[Chapter 326: The New Building, Luxury Beyond Imagination]
With the premiere ratings of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire announced, advertisers went wild, eagerly throwing money at UPN.
After fierce bidding, Pepsi finally secured the naming rights for the last 12 episodes of the first season for $50 million. Along with other sponsor ads, the total advertising revenue embedded in these 12 episodes exceeded $100 million. These ads were integrated as part of the show, so no revenue sharing with affiliate stations was required.
But that wasn't all. The 60-minute program also sold commercial advertisements during broadcasts for $180 million. However, this portion of revenue had to be shared with affiliate stations. After splitting the profits, UPN's income still surpassed $90 million.
In just three months, this single show brought UPN nearly $200 million in revenue, staging a remarkable comeback. This demonstrated the massive influence a quality TV program could have.
Not only were all the UPN employees stunned, but soon the entire company was electrified. The company's rise was unstoppable, and worries over layoffs vanished. Employee morale soared like never before.
It also shocked competitors, especially Viacom and Paramount Pictures. Last month, UPN was barely keeping afloat with corporate bailouts. It was unclear how executives like Sumner Redstone would vent their frustration, but surely, many would be on the losing side.
...
Alongside the success of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Get Out sparked an equally impressive box office frenzy during a quiet November.
After pulling in $31.13 million in its first week, it earned another $14.21 million over the next three weekdays. The entire week raked in $45.34 million, clinching first place and beating the runner-up, Stargate, by nearly $20 million.
In the following week, the drop was less than 30%, continuing to earn $32.18 million and maintaining its number one spot.
Stars Sophie Marceau and Will Smith became hot commodities overnight. Director Ryan emerged as a breakout star, following Anne's streak of blockbuster hits in North America.
...
Only Zack quietly shed tears. He should have been Linton's star rookie director.
His debut film, The Shallows, made an incredible success by grossing $85 million in North America and $190 million worldwide, on a production budget below $7 million.
But the applause blinded him. Thinking his directorial skills were top-notch, he left Linton, expecting to continue his success alone.
However, he stumbled badly with Warner Bros.' The Misty Forest, which flopped at the box office and caused his reputation to fall. It's a pity to lose so much after such a phenomenal start. It remains uncertain if Linton would ever give him another chance.
...
From the second week, Universal Pictures pushed Get Out overseas. Yet overseas results were polarized.
In Europe and South America, the film did well, but in Asia and Australia, including major Hollywood strongholds like Japan and South Korea, it failed to make waves.
Universal attributed this to cultural and racial differences. With fewer African Americans in those regions, the film struggled to resonate with audiences.
Thus, after wrapping North American promos in week three, the cast split up: Sophie Marceau headed to Europe, while Will Smith went on a South American promotional tour.
...
In November, Linton released his second single, Water Runs Dry. Already a legitimate music superstar with a massive fan base, and having toured major US cities in October, the single's release didn't require an extensive tour.
He chose to do several media interviews and appeared on a few variety shows in Los Angeles. He even ran a spot on the latest episode of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Though Daniel was strongly unhappy with Linton's laziness, who could argue with a superstar? Riding on the massive success of You Are Not Alone, Daniel eventually backed down.
The single debuted at number two on the Billboard charts, just behind You Are Not Alone, which retained the top spot.
...
In Burbank, among many office towers, the towering Linton Building stood out, proudly exhibiting its signage atop its sixteen stories. Although modest by Manhattan standards, it was an impressive high-rise in Los Angeles.
Linton had acquired the building last year and renamed it the Linton Building.
After nearly a year of renovations, the Linton Building was finally ready for use.
Above ground, there were sixteen floors, plus two basement levels for parking.
The 16th floor, covering 4,200 square meters, was entirely Linton's office space. At the entrance was a secretary's office of over 100 square meters.
As Linton's workload grew, having only Meena as assistant became insufficient. So, Linton established the Chairman's Secretary Office. Meena was promoted to office director, a graduate of an Ivy League university.
Smartly aware her value relied on being close to Linton, she continued as his personal assistant, refusing to entrust that role to others and continued residing on Linton's estate.
Going further inside was a massive 1,000-square-meter office, offering sweeping panoramic views of Los Angeles through its floor-to-ceiling glass walls, evoking a powerful sense of wealth and authority.
Nearby was a 200-square-meter reception room.
The other side housed two conference rooms -- one large enough for over 30 people, and a smaller one seating about 10.
Further along was a 200-square-meter screening room with state-of-the-art equipment, furnished with luxurious sofas for about 10 guests.
Next door was a huge gym over 600 square meters, filled with various fitness equipment.
Beyond that was a 500-square-meter rooftop heated swimming pool featuring five Olympic-sized 50-meter lanes.
The innermost part of the suite was an 1,100-square-meter garden mansion. The master bedroom rivaled the luxury of his estate, spanning 300 square meters and including a 100-square-meter walk-in closet and a colossal 3-by-6-meter bed.
The bathroom alone was over 100 square meters, boasting a more than 30-square-meter giant bathtub.
'Luxurious, too luxurious' -- it was the first impression of Linton's assistant.
'Robert sure knows how to flatter,' was her second thought.
Her eyes sparkled as she imagined lying on that gigantic bed.
...
Even Linton admitted the office was a bit too extravagant, likening it to the White House's luxury rather than a business setting.
Still, he liked it more and more the longer he looked. Robert's work was impressive.
Perhaps it was good to enjoy some of his wealth and have better office conditions. After all, what was the point of making so much money otherwise?
While he was feeling pleased, Winnie, who had toured the office downstairs, came up and widened her almond eyes at the luxurious suite.
Seeing the extravagant master bedroom, she couldn't resist pinching Linton's waist, joking, "You better not get too wild in the office."
Unexpectedly, Linton pulled her into a hug and kissed her passionately. "Baby, then would we still be considered wild?"
"Aren't you worried it might hurt your reputation as chairman?" she asked, melted by his embrace and kiss.
"Who would know? And even if they did, who cares? Let's enjoy a different vibe from the estate here."
...
After the building opened, Linton arranged to consolidate his holdings under the Linton Media Group.
He planned to move the film company, UPN TV Network, and the charity foundation's office into the building. Other operations, which were unrelated, remained on their original sites.
The 15th floor was dedicated to the charity foundation, with interior design led by Winnie.
Floors 11 through 14 -- five floors in total -- went to UPN TV Network.
Floors 1 through 6 were allotted to the movie studio.
The 7th floor served as the cafeteria, the 8th for employee fitness and recreation.
Floors 9 and 10 were reserved for future use.
*****
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