In the office floor of Sky Film Studios in Beverly Hills, a middle-aged man wearing glasses hurried to the end of the corridor and lightly knocked on the door of an office. After receiving a response from inside, he pushed open the door and walked in.
"David."
After greeting and receiving permission, he sat across the desk and said directly, "I just received the latest news. It's about Duke Rosenberg."
Upon hearing this name, David Ellison immediately raised his head and asked, "Bill, what is it about?"
"A business that directly competes with ours."
The middle-aged man named Bill said seriously, "Didn't you remind me that Tina Fey is also paying attention to the Hollywood package projects Relativity Media and Dune Entertainment are trying to transfer?"
David Ellison nodded. Since the end of last year, he had been raising funds to take over their projects once several film funds on Wall Street could no longer sustain them.
He knew very well that although he had invested in and produced some films, including highly successful box office hits like I Am Legend, Sky Film Studios was not favored by mainstream Hollywood. To become a player Hollywood couldn't ignore, he needed more than just money—he needed actual achievements.
At the same time, he needed to establish certain connections with major companies.
Taking over these projects was undoubtedly the best opportunity.
Developments had proven it to be a great opportunity. The economic crisis had hit Wall Street hard, directly impacting Hollywood. Many companies were facing serious cash flow problems and a shortage of active projects.
But this situation hadn't escaped the eyes of Duke Rosenberg either.
Sky Film Studios was taking action, but the other party's film foundation was also quick to move. Although both sides were trying to avoid price gouging by those film funds and remained relatively restrained, they had already developed a certain level of competition.
Ever since discovering that Duke Rosenberg was doing the same thing, David Ellison had been trying all means and channels to find out which film projects the other party was interested in.
The last film that had caught Duke Rosenberg's interest was The Man from Earth. After buying it, Ellison lost big on its theatrical release, but after selling the offline rights to Netflix, the other side gained considerable returns in the rental market. Although it couldn't be compared to films with budgets of tens of millions, it stood out in its category and was even hailed as a cult classic by some B-movie enthusiasts.
Now, recalling Duke Rosenberg's remark that the film was not suitable for theaters, David Ellison deeply understood his point. The man clearly had no intention of pushing the film into theaters.
Facts proved that a film like that entering cinemas was a guaranteed flop.
Though he disliked Duke Rosenberg more and more, David Ellison was well aware of how sharp the man's insights into films and the market were.
Looking at his trusted subordinate, David Ellison asked, "Which projects is he interested in?"
"20th Century Fox's Avatar and the reboot of X-Men, Walt Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean 4…"
Upon hearing these names, David Ellison wasn't surprised at all. The latter two were sequels to massively successful franchises, and the former was James Cameron's grand production.
He also had his eyes on these three films, but acquiring the investment stakes from Wall Street funds in them wasn't easy. Especially Fox's projects—the company was one of Duke Rosenberg's closest partners. It surely wouldn't welcome his interference.
"Any other projects?" David Ellison asked again.
The middle-aged man named Bill adjusted his glasses and said, "There are a few more, and they're all Disney projects."
David Ellison couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. "Oh? Disney projects?"
After losing Pixar Studios, Walt Disney's animated films had plummeted, and the company began shifting more focus to live-action films, becoming one of the studios with the most collaboration with Wall Street, even offering nearly ten major projects for package deals with film funds.
"Tron: Legacy, which is in post-production," Bill spoke of the highest-investment projects among them, "Robin Hood, directed by Ridley Scott and currently filming, John Carter, adapted from the work of famed sci-fi writer Edgar Rice Burroughs, and the toy-based film Battleship which Disney acquired from Hasbro."
David Ellison nodded slightly.
These names didn't surprise him either. All of them were renowned major productions in the industry. He had done some research himself, and if even two of these films succeeded at the box office, they'd be more than enough to earn Disney a fortune.
Big-budget productions were the mainstream in Hollywood. David Ellison knew that very clearly.
"Do you know the investment situations of these films?" he asked.
"I had someone look into it just before coming here." Bill recalled briefly, then said, "Tron: Legacy has a production budget of $170 million and uses the latest film shooting and production technologies; Robin Hood is expected to cost $200 million. Not only does it have Ridley Scott as director, but also Russell Crowe and Cate Blanchett as the leads; John Carter…"
He paused slightly, then continued, "This project is still in the preparation stage, but Disney and Relativity have already invested a total of $80 million in start-up funding. Its production cost is preliminarily estimated to be no less than $250 million; Battleship is in a similar situation as John Carter, with Relativity only having put in some start-up funds, and the project remains in development."
Fingers gently tapping the armrest of his chair, David Ellison pondered for several minutes, then suddenly smiled. "Duke Rosenberg is forcing Disney and Michael Eisner into a corner."
He spoke to himself, "If he manages to get a stake in these Disney films, what will Michael Eisner do? If the films succeed, his own projects would end up bringing massive profits to a rival. If he sabotages them and they fail, how is he going to explain it to the board as Chairman and CEO?"
"Duke Rosenberg's thinking is quite sharp!" David Ellison sneered, then added, "Bill, have someone thoroughly investigate these projects. Also, set up meetings for me with Michael Eisner and Ryan Kavanaugh of Relativity. I want to talk to them separately."
As long as the investigation results are satisfactory, he will definitely take action to stop Duke Rosenberg's schemes!
Los Angeles in July remained scorching. The bright sunlight poured from the sky, easily giving people a burning sensation, making the already arid climate even more unbearable. Fortunately, the seaside of Malibu was slightly better than inland areas. The occasional sea breeze always brought a bit of coolness.
"That big guy really arrived?"
The air conditioning inside the Rolls-Royce was blasting at full power, but even so, Scarlett Johansson still held a Chinese embroidery fan and occasionally fanned herself. "Have you seen it? Is it powerful when it runs?"
"Darling, I haven't seen it either." Duke subtly turned the air conditioning down a notch. "You just came back from promoting Captain America in Argentina, and I only just returned from the Western Pacific region. I haven't had time to see it yet."
"Thinking about boarding the number one yacht in the world…" Scarlett smiled so hard her eyes curved. She touched her chest and said, "My heart is racing."
Duke immediately poured cold water on her excitement. "It's not number one in the world anymore."
"Not number one anymore?" Scarlett asked. Seeing Duke nod, she casually said, "At least it once was number one."
After more than two years of waiting, the yacht Duke ordered finally arrived at the Malibu dock last month. But just as he said, the yacht that was once the world's longest during construction couldn't even make the top three now. Super-rich tycoons like Roman Abramovich from Russia, as well as the Crown Princes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, had yachts built longer than his.
The Rolls-Royce stopped in front of the Malibu dock. Just as they opened the door and got out, Scarlett looked westward and saw at the deep-water berth of the dock a white behemoth parked there—it was the yacht she had seen several times in pictures and design drawings.
This massive vessel, over 500 feet long, docked like a white mountain. Though there were larger ships in the distance, such as tens-of-thousands-ton cargo ships, none attracted attention like this one.
"Let's go over."
Closing the car door, Duke gave Scarlett a reminder and led the way toward the yacht. Scarlett quickly followed.
The two boarded the yacht, and the captain was already waiting. Under his introduction, they took a general tour.
This was a yacht capable of oceanic voyages. The captain and crew not only needed excellent technical skills but also had to be trustworthy. A few friends from the military had recommended this retired navy officer to Duke. Likewise, most of the yacht's crew were also retired navy personnel, and those serving as security guards were retired Navy SEALs.
Similarly, maintaining such a yacht required substantial annual operating costs.
After walking around the deck, bar, ballroom, master bedroom, swimming pool, and private cinema, Duke and Scarlett entered the yacht's main salon. The design here was quite distinctive. A breezeway spanning the entire width of the yacht connected the main salon and the banquet hall. The curved stern structure featured panoramic glass windows, offering a 270-degree unobstructed view.
Standing in front of the glass, looking at the sea, Scarlett seemed to recall something important and suddenly asked, "Have you named this yacht yet?"
Standing beside her, Duke shook his head and said, "Not yet."
He took Scarlett's arm. "Darling, that right belongs to you."