America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

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Entering May, Charlize Theron finished filming her lead role and left the crew first. She would take a connecting flight directly to South Africa to participate in a series of events prior to the opening ceremony of the World Cup.

Shortly after, Martin received an invitation from the World Cup organizing committee.

However, the timing of the World Cup in South Africa coincided with the promotional release of "Inception," and Martin didn't have time to go there.

The pre-release promotion of "Inception" had begun, but Martin would wait until the filming here was over before joining up with the promotional team.

On the first weekend of May, Elizabeth, Lily and Thomas came to visit the set in Cape Girardeau.

In the hotel, after kissing Elizabeth, Martin turned to Lily and asked Bruce, "Where is the gift I prepared for Lily?"

Bruce, grumbling that Martin was inconsiderate, dragged out a small suitcase and opened it to reveal it was filled with orange chalcedony.

They were all acquired through a hunting and fishing club.

Now a rising star with ample experience, Lily asked, "What kind of stone is this? I've never seen it before."

Martin replied, "It's a gift for you. When you have time, turn them all into heart shapes, and match them with a platinum necklace. I'll cover the costs later."

Lily pouted but didn't refuse. She took a few stones to examine closely, thinking about what she could carve on them.

At that moment, Thomas gave Martin a meaningful look.

Knowing they had matters to discuss, Elizabeth and Lily went to look at the stones together.

Martin called Thomas into the study with him.

Thomas spoke directly, "Gillian Flynn's new work signed directly with Warner Bros., with the adaptation rights falling into Warner's hands."

Martin nodded slightly, "I know. She came to me first. The work was not yet complete, and from what was already written, I felt it was mediocre and didn't give her a definitive answer."

"So that's how it was." Thomas thought Warner had outbid with financial power.

"I have no objections to Gillian's collaboration with Warner; it's her choice." Martin couldn't prevent it, after all, since Gillian had brought her work to him first for his consideration.

Thomas then asked, "Did news travel to Warner so quickly?"

Martin wasn't surprised, "With so many people on the set, many have worked with Warner." He remembered, "The day Gillian came to me, we were actually in the cafeteria. It's normal for someone to have overheard Gillian."

"I thought Warner was targeting us specifically." Thomas brought up another matter, "Warner Bros. has completed the acquisition of Castle Rock Entertainment, gaining absolute control and turning Castle Rock into a subsidiary."

Martin understood his implication, "You think Warner wants to use some special tactics to pressure me into selling the studio?"

Thomas explained, "Not only that, Warner officially sent a letter to WMA stating that the revenue share periods for 'John Wick' and 'Benjamin' needed to be postponed due to overseas channels and bank settlements, among other reasons."

Martin asked, "How long do they plan to postpone it?"

"Between three months to half a year," Thomas roughly explained, "The periods for revenue shares differ, and Warner's intention is very clear; all revenues related to Davis Studio are to be paid at the very end of the period."

He added, "This way, they can not only tighten Davis Studio's finances but also avoid breaking the contract."

Hollywood's revenue share periods typically have a time range, and initially, with the help of Louise's long-standing collaboration with Warner and later with his market clout, Warner would usually pay him and his studio their shares in the mid-stage of the revenue period.

Martin inquired, "Is this only targeted at me and Davis Studio alone?"

Thomas replied, "No, it mainly applies to works that are not subsidiaries of Warner Bros."

Martin could only comment, "Warner is no longer the Warner of old."

Thomas said, "With successive years at the top of Hollywood's performance, Warner's new management is full of confidence, certain that the next decade in Hollywood will still see Warner Bros. in the lead."

Martin stood up, turned around, and said, "Our shares involve tens of millions of dollars, and just the interest would be a significant income."

Bruce, who had been silent, remembered his responsibilities as a manager and interjected, "If Warner Bros. is not suitable, we can switch to a different distributor."

Thomas reminded, "As of now, Warner Bros. has the strongest overall distribution capability in Hollywood."

Martin stated, "There's another one catching up fast."

Thomas understood Martin's implication, "You mean Walt Disney?"

"Exactly, Disney," Martin said simply, "Disney acquired Pixar, bought Marvel, and I've got confirmed news from Catherine Kennedy that their next target is Lucas Film."

Bruce added, "Are we in for a new Star Wars movie?"

Martin ignored him and continued, "The most important point is that Disney Studios, under the leadership of Ellen Horn, has not only merged production companies like Hollywood Pictures and Touchstone Pictures but also consolidated Disney's distribution channels."

"Are we going to collaborate with Warner Bros. next?" Thomas queried, then hurriedly added, "Louise's negotiations with Warner for 'John Wick: Chapter 2' are not going smoothly. Warner just raised the distribution cut and the period, unwilling to compromise."

This was all within Martin's expectations. Warner's policy had just been announced; if they made concessions, it would essentially render their policies void, and even CEO Kevin Tsujihara would lose all his authority.

Martin no longer harbored any hope for Warner Bros.

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But Warner Bros. had expectations for him. Thomas said, "Kevin Tsujihara has contacted me, asking you to visit the Warner Building when you're back in Los Angeles to see him."

Bruce detected something amiss in those words: "What did he say exactly?"

Thomas took out his phone and played the recording.

"Inform Martin that as soon as he is back in Los Angeles, he should come over to Warner to see me, understand?"

Although the other party's tone was like addressing a subordinate, Martin didn't comment much, merely considering, "We'll talk when I get back to Los Angeles."

He turned to another matter: "Jessica is currently representing the studio in negotiations with Disney Studios, you assist her when you return, and later, Louise will also join the negotiations."

Thomas replied, "I will go back tomorrow."

A brief silence fell in the study; all three were well aware that they were drifting further away from Warner Bros.

The recent executive changes at Warner Bros. had impacted every level of the industry chain.

Like many business districts, Hollywood tended to follow the lead of the successful. According to Thomas, even though Warner Bros. had increased their distribution commission and extended the profit-sharing term, most of their original partners still chose to work with Warner Bros.

The consecutive years where Warner Bros. stood as number one in the industry was the best persuasive force.

After chatting for a while, Thomas took his leave first.

Bruce asked, "Did you hear that Warner Bros. wants to acquire the rights to 'Dark Places'? Why not sabotage them?"

"Not causing trouble now is for the sake of causing a big scene later." Martin didn't say much, only hinting at one point, "Warner Bros. sent someone over and settled the adaptation rights so quickly, why?"@@novelbin@@

After thinking for a moment, Bruce said, "Because Gillian spoke with you? No, there's more to it than that. Also, Gillian is now a best-selling author on the charts, with 'Gone Girl' being adapted by you and David Fincher, likely to become a hit movie."

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Martin stated, "'Gone Girl's popularity only increases the value of Gillian's new work for adaptation."

Bruce then understood, "And this film could very likely be the last movie that the studio has Warner Bros. distribute."

Martin nodded, "Seeing the potential for immense profits is the only reason Warner Bros. would be motivated enough."

Gillian Flynn's previous and upcoming works were tied together.

…

Burbank, the Warner Building.

It was early in the morning when McDonald arrived at his office, waiting for his immediate superior, Jon Berg.

Although he had returned to Los Angeles the night before, he had deliberately stayed up all night.

With heavily bagged, sunken eyes and bloodshot eyes, he appeared as though he had paid a painful price to achieve his goal.

McDonald knew Jon Berg to some extent – it was not only necessary to do good work but also to let the boss see his effort and desperation.

Hearing noises from Jon Berg's office door, McDonald quickly grabbed the manuscript and went over.

"Is it done?" Jon Berg asked.

McDonald placed the photocopied manuscript on the desk, saying, "The novel is called 'Dark Places', Gillian Flynn has only written half of it so far. Following your instructions, I acted quickly and discreetly to secure the movie adaptation rights."

Jon Berg picked up the manuscript and flipped through a few pages; the actual content was not as important to him or to Warner: "'Gone Girl' has been at the top of the New York best-seller list for four consecutive weeks now. Gillian Flynn is hot property, and it's easy to draw attention to her new work."

McDonald said, "There's also the movie being adapted by Martin Davis and David Fincher."

Jon Berg nodded, "As long as 'Gone Girl' is successful, our costly acquisition of the new work will naturally attract market attention when it's adapted."

McDonald didn't say any more.

Jon Berg waved him off, "Go back, take a good rest for a couple of days."

Once his subordinate had left, Jon Berg went upstairs to a small meeting room for a meeting.

Not many people attended this meeting. Aside from Kevin Tsujihara, the rest were bigwigs from core subsidiaries.

Hamada from DC, Jon from Warner Bros. Pictures, and Daniel from Warner distribution were present.

At the beginning of the meeting, Jon said, "First, I'll share some good news with everyone: the film company has acquired the screen adaptation rights to Gillian Flynn's new work 'Dark Places'."

Daniel, unaware, asked, "Isn't she collaborating with Martin?"

Jon replied, "Warner Bros. is more committed than Martin Davis."

"Good job," Kevin Tsujihara nodded to his brother-in-law Jon, then asked Daniel, "Are you facing difficulties in pushing things forward?"

Daniel replied, "We might lose the distribution rights to 'John Wick: Chapter 2'."

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