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

Chapter 707 A Pillow for Someone Who's Sleepy!
Is there any possibility of his extremely long contract being bought out?

Li Changhe pondered for a moment, then asked Andrei.

"Yes, we talked to him, and he asked for an exorbitant price, a buyout fee of five million US dollars."

For Stan Lee, five million dollars was indeed an astronomical sum, considering that Marvel Studios is now worth less than ten million dollars.

The entire American comic book industry doesn't generate much revenue, so five million dollars was an outrageous demand from Stan Lee.

"Five million dollars, satisfy him, and at the same time, talk to him about his independence."

“Go talk to him and propose a ten-year performance-based agreement. Within ten years, Marvel will be handed over to him. We will set performance targets. If they are achieved, he can continue to control Marvel's comic book division. If he fails, he will step down!”

"Furthermore, all film and television rights to its comics are handed over to us for control; there is absolutely no room for negotiation on this point."

"Tell them this is our final offer. If they agree, we'll sign; if they don't, the negotiations are off!"

"Also, you should be very familiar with the lead comic artists at Marvel now. It's impossible for Stan Lee to have drawn all the comics by himself; there must have been other core members."

"If Marvel eventually agrees to sell to us, then you should try to win them over. But conversely, if they still demand an exorbitant price, then poach these lead illustrators. Our content department also needs a lot of illustrators!"

Li Changhe calmly addressed Andrei.

Buying Marvel for 15 million seems like a bad deal now, but it will actually be a good deal in the future.

More importantly, by securing Marvel early on, Li Changhe can plan ahead for Marvel's hero storylines, instead of ending abruptly like the future "Avengers," which, frankly, meant there was no story to film and the project was ruined.

"Understood!"

Upon hearing his boss speak, Andrei immediately nodded.

"Also, if we acquire Marvel, we'll send them the Resident Evil novels, and then publish the novels and comics simultaneously, starting to promote the zombie culture series."

Li Changhe thought for a moment, then spoke to Andrei.

These days, it's unlikely that using games to promote zombie culture is feasible, as game production quality simply can't reach that level. Therefore, Li Changhe believes that using comics for promotion might not be a bad approach.

This year, AIDS began to spread in the United States. This unknown disease, which is incurable by the human immune system, is gradually causing medical panic. The T-virus, a virus created by failed medical experiments, fits perfectly into this current panic logic.

Li Changhe felt that launching a zombie comic book and novel at this time might not necessarily fail to find a market.

After Andrei left, Li Changhe took another look at the company's content reserves. This company not only produced literature but also screenplays, such as the European and American movies and TV series he had watched.

Things like "The Shawshank Redemption," "Forrest Gump," and "Prison Break."

almost.

He wasn't a big fan of Western culture; his memories of Western film and television culture were limited, and the content available in the company had basically wiped out his memory.

From then on, it will be a gradual transformation; whether it succeeds or not depends on the actions of those below.

After leaving the content company, Li Changhe had no plans to go home.

Gong Xue is still in San Francisco and hasn't returned to Los Angeles yet.

Li Changhe took this opportunity to go and see Isabelle Adjani.

He's back now, but he hasn't even had a chance to see her yet.

In another villa in Beverly Hills, after a passionate encounter, Li Changhe was about to discuss some serious matters with Ajani when the phone on the table rang.

Adjani answered the phone and then handed the receiver to Li Changhe.

"It's Anna calling, she's looking for you!"

Li Changhe then took the microphone.

"Hey, Anna!"

"Boss, Sidney, the president of Universal Pictures, wants to meet with you. Do you want to see him?"

"Arrange for him to come see me tomorrow morning!"

"Who wants to see you?"

Seeing Li Changhe put down the phone, Ajani asked curiously.

"Sidney Heinberg, president of Universal Pictures."

"I'll take you to meet him tomorrow!"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

Adjani was somewhat surprised after hearing this.

"Mr. Sidney from Universal Pictures?"

"Yes, that's him!"

"Universal Pictures will be under my direct control from now on. I guess Sidney heard about this, which is why he wanted to meet me."

"Perfect, you can test him for me tomorrow!"

Li Changhe then spoke softly to Ajani.

Adjani was somewhat surprised upon hearing this.

"I'm going to assess him? How would I assess him?"

Li Changhe smiled and explained to him, "Simply put, I need a mild-mannered yet capable person to take the helm of Global, but I don't know Hirenberg very well, so you can meet with him tomorrow and see what his personality is like."

"If you feel you can get along with him, then I will give him more credit. Conversely, if you feel he is difficult to get along with, then I will have to consider whether to remove him from the position of president of Universal Pictures."

"Because I plan to get you into Global in the future!"

"I'm entering Global?"

Adjani was somewhat surprised when she heard Li Changhe's words.

“Honey, I don’t think I’m likely to adapt to working at a film company.”

At this moment, Adjani spoke tactfully to Li Changhe.

She's used to making movies, and most importantly, she enjoys the freedom of filmmaking. For example, during the year she came to Los Angeles with Li Changhe, she spent almost the entire year resting to help herself recover from depression.

It was during this year of rest and recuperation that her temperament gradually calmed down, and she was no longer the manic and depressed Adjani she once was.

"Don't worry, I'm not telling you to go to work in a routine manner."

"I want you to go to Universal and become an independent producer."

“I also have a content company in Los Angeles that produces novels and screenplays. You can go to the company to select some screenplays and then coordinate the filming with Universal.”

"At the same time, you can also act as my eyes to see the development of Global. Although I will regularly check their financial statements, I think there are many things about a company that cannot be seen solely from financial statements."

"So at that time, you will be my eyes and ears at Global, to see what they do and hear their style of doing things, so that I won't be completely clueless about Global."

Li Changhe said softly.

Upon hearing this, a hint of joy appeared on Isabelle's face.

"You mean, you want me to go to Universal as a producer and choose my own scripts to film?"

"Yes, you can choose a script and let Universal arrange the production team for you. You can act in it yourself or just be a producer, it's up to you."

"Of course, there's a limit to how much a film can be produced. Let's set the production cap at ten million US dollars for now. After all, I doubt you'd like those big-budget films." Isabelle Adjani is definitely not a producer of big-budget films; at most, she'll be making art-house films.

"Darling, you're so good!"

Hearing Li Changhe's promise, Ajani smiled broadly and then gently bent down.

At this point, we should definitely thank Li Changhe properly.

The next day, Li Changhe met Sidney Schirenberg at Isabelle Adjani's villa.

This is a gaunt-faced Jewish man.

In fact, there are quite a few Jews in Hollywood now, including Eisner, whom Li Changhe considered before, who is also Jewish.

Li Changhe had no prejudice against Jews; as long as they were capable of working for him, that was enough.

Even if a Jew becomes the supreme ruler in the future, he will be the supreme ruler of the United States, so what does it have to do with him?

"Mr. Victor!"

Upon seeing Li Changhe, Sidney greeted him respectfully.

Although Li Changhe was a stranger to him, he was not a stranger to Li Changhe.

This wealthy young man who suddenly took over MCA and made Lou Wasserman back down is definitely not just someone with money.

Having worked at MCA and Universal for so many years, he knew very well the inside story of MCA, including those unspeakable shareholders.

The fact that this young Victor was able to acquire shares from those people is not simply a matter of having money.

"Sean, you've come."

"sit down!"

In the courtyard in front of the villa, Li Changhe looked at Sidney approaching and smiled as he invited him to sit down.

"Boss, Mr. Wasserman told me that you will be in charge of Universal Pictures from now on, so I've come to ask for your instructions regarding Universal."

Sidney said softly at that moment.

Actually, he had guessed this from Lou Wasserman's actions before, but he didn't expect Lou Wasserman to give up on Universal directly.

"Sean, since you're here, I won't stand on ceremony."

"I don't think I'll make too many changes to Universal, but I also have my own understanding of the film industry, and I value the role of the director in a film company more."

“Your previous collaboration with Spielberg was excellent; it was a highlight of your work, and I admire it.”

“For outstanding directors, we should tie them to our company and give them top-tier benefits, instead of simply exploiting them.”

"Of course, not every director can have such a treatment system. When you go back, you should create a core director treatment system that is unique to Universal."

"Currently in Hollywood, I have high hopes for three directors: George Lucas and Steven Spielberg."

"And the last one is a new director."

“Sean, my first task for you is to find this new director and, just like you supported Spielberg, tie him to the Universal Pictures ship.”

"A new director?"

Sidney Schinberger was somewhat surprised to hear Li Changhe's words.

George Lucas and Spielberg are one thing, they are both well-known Hollywood directors with brilliant achievements.

But what's with this third one, the new director?

Could it be the boss's personal motive?
Thinking about this, Sidney Schirenberg had a vague idea in his mind.

"This person is James Cameron, who previously directed the film 'Piranha 2: Breeding,' but the box office results were mediocre."

“But I think he is very talented and a rare director, so I hope you, Sean, will go and invite him to Universal and make him one of the company’s core directors.”

"Sean, just a friendly reminder, this person seems to have a rather fiery temper."

Li Changhe handed James Cameron's contact information to Sidney Sheinberger, then smiled and said...

After listening, Hirenberg curiously took the paper.

"Understood, boss. I'll invite director Cameron immediately."

Afterwards, Sidney reported on Universal Pictures' recent work to Li Changhe, and Li Changhe heard something quite interesting.

That is, Universal is suing Nintendo.

Simply put, Nintendo released Donkey Kong in the US a couple of years ago, which was a similar game to Super Mario Bros.

Donkey Kong's character is a gorilla, and the main storyline of the game involves the player rescuing his girlfriend who has been kidnapped by the gorilla. This storyline caught the attention of Universal, who believed it conflicted with the copyright of the movie "King Kong," so Universal sued Nintendo.

"Are you trying to force Nintendo to pay a large sum in compensation, or to use this as an opportunity to enter the gaming industry?"

After hearing Seanberger's report, Li Changhe asked curiously.

Sidney Sheinberger nodded: "Yes, boss. The US gaming industry has been booming in the last two years. Donkey Kong's game console sales have already exceeded one hundred million US dollars this year."

"The game market in the United States is also booming. If we can take this opportunity to acquire shares in Nintendo and enter the game console industry, it will be a great opportunity for the company's business expansion."

In fact, just before this, Universal had sold the rights to the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial game to Atari, with the sale price for this game alone reaching $2500 million.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have noticed Donkey Kong's copyright "infringement".

That's incredibly profitable!
Do you think you can win the lawsuit against Nintendo?

Li Changhe asked casually at this moment.

"It's not a big problem. We currently hold the copyright to 'King Kong,' and the other party's storyline is clearly imitating King Kong. Our lawyer said we have a very high chance of winning."

Sidney hesitated for a moment, then spoke with full confidence.

Li Changhe glanced at him.

"Winning would be ideal. Your idea of ​​entering the gaming industry is good. As a copyright-based industry that develops films alongside the gaming industry, the gaming market is indeed vast."

"Go for it! I look forward to seeing your performance!"

Li Changhe knew that the American gaming industry was finished, but the Japanese gaming industry was about to become a global phenomenon.

He was just thinking about how to get into the gaming industry, and Universal just happened to be there to help him.

Super Mario and Pokémon are both long-lasting money-making machines.

And his Resident Evil series.

This lawsuit could actually be an opportunity!

Sidney left Adjani's villa with a smile on his face. Judging from this report, the boss was quite satisfied with his work.

Oh, right, and that new director too.

Upon returning to the company, Sidney immediately summoned his secretary and instructed him to investigate James Cameron's specific information.

Let's take a look at this new director and see what's going on.
(End of this chapter)