Late August 1998.
For the movie "Spider-Man 1," Kyle dispatched multiple teams to South Korea, Japan, Thailand, India, and China, among other places, to seek investors for the project.
Page Pictures now is no longer a small player!
After several years of development, it has continuously released many hit films and possesses a complete North American distribution channel, making it a leader among second-tier Hollywood film companies.
However, Page Pictures, a film company that has risen to prominence, received a cold reception overseas!
India.
Shandi Capital, as one of India's top large funds, has heavily invested in the European and American markets in recent years.
Hollywood, as a flagship product of America's external cultural influence, naturally attracted Shandi Capital's favor. Starting in 1996, they signed a $500 million film project investment plan with DreamWorks.
But... they were severely exploited by the cunning Spielberg!
Spielberg's DreamWorks used various methods such as extortion, transfer of funds, tax reporting manipulation, and artificially inflated production costs to aggressively infringe upon Shandi Capital's interests.
Now, more than two years have passed, and Shandi Capital's $500 million investment has resulted in at least a $100 million loss.
"That's right, we don't trust you!"
A person in charge of Shandi Capital's investment department looked at the representative from Page Pictures and said coldly, "You Hollywood people are too unethical, using all sorts of methods to infringe upon the interests of us investors."
"Spielberg, he's famous enough, right?"
"But look at what he actually did?!"
"He's a business vampire, even more so than a film director!"
"According to our accounting department's calculations, our $500 million investment, after two years, is estimated to result in a $200 million loss."
The person in charge said coldly, "With DreamWorks as a precedent, how do you expect me to trust your company now?"
"..."
The Page Pictures representative was speechless.
Well, DreamWorks and Spielberg created an extremely negative image for Hollywood as a whole.
A loss of credibility!
It's no wonder that Andre, the president of the American Film Association, would later criticize Spielberg so harshly.
He said, "Spielberg is a good director. Through his films, he contributed at least 10 points to Hollywood's globalization strategy; however, he is not a good businessman. His unethical behavior and deliberate infringement of investor interests contributed negative 10 points."
Shandi Capital was not the only overseas investor severely exploited by Spielberg... South Korea.
Samsung Group Overseas Investment Department.
"Buddy, don't mention Hollywood to me!"
"Who would believe the promises you're making now? How can I be sure you're not the next DreamWorks?!"
"The Asian financial crisis has already severely damaged our group, resulting in heavy losses. Where do we have the money to invest in your film project?"
"No!"
"Even if our group still has a lot of liquid capital, we will not easily invest in Hollywood films. We have been hurt too deeply by Spielberg."
The person in charge of the Samsung Group directly and loudly accused DreamWorks and Spielberg himself in front of the Page Pictures representative.
Spielberg's exploitative behavior also sowed the seeds of future trouble!
After 2004, DreamWorks faced operational difficulties.
Its capital chain broke, and it was heavily in debt, seeking overseas investment, but no one trusted it anymore. This directly led to DreamWorks' eventual acquisition by Paramount Pictures.
Exploiting others feels good for a moment, but leads to a crematorium later!
Two films produced by Kyle's film company, "Memento" and "300," received investment from the Mexican Carlos family. Although Kyle also subtly exploited them a little, he was still more considerate, mainly manipulating profits to ensure the Carlos family wouldn't lose money.
In this regard, Kyle was much more principled than DreamWorks.
But now!
Kyle was inevitably affected by DreamWorks in his search for overseas investors!
...Japan.
Mitsui Sumitomo Investment Group, a subsidiary of Mitsui Sumitomo Bank.
"Investing in your Page Pictures Company's film project? Yes, no problem." The Japanese man smiled at the Page Pictures representative.
"However!"
The Japanese man changed his tone and said, "We can invest in your films, but let's forget about 'Spider-Man,' this superhero movie. Even the famous 'Batman' series failed miserably. I don't think 'Spider-Man' can achieve much."
His meaning was clear!
Investing in your Page Pictures is fine, but superhero themes are absolutely not!
...A few days later.
Representatives who had traveled to various countries and regions overseas returned to Page Pictures one after another, informing Kyle of the news.
"Bang!"
Kyle slammed the table in anger: "Spielberg dug the pit, and now we have to pay for it. What kind of situation is this?!"
Overseas investors had issues with DreamWorks, and Kyle now had something to say.
They didn't do much!
DreamWorks clearly adopted a strategy of exploiting as much as they could!
Mr. Bill said in a deep voice, "Kyle, it seems we need to find other ways to fund the production of 'Spider-Man' and 'Harry Potter' now."
Kevin Feige said, "Perhaps we can put 'Spider-Man' aside for now and start preparing for 'Harry Potter' first. After all, the market is currently very unreceptive to superhero themes."
As he finished speaking, the other executives of Page Pictures also nodded.
And another executive added, "We can wait until '300' is released and then see the investors' reactions."
Kyle, however, firmly shook his head. He planned to prepare both films simultaneously, definitely not one at a time.
Moreover, Kyle didn't want to wait that long.
"No!"
Suddenly, Kyle had a flash of inspiration and excitedly said, "Guys, there might still be a turning point."
A turning point?
Immediately, Mr. Bill and the others all stared at Kyle with burning eyes.
"Guys, don't forget, tomorrow is August 21st, and 'Blade,' based on Marvel Comics, will be released tomorrow!" Kyle said loudly.
"Boss, are you saying..." Kevin Feige's eyes flickered.
Kyle nodded and said, "That's right. The market's loss of confidence in superhero themes mainly stems from the failures of Warner and DC's 'Superman' and 'Batman.' However, once 'Blade' becomes a box office hit, the entire superhero genre will undoubtedly be revitalized."
"I have confidence in this 'Blade' film produced by New Line Cinema. I believe it will become a milestone for superhero themes under Marvel Comics!"
At this point, everyone suddenly realized.
If "Blade" achieves good box office profits, it will have a huge promotional effect on the entire superhero genre.
At that time, would investors still not be optimistic about "Spider-Man"?
You know, Spider-Man's fame is far, far greater than Blade's... In the blink of an eye, "Blade" was released!
On its opening day, Friday, it grossed $13 million at the box office!
This number may not sound like much, but it is already the best-performing superhero film in recent years, after "Batman & Robin" suffered a Waterloo.
And most importantly, both film audiences, critics, and the media highly praised "Blade."
Grossing over $100 million in North America is just around the corner!