"Oh~ Barry~"
"So should I be calling you Chairman Barry Meyer of Time Warner now?"
After figuring out why they had won, Isabella instantly threw the hard-to-evaluate real world out the window.
Laughing, she said, "Then I'll go to a flower shop in Burbank and order two rows of flowers for you?"
"Have them delivered to Warner's front gate to congratulate you on your promotion?"
"Hahahahaha, Isa, that idea is genuinely brilliant!"
California.
Burbank.
Warner headquarters.
Leaning back in the chairman's office chair, Barry Meyer laughed as he slapped his thigh and shook his head in amusement.
"Isa, even though I really like that title you gave me, I have to say this. I'll probably never become chairman of Time Warner. The person best suited for that job is Jeffrey Bewkes."
"And what Ted Turner and the others stirred up is only temporarily over."
"Selling AOL takes time. Buying back shares from Ted Turner, Steve Case, the Rockefeller family, Carl Icahn, and the others also takes time."
"After they exit, we still need to hold a shareholders' meeting and re-elect the board."
"Only after I finish all of that and formally enter the Time Warner board can this battle be considered truly over. And even then, I'd only be symbolically in control of Time Warner. Real control means replacing all the executives at Time Inc. and Turner Broadcasting with my own people."
"This is a very long process."
"I hope I can finish all of it before I retire."
"Oh~ Barry~ outcomes built slowly over time are the least important things, aren't they?"
Listening to Barry Meyer's rambling, Isabella smiled.
"Right now, what matters most is that we won! With Ted Turner and Steve Case gone, your reputation has spread across North America, across the world! Everyone knows you're unstoppable!"
To be honest.
At this moment, no matter how happy he felt, even though everything Isabella said was true, Barry Meyer still found Isabella's words a bit too cheesy.
And so—
"Isa, why do I feel like you're plotting something?"
Barry Meyer put away his smile and snorted deliberately.
In London, Isabella raised her voice, sounding like a babbling toddler, and said innocently, "Oh Barry, I don't think I understand what you mean. Could you explain it more clearly?"
"You know, I'm just a fifteen-year-old girl."
"Hah."
Her act made Barry Meyer laugh again.
Shaking his head, he said, "Okay, okay, I admit it. I'm overthinking things."
"But this call isn't just to share good news. I mainly want to talk to you about distribution."
"Post-war distribution."
"So, are you in?"
"Of course!" Isabella replied instantly.
"Haha—" Barry Meyer chuckled again, knowing full well how perceptive she was.
Teasingly, he said, "So Isa, this is what you meant by not understanding me?"
"Hehe~~" Isabella just smiled and said nothing.
All wars begin for profit.
So the end of a war is never the beginning of peace. It's the opening of a loot-sharing conference.
Uh—
That might sound unpleasant, but that's how it is.
And because of that, since Barry Meyer won this war through Isabella, there was no way he could shortchange the great contributor who helped him reach the top. Talking about profit-sharing with Isabella immediately was inevitable.
As for this—
Isabella was an expert.
Since crossing over to this world, she had no idea how many large-scale battles she'd fought.
Don't let her current age of fifteen fool you. She had fifty years of combat experience.
You multiply life experience by ten, obviously.
Hehe~
After every victory, she reaped generous rewards.
So long before the war began, she had already calculated her post-war gains.
She didn't know how much her help to Barry Meyer could be converted into tangible benefits, and given their current relationship, talking about money would hurt feelings. Still, she had a clear bottom line in mind. DC.
She wanted all film operating rights for every DC character. After that—those who knew, knew.
She could do whatever she wanted.
However, actively asking for benefits never looks good, and doing so puts you at a disadvantage.
It's like how the one who owes money always acts like the boss.
So when Isabella noticed that Barry Meyer intended to make the first offer, she played dumb and let him spell everything out.
Barry Meyer found this amusing and didn't mind at all.
He said bluntly, "Isa, to thank you for your help, I've prepared two gifts for you. The first is the Hulk."
"Ted Turner and Steve Case, to win you over, got the Hulk from Universal. You don't need to worry about the price. If you want it, I can get it for you. I'll pay."
"What do you think?"
"Okay~~~" Isabella said with a grin. "I do need that. Thank you, Barry~"
"No need to thank me. I'm glad you like it."
Her satisfaction made Barry Meyer relax.
Then he continued, "The second gift is some information. A deal."
"Right now, Carl Icahn holds nearly 5% of Marvel's shares, worth about 150 million. Ronald Perelman holds a similar amount, also worth around 150 million."
"So if you really like Marvel, I can help you acquire those shares. Once you do, you can maximize profits in the IP industry by controlling Marvel."
"The rights you currently hold can't even be used to make toys."
"And here's my plan. Warner will buy their shares first, then sell them to you at half price. Don't refuse me, because—Isa, I won't lie to you. After buying back Ted Turner's and Steve Case's shares, I will definitely give myself an annual salary exceeding 50 million. If even I'm cashing in.."
"We're allies, aren't we?"
Although Barry Meyer wasn't speaking one-on-one with Isabella at the moment, when he said the word "allies," he instinctively raised his eyebrows.
The sincerity in his voice made Isabella burst out laughing.
"Oh~~~ Barry~~~ you're right! We really are allies! Solid allies!"
Isabella was genuinely happy.
No choice. Barry Meyer was just too on point.
He didn't just share money. He shared it generously.
And not randomly, but exactly according to her tastes.
Wow~
Honestly speaking, this made Isabella feel very comfortable.
Maybe it's true that what you can't get is always tempting, and those who are favored feel secure?
Seeing Barry Meyer's sincerity, Isabella smiled and pushed her luck.
"But Barry, I personally think half price is still too expensive. Thirty percent. Sell me 300 million worth of stock for 90 million."
"And I won't pay cash. I'll offset it with music copyright revenue from The Voice. Is that okay?"
"Uh—no one else could do that, because a 70% discount is ridiculous. But since you're Warner's princess…"
"Even if you wanted it at 10%, I'd agree. After all, 270 million out of 20 billion is only 1.35%."
"Ten percent? Oh~ then you might as well just give it to me for free~"
"Princess, free is really not possible."
"Why?"
"Because the accounting wouldn't work. At ten percent I can still say it's custodial holding. If I give it to you for free, it's like your company has no expenses, while mine only has income. Are our two companies supposed to block each other like that?"
"Hahahahaha!"
Isabella loved Barry Meyer's analogy.
And even more—
She loved his attitude.
Ten percent was great.
Really great.
At the same time, she wanted to know—
"Okay, okay, Barry, joking aside. Ten percent it is. But I want to know. Why would Carl Icahn and Ronald Perelman sell their shares to you?"
"Uh—this is simple," Barry Meyer said.
"After losing actual control of Marvel, Carl Icahn started seeing it as a burden. As long as you negotiate properly, he's willing to sell."
"As for Ronald Perelman, he doesn't want to give up Marvel. He still wants to take it back. But he's friends with Jeffrey Bewkes's father, so—if I let Jeffrey Bewkes step in, he'll have to sell whether he wants to or not."
Ronald Perelman's main holding company is Revlon.
His primary industry is cosmetics.
Back when Norton Simon announced it was exiting the cosmetics business, Perelman bought Max Factor from them. At the time, Procter & Gamble was also bidding.
Compared to P&G, Perelman had no real advantage.
But he knew Jeffrey Bewkes's father.
So after benefiting from that favor—
Even if he didn't want to repay it now, he had to.
Because even defaulting has rules.
If my fist is bigger than yours, and I don't want to repay you, fine, you can't do anything. But if your fist is bigger than mine and I still don't want to repay you? Any normal person would beat me up, wouldn't they?
And Jeffrey Bewkes would definitely help Barry Meyer.
The reasons were simple.
First, they were allies, and betrayal wasn't part of their relationship.
Second, Jeffrey Bewkes was young, while Barry Meyer was already old. Time Warner was Barry Meyer's now, but it was also Jeffrey Bewkes's. Or rather, in a few years, when Barry retired due to lack of energy, his people would naturally pledge loyalty to Jeffrey Bewkes anyway.
In that situation, helping one of their own secure Marvel?
That was just one sentence.
"Alright, I think I understand."
"Relationships are complicated, but they make all transactions simple."
After smiling thoughtfully, Isabella added, "Barry, I like both of the gifts you gave me. And—do you have a third?"
"I want a little more surprise."
"Oh Isa, you want something else too?"
Her words startled Barry Meyer in California.
"You're so greedy!"
Though the words sounded harsh, his tone was full of laughter.
Isabella snapped back, "Barry! I helped you take over Time Warner! You think you can brush me off with just this? Do you think I'm some beggar panhandling on the highway?"
"Okay! Okay! What else do you want? As long as I can get it, I'll get it for you."
Barry Meyer stopped joking.
"I want DC."
Isabella stated her demand.
"What?"
The mention of DC confused Barry Meyer. "You're not thinking of having me sell DC to you, are you?"
Isabella rolled her eyes. "What are you thinking? I don't want DC itself. I just think Kevin Feige's plan is pretty great, so I want to go take a look around DC. But I won't play any existing superheroes—"
Since Barry Meyer already knew Kevin Feige's plan, the moment Isabella said she wanted to get involved with DC, he caught the key point and began thinking seriously. After a brief pause, he said, "Isa, I personally think our relationship is very close, so—I'll be honest with you."
"Even though I think your idea is a bit outrageous, I agree. Given our current relationship, you can play with DC however you want. Even if it ends up losing money, I won't mind. Of course, I'd much rather you make money. You understand what I mean."
"Winning consistently is the foundation that lets you play freely in this industry."
"However, even if I'm willing to let you handle DC, the earliest that can happen is after July next year."
"Because DC is about to lose a lot of money. If I hand DC to you right now—"
"That would be harming you."
DC was actually extremely busy at the moment.
There were three films currently in production:
One was the main DC universe project, Superman Returns. This was the Brandon Routh version of Superman, with Kevin Spacey playing Lex Luthor.
Another was a project under DC's sub-label Vertigo Comics, V for Vendetta.
That film starred Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving.
The third was also a DC sub-label project, A History of Violence from Paradox Press.
It starred Viggo Mortensen and Maria Bello. The movie told the story of a diner owner who becomes a local hero after stopping a robbery, but is forced to confront enemies from his past in order to protect his family.
Although DC felt these three projects were excellent—
Warner, at a glance, felt a strong sense of doom hanging over them.
When even Warner, a studio famous for producing flops, thought DC's projects were guaranteed to bomb, letting Isabella hold DC at this moment?
That would just be asking for trouble. And this kind of "holding" would also damage the aura surrounding Isabella.
The logic was simple. At the moment, the public believed everything Isabella did in film, television, and variety was good.
Under those circumstances, once she held DC, people would check out DC's movies because of her.
If everything went well, fine.
But if the audience ended up eating a mouthful of crap, wouldn't Isabella be the one getting blamed?
And once she got blamed, wouldn't her image be damaged?
Don't even think about explaining to the public that Superman Returns, V for Vendetta, and A History of Violence weren't her movies.
Explaining the truth to the public is extremely difficult.
So rather than explaining, it's better not to be involved at all.
Therefore, Barry Meyer believed that no matter how much Isabella wanted DC, she should wait until DC's three piles of crap had exploded. Then, once she stepped in and achieved even a tiny bit of success, she could once again write the legend of a savior for the world.
And she wouldn't need to wait very long.
Because A History of Violence would be released this September.
V for Vendetta was already scheduled for release early next year.
Even Superman Returns, the latest of the three, would still come out by next summer.
Which meant—
"Isa, as long as you wait until next August, I can appoint you as chairman of DC Films."
"At that point, you can play however you want."
"I believe you should be able to accept my proposal?"
Of course Isabella could accept Barry Meyer's proposal.
Because this arrangement was genuinely beneficial to her.
Because after next summer, she could directly make The Dark Knight.
When DC was half-dead, she would step in with a comic-book film that grossed over a billion?
Wow.
At that point, the entire world would go "Boom—".
Cough cough.
That sounded a bit ominous.
Whatever. Not important.
As for what to do with the DC cinematic universe after Superman flopped?
That could be discussed later.
Anyway—
Isabella had Kevin Feige.
Capable people should carry more responsibility.
Hehe~
Isabella accepted Barry Meyer's proposal.
In this battle, Isabella acquired the Hulk's rights through a "zero-dollar purchase," obtained 10% of Marvel's shares at a "one-tenth price," and secured actual control of DC's film operations through an "advance reservation."
As soon as these generous rewards appeared, a happy smile spread across Isabella's face.
Cheerfully preparing to embrace an even better future.
Then—
"Smack."
Her happiness lasted less than a second before her face collapsed into a miserable puppy expression.
Because a beautiful future is built out of exhausting work.
"Oh! Keisha! What did you say? I get absolutely no break next?"
September 26, 2005.
In The Goblet of Fire, all scenes involving Hermione Granger were finally finished.
However, just as Isabella was thinking about taking a break and figuring out where to go on vacation, Catherine delivered a jaw-dropping piece of news.
"Yeah, Isa. If the schedule is correct, you won't have any rest before 2007."
"Because Goblet of Fire (Part One) will be released this Christmas. If the box office is good, Order of the Phoenix will be split into two parts. If it's not, Order of the Phoenix will be made as a single film."
"And before Goblet of Fire (Part One) is released, there are two more things you need to handle."
Catherine, acting as her assistant, flipped through the folder in her hands and said with a smile, "First, The Devil Wears Prada can begin preparations. According to the plan, once Columbus finishes shooting all the remaining scenes for Goblet of Fire, Prada will start production."
"Second, Kevin Feige is waiting for your reply. He's waiting for Iron Man to be officially greenlit."
Since both of these tasks were already in the plan, and Isabella had long known about the arrangement for Order of the Phoenix, she wasn't too surprised when Catherine brought them up. But—
Life without rest was truly annoying.
Pouting, she looked at her older sister with grievance.
Catherine could only shrug helplessly.
Not only that, she added, "This is the road you chose yourself."
"If you hadn't supported splitting the HP films, how would you end up with no rest?"
"Oh right. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince goes on sale in October."
"Aunt Anne called you already. She hopes you can attend the signing. Just like before, you agreed."
With more and more work piling up, Isabella curled her lips, rolled her eyes, and stopped bothering with her sister.
Since Catherine wasn't even going to comfort her—
Then fine.
Back to work.
At the moment, the two tasks were one easy and one difficult.
First, the easy one.
The second task.
Kevin Feige was a capable and intelligent person.
So when he proactively embraced Isabella under pressure, and Isabella received his pledge of loyalty, she was willing to give him sufficient trust. In that case, she could just delegate Iron Man to him.
Isabella didn't need to worry too much.
The only thing that needed attention was casting.
Robert Downey Jr. had to be Iron Man. As for the others—
To be honest, Isabella always thought Gwyneth Paltrow's Pepper was just okay.
But considering she was Spielberg's goddaughter—
"Prioritize our own people, okay?"
September 28, 2005.
Isabella met Kevin Feige in London after he answered the call.
Since his mentor was friends with Spielberg, he had no objections at all to Isabella's instructions.
"Okay, I understand. I'll call Steven, George, and the others."
"If they recommend anyone, I'll give priority to their recommendations."
"Of course, I'll also help the company control costs."
With the simple task handled, it was time for the difficult one.
The first task.
The Devil Wears Prada had actually been in preparation for a long time. The script was already written, and the screenwriter and designated scapegoat, Chris Columbus, had inserted the princess's personal message into the ending according to Isabella's wishes.
But beyond that, there were still three issues to solve.
First was casting.
There were three important roles in Prada.
Queen Miranda, her first assistant Emily, and Andy, the newcomer to the workplace.
Andy was the protagonist, played by Isabella.
Miranda would be portrayed by Professor McGonagall. After discussing with Chris Columbus, he felt Susie Figgis's idea was fine, so Isabella sent an invitation to Maggie Smith, hoping she would play Miranda.
She agreed.
But the old lady joining didn't mean casting was finished. On the contrary, the real difficulty had just begun.
Because Emily was also very important. In the story, she was an antagonist who constantly tripped up Andy. She had a lot of screen time, and the role had a very obvious label: fake, bitchy energy.
Frankly speaking, Isabella felt the role suited Margot Robbie quite well.
No choice. That face just screamed bitchy.
But the problem was that Emily was older than Andy.
So when little Robbie was even younger than Isabella, Isabella could only regretfully apologize to her.
And then, casting got stuck.
Second was negotiating fees with major luxury brands.
Prada was a fashion film, and many big brands would appear. According to Hollywood rules, using many brands in a movie counted as product placement, so charging promotion fees was inevitable.
In the past, this was easy.
The producers just quoted prices based on screen time.
But—
This time, it wasn't easy.
Because Isabella's fame was impossible to evaluate.
In plain terms, when everything Isabella touched exploded in popularity, how much she should charge for wearing a luxury brand had to be decided by her. If others decided—
Charging too much was fine, but charging too little would damage Isabella's personal brand value.
Third was music.
Since it was a fashion film, how could it not have fashionable music?
And Isabella's fans were all waiting for her to release songs.
So—
This task could only be handled by her personally. No one else could help.
Once all these complicated matters piled up, Isabella felt her brain pounding wildly.
If she had to describe it, it felt like Patrick Star suddenly growing a brain.
Well, although she hated to admit it, during HP filming she really hadn't been using her brain much.
Everything was too familiar. It had all become formulaic acting.
So after reclaiming her brain—
"Okay, since there's a lot of work, let's talk about it one by one."
"First, do you have any recommendations for Emily? If not, we'll just hold auditions!"
"Don't waste time!"