"So many books?"
In the office, seeing Ronan come in with a large stack of books, Mary hurriedly came forward to help: "You look exhausted again?"
Ronan's hair was messy, with two large dark circles under his eyes, clearly indicating he hadn't rested well.
"Too much work lately," he shrugged it off. "It's normal to work hard during the startup phase." Entering the office, he placed the books he was carrying on the desk and took the ones from Mary, saying, "I was editing the script last night and lost track of time."
With the company just getting back on track these days, there was too much work to be done, so script editing had to be relegated to the evenings.
Mary brewed him a cup of coffee and glanced at the books. "Are you studying?"
These were all professional books in the industry, covering everything from law to filmmaking and scriptwriting, with some being collections of successful cases.
Ronan nodded. "After the last failure, I realized my own abilities were lacking."
Foresight was an advantage, but personal ability was the foundation. The former influenced the upper limit of his future, while the latter directly defined the lower limit.
To run a film company and be a successful producer, relying solely on past memories was far from sufficient.
Ronan had decided to pick up the textbooks he had put down for many years in his past life and strengthen his knowledge in the field.
Although he had worked as a small producer across the Pacific, it was completely different from Hollywood.
In the past week, he had slept only about six hours a day, reading books and revising scripts at night, handling various company affairs during the day, and occasionally taking time to continue enriching himself.
As a producer and owner of a production company, it was essential to have a clear understanding of entertainment law and industry regulations.
For example, the Writers Guild, without understanding it, one wouldn't even know it was the highest-entry industry guild in Hollywood.
To join the Writers Guild, within the first three years of application, one needed to appear in the cast and crew list of at least 24 productions, including experiences of signing contracts with companies and undertaking creative work, or selling written works.
In other words, even if he was a screenwriter of a released film, he didn't qualify to join the Writers Guild.
In addition to regular work and study, Ronan also picked up the interpersonal network that Anderson had disdainfully neglected. For the past three days, he had been visiting Anderson's friends and business partners.
When he went to settle the royalties for the New Line Cinema's rights to "The Revenant" on TV and video tapes yesterday, he specifically visited Robert Shay.
A little more networking never hurt.
Anderson, however, remained oblivious.
Undoubtedly, Hollywood was a very talent-driven circle, but as a newcomer, wanting to soar with talent and skill alone was a bit unrealistic.
Ronan was well aware that countless geniuses had died on the road to entrepreneurship.
"Aren't you looking for suitable parties?" Mary placed an invitation on the desk. "This is an upscale event organized by DreamWorks. Many celebrities from the entertainment and fashion circles are expected to attend. I managed to get this ticket through connections, and it costs a whopping $3,000."
Ronan picked up the invitation and saw David Geffen's signature on it. Immediately, he said, "This money can go into the account for 'The Human Purge Plan'."
A $3,000 ticket was indeed expensive, with tickets for this year's Oscar night party costing only $5,000.
Even buying tickets like these required a certain qualification; not everyone could afford them.
Anyway, if an Arab footed the bill, Ronan didn't mind.
Ronan had a busy morning interviewing six people who applied to the company, reviewing Mary's preliminary financial expenditure plan for "The Human Purge Plan," and taking a look at the "California Entertainment Law" during his spare time.
In the afternoon, he temporarily put aside his work and talked to three directors who came to apply.
These three directors were not members of the Directors Guild. It was against industry regulations to directly contact production companies for work, but with the chaos in the independent film circle, this was not a big deal.
Unfortunately, these three had no qualifications or relevant work experience.
Strictly speaking, they had only shot experimental films in school and hadn't even touched music video production.
Since Ronan was aiming for success with "The Human Purge Plan" project, he directly rejected these three.
Ronan didn't have much experience to begin with, and the production experience from his past life was limited in its applicability. If he chose a director with no experience, the film would most likely flop.
This was definitely not like writing a script for a popular film from his past life and then getting a director to shoot it for success.
Ronan needed to learn and enrich himself, as well as accumulate experience. Finding a better director undoubtedly increased the project's chances of success.
The ideal candidate in his opinion was David Fincher, but he could only think about it, as the actual budget for the project didn't even reach $2 million.
This was actually a paradox. Directors with a bit of success demanded high fees, and cheap directors basically hadn't proven themselves.
The recruitment advertisements issued by Pacific Entertainment did have some effect. In addition to candidates who came to recommend themselves, several small talent agencies also sent lists of directors, actors, and other positions.
Ronan paid special attention to directors and actors. There were a few familiar names among the actors, but not a single one among the directors.
In Hollywood, good directors were even scarcer resources than good actors.
In the following days, Ronan met with five more directors, and the situation was similar to the previous three.
Some agents for second-tier directors had contacted Ronan, but seeing their quotes, he didn't consider them anymore.
Quotes from several medium-sized talent agencies for directors and actors were higher than the actual budget of the entire project.
Within the industry, some situations could be sensed without being said explicitly. After rejecting multiple offers, the project quickly disappeared from the sight of medium-sized talent agencies.
Pacific Entertainment's real progress was in the recruitment of ordinary employees. After interviewing for a few days, Ronan finalized several new employees.
The weekend quickly arrived, and Ronan went to the Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills after getting a new hairstyle from the stylist recommended by Mary.
This party was convened under the name of DreamWorks, and even outside the hotel, one could see some well-known figures.
As soon as Ronan entered the hotel lobby, he saw Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.
Due to the distance, he could faintly hear Kate Winslet telling Leonardo to go ahead; she was waiting for someone.
Then, Leonardo just walked away.
Ronan's purpose in attending the party was to expand his social circle, nothing else. He just wanted to be familiar with some people's faces first, as networking was also important in Hollywood.
"Good evening, Miss Winslet." He went directly to Kate Winslet, politely greeting her, "We meet again."
Kate Winslet shook hands with Ronan, responding politely, "Hello, nice to see you again."
Hearing this, Ronan immediately understood that Kate Winslet had forgotten who he was.
Without showing any displeasure, Ronan said, "I'm Ronan Anderson. We met at the 20th Century
Fox appreciation party."
"Yes, I remember now," Kate Winslet recalled who this handsome guy was, smiling warmly, "Call me Kate. Can I call you Ronan?"
"Of course," Ronan smiled, "Kate, I'm a big fan of yours."
Kate Winslet's gaze shifted past Ronan, looking behind him. Ronan was very aware and immediately said, "I'm going to the banquet hall. Let's chat when we have time."
"Sure," Kate Winslet responded with a smile.
This person left a good impression on her. Not only was he exceptionally good-looking, but he was also very interesting.
As Ronan walked past Kate Winslet, he turned his head and saw a burly man with a stubbled beard had already walked up to Kate Winslet, and she took the initiative to hold his hand.
It wasn't a courtesy arm hold but an interlocking of fingers!
The banquet was a public event, and this gesture undoubtedly indicated that the burly man was at least Kate Winslet's boyfriend.
"I told you to keep your distance from Leonardo!" The man's voice sounded quite annoyed as he approached Kate Winslet, "Do you want more rumors between you two?"
Then, Leonardo just left.
Ronan quietly slowed his pace, somewhat intrigued by the gossip, and from these two sentences, it was not difficult to judge that the burly man was in a weak position.
The man became even more annoyed: "I don't like that slick pretty boy! Extremely dislike him!"
Kate Winslet's voice was soft: "Jim, we're engaged."
"If he harasses you again, I'll make him regret it!" The man's words didn't sound like a joke, "I'll let him know how tough British men's fists can be!"
Kate Winslet tactfully persuaded him for a few more words, and the man grunted heavily, no longer speaking.
Ronan glanced back and shook his head, then walked into the corridor leading to the banquet hall.