Chapter 480: Nikki Finke

A new morning began as Evelyn drove the limited edition Enzo Ferrari that Charles had bought her years ago from the Bel Air villa to the headquarters on Sunset Boulevard.

Upon entering the office, her assistant had already prepared a cup of black coffee for her. This had become Evelyn's habit - drinking black coffee while browsing some blog sites at the start of the day.

"Hey, Nikki Finke updated her blog. I wonder which Hollywood bigwig is gonna get trashed today!"

Nikki Finke, 56, was a well-known entertainment journalist and blogger famous for her sharp and biting writing. She regularly exposed inside news about Hollywood and had a reputation for being at odds with the industry's elite.

"Jeff Zucker is still talking nonsense. How long can General Electric keep absorbing losses? Can't they see Charles Capet over there sharpening his knife and fork, eyeing NBC Universal?

NBC TV, Universal Pictures, these are exactly what Capet needs to strengthen his weak spots. I bet that if Charles sleep-talks at night, he'd definitely mention acquiring NBC Universal. If you don't believe me, go interview one or two of those young and pretty Hollywood actresses - they'll know whether Charles talks about this in his dreams!

Speaking of Charles Capet, it's impossible not to mention why Capet Pictures hasn't joined the MPAA yet, especially since it's now one of the top three in the Hollywood movie market.

The reason isn't hard to guess. The old Hollywood powerhouses are afraid of this new tycoon. He's the highest-ranked youngster on Forbes' list of the richest people and currently the wealthiest person in Hollywood.

I can't understand why the smart Charles Capet would fall into a trap. Even though he's young and inexperienced, Capet still has the seasoned Donna Langley on his side!

But this must be somehow connected to Sumner Redstone from Viacom. Just when relations had smoothed over with that attractive dwarf, Paramount offended an even more formidable Charles Capet.

Michael Jackson joining Capet Records - this must be Viacom's worst nightmare. Everyone knows how deep the grudge runs between Viacom and Michael Jackson!

Charles Capet, come back already. Stop going to Asia to build theaters. You need to return to Hollywood to achieve your goal of swallowing NBC Universal. You're unbeatable in the film industry, but unfortunately, you're so young that many refuse to believe it's true.

And why, at just 27 years old, are you getting involved in the dirty politics of Washington? Can't the beautiful women, sports cars, and ultimate power in Hollywood satisfy your restless heart?"

Evelyn read Nikki Finke's blog and confirmed that this woman dared to say anything and discuss anyone!

Nikki Finke started early in her career working for various newspapers as a journalist and writer, eventually becoming a columnist and blogger for the Los Angeles Times under the LA Weekly.

Nikki Finke named her blog column Deadline, and in 2006, she launched the internet newspaper Deadline Hollywood Daily.

When Paramount and Tom Cruise parted ways, Finke labeled Sumner Redstone a "senile old man." And at the time when Tom Cruise kept hyping his relationships, jumping on couches, and promoting Scientology, resulting in his eviction by Paramount, Finke directly called him a "petty cash dwarf who will never win an Oscar." Movie companies would never make much money from him because his high asking price meant most profits went to him.

Last year, when Paramount and DreamWorks split, she called it a farce and labeled DreamWorks' Steven Spielberg and Paramount's Brad Grey as "greedy money slaves and puppets of capital."

"NBC Universal, the one Charles craves, Sumner Redstone from Viacom can only express his frustrations verbally - probably no real harm there," Evelyn analyzed. Given Paramount's current embarrassing situation, it was understandable.

Despite NBC Universal chairman Jeff Zucker repeatedly claiming the group's good condition, many informed executives knew that NBC Universal was indeed put on the shelf by General Electric.

Hollywood's brightest young talent of the millennium, Charles Capet, had founded Capet Entertainment and started engaging with General Electric to pursue a merger with NBC Universal.

Meanwhile, cable television operator and internet service provider Comcast was also eager to get into content production and had launched its offensive towards NBC Universal as well.

...

"The Watchmen, a collaboration between Warner Bros. and Paramount, had won critical acclaim but lost at the box office. We at Marvel took the right path with Iron Man and Thor already proving our strategy," Kevin Feige from Marvel Studios chatted in Donna Langley's office about this DC adaptation.

The North American distribution of The Watchmen was managed by Warner Bros., and the international distribution was handled by Paramount, much like The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, with funding from Legendary Entertainment.

"These past few years, Warner Bros. has been too director-centric. The success of Christopher Nolan made them want to turn Zack Snyder into the next Nolan," Donna Langley pinpointed. Warner Bros. had taken a director-first approach for many major projects.

They'd change the script based on the director's preference, greenlight a project and then suddenly shut it down, switch directors, and change the style again.

Superman Returns was the result of Warner Bros.' indecision. The Justice League project initially led by George Miller, which had been in development for so long, was also abruptly canceled.

In their spur-of-the-moment decisions, they'd freely give the green light for one director's project and then, suddenly in another spur-of-the-moment decision, halt another ongoing project.

"The Incredible Hulk has wrapped, right? Universal's old Hulk from a few years ago was a failure. We can't afford the same outcome with our new Hulk," Donna Langley said seriously.

Kevin Feige nodded, "The Incredible Hulk just finished filming and is now in post-production for special effects. It'll be done by October, and a December release during Christmas won't be a problem! Our version of Hulk is much more fun. We didn't delve deeply into Hulk's humanity and thought processes. Everything is laying the groundwork for The Avengers, which will be released in 2011."

"Marvel Universe, it's truly amazing!" Donna Langley admired genuinely.

*****

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