to himself. Then he headed towards the target villa. He stretched out his hand to ring the doorbell, and after a few minutes, the door creaked open, revealing an ordinary-looking middle-aged woman who examined him with confusion, "Who are you looking for?"
"Does Mr. Adrian Cowell live here? I am Bertrand Erwin from Universal Pictures' script department. We have an appointment," Bertrand asked politely, unable to hold back his inner monologue. He wondered, why would someone living in such a villa write screenplays for a film company? Were rich people so bored nowadays?
"Please come in, Mr. Adrian has been waiting for you," the woman replied with a sudden look of realization, stepping aside.
Bertrand nodded and walked in, feeling puzzled as the woman seemed to use "you" in plural form. What could that mean?
He quickly understood upon seeing the four men in the villa's living room, as three of them were his acquaintances from Warner Brothers, Fox, and Disney.
Was Mr. Cowell planning to sell to the highest bidder? That was Bertrand's first thought, which he dismissed shortly after. The young man seemed wealthy and not in need of money.
Before Bertrand could make sense of it, Billie Edie from Disney's script department waved with a smile, "Hey, we were just waiting for you, Bertrand, come join us."
He exchanged a glance with the other two as they shrugged in unison, leaving Bertrand bewildered. Waiting for me? What did that mean?
"Could you explain, Mr. Cowell?" Bertrand asked when he introduced himself to the young man sitting on the sofa. "I assume you invited us all here simultaneously?"
"Oh, of course," the young man smiled. "I had a whim to write a few scripts recently and wanted to see if I could make some money. So, I sent them to your companies, and here you are to negotiate."
"A f-few scripts?" Bertrand was taken aback, instinctively glancing at his three colleagues, who once again shrugged in unison, adopting the expression "You get it now."
Bertrand's brain seemed overloaded. Clearly, Mr. Adrian Cowell meant he sent different film scripts to several major companies, all of whom then sent representatives to negotiate purchasing them!
What a joke. Even Hollywood's top screenwriters couldn't simultaneously satisfy several major companies unless the scripts had been completed long ago. Yet, judging by the attitude of Billie and the others, these must have been written by him recently. It was unbelievable.
Bertrand had read the script; it's called "10 Things I Hate About You," a very lighthearted school comedy. Although some narrative techniques were somewhat traditional, the overall story was quite engaging. In the United States, the genres least likely to lose money are romantic dramas and youth school dramas. As long as the script was outstanding and directed by someone competent, coupled with a cast of vibrant young actors, the box office generally wouldn't be disappointing and could even be quite profitable at times.
For this reason, the script department manager instructed Bertrand to try his best to acquire this script.
"This is quite surprising, Mr. Cowell," Bertrand remarked, regaining his composure, casting a glance towards Billie, Thekla Jephson from Warner Brothers, and Barney Jacklin from Fox. "Honestly, your campus youth story is very impressive."
The three responded with subtle head shakes, causing Bertrand yet another surprise: the four scripts weren't even of the same genre? This was too exaggerated.
But Bertrand quickly controlled his emotions, signaled to his three colleagues, and they nodded slightly, understanding the implication. Since Mr. Cowell decided to negotiate with several companies simultaneously, they might as well collaborate to press the price during bargaining, a common practice in such situations, even more so since the other party was a newcomer.
Although he had provided different scripts to different companies and didn't seem to lack money, they would try to bargain as much as possible.
"Thank you for the compliment, Mr. Erwin," Adrian smiled from the sofa, "Shall we get down to business?"
"Of course," came Bertrand's reply after exchanging a quick glance with the others, "While your script is excellent, considering you're new and not a professional screenwriter, I can offer at most $35,000."
Billie slightly twitched his lips but then, along with Thekla from Warner Brothers and Barney from Fox, concurred: "Indeed, Mr. Cowell, this offer is quite fair."
"Is that so?" Adrian raised his eyebrows slightly, "It seems a bit low."
Then, he quickly smiled again, "It's fine, let's go with that."
All four were momentarily stunned, especially Bertrand. Starting with a low offer was meant to facilitate the upcoming bargaining, yet the other party readily agreed, leaving him wondering what Adrian was planning.
Adrian soon revealed his intentions. He placed two folders on the coffee table, "Oh, if it's convenient, could you please take a look at these two scripts?"