No matter how lively things were, they would gradually calm down with the passage of time, let alone the Oscars. Even if Sophie Marceau won Best Actress as a French actress, and even if Miracle Director won Best Director and Best Movie, it still couldn't violate the rules. Of course, the relationship between the Miracle Girls and Miracle Director had always been a hot topic of discussion and would continue to be discussed.
Well, in fact, except for some critics and filmmakers, people basically didn't care about Adriaan's Best Director and Best Movie. Everyone knew that he had created many miracles. Everyone knew that he was talented. Everyone knew that he had been a regular at the Oscars for several years. Everyone knew that the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy — and the "poor" "Matrix" trilogy — had caused a huge global response. Most fans thought that the adaptation was very good. Everyone knew that he could produce any kind of movie … Wasn't it normal for him to win Best Director and Best Movie?
As for the critics' criticism of the new Best Actress Sophie, oh, there would be such comments every year. At most, there would be more this year. They criticized Monica, but did the academy take it back? Just treat it as a show. So, instead of talking about this, they might as well talk about which Miracle Girl Director Miracle would promote next year. It would be more meaningful.
"Speaking of which, these people don't seem to count Nada in the Miracle Girl industry. Is it because of the smoke I threw out? Then it will be interesting at the end of the year, "Adriaan said as he operated the mouse to browse the web.
"Isn't that what you want to see?" Claude, who was standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, replied, then waved his hand to bring the topic back. "Hey, have you seriously considered it, Eide?"
"Don't tell me we haven't reached an agreement?" Adrian raised his head and spread his hands.
"Of course not. There is no doubt that Comcast is more suitable to continue being its broadband provider, but …" Claude pursed his lips. "Do you think this is an opportunity for us?"
"You want to buy Disneyland?" Adriaan couldn't help but raise his eyebrows.
"Why not? There is no doubt that Eisner is about to step down, even if he can eventually stop Comcast's hostile takeover. " Claude said quickly, "From the moment he kicked the last member of Disneyland out of the board of directors, even if Roy Disneyland is indeed not a qualified businessman."
"So, if we help them through the difficulties, Eisner will have to turn a blind eye, right?" Adriaan said and then frowned.
Although a few years ago, AC Media suddenly snatched away AT&T Broadband, which Comcast had high hopes for, it did not dispel their desire to transform into a media conglomerate. Therefore, when Disney began to have internal strife, they took the opportunity to make a hostile acquisition. Although Eisner naturally wouldn't agree, those on the board who were tempted by Roy Disneyland's departure didn't think so. Moreover, Comcast offered a high price.
Comcast didn't spend too much time and money on AT&T Broadband, and because of AC Media's competition, Disneyland was smaller than in his previous life. Although it became more compact and more profitable, it wasn't easy for them to go against Comcast in his previous life, let alone now. However, there were pros and cons. When Eisner asked for help from Lei Shidong and Claude, they both agreed.
In his previous life, Eisner considered using a merger to resist Comcast's hostile takeover. He didn't need to actually do it, but he just needed to make a gesture. However, after he found Lei Shidong, the latter explicitly rejected his proposal. At that time, Viacom had CBS, and Disneyland had ABC. If they did this, Comcast could make a big deal out of the regulatory obstacles.
However, ABC, which originally belonged to Disneyland, now belonged to AC Media, so this concern was gone. Then, with Viacom and AC Media's gesture, Disneyland also had the confidence to shut Comcast out. In any case, several of the world's major media groups developed in this field from the beginning, including the young AC Media. Therefore, as Claude said before, it was more appropriate for Comcast to be an honest operator. This could also be considered a common enemy to a certain extent.
However, Adriaan didn't expect that Claude really had the idea of taking Disneyland into his own pocket.
"I object." After closing his eyes and thinking carefully for a moment, Adriaan gave his own answer after going through many things in his mind. "We don't need it."
"Don't need it?" Claude frowned. Obviously, this answer didn't match his expectations.
"That's right. We have what Disneyland has, and what Disneyland doesn't have, we have too. So, why do we need Disneyland?" Adriaan spread his hands and said. To be honest, he was a little tempted at first. In any case, the old brand of Disneyland alone was attractive enough, not to mention their operational capabilities weren't bad.
However, everything had its pros and cons, especially for this level of acquisition. Although Adriaan was relatively mediocre in business, he had accumulated a lot of experience over the years. Not to mention, he could see the future. Therefore, in his opinion, there was no need for AC Media to acquire Disneyland.
"It's very simple, the market." Claude immediately expressed his own opinion, "Disneyland occupies a considerable share of the children and teenagers' market. They have an innate advantage in this area. Although we have made a lot of efforts and made good progress with your support, it will take some time to reach their current level. In this case, isn't it better to integrate them into our system? What's more, Disneyland has a considerable history. "
Hearing the last sentence, Adriaan couldn't help but laugh. He roughly understood Claude's thoughts. From a certain perspective, he believed the reason why Claude was tempted.
"I have asked people to analyze their financial situation in detail. Indeed, if the acquisition is successful, we will have to bear a lot of debt, but for us with good operations, the burden is not important. It is completely worth it." Claude continued.
"I believe this, Krau. Since you said it, then there must be no problem, but my concerns are not on this." Adriaan organized his words and said, "You know, our future is not on this."
"Yes, yes, I know. Our future is on the Internet. You have said it hundreds of times, Eide." Claude was a little unhappy, "But this has no conflict with acquiring Disneyland, right?"
"I remember that when Eisner asked us for help, he also sent the same message to News Corporation, but Murdoch made it very clear that they would not consider this." Adriaan didn't take his performance to heart at all. "Yes, I know. Although AC Media is basically ranked first in the media industry, News Corporation is always chasing behind. If we don't work hard to maintain our momentum, they will surpass us. But, Krau, sometimes we should also look at our competitors' thoughts. Yes, acquiring Disneyland can allow us to expand our scale again, but as the saying goes, a sly mouse is easily stuffed to death. Blind expansion can easily drag us down. "
He paused, carefully observed Claude's expression, and then continued, "Disneyland is doing very well in the youth market, but we are also doing very well, and I already have a few good ideas. Why can't we wait to eat this cake that looks delicious? Our future is on the Internet. I have said it many times. Google has confirmed that they will go public this year, and when that time comes, they will become the most eye-catching IT stock in the next few years. Not to mention, Victor is operating Facebook, YouTube, and the recently launched Twitter very well. "
Claude had a thoughtful expression, which made Adriaan breathe a sigh of relief. "In this regard, we are always ahead of other media groups. This is the most important thing to do. Why do we have to keep our eyes on Disneyland? Let them appear in front of everyone as an independent media group. It is better than letting us be at the cusp of the storm."
Finally, he stood up and concluded, "We are still very young, Krau, and this is our biggest advantage. We are already legendary!"
This was what Adriaan really wanted to say. Just as most Americans had always been subconsciously envious of Europe's history, Claude also hoped that the group could have more qualified companies. The most despised aspect of AC Media was its young age. It had developed from a small company to its current scale in just over ten years. Not having a foundation was one of their labels, even if they acquired Universal and PolyGram in the future.
This was another important reason why Claude wanted to acquire Disneyland, in addition to market factors.
That was what Adriaan thought at first, but because of his previous life's experience, he was very clear that a foundation could sometimes be a glory, but it could also be a burden. Just like people, when they were young, they were always hot-blooded and dared to fight. When they were old, they would gradually become conservative.
For a company, AC Media was still very young, and as the head of the company, Adriaan and Claude were equally young. Not to mention old men like Eisner, Murdoch, and Lei Shidong, even compared to the CEOs of these groups, they were still very young. So, why did he have to be calculative about this? What's more, as Adriaan just said, they were already legendary.
In just a little more than ten years, Adrian and Claude had risen from obscurity to become a few of the most powerful people in the media industry. Adrian was also a famous and miraculous director. AC Media had also grown from a small enterprise to a media group with considerable influence on a worldwide scale. Their miraculous development process had made it into the MBA programs of various schools.
Throughout history, companies with such a speed of development could be counted on two hands. It was not an exaggeration to say that they were living legends. In fact, Adriaan's big plan was moving towards this goal. Of course, it was more for himself.
"Okay." Claude finally relented. "I will get someone to re-evaluate."
He did not explicitly give up, indicating that he still had his own ideas. This was not surprising. Adriaan understood very well, and he knew that he must have other requirements.
"But …" Claude continued with a smirk. "You must ensure that we have a certain amount of progress in the youth market."
"Okay!" Adriaan did not know whether to laugh or cry. "I said that I have some ideas."
Adriaan did have an idea, a very good idea. Without ABC's decade-long burden, without the conflict and wrangling with Miramax, although Eisner's shrinking strategy made Disneyland smaller than other media groups, it was still expanding overall, and the benefits were quite good. Therefore, their internal strife would definitely be very long, at least longer than Adriaan remembered. This gave him a chance, and he found a lot of interesting things.
After solving this matter, Adriaan immediately turned his attention to other aspects. He had already won the Oscar, and he had already made a good start by winning the second Best Director Award. Naturally, he had to carry out the second step of the plan. Anyway, he was a director and producer, so he did not need to be exposed in front of the camera like a star.
Therefore, Adriaan began to busy himself with the early stages of "Brokeback Mountain". Not only did he prepare for the outdoor shooting in Montana, but he also had to arrange a series of other things. There was no need to mention the acquisition or help of Disneyland. Claude had not completely given up on his own ideas, and he still needed to discuss them a few more times. Adriaan always felt that he seemed to have overlooked something. When he was persuading Claude, something flashed through his mind, and he did not catch it. When he tried to look for it again, he could not find it.
This situation was normal. Although Adriaan's memory was good, it did not mean that he could remember anything at any time.
Other than that, there was the post-production of "Forge Ahead". Now that "The Matrix" trilogy and "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy had been completed, he could put more effort into making them more perfect. Even though he did not put much effort into the previous two trilogies, he did not put much effort into them.
Then, there were some movies or TV series that he had to look into. For example, "New Jersey" starring Scarlett was scheduled to be released at the end of March, and "King Kong" directed and produced by Peter Jackson, with Naomi as the female lead, was also targeted for this year's summer break.
As for the former, there was nothing much to say. Adriaan skimmed through it. There were too many movies with the theme of "a slightly morbid teenager regaining himself through love and friendship." There was nothing special about "New Jersey". However, compared to the original Natalie, Scarlett was more lively and likable. She was quite suitable to play this kind of role.
Although this kind of movie was cliché, there was always a market for it. As long as the plot was standard, the reputation would not be too bad. In addition, the cost was low, so it was more or less profitable. It was suitable to be used to maintain Scarlett's popularity.
As for "King Kong", under Adriaan's intervention, this version of "King Kong" was already a lot better. At least, as the protagonist, King Kong, did not appear halfway through the plot. The rhythm was also not bad, and the grand scenes were well edited. However … Peter Jackson was still suitable for pure fantasy movies.
He was still obsessed with CG, so much so that the special effects were too exaggerated. Although the island where King Kong was located looked beautiful and charming, the layers of color were too obvious, giving people a feeling of unreality. If it was in "The Lord of the Rings", which had a fantasy background, it wouldn't matter. However, if it was in a movie based on reality, it would inevitably be a little out of place.
However, Adrian didn't say much. He would let Jackson observe the market's reaction after the movie was released. Since Jackson had filmed Naomi so beautifully, Adrian didn't say much.
Naomi's appearance in "King Kong" could be said to be quite beautiful and moving, especially in the beginning because of the Great Depression. Her weak and pitiful appearance was enough to make many people feel pity for her. Therefore, Adriaan had always been very happy to use a little trick to keep her by his side. However, it seemed that it would take a long time for her to master behind-the-scenes or filming skills.
The reason why he asked Naomi to be in charge of the adult film "The Cheating Wife" with Nicole was that he wanted to see if she could help him in the future. From lighting to props to filming, he was in charge of everything by himself. The efficiency was too low. So far, he had only finished the adult film "Shakespeare Betrayed". Although "The Dainty Wife Who Cheated" had finally been filmed, it would take some time to edit it. This was one of the things he had been busy with recently.
Fortunately, Sophie gradually opened up in terms of directing. Perhaps she was not as talented as other female directors, but she had no problem in following the rules. Letting her take charge of the camera, and with his guidance, the effect would definitely be better.
Well, Adriaan might not have other intentions when he first persuaded Sophie to be a director, but he definitely had other intentions later on. That was why he wanted to train other women. Everyone gathered together to work hard on a woman's famous adult film. Ha, it must be very interesting, and their relationship would be more harmonious, and … they would be closer to him.
Just like Naomi, after Adriaan and Nicole had a passionate encounter in front of the camera, he said that he could apply for a "VIP card" to pay her, and she also vaguely revealed that she wanted to apply for a "VIP card."
Adriaan certainly would not refuse. Anyway, after this year and next, the battle for the Best Actress would temporarily come to an end. It was easy for Naomi to apply for this, but she would have to wait at least three or four years. Of course, that would take time. There were at least two women to apply for it this year, so he would take it slowly, just like letting her learn how to take charge of the camera or use lighting.
That was what Adriaan had to do before preparing for "Brokeback Mountain" – oh, there was one more thing, something that he had planned for a long time.
