Chapter 529: 250 chapters Uncle ED
For a film company that wants to develop and advance rather than tail behind major corporations, a movie library is always the most important asset. As long as there is a substantial library, even if a heavy blow strikes, there is capital to rise again; otherwise, it is easy to be controlled by others.
Building a movie library isn’t a straightforward task; it involves producing one’s own, buying from others, or ensuring copyright ownership during distribution, among many strategies. However, there are also plenty of competitors, and in the end, financial capability makes the final call. Miramax, after being established for over 20 years, has only about 700 films in its library. Bossworth has been around for a longer ti, but it has always hovered in the second or third tier, with a library nearly identical in size. New Line has even fewer with just 500 titles.
For a dium-sized company, a library of nearly 2000 films is impressive, but it pales in comparison to those of the large companies. Which of the Seven Major Film Companies doesn’t have thousands of films in their libraries? Even Universal, which currently ranks lower, has over 3000. Now that AC dia has acquired Universal, their library has surpassed the 5000 mark, placing them easily within the top three.
Yet, Adrian would not be as satisfied as he is now rely with these five thousand plus films if TBS didn’t have many more. Back in the early nineties, Ted Turner had considered acquiring MGM, but the deal fell through due to well-known reasons. However, Turner didn’t quit there; seizing the opportunity, he scooped up a large portion of MGM’s library.
As it’s well-known, Hollywood had eight major film companies before the 1980s, one of which was United Artists, initially founded by Charlie Chaplin and his friends. This small company reached its peak in the 1930s after a decade of growth. Even though it subsequently experienced fluctuations, it remained steadfast in its position.
Unfortunately, the world always harbors unexpected surprises; in the late seventies, United Artists invested $40 million in “Heaven’s Gate,” which led to massive losses and ultimately, its rger with MGM. One could imagine how much MGM’s library must have enriched from this rger, being a company of similar tier and heritage.
However, MGM soon followed in United Artists’ footsteps. Although it didn’t face rger risks due to investnt errors, its decline was inevitable, especially with owners like Klein. Thus, just a decade later, it was at risk of being acquired by TBS, although it eventually escaped this fate at a significant cost.
Of course, a cash cow like “007” wouldn’t be sold, but Turner managed to walk away with copyrights for at least 3000 films, and today, AC dia boasts a movie library nearing 9000 films!
“This ans we are now in an invincible position,” Adrian had told Claude more than once.
The nearly 9000-film library could generate tens or even hundreds of millions in revenue each year. Though profits had to be shared with other copyright holders, it still represented a significant profit—think about it, earning a substantial amount of money while doing nothing. This is why Adrian emphasized that they were in an invincible position. If DreamWorks had such a vast library, it would never have failed to survive.
Moreover, besides the movie library, there are also libraries for cartoons and TV series. Initially, from MGM, TBS had fished out not just movie rights but also half the rights to “Tom and Jerry” and many other cartoons. Looking back now, acquiring TBS or ABC was indeed the right decision, even if it ant financing from Wall Street.
“Good, then we should also prepare to take losses now,” Claude said.
“Now?” Adrian raised his eyebrow slightly surprised, “Isn’t that a bit early?”
“Oh? What do you suggest?” Claude imdiately asked.
“Don’t you think,” Adrian looked at him, “the IT stocks are a bit overheated? Cisco’s market value is about to exceed 100 billion, and Microsoft’s is even higher, having briefly surpassed General Electric after the release of Windows 98.”
“So what?” Claude shrugged, “Since the birth of Apple, the IT industry has been creating miracles. Why can’t it continue now? Speaking of which, Jobs is indeed a formidable guy; Apple is even making a small profit today.”
“Co off it, Claude, I’m serious,” Adrian interrupted him, “you know, that plan was initially my idea, initially only we were doing it covertly, and now, how many people are doing the sa?”
“Okay, what are you trying to say, Ed?” Claude spread his hands, “Are IT stocks going to collapse?”
“You have to admit, it’s quite possible,” Adrian shrugged, “just don’t know when it’ll happen.”
“So…”
“Let’s push it back a bit and talk about it in mid-2000, how about that?”
Claude remained silent, only looking at Adrian with an interested gaze for a long ti before saying, “Do you have any foreboding feelings again, Ed?”
“No, just worried,” Adrian laughed, “Even soone like can see the uncertainty. I don’t believe you can’t see it. Don’t you want to reconsider…”
He made a gesture but did not continue speaking. Claude didn’t either, and then another mont passed.
“There’s no need for that. We just need to be more discreet in our thods, which could be a bit troubleso.” Claude said, “I’ll keep an eye on it, and if that situation really occurs, I won’t be polite.”
“Since you say so, then let’s do everything according to your plan.” After thinking for a few minutes, Adrian then said.
Managing losses didn’t actually an letting his own company incur losses. Only a fool would do such a thing. What Claude ant was to manipulate the financial statents, making the company appear to be at a loss to comply with the IRS and public scrutiny. This wasn’t illegal, just a special way of calculating where principal, expected profit, and actual profit differed, leading to actual profits being made but the books showing a loss. Basically, companies in the United States all did this, so there was no need to worry.
Now, with the foundation thoroughly stabilized, AC dia had already entered a relatively stable developnt phase, and Claude naturally sought greater profits.
But Adrian had more ideas. As he had said before, once the foundation was solid, it was ti to move on to building the castle. It wouldn’t make sense to have worked hard on a solid foundation only to put a thatched hut on top. Aware of his strengths and weaknesses, Adrian left these things for Claude to handle, while he took responsibility for proposing his own views.
It turned out that Claude did exceptionally well. There was no need to ntion the several acquisitions by the company. After setting the decision to cooperate with traditional dia groups, whether it was Hearst Group or Newhouse Group, both had pleasant partnerships. However, contrary to Adrian’s expectation, the collaboration between Hearst Group and AC dia was a bit more intimate.
The Hearst Group was not only a publishing giant, but it also involved many other sectors, such as launching their own channels and earlier collaborations with ABC. Naturally, they highly valued the olive branch extended by AC dia. Claude didn’t miss this opportunity, and had a full collaboration with them on television. His suggestion to air “Will and Grace” on their channel was very much needed by Hearst Group, so the level of closeness was high.
Whereas, Newhouse Group focused all their energies on newspapers and magazines. Their several well-known magazines like New Yorker, Vanity Fair, and Vogue were needed by AC dia, so they were more adept in dealing with Claude. However, Newhouse was also venturing into the internet, and AC dia had significant investnts in IT, so both parties cooperated well in this area, but not as closely as with the Hearst Group.
Even though they hadn’t reached the expected goals, Adrian didn’t take it to heart. A few years after the Millennium, this situation would rapidly change, and those currently close would beco even closer.
In any case, Adrian needed Claude to steer the ship, so whatever plans he had, he would always discuss with him. However, this ti it was difficult to speak clearly about them. Talking about profits and losses on the books was just a pretext, then little by little, he guided the conversation to what he really wanted to discuss. After all, being a prophet was not easy—it was like walking a tightrope.
Claude’s response was satisfactory enough for Adrian, who had prepared many argunts. Next year would be the craziest, and everything was just starting. Even the guys on Wall Street, who were preparing to sheer the sheep, couldn’t be sure when the bubble would burst, let alone Adrian, who was never proficient in finance.
Well, no matter what, this matter was still far off. Even though Adrian had a massive acquisition plan, Claude had agreed to keep an eye on things, so Adrian shifted his attention elsewhere.
“Stop, Avril, stop, you know, you’re like a monkey just out of the cage right now,” Adrian said loudly to Avril, who was doing aerial flips in the room, while listening to Eric Norton speak.
“You’re the monkey, Ed!” Avril, finally stopping after several flips, waved her fists threateningly and shouted, causing a burst of laughter.
“Well, even if I were a monkey, I’d be the Monkey King, but you, you’d be a circus monkey,” Adrian teased rcilessly.
The girl’s face imdiately darkened, and she bit her lip, glaring at Adrian with a murderous look as if she was about to jump up and bite him. Without her smoky makeup, distressed jeans, t-shirts, and canvas shoes, Avril looked just like any ordinary Western girl—quite adorable, especially right now, which is why Adrian couldn’t help but tease her.
“Okay, Avril, Eric told you’ve decided on your path. Tell , have you really settled on it?” Seeing the girl’s puffed-up angry look get more intense, Adrian quickly changed the subject.
Sure enough, as soon as they talked about music, the previously angry Avril imdiately brightened up, “Of course, don’t you think rock is cool?”
“Just cool?” Adrian pursued, looking at her.
“Not just cool, it’s also very… very… very…” the girl frowned, struggling to find the right words for a long while before waving her hand impatiently, “Anyway, I love rock! If you’re going to be a singer, shouldn’t you pursue the music you love?”
“Alright then, let’s settle on that,” Adrian sighed inwardly as he spoke.
Frankly, from a long-term perspective, rock wasn’t entirely suitable for Avril. Initially, although it was very successful, it later declined. However, that said, many factors were involved, and since there are various types of rock and she loved it, “still” choosing it, Norton also believed she had a future in it, so it was worth pursuing.
Just as the girl had said, choosing to work toward music you love as a singer is essential; otherwise, it’s terrible.
“Great, then I’ll have them arrange formal classes for you soon, and don’t you slack off,” Adrian followed up, “Also, don’t fall behind on the other classes you’ve already started.”
“I know, I’ll work really hard!” Avril instantly puffed out her chest.
“That’s what everyone says, and though I’m busy, I definitely won’t hesitate to take ti to check up on you. If you don’t et my expectations, Avril, you’re dead at!” Adrian folded his arms, leaned down, and looked at her with a mix of threat and jest.
“You’re so naggy, just like an old…” the girl pulled a face at him, then her eyes twinkled mischievously as she thought of sothing, showing a sly smile, “…like an old man, Uncle ED.”
“You… what did you call ?” Adrian initially choked and coughed a few tis, then furrowed his brow, glaring at Avril.
“Uncle ED, is there sothing wrong with that?” Avril blinked innocently and defensively.
“This…” Adrian was at a loss for words, while others nearby struggled to hold back their laughter.
“Well, that settles it, Uncle ED. I have to go now,” Avril said, looking at the ti and grinning triumphantly, clearly pleased to have gotten back at him.
“Alright, I’ll have the driver take you ho,” Adrian sighed deeply, trying to appear as calm as before.
After saying goodbye to everyone else, Avril walked to the door and waved at him: “Thank you, Uncle ED.”
When she pronounced the last two words, she deliberately raised her voice in a funny way, which made everyone in the room burst into laughter.
Damn! That little rascal! Adrian rolled his eyes, beginning to wonder whether bringing this rock witch over from Canada had been the right choice.
After Adrian returned from Napanee, Universal Records sent people to test Avril, and needless to say, they offered her a training contract. Then, when the sumr vacation ended, Avril ca to Los Angeles as an exchange student. With Adrian’s influence, sorting this out was too easy, he even arranged a host family for her, at the ho of the head of the editing departnt, Jules.
Initially, Adrian wanted to place her with producer lanie’s family, Scarlett’s mother. The girls were the sa age and probably had a lot in common, and since Scarlett also had an older brother, an older sister, and a twin brother, Avril would probably like a family with more kids. However, lanie often went back to New York, and more importantly, it was a divorced family, so after much consideration, he decided against it.
Then Jules’s family beca the first choice, their family was very harmonious, they had a sowhat androgynous daughter who was only 7 years old, but she was outgoing and easy to get along with, and she loved music too, so after asking Avril’s opinion, it was finally settled on their ho.
The actual situation was almost as Adrian had anticipated. Although Avril was twice as old as Kristen, she got along well with her, even often playing guitar and singing for her. Although it was a bit uncomfortable during the first two or three days in Arica, the girl quickly settled down, made so good friends at school, and then started the most basic training until today.
“This is now in your hands, Eric. Good luck bringing out her potential,” Adrian patted Norton’s shoulder and walked towards the door.
“No problem, she’ll be as outstanding as Britney and Christina,” Norton replied, paused, and then with a suppressed grin added, “Frankly speaking, I think Avril’s nickna for you is quite fitting.”
Laughter erupted in the room again, several staff mbers even doubled over on the table. Adrian, who was at the door, turned back and glared at these guys, mouthing “you’re all jerks” before quickly leaving.
It was impossible not to be annoyed, but it wasn’t because the staff were joking around; he wasn’t that petty. However, Avril’s nickna was indeed a problem, from a psychological perspective…
“Don’t rush, don’t draw conclusions too quickly, who can say this is necessarily a bad thing?” Adrian murmured to himself as he opened the door to his private lounge.
As soon as he closed the door, a pair of hands reached from behind and hugged his waist, then a slightly shrill voice rang out behind him, “Oh, I’ve missed you, Uncle Ed.”
“Alright, Britney, you’re not quite nailing it,” Adrian chuckled as he pulled the girl out from behind him.
“Why not?” Britney asked in surprise. “My voice was already very high.”
“Yes, very high, but your uniqueness isn’t so easily concealed,” Adrian sat on the sofa and patted his lap, “That beautiful, sweet, magnetic voice, I could recognize it in a heartbeat.”
His words made the girl beam, imdiately jumping onto the sofa and snuggling into his arms.
“When did you pick up that nickna?” Adrian then asked.
“The door was open when Avril called you, everyone in the hallway heard it, and I was nearby, so of course, I heard it too,” Britney giggled, “Uncle Ed, it’s such a fun nickna.”
She leaned close to Adrian, her breath warm and suggestive, the gleam in her eyes twinkling, “Do you want to call you that too?”
It was a tempting suggestion; Britney had already completely won him over, but Adrian quickly shook his head and then with a half-smiling expression, he asked, “What are you up to now, Britney?” (
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