America: My Time

Chapter 597 Lucas's Request
Chapter 587 Lucas's Request

It's only because George Lucas and John have a good relationship that they dared to say such things in front of John. Everyone knows how domineering Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media are; otherwise, John wouldn't be called a 'tyrant.' Phoenix Media now controls a global cinema chain with powerful distribution capabilities. Even Hollywood giants have to be cautious, after all, it's a global cinema chain.

“Lucas, I don’t believe you don’t know what those guys from the Donkey’s Club are up to. If those bastards weren’t stirring things up behind the scenes, how could those guys from the Writers Guild possibly stand up to us? And don’t think I don’t know, those bastards are trying to take this opportunity to mess with me. Those bastards’ protection organizations are just something they use to annoy me!”

"John, I'm not trying to criticize you, but it's your choice to openly support the elephant. The donkey might suffer a crushing defeat this time, so of course they want to cause some trouble. And you're a Hollywood mogul, yet you haven't suffered any significant losses. They can only resort to such tactics to annoy you; otherwise, they can't do anything else!"

"They provoked me first. If they continue to cause trouble, I won't just support the elephants; I'll directly smear these damn donkeys and show them what suppression is!"

"Alright, you're impressive. I'll pass your message on!" At this point, George Lucas had to admit that John had the power and ability to do such things. Just look at Disney's fate; if this 'young master' were truly angered, the donkey's end would be dire. Even now, these donkeys, annoyed by John's actions, dared not truly offend him, lest they face a powerful enemy in the future. A tycoon who controls two major media conglomerates is not to be trifled with, let alone a Wall Street crocodile.

"That's for the best. Don't think I have no temper. If they keep making a scene, I won't give them any face. If it weren't for my father's sake, I would have taught them a lesson long ago and shown them what pain really means!"

George Lucas wholeheartedly agreed with John's words. Everyone knew that John's grandfather was one of the big shots of the donkey. If it weren't for him, John, the little fox, would have already taught the donkey a lesson.

“John, I’m not here for the donkey thing this time, but for the Oscars. You know what’s going on this year. The Writers Guild’s saga has had a huge impact on Hollywood, and it might even affect the Oscars. That’s why they want to invite you to the Oscars, since you’re the hottest star in the US right now!”

As major corporations aggressively expand, John's popularity in the United States continues to rise. Even if those guys like Donald try to sabotage John, it's just a joke to the American public and doesn't have any impact on him. On the contrary, John's flaws make him more acceptable to the American public. That's what makes him a human being, not a god!

This year's Oscars have indeed been a tough one. The impact of the stock market crash had just begun to subside when the damned Writers Guild of America started causing trouble again. Especially since this is an election year, they couldn't help but worry about whether the Oscars would be affected. Paramount had a film in the running, and in order to protect their reputation, they couldn't let Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media get involved. So, the scene of George Lucas stepping in to persuade John to participate in the Oscars came about.

At this moment, John gently shook his head and said, "Alright, I agree. As a member of Hollywood, I have to give the Oscars face and not let them say I'm arrogant!"

Although Paramount Pictures and Universal Pictures are now fully committed to commercial films, they still have to give face to the Oscars, especially since the latter have so sincerely asked George Lucas to intervene, which John couldn't refuse.

“John, it seems you haven’t been focusing on Hollywood these past two years. You haven’t had many projects. You need to work harder!” After hearing John’s reply, George Lucas breathed a sigh of relief and expressed his regret that John had put Hollywood aside for the past two years.

“Lucas, you know I can’t focus all my energy on Hollywood. Although media and entertainment are one of my core businesses, I need to face more pressure. If you have any projects, consider Sophie!” At this moment, John introduced Sophie Marceau to George Lucas. Did John lack the ability to promote Sophie Marceau? Did Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media really need George Lucas’s help? No, they didn’t. But doing so would better demonstrate John’s relationship with George Lucas and show everyone how much he valued Sophie Marceau, allowing her to go further in Hollywood.

John's invitation was met with swift and decisive response from George Lucas, the old man perfectly aware of John's cunning intentions. After John accepted the invitation, George Lucas quickly ended their conversation, knowing he couldn't take up too much of John's time; his presence was primarily for the Writers Guild's strike.

After parting ways with George Lucas, John greeted some acquaintances at the party. However, John soon encountered a troublesome figure: James Cameron. John was also incredibly annoyed by Cameron, as every time he came to see him, it was about the film, and more importantly, about funding issues.

When James Cameron encountered funding problems during filming and couldn't get answers from the film studio, he would come to John. So John's biggest headache was this guy. This time, it was James Cameron's third film, "The Abyss," which he was preparing to write and direct. However, it was not well received because of its high budget and too much romance.
At this time, James Cameron was going through a relationship crisis. There were too many romantic scenes, the pace was slow, and the budget was as high as 69.5 million, which put too much pressure on the cost. Even John was not optimistic about the plan, thinking that the risk of failure was too great. But James Cameron was very persistent, which made John extremely distressed.

“James, there’s nothing I can do if your project can’t pass the review. After all, the budget is too big and exceeds the company’s standards. Even if there’s nothing I can do, I can’t interfere with their decision. After all, they are the CEOs!” Faced with James Cameron’s request, John refused again. Although he was the boss, he could not interfere with the company’s operations, especially in such matters. Otherwise, it would affect their prestige and even create hidden dangers for the company’s development. This was a bottom line that could not be crossed.

“John, you know that only Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media have strong special effects production capabilities in Hollywood these days. Even if I can find investment, special effects will still be a problem!” At this moment, James Cameron revealed his dilemma. Special effects were holding him back, which forced him to come to John and ask for his help.

"James, if it's a problem with the special effects, I'll talk to Legendary Entertainment or Phoenix Media. Whichever company you need their help with, they're fine. However, as a friend, I still want to advise you not to make this decision impulsively. You're being too impulsive right now. Even as an observer, I can see you're not in the best state of mind, at least not for a commercial film. Investing such a large sum in an art-house film will likely result in low box office returns. I urge you to be extremely cautious!"

John's words surprised even James Cameron, demonstrating that not everyone is qualified to be friends with a big shot like John. In Hollywood, there are very few people John considers friends; James Cameron is one, and George Lucas is another.

"Think it over carefully. If you change your mind, contact me again. You can also contact me if anything comes up in the future. Whether it's Legend Entertainment or Phoenix Group, they all need to follow the rules. Don't think they've done anything wrong. These are the company rules, and no one can break them. If a project doesn't pass the review, it can't be forcibly approved. Even I can't do that!"

John shook his head slightly, ending the conversation with James Cameron. From the other man's expression, John knew that his persuasion was useless. This guy was too obsessed with the movie, and even his persuasion could not change his decision. Moreover, it was obvious that James Cameron had already found new investors.

John was also curious about who would dare to make a move when Legendary Entertainment and Phoenix Media hadn't even passed the review process. However, only one of the Hollywood giants would dare to pay such a high price. Disney was clearly out of the question; they didn't have the confidence or the funds. Warner Bros. did have the capability, but given their cautious nature, they probably wouldn't enter the fray easily. MGM was also out of the question; their situation wasn't much better than Disney's. The only possibility was Fox!

John was quite pleased with Fox's entry into the fray, willingly jumping into this mess. If Murdoch could suffer a significant loss, that would be ideal. John hadn't forgotten the scoundrel's machinations against him in Britain, and if given the chance for revenge, he wouldn't hesitate. However, given James Cameron's resources, even if they lost money, it wouldn't be too huge, but failure was inevitable. It wouldn't be avoided just because it was Fox, and in Hollywood today, Fox's influence was far from comparable to Legendary Entertainment, Phoenix Media, or Warner Bros.

(End of this chapter)