Building a position in the stock market takes time.
Because if you buy a large amount of shares in a short period of time, the company's stock price will inevitably rise.
And when Carl Icahn wants to tear apart a company, it's never a small one. It's always a giant worth tens of billions—or even hundreds of billions. So to avoid exposing himself during the buildup, he also needs to find a few "acting in concert" partners, who will buy shares separately to spread things out.
That's why, even though Ted Turner and Steve Case had already replied to Carl Icahn back in January this year saying they could cooperate, Icahn dragged it out until mid-March before arranging their meeting with Kevin Feige.
…
Suburbs of New York.
The cherry blossoms were in full bloom. It was stunning.
Under the warm sunshine and the gentle rustling of lush green trees in the breeze, nature seemed to play a soothing lullaby that made people want to curl up in a soft bed and sleep.
But while spring wrapped everything outside in comfort, Kevin Feige was currently sitting stiffly across from the two "Elders of the Underworld"—no, wait—across from the two Warner Veterans, not knowing where to put his hands.
The scene made Ted Turner laugh.
"Oh, Kevin, didn't you sleep well last night?"
"Uh—Mr. Turner—I slept just fine last night."
"Then why do you look so stiff?" Steve Case asked cheerfully.
"Mr. Case, it's mainly because… I didn't expect to meet you two today…"
Sitting upright, hands on his thighs, fingers interlaced.
He really wanted to play the accordion right now, but sadly… his hands refused to cooperate.
So he could only say dryly, "Mr. Icahn told me someone might be interested in my movie plan—but he didn't tell me that the people who were interested were actually you two. Oh—I mean no disrespect. It's just that seeing you both here today is really… way beyond my expectations. Yeah! Way beyond my expectations!"
"Hahaha—"
He sounded like an elementary school kid reporting to his teacher, and the two men couldn't help laughing.
They gestured for Kevin Feige to relax and change into a more comfortable posture.
He tried. And failed.
Which only made them laugh harder, as they said, "Okay, let's get to the main topic. Maybe once we enter your field of expertise, you'll finally relax?"
"Alright." Kevin Feige nodded decisively.
He pulled a few documents from his briefcase, handing out two copies to them.
Then he opened one himself and began, "Gentlemen, the plan I'm presenting today is as follows…"
Just as the two veterans expected, once Kevin entered his comfort zone, his confidence began to return. Under his explanation, a grand idea unfolded before their eyes.
"Kevin, I think I understand what you mean," Steve Case said.
"You want to… hmm… use the TV series format—but make movies out of it?"
"Or rather, you want to bring television filmmaking onto the big screen?"
After about five minutes, as Kevin Feige paused, Steve Case closed the file in his hand.
What Kevin had just presented to them was Phase One of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
To someone unfamiliar with entertainment, it might sound like a crazy concept.
But to insiders? It wasn't new at all.
For example, back in the last century, CBS already made a series of Marvel-related shows.
They started with Spider-Man, then introduced other characters like Captain America.
The only difference between what CBS did back then and what Kevin Feige is proposing now… is that CBS made TV series, while Kevin wants to make movies.
And has anything like that ever existed in cinema?
Yes.
For instance, in China, the Film Channel experimented with that exact model—the Lu Xiaofeng series.
Gu Long only wrote seven original stories:
The Kingdom of the Golden Bird, The Embroidery Thief, Before and After the Duel, The Silver Hook Casino, The Phantom Villa, Phoenix Dancing in the Nine Heavens, and The Laugh of the Sword God.
The whole series was already quite complete, but in order to expand Gu Long's wuxia world—and more importantly, to create spin-offs—the film channel produced Lu Xiaofeng: The Prequel, Legend of the Iron Shoes, and Mystery of the Bloodstained Clothes.
Then… they stopped making more. Not because of low ratings—but simply because they ran out of money.
So this "cinematic universe" idea? Kevin Feige wasn't the first.
He was just standing on the shoulders of his predecessors and pushing the idea further.
He was good, but nowhere near the level of founding a whole new genre.
And precisely because this approach already had precedent around the world…
Steve Case's comment made Ted Turner nod.
"Kevin, your idea reminds me of Jaws from the 1970s."
"At that time, Steven Spielberg told Universal he wanted to use an A-level production team to shoot a B-level movie. He believed his idea could change the world. Even before Jaws was released, Universal themselves didn't know if it could work."
"So in my view, that might be the reason you haven't made this plan a reality, right?"
"Back then, Spielberg was only asking Universal to gamble on one movie. But you… you're starting with six films. Nearly a billion dollars in total. A project like this…"
"At the moment, in the entire industry, only three people could secure that level of funding."
"Steven Spielberg. George Lucas. Isabella Haywood."
"Everyone else…"
"Not just you. Even James Cameron couldn't pull it off."
The blunt statement made Kevin Feige a bit embarrassed.
He touched his nose and said, "Um—gentlemen—since you invited me here, I'm sure you've already researched me—or at least researched Marvel. And yes, just like you said, so far, no one has supported me."
"That's why I'm hoping to gather strength—from wherever I can…"
"I wonder how you both… see this matter?"
Kevin Feige had been thinking about the Marvel Cinematic Universe for years.
Ever since seeing Jurassic Park, he wanted to make something like this.
He wasn't an outsider, either.
His grandfather was Robert Short—a famous producer with works like Guiding Light and As the World Turns.
The former is America's longest-running TV show, starting in 1937 and only ending in 2009. Seventy-two years.
The latter is America's fourth-longest-running show, airing from 1956 to 2010. Fifty-four years.
Of course, his grandfather didn't work on every episode. No one could. Those shows outlived people.
But that didn't matter. Long-running shows automatically become national classics with guaranteed high viewership. And long-running projects attract powerful connections.
Which meant Kevin Feige, as the descendant of a major producer, naturally inherited the right to dream big.
Once he saw that VFX technology had matured, and given his love for comics, he wanted to bring those bold stories to the big screen. Like Ted Turner said, he truly believes his vision could make him the next Spielberg.
Originally, his plan was to build a cinematic universe starting with X-Men.
But it failed.
Not because Fox didn't give him a chance.
When Rupert Murdoch heard about his background, he even met with Kevin personally and listened to his mutant universe pitch.
But the old man thought Kevin was too crazy.
He wouldn't gamble on that.
Kevin Feige was disappointed.
But he didn't give up. He went to Sony to pitch a Spider-Man-centered cinematic universe next.
But at the time, Howard Stringer, head of Sony Pictures, was locked in a power struggle with Tommy Mottola.
Anyone who's fought for power knows the only rule during such battles: stability above all.
So they turned him down too. If the Spider-Man universe flopped, he'd explode politically.
After being hit with two straight "No"s, the current Marvel Cinematic Universe plan Kevin presented was actually his third version.
And from the looks of it…
Ted Turner and Steve Case only smiled silently.
Kevin sighed internally.
Looks like… another failure…
But just as he adjusted himself mentally, ready to embrace rejection once more…
It seemed the two men had sensed he was about to leave.
Or maybe they just didn't want the meeting to end yet.
After exchanging a glance, Ted Turner changed the topic.
"Kevin? I heard you were a student of Lauren Donner?"
"Can you tell us about your time with her?"
"Was it pleasant working with her?"
Ted Turner looked at him with a smile.
Kevin narrowed his eyes.
He felt… these two were setting him up?
He didn't want to talk about it—but Turner was far above him in status, so he answered with a smile, "Lauren is a great mentor. I respect her a lot. Working with her was a pleasure."
"Do you still stay in touch?" Steve Case chimed in.
"Uh—of course—" Kevin nodded. "I even visited her last Christmas—"
Hearing that, the two executives exchanged a knowing smile.
Because Lauren Donner…
Was a highly respected producer in the industry.
Her works include:
Mr. Mom — 5 million investment, 64.8 million box office
Pretty in Pink — 9 million investment, 40.5 million box office
SPLASH — 20 million investment, 153 million box office
You've Got Mail — 65 million investment, 250 million box office
Yes.
You've Got Mail starring Tom Hanks was produced by Lauren Donner.
But that wasn't the real reason Ted Turner brought her up.
The real reason… was her husband: Richard Donner.
Richard Donner was a famous Hollywood director:
the 1978 Superman film, the Lethal Weapon series, and The Goonies were all his works.
Yep.
The Goonies written by Chris Columbus.
Back in the film era, becoming a director was extremely difficult.
Columbus spent years learning before officially directing anything.
The Goonies was his final learning project. Richard Donner taught him a lot.
Yeah~
That was the real reason Turner and Case were happy when they first heard Kevin Feige's name.
When Harry Potter's success became unstoppable, if Ted Turner and Steve Case wanted to take over Time Warner safely… they had to embrace everyone responsible for HP's success.
And in that team, the ones who could disrupt their plan were Isabella and Columbus.
The former had her own IP.
If she refused to cooperate—or if chaos erupted inside Time Warner due to their power struggle—she could walk away anytime.
Not out of hatred, but because no one likes to work in a cesspool, especially someone with options.
If she kept bringing in profits, and one day said: I don't want to work with Ted Turner and Steve Case, then neither of them would ever get promoted.
Because most shareholders prioritize profit—they vote with their feet.
As for Columbus, he also had plenty of projects.
Even if no one funded him, Spielberg would help him.
So once Columbus's success became intertwined with Harry Potter, if he chose to side with Barry Meyer, the shareholders wouldn't care about Turner and Case's ambitions.
No one gambles with their money.
One more time:
The point of a publicly listed company is to make its shareholders money.
Social responsibility?
Ha.
Capitalism won't even help with disaster relief, and you expect a listed company to uphold social responsibility? That's pure madness.
So whoever can keep the money flowing into the company—
That's who takes the throne.
Of course, you might refuse to accept this logic.
Michael Dell privatized the Dell Group he himself founded and took public.
You want to chase your dreams?
Sure.
Just fork out the money and buy back everyone's shares.
What?
You say you don't have money?
If you're broke, then what are you pretending for?
You must understand one thing.
Even someone like Steve Jobs, who made money standing upright, his first goal after returning to Apple was to boost performance!
That's exactly why Ted Turner came up with this roundabout strategy.
First, Isabella seems interested in Marvel. As long as they can embrace Marvel, there's a chance to meet her.
Second, Kevin Feige's teacher, mentor, and Spielberg all know each other. In this case, if Warner were really torn apart by them, or if Isabella and Barry Meyer actually had a close relationship, then having someone from a project Isabella likes come forward as a lobbyist would make it even more likely to pull Isabella to their side.
Lastly… Ted Turner believes Kevin Feige would definitely choose them.
Because…
"Kevin, your project is ambitious, so whether we invest or not... we need to think about it."
"But if you're willing to become our ally… I believe you know about Carl's plan… If you're willing to join us, then we can answer you right now — we can at least help you with one phase of your project."
"That is, we can put money into the first six films in your plan."
These words made Kevin Feige frown slightly. His Adam's apple moved as he was about to speak.
But before he could open his mouth, Ted Turner spoke first: "Don't reject it yet. Don't even respond."
"Before you make a decision, there's something we want to tell you — if you want to push forward your Marvel Cinematic Universe plan, then embracing us might be your best option."
"There are three reasons."
"First, the rights to Iron Man are in Isabella's hands."
"She isn't short on money, she won't sell the rights."
"So unless you change your plan, you can only make the project with her."
"And if you change the plan…"
"Considering X-Men and Spider-Man have already been sold, I personally think characters like Iron Man, other Avengers members, and the Fantastic Four crew are all you have left. Unfortunately, those things are all in Isabella's hands."
"Second, if Isabella and Barry Meyer are allies, it won't be easy for her to do your project."
"Because Warner has DC."
"If Isabella makes one or two Marvel films, maybe Warner won't care. If she makes three or four — as long as they're distributed by Warner — the internal voices wouldn't be too loud. But if you pull her into your Cinematic Universe plan…"
"I guarantee you: DC will raise hell."
"At that time, what do you think Barry Meyer would choose?"
"Tell DC to shut up? Or tell Isabella not to get too close to you guys?"
"And personally, I think neither of those will happen."
"As for the reason?"
"That leads to the third one."
"DC wants to make films too."
"DC's Batman Begins will release this June."
"If that movie succeeds, and you want to cooperate with Isabella on a universe project, DC and Barry Meyer can use their own characters to lure Isabella — they could offer her a lot of power."
"All of DC's rights are in their own hands."
"At that point, all they need to say to Isabella is… 'Isa, as long as you don't side with Marvel, every DC character is yours to play with. Whatever you want to make, we'll make it. However you want to shoot it, we'll shoot it that way.'…"
"In the face of that level of authority, what do you think the odds are that Isabella would still embrace Marvel?"
"Or maybe Barry Meyer would even offer her a cut of the merch revenue."
"Because right now, Isabella is making money for Warner every passing minute."
"Because right now, a large chunk of Barry Meyer's power was granted by Isabella."
At those words, Ted Turner stopped.
Together with Steve Case, he stared at Kevin Feige with a smile.
Yes. In Ted Turner's eyes, Kevin Feige — or Marvel itself — simply cannot work with Isabella. Because she's too close to Warner, and Warner has DC!
If Isabella truly embraced Marvel, the first to explode would be Warner!
The Warner executives would definitely block it!
Because if Marvel succeeded, wouldn't DC become the biggest idiot?
And then Warner would be the second idiot!
Since everyone knows Isabella and Warner are allies, if Isabella teamed up with Marvel?
Wow~
Wouldn't that make Warner the Joker who just registered their ID in Gotham?
That's why Ted Turner firmly believes Kevin Feige's only way to fulfill his dream… is to embrace them.
Of course, there is no such thing as only one way to clear a game.
There's another route.
Kevin Feige could convince Marvel's shareholders to sell the company to Disney.
'Barry Meyer and Isabella are allies — but Robert Iger and I aren't?'
'The authority Barry Meyer can grant — you think Robert Iger couldn't give the same?'
Only magic can defeat magic!
cough, cough, cough…
Anyway…
Isabella wouldn't lose.
Hehe~
Kevin Feige isn't a fool. Or rather, as someone who's in the industry and can talk directly with Spielberg — he knows very well what Isabella's situation is, so…
When Ted Turner laid his cards on the table, a bitter smile appeared on Kevin's face.
"Okay, Mr. Turner, so this is the real reason you invited me today, right?"
"Call me Ted."
"Alright then, Ted."
"We're indeed hoping you can support us, and this support won't bring you too much trouble."
"Really?"
Since things were already out in the open, Kevin Feige didn't bother pretending. Smiling, he spread his hands. "Are you sure I won't disappear from the industry like Michael Arndt, Eminem, or Bernard Isinger?"
"..."
Those three names made Ted Turner choke.
Steve Case shook his head. "Kevin, these examples are really…"
"Hmm~" Kevin shrugged with a grin.
"Fine, we won't talk about that. Because we don't need you to do anything special."
Ted Turner cut off the possible argument. "Kevin, you just need to follow your usual approach and talk to Isabella about cooperation, because from Barry Meyer's perspective, Marvel and DC simply cannot coexist."
"Oh, Ted, if you think we can't coexist, then why did you ask to meet me?" Kevin asked curiously. "Normally… shouldn't my situation be like Tim Story's?"
His meaning was simple — if just acting normally would satisfy Ted Turner's needs, then using him as a chess piece would be better than pulling him off the board to observe the game.
"That's because we want Iron Man to start as soon as possible."
Steve Case explained.
"Our time is tight, Carl's time is limited. If according to Isabella's schedule, after Goblet of Fire it takes three years to make Iron Man… then… the world might as well end before that…"
Kevin Feige chuckled.
He finally understood why they came to see him today.
Because opportunities are fleeting.
Today, a company's shareholders might be furious with the management because of poor performance.
Tomorrow, once performance improves, they might become satisfied again.
So Carl Icahn's corporate dismantling must be fast, precise, and ruthless.
Otherwise, you'll be left squatting on the street with diarrhea.
And if they had to wait for Isabella to slowly follow her schedule…
If they let her proceed at her current pace, they'd all collectively soil their pants.
And so…
"Okay," Kevin Feige took a deep breath. "If I help you… what benefit can I get?"
"We'll help you make the movie. We'll get the Hulk. The Marvel rights in Lionsgate's hands — Carl Icahn has them now, and he'll transfer them to us within the year. Besides Fox and Sony… nothing will be scattered."
"Uh… I need to think about it."
"Sure."
"So… talk later?"
"Talk later."
Once Kevin Feige left, Steve Case stared at the empty seat and pursed his lips.
"Ted… do you think… he'll choose us?"
"I think he will."
"Why?"
"Because he wants to make something happen. He craves success," Ted said. "He wants to be the next Spielberg."
"When he has his own convictions, he definitely won't give up the chance we're offering him."
"Because right now, only we… can help him do what he wants."
Ted Turner's words made Steve Case nod… and the vast manor returned to silence.
But the world doesn't stop just because some people pause.
Late March 2005, Disney held its annual shareholders meeting in Philadelphia once again.
At this meeting, they elected their new chairman.
Although Roy Disney declined the nomination due to old age and lack of energy for management, he still returned to Disney as an honorary board member and company advisor.
The new chairman was named John Pepper Jr.
He was former chairman of Procter & Gamble, an administrative vice president at Yale University, and board director at Boston Scientific and Motorola… someone like that obviously didn't have time to run Disney. His main purpose was just to hold the seat.
Holding the seat for Roy Disney.
Those who understand, understand.
With the shareholders meeting concluded, Disney's board announced new personnel decisions.
Robert Iger was promoted to CEO.
This meant Iger was still a step below Roy Disney.
But neither cared.
Roy Disney didn't care because he thought he could suppress Iger.
Iger didn't care because on the night he became CEO… he flew to Cupertino to meet Steve Jobs. They discussed many things, but in summary, there was just one: Disney will acquire Pixar.
Uh…
Don't ask how Isabella, who was in the UK, heard about it.
Ask, and you'd be told Iger and Columbus both told her.
The former was simply information-sharing between close allies.
The latter because Jobs discussed it with Spielberg and Spielberg sent her the message directly.
Iger drawing his blade meant he refused to stay beneath anyone.
And as for that…
Isabella hoped he would succeed.
Time moved on to May 2005…
Nothing huge happened in the world.
But in entertainment?
Revenge of the Sith released.
On May 19, 2005, the third Star Wars prequel finally met the public.
Revenge of the Sith smashed $50.01 million on opening day, setting a new record in North American box office history.
Yes, while its $50.01 million wasn't higher than Azkaban's $51.49 million opening, Azkaban opened on a Friday — Revenge opened on a Thursday.
So the new record meant: earning $50.01 million on a Thursday was the highest Thursday opening in North American film history.
Sure… it's a bit nitpicky… but…
Thursday with 50 million and Friday with 51 million are two different concepts!
Because Thursday is followed by a workday. Friday is followed by a weekend.
The SW numbers were stronger than HP.
The wild success of Star Wars once again showed the power of North America's No.1 IP.
Breaking 200 million in just 8 days… people were calling Star Wars a blade that hasn't dulled.
Its madness was the biggest topic of May. And when June arrived…
When the tax master isn't around, the world becomes quieter.
And in entertainment?
June 3, 2005.
Cinderella Man directed by Ron Howard, starring Russell Crowe and Renée Zellweger, was released.
As a biographical film, earning 18.32 million in its first three days was already good.
But considering the total budget was 88 million…
Pull the plug.
June 10, 2005.
Mr. & Mrs. Smith, starring Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, also premiered.
Its opening weekend was 50.34 million.
From a drama film perspective, that's decent.
But with two big stars, the budget couldn't possibly be low — it went up to 110 million, so…
Average result.
Because there weren't many major releases in early June 2005, the fact that big films kept flopping looked extra awkward.
As people began to sense something ominous in the air…
June 15, 2005 — another new blockbuster faced North American audiences:
Batman Begins.
And the day before, Kevin Feige secretly bought a midnight ticket and went to the cinema alone.
Yeah.
He wanted to see Batman Begins the very first moment it came out.