Chapter 910: The Roar of the ‘Lion’

Next, Xia Yu ordered his subordinate to prepare the employment contract, with the time written as two days later.

Barry Diller solemnly signed his name on it, and then put a copy of the contract in his briefcase.

'Boss, I'll resign after I go back today. It will take about three days to complete the handover.'

Xia Yu nodded and said, 'Three days is acceptable, but you should do it as soon as possible. MGM and United Artists are waiting for you to take over.'

'I will do it as soon as possible!'

Barry Diller replied.

After settling Barry Diller, Xia Yu also did not hide his plans from him, telling him that he would like to meet Shirley Lansing later and hire her as the CEO of MGM Studios.

Barry Diller also knew this powerful woman and had dealt with her quite a bit, so he fully approved of Xia Yu's plan.

During the next meeting, Xia Yu told Barry Diller to stay put.

When Shirley Lansing arrived, she saw Barry Diller and Xia Yu chatting and laughing. She was momentarily stunned, and then realised that Barry Diller, the vice president of Paramount Pictures, had been poached by Xia Yu.

With Barry Diller by her side, Xia Yu once again told her about his plans for MGM and his arrangements for her.

Shirley Lansing had not yet received an offer from 20th Century Fox, so she was very satisfied with the position of CEO that Xia Yu had offered her, and gladly accepted Xia Yu's invitation to become Xia Yu's right-hand man.

Xia Yu then informed Barry Diller and Shirley Lansing of some things, such as having already invested in CAA and secretly integrating movie theaters, etc.

These arrangements of Xia Yu's made the two even more admire Xia Yu's layout and look forward to the future of MGM even more.

At this point, Xia Yu can finally let go and let the two run MGM for him, building his media empire.

After Barry Diller and Sherry Lansing quickly left their positions,

seemingly deliberately targeting the rumour-mongers, Polaris Capital specially called a press conference to announce in a high-profile manner that Barry Diller would become the chairman of MGM Pictures and Sherry Lansing would become the CEO.

After the press conference, the news that Barry Diller and Shirley Lansing had been poached by MGM spread far and wide. Some people were shocked, some people were regretful, and some people were indifferent.

There were all kinds of reactions.

But in any case, many people thought that they would not be able to make fun of MGM and Polaris Capital for a short period of time.

Barry Diller and Sherry Lansing, who had taken over MGM and United Artists, began to implement sweeping reforms and used the $100 million invested by Polaris Capital to start redeeming the film and television copyrights that had previously been lost.

Just as Xia Yu was about to relax a little, Michael Ovitz called him and told him that Steven Spielberg wanted to talk to him in person after reading the script for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

On the morning of 15 January, after Xia Yu had finished breakfast, he took a taxi to the CAA agency.

After receiving a report from an employee, Michael Ovitz immediately came out to greet Xia Yu.

It had only been a month since they last met, but Michael Ovitz's attitude had fundamentally changed.

He treated Xia Yu with even more respect, keeping a low profile, clearly shocked that Polaris Capital had really acquired MGM Studios and United Artists.

Although Xia Yu had briefly mentioned it to him before, he hadn't really felt it.

But when Xia Yu's words came true in such a short period of time, and Polaris Capital still entered Hollywood in such an overbearing manner, he, as a practitioner in the Hollywood film and television industry, felt it more deeply than the average person.

With the support of MGM, which had absorbed United Artists, the CAA brokerage company he founded would rise even faster, and from now on, he no longer had to be careful when dealing with the stars he signed.

CAA is a better agency than his old agency William Morris, and there is a greater possibility of it launching an attack on the MCA Group in the future!

From now on, Xia Yu's influence on him will no longer be simply capital, but more importantly, all the resources of MGM Pictures.

'Mr Xia, after witnessing your series of operations, I haven't been able to sleep at night these past few days. It's really shocking, and you've easily changed the landscape of Hollywood,'

Michael Ovitz praised as they walked.

These days, Xia Yu has heard similar flattery and compliments so many times that his ears are beginning to tingle, so he just smiled and said nonchalantly, 'It's not bad. It only cost around 250 million US dollars in total, and it was the hunting and hiring of the chairman and CEO of MGM Pictures that took some of my mental energy.'

Xia Yu's casual attitude made Michael Ovitz's expression freeze. He subconsciously looked at Xia Yu and found that Xia Yu did not seem to be putting on an act. His mouth twitched a few times, and he felt a strong sense of heartache.

The most lethal thing is to pretend to be powerful without actually being so.

'Two hundred and fifty million U.S. dollars is said so easily. Mr. Xia, I have met so many people, and you are the only one who can say such things. I don't know what to say anymore,'

Michael Ovitz said drearily.

Xia Yu was momentarily stunned, looked at Michael Ovitz, who was a little shocked, and laughed silently, without going any further into the topic.

After a while, the group arrived at the office.

'Mr Xia, it's not yet the agreed time, Steven Spielberg hasn't arrived yet, but he should be here soon.'

After sitting down, Xia Yu found a comfortable position and said nonchalantly, 'Then we'll wait some more.'

'Michael, do you know what Steven Spielberg is working on at the moment? I think Raiders of the Lost Ark is finished, right? Has he started a new film?'

Michael Ovitz immediately replied to Xia Yu's barrage of questions: 'I made some enquiries and found that the filming of Raiders of the Lost Ark has been completed and is now in post-production. According to the normal schedule, the film should be released in the summer.

'Then I asked Steven Spielberg, and he told me unequivocally that he had received many scripts, but had not yet decided which one to make.'

Xia Yu nodded slightly, relieved.

Since Steven Spielberg had not yet decided and was willing to come and talk, the possibility of him taking over the movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was very high, and it could be filmed right away. The key was whether or not they could come to an agreement.

The movie E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was directed by Steven Spielberg in his previous life, and when it was finally released, it triggered a viewing craze around the world, with a global box office total of 790 million US dollars.

So although there are more than just Steven Spielberg among the great Hollywood directors, Xia Yu still wants Steven Spielberg to direct this movie in order to ensure its success as much as possible.

...

While the two men were chatting, the time had passed unnoticed and it was 9:58am. Steven Spielberg arrived two minutes early.

After a few polite greetings, the three men sat down around the table.

Steven Spielberg took out the script for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial that he had received earlier and looked at the two men.

Michael Ovitz immediately explained, 'Mr. Spielberg, this film script was brought to you by Mr. Xia, our company's major shareholder.'

'Mr Xia, this script is wonderful, it has captured my interest,' Steven Spielberg said without mincing his words, showering praise.

Xia Yu smiled and said, 'Mr Spielberg, you have a deep understanding of science fiction and commercial films, so I also think you will be interested in it. I wonder if you would be willing to make it?'

Although he was full of praise, when it came to specific matters of cooperation, Steven Spielberg was also very cautious. He did not immediately nod, but instead pointed out his concerns bluntly, saying, 'Mr. Xia, this script is very good, but there are more than just a few factors that determine the box office of a movie. The Galaxy Pictures Company written on the script is just a small film company from Asia that I have specially inquired about. It cannot open up the situation in Hollywood.'

Although Steven Spielberg was telling the truth, Xia Yu still felt a little uncomfortable.

Fortunately, he had already considered this point, which was why he was so eager to acquire MGM Studios.

Xia Yu said indifferently, 'Mr Spielberg, Galaxy Studios is not good enough, so what about MGM Studios?'

Steven Spielberg's eyebrows shot up when he heard MGM.

He was of course aware of the recent uproar surrounding MGM, and knew that if he were to acquire MGM, which had just acquired United Artists, then it would certainly be up to par.

But wasn't the man in front of him the majority shareholder of CAA? How could he have already secured the investment when MGM had not even settled down yet?

At least 20 million US dollars were needed to ensure the release of E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. How could MGM Pictures agree so quickly?

Steven Spielberg was puzzled and asked directly, 'Mr Xia, MGM Pictures is willing to invest in the production of this film? Is MGM Pictures the only production company involved?'

'Of course not. MGM Pictures and Galaxie Films are co-producing this film,'

Xia Yu said without hesitation.

At this moment, Michael Ovitz realised that Steven Spielberg did not know Xia Yu's identity and only regarded Xia Yu as the majority shareholder of the CAA brokerage company.

So he kindly introduced again, 'Mr. Spielberg, I think I need to introduce Mr. Xia to you again. He is not only the majority shareholder of our company, but also the chairman of Polaris Capital. He led the acquisition of MGM Studios and United Artists.'

Steven Spielberg was shocked. He looked at Xia Yu up and down, took a deep breath to suppress the waves in his heart, and apologized, 'I'm sorry, Mr. Xia, please allow me to retract the question I just asked. I have no doubts about this.'

Joke, Polaris Capital has spent 184 million US dollars to acquire MGM Pictures and another 60 million US dollars to acquire United Artists Pictures, and then announced an injection of 100 million US dollars.

Polaris Capital is simply ruthless.

Since the chairman of Polaris Capital had personally said this, then he was undoubtedly insulting Xia Yu and his own intelligence by asking again.

He just wanted to know Xia Yu's positioning for this movie, and only by knowing this could he decide whether or not to really take it over.

Therefore, he asked again, 'Mr. Xia, according to the script, there are not many big scenes in this movie, so the production cost should be able to be solved with more than 10 million US dollars, and if you add the publicity and distribution costs, it will be around 20 million US dollars. Do you think that's okay?'

Xia Yu looked directly at Steven Spielberg and said solemnly, 'Mr Spielberg, this movie will be the first film in the rebirth of MGM Pictures, so it will be dedicated to pursuing the classics. There will be no constraints on the production cost. I don't care if it's 20 million dollars, double that, or even more, as long as you spend the money wisely and meaningfully!'

Steven Spielberg paused for a moment, shrugged his shoulders and said, 'I don't think any normal director would refuse such an offer!'

'Pursuing the ultimate brilliance of a film is also my life's creed.'

'Mr Xia, I'll make this film!'

Xia Yu immediately beamed, stood up and held out his hand to him, and Steven Spielberg immediately reached out and shook hands with Xia Yu.

'I wish us a happy collaboration!'

'Happy collaboration!'

After the verbal agreement was reached, the next step was to work out the finer details.

For example, the director's share of the profits, the actors' agency contracts, preparations for distribution, the right to make further changes to the script, and so on, were all discussed.

In the end, Xia Yu made one final request.

'Mr. Spielberg, it's January 1981. I hope the film can be released in the summer blockbuster season next year. Is that okay?'

Seventeen months is a long time for a movie. The filming of Raiders of the Lost Ark started in June last year, and it was released in June this year, just one year later.

Even if you add the time spent arguing over the script and the preparation time, it's only about 14 months.

Although he will work hard to make E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial perfect because of Xia Yu's request, three months more is more than enough!

So he said without any pressure, 'Of course it's fine, you'll be able to see the film in cinemas next summer.'

'I'm looking forward to the final product!'

Xia Yu said with a smile.

After the deal was done, Xia Yu and Steven Spielberg agreed to formally sign the contract the day after tomorrow.

After returning, Xia Yu immediately informed Barry Diller to get ready, and also gave him the Alien E.T. script without any changes from Steven Spielberg.

Barry Diller was shocked by his boss's actions, but he quickly got to work.

Two days later, Galaxy Films' general manager, Siyuan Wu, arrived in San Francisco to attend a press conference at MGM.

In the spotlight, Barry Diller, Steven Spielberg and Siyuan Wu walked onto the stage, and the journalists present kept snapping away.

Then the three-way agreement was signed under the spotlight.

MGM Pictures and Galaxie Films will co-finance the film 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' with an initial investment of 50 million US dollars, with MGM Pictures contributing 30 million US dollars and Galaxie Films contributing 20 million US dollars. Steven Spielberg will be the director.

The media immediately recorded this historic moment.

After signing the agreement, Barry Diller made no secret of the fact that he would announce the release of 'E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial' in the summer blockbuster season next year, showing his obvious intention to take on the challenge.

This is a provocation from the 'Lion'!

The media immediately got excited, and reporters from all walks of life used their cameras to record the domineering scene of Barry Diller, already quickly thinking about how to 'pick a fight' when they got back.

If the other six giants were willing to come down and make a statement, then they would not be able to avoid the bonus for the next half month or even a month.

In the end, the press conference ended in a flurry.

That day, major entertainment evening news and television entertainment channels reported this explosive news, and Hollywood's major and minor film companies all learned of the news, with mixed reactions.

But none of this was within Xia Yu's concern, nor could it attract Barry Diller's attention, who was busy dealing with company affairs and preparing the 'Alien E.T.' film project team.

Xia Yu, on the other hand, boarded a plane and flew across the entire United States to New York.