For an entire half month, Ronan had devoted most of his energy to understanding the current state of society, especially regarding the internet and Hollywood.
If he wanted to escape his predicament, he naturally had to focus on the industry he was most familiar with.
The prerequisite for all of this was that he must understand the basic situation of modern society.
Hollywood was just as he remembered; after collaborating with the future governor twice, James Cameron had spent years creating a rampaging great ship.
However, this great ship had only just set sail, and the current global box office champion was Spielberg’s Jurassic Park.
Internet technology was no different; the Apple founder had returned more than a year ago, and the stock prices of Cisco and Yahoo were climbing steadily.
If he remembered correctly, the bubble wouldn’t burst until the new millennium arrived.
This was the best of times, and also an era where internet tycoons were on the rise.
If he wanted to catch this ride, he needed a sum of starting capital.
Not only was Ronan penniless, but he was also burdened with heavy debt.
During this past half month, it wasn’t that he hadn’t tried to secure loans or other financing methods, but information in the US was highly transparent.
Sand Sea Entertainment’s repayment ability was insufficient, and let alone formal banks and financial institutions, even the private loan sharks he contacted looked down on him.
Because Sand Sea Entertainment was a member of the Producers Alliance, he, with Marie’s reminder, submitted an application to the Producers Alliance to compete for funding from the ‘Film and Television Industry Subsidy and Health Plan’.
This plan was mainly used to incentivize and help members of the alliance.
The Producers Alliance was not a labor union but a trade organization, and the power of speech was controlled by medium and large companies.
This application sank into the sea without a trace, receiving no response.
Unable to find external assistance, he could only save himself.
Ronan set his sights on Hollywood, or more accurately, on movies.
To that end, he specifically visited the several major industry organizations in Hollywood.
Every night, he also studied the past successful and failed cases of Sand Sea Entertainment, summarizing the lessons learned from them.
It’s hard to do anything without money.
Sitting in his office, Ronan slowly twirled his pen.
What should he do next?
How could he get money as quickly as possible?
Only with money could he catch the ride.
He stopped twirling his pen and wrote ‘Movie’ on his notebook.
Because of his work in his past life, he could name a long list of future Hollywood Blockbusters; not only did he remember the Chinese titles, but he also remembered most of the English titles.
The younger Anderson himself had screenwriting ability, but Ronan didn’t consider that for the time being.
Let alone the fact that new scripts from newcomers were hard to get noticed, even if someone took a liking to one, it wouldn’t sell for a good price.
As for writing a script and directing it himself, that was out of the question.
He had never been a director, and the younger Anderson hadn’t studied directing either; he simply didn’t have the ability, and he had no money.
The previous Andersons had both produced films in the capacity of investors and producers; like other Hollywood companies, directors and crews were all hired externally.
Ronan scratched his hair hard.
The time for a film to recoup its investment was very long; it was perfectly normal for a film investment to become profitable only after two or three years.
By then, the stock market would have crashed, and he wouldn’t be catching any ride.
Filming a movie and waiting for it to be released to make money was clearly not a good method.
Then what should he do?
Could he use a film project to make money?
Throwing away the pen, Ronan thought carefully.
Many funds for Hollywood film projects were solved through financing; often, before a film even started shooting, overseas distribution rights could be pre-sold, and the funds obtained were used to prepare for the film.
However, this model required medium-to-large-scale distribution companies or films with well-known figures involved; at the very least, it required a professional insurance company to provide a third-party guarantee.
With the obscure reputation of him, Ronan, and Sand Sea Entertainment, the possibility of conducting a pre-sale was zero.
Moreover, setting up a project and diverting financing from North America or Europe for other purposes carried too much legal risk.
Ronan threw the pen aside.
A flash of inspiration crossed his mind.
It was the nineties, information was relatively closed off, and for some people overseas who were not in the film industry, Hollywood still maintained a considerable degree of mystery.
For example, on the other side of the Pacific, very few people currently understood Hollywood.
He could absolutely set up a film project and then raise funds overseas!
Ronan couldn’t help but recall a fraud case from his past life: a company in Yantai had used the guise of a Hollywood film company to illegally raise funds externally, with the amount of fraud reaching 30 million.
Some scammers could even succeed in fraud within Hollywood.
He remembered reading another report back then: a scammer had disguised himself as a producer, not only swindling tens of millions of dollars in investment in Hollywood but even becoming friends with many stars.
This seemed somewhat feasible.
Of course, Ronan wouldn’t run off to the other side of the Pacific.
He still had that much conscience.
If it were within Hollywood, it wouldn’t be appropriate either; it would be detrimental to long-term development.
With a concept and an idea, Ronan began to consider things more deeply and further ahead.
Sand Sea Entertainment had been established for nearly ten years, had released several video works, and was a member of the Producers Alliance; establishing a new film project was a very normal situation.
Getting a brand new film project to go overseas to scam…
no, that’s not right, to raise funds!
To successfully raise funds from overseas, a rigorous plan was needed.
At the very least, it had to be able to withstand a certain amount of verification.
First, there had to be a suitable target.
The target demographic must have assets, not be very knowledgeable about Hollywood or the North American entertainment industry, and not be well-received by the Americans.
In case any trouble arose, the other party wouldn’t be able to do anything to him.
Secondly, this film project must be packaged.
He had to make people outside think that the project was real at first glance…
no, the film project was real; he was going to operate a film project, but the actual investment would definitely be different from the public budget.
To accomplish this, he needed starting capital.
Money, it was still a problem of money.
Ronan scratched his hair and put it aside for the moment, considering another matter: a retreat.
What if he failed?
A plan couldn’t be one hundred percent successful, and he had to live in North America for the long term.
Ronan flipped through the keywords he had recorded over these days, and his gaze landed on ‘Blog’.
The younger Anderson had decent screenwriting ability; if he failed, he would use a blog to serialize novels and submit them to publishers.
He might be able to make some money through plagiarism.
He had read quite a few original works of Hollywood Blockbusters and still had an impression of their general frameworks; he could give it a try.
To say it would definitely succeed was impossible, but it was still a path.
If everything went wrong, he would just go straight for Anderson’s Fifty Shades!
Once Ronan made up his mind, he would strive in the direction of maximum success.
The film project needed a suitable script, at most a medium-scale investment, otherwise Sand Sea Entertainment would lack credibility.
Action films were all the rage now; should he make an action film?
Making a real film project, even if it lost money, would be reasonable and legal.
Ronan quickly abandoned this idea, but action films were time-consuming and labor-intensive; it wasn’t suitable.
It was best to stick to a b-movie; this also fit the consistent style of Sand Sea Entertainment and could increase credibility.
A b-movie horror film was a good choice; films were deeply influenced by the social environment, and horror films were a genre that was very little affected.
Which horror film should he choose?
Ronan didn’t have an idea for the time being.
Right, the chosen horror film must not provoke resentment from the target demographic for financing.
He had to determine the target demographic.
the other side of the Pacific was definitely out; Ronan wouldn’t do it even if it killed him.
Europe and Australia weren’t very suitable either; the film industries in these places were also quite developed.
He had it!
Ronan’s eyes swept across the notebook: The Abu Dhabi Investment Bureau from the Middle East tycoon UAE had set up an office in Los Angeles.
Abu Dhabi was not just generally rich; they certainly didn’t know much about Hollywood, and Arabs had always been unwelcome among Americans.
The most important point was that, if he remembered correctly, after accumulating astronomical oil wealth, the Arabs in Abu Dhabi had been eager to expand their own fame and influence since the mid-to-late nineties.
It seemed the relationship between jewish people and Arabs as mortal enemies could be used to his advantage?
The influence of jewish people in Hollywood was enormous, and the image of Arabs in Hollywood films was extremely terrible; it was hard to say there was no connection between the two.
Ronan wrote all of this down, and he would have to verify it later.
Then, he frowned.
Abu Dhabi was far away in the Middle East; if he ran over there to scam…
no, to raise funds, the travel expenses alone would be a significant expenditure.
He should just secure the starting capital first.
‘Marie!’ Ronan pressed the intercom: ‘Help me arrange a meeting with the people from Blockbuster to discuss the transfer of the video rights for dead end life.’