"Just kidding," Zeni chuckled, then turned serious, "But seriously, are you sure about choosing such a risky theme? Right now, you have the aura of an undefeated champion. Everyone is saying you're a genius, that you have magic, and that your movies are classics. But if your new movie fails, everything could crumble. Your fans might leave, your enemies would rejoice, and they'd come out in full force to criticize you. Are you certain you can handle all of that?"
However, how could Laila not know these things? She was well aware of the power of "Kill Bill." The only uncertainty was whether she could make a film that matched or even surpassed the original. If she failed to do so, then clearly she might experience her own "Waterloo."
But so what?
"I'm still young. Even if I fail this time, I'll have plenty of chances for success. So, what's the harm in starting over?"
Zeni thought about it and realized that he was right. Laila, who was still not yet 20 this year, had a much higher starting point than other directors. Just considering the global box office she had generated, many directors with more experience, more films under their belts, and more time spent directing were nowhere near her level. Aside from a few big-name directors, hardly anyone else could achieve the high box office numbers she had reached.
With such an astonishing ability to harvest box office earnings, perhaps one failure wouldn't completely negate her achievements. Zeni didn't understand Hollywood's rules, so he consoled himself in his heart. He didn't want Laila to become disheartened because of a single failure.
"Alright, I have to admit you've convinced me. But how did you suddenly come up with the idea to make a movie with a female lead? And an action film, no less. What on earth is going on inside that cute little head of yours?"
Laila couldn't help but laugh lightly. "You're a peculiar person too. I've made horror films where people die in strange and creative ways, but you've never said anything about that. Instead, I make an action film and you find it odd."
Zeni also laughed. "Expecting a forensic doctor to have a strong opinion about death is a bit unreasonable." In his world, corpses and death were as mundane as could be, so how could he be surprised by various creative deaths in movies? Not to mention, many of those creative deaths were his ideas.
During their conversation, Laila drove the car back to her mansion in Beverly Hills. Claire was already waiting there, knowing that guests were coming over. She had prepared a guest room for Zeni.
She was well aware of the connection between the Zeni family and the Moran family, so she didn't have any objections to Zeni temporarily staying there. Of course, it was only temporary. If she discovered any signs of anything more than that, she would extinguish it immediately.
Joking! How could her adorable little Laila have a deeper relationship with a man who spends his days with corpses? Being friends was already more than enough!
Looking at Claire's gentle and loving smile, Laila couldn't possibly know that Claire was on high alert against Zeni.
After Zeni was settled in his room, Laila called Louise: "Have you read the script?"
"Yes, I've read it."
"How does it feel?"
Louise hesitated for a moment. "I'm not entirely sure. It seems like a daring and niche film."
Her thoughts were in line with Zeni's, and Laila wasn't surprised. Before "Kill Bill," who could have predicted that an action movie with a female protagonist would receive such high praise?
She wouldn't explain her thoughts to everyone individually, so she straightforwardly told her, "Plan according to what's written in the script. Just reading the script can't determine whether the movie will be good or not."
"You're right." The script was important, and the director was equally important. Thinking about her boss's multiple successes, Louise decided to trust her a bit more. "I've already instructed the team to calculate the budget. While we don't have a precise figure yet, it's estimated to be between 30 to 40 million dollars. The main expense will be in the set design."
"That's alright. We've become accustomed to working on low budgets, but it's time to venture into big productions." Laila thought about the movies she had made, from the initial tens of thousands to now tens of millions – her progress had been tremendous.
Unfortunately, when calculating costs, none of the films' profit margins matched that of "The Witch." Regrettably, movies like "The Witch," which had been made on a small budget and earned big returns, were rare. A few years later, "Paranormal Activity" would be able to compete, but "The Witch" had already tapped into the audience's curiosity too much. In the short term, other possibilities for similar low-budget films were hard to come by.
"Big productions! We need to create big productions!" Louise was ecstatic on the phone. This was what she had been hoping for for a long time, wasn't it? Anybody in the film industry would be interested in big productions.
Although it wasn't certain that large investments would bring about large returns, big investments did offer many advantages compared to small ones. Whether it was set design, actors, crew members, or special effects, with a sufficient budget, everything could be done to the best of their ability. If combined with a good script and a skilled director, the likelihood of success was much higher than that of failure.
Not every director had Laila's ability to consistently generate maximum returns from minimal investments, which was one of the reasons other film production companies envied Phoenix Films. To think that an investment of hundreds of millions would yield similar box office results as an investment of a few million – how could that not make others envious?
Looking at it from another perspective, if small investments could yield significant returns, then what about large productions? With Laila's abilities, it was likely she could achieve even greater earnings, right?
After all, she had only released R-rated films so far, which meant she had restricted the audience to some extent, particularly the younger audience segment that made up a substantial part of her fan base. Imagine, if she were to make a film that wasn't so heavily restricted, how astonishing could the box office records be? Thinking about this made Louise excited, and she wished she could send Laila to direct a family-friendly film right away.
"Laila, your new movie is also R-rated. Why not try making films that are more accessible to younger audiences? Perhaps we can try to share a slice of the summer blockbuster pie."
The summer blockbuster season held an important place in the annual box office rankings and was a battlefield where major film companies fought it out each year. Laila hadn't impulsively chosen that golden period yet because she knew that with her current stature, squeezing in might just make her cannon fodder. Besides, her movies were all R-rated, so the summer blockbuster season wouldn't have a big impact on her. That's why she hadn't reached out for it yet.
However, the absence of such actions in the past didn't mean it would be the same in the future. Laila, who always followed the money, wouldn't pass up a money-making opportunity like that.
"Don't worry, Louise, we're going to make a move soon."
Louise's heart skipped a beat, and she asked nervously yet hopefully, "How soon?"
"Very soon, maybe even with the next movie." Laila's lips curled up, giving her an exciting answer.
"That's fantastic! I'm looking forward to that day coming soon!" Louise eagerly anticipated it.