1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 706 Li Changhe's Gunman Company!

"In my opinion, Sidney is a man who lacks ambition but is good at maintaining the status quo."

"His management of the company is excellent, but he's relatively conservative when it comes to choosing films. Of course, he can occasionally come up with something brilliant, like this year's [E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial]."

On the plane, when Li Changhe talked about Sidney, the current president of Universal, Wasserman gave his assessment.

He tried to be as objective as possible, and it was clear that Victor was considering the issue of who would lead Universal Pictures.

After listening, Li Changhe smiled and nodded.

He was actually a little amused that Wasserman, who was known for his conservative film selections, had commented that Sidney's film selections were even more conservative.
Li Changhe recently reviewed Universal's financial report and found that its profits were indeed mediocre. Of course, the main reason was not Sidney, but Lou Wasserman.

In fact, Lu's current conservatism is the cause of the global predicament.

In Hollywood during the 1980s and 90s, a popular model was the agency package model.

To put it simply, it means that the agency brings together the directors and actors under its purview, then produces a script, and directly creates a prototype of a film crew.

Then this prototype is handed over to Hollywood film companies, who invest money and then film it.

These talent agencies are able to do this because they control a large number of actor and director contracts and then tie them together.

If you want to use a single actor or director, the other party will not allow it and insists on using the whole group together, thus forcing the film company to comply.

The brokerage firm that popularized and perfected this model was CAA in the 1990s, but the one who pioneered it was the old guy Lou Wasserman.

His business started with brokerage firms, and he was the first to invent this packaged project model.

So Lucas had actually tried to collaborate with Universal on both Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but those projects fell through because of Lou Wasserman's strong personality.

"Vic, what's next?"

Seeing that Li Changhe hadn't spoken, Luwoserman hesitated for a moment before taking the initiative to speak.

Li Changhe glanced at him: "Lu, relax. I've already spoken to Rockefeller. He'll arrange for someone to acquire the shares."

"However, you will still have control in the end. I hope you won't embarrass me. I made a solemn promise to David that you can do a great job with the TV station."

"Oh, by the way, once we get to Los Angeles, I'll take you somewhere."

Soon, the plane arrived in Los Angeles, and Li Changhe then took Luwosserman to a detached small building in the city.

"This is a content company that I lead, mainly providing various content production services. I think your TV station will also need it."

Li Changhe led Lou Wasserman into the office inside the small building and introduced him to him.

Content creation?

Lou Wasserman looked at it curiously, though he wasn't particularly surprised by it.

MCA owns the largest content production center in the United States. In its early days, it acquired many screenwriters and supplied scripts to major television networks.

He was very curious about what Vic's company did.
"Yes, the content creation is mainly based on my own ideas. You know, everyone has a lot of wildly imaginative ideas. In fact, I am a loyal lover of words, but I am too lazy to write them myself."

"So I had Anna start this company, and they will turn many of my ideas into reality."

Just as Li Changhe was talking to Lou Wasserman, Anna came in with a stack of folders and placed them on the desk.

"Come on, Lu, take a look!"

"This is the result of our company's efforts, and I think it will definitely meet the needs of your TV station."

Li Changhe beckoned Lou Wasserman to the desk and then pushed the documents toward him.

Lou Wasserman walked over and curiously opened one of the copies.

Project proposal for "Super Warriors"!

"Super Warrior" refers to a sports obstacle course challenge where participants use their individual strength and skills.

Million-dollar prize, individual strength showcase, super warrior
Several distinctive words quickly caught Luwosserman's attention. And that wasn't all; at the back of the document were hand-drawn illustrations with simple scene depictions.

Upon seeing these, Luwatherman immediately envisioned a vivid picture in his mind: a live variety show that showcases the limits of human physical ability and athleticism.

Add to that the lure of a million dollars, and you can imagine the sensation this would cause.

"This TV program looks very appealing."

Lou Wasserman couldn't help but admire him, saying that as someone who has been immersed in the film and television industry for many years, he has basic judgment.

"These two are actually the ones I'm most optimistic about."

At this moment, Li Changhe pushed two other documents in front of Lou Wasserman.

Lou Wasserman opened it out of curiosity.

[The Voice of America] [America's Got Talent]

Both shows offer a million-dollar prize, but they differ in that one is a professional music talent show, while the other is a showcase for the general public, featuring various special skills displayed by ordinary people.

“Lu, I think these three can be combined to make our TV station’s main brand, namely the million-dollar bonus series.”

"Our million-dollar prize is open to all viewers across the United States. Whether you are an athlete, a musical prodigy, or an ordinary person, as long as you have a skill, you can participate in winning our million-dollar grand prize."

"These three tracks are designed for participants from three different fields."

“Each program can be produced independently over a period of about three months, which means we can generate buzz for the entire year.”

"Then, even on occasions like Christmas Eve each year, we can put on a high-end gala, bringing together the best performers, singers, and talents from our show for a grand performance."

"This gala could even be turned into a champion's tour in the future. The more times we hold it, the more often we can bring them together and create the ultimate show."

"Oh, by the way, I've already tried out the Voice of America program in Hong Kong. I did the first episode of a music program on a TV station there, and it was a great success."

"It can collaborate with Universal Music, serving as the best platform for Universal Music to discover new talent and even launch new artists."

After hearing Li Changhe finish speaking, Lou Wasserman fell into deep thought.

"Vic, do you mean that our TV station will focus solely on sports and variety shows from now on?"

"If that's the case, it's difficult for us to guarantee that we'll recoup our costs."

Lou Wasserman pondered for a moment, then hesitantly spoke to Li Changhe.

Li Changhe nodded: "Yes, Lu, traditional wireless media makes it difficult for us to recoup our costs. The advertiser model is not suitable for us."

“Variety shows and sports programs are considered niche categories nowadays. We need to expand our market, so our TV station will not be a terrestrial TV station, but a cable TV station.”

"We'll follow HBO's paid model, a combination of cable and satellite!"

“Currently, HBO mainly focuses on broadcasting film copyrights, but we are different. In addition to the content copyrights of Universal Pictures, we also produce our own content.” “Variety shows are just one aspect. In addition, we will also try to produce our own TV series, which I think you are very familiar with, Lu.”

For him, there is no essential difference between producing movies and producing TV series in a package deal, and MCA, which holds a large number of economic contracts, has a natural advantage in this regard.

"Will it follow HBO's paid subscription model?"

"Indeed, HBO has grown rapidly in recent years, and their paid subscribers are constantly increasing. We can definitely enter this market."

Loewatherman is no stranger to HBO, a disruptor in the television channel industry in recent years. However, it must be said that their cable pay-TV approach has gradually begun to change the television industry.

"Lu, sports, variety shows, and self-produced TV dramas are our three magic weapons for expanding ourselves. You will continue to serve as the chairman of MCA. I will entrust this part of the business to you."

At this moment, Li Changhe spoke earnestly to Lou Wasserman.

After listening, Luwoserman smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Vic, this is my own business!"

MCA may become an empty shell in the future, as its two major businesses will operate independently, effectively splitting them up.

However, to the outside world, MCA remains a behemoth, and for Lou Wasserman, holding the position of MCA chairman is still a symbol of his status and position.

In this respect, Li Changhe has no reason to deprive him of this honor.

“Lu, there’s one more thing. I made a three-year agreement with the Rockefeller family. Within three years, our television station must have a sufficient subscription share. This is a test not only for me, but also for you.”

"If the television station you manage fails to meet our expectations within three years, then the Rockefeller family will sell this stake. Do you understand?"

At this point, Li Changhe put another tight rein on Lou Wasserman. In fact, he had no such agreement with the Rockefeller family, but that didn't stop him from saying it to Lou Wasserman.

Three years was a test period for Lou Wasserman. If Lou Wasserman failed to produce results, he would not put any effort into him and would abandon him without hesitation.

If all else fails, we can always switch to an acquisition model.

"Understood!"

Lou Wasserman nodded; as expected, he knew this collaboration wouldn't be so easy to achieve.

Such restrictive clauses are normal.

After Lou Wasserman left, Li Changhe did not rush to leave, but instead looked at the company's recent achievements.

"Harry Potter"

Twilight

A Song of Ice and Fire

The Walking Dead

"resident Evil"

In essence, this content company was just a ghostwriter for Li Changhe himself.

The original stories I had read in Europe and America were "recreated" one by one under the outline provided by Li Changhe.

"Boss, Harry Potter is already on its fifth book, aren't we going to publish it yet?"

In the office, Andrei, the head of the content company, hesitated before asking Li Changhe a question.

Although the company has never been short of money and the boss's salary and benefits are not low, the creators still want to see their works published.

"Let's prepare to publish 'Twilight' first. Anna, you take care of this. Collaborate with the publisher under MCA, see if you can launch this series, and then promote it."

Twilight is considered to be a novel by Li Changhe, because he hadn't read the original version; he only knew about the movie. However, he also knew that it was a love story between a werewolf and a vampire.

In Europe and America, werewolves and vampires are enduring fantasy themes, just like zombies and ghosts in the East.

Li Changhe's outline was relatively simple, but he expanded the world-building by adding some witcher elements in addition to werewolves and vampires. However, this part of the story comes later in the plot.

He plans to release it first to see the market reaction and how well people of this era accept this kind of story.

As for Harry Potter and A Song of Ice and Fire, he wasn't in a hurry. These were works that appeared after the 1990s, so it was still a long way off. He could let the company's people slowly polish them into a complete magical universe and a low-magic battle universe.

As for zombie-themed films like "The Walking Dead" and "Resident Evil," he hasn't decided yet.

Zombie culture exists in Europe and America, but it was only a niche phenomenon in the 1980s and had not yet spread widely. There were some Hollywood movies about zombies, but the overall image and setting were far removed from the future.

The game Resident Evil played a significant role in popularizing zombie culture, but in 82, the hardware capabilities were simply insufficient to release a game like Resident Evil.

Moreover, Li Changhe's idea was to use "Resident Evil" as a starting point to create a post-apocalyptic universe, including the Mad Max series that he later watched.

Unfortunately, the first Mad Max movie was released two years ago.

"By the way, how's the negotiation with Marvel going, as I mentioned before?"

At this moment, Li Changhe turned to Andrei and asked a question.

Andrei immediately said, "We're close to finalizing the deal. They've quoted $12 million, and we're looking at $10 million."

"They couldn't reach an agreement because they were just two million dollars short?"

Li Changhe frowned slightly. Was this amount of money really money to him?
Seeing his boss frown, Andrei immediately said, "It's not just that, boss. If it were just about money, we could compromise. The main problem is that Marvel itself is not on a unified front."

"Owner Martin Goodman also wanted to sell and retire, while Stan Lee, the person in charge of Marvel, was not a Marvel shareholder but was the head of Time Comics. He demanded that Marvel maintain its operational independence."

"Martin Goodman meant that if we could convince Stan Lee, he would sell the company to us."

"Because Stan Lee is Martin's wife's brother and the actual controller of Marvel today."

"More importantly, the boss signed a super contract with Marvel, which allows him to enjoy 10% of the revenue from all of Marvel's copyrights."

"This conflicts with your request that we acquire all of Marvel's copyrights, so we are still in talks with Marvel!"

Andrei said helplessly at this moment.

Li Changhe frowned after hearing this.

"In other words, Martin Goodman currently only holds shares but doesn't have management control of the company, while Stan Lee has obtained management control and signed a super agreement. In addition, he also demanded post-acquisition independence, right?"

Andrei nodded: "Yes, in this way, the acquisition is actually a bit of a loss for us!"

Spending tens of millions of dollars to buy this comic book company, but having no power whatsoever, isn't that just plain stupid?

After listening, Li Changhe fell into deep thought.

Damn it, he had no idea that Stan Lee had such a shrewd move. This guy is so good at palace intrigue; he even kicked his own brother-in-law and boss out of the game!

(End of this chapter)