Traveling through the Tokyo bubble era

Chapter 953 Universal Pictures' Big Projects

America, Los Angeles.

Hideki Hanyu arrived on the morning of August 3rd, local time.

At this time, the annexation in the Gulf region had ended, Operation Shield in America had officially begun, and even a UN resolution had been issued.

Upon receiving the news, even Mr. Yuzuru, a transmigrator, had to admit that the guy who could offend the five most virtuous people on Earth at the same time was indeed a talent.

Of course, none of this has anything to do with Hideki Hanyu.

Even if he's a time traveler, so what? He only has a little "money." In a matter of this magnitude, he's still just a tiny ant.

Even when leaving Japan, they were asked for alms by the Japanese authorities.

There was no other way; Japan had to be filial to its "father," and ended up bearing one-tenth of the military expenses throughout the war, exceeding 11 billion US dollars.

He is now one of the dealers at the table in Japan, so naturally he has to show some appreciation.

Hideki Hanyu didn't care about a little money.

It's just that in his previous life, he was a Chinese who could stand up to America head-on, so now he's finding it hard to adapt to the pathetic country he lives in.

Of course, every disadvantage has its advantages.

If he were still in China, he wouldn't have achieved what he has today.

I'm so angry, I'll go to America and bully the beautiful women there, then when I get back to Japan I'll rescue some more helpless beauties struggling with poverty.

Japan's already dire economy, after the previous rebound and crash, has reportedly seen an improvement in the quality of female escorts at nightclubs, and the recruitment department of the Xidu Group has become extremely active.

I've been so busy with work lately, I need to give them some pointers when I have time.

With a jumble of thoughts running through his mind, Hideki Hanyu had already left Los Angeles International Airport.

The fact that they came to America at Karl Maples' invitation, and instead of Washington, D.C., they came to Los Angeles on the West Coast, naturally had their own plans and arrangements.

Although he only arrived today, his itinerary in Los Angeles has already been arranged in advance.

He has nothing planned for today, so he intends to visit the global headquarters in Burbank.

Then we'll rest for the night, visit some guests tomorrow, host a party at Red Maple Manor, and prepare for what's to come.

As for what to do next?
It wasn't a big deal, really. He used an overseas fund to contact some partners and set up a yacht club to hold an annual yacht club gathering.

The yacht club has a simple name: "West Coast Yacht Club".

The name may be simple, but the thing itself is not simple.

The membership requirements are stringent, and those who can join are either extremely wealthy or powerful. Although it has only been established for a short time, it has quickly become one of the most exclusive private associations in America.

In the early stages of development, Hideki Hanyu and his partners had to put in some effort to organize the yacht club and attract its initial members.

Later, as the number of yacht club members increased, and the yacht club itself had advanced management, strict confidentiality measures, and could bring various benefits to members and provide services that satisfied members, its development entered a virtuous cycle.

Hideki Hanyu has actually met many of the members, but for various reasons, he has never attended a formal gathering.

This gathering was special because it involved a collaboration that had been agreed upon in Washington, so no matter how busy he was, he had to come in person.

With his thoughts on the upcoming itinerary, Hideki Hanyu's car gradually arrived at the headquarters of Universal Studios Burbank.

This is only his second visit here since the acquisition of Universal Pictures.

Hirohashi Asako spends less time here than she does here, even though she comes to America from time to time to handle work and attend meetings.

Looking at the somewhat unfamiliar surroundings, Hideki Hanyu couldn't help but laugh at himself, "I really am a hands-off boss!"

After parking his car, Hideki Hanyu got out of the car, only to unexpectedly see an acquaintance in the parking lot.

"Bill, what a coincidence, I didn't expect to run into you here."

"Mr. Yuzuru, I never expected to meet you."

The white man who was being polite and even slightly ingratiating to Hideki Hanyu was none other than Bill Hart, the owner of New Century Management.

Actually, this guy is one of the service providers for his yacht club.

The most distinctive feature of his annual West Coast Yacht Club gathering is the presence of handsome men and beautiful women from Hollywood.

Some of these handsome men and beautiful women were "supplied" by Bill Hart.

Hideki Hanyu didn't ask Bill Hart what he was doing at Universal Pictures; he simply said, "Now that we're based in Burbank, it's not as convenient for you to come and discuss business as before."

In recent years, by closely partnering with Cloud Pictures, New Century Media has made rapid progress in Hollywood.

While its business volume increased dramatically, it also signed many Hollywood stars who would later become household names, thanks to Hideki Hanyu and Cloud Pictures.

For example, Sheryl Finn proved her box office ability with "Anne & Alina".

Another example is Keanu Reeves, who has been continuously collaborating with Cloud Pictures.

Other women associated with Hideki Hanyu include Naomi Watts, Catherine Zeta-Jones, and Demi Vera, the Black Pearl beauty who was introduced to the modeling industry by Hideki Hanyu.

He recommended and signed these people to New Century Brokerage.

This is why Bill Hart was so respectful and ingratiating towards Hideki Hanyu.

Of course, as a Hollywood mogul and a super-rich man, Hideki Hanyu deserves Bill Hart's humble attitude and flattery.

However, Bill Hart gave an unexpected answer to Hideki Hanyu's question.

"Sir, actually, my New Century Brokerage also recently moved its headquarters to Burbank."

Huh? !

Hideki Hanyu glanced at Bill Hart with some surprise, and his opinion of the man rose somewhat.

Although Burbank is only 20 kilometers from Los Angeles, for brokerage firms that need to seize opportunities in a timely manner, having their headquarters in Los Angeles is obviously more advantageous.

Bill Hart's willingness to give up this advantage, even the culmination of years of hard work, in order to keep up with Cloud Pictures shows that he is a person who knows how to make choices.

Unlike some guys who want this and that, greedy and insatiable, always wanting more after getting what they want, they end up losing everything and ending up with nothing.

Hideki Hanyu nodded in satisfaction. "Not bad. It seems we can have a long-term partnership in the future."

Bill Hart, unable to hide his joy, repeatedly expressed his gratitude, saying, "Thank you, sir, thank you, sir."

"No need to be so polite. We've been working together for many years and are old friends. I'm hosting a party at Red Maple Manor tomorrow night and I'm planning to invite some friends from both inside and outside the industry. Could you help me find some people who can liven up the atmosphere?"

As soon as Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Bill Hart immediately patted his chest and assured him, "Sir, please rest assured, I will definitely not let you down."

"Hehe, see you tomorrow then. I'm going to see Allen. You go ahead and do your own thing."

After finishing his sentence, Hideki Hanyu bid farewell to Bill Hart and went into the office building to find Alan Horn.

After a brief period of turmoil following the acquisition, Universal Pictures' operations are now back on track, and there's nothing for Hideki Hanyu to worry about.

Therefore, his visit to Universal Pictures headquarters was simply to have a casual chat with Alan Horn.

When Alan Horn met Hideki Hanyu, he introduced him to some of the company's recent developments, such as its film production business and recent box office revenue.

The summer of 1990 was a huge success for Universal Pictures, which had just changed owners.

Anne & Alina, the first film to test the waters of the summer blockbuster season, successfully grossed over $100 million at the North American box office. Following Anne & Alina, Back to the Future Part III, as a sequel to Universal Pictures' wildly successful franchise, did not disappoint Universal Pictures and fans. It garnered positive reviews and has now surpassed $200 million at the box office, firmly holding its position as the top-grossing film of the year.

The sequel to "Die Hard," which was released last month, also performed well at the box office, with the distribution department predicting that it would gross over $100 million in North America.

It's fair to say that, in terms of this summer season alone, Universal Pictures has firmly established itself as the "leader" among Hollywood's many established studios.

Such achievements occurred after Universal Pictures' acquisition, yet no one seems to say that the new owners of Universal Pictures are benefiting from Universal Pictures' success.

Because if you look at these three blockbuster movies, although the highest-grossing "Back to the Future Part III" is Universal's own IP, the other two blockbuster movies were all brought by Cloud Pictures.

Moreover, both of these films have potential for further exploration and could be made into sequels.

With the announcement of a sequel to "Anne & Alina" and the similar announcement of plans for a third installment to "Die Hard," how could other Hollywood studios not be envious when Universal has secured two of the most popular franchises?

"The summer box office was good, and the film release schedule for the rest of the year is basically all booked. Recently, the company has been busy with the preparation and production of several new projects."

Upon hearing Alan Horn's words, Hideki Hanyu asked, "Which movies are already in development?"

Alan Horn replied, "The second installment of 'Need for Speed,' a collaboration with the Lamborghini Group, will have some scenes filmed in Europe, and staff have already been sent to scout locations."

However, John McTiernan, the director of the first film, declined the offer to make a sequel, but he did recommend someone to us.

"Who?" Hideki Yuzuru asked.

Alan Horn said, "Michael Bay, the assistant director of the first Need for Speed ​​movie."

"It turned out to be him."

Hideki Hanyu looked surprised, recalling his unexpected encounter with Michael Bay when he visited the set of Need for Speed.

In another timeline, Michael Bay started working early but focused on advertising until he became famous in 1994 for directing "Bad Boys," starring Will Smith.

Unexpectedly, in this timeline, this explosion maniac's life trajectory would also be changed because of him, and he was recommended to be a feature film director so early on, and even a big-budget action film director.

"Do you know him, sir?" Alan Horn asked curiously.

"I happened to see him on set when I visited the Need for Speed ​​set."

After explaining, Hideki Hanyu asked, "What are your thoughts? Are you planning to accept John McTiernan's recommendation?"

Alan Horn replied, "Of course not. This director, Michael Bay, only had experience directing commercials before joining the crew of the first Need for Speed ​​movie."

Even though John McTiernan spoke highly of him, the budget for Need for Speed ​​2 exceeded forty million dollars. With such a large investment, the company certainly wouldn't easily decide on a director.

Faced with Alan Horn's caution, Hideki Hanyu used his power to help Michael Bay.

He trusted Alan Horn quite a bit.

If Michael Bay were truly capable, and with director John McTiernan's recommendation, he would definitely stand out in the selection process.

So he just said, "Okay, you guys decide."

Alan Horn then added, "There's another movie in development, James Cameron's Terminator 2."

At this point, Alan Horn gave a helpless look.

"The budget for this film is the highest I've ever made in Hollywood, a whopping 70 million US dollars!"
Moreover, after receiving the $20 million in seed funding, the first thing director Cameron did wasn't to make a film, but rather to travel to Silicon Valley and collaborate with a chip company on some kind of special effects system.

Upon hearing Allen Horn's words, Hideki Hanyu remained unfazed.

"Seventy million? That's certainly not a small number."

At the same time, he was actually thinking that 70 million was probably just the beginning for truck drivers, and there would definitely be more to come.

It's worth noting that in another timeline, James Cameron's production cost for Terminator 2 exceeded one hundred million US dollars.

This is also the first film in Hollywood history to have a production cost exceeding one hundred million US dollars.

As for Cameron going to Silicon Valley to work on the special effects system, Hideki Hanyu actually knew about it.

Because the chip company that Hollywood chose was Divine Vision.

In other words, some of the money Universal Pictures invested in Terminator 2 ended up back in his hands after going around in circles.

Of course, he didn't care about the money.

What he cares about is whether, through its collaboration with Cameron, Divine Vision can further expand its market in Hollywood and then, through Hollywood, influence other industries.

After all, Terminator 2's production cost exceeded 100 million, and the gimmick of liquid metal robots was still worth hyping up.

Seeing that Hideki Hanyu didn't seem to care about the cost he mentioned, Alan Horn realized that he had spoken to the wrong person.

Seventy million is an astronomical figure to ordinary people, and an enormous production cost in Hollywood, but for this super-rich boss, it may really be nothing.

With that in mind, Alan Horn went on to introduce other projects.

"Regarding the collaboration on Jurassic Park, we have held multiple rounds of negotiations with Steven Spielberg. The biggest disagreement now is about revenue sharing. Spielberg wants to receive 20% of the box office revenue in addition to his director's salary."

Upon hearing this number, Hideki Hanyu frowned.

This proportion is almost indistinguishable from another spacetime.

In another timeline, Jurassic Park 1 grossed just over a billion dollars worldwide, with Spielberg taking home 250 million dollars.

Even with such a large sum of money, Jurassic Park still made Universal a fortune, not to mention the strong revenue-generating potential of the Jurassic Park IP from related merchandise.

The problem is, times have changed.

Another reason why Universal Pictures was willing to pay Spielberg such a high fee was that, in addition to the fact that Spielberg spearheaded the acquisition of the film rights, Universal was in turmoil after being acquired by Panasonic and urgently needed large-scale productions to stabilize its operations and market.

In this current timeline, the takeover of Global by the Cloud System has proceeded very smoothly, and the cooperation between the two parties is a powerful alliance, making them even stronger and requiring no outside help.

Moreover, Hideki Hanyu was farsighted in terms of copyright, having become friends with Michael Crichton early on and acquiring the copyright during the story's creation phase.

In this situation, Universal Pictures is the stronger and more proactive party in the collaboration.

With that in mind, Hideki Hanyu said directly, "We can agree to this condition, but Spielberg must invest proportionally."

Alan Horn shrugged. "You know, that's impossible. Hollywood directors never invest in the films they make."

Hideki Hanyu said, "Then let him lower his demands, otherwise no Hollywood studio will agree to such an excessive request."

Alan Horn stated, "That's my thought too."

"Let's continue the discussion then. We're not in a hurry anyway, since we won't lack projects for the next few years."

Hideki Hanyu looked completely unconcerned.

Although he also wanted to make "Jurassic Park," that was not a reason for him to abandon his principles and give in to Spielberg.

Otherwise, once this door is opened, how will we negotiate collaborations with other directors in the future?
After discussing Jurassic Park, Hideki Hanyu and Alan Horn talked about other projects.

The conversation between the two continued until the afternoon.

Alan Horn had work to do, so Hideki Hanyu took his leave.

As soon as he stepped out of the office building, he saw Bill Hart standing outside, looking excited, clearly waiting for him to come out.

Moreover, Bill Hart was not alone; two familiar faces of Hideki Hanyu were standing beside him.

(End of this chapter)