"What do you think he'll do, Krau?" Adriaan asked after Turner left.
"He's more likely to agree to our terms." Claude thought about it and said, "Although he has some countermeasures, they won't work on us. At most, we'll have to spend more money and time. Ted also understands this. Besides, it's not good for anyone to fight to the death, so he's likely to agree to us in the end. Of course, your words also played a big role. You said it with quite an imposing manner, and also quite … arrogant. "
"Ted went to a military academy before, and he has a personality that refuses to admit defeat in his bones. In addition, he is also full of strong and contradictory enterprising spirit. Otherwise, he would not have developed TBS to where it is today. Therefore, promoting your achievements in a strong manner resonates with him." Adriaan shrugged. "But in my opinion, your praise for CNN and your revelation of choosing TBS, which has more prospects for development, instead of the loss-making ABC, made him feel more respected and satisfied. I still remember when we praised CNN's 24-hour news as a great setting. He didn't hide his pride at all. "
"Of course, this should be his most valuable idea." Claude laughed. "But I insist on my opinion. After all, without facts to support it, a strong posture will only arouse disgust from people like him. Speaking of this, I have to sigh. In just three years, you've achieved this … You're right, Eide. You can do whatever you say. It's amazing! "
"The same goes for you, Krau. Without you, AC Media wouldn't have developed so quickly, and we wouldn't be discussing the acquisition with Ted now." Adriaan raised his hands. "Don't sigh anymore. This is just the beginning."
After a pause, he said, "By the way, if Ted agrees to our terms, what are you going to do with him?"
"What do you think?" Claude asked after a pause.
The two looked at each other and said in unison, "Vice President."
After a slight pause, the two of them laughed at the same time.
"If we want to take full control of TBS, Ted will definitely not be able to continue as TBS's CEO." That was what Claude thought, but Adriaan was thinking about something else.
"He's too old." Adriaan said, "Although he doesn't want to admit defeat and still maintains the spirit of going in, some ideas are hard to change after a long period of accumulation, and the next few years will be an era where ideas need to be constantly refreshed!"
Although their starting points were not the same, their goal was the same — to kick Ted Turner out of the team, if necessary. This was also a very normal business practice.
"Internet trend?" Claude looked at Adriaan and asked.
"Internet trend." Adriaan nodded as he sipped his coffee.
Claude did not speak again. He knew that Adriaan had always been full of confidence in the Internet. Not only did he keep in touch with Stanford, but he also privately paid attention to several electromechanical engineering students through Leggett. Adriaan did not hide this from him.
"By the way, Krau, I have some suggestions for you regarding the current momentum of the film company." Adriaan spoke again, "Although I can tell Laffern, I think that with your support, it may be more effective."
Claude made a "please" gesture.
"You didn't explain in detail when we talked about this some time ago, but I know that even if the situation is not very bad, it is not much better." Adriaan said thoughtfully, "So I have been thinking about a solution."
Indeed, it was not much better. If he had not successfully entered Viacom's board of directors through the acquisition of Paramount, made a few deals with some Jewish bigwigs because of Schindler's List, and had the support of his father, it was hard to say what situation AC Media would be in now.
"Like I said to Ted before, I don't understand certain things, so I can only think from my point of view, and the rest will depend on you." Adriaan said and made a gesture, "Our current situation is that the momentum is too high, so we just need to slow it down. My idea is to release some low-cost independent films in large quantities."
He paused, took a sip of coffee, and continued, "You know, I produced almost all low-budget independent films at first, so the film company has a good reputation in the independent film industry, so we can use this reputation to release as many low-budget films as possible. Of course, only a few of them can make money, and most of them can break even, which is already very good. Most of them are still losing money. This way, at least from the data point of view, our momentum has been curbed. As for the losses, the cost of these films is relatively small, so as long as we know how to operate, such as recouping the cost through videotapes, the losses will not be too big, and it is completely bearable. And, you know, tax avoidance. "
"And there are two advantages to doing this." Seeing that Claude was about to say something, Adriaan immediately raised his hand and pressed it in the air. "First of all, we can continue to maintain our advantage in the independent film industry. Although large investments and big productions will be the trend, we must not abandon the low-budget films. Second, there are also high-box office films among the low-budget films. I have personally proved this, and we can also enrich the source library. There is no reason not to do this."
"This is all an idealized state, right?" Claude said after thinking about it.
"Of course, but you have to admit that this is indeed a feasible method." Adriaan shrugged. "Don't forget …"
"Yes, I know. We have to make up for the rest." Claude looked at him, annoyed and amused. "You!"
"That's settled then. If there's nothing else, I'll be leaving." Adriaan stood up.
"You're leaving in a few minutes? Who are you going on a date with today?" Claude sighed.
"Kate. She doesn't seem to be in a good mood today. I've already coaxed her on the phone," Adriaan replied with a smile. "I'm thinking about going on a trip with her for a few days."
"You …" Claude shook his head, seemingly thinking that his behavior was very bad. Unexpectedly, Adriaan immediately teased him in a lazy voice, "Don't tell me, Krau, that you only chatted with that German model in the hotel that night. Or are you trying to tell me that you're just ordinary friends with those models?"
"That's different. I was just playing, and now you …" Claude suddenly closed his mouth with a gesture. Adriaan reached out and pointed at him half-jokingly and half-cautiously, then walked out with a laugh.
He was still the same. Nothing had changed. Claude could not help but laugh. He tidied up his clothes before walking out. No, there was still a change, and a lot of it. After watching Adriaan's car leave, Claude got into his own car and thought to himself.
Recalling the situation of the past three years, even a strong-willed person like him couldn't help but feel like he was dreaming.
"I want to take control of Hollywood!" This was what Adriaan had said to him in the past. At the time, he thought it was just a joke, but now, they had their own careers and had taken the most solid step towards this goal.
Claude still remembered Adriaan's sneer when he asked him, "Do you want to follow your father's plan or have your own career?" and his disdain when he pointed at the lights outside the floor-to-ceiling glass and said, "Look at those people." Or his enthusiasm when he described the future of the Internet.
Frankly speaking, there was a period of time when he really felt that his best friend was very unfamiliar with him. It was completely understandable that he suddenly woke up and wanted to pull himself together. It was not a problem for him to suddenly set a grand goal for himself, but a guy who had never touched film production, repeatedly produced low-budget, high-box office movies. It was incredible.
"I never knew this kid had such a talent. Maybe this is really a gift from God?" Old Royce said to Claude, half surprised and half curious.
However, this feeling of strangeness didn't last long. Although Adriaan's behavior and habits had changed a little, he was still the guy Claude was familiar with. When asked why he could produce movies, the guy answered, "Because I am a genius."
If he was still in Stanford, Claude would have already knocked him to the ground. Of course, it was more likely that he would be knocked down. Adriaan was very good at fighting.
However, the most important reason was not this. The most important reason was that this guy's hobbies basically hadn't changed. He just went to England for a trip, and he came back with a beautiful girl.
When he was in the college fraternity, Adriaan was famous for picking up girls. Every time he attended a fraternity party, he would bring or take away different girls. Although for rich kids like Claude, such a chaotic and somewhat decadent college life was normal, there was still a rumor that "all the slightly good-looking girls in Stanford slept with Adriaan."
This was indeed a rumor. As his best friend, Claude knew his every move. Although Adriaan liked to pick up girls, he hadn't reached that point yet. However, there was a reason why the rumor spread so widely. Once, during an NCAA tournament, the University of Washington visited Stanford. The two teams were fighting fiercely outside, and he and the cheerleader were also fighting fiercely in the locker room. In the end, the cheerleader couldn't be found for a long time, and one could only imagine how terrible the halftime performance was. Fortunately, only a few people knew the details of the incident. Neither Adriaan nor the cheerleader named Gia were punished for it.
Of course, in the beginning, Claude didn't think so because the previous Adriaan would never bring a girl home, so he just thought he wanted to settle down. However, this idea was immediately overturned after Monica appeared by Adriaan's side. Claude realized that his best friend had both changed and not changed at the same time.
Not only did Adriaan bring Kate home, but he also maintained a relationship with Monica. At the same time, he occasionally had one-night stands outside. Although he wouldn't take the initiative to talk about it, he wouldn't hide it from Claude if he asked. Under such circumstances, Adriaan still maintained … well … the characteristics of a "principled bastard."
The title of "principled bastard" was not given to Adriaan by Claude. It was the evaluation of the cheerleader with beautiful blonde hair and a good figure. If Adriaan hadn't asked the president of the Student Association for help during the NCAA tournament, Gia might have been punished. However …
"Since this matter started because of me, of course, I have to take responsibility." At that time, Adriaan was not as mature and confident as he was now. His lazy look made him look rather unruly, which was very attractive to young girls. So, after Gia expressed her gratitude, she began to take off her clothes again.
Interestingly, this evaluation was unanimously approved by the girls who had a relationship with Adriaan. It could be seen that Adriaan was quite popular with women.
"If they really want to leave, I won't stop them." That was what he said now.
'Damn it, why am I remembering this kind of thing?' Claude, who was driving, suddenly laughed. It was probably because the most important acquisition case was finally coming to an end. After all, it was an essential part of the blueprint they had built. To be able to develop a newly established media company to this point in three years, anyone would think it was a miracle.
"I'm proud of you, son, for the two of you." His father was very serious when he said this.
If it weren't for Adriaan encouraging him to start a business together, perhaps he would still be working in his father's company. Claude sighed in his heart. Since 1990, Adriaan had been giving him surprises. He also wanted to know what kind of surprises would come next. Although his confidence in the Internet was not as strong as Adriaan's, he had studied it carefully after being influenced by Adriaan. He was still very optimistic about the future of the Internet.
"I'm waiting for the arrival of the Internet. I hope it won't disappoint." Claude muttered with a slight smile on his face. At this moment, he was inexplicably filled with confidence. 'We will continue to create miracles!'
However, in the next second, Claude, who looked at the time, shifted his attention to other aspects. The German model, Heidi Klum, would probably return to New York the next day. They could hang out again today. As Adriaan's best friend, how could he not be interested in women? However, he did not have a lot of free time like Adriaan, so most of the time, he only played with models. These women were the easiest to get.
Compared to Claude, although Adriaan was also on the road, he was thinking about the company. He had searched for a long time in his memory to find a way to mass distribute low-budget or independent films. Lion's Gate had relied on this method to gain a foothold in Hollywood by relying on the accumulation of B-grade films. If it had not been for the fact that Miramax was already extremely famous in the independent film industry at that time, and Weinstein's deep experience in Hollywood, Lion's Gate might have been able to compete with them.
Now that it was Bosworth's turn to use this method, the effect would definitely be better. Relying on Adriaan's few low-budget independent films, Bosworth had already divided Miramax's influence in the independent film industry by at least half. If Laffern operated well, he might be able to further expand his influence. At the same time, he could also fill up the source material library, and his losses could also be minimized through the distribution of videotapes. He could also curb his rising momentum on the surface. Why not kill a few birds with one stone?
As for the negative impact of this method, for example, although Lion's Gate occupied a position among the second-tier film companies, it was almost synonymous with B-grade films. There was almost no particularly special production. Don't forget what Adriaan did for a living.
If I had thought of this earlier, the film company would have grown even stronger by now. Adriaan shook his head and took out his phone to make a call.
The negotiation ended just like that, and at the same time, an important problem was solved. However, the final outcome would still take time. As for other aspects, as March approached, there were more and more articles about the Oscars. Although many people knew that "Schindler's List" had advantages that other films could not reach, in order to be fair, they still wantonly analyzed the advantages and disadvantages of other films.
However, after "Schindler's List," the most likely to win the Best Film Award was "The Piano Class." Bosworth, who produced and distributed these two films, inevitably received a lot of attention. Some nosy people lamented in the article: While other film companies are worrying about how to canvass for votes for their own films, Bosworth Pictures is worrying about which film to canvass for votes for. They were like this last year, and it's still the same this year. It's really surprising.
This invisibly pushed Bosworth Pictures to a new height, but Adriaan was not worried. Anyway, at this point, there was no need to be secretive. Besides, the solution had been decided, it just needed time to implement. In this regard, there was no immediate effect.
Laffern had been doing the public relations for "Schindler's List" according to Adriaan's instructions. At the same time, there was also Tom Hanks's Best Actor Award. Although Hanks had an advantage in this year's Oscars, he did not have an absolute advantage. At the same time, there was no need to mention Liam Neeson, who was nominated for the Best Actor Award for the first time and acted in a film produced by Bosworth Pictures. Anthony Hopkins had already won the Best Actor Award once. Unless it was too long ago or his performance was impeccable, it would be difficult for him to win it again. As for Lawrence Fishburne, his skin color had already determined that it was impossible for him to win it now. Therefore, his biggest opponent was Daniel Day-Louis.
This guy had qualifications and acting skills. Plus, "In the Name of the Father" had received a lot of praise, so he was a considerable threat to Hanks.
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