King of Hollywood-Chapter 258 - 256 Let Them Take The Lead
Chapter 258: Chapter 256 Let Them Take The Lead
Chapter 258: Chapter 256 Let Them Take The Lead
“Excellent,” Adrian clapped his hands softly, “So, can you give me a specific time now?”
“Of course—not!” Claude shook his head with a laugh, “I’ve told you so many times, Ed, don’t be so impatient, we can’t give Ted or anyone else the opportunity, there are quite a few people watching our moves.”
At this point, he paused and looked at the old men who were still chatting together in the distance and suddenly laughed, “Oh, of course, if you can persuade them to help out in every way without interfering, I promise I can seal the deal tomorrow.”
Then he pretended to ponder: “Indeed, if you think about it, if you were to direct ‘Schindler’s List’ yourself, maybe you could really persuade them.”
“That’s impossible, Steven got the adaptation rights to the novel back in the early ’80s, the fact that I could get involved is because I was well prepared, but also had some luck.” Adrian shrugged dismissively and looked towards the elderly men, who had apparently finished their business and were dispersing.
“There will be other opportunities,” he murmured lowly.
Adrian had done so much, interfering with the production of ‘Schindler’s List,’ providing Spielberg with all the conveniences, with the aim of targeting these people. The relationships established through a film that could cause a significant impact globally, eliciting widespread sympathy for the victims of the Holocaust, were much stronger than those built on pure economic interest—especially considering his grandmother was Jewish.
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Such a network of interpersonal relations, combined with sharing the two from Uncle Anderson and The Godfather, if they could be perfectly and tightly integrated and further deepened, could only benefit his career. Only with a solid foundation can an unshakeable empire be built!
“Well, I’ll await your good news,” Adrian said, punching Claude playfully in the chest, “but don’t make me wait too long, I’ve been preparing some things for a long time.”
“All right, all right, I’ll try my best,” Claude laughed and then seemed to remember something, “But Ed, if Steven is really going to set up his own film company, you aren’t seriously considering investing, are you?”
“Why not?” Adrian retorted, but he immediately understood what Claude meant.
“Don’t worry, Crow, it’s just an investment, and it won’t be a huge amount.” He smiled with significant implication, “Moreover, the investment Steven wants isn’t something that can be resolved with just two or three hundred million US dollars.”
“What does he want to do?” Claude raised his eyebrows in surprise but then quickly realized, “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t want to do anything,” Adrian kept his meaningful smile, “I’ll just stoke the fire for him, encourage him, get involved in everything—a bit of movies, TV series, animations, music, games, and so on. I’ll suggest to him that since I can do all this, why can’t you? You have much more extensive connections in this circle than I do, all you need is a huge amount of funding, which should be easy for you.”
“A decoy?” Claude raised his eyebrows.
“Something like that. As you said, the acquisition of TBS will make us very noticeable and for a young company like AC Media, the disadvantages would outweigh the advantages to a large extent,” Adrian said with a smile as he looked at his close friend, “But that is just one reason. Remember what I’ve told you before, Crow? We need someone to challenge the order of Hollywood before us! They must be formidable, able to sustain a long-term effort to move the whole power block, so that we can seize more opportunities for full development, rising up mightily once we have accumulated enough. Steven fully meets these criteria. He has the status and connections, and with my living example, I’m sure he is tempted. Besides…”
“If they succeed, we treat it as a good investment and form an alliance; if they fail, we will have the right of first refusal if we decide to acquire them,” Claude chimed in.
“Exactly,” Adrian nodded approvingly, “But I tend to think the latter is more likely.”
“Really? You’re that sure they won’t make it like we did?” Claude looked curious.
“Because AC Media has me,” Adrian’s smile was filled with confidence while also appearing enigmatic.
“There you go again, Ed, you always seem to be so confident, blindly so,” Claude half-joked.
“Because…” Adrian suddenly thought of a phrase and his smile deepened, “My eyes can see the future!”
The reason DreamWorks was ultimately bought out in Adrian’s memory was, firstly, because they spread themselves too thin right from the start—films, music, TV series, animations, games; they had to dip into everything. Secondly, their high-profile massive financing directly challenged the existing order and resulted in a concerted effort by other companies to contain them, combined with management issues, failure was almost inevitable.
Adrian, despite spreading his business wide from the start, meddling in all industries related to media, had a cheat: he knew better than anyone else what steps to take. More importantly, he had an exceptional individual he could trust wholeheartedly to manage the company, having granted them full authority and rarely questioning their decisions, a reciprocal benefit that, coupled with a network of connections rivaling Spielberg’s, naturally could not be matched by DreamWorks.
And it was precisely because of the example set by DreamWorks in his memory that Adrian had decided on a strategy of low-key development. Now, aside from a handful of crafty old foxes, most people in the industry only knew him as the boss of AC Media, but they had no idea how much his actual fortune was worth. However, since he wanted to build his own media empire, it was inevitable that he would attract attention. For instance, with this acquisition of TBS, in order to create a better environment for his own development, Adrian had taken the opportunity provided by the filming of “Schindler’s List” to start rallying Spielberg to spearhead the effort. While shifting the focus, he was also leveraging their influence to pry into Hollywood’s power grid.
It wasn’t a difficult task. In fact, even if Adrian hadn’t prompted him, Spielberg would have done so. After his glorious success in the early ’90s, he had begun to ambitiously envision his own media company. Adrian simply hastened the process a bit.
“DreamWorks?” Spielberg suddenly spoke up, a hint of surprise in his tone.
“Hm? Did I say something?” Adrian looked at him, feigning confusion convincingly.
Both men were dressed in fitted suits with bow ties, sitting at a round table in a brilliantly lit hall, listening to the band play while quietly conversing. This was a charity dinner held by the Los Angeles Jewish community, which had invited many Hollywood celebrities, and naturally, Spielberg and Adrian were among them. Although he had just attended a gathering hosted by The Godfather two days ago, he couldn’t help it—these obligatory gatherings were plentiful at the start of the new year, especially since this dinner…
“DreamWorks, you mentioned this name,” Spielberg reminded him.
“Oh, I meant that by doing this you are essentially creating a factory for producing dreams.” Adrian recalled carefully before responding, then asked, “Is there a problem with that?”
“No, not at all, just that it’s a good name. If I really were to start a film company,” Spielberg adjusted his glasses, “I think I might use that name.”
“Does that mean you’ve decided?” Adrian raised an eyebrow.
“Not yet, I still have to ponder and deliberate, it’s a big decision,” Spielberg said, noncommittally.
“That’s true—what do you think about what Bowers said earlier?” Adrian swiftly changed the subject. These things couldn’t be rushed, and talking too much might give the impression that he had an ulterior motive—anyway, the establishment of DreamWorks was only a matter of time.
After chatting a bit more, Adrian pivoted the conversation back to “Schindler’s List.”
“The response to the film has been great, especially in Europe. I have to admire you, Steven, for making a profitable movie like this.” Adrian chuckled heartily, taking a glance at Spielberg before changing the subject, “This is perfect because I plan to donate my portion to establish a foundation. Its purpose would be to record and preserve testimony in writing and on tape from survivors of planned genocides and massacres worldwide, including the events of World War II.”
“Do you really think so, Ed?” Spielberg’s previously somber expression turned to one of surprise.
“Of course, preserving these will better serve as a warning to the world,” Adrian shrugged.
“Great, count me in,” Spielberg immediately agreed.
“You’ve had the same idea, Steven?” Adrian appeared surprised.
“Yes, I’ve had the thought, but it hadn’t yet taken shape. It’s only after you mentioned it that I have a concrete concept. I have to admit, you’re always one step ahead of me,” Spielberg said with some excitement.
“Don’t put it like that, I’m just used to thinking two or three steps ahead for every move I make,” Adrian maintained his smile, further showcasing his Oscar-worthy acting skills.
Such a foundation would naturally be more advantageous if controlled by oneself, and it would also strengthen his ties to the Jewish community—of course, the extent of this had to be measured carefully. His uncle, while not exactly a racist, was…
Furthermore, he could also openly include the Pacific region’s genocide data, to educate more people. However, that was as far as it would go; some things would never come to fruition without personal effort.
“Hey, Godfather, how are you?” A pleasant and lovely voice reached them, and Adrian’s eyes instantly brightened as a gracefully dignified lady clad in white appeared before them. With her smooth blonde hair, grey-green eyes, and an elegantly poised figure, she exuded an alluring youthful charm, though her face was slightly broad and might not look as nice if she wore her hair up.
“Oh, my dear, you look really beautiful today,” Spielberg said with a smile, standing up to hug the lovely lady, then pecked her cheek before introducing her to Adrian.
“This is Gwyneth Paltrow, Ed—my, um, goddaughter—Gwyneth, this is Adrian Cowell, the miracle director of Hollywood.” (To be continued. For further details, please visit www.qidian.com. More chapters are available for your enjoyment and support to authors and genuine reading!)
