The next day, with some free time on his hands, Kevin first went to Warner Bros. and completely sold off the rights to the sequel of Get Out for a price of $30 million.
Afterward, he finally arrived at Dawn Films, a company he hadn't visited in a long time.
...
As Kevin's assistant, Garcia Ali had heard of Steve Kevin's reputation as a senior at the university, despite never having met him in person.
Within the school, Kevin had already become an idol admired by countless students at the University of Southern California.
Even before graduating, he had received unanimous praise from numerous professors.
And immediately after graduating, he secured investment from a film company as significant as New Line Cinema and produced his first film.
And it was a tremendous success.
All of this was like a legend in itself.
No, at the University of Southern California, he had already become a legend that everyone wanted to be.
The reason Ellie Garcia wanted to be his assistant was also to take a shortcut.
Starting as his assistant and entering Hollywood would be much more difficult than climbing up step by step on her own to achieve her directing dream elsewhere.
However, what she didn't expect was that after serving as Kevin's assistant for so long, she hadn't even seen his face.
If it weren't for not wanting to miss this opportunity, she would have quit her job a long time ago.
Just when she was bored and sitting idly in the office, she suddenly saw a stranger entering the company.
The two girls at the front desk exclaimed with excitement, "Boss Kevin, you're here!"
Ali quickly became flustered and took out a mirror from her pocket to adjust her appearance...
"Long time no see! Do you both enjoy working at Dawn?" Kevin cheerfully asked. With the money in hand, his mood was quite pleasant, and upon seeing the sisters whom he hadn't seen in a while, he was in the mood to tease them a bit.
"We're used to it. We have our boss and uncle looking out for us here, so no one dares to mess with us in the company," proudly replied Helen, the older sister.
"Yeah, yeah! We're happy at work," Emma quickly chimed in.
Helen's eyes shifted, and she continued, "It's just that the boss visits too infrequently, and both of us miss him."
Kevin narrowed his eyes at these two little mischief-makers before walking into the company.
As he entered the office area, Kevin laid eyes on the blonde beauty in front of him. Her appearance had a hint of the distinct features Kevin remembered from his past life in the Chinese community, but her overall look clearly exhibited the facial features exclusive to Westerners. She was a perfect embodiment of the beautiful women resulting from the convergence of Eastern and Western aesthetics.
In the United States, there were very few women with such a appearance.
Moreover, she wasn't a signed actress in his company, and the finance department theoretically didn't have such a beauty.
So...
"You're my junior, the assistant Dawson found for me?" Kevin asked openly,
"Yes sir, I'm Ellie Garcia, you can call me Ellie."
"Alright, take a look at this project proposal first and give me your feedback."
Without wasting any time, Kevin handed over the Caribbean Pirates project proposal to Ellie. It could be considered a test for her.
As his assistant, the job wasn't easy, but in return, if Ali could meet his expectations, she would gain unimaginable connections and a generous salary.
Ellie was well aware of this and took the project proposal with nervousness, flipping through the pages.
While Ellie was reviewing the proposal, Kevin walked into Dawson's office.
Dawson was currently handling matters concerning a few signed directors. As a film company, the most important business was movie production. However, the previous Dawn Films was merely an empty shell and didn't engage in such activities.
Now, with slightly more funds and Kevin's guidance, Dawson decided to explore other directors to shoot some low-budget films and open up new revenue sources for Dawn Films.
Seeing Kevin's arrival, Dawson merely looked up to acknowledge him before burying himself in the directors' profiles he was reviewing.
Kevin didn't disturb him and casually picked up a file to skim through. As he did, he came across a name that he was very familiar with—the name of a future prominent director and someone Kevin greatly admired.
Zack Snyder!
"Dawson, call the directors on this list and arrange a meeting. I think this one has great potential. Let's start by having him work as my assistant director, and when the time is right, we'll give him the opportunity to direct a film," Kevin instructed.
With Kevin's rising status, he had lost interest in low-budget horror films. However, it was undeniable that low-budget horror films were highly profitable in Hollywood. If Dawn Entertainment could secure talented directors, Kevin was still willing to be a producer and support directors in his own film company.
Zack Snyder happened to be one of the targets Kevin encountered. As for the others, it would be a test of Dawson's judgment.
However, Dawson had to admit that he had some good judgment in selecting his predecessor.
Nodding his head, even though Zack Snyder's resume wasn't particularly outstanding, Dawson, who had a certain superstition towards Kevin, believed in Kevin's opinion. If Kevin said Zack Snyder had potential, then he must have some hidden talent that Dawson hadn't noticed.
After giving instructions, Dawson inspected his own company and then returned to the office area. Ellie, who seemed deep in thought, appeared to have finished reviewing the project proposal.
Seeing this, Kevin immediately tested her by asking, " Ellie, do you think there's any issue with my project proposal?"
Based on her experience, Ellie boldly spoke up, "A fantasy film like Pirates of the Caribbean with a budget exceeding 100 million dollars, and with no successful examples in the past five years, it carries high risks and might not attract investors easily."
Kevin nodded, realizing that Ali had put in the effort. "Well said, but those aren't problems."
" Ellie, you have passed the test. Now, take the materials and go to the Writers Guild to register my project. At the same time, release a public announcement for open auditions for all roles."
Upon hearing Kevin's instructions, Ellie's face lit up with joy. Since Kevin was directly giving her orders, her position as his assistant was secured.
She hastily left to go to the Writers Guild.
Watching someone take care of things, Kevin stretched lazily. With an assistant, his role as a director would be much easier. That was also why he didn't make any special tests and simply asked a few questions. He indeed needed an assistant.
The next tasks at hand would be the auditions for Pirates of the Caribbean and the preparations for funding. However, there was no rush for these matters. In another month or two, when Mission: Impossible had finished shooting, he would begin negotiations with MGM.
This time, even if it meant paying a large sum of cash and future royalties from Mission: Impossible, Kevin was determined to acquire at least 5% or more of MGM's shares.
Ambition flickered in Kevin's eyes as he gazed at the sky outside.