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[Chapter 907: I Just Arrived Too]
"The assets under Rainbow dia primarily include the fully-owned Bravo channel, a 70% stake in the New York Sports Channel, a 50% stake in the Orlando WRBW channel, a 45% stake in the Fuse music channel, and a 30% stake in the Playboy channel. The company's total market value is approximately $1.8 billion based on asset assessnts. Cablevision intends to sell no more than 30% of its shares to MGM for $600 million. Additionally, we will obtain the operating rights for the Bravo channel."
In the office, Amy Pascal, who had rushed from Century City, was briefing Eric on the final negotiations with Cablevision.
Eric glanced at the draft of the deal in his hand, feeling an odd sense that sothing strange had slipped in there. He looked up and smiled, asking Amy, "The Playboy channel?"
Fighting the impulse to roll her eyes, Amy explained, "It's a premium cable channel created in 1986 through a partnership between Cablevision and Playboy Enterprises, mainly featuring adult content like erotic films."
"Okay," Eric nodded, choosing not to dwell on a topic that might be uncomfortable for won. "Let's proceed with that. However, let's forget about the other channels. Once the deal is finalized, persuade the Rainbow dia managent to sell off the Playboy channel's shares as soon as possible."
Amy hesitated a mont and said, "Eric, the Playboy channel has been quite profitable. Furthermore, Rainbow dia only holds shares; the operating rights for the channel have always remained with Playboy Enterprises, so it won't affect us."
"You might be mistaken, Amy. The reason I want you to sell the Playboy channel's stake is not related to the company's reputation. With the rise of free adult content online, the physical adult entertainnt industry is bound to decline in the next few years. If we don't divest now, this asset will surely lose substantial value in the future."
"Fine, I'll keep it in mind," Amy conceded, then continued, "Regarding the bond issuance, we've reached an agreent with Morgan Stanley. They will assist MGM in issuing $500 million in corporate bonds next month. Many foundations, including State Street Global Advisors, have already expressed interest in subscribing, and our financing scale is modest, so it should proceed smoothly."
Although she spoke confidently, there was a complex emotion in Amy's gaze as she looked at Eric.
MGM initially planned on a bond financing scale of $1 billion. However, after Eric secured the production rights for the Lord of the Rings trilogy and the massive cash flow generated by the global success of Casino Royale, the company ultimately only needed to issue half that amount for its expansion plans in television.
While the public praised MGM's increasingly stable expansion strategy, and most dia outlets appreciated the decision to forgo the high-risk Lord of the Rings trilogy, Amy felt an underlying sense that losing the production rights for Lord of the Rings, along with the film rights for Tolkien's other two works, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, was a disastrous blow to MGM.
She even firmly believed that Eric's actions were a punishnt for MGM's indecisive stance from shareholders to managent during the Pierce Brosnan incident. However, only upon the release of the first Lord of the Rings film did she fully comprehend how severe that punishnt had truly been.
Eric sowhat sensed the shift in Amy's expression but didn't dwell on it. Closing the deal draft, he added, "Since we're acquiring two channels at once, have you considered a detailed operational strategy?"
"Yes," Amy replied. "E! Entertainnt and Bravo originally had so overlapping market positioning, so my plan is to clearly differentiate their content.
E! Entertainnt will focus on entertainnt and fashion programming, targeting teenagers around eighteen years old, which ans content needs to be trendier. I believe the reality show concept for Beverly Girls is fantastic in that aspect. Additionally, the managent had begun preparations for an E! Entertainnt news channel, dedicated to reporting gossip from the entertainnt and fashion worlds, and we plan to push ahead with that.
As for Bravo, we intend to primarily target housewives, an area where Bravo has already established a solid foundation. Our task is to continue developing suitable television programs to reinforce Bravo's market position among this demographic."
"Housewives," Eric repeated the word from Amy's earlier speech, and a television show's na, Desperate Housewives, instantly popped into his mind.
For a channel aid at housewives, Desperate Housewives would be tailor-made. The reason ABC had increasingly been dubbed the "Won's Network" was mainly due to the impact of the high-rated series Desperate Housewives. Now that Firefly Group owned Lifeti, a channel aid at urban elite won, and had added Bravo, targeting housewives, Eric surely wouldn't let ABC continue evolving into a won's channel.
Placing Desperate Housewives on Bravo would be a perfect fit.
Amy didn't catch Eric's words and asked curiously, "Eric, what did you just say?"
Snapping back to reality, Eric shook his head, deciding not to share that thought for now. "Just so ideas I had that aren't fully ford yet. I'll tell you after so ti. For now, focus on integrating the two channels."
He'd only casually watched a few episodes of Desperate Housewives, and trying to replicate the whole story felt unrealistic. What he could do was draft a new script based on the general concept of the show, but whether it would resonate with audiences remained uncertain. However, that was fine; after all, if the original version of Desperate Housewives aired on Bravo, a channel far less expansive than ABC, it would feel like a missed opportunity. It was better to start fresh, with success or failure being of little concern.
Amy nodded, wrapping things up. Just as she was about to leave, she rembered sothing. "Oh, Eric, regarding Beverly Girls, Ms. Jenna has chosen four girls, and the script is nearly finished. Do you want to take a look?"
Eric checked his schedule on his computer monitor and nodded, "If I have so ti in the next few days, I'll have soone give her a call."
...
After sending Amy off, Eric had lunch scheduled with Peter Jackson at the Titanic restaurant.
Peter had spent years preparing for the Lord of the Rings series, finally entering the production phase, only to unexpectedly face a change in the production company. He had been quite anxious lately, fearing the project could disappear without explanation.
Eric, of course, wouldn't allow that to happen and specifically made a personal appearance to reassure him.
Aside from the next film, Final Destination 2, Firefly Group didn't have any other films scheduled for the sumr release. Eric's focus began shifting to the company's other projects.
Iron Man was set to begin filming early next year, and casting had already started. Although progress on Spider-Man was slow, the casting work had also begun. Firefly Group had several films in various stages of production, but Eric primarily needed to focus on these two monuntal projects for the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
However, now that he had acquired the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Eric had to devote a significant amount of energy to this project as well.
The original Lord of the Rings trilogy had achieved a staggering worldwide box office of $3 billion on a production budget of under $300 million, with a return on investnt even higher than Titanic. Eric naturally needed to treat this project with utmost care.
To ensure the smooth operation of the entire project, as he transferred the production rights to Firefly, Eric also moved over the production team MGM had initially assembled to continue collaborating with Peter Jackson on the movie's preparations.
The major challenge in the early preparations for the Lord of the Rings trilogy was casting.
Due to the vast story backdrop, there was an unusually high number of characters in the trilogy, which ant that inviting well-known actors to participate would likely be challenging.
Although Eric highly regarded the project, he didn't plan on increasing its budget. Most roles would be filled by up-and-coming actors. While Hollywood had no shortage of actors, finding the right individuals among the sea of talent wouldn't be easy. Aside from securing the roles of the Elven Queen and Arwen for Nicole Kidman and Diane Kruger, Eric didn't interfere much in the casting, rely setting budget restrictions for Peter Jackson and leaving the intricate details to him.
Casting for the Lord of the Rings trilogy wasn't overly daunting; the multitude of roles ant that even if a few casting choices fell flat, they wouldn't diminish the quality of the film. After turning sixteen, Stuart Ronkel had also agreed to sign a six-film deal with Marvel, leaving only Iron Man pending.
After rejecting Tom Cruise, Marvel Entertainnt CEO Avi Arad turned his attention to Matthew McConaughey. The actor's roguish charm aligned well with the persona of Tony Stark, aka Iron Man. However, after starring in Se7en and Contact, McConaughey had risen to A-list status and was not interested in signing a long-term deal with Marvel. Eric, who had never particularly liked the actor, chose not to pursue negotiations further.
Thus, for a production with costs potentially exceeding $100 million, the selection of male leads typically confined to a small circle turned into a wide casting call for all Hollywood male actors.
Although Firefly's stringent long-term deal conditions received so dia mockery and led to skepticism about the project's prospects, just as Eric had stated during the Brosnan incident, anyone seeking the role could still scout from Malibu to Burbank.
...
Firefly Studios.
It was the last day of July, and it happened to be a Friday.
Kris Jenner drove into Firefly Studios, parked her car, but didn't hurry to get out. She pulled out a makeup mirror to ticulously touch up her look before opening the car door. She had received word last Wednesday that Eric would allocate ti to review the script for Beverly Girls, but unexpectedly, it took over a week for her to hear back. Still, she dared not voice any complaints.
Lately, thanks to the massive success of Casino Royale, combined with the Brosnan replacent incident, Eric's personal influence in Hollywood had soared to an almost unattainable level. Naturally, Kris Jenner, who instinctively revered powerful figures, felt that even if she had to wait a month, it was no big deal. Maintaining so connection with him was enough to elevate her standing in her small circle.
During this ti, her life had indeed been spectacular. For the Beverly Girls project, she had moved back to Los Angeles with her entire family. She initially thought so old friends would distance themselves from her after her years away, but upon hearing she was producing a reality show conceived by Eric Williams, they all flocked to her, far more enthusiastically than when she had lived in Los Angeles.
...
Walking to Eric's office door, she politely greeted the outer secretary. The secretary told her to wait a mont, and Kris obediently took a seat in the outer waiting room.
"Don't bla for not reminding you one last ti, Bridget. If you get this role, people might start calling you Pepper Potts next ti they see you."
After a while, Eric's office door swung open, and a man and a woman walked out. The man was naturally Eric, and the woman was Bridget Fonda, who had starred as the lead in Ghost. Kris rembered that since Ghost, Fonda hadn't really had anything noteworthy co out, but from the tone of Eric's voice, it seed she was about to land an important role, one significant enough to alter a viewer's perception of an actor.
Kris couldn't help feeling a bit envious. She had once fantasized about becoming an actress but had never had such an opportunity.
Bridget Fonda noticed Kris Jenner sitting in the waiting room and nodded at her. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Eric, she bade farewell and left.
Eric watched Bridget Fonda depart, then waved at Kris Jenner. "Sorry to keep you waiting, Ms. Jenner. Please co with ."
"It's alright, I just got here too," Kris Jenner quickly responded, grabbing her bag as she walked over.
*****
spatreon/Sayonara816.
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