System in Hollywood

Two days later, the housewarming party arrived in no time.

As expected, besides Sera and Jessica, who already knew about it in advance, everyone else, including Natalie Portman, was shocked when they saw the luxurious Wayne Manor and learned that Wayne bought it outright without a loan.

Not to mention the schoolgirls Mia intentionally invited.

"What did you say? That mansion was bought by that poor kid, Wayne Anderson?!"

Mia slightly raised her chin and smiled, "Wayne is no poor kid, and didn't you see the name on the gate? 'Wayne Manor' – isn't the name obvious enough?"

"Oh my God! I thought it was some Batman fanatic naming their mansion that!" someone exclaimed.

Mia chuckled dismissively and said, "Let me tell you, Wayne has already acquired our family's Hemera Studios, and he just invested 10 million dollars to shoot an independent film. The concept came from Wayne himself, and Warner Brothers just bought the rights for 19.5 million."

A collective gasp followed.

It was one thing for Wayne to have money, but being able to write a film that Warner would buy was especially enticing to these film school students.

"On top of that, Wayne plans to invest another 30 million dollars to make a new movie."

Now, the seven or eight "good sisters" around Mia were left dumbfounded, taking a while to snap out of it. Their eyes locked onto Wayne, who, dressed in a suit and looking incredibly handsome, was standing not far away, holding a wine glass and discussing a new project with Sera.

A mansion bought for 15 million, 30 million for a movie investment – there aren't many in Hollywood who could pull that off!

Mia elegantly held her wine glass, looking down at everyone around her. Seeing their faces filled with envy and desire for Wayne, she felt a wave of satisfaction as her vanity was thoroughly fulfilled.

Even though there were only a few people here, Mia knew that by tomorrow, the news would have spread throughout most of the school.

With this thought, her earlier annoyance about Jessica moving in quickly vanished without a trace.

As for whether Wayne would be tempted by her girlfriends... 

Ha! Do they really think she's that foolish to invite any woman who could threaten her?

With her looks and figure, there weren't many at the school who could compare. Among these girls, none of them came close.

In terms of "skills," Mia had grown confident in herself with Wayne's guidance over time.

Plus, she could support Wayne's career, and she gave herself to him first. With all that in mind, she didn't think anyone could replace her in Wayne's heart.

In fact, she wasn't wrong.

Mia was the first woman Wayne met when he arrived in this world, so she held a special place.

However, despite her special status, Wayne was determined to enjoy his life fully, meaning Mia wouldn't be the only woman by his side.

After tonight's party, Jessica, whose body and soul had already been thoroughly captivated, would move into Wayne Manor.

"I've made my decision about the new project," Wayne said, calling Sera and Mike over to a corner of the party after dealing with a few actresses who came over to flirt.

"This time, I'm splitting the funds into two parts."

"Part of it will go toward writing and directing another horror movie. Jessica will be the female lead, and we'll aim for a budget of over 8 million."

"Should I reach out to Bill?" Sera asked.

"No, I plan to go with James Wan this time."

Wayne knew Sera hadn't heard of him, so he explained, "He just directed and wrote his first film this year, *Stygian*. It's a low-budget horror film, but it's well-made, especially in terms of building suspense. He seems really talented."

"Alright, I'll contact him as soon as possible."

Although Wayne had approached the future horror film director James Wan, he didn't plan to shoot *Saw* just yet.

There wasn't a suitable main role for either him or Jessica in *Saw*.

So, he opted for *Happy Death Day*.

This low-budget horror-thriller, which cost only 4.8 million to make over a decade later, tells the story of Tree Gelbman, who gets caught in a time loop, murdered every night on her birthday, until she, with the help of the male lead Carter, finds the real killer and breaks the loop.

Even in 2017, when the time-loop concept was no longer new, it grossed 55.43 million in North America and over 100 million globally.

If released in a time when even *The Butterfly Effect* was still years away, its box office and reception would likely shine even brighter.

The best part was that the film's production wouldn't be too difficult. Due to the time-loop concept, the number of scenes required was minimal, and if everything went smoothly, it wouldn't take longer than *Accepted* to finish.

With a budget of around 10 million, it would definitely be more efficient than spending four or five months making a 30 million-dollar action movie.

As for the sci-fi or fantasy films that take years to produce, he didn't even consider those.

"The remaining 20 million will go toward forming a new project team. Through that team, I'll acquire the film rights to Robert Ludlum's best-selling novel *The Bourne Identity* and start pre-production."

"I'm planning to make a trilogy out of the series. I'll bring in Doug Liman, the director of *Swingers*, and hire Tony Gilroy, who wrote *The Devil's Advocate*, to write the screenplay."

"I'll play the lead role of Jason Bourne."

"We'll aim for a production budget of 50 million for the first film."

"As for the marketing part... we can think about that after the movie is made. We won't have any financial pressures, so we just need to focus on making a quality film."

"Even if we can't secure a distribution deal with a major like Warner or Fox, we can still release the film in North American theaters ourselves."

"Only seven studios have global distribution capabilities, but if we're just talking about North America, there are plenty of companies with distribution power, like DreamWorks."

"We might even try establishing our own North American distribution channel."

"As for overseas releases, once the film gains traction in North America, plenty of foreign companies will approach us to buy the rights. At that point, whether we go with a profit-sharing deal or a one-time buyout will be up to us."

"In that case, we won't have to worry about overseas marketing."

After days of careful consideration, Wayne had not only decided to shoot *Happy Death Day*, but he also set his sights on the classic *Bourne* series, which in a parallel world starred Matt Damon.

Unlike the glamorous, over-the-top styles of the *James Bond* and *Mission Impossible* series, *The Bourne Identity* had a more realistic, intense tone. Not only did it receive both critical and commercial success, but it was also relatively easy to shoot and didn't have a long production cycle. Moreover, it was a star-making vehicle.

Before *The Bourne Identity*, Matt Damon had some fame and awards, but it wasn't until he took on the role of Jason Bourne that he became widely known and a top Hollywood star.

Of course, if Wayne had arrived in this world earlier, his first choice would have been the *Fast & Furious* franchise.

He wouldn't have been suited for Dominic Toretto, but Paul Walker's Brian O'Conner would have been perfect.

Unfortunately, it was already mid-August, and the first *Fast & Furious* movie had already started filming.

"By the way, how's the promotion for *Accepted* going? I haven't seen much in the papers recently," Wayne asked after laying out his plans.

**End of Chapter**