Entering the new millennium, the world seemed to step into another era.
Although peace remained the mainstream trend, certain regions were still plagued by instability, and global affairs remained unpredictable.
In the United States, Gilbert's investment company had already offloaded a massive amount of stocks from internet companies. By now, the dot-com bubble in North America was beginning to show signs of bursting. Fortunately, Gilbert had cashed out early.
Due to the large-scale stock sales, Gilbert found himself holding a substantial amount of cash.
His investment manager, David, only now realized why Gilbert had instructed him to sell off stocks as early as last year—it was clear he had inside information.
Once most of the stocks were sold, David suggested short-selling the market to reap even greater profits.
Gilbert simply told David how severe this internet bubble would be and advised him to prepare mentally. The rest was left in David's hands.
However, Gilbert still retained shares in certain companies, including the search engine portal and social media platform controlled by Fruit Group, as well as Apple and Amazon.
There were actually many other companies worth investing in, such as NVIDIA.
However, when David approached NVIDIA's CEO, Jensen Huang, he was turned down. Who knew what was on Huang's mind? Maybe he had personal reservations or just didn't like Gilbert?
In any case, the attempt to invest in NVIDIA failed, and Gilbert could only express his regret.
Gilbert was not well-versed in technology. He didn't really understand GPUs—only that they were necessary for gaming. If he had known more, he might have gathered a team to start his own company.
Of course, not all good things in the world could be monopolized by Gilbert alone.
By this point, his investment acumen was widely recognized on Wall Street.
The Wall Street Journal even remarked that if Gilbert weren't in the film industry, his name would surely be mentioned alongside Warren Buffett and George Soros.
But in reality, since Gilbert was a filmmaker, his global recognition was actually even higher.
Back to the Movies
Since he was a director, the focus naturally returned to filmmaking.
Gilbert's priority was not investment or corporate management but delivering high-quality films.
Due to the tight schedule, Gilbert was almost simultaneously shooting and editing, making his workload extremely demanding.
Fortunately, his longtime editor, Mehdi, had worked with him for years. Their seamless collaboration helped relieve Gilbert of a significant portion of the workload.
When editing began, Robert Iger made a trip to China to check on the production.
Upon seeing the footage and the already-edited trailers, Iger was deeply impressed and praised the crew for their outstanding work.
"To be honest, Gilbert, I had my doubts about this project before. I thought it would take a long time to break even," Robert Iger admitted candidly.
"And now?" Gilbert asked.
"Now?" Iger replied firmly. "I believe this film will bring us a huge surprise and excite audiences worldwide."
Gilbert smiled. "That proves our work is indeed excellent. The film is of outstanding quality."
"Yes…" Iger nodded in agreement.
The conversation soon shifted to Michael Eisner. Gilbert asked, "I heard that Mr. Eisner was hospitalized again earlier this year. How is he doing now?"
"Not too well," Iger replied. "Doctors have advised him to rest more and avoid working too much."
"That must be very difficult for him," Gilbert commented with a hint of sympathy. "Not being able to work—he must be hating this."
"Indeed," Iger sighed. "Mr. Eisner has decided to retire next year. This is an opportunity."
There was no need for further explanation—Gilbert instantly understood.
If The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring succeeded at the box office in July, Robert Iger would officially drop the "Deputy" from his title and take over as Disney's CEO.
And once Michael Eisner retired, Iger would fully control Disney.
In reality, Iger was already running Disney, but for now, his position was not entirely official, as he was still just the Vice President.
The power struggles within Disney were easily exploitable, making it possible to divide and weaken the company.
In particular, internal conflicts could be used to gain leverage. Securing Gilbert's support alone was a significant achievement.
However, Disney's shareholders were well aware of Gilbert's value. While internal battles continued, no one dared to target Gilbert.
On the contrary, all factions sought to win him over.
Though Gilbert did not hold any Disney shares, he had significant influence over the selection of key executives within the company.
As a result, Hollywood insiders often joked that Gilbert was the real Chairman of Disney.
It was as if Gilbert was the "Supreme Emperor" of Disney.
He held no official power, yet he had a say in many crucial matters.
It was a comfortable and effortless position—a Supreme Emperor enjoying a leisurely rule.
However, with Robert Iger gradually taking full control of Disney, the internal conflicts were beginning to subside.
A stabilized Disney was set to reach new heights.
The first order of business? Negotiating the acquisition of Melon Studios into Disney.
Gilbert did not explicitly support or oppose the acquisition.
He merely stated that if Disney wanted to buy Melon Studios, they needed to offer valuable stock in exchange.
The same applied to Warner Bros.
Compared to Robert Iger's struggles, Doug Walter's control over Warner Bros. had been much smoother.
He regarded Melon Studios as Warner Bros.' most important partner—perhaps even more so than their own DC Comics division.
Like Iger, Walter also hoped to integrate Melon Studios into Warner Bros.
However, when Walter visited the set, his primary discussion wasn't about the acquisition.
Instead, he wanted Gilbert's input on Warner Bros.' approach to DC's superhero films.
Over at 20th Century Fox, it had already been confirmed that X-Men would hit theaters during the summer season.
Before Ian McKellen arrived on The Lord of the Rings set to film his scenes as Gandalf, he had just finished playing Magneto in X-Men.
Meanwhile, word had spread that Sony was planning to bring the highly popular Spider-Man to the big screen and had hired Sam Raimi as the director.
Gilbert found it unfortunate that by the time he took over Marvel Comics, the rights to X-Men and Spider-Man had already been sold.
Along with them, the rights to Fantastic Four, Blade, and Ghost Rider had also been sold.
In a way, this actually saved Gilbert from a potential headache. If these properties had still been under Marvel's ownership, he would have had to decide whether to include them in the Avengers universe later.
But now, as long as the roadmap was well-planned, Marvel's superhero films were guaranteed to be a massive success at least until Avengers 4.
As the Marvel franchise began gaining momentum, Doug Walter, with his keen instincts, sensed something unusual.
He felt that superhero films were about to enter a brand-new era.
However, he wasn't entirely sure, which is why he made a special trip to China to consult a professional—Gilbert.
Doug Walter arrived almost immediately after Robert Iger left.
Faced with Walter's question, Gilbert responded, "Your analysis is correct. With advancements in visual effects technology, the era of superhero films has arrived.
However, Doug, just because the timing is becoming ripe doesn't mean you should rush into it. Patience is key."
"What do you mean?" Doug Walter asked, puzzled.
Gilbert continued painting the bigger picture. "Have you ever considered putting Superman and Batman together to face a powerful enemy?"
"You mean the Justice League?" Walter's eyes lit up.
"Yes, exactly." Gilbert nodded. "I don't know much about comics, but DC should have plenty of experts. You can consult them for advice."
Doug Walter understood immediately. "Got it. Once I return to Los Angeles, I'll assemble a team to discuss the feasibility of this plan."
"Good." Gilbert then added, "By the way, I have some new ideas for Batman's story. If you don't mind, I'd like to take charge of Batman.
I want to create an entirely new trilogy, independent of the shared universe."
For Doug Walter, this was the best news to come out of his trip to China. His face lit up with excitement. "Don't worry, Gilbert—Bruce Wayne is yours."
This was indeed great news for Walter.
If Gilbert was planning to create a Batman trilogy, and Bruce Wayne was fully under Warner Bros.' control, that meant Warner Bros. could operate completely independently of Disney.
However, what Doug Walter didn't know was that Gilbert had already reached a verbal agreement with Robert Iger regarding the newly restructured Marvel Studios in 1998.
According to this agreement, Disney would handle the distribution of all future Marvel Studios films, securing a strong distribution channel of its own.
A Game-Changing Partnership
Not only that, but Robert Iger's visit to China also involved discussions with Shanghai about Disneyland.
Warner Bros. was also involved in this project, but Disney was the primary driver, with Warner only holding a minority stake.
So, to be precise, it should be called Disney-Warner Park.
This collaboration was entirely facilitated by Gilbert, making it the first of its kind in the world.
However, according to the negotiation timeline, the park wouldn't be ready to open until at least 2008.
That was fine—it was still years ahead of schedule compared to the previous timeline.
Additionally, Robert Iger mentioned that the Shanghai representatives they were working with were particularly fond of pirate ships and wanted Disneyland to include one.
Iger was initially confused—was there any Disneyland that didn't have a pirate ship?
But the mention of a pirate ship attraction reminded Gilbert of someone—or rather, a movie.
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