But under the subtle guidance of Ronald, the two of them had a very pleasant and engaging conversation. When they parted ways, Samuel Hill specifically asked for his phone number and reminded Ronald to save him a seat at the press conference.

Once he got into Robert's car, Ronald breathed a sigh of relief and rubbed his face vigorously. Fortunately, in his previous life, he was a business elite who had done plenty of scheming and trickery.

“Did it go smoothly?” Robert asked.

Ronald nodded. “It was alright.”

In the following days, he was incredibly busy—reviewing the storyboards and posters made by the hired team, drafting the shooting schedule framework, finalizing the gifts for the press conference, personally calling media reporters to invite them, filing the “The Purge” project with the Producers Guild, preparing his speech for the press conference, looking for a lawyer to draft and revise the financing contract templates, and so on.

He even went to the Directors Guild to post job openings and published backstage crew recruitment ads through the media.

If he wanted to use this project to make money, all the preliminary work had to be done as if it were real.

During this period, Samuel Hill asked to meet him several times, and they always had enjoyable conversations.

Samuel Hill had no friends in Los Angeles, and his work in cultural and entertainment investment research was extremely difficult. With Ronald's intentional efforts, their friendship quickly deepened. Samuel Hill even wanted to see the actual story, and Ronald agreed.

After repeatedly reminding him not to spread it around, Ronald sent Samuel Hill an electronic version of the script. After reading it, Samuel Hill called him specifically—he was just short of calling Ronald an old friend of the Emiratis.

……

On the first Wednesday of February, because he was delayed by some last-minute business, Samuel Hill arrived at the Hilton Hotel’s press room to find it already packed with reporters.

He first went to greet Ronald, didn’t disturb him much, picked up a set of promotional materials, and found a place to sit.

There were a lot of reporters in the hall. Samuel Hill took a look—there were nearly a hundred reporters with badges, and more than a dozen cameramen carrying cameras.

Not far away, there were even reporters from the Los Angeles Times.

It seemed this project was having quite an impact in the media.

Samuel Hill hadn’t been idle these days; he had specifically collected some information about Ronald Anderson and Sahara Entertainment. Sahara Entertainment wasn’t large, but it was a company with more than ten years of history.

Ronald Anderson was indeed facing financial difficulties. Financial institutions heavily influenced by Jews wouldn’t give him any loans.

The only two loans Sahara Entertainment had ever received were also extremely harsh—collateral loans at only seventy percent of the actual value.

Frankly, he really hoped this project would have a wide impact. After reading the script, the part where an Arab becomes the savior of Americans was truly satisfying.

Opening the promotional materials in his hand, Samuel Hill read them carefully. Whether it was the posters or the artwork, everything was made with great attention to detail.

Although there weren’t many scene sketches, the comprehensive design showed Sahara Entertainment’s investment and determination in this project.

Unlike the big-talking Leonardo, Ronald Anderson was clearly a doer.

“We’ve invested nearly twenty thousand dollars in this press conference.”

In the lounge at the back of the press room, Mary watched as Roger straightened his clothes and said, “All this just to put on a show for that Arab?”

Ronald raised a finger and waved it. “This show isn’t for any one person—it’s for everyone to see.”

If things didn’t work out with the Arab, he was ready to go pitch to some Indians or whoever else. After all, the identity of the savior could be changed at will.

Robert-Lee walked over at this moment and said, “Samuel Hill’s main job in Los Angeles is to assess the investment feasibility of the cultural and entertainment industry. If we can get his support, our work will be much easier going forward.”

There was a knock at the door. George-Clint pushed the door open and reminded them, “It’s about time.”

Ronald nodded slightly, put on his non-prescription glasses, and said, “Let’s begin.”

The reporters in the press room suddenly quieted down. Samuel Hill saw Ronald walk up to the podium and put away his materials—these were all of great research value.

On stage, Ronald began to speak. The surrounding reporters were all taking notes seriously. Having read the script, Samuel Hill could tell that Ronald was introducing some basic information about the project.

Because he had already read the script, the press conference was a bit boring—until Ronald announced the project’s investment amount, which finally caught his attention.

“Sahara Entertainment will turn ‘The Purge’ into a mid-budget action thriller, with an initial budget of $10 million! The director is still being selected, but we’ve already sent invitations to Jamie Lee Curtis, Drew Barrymore, Johnny Depp, and George Clooney for the cast…”

Samuel Hill had heard of all these people.

Jamie Lee Curtis played the female lead in “True Lies”; Drew Barrymore was a famous child star; Johnny Depp, he thought, played that guy with the scissor hands; George Clooney was a bit less familiar, but he vaguely remembered he played a doctor.

He didn’t know Hollywood all that well, but if he could remember the names, they were definitely stars. Ronald was clearly planning something big.

No wonder he needed financing.

Ten million dollars—even he couldn’t come up with that.

The Q&A session began, and a reporter specifically asked about the funding: “Mr. Anderson, your company’s last film suffered heavy losses. Do you still have enough funds?”