System in Hollywood

More importantly, Steven Spielberg is a major shareholder at DreamWorks, holding actual equity. He's also a director on par with James Cameron. So, from the perspective of these actors, his status is far higher than that of just one of the vice presidents from the Big Seven.

After all, a vice president is, in the end, just a high-ranking employee. Plus, a company can have several vice presidents.

At this moment, Eva Green and Martina, who had just arrived in Hollywood and were attending such an event for the first time, finally had a clearer understanding of Wayne's power in Hollywood. Looking around at the room full of major figures at the top of Hollywood's hierarchy, their eyes burned with admiration.

Seeing Wayne surrounded by all these big names, chatting and laughing, they couldn't help but feel a surge of envy and jealousy as their eyes swept over Mia, who was standing beside him, holding his arm. They couldn't stop imagining what it would be like if they could replace Mia.

"No, I have to find a way to get more of Wayne's affection!" all three of them, including Annie, secretly thought to themselves.

On the other side of the room, while not completely sidelined but still at the edges, Matt Damon and his agent were also taken aback by the scene before them.

Even though Matt Damon had starred in films with budgets far higher than *The Dark Side*, he had never encountered a screening event of this scale before.

After all, big-budget films are either produced by companies with their own distribution capabilities or have already secured deals with distributors in advance.

It's unusual to hold a screening and sell the distribution rights after the film has been completed, a practice typically reserved for low-budget films.

And low-budget films rarely attract the attention of the Big Seven, let alone having all of them present at the same time.

Watching Wayne become the center of attention, surrounded by the CEOs of the Big Seven, Damon, who had always been proud and ambitious, for the first time felt inferior to someone else.

This realization left him a little disheartened.

The screening soon began, and as the lights dimmed, the large theater quickly quieted down.

Now that Hermola Pictures had more money, they had completely renovated this screening room. The seats and screens were on par with those found in VIP theaters, making the viewing experience significantly better.

Of course, how much *The Dark Side* would eventually sell for would still depend on its quality.

"I'm sorry, I just couldn't bring myself to say it to your face. Making this decision wasn't easy, but I think it's the best way to avoid more pointless arguments between us."

Just like in the original version, James Wan chose to begin the story with a recording made by the character "Belen," played by Eva Green.

To the average viewer, this scene might seem fine, but to those paying close attention, something felt off. Industry insiders, like the experienced film buyer Jeff Butler, frowned, immediately noticing the problem.

"Her acting is a bit off."

"The fatigue, sadness, and despair one would feel from a fight leading to a breakup and running away are all too superficial. There's no depth; she's not putting her heart into it. She's worse than some acting students."

"Was this newcomer picked by Wayne? Did Wayne make a bad call?"

The crowd couldn't help but wonder.

But the film had just begun, and given Wayne's and Hermola Pictures' previous successes, they quickly took note of this and continued watching intently. In fact, many even suspected that the subpar acting was intentional, given that this was a horror-thriller.

And indeed, that was the case.

The character "Belen" was testing her husband Adrian's love for her, so she recorded a video pretending to run away, while secretly hiding in a locked room, observing his every move.

But Belen wasn't an actress, just a shoe designer, so naturally, her acting was a bit clumsy.

However, the male lead, Adrian, wasn't a film critic or actor, so he couldn't see through it. But the police, paying close attention, noticed the awkwardness, leading them to suspect that Adrian had forced Belen to record the video and then killed her afterward.

This little detail was something James Wan handled much better than in the original. The visuals were more layered as well, causing Wayne, who already knew the plot, to nod in approval, thinking they had indeed chosen the right director.

Soon, Wayne pushed all other thoughts aside and became fully absorbed in the movie. Even though he had seen the original, he still found it highly engaging.

After all, except for Martina, the entire cast had been replaced, and the overall attractiveness of the cast had been improved significantly. The visuals and pacing were also much more captivating than the original.

Before long, the screening room was filled only with the sounds of the movie and the occasional soft scratch of pen on paper as people took notes.

Additionally, compared to the original, this version had been trimmed down a bit. From over three hundred minutes of footage, it had been reduced to just 92 minutes. So as the film ended, the theater lights came back on.

"What a brilliant movie! It's the best horror-thriller I've seen in the past two years, at least!"

"Even though there was no blood or violence, no murders or deaths, it still gave me chills, with an unsettling feeling creeping up my spine."

"With *Admission Notice*, *Happy Death Day*, and *Gifted* already out, and now *The Dark Side*, all four of these films were stories from Wayne. You have to admit, the guy is incredibly talented!"

As expected, the film buyers continued jotting down notes, while their bosses, high-ranking executives from the various distribution companies, once again gathered around Wayne, showering him with praise.

It's understandable.

There's nothing much to say about the quality of the film itself. With Wayne's story, James Wan's direction, and the successful precedent of "Happy Death Day," they are very optimistic about the box office performance of "The Dark Side."

Of course, the most important thing is that Wayne's new movie is up for sale. As long as the price is right, whoever buys it stands a good chance of making a profit.

And not just a small profit—at least tens of millions of dollars.

This amount is no small sum, even for vice president-level figures of the "Big Seven" studios. It would be considered a very impressive achievement, which is why they are full of praise for Wayne.

(End of chapter)