To successfully secure overseas financing, you need a meticulous plan.

At the very least, it must withstand a certain level of scrutiny.

First, you need the right target.

The target group must have assets, be not very familiar with Hollywood or the North American entertainment industry, and not be well-liked by Americans.

If something goes wrong, the other party won’t have much recourse.

Next, the movie project must be packaged.

You need outsiders to look at this project and believe it’s real… No, this movie project is real—he is running a movie project, but the actual investment and the public budget will definitely differ.

To achieve all this, you need startup capital.

Money—it’s always about money.

Ronald ran his hand through his hair, set it aside for now, and considered another matter: an exit strategy.

What if he fails?

No plan is one hundred percent foolproof, and he intends to live in North America long-term.

Ronald flipped through the keywords he’d recorded over the past few days, his gaze landing on “blog.”

Young Anderson has solid screenwriting skills. If things fail, he can serialize a novel on a blog and submit it to publishers. Maybe he can make some money by copying existing works.

He’s read quite a few original novels behind Hollywood blockbusters, and still remembers the general framework. He could give it a try. Guaranteed success? No way, but it’s still a path.

If all else fails, just do Anderson’s Fifty Shades!

Once Ronald makes up his mind, he always strives for the greatest possible success.

A movie project needs a suitable script, at most a medium-scale investment; otherwise, Sandsea Entertainment won’t be convincing.

Action movies are all the rage now—should he do an action film?

If he runs a real movie project, even if it loses money, it’s still legitimate.

Ronald quickly abandoned this idea, though—action movies are time-consuming and labor-intensive, not suitable.

It’s best to go with a B-movie. This also fits Sandsea Entertainment’s usual style and can boost credibility.

A B-grade horror film is a good choice. Movies are heavily influenced by social context, but horror is one of the least affected genres.

Which horror film should he choose? Ronald didn’t have an idea for now.

Right, the chosen horror film can’t offend the target investors.

He needs to determine the target group.

Across the Pacific is definitely out of the question—Ronald wouldn’t go there even if you killed him. Europe and Australia aren’t suitable either; their film industries are quite developed.

Got it!

Ronald’s eyes swept over his notebook: the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority from the Middle East oil-rich UAE has set up an office in Los Angeles.

Abu Dhabi isn’t just rich—they probably don’t know much about Hollywood, and Arabs have never been popular with Americans.

Most importantly, if he remembers correctly, after amassing astronomical oil wealth, the Arabs of Abu Dhabi have been eager to expand their reputation and influence since the mid-to-late 1990s.

Supposedly, Jews and Arabs are mortal enemies—maybe there’s an angle here?

Jewish influence in Hollywood is huge, and Arabs are portrayed terribly in Hollywood films. It’s hard to believe there’s no connection between the two.

Ronald wrote all this down—he’d need to verify it later.

Then he frowned. Abu Dhabi is far away in the Middle East. If he goes there to scam—no, to seek financing, just the travel expenses would be significant.

Better secure the startup capital first.

“Mary!” Ronald pressed the intercom: “Set up a meeting with the people from Blockbuster for me. I want to discuss selling the video rights to ‘Against All Odds.’”

The video rights to this film should fetch some money.

Chapter 3: Startup Capital

Including Ronald, Sandsea Entertainment had only four employees left. Mary was temporarily in charge of daily operations and finances, while Robert Lee from marketing and George Clinton from publicity currently had nothing to do.

Ronald’s next plan required manpower—at the very least, he needed to keep these three people on board.

Salaries must be paid on time—after all, people work to make money.

All that talk about “providing you with a broad platform for development” is just nonsense to fool fresh graduates.

Besides salary, people need to see some hope.

To be precise, they need to stay busy—idleness leads to overthinking.

“George, you’ve worked in the media industry and are an expert in publicity, with lots of media contacts.”

In the office, Roger held an all-hands meeting. “Maintain those relationships—we’ll need the media for our next steps.”

George Clinton was in his thirties but looked old for his age. When he frowned, his face was so wrinkled he looked like a sixty-year-old man. “Mr. Anderson…”

“Ronald! Call me Ronald.” Ronald appeared very approachable.

“We’re running a new movie project?” George Clinton asked.

Mary and Robert Lee also looked over with concern.

Ronald nodded. “Yes. We’re launching a new project to save ourselves.”

All three looked surprised. Seeing someone about to ask a question, Ronald quickly added, “I’ll handle the funding. Starting in February, your salaries will increase by ten percent, and I guarantee they’ll be paid on time.”

That did the trick—the three relaxed a bit.

Ronald then turned to the curly-haired man in his forties. “Robert, do you know about the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority?”

“They just set up an office in Los Angeles, mainly to scout investment projects,” the curly-haired man replied.