Looking at Mansour beside him, Ronan smiled.
“Please, go ahead.”
The money wasn’t in his hands yet, so as long as the demands weren’t excessive, he would agree to them first.
Mansour said slowly, “The film must not contain any content that praises jewish people or slanders Arabs.”
Ronan immediately replied, “Rest assured, the Arabs will definitely save the Americans.”
Mansour nodded.
“The name of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority must appear in a prominent position in the film.”
“No problem.” Ronan thought for a moment and said, “Just like the Sand Sea Entertainment logo, it will be placed separately at the very beginning of the film.”
Mansour had watched Hollywood movies and understood what that meant.
“That’s acceptable.” He added, “You must make every effort to get this film released in theaters, rather than just releasing it on video.”
“Of course!” Ronan said earnestly.
“This is my goal, and it was also my father’s wish. To expand Sand Sea Entertainment, wide-release theatrical films are a must.”
Mansour was quite satisfied and said, “One last thing: the distribution and screening of this film in the Arab world must be handled by me.”
Ronan nodded slightly.
“That’s fine.”
“Since there are no objections,” Mansour said, acting decisively once a decision was made, “we will sign the contract this afternoon.”
For Ronan, the sooner the signing, the better, but he suppressed his inner ecstasy and longing, saying very calmly, “I need my lawyer, Ibrahim, to be present. I am not very well-versed in legal matters.”
Mansour certainly wouldn’t object to such a formal procedure.
“That’s only right,” he said, then told his thin attendant, “Go and prepare.”
Afterward, he began chatting with Ronan, focusing on the Western world’s perception of Arabs.
Although Ronan was not an expert in socio-politics, he possessed some insights that transcended this era, and by maintaining his stance of despising jewish people, he was able to have a heated and engaging conversation with Mansour.
By noon, Mansour even hosted a special banquet for Ronan.
Nowadays, even many European investors were not very familiar with Hollywood’s third-party completion bond system or the practice of setting up a separate company with independent accounting for a single film, let alone the Arabs.
Since Mansour hadn’t mentioned it, Ronan certainly wouldn’t be foolish enough to bring it up himself.
Even if the other party knew something about it, Ronan had ways to deal with it.
Not to mention now, many independent films would not even use third-party completion bonds ten years later.
Therefore, Hollywood’s independent film circle was generally more chaotic than the mainstream commercial circle.
The signing ceremony in the afternoon went very smoothly.
With the lawyer’s endorsement, Ronan, representing Sand Sea Entertainment, and Mansour, representing the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, signed a three-year investment contract for the purge.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority would be responsible for the investment, while Sand Sea Entertainment would be responsible for project preparation and operations.
After three years, the principal would be returned, and box office profits would be calculated.
When Ronan returned to the venue, it was already near closing time.
Aside from Marie, Robert, and the regular staff provided by the Abu Dhabi side, there was basically no one else in the venue.
“How did it go?” Robert pulled Ronan into a quiet corner of the venue.
“Why were you gone all day?”
Marie also looked at Ronan with concern.
“Did you get it done?”
Robert asked impatiently, “How much are they investing?”
The excitement and thrill on Ronan’s face flashed for a moment, but he tried his best to maintain his composure and said, “Eight million dollars.”
“How much?” Marie subconsciously picked her ear, doubting she had heard correctly.
Robert couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
“Eight million dollars?”
Ronan pointed at the Arab staff in the venue and held up a finger in a gesture for silence.
Robert nodded quickly.
“I understand! I understand!”
Clap— His hands were trembling with excitement, and he couldn’t hold onto the documents in his hands, which fell to the floor.
Marie’s breathing became heavy and rapid, and she muttered to herself, “God! God! Ronan, how did you do it! This is eight million dollars!”
“Alright, you two.” Ronan was also excited, but he was able to control it.
“Calm down. The money won’t arrive until tomorrow morning. We need to stay calm.”
Robert turned around, faced the corner, and lowered his voice as much as possible.
“Ronan, you… are you possessed by God?”
Ronan shrugged.
“This is Arabia; God doesn’t work here.”
Robert couldn’t hold it back any longer and started laughing.
To avoid laughing out loud and attracting the attention of the Arabs, he had to bite down hard on the corner of his shirt, his teeth grinding against the fabric, making a strange sound.
Marie couldn’t take it anymore and said, “I’m going out for some air.”
She went out the side door of the venue to a terrace, gripped the railing tightly, and confirmed that all of this was real.
At first, she felt that Ronan’s self-rescue plan was unreliable, but Sand Sea Entertainment was on the verge of bankruptcy, and there was no choice but to find a way to save it.
After all, she didn’t want to see Old Anderson’s achievements ultimately vanish into thin air.
Unexpectedly, after experiencing the blow of a crushing defeat, Ronan had matured rapidly.
He didn’t act rashly.
Whether it was conducting socio-market research, contacting the media, or understanding the situation of the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, he had done his homework thoroughly before executing the plan.
Thorough preparation, combined with a little bit of luck, made their fundraising plan proceed very smoothly.
After the press conference in Los Angeles, seeing that Arab, she thought it might be possible to raise over a million dollars.
After everything that happened in Abu Dhabi, she thought three or four million dollars was also possible.
As it turned out?
Ronan had secured an $8 million investment all by himself!
“John, did you see that?”
Unknowingly, two tears rolled down Marie’s face.
“Ronan has grown up, he has matured. He will be an amazing genius.”
Marie was one of the first people to accompany Old Anderson in starting the business and had watched Ronan grow up every step of the way; she was exceptionally gratified at this moment. This chapter was taken from novelping.com without permission.
After packing up the key materials and leaving the venue for the Arabs to help clean up, Ronan took Marie and Robert back to the hotel Room.
After a period of buffering, the two of them had calmed down a lot.
Because they needed to discuss things, they didn’t eat dinner out, but ordered it directly to Ronan’s Room.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority was truly not short of money and was sufficiently hospitable, providing Ronan with a luxury suite at the presidential suite level and covering all expenses.
Ronan drank half a glass of water and asked, “What is the total amount of intended investment from the venue?”
Marie had just finished calculating, glanced at the data, and said, “4.5 million dollars.”
“Not bad.” Ronan nodded slightly.
With that $8 million investment already secured, this figure could no longer bring much excitement or thrill.
Robert gradually calmed down and said, “These are only investment intentions; the final amount that can be signed will be much less.”
Ronan rubbed his chin and considered for a moment.
“How about this: after the Investment Authority’s funds arrive tomorrow, we will talk to these potential investors again. With the Investment Authority investing $8 million, I expect there will be media coverage.”
Robert understood immediately.
“If the media doesn’t report it, we can properly leak some of it. Such news will definitely not be hidden from those who are interested.”
“That works.” Ronan agreed.
“How will this capital be used?” Marie asked with concern.
“All for filming the movie?”
Ronan replied vaguely, “We’ll talk about that after returning to Los Angeles.”
Robert chimed in, “First, get the money, and everything else is easy to handle.” He changed the subject and suddenly said, “Ronan, how about we go to India again?”
How much was a one percent commission?
This money came too easily; it was much easier than working hard to earn a living to support a family.
Ronan was also a bit tempted, but he was able to control his greed.
Greed was good, but it had to be moderate.
“We won’t go to India for now.” He shook his finger.
“With so much money, the Arabs might be keeping an eye on us. Let’s return to Los Angeles first to operate the purge; let’s not cause any extra trouble for now.”
Marie reminded him, “Don’t forget, how much preparation did we put in? Don’t underestimate others.”
Robert was no longer a young man either; he sighed and said, “You’re right.”
Ronan looked at Robert and Marie; both of them had pretty good self-control.
That night, Ronan had insomnia; this was all a sequela brought on by the $8 million.
Lying on the huge mattress, countless Franklins floated before his eyes, and he felt as if he were surrounded by long-legged, busty beauties.
The next day, the $8 million investment successfully arrived, and the Abu Dhabi media also reported on the related news.
The negotiations between the three of them and those potential investors went quite smoothly.
Before they left Abu Dhabi, of the $4.5 million in intended investments, $3 million was actually finalized.
The first step of the plan was successful.
Ronan specifically attended the Investment Authority’s press conference, where he talked at length about the friendship with the Arabs and was hailed by the media as an American friend of Abu Dhabi.
Then, he returned to Los Angeles with an $11 million investment.
When the plane landed at Los Angeles International Airport, Ronan finally breathed a real sigh of relief, as if he could see a bright future beckoning to him.