America: My Time

Chapter 94 Film Industry Peripherals
Chapter Ninety-Four: Film Industry Peripherals

The incident was quickly quelled through the efforts of all parties involved, without affecting Japan in any way. At most, some people were slightly frightened, while Naoko was given more protection. At least no one would try to take advantage of her anymore, at least not in Japan!

After securing the support of the Japanese banks and various powerful figures, John also began to consider leaving. He couldn't stay in Japan for long; he still had his studies to complete. This trip was also due to company reasons. Now that all the problems were resolved, it was time to return to the United States, go back and deal with those bastards who were against him, and take down Warner!

John never considered himself a pushover. Warner dared to attack him at this time, so he had to face the consequences. The writers, musicians, and newspapers involved would all pay the price.

John's arrival in Japan was a secret, and his departure was equally quiet. Even Naoko didn't see him off; he simply left Japan quietly with his bodyguards and returned to the United States.

At this time, the hype surrounding Legendary Entertainment's acquisition of Universal and NBC reached its peak in the United States, with countless people watching the acquisition closely. Many media groups in the US hoped the acquisition would fail, expecting chaos or even collapse of the two companies, but unfortunately, the outcome greatly disappointed them.

With the full cooperation of Legendary Entertainment and Morgan Stanley, although there were some fluctuations in the two companies, they were quickly stabilized. The turmoil at the top level did not cause panic or shock among the middle and lower levels. On the contrary, it had a positive effect on the middle and lower levels.

When someone leaves, someone has to take over their position. It's impossible for all positions to be transferred out of Legend Entertainment, as Legend Entertainment doesn't have that many talented people. Instead, promotions come more from within the two major companies, which naturally creates vitality for the two companies and allows for personnel mobility!
Legendary Entertainment was originally scheduled to take over the two companies next year, but due to this incident, it has to take over earlier. Now, Legendary Entertainment is under tremendous pressure, and most of that pressure falls on Robert Iger, who has to bear it, since he is the CEO of Legendary Entertainment!

With Morgan's full cooperation, the purge of senior management did not cause major upheaval. Morgan also did not oppose Legendary Entertainment's breakup of Universal Pictures and actively cooperated with Legendary Entertainment. In this turmoil, Legendary Entertainment and Morgan withstood the pressure and completed the restructuring of the two companies. Their collaboration also showed others new acquisition prospects.

Before Legendary Entertainment fully took over and before the two companies achieved any new results, no one was willing to try this new acquisition method. The price to pay was too high, and the slightest mistake could trigger a huge storm and crisis!
What would normally take months to complete was swiftly purged of the top executives of both companies by the time John returned to the United States, thanks to Morgan's full support. Under immense pressure from Morgan, the executives of both companies were forced to leave, whether they liked it or not, they had no choice but to comply with Legendary Entertainment's demands. It was precisely Morgan's decisive action that prevented the two companies from descending into further chaos.

The moment John returned, he received a request from Morgan that Legendary Entertainment should take over the two companies. Morgan had already done what he needed to do. In this situation, John could only discuss it with Robert Iger, since Robert Iger had been cooperating with Morgan in the purge of the two companies. Only Robert Iger knew the true situation of the two companies and could decide whether or not to take over the two companies now.

"Aiger, do you think the time is right to take over these two companies? Can they meet your requirements? Can you control everything about them right now? This is no small matter. Once you take over, all the pressure will be on your shoulders. You need to think carefully about whether to wait a little longer or take over now!"

“Boss, I think it’s time to take over. The top management of both companies has been purged. Most of the current top executives are promoted from middle management, and they have a huge passion for their work. Taking over now won’t have a significant impact on Legendary Entertainment. I’m confident I can control both companies!” “Good, that’s good. It shouldn’t be a big problem for NBC, but Universal must be careful. We must complete our plan to completely split it up. Universal Pictures will only have movies, studios, and theaters; everything else must be abandoned and spun off to other companies. Only Universal can develop rapidly and stabilize the overall situation. If you think everything is fine, Universal Pictures will change its development strategy. The future focus of Universal’s development will be blockbusters; the entire Universal Pictures will enter the era of blockbusters and film series!”

The era of blockbusters and film series is the direction John envisioned for Universal Pictures. Of course, not every blockbuster will be accepted by Universal. Universal will have a new standard for film vetting; they will no longer continue to use their own standards!

"Isn't it a bit hasty for the boss to change the direction of Universal now? If it fails, it will be very disadvantageous for us. We just took over Universal. Failure will cause chaos within Universal, or even worsen the situation!"

"No destruction, no construction. The old Universal is no longer suitable for the development of modern film industry. Admittedly, taking the low-budget route is safer, but it is harmful to Universal. If we do too many low-budget films, Universal's reputation will be ruined. Look at how Disney parks have pulled Disney out of crises time and time again. Did Disney rely on film industry? No, it was the theme parks. Reputation is very important for the development of theme parks. Now Universal Pictures needs such a good reputation. As long as we have one blockbuster film, we will not be affected for the whole year. Concentrating our efforts on big things is the best choice. Making blockbusters and series is the way to go!"

"However, if we only make blockbusters and they fail, the impact on Universal will be even greater. We can hardly afford such losses, especially now!"

“I understand that putting all your eggs in one basket is dangerous, and Universal's financial situation is far from ideal. We have huge debts, so we can't take risks. But if you change your mindset, everything will become clear. Concentrate your resources on big projects and use your best resources where they matter most. Although the possibility of failure exists, no film is guaranteed to succeed. Rather than spreading investments, it's better to concentrate your efforts. We've already streamlined Universal's senior management, so the pressure won't be too great. Besides, we don't need to jump straight into the blockbuster era at the beginning; we can focus on series films first!”

John paused, giving Robert Iger time to process his words. After a moment, he continued, "Actually, my view of the film market differs from yours. Perhaps it's because I'm an outsider, and my perspective differs from that of an expert like you. You, who have always been in the media industry, focus on box office revenue, making it the core of a film company's profits. But in my opinion, the future of Hollywood box office revenue won't be the core of a film company's profits. Merchandise is the fundamental source of profits. All of this requires large investments and promotion—in other words, blockbusters. Only blockbusters can attract enough attention and have the opportunity to become a hit! Universal Pictures aims to make blockbusters, to create blockbuster films, even if they don't make much money at the box office, or even lose a little. We can recoup more revenue from merchandise. Universal Pictures has its own theme parks!"

"Boss, is this the plan you've been working on all along? You had these plans in place when you founded Legendary Entertainment. You have your own toys and clothing stores in the surrounding area. Universal is a film company with a studio in Hollywood. While everyone is focused on the Hollywood box office market, you see another world. By placing the toy company in Taiwan, production costs immediately decrease. Once the surrounding market opens up, the film company will have amazing profits!"

At this point, Robert Iger finally understood John's strategy for Legendary Entertainment and why his boss would spare no effort in controlling the surrounding industries, such as toys and clothing, all to support the development of the film industry!
"Excellent, this is my plan. In all of Hollywood, Universal is the most suitable for us. Although Disney has Disneyland and a great reputation, Disney's main business is animation, which is not suitable for Legendary Entertainment. Universal is the best, with theaters and studios. Once we fully utilize them and integrate them with the other companies in Legendary Entertainment, then Legendary Entertainment will be invincible. The premise of all this is the quality of Universal Pictures' films. Blockbusters are the easiest to succeed. I hope that we will usher in the era of blockbusters for Universal Pictures and create an era that belongs to Legendary Entertainment! As for series films, I don't need to say much. Once the beginning is successful, we can continue to make them step by step. However, we cannot make series films like the current Hollywood series films without restraint. There must be intervals. One film a year is not enough. We need to make one film every two years to give the audience enough waiting time!"

“Okay, I agree with the boss’s suggestion!” At this moment, Robert Iger understood his boss’s plan. It was a grand plan that none of the Hollywood giants had anticipated, nor had anyone seen it. Even Warner Bros., which had been suppressing Legendary Entertainment, did not know that the boss’s plan was so astonishing! If these words were to leak out today, it would cause a huge uproar throughout Hollywood!
(End of this chapter)