America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 581 Disney and Netflix

When Barbra Streisand, a legendary Hollywood woman who has achieved outstanding success as a singer, actress, director, and producer, took the stage as a presenter, everyone knew who the Best Director winner was.

Last year's Best Director Danny Boyle did not appear on stage; instead, a senior female member served as the presenter, which was quite obvious.

Martin turned to look at David Fincher and saw a fleeting hint of resentment on his face.

The current David Fincher is not yet the "laissez-faire" director who has been heavily criticized by film critics after collaborating with Netflix; he still has an Oscar dream.

But the Oscars are destined to make history tonight.

Unsurprisingly, the name that came out of Barbara Streisand's mouth was Katharine Bigelow.

The Hurt Locker not only won Best Director, but also Best Picture.

Summit Entertainment and film investors David Ellison and Megan Ellison emerged as the biggest winners of the night.

In contrast, the Benjamin Butler film crew, who received thirteen Oscar nominations but only won two consolation prizes—Best Makeup and Best Production Design—became the biggest tragedy of the night.

It was just a hair's breadth away from matching the preferential treatment that "The Shawshank Redemption" received at the Oscars.

Martin reassured David Fincher, "Let's speed up the filming this time and compete again next time!"

David Fincher was also determined: "This time I'm going to be more efficient, and try to get 'Gone Girl' released during the holiday season."

Martin's real purpose in saying these things was to arouse David Fincher's competitive spirit and improve the efficiency of filming and production.

After all, this photographer has always been quite casual.

After the awards ceremony, Elizabeth went straight home, while Martin was scheduled to attend the "Oscar Night" party.

After Vanity Fair insisted on hosting the party for several years, Oscar Night has become a joint event with the Academy, and even those who are disappointed with their Oscars will make an appearance at the party.

As soon as Martin entered the banquet hall, he was stopped by Taylor Swift, who had come to attend the party.

Taylor pushed him to the photo area: "I have two friends who are also your fans, and they've been asking to take a picture with you."

Martin asked curiously, "Your best friend?"

Taylor said as they walked, "Just like you, I'm a member of my group of friends. Didn't you give me an idea when I sang for you last time, suggesting I form a group of celebrity friends?"

Martin cautioned, "Remember, you're the one in charge, and the members need to be famous enough to attract entertainment media attention. During your downtime, you can play the 'girls making up after a falling out' trick."

Taylor has evolved, and even gone a step further: "Not only have I made a plan, but I'm also prepared to find a singer of similar caliber to have an online feud with. Is this publicity stunt feasible?"

Martin first praised Taylor, saying, "You're getting better and better at it." Then he added, "Watch the frequency of the hype."

Taylor nodded slightly, then waved to the front: "Carly, Selena, look who's here."

Two girls, one tall and one short, came to greet her. The former had blonde hair and long legs, and was a head taller than Taylor.

The latter was of Latin descent, with a round face and naturally chubby cheeks.

Taylor introduced them: "This is Karlie Kloss, and this is Selena Gomez. They are both good friends of mine."

Then she took Martin's hand: "You all know him, my close friend, Martin."

Karlie Kloss shook hands with Martin and quickly stood next to him, saying, "Take a picture with me."

Martin pointed to one of the Oscars' official reporters: "Bill, come over here and help me out."

Bill immediately came over with his camera and took photos of Karlie Kloss and Selena Gomez with Martin, and then took a group photo of the four of them.

After taking the photos, Martin saw Alan Horn waving at him and said to Taylor, "I have other things to do, you guys talk first."

Taylor grabbed him and asked, "Are you free tonight?"

Martin said, "Not tonight."

Taylor said with a hint of regret, "I have to leave first thing tomorrow morning." She thought for a moment, "Next time I organize a get-together with my girlfriends, you can come too."

Martin nodded: "No problem."

Speaking of this, he wanted to settle scores with Leonardo DiCaprio. That bastard lacks any sense of practicality; he's a typical 11-second sprinter who talks big but doesn't deliver. He said he was going to organize a big gathering of Russian and Ukrainian supermodels and actresses, but there's still no news.

It's a pity Leonardo didn't come tonight, otherwise Martin would definitely have sent his blessings, wishing him to be pressured into marriage by ten pregnant women tomorrow.

After Martin walked away, Karlie Kloss nudged Taylor with her elbow and asked, "You tried it? How was it?"

The first wave of post-90s generation in the entertainment and modeling industries has grown up. They are even wilder and more unrestrained than their predecessors. Selena Gomez even asked, "Are they as amazing as the rumors say, with an incredibly delicious taste?"

Taylor was much bolder than them. She leaned close to the two of them and whispered, "Not only does it taste good, it also nourishes my vocal cords, making my singing even more beautiful. Haven't you noticed? My singing sounds better than before!"

"You!" Karlie Kloss and Selena Gomez were stunned, wondering if these two sisters were joking.

Taylor blinked: "You're too young to understand the benefits."

Carly complained, "We'll be eighteen soon."

…………

At a table in the corner of the banquet hall, Alan Horn asked Martin, "I heard Warner Bros. wants to acquire your studio?"

"They wanted to acquire me, and I was willing to sell, but the negotiations broke down," Martin stated directly. "Warner didn't want to pay $4.5 million."

The price also surprised Alan Horn: "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't agree either!"

Martin smiled. "That's where the disagreement lies. I think the studio's existing assets are worth at least that much, but others don't think so."

Since there was a disagreement, Alan Horn simply changed the subject: "Warner Bros.' increase in distribution commission is very unfair to its partners, especially actors, investors, and producers like you who always produce box office hits. Even a one percent increase in commission means millions of dollars in losses."

Martin said, "Warner Bros. has been number one in Hollywood for many years and has a very strong distribution network."

"That represents the past, not necessarily the future," Alan Horn said. "You probably know that Kevin Tsujihara promoted a lot of Japanese Americans and people with connections after taking office. Do you think this is a normal management style for a company? Can they maintain the glory that Warner Bros. has achieved over the past decade?"

Martin has already seen the signs in the "Owls and Gods" and "Green Lantern" projects, and with the problems he's created, the future is unpredictable.

He asked directly, "Allen, from what you're saying, you're trying to recruit me to Disney? I remember you're the president of Disney Studios, not involved in distribution, right?"

Alan Horn said, "I'm also thinking of you, my old friend. Both Disney and Buena Vista are strong enough. Walt Disney's offline channels are no worse than Warner's. There's also Robert Iger. You may not be familiar with Martin, but I can assure you that he is far superior to Kevin Tsujihara in terms of leadership and personal charisma."

Martin nodded: "I've heard of Robert Iger. I've heard that all of Disney's big spending in recent years came from him, such as acquiring Pixar Studios and the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe..."

He paused slightly and said, "Allen, I'm worried about encountering another Kevin Tsujihara. If you can manage Disney's distribution label, I'll immediately send someone to talk to you about the distribution of John Wick 2."

Alan Horn laughed: "Disney Studios not only merged with Hollywood production companies and Touchstone Pictures, but also with the Disney distribution brand, which will specialize in live-action film production and distribution in the future."

Martin said, "It seems you've been keeping an eye on me for a while now."

Alan Horn admitted, "I couldn't run into you today. I was planning to contact you before you went to film 'Gone Girl,' but unfortunately you already had a distribution contract with Warner Bros. for that film."

Martin picked up his glass and clinked it with Alan Horn's: "I'll have someone talk to Disney later."

Alan Horn took a sip of his drink and said, "I'll have my deputy talk to your men."

The two agreed on their intentions, and the meeting concluded.

After Martin left, he wanted to go home. Before leaving, Elizabeth had said that she would wait for him to come back in her dress.

This is also a very special experience.

But David Fincher stopped him and introduced the middle-aged man beside him: "This is an old friend of mine, Greg Peters. He used to be a producer, but now he's at Netflix as the Director of Product Content."

Greg immediately came over and shook hands with Martin: "I've been wanting David to introduce us for a long time, but I haven't had the chance. Martin, it's an honor to meet you today."

Martin laughed and said, "I know Netflix very well."

Greg didn't understand and looked at Martin curiously.

Martin made no attempt to hide it: "I am a Netflix shareholder, but a minority shareholder. The shares are all publicly traded shares bought on the primary market."

Greg asked, "You have a very positive outlook on Netflix's future?"

Martin has collected a lot of information about Netflix: "You started as a DVD rental business, and now you've developed online streaming with tens of millions of paid subscribers in North America. This may become a way for families to watch movies in the future."

David Fincher said, "I've been following social networks, and with the proliferation of smartphones, many people are even used to watching movies and TV shows on their phones."

Greg said, "Netflix has also seen this trend and has been optimizing its data filtering to provide users with more and better content experiences."

He then changed the subject, saying, "What's troubling Netflix the most right now is content, especially high-quality content. Hollywood is different now than before; they see Netflix as an enemy. If we want to get licenses for high-quality content, we need to pay a higher price. Without high-quality content, it's hard to attract new paid users, and even old users will leave."

Martin, who owns tens of millions of Netflix shares, naturally wants the stock price to rise. He said, "If you have sufficient cash flow, you can hire producers and directors to produce high-quality content."

(End of this chapter)