America: My Time

Chapter 85 Storm (Part Two)

Chapter 85 Storm (Part Two)
Faced with this sudden and shocking turn of events, Legendary Entertainment remained unmoved and steadfast. This wasn't the first time they'd doubted John's abilities; Warner Bros. had already tried it once and suffered a crushing defeat. This time, the same thing was about to happen. Since Warner Bros. wanted a fight, Legendary Entertainment would naturally oblige, but this time it wouldn't end as easily as before!
Although Legendary Entertainment has little power in print media, it has power in other areas. Most importantly, Warner's move this time is different from the last one. This time, there are too many clues. Taking advantage of Warner's fierce counterattack, Legendary Entertainment has collected all this evidence. All newspapers involved in this battle will suffer the wrath of Legendary Entertainment.

John and Legendary Entertainment both wanted to use this opportunity to make an example of Warner Bros., and the target audience wasn't just Warner Bros., but also the newspapers involved in this battle!
Although he was far away in Tokyo, John was fully aware of the sudden shockwave that had erupted in the United States. In fact, when he made the decision to acquire Universal and NBC, he already knew that he would face a backlash from the outside world, from Hollywood. This was inevitable.

Now it seems that all the problems point to Warner, and that Warner is the mastermind. But John understands that this storm is not just Warner's doing, but all the Hollywood giants are involved. They all want to block his entry into Hollywood and suppress him, this newcomer to the entertainment industry.

Compromise is useless; only by intimidating the enemy can this problem be truly solved. His age is his biggest weakness, so these bastards, even without any evidence, are frantically using their resources to attack Legendary Entertainment and John, sparing no effort whatsoever!
At this moment, the sudden outbreak of this storm filled Morgan with endless anger, but Morgan could not take action because he understood that what seemed to be a counterattack by Hollywood giants was actually a dark hand behind them, namely their Wall Street counterparts, who were warning Morgan not to try to take all the profits for himself.

"Boss, what do we do now? If we let this storm continue, it will be very difficult for us to control Universal and NBC. If it triggers internal conflicts between the two companies, it will put them in dire straits. We need to make this kid step forward and take responsibility. It all started because of him!"

"Foolish, ignorant, is your head full of water? You think this storm is that simple, and you think this kid will take your orders? We begged him to acquire Universal and NBC, not the other way around. If we can't even withstand a little shock, what right does Morgan have to stand on Wall Street? What right do we have to earn this kid's approval of our abilities? We knew what problems would arise when we made this acquisition decision!"

"But we can't just ignore him like this forever. If this kid's credibility is compromised, we'll be in big trouble. Universal and NBC could very well collapse!"

"A collapse? That won't happen. We at Morgan won't allow that. It simply can't happen. And you underestimate this kid. He already knows about the storm brewing in the US, but he's been hiding and hasn't shown up. Legendary Entertainment doesn't care either. He and Legendary Entertainment want to use this storm, even to make an example of someone again. This time, those stupid bastards have completely enraged him. Those media outlets involved will face retaliation. Just wait. It won't be long before it's all over, and those ignorant people will pay a heavy price!"

"Boss, does he really have that kind of ability? He's only eighteen years old. Even if he's a prodigy, he couldn't possibly do that. Besides, he's facing the backlash from the entire Hollywood and the power of Wall Street!"

"So what? Have you forgotten what happened last time? This is just a repeat of the last incident, only this time there are more powerful figures behind it. Unfortunately, they have no evidence. If these bastards had evidence, this conflict would have been over long ago. It's all just their speculation, and that's the key point! Legendary Entertainment can remain silent, and so can we at Morgan. We just need to wait quietly. This isn't our war, do you understand?"

This is indeed not Morgan's war; it is merely a war between Legendary Entertainment and Hollywood, or more precisely, a war between Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros. Morgan, as a Wall Street giant, cannot participate in this war! This is not only due to pressure from his Wall Street peers, but also because of Morgan's confidence in John.

Would a young man who could create such a vast fortune in such a short time be so easily defeated? At this point, those who jumped out would suffer devastating blows, and the newspapers involved would also face retaliation, because Morgan knew about John's security company, "Jaguar," and that force had now mobilized!

At this moment, John and Legendary Entertainment have gathered a great deal of information. If they don't act now, so be it; but if they do, it will be earth-shattering, and Warner Bros. will pay a heavy price. Yes, in the end, Warner Bros. will be the one to suffer. Warner Bros. will be the scapegoat in this whole affair. Even if they didn't do many things, they will ultimately have to take the blame. This is the consequence of Warner Bros. jumping in to cause trouble!

"Damn it, I knew we couldn't let this kid develop like this! Those bastards just wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened! This kid has directly acquired Universal and NBC, becoming a media mogul in the US!" Steve Ross cursed the other Hollywood giants in his Warner office, venting his hatred and dissatisfaction, but also feeling a sense of unease. He didn't know how much impact John's rise to Hollywood tycoon would have on Warner, and he vaguely sensed the dark secrets and threats behind this event.

At this point, not only Steve Ross felt threatened, but other Hollywood giants also felt threatened, and all sorts of things happened. The media were questioning how a young man like John could manage NBC! In short, all the media were talking about John's age and believed that John could not manage such an important media force as NBC.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard these Hollywood giants tried, it was to no avail. Morgan ignored their resistance and continued with his work. Although Morgan wouldn't participate in this struggle, he wouldn't let this storm stop his purge. It was something Morgan had to do. And now that the acquisition had been leaked, Legendary Entertainment no longer needed to hide it. As CEO of Legendary Entertainment, Robert Iger directly participated in the purge of the two companies!
For those stubborn elements, the ironclad rule is to resolutely purge them out. There is no room for leniency. Legendary Entertainment and Morgan's ruthless methods quickly stabilized the two companies, allowing middle and lower-level employees to work with peace of mind. They knew that Morgan and Legendary Entertainment were only purging senior managers and would not affect the middle and lower-level employees.
With this bombshell dropped, John was once again in the media spotlight. This time, they couldn't find John in the US, making an interview impossible. These reporters didn't have the ability to track John's whereabouts, let alone know that he was currently in Japan.

Amidst a storm, Legendary Entertainment's first film, "Police Academy," was released, while "Flashdance" will take some time to arrive, as Madonna is a newcomer and its release will be later than "Police Academy."

Because Legendary Entertainment is acquiring Universal Pictures, and with the existence of the gaming world, North American theaters are supporting Legendary Entertainment. Even with Warner Bros.' obstruction, it hasn't had a significant impact on Legendary Entertainment! Theaters aren't stupid; they can see the quality of Legendary Entertainment's films.

Although it was a quiet season for the film market, with no strong competitors and "Police Academy" being of high quality, the film immediately took advantage of the acquisition wave and exploded in popularity, leaving Warner Bros. and other Hollywood giants dumbfounded. They had not expected that such a low-budget film would cause such a sensation.

Throughout Legendary Pictures, John had only one requirement for the producers: they couldn't let the directors use their own imaginations or inject their own ideas into the film. Everything had to be based on the script. Because of this strict process, there were no problems with the quality of "Police Academy"!
In the 1980s, Hollywood's slump was not only caused by the general environment, but also largely by the directors and screenwriters. They all wanted to express their own ideas in the films, so the films lost their appeal to young people. John emphasized this point at Legendary Pictures, emphasizing that everything should be based on the audience and the market!
John knew where Hollywood's problems lay, which is why he was able to make changes to address them, making "Police Academy" a huge hit and opening the door to Hollywood.

Now is not the time to retaliate. John continues to wait, hoping the storm will expand and ideally erupt nationwide again, allowing the police academy to once again use the power of Warner Bros. and other behind-the-scenes forces to create a massive explosion.

Faced with the questions, John and Legendary Entertainment's silence left the Hollywood giants somewhat dumbfounded. A one-man show is not easy to perform, and they gradually realized that Legendary Entertainment wanted to use their media power to promote itself again, which put the Hollywood giants in a dilemma.

(End of this chapter)