章節 138: Chapter 138
In the screening room of Capet Pictures in New York, Little Miss Sunshine had been completed, and Charles had just finished watching it.
Dona Williams quietly reminded Charles: "Arianna Huffington and her two partners agreed but hope to get the startup funding for the website as soon as possible."
"Great, give them the funds!" Charles said as he stood up and left the screening room, heading back to his office.
"Anything else?"
"Tom Ford's brand, Dawn Investments can acquire a 35% stake!"
Charles nodded, this wasn't an issue, just a fashion brand, nothing to worry too much about.
Dona Williams spoke seriously: "Avi Arad stepped down from his position as President of Marvel Studios and Chief Creative Officer."
"Avi Arad left Marvel!" Charles' eyes lit up. He immediately instructed, "Go buy his Marvel shares. Since he left Marvel, he obviously lacks confidence in the company and wouldn't hold onto those shares."
"Alright, I'll have someone inquire immediately," Dona said as she left Charles' office. She was efficient and didn't waste time.
After Dona left, Phyllis Jones entered the office. "Boss, Little Miss Sunshine will be promoted with special screenings at the Tribeca Film Festival and then at other film festivals across the US. The national release starts in August!"
Charles nodded. Little Miss Sunshine didn't have much budget for promotion, so boosting its reputation by participating in film festivals was a good strategy.
"By the way, how's the licensing deal with Hasbro for Transformers going?" Charles was very concerned about this toy IP since it was indeed profitable.
Phyllis Jones shook her head, indicating that Hasbro was still considering it. "The good news is Spielberg hasn't convinced Hasbro either. DreamWorks has no concrete plans; Spielberg just likes the toy series!"
"Oh, and The Devil Wears Prada will start filming next month, with the main location being Building Four near Times Square."
"Conde Nast Building?" Charles chuckled. They sure knew how to pick a spot; that's where Vogue's headquarters were!
The protagonist, the female editor-in-chief Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada was based on Anna Wintour, the current editor-in-chief of Vogue.
"What about Prison Break? Which TV network are we considering for the premiere deal?"
"The company is leaning towards partnering with the USA Network!"
Charles nodded. USA Network, jointly operated by Universal and Paramount, had a wide reach.
"Also, Disney Studios' Chairman Dick Cook announced that the new head of Miramax will be Daniel Battsek, head of distribution at Buena Vista International. He'll take over three months after the Weinstein brothers' departure," Phyllis Jones continued to report.
"Did the negotiations between Disney and the Weinstein brothers conclude?" Charles hadn't been following this.
"The Weinstein brothers left with Dimension Films, one of Miramax's subsidiaries. Disney gave $130 million plus five years salary in cash compensation and retained the Miramax label along with the rights to over 700 films!
The Weinstein brothers are now looking for investors on Wall Street to establish The Weinstein Company. Merrill Lynch has shown interest."
Charles leaned back in his chair and scoffed, "Back to independent art films again, huh? It's already the 21st century!"
After Phyllis Jones left, Charles called his mother in Los Angeles.
"Avi Arad left Marvel. I've already sent people to buy his shares. Now you can start taking action. I want to acquire as many Marvel shares as possible!"
Evelyn laughed over the phone, "I have three companies that are absorbing Marvel shares from the market, but we've been careful not to impact Marvel's share price. If you're confident, I'll have them ramp up the acquisition. But Ike Perlmutter holds 46% of Marvel's shares. What's your plan?"
Charles spoke directly, "I'll soon become Marvel's second-largest shareholder. Then, I'll propose a full acquisition at the shareholders' meeting. If Ike Perlmutter doesn't sell, I'll hold out and let Marvel continue losing money."
Evelyn laughed, "Alright, the shares absorbed by my three companies will be directly transferred to you when you need them!"
After hanging up with his mother, Charles' eyes grew deep. Marvel will either belong to him or there will be no Marvel Universe!
Independent production and distribution companies now included only a few sizable and independent ones like DreamWorks, Lionsgate, and Summit. Companies like IFC Films, Newmarket Films, and Magnolia Pictures were still not making a significant impact.
DreamWorks was seeking a major backer. The Weinstein brothers had reestablished The Weinstein Company, but were they really a match for Capet Pictures?
Regarding independent labels managed by the major six studios, such as Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Sony Pictures Classics, and Miramax; Fox Searchlight, Fox Atomic, and Focus Features; Warner Bros. Independent Pictures, Charles wasn't afraid of any of them.
Of course, New Line Cinema under Time Warner still had a considerable reputation. The Lord of the Rings trilogy had turned New Line around, showing that commercial blockbusters could be quite addictive.
New Line also acquired the movie adaptation rights for the British writer Philip Pullman's best-selling His Dark Materials trilogy from producer Deborah Forte of Scholastic Media. New Line was planning to develop this series.
The first book, The Golden Compass, had already been adapted into a screenplay.
Aside from New Line's Lord of the Rings series, Warner Bros. also had the Harry Potter series;
Disney had the Pirates of the Caribbean series;
20th Century Fox had the distribution rights to the Star Wars series and the X-Men series;
Sony Columbia had the Spider-Man series;
Universal had the Fast & Furious series;
And Paramount had the Star Trek and Mission: Impossible series.
If Charles' Capet Pictures could acquire the Marvel and the Transformers series, wouldn't that be perfect?
Although Capet Pictures had the Saw series, it couldn't compare to other blockbuster IPs. To be successful, Charles needed to not only develop his own properties but also keep others at bay.
In the future, Charles was determined to seize every valuable IP, leaving none for others. Otherwise, he would be crushed by the competition.
*****
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