[Chapter 282: Saw's Blockbuster Success and Asset Consolidation]
At this point in the conversation, Kirk knew one thing for sure: there was no way to bring Charlie fully under his wing. Charlie's tone was warm and friendly on the surface, but his words were decidedly firm.
Lion Corleone's rapid rise and promising future had caught the attention of many. Kirk realized he was definitely not the one who could easily control Charlie. If pushed too hard, Charlie might give up international distribution rights but still leave a major loophole for the six big studios. He would have more maneuvers to unravel everything in the future.
After a moment of contemplation, Kirk said solemnly, "We can keep negotiating stock shares and board seats. The lowest line I can offer is a non-executive director seat. What I can offer you besides facilitating international distribution contract negotiations are media relations, theater network connections, MPAA approvals, and opportunities to co-develop quality projects, like Marvel Comics adaptations."
Kirk gave a half-smiling expression.
Charlie paused for a moment, then burst out laughing, extending his hand, "Kirk, here's to a great partnership!"
"To a great partnership!"
"It's awesome to hear this news on the first day Saw hits theaters. Let's go watch the foundation-laying film for the Horror Theme Park, Kirk."
"I'm looking forward to it too. Please..."
They walked side by side, chatting and laughing like old friends.
Charlie thought to himself that working with such a veteran slick operator could only be a hard-nosed battle. Minor tricks wouldn't work at all.
Even his secret attempts through Joe Bell and others to have consulting firms investigate Marvel rights had been noticed by the other side. There was simply no way to exploit information asymmetry to gain too much advantage.
In business negotiations, strong pressure mattered most. If both parties knew exactly what the other knew, the game shifts to performance to bluff the opponent into suspicion and retreat.
Kirk wouldn't back down, and Charlie was no different.
So, they both presented real benefits and aimed for fair exchanges.
However...
Heh heh, Charlie secretly felt happy. He had plans extending well into the next twenty years. After all, Kirk was getting old!
Soon, everyone settled into the theater.
After a brief event, Saw started its screening.
---
James Wong, a longtime writer of suspense thriller detective shows was involved. Moreover, Saw's script was overseen by Charlie himself, with a multi-million dollar budget invested, making the film fully comparable to its later-original work.
At the same time, there was no other competitive movie released.
Saw opened in 2,739 theaters, raking in $35 million, taking the top spot.
The second-place box office over the opening weekend was Sony's Vampires, grossing only $9 million.
Critics' opinions were mixed, roughly split evenly. But audience reviews were very positive, with lots of fan support on Rotten Tomatoes.
Under such circumstances, Fox had to speed up negotiations for international distribution contracts.
---
Just a week later, Tom Rothman returned to his role as president. Whether his prestige within the company had taken a big hit or he was more inclined to jump ship remained unclear during negotiations.
However, contact between him and Charlie grew more frequent.
---
But Charlie was too busy to pay much attention.
He gathered executives from Iron Crown Company, IP management firm, along with Jeff Bezos and Hallmark's vice president, hiring external accountants and law firms to conduct a comprehensive analysis and investigation of all his assets.
Afterward, the Lion Corleone board convened.
After more than half a month of talks, Lion Corleone finally agreed to acquire Iron Crown Company and the IP company's collection of horror film rights for $140 million. Additionally, they purchased the film adaptation rights for Harry Potter.
As a result, Hallmark and Jeff Bezos became minor shareholders of Lion Corleone, holding very small stakes.
Charlie took advantage of this, cashing out $80 million from Lion Corleone, realizing a large amount of cash in one go.
At the same time, he also increased his Lion Corleone shares.
In and out, he made a huge profit.
With the money in hand, plus recent Amazon sales revenue, earnings from merchandise shares, book sales, film adaptation shares, and his salary as a producer and company executive, Charlie gathered $100 million.
He had Joe Bell's team build a unit to invest in internet stocks, preparing to cash in on the impending dot-com bubble.
While not aiming for billions, making seven to eight hundred million should not be a problem.
Then, with another round of investments, the entire framework of Charlie's film and media empire would be well established!
---
As the year-end approached, Charlie and Kevin visited the Lord of the Rings project to check on the actor training progress.
The extreme swirl of fame and fortune motivated every young actor.
After about half a year, everyone was proficient in horseback riding, archery, and spoke English with convincing British accent.
Meanwhile, Peter's team had completed all preparation work.
The Lord of the Rings would officially begin filming early next year.
Lion Corleone publicly announced the tentative release schedule for several films next year, with Lord of the Rings Part 1 slated for release at the end of 1999.
---
At year-end, as chairman, Charlie still handled some corporate matters.
Fortunately, with Michael as CEO this year, Charlie wasn't overly busy.
After finishing his tasks, he flew straight to Washington for a dinner with some Irish politicians.
Charlie brought along Annabelle, as the discussions involved some issues related to Scotland and England.
She was stunned by the conversation's topic.
Returning home and crossing into the new year, she hadn't recovered even as she accompanied Charlie to the Lord of the Rings shoot on location in New Zealand in early January.
---
At Tongariro National Park, blue tents were set up by a picturesque lakeside where hundreds of crew members busily worked.
Director Peter Jackson stood in a tent filled with slow-motion filming equipment, holding a walkie-talkie, shouting and gesturing to the camera operators on a crane in the distance.
By the lake, actors, assistants, and makeup artists were busy hydrating and touching up makeup.
Further away, near the woodland cabin courtyard at the mountain's base, producer Charlie lounged peacefully on a wooden bench wearing sunglasses, almost appearing on vacation except for occasionally fiddling with the walkie-talkie.
Kevin came running excitedly to update him on the award season progress for Chicago and Saw's final box office surpassing $100 million.
Charlie responded happily, feeling great.
After Kevin left, Annabelle stepped out of the cabin and said in a teasing voice, "Congratulations, boss, your career is going exceptionally well. Recently, you were named Time magazine's Businessperson of the Year, Forbes revealed your assets exceeded one billion, including more than a hundred million in cash. I'm wondering, when will you top the global power list?"
*****
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