American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 140 I want to choose my own powerful ally!
It's no wonder Isabella was completely bewildered!

In her memory, all of Kevin Feige's achievements were related to Marvel!
When he was already completely and inextricably linked to Marvel, he said he wanted to make a DC movie?
OMG——

When Isabella heard these words, it was no less impactful than if someone had told her that in today's world, Ray Kroc, the father of McDonald's, embraced Harlan Sanders, the founder of Kentucky Fried Chicken, in 1954!
This is a fucking magnitude 18 earthquake!

and so……

'what is happening? '

'What the hell did my butterfly wings flap and produce?'

Isabella swallowed hard, finding Kevin Feige's behavior somewhat incomprehensible.

The same goes for Her Majesty's scapegoat Chris Columbus and Mama Vivian. Although neither of them has Isabella's past life memories, Kevin Feige's behavior is illogical in their eyes at the moment.

The group exchanged glances...

Columbus spoke first, "Uh—Mr. Fitch…can I call you Kevin?"

"of course can."

“Okay, Kevin, if I may be so bold, we probably didn’t understand what you meant.”

Columbus picked up the business card that Kevin Feige had presented with his visiting card and said, "On your business card, your position is Assistant to the CEO of Marvel Comics and First Producer at Marvel Studios, so..."

Could you repeat what you just said?

"What did you say you wanted to talk to us about this time?"

"Talking about a sequel to 'The Mystery of the Swordsman'?"

"You want to join the production of Batman?"

Columbus looked at Kevin Feige with a puzzled expression, as if he were reading a book written in a foreign language, and with a hint of constipation.

Although he had seen many ups and downs over the past few decades, he had never seen anything like this before.

“Oh, Director Columbus, I know you might be confused right now, but I want to say, yes, you heard me right.”

Kevin Feige repeated his meaning with a smile.

Then, he said earnestly, "Although I would like to answer your questions briefly, it involves a longer story, so please allow me to tell you the story, okay? Of course, this may take up a little of your time."

Kevin Feige made a gesture that would make South Korean men lose their composure twenty years from now.

Columbus glanced at Isabella, and after the girl nodded, he said, "No problem. You're Director Donald's man, so of course you can get this time. Please speak."

"Okay, thank you. Now, the story I want to tell is about me personally."

After receiving permission, Kevin Feige cleared his throat and said, "I was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in New Jersey. Because New Jersey is close to New York, I have loved comics since I was a child."

I like both Marvel and DC.

"Because my family also works in the film and television industry, I have wanted to work in television and movies since I was a child. I went to USC for college, and after watching Spielberg's Jurassic Park, I wanted to do the same as him and bring my favorite comics to the screen. I think that would be a very cool thing."

"Then, after graduation, I got a job at Donner Films through family connections, working for Mr. and Mrs. Donner."

“Uh… excuse me…” Hearing this, Mom Vivian suddenly waved her hand and said, “Kevin, with your family’s situation, you should be able to find a job at a film studio, right? I mean a big one.”

"So why didn't you go to Fox, where X-Man was?"

"Or perhaps it's Sony, which has 'The Failed Man'?"

"Why go to Donner Films?"

"If I remember correctly, this company doesn't have the copyright to the comic book character you mentioned, right?"

"And what you just said was that you want to bring your favorite comics to the big screen?"

“Oh—Mrs. Haywood—your question is excellent.”

Kevin Feige smiled, raised his eyebrows, and waved his hands, saying, "Because at the time, Donner Films and Warner Bros. had a long-term production agreement, and I wanted to use that agreement to produce DC movies..."

Yes.

Kevin Feige is actually an omnivore.

He likes both DC and Marvel.

Then, back then, the organization he most wanted to join was actually DC.

The reason is simple.

That is, DC owns the full copyright to all its characters, while Marvel's copyrights are all scattered outside.

This logic is easy to understand, right?
Only a vast amount of copyright can support such a wildly imaginative free-for-all.

"Then why did you go to Marvel later?" Columbus asked curiously.

Kevin Feige shrugged and said helplessly, "Because... how could I say bad things about Warner Bros. on the set?"

“This is Chris’s crew.” Isabella pointed to the scapegoat, indicating that he should rest assured.

Upon hearing this, Columbus, who had been enjoying the gossip, immediately put on a sullen face.

Kevin Feige smiled and nodded, saying, "Okay, here's the thing, Director Columbus, Miss Haywood, because I've discovered that Warner Bros. is a very bureaucratic company. DC has no autonomy in its development. So, even if a company like that has all the copyrights, it has no future..."

After entering the film industry, or rather, after becoming an apprentice of Lauren Donner, Kevin Feige's first project was called "Volcano," the disaster film starring Tommy Jones and Anne Heche.

Although the film flopped, with a $9000 million investment yielding only $1.22 million at the box office, the production process was very comfortable for him. In the end, the investors, Fox, did not criticize them too harshly, which made Kevin Feige feel that the environment in the industry was still quite good. Of course, the reason Fox did not scold them was because Rupert Murdoch liked Richard Donald.

When the big boss of the group feels that the success or failure of a project is completely irrelevant, what can the people below dare to say?

Right?

But things changed when Kevin Feige got involved in the production of "You've Got Mail".

This was a Warner project, and Kevin Feige had hoped to use it to establish a connection with Warner. But before he could even open his mouth, he witnessed Warner's ugly side, or rather, the cruelty of reality.

When Donald Films was producing "You've Got Mail," Warner Bros. stated that the film could only succeed, not fail.

If they fail, Warner will have to say no to their future collaboration.

Because both of Warner Bros. and Donald Films' previous collaborations on films flopped.

One movie is called "Conspiracy Theory," directed by Mel Gibson. It had an investment of 8000 million but only grossed 1.37 million at the box office, which was a complete financial disaster. Another movie is called "Whale 3," which is a family movie, but its DVD sales were not good.

Warner Bros.' warning to Donald Films was a normal piece of advice, because Hollywood is very ruthless. No matter how famous you are, you will be abandoned by the industry after a series of failures.

Someone like Wong Kar-wai wouldn't get anywhere in a place like this.

Or rather, if he dares to act arrogantly in front of investors, they'll dare to chop him into mincemeat.

However, when Warner Bros. warned Donald Films back then, there was a statement that made Kevin Feige very uncomfortable and left a deep impression on him—

"If I remember correctly, when we were working on the project, the people from Warner said that they would not keep useless people, not even their own people, and they even used DC as an example."

"They said that after the DC project suffered two consecutive bombings in 1997, they ruthlessly rejected all subsequent plans for DC, regardless of whether those plans were reasonable or not, they would not do them again."

"Once that decision was made, I never wanted to go to DC again."

"Because no one can guarantee 100% success."

"If a complete plan is rejected entirely because of a single failure, then..."

"This company doesn't have the genes for success."

"So I set my sights on Marvel, and coincidentally, Fox was looking to make X-Man at the time."

Columbus laughed at the honest words.

He admitted that Kevin Feige's feeling was correct.

When internal strife rages within WarnerMedia, even if executives know a project is excellent, they can only accept the possibility of perpetual victory.

Just like Harry Potter.

Because if they fail and don't make changes, they'll be fired when they fail a second time.

This pressure...

It's very big!

Miss Beaver also shook her little feet, marveling inwardly.

Even after two lifetimes, she had no idea that Kevin Feige and DC had such a past.

But it is not important.

When Kevin Feige stated that he hadn't initially chosen Marvel, Isabella understood why he had found her today and said he wanted to make DC movies. When he can embrace everything, what difference does it make what he does?
Right?

And this...

“Okay, Kevin, your story is quite complicated,” Vivian said. “It seems you’ve had a tough time these past few years.”

“Oh, thank you, Mrs. Heywood, thank you for your understanding, and I just wanted to say… I’ve actually been doing alright these past few years.”

Kevin Feige laughed and said, "Because my family is not short of money, we can live a normal life."

"That's good." Vivian nodded and said, "Since you knew years ago that DC wasn't the best choice for you and went to Marvel on your own initiative, why are you telling us now that you want to make a DC movie?"

"Uh... I mean, we currently own Marvel's IPs, and we have no connection with DC."

"Oh, the problem is simple. My ideas are a bit crazy and a bit grandiose. And since Marvel can no longer support my fantasies, I have no choice but to turn my attention back to DC."

Kevin Feige pointed to his handbag and tried to open it.

This question prompted Columbus to nod.

Then, Kevin Feige took out several thick documents and distributed them to the three men.

After a quick glance...

Isabella narrowed her eyes.

The document contained three concepts: the X-Man universe, the Spider-Verse, and the Avengers universe.

Furthermore, the investment amount for the first phase is indicated under each plan.

The Spider Universe has the most entries, with the first phase costing approximately 12 billion.

The X-Man universe is smaller, but the first phase still amounts to around 10 billion.

The Avengers universe is the smallest; if you're frugal, it could be done for 8 million.

However, the Avengers universe is the most difficult to create because the Avengers characters are not as popular as Spider-Man and X-Man.

"A very ambitious plan."

After flipping through the documents, Columbus said, "So, Kevin, the reason you're saying Marvel movies aren't going to work is because the first two plans couldn't be carried out, the success rate of the Avengers plan is too low, and the Avengers rights were sold too fragmentedly?"

“Yes,” Kevin Feige nodded. “Of course, that’s only one of the reasons.”

"The second reason is that I've learned that Miss Haywood now holds a very high position within Warner Bros. When Miss Haywood can influence Warner Bros.' chairman, Barry Mayer, I personally feel that as long as we can sway her—"

Kevin Feige looked at Isabella, drawing out his voice.

It seems they don't know how to address Miss Beaver?
After thinking for a few seconds, he finally continued speaking using an equal form of address:

“Miss Haywood, I personally believe that if I can impress you, I will have the opportunity to create a DC cinematic universe similar to the failed Man, X-Man, and Avengers, so I came here today.”

"This is my proposal..."

"A proposal written for 'The Mystery of the Swordsman'".

Kevin Feige distributed the documents to the three of them again.

After opening it...

Isabella almost laughed.

This isn't mocking Kevin Feige's behavior!

What's more interesting is his plan for the DC Extended Universe, the details of which are as follows:

After seeing DC introduce the Joker with "Batman Begins," Kevin Feige felt that the Joker-Batman battle might be the origin of everything, because the Joker is the core of the Injustice League, while Batman is the core of the Justice League. Once the key figures from the two major alliances that drive DC's big events appear, the DC universe can unfold smoothly.

Therefore, at the end of Batman 2, DC could use Batman's interrogation of the Joker to introduce the Joker's birth.

Tell the story of the Joker in the length of a single movie.

Then, at the end of the Joker solo film, the scene cuts back to Arkham Asylum.

That is, at the end of the second Batman movie, the Joker was imprisoned in Arkham by Batman.

The Joker, imprisoned in Arkham, attempts to escape, but Catwoman appears to break him out. The two don't know each other, so the Joker asks Catwoman why she's come to rescue him.

Catwoman said that she was a mercenary who came after receiving a mission.

The clown asked, "Who gave you this task?"
Catwoman said it was a mission issued by Lex Luthor.

Snapped--

The post-credits scene in the Joker movie ends when Catwoman smiles at the Joker and says the name Lex Luthor.

To be honest, this Easter egg is completely incomplete and doesn't make any sense.

However, if you place this Easter egg within Kevin Feige's timeline and view the story from a God's-eye view, then it works perfectly.

Because in Kevin Feige's timeline, there is a Superman movie between the first and second Batman movies, and another Superman movie between the second and third Batman movies. The Joker movie appears during the Joker's personal memories, and its timeline is parallel to the third Batman movie.

Then, in Kevin Feige's design, the first Superman movie was about Superman's origin.

It tells the story of how Clark Kent came to Earth from Krypton and grew into a 'god'.

This story is not related to any other story.

The second Superman movie borrowed plot elements from Man of Steel #4.

Superman's appearance in Metropolis caught the attention of Lex Luthor, the King of Metropolis.

He wanted to hire Superman to work for him, but Superman refused.

Therefore, Lex Luthor wanted to destroy Superman, but unfortunately, his plot ultimately failed.

In the post-credits scene of Superman 2, Lex Luthor, unable to defeat Superman, flees Metropolis like a stray dog. Feeling humiliated by Superman, he seeks revenge.

Then, he used his financial power to form cliques and factions.

During this process, Catwoman, whom he had already hired, was sent to Gotham to find the Joker.

Because of the Joker's manipulation of Batman, Lex Luthor believed that the Joker could outwit and kill Superman...

Only after all of this has happened will the third Batman movie officially begin.

Catwoman arrives in Gotham as a mercenary with a morally ambiguous stance.

While 'saving' the Joker, he also helped Batman defeat the Boss.

The post-credits scene of Batman III will connect to the post-credits scene of Joker.

Upon learning that someone wanted to hire him to deal with an enemy even more powerful than Batman, the Joker became interested and asked Catwoman who the enemy was and when they would act. Catwoman said they would act once everyone was gathered. The Joker asked who else was there. Catwoman said there was Black Manta, Aquaman's nemesis; Reverse-Flash, the Flash's nemesis; and Cheetah, Wonder Woman's nemesis.

Yes!

Superman is too amazing!
Therefore, Lex Luthor wants to grow as strong as possible before challenging Superman!
The appearance of these villains means that Aquaman, The Flash, and Wonder Woman will all have solo movies!
Their origin movie was released before the third Superman movie!
Then, the third Superman movie was called Superman vs. the Losers' League... oops, I mean the Injustice League!
With the defeat of the Injustice League, the first phase of the DC Extended Universe has come to an end.

Because the final battle is Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.

The battle between Superman and the Injustice League inflicted heavy losses on Metropolis.

This fact made Bruce Wayne feel that Superman could not be trusted.

The master felt that Superman's abilities had to be curbed.

So he teamed up with Aquaman, Wonder Woman, and The Flash to fight Superman.

Of course, at the same time, new enemies will also appear.

It came to pick peaches...

"Oh—Kevin—your idea—is pretty crazy—"

After quickly glancing at Kevin Feige's idea, Columbus burst out laughing.

"In your design, Superman has always fought his enemies as an independent being, so..."

"You think Superman is the most difficult guy to deal with in DC, right?"

“Yeah~~” Kevin Feige nodded with a big smile. “Superman is too strong, so strong that he can take down everyone by himself. So before a cosmic-level enemy appears, he can’t team up with anyone else on Earth.”

"The only way we can demonstrate his power is to find a way to separate him from the various organizations, and have a bunch of superheroes and supervillains fight and scheme against him. Otherwise..."

"The audience will find this movie boring."

“Okay, okay, okay, good idea, good idea.” Columbus pushed up his glasses and said, “Kevin, I think you… made the right decision seven or eight years ago.”

"If you approach Warner with this kind of plan, you probably won't even get through their door."

"Because Barry Mayer would never agree to such a crazy plan. You know, in the same year that Batman and Robin failed, he even killed Lord of the Rings."

"There are only three Lord of the Rings movies! He doesn't even want to make them!"

"And what you're doing... making three Batman movies? Two Superman movies? One each for Wonder Woman, Aquaman, The Flash, Joker, and Catwoman? And then there's Superman vs. Injustice? And only after Injustice loses will there be Batman v Superman?"

"Your plan is moving way too slowly! Barry Mayer will definitely think you're crazy!"

"Of course, I'm not saying your plan is bad. I know this plan can be optimized. You've laid out this plan in such detail just to tell us that you know DC very well, right?"

“Yeah~ Director Columbus, you’re right.” Kevin Feige pursed his lips.

He pointed to the documents in everyone's hands and said, "This is actually my job application resume."

"Only by showing everyone my understanding of DC can I possibly switch from Marvel to DC."

"Ha ha ha ha--"

Columbus burst into laughter upon hearing the fact that he wanted to move to another spot.

Vivian smiled and shook her head.

This made Miss Beaver close the file, squint, and cross her arms as she looked at him.

Although Kevin Feige's behavior during this visit seemed logical—at least in Isabella's eyes—Miss Beaver still had a question in her mind, which was—

"Kevin, can I ask you a few more questions?"

"Of course!"

"Did you come here to impress me so you could join DC?"

"Uh—to be precise, I hope you'll like my DC Universe project and then invest in me."

"Okay, let's not get hung up on these verbal details, since the meaning is the same, right?"

"It's fine if you say that."

"Okay, then I'd like to know, why do you think you can't impress me with the Avengers' plan?"

Isabella leaned back and looked at Kevin Feige with a slightly scrutinizing gaze.

With a smile, she laid out her doubts one by one—

"First of all, you should know that I have already stated publicly that I like Marvel and want to be Iron Man. So, from your perspective, shouldn't you be trying to win me over with the Avengers plan?"

"Secondly, if you think the reason the Avengers plan doesn't appeal to me is that the copyrights to the Avengers characters are scattered, shouldn't your first reaction be to encourage me to buy those copyrights?"

"I believe... you wouldn't think that buying copyrights would be a difficult thing for me, would you?"

"Then, even if you want to abandon the plan because the investment in Avengers is too high and I personally may not be able to afford it, but... from your perspective, shouldn't you be trying to persuade me to find an investor?"

"Even if Warner Bros. can't invest in Marvel, then... what about Disney?"

“You’re an insider here, you should know what kind of relationship Robert Iger and I have, right?”

“Discussing projects worth hundreds of millions of yuan is just a matter of a phone call.”

"When Disney had control of The Voice, the billion-dollar plan was just a matter of knocking on the door of Disney's board of directors, telling them I wanted to do it, and that was it."

"So... Kevin, are you really here today to talk to us about DC?"

At this point, Miss Beaver fell silent.

Columbus and Vivian chuckled.

Kevin Feige raised his eyebrows and sighed.

Everyone here is a smart person, so everyone can see that it's much easier for Kevin Feige to persuade Isabella to embrace Marvel than to encourage her to start a DC franchise. To put it bluntly, it's about willingness.

When Isabella was already very interested in Marvel, wouldn't addressing her specific needs be the best solution?

So……

Kevin Feige's behavior logic is flawed!

And this...

“Okay, Miss Haywood, you have a point.” Kevin Feige raised the white flag.

"So, are you willing to tell me your true purpose?" Vivian asked with a smile.

“Uh… okay…” Kevin Feige thought for two seconds, and finally nodded and said, “My real purpose is that I want to embrace DC, and the real reason is that you can’t make the Marvel Cinematic Universe.”

"What?" Columbus closed the document in his hand.

Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Extended Universe are none of his business, he still wants to know what Kevin Feige means by this, out of consideration for their alliance.
"Why?" he asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

"because……"

Kevin Feige took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully, "Because the Marvel rights owned by Lionsgate are now in Carl Icahn's hands, and Carl Icahn will sell those things to Ted Turner and Steve Case."

'？？？？？？'

The sudden words stunned the three of them!

Kevin Feige smiled and said calmly, "Is this reason enough?"

That's right!

Kevin Feige's main purpose in coming here today is to actively choose his side!
Yes!
He didn't want to get involved in the war of capital!
But he had no choice at that moment!
Because without embracing capital, his dream will never be realized!
That being the case...

Why can't he embrace the winner?

As someone in the industry, how could he not know that Ted Turner and Steve Case had already lost once?

As someone in the industry, how could he not know that Rupert Murdoch had used a stupid tactic that resulted in zero damage to the enemy but ten thousand damage to himself?

As someone in the industry...

His maternal grandfather once said something to him!

To succeed, the right choice is more important than hard work!

His maternal grandfather was able to create a hugely popular drama series because he followed the right people!

Richard Parsons, the most influential figure in Time Warner, owes his current success to Rockefeller's influence.
Disney CEO Robert Iger dares to fight with everyone because his boss is Warren Buffett, right?
Admittedly, success requires hard work, but if you choose the wrong side, aren't you just banging your head against a wall like an idiot?
He, Kevin Feige, doesn't want to hit a wall!
therefore……

He chose to work with Isabella.

This isn't meant to belittle Ted Turner and Steve Case.

Rather, he's not a die-hard Marvel fan.

Since Isabella likes Marvel and can easily get DC...

If he were to hold onto this kind of person's leg, wouldn't he be able to do whatever he wanted?

Today I want to create the Marvel Cinematic Universe, so I'll create Marvel!

I want to make a DC universe tomorrow, so I'll make DC!

If I get really into it the day after tomorrow, I might even put Thor against Superman! Or the Justice League against the Avengers!
Is there anything wrong with this logic?

So……

"Kevin Feige, can you guarantee that what you're saying is true?"

As he laughed, Chris Columbus's voice turned cold.

“Of course.” Kevin Feige nodded gently.

"Okay, do you have time? How many days can you stay on set?" Columbus tapped the table with his index finger.

“No problem.” Kevin Feige nodded again. “I’m fine anyway.”

(End of this chapter)