American Scandal King

Chapter 125 I'm Happy to Be the Takeover Man

Sony Pictures Television.

Ian sat in Howard Stringer's office, looking at the middle-aged white man with a smile on his face.

Howard Stringer is a celebrity that cannot be avoided in Sony's history.

This man was a reporter, producer and CEO of CBS. He spent 30 years at CBS, won nine Emmy Awards, and the CBS Evening News he collaborated with Dan Rather was once the highest-rated news program in the United States.

Since 97, he has served as the chairman of Sony America, in charge of Sony's American business and global film and music entertainment departments, and developed Sony's music and film businesses, which were on the verge of decline, into Sony's current pillar industries.

In the early days of taking over Sony in 97, he improved the unprofitable Columbia Pictures division and led the release of the Spider-Man film in 2001, making the film group Sony's main source of profit.

At the end of 04, he led the merger of MGM Studios and Sony Music and Boardman into Sony Boardman Music Entertainment.

In March 05, Sony Japan's board of directors appointed Howard Stringer as chairman and CEO of Sony Group, making him the first foreign leader in Sony's history, which shows his ability.

As for now, Howard Stringer is the top executive at Sony Pictures, and Spider-Man is the foundation of his rise.

Ian came today mainly because he still hasn't given up on Spider-Man.

After acquiring Bridgestone Pictures, Ian asked Sony Pictures to acquire the copyright of Spider-Man.

According to Ian's plan, it is very difficult to obtain the copyrights of the works that have already been completed by major film and television companies, such as Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, so they are only suitable for publicity and promotion cooperation, but there are still opportunities for those that have not yet been completed.

The first Spider-Man movie has not been released yet, so its value is bound to be underestimated, and it is also related to the subsequent Marvel Universe.

Unfortunately, even so, Howard Stringer doesn't want to sell.

This is a work he personally managed, and he is counting on Spider-Man to take off.

At this moment Howard laughed and said, “You know what? When my secretary told me that you were coming to see me, my first reaction was to notify everyone below to pack their dicks and not let Ian Karl see it!”

Ian laughed heartily. "Reporters have their own principles. Taking candid photos under the guise of a client has crossed my bottom line."

Ian certainly didn't take secret photos of other people while he was a guest, as that would have prevented them from inviting him again.

Howard pointed at Ian and said, "That's a good point, but don't expect me to sell you Spider-Man."

"That doesn't matter. I just wanted to talk to you about something else." Ian smiled.

An attitude that says I don't care about Spider-Man... The most taboo thing in business negotiations is to reveal your true intentions.

Howard asked, "What do you want to talk about?"

"For example, the accident with the Sony Electronics advertisement the day before yesterday."

Howard shook his head: "I don't think there's anything to say about that. It was just an accident."

Ian laughed and said, "It was indeed an accident. But if people knew that a person died while filming a Sony commercial, what would the public reaction be?"

Howard's face fell.

Unless it’s in the funeral industry, no brand wants to be associated with death.

And based on Howard's understanding of Ian, he would definitely make a big fuss about such good news.

The most important thing is to listen to his tone, does he seem to have something?
He wouldn't have filmed the scene, would he?
Fuck, this guy is like a devil, wherever he goes is either blood red or pink!
He looked at Ian coldly: "Besides threats, do you have any other means?"

Ian shook his head slightly: "I'm not threatening you, sir, someone is dealing with me."

Ian turned to look out the window. He gazed at the distant scenery with a faint smile on his face. "I know Spielberg has a great influence in Hollywood, but I didn't expect he could even affect Sony. Business is business. What benefit did he give you? To make you give up all cooperation with Carl Media."

Howard was stunned: "What did you say?"

Ian chuckled. "I know what he did, Mr. Stringer. It's inappropriate! Carl Media is the most promising media company right now, and we've been expanding at a rapid pace! And you, you rejected a media company with huge potential! I mean, even without considering selling Spider-Man, you shouldn't do this!"

Howard Stringer sighed softly, "You're always so well-informed. Okay, I admit it. Yes, I promised Spielberg not to cooperate with Carr Media. This industry values ​​interpersonal relationships. Ian Carr, I admit you're strong, but you can't make it in the entertainment industry just by barging in. Money alone won't work, and threats alone won't work either!"

Ian smiled. "It's not that threats alone won't work. It's just that the United States is an open country. Ordinary, borderline negative information doesn't have a significant impact, and other negative information isn't so easy to obtain."

Howard Stringer smiled and said, "You're right. I can admit to you right now that I have slept with at least twelve beauties, but so what? It can't even affect my wife. Ian Carr, you can't get all the information, and your information is not that scary. You need a better way to deal with the problem!" Ian laughed softly and said, "How about taking over Sony Pictures?"

Howard Stringer was stunned: "What did you say?"

Ian spread his hands and said, "I want to buy Sony Pictures."

Howard Stringer shook his head repeatedly: "Don't be ridiculous."

Ian looked at him. "I'm serious, Mr. Stringer. Sony's biggest problem is its lack of media support. Disney has ABC News, Fox has Fox News and News Corporation's support, Universal has NBC News, Warner has HBO, Paramount has Viacom, and what does Sony have? An electronics company? And a Japanese company at that!"

He chuckled and said, "I know you have a good relationship with CBS. Sony has been working closely with CBS over the past two years. Oh, and did you know? I've been discussing with James Pelley about acquiring CBS's internal equity."

Howard Stringer was speechless.

Of course he knew, it was no longer a secret.

Ian chuckled. "Are you interested in a bet with me? I will acquire more than 30% of CBS's voting rights before the end of this year. If I do, I will ask Sony's parent company to jointly control Sony Pictures and provide better publicity support. Don't worry, I'm not trying to acquire Sony, I just want shares. Sony needs the support of local media! If I fail, I can sell you the shares of Carl Media Group at a low price. This isn't really a bet, but a win-win cooperation. The price is just agreed upon in advance. If I win, I'll buy it cheaper...you won't lose out anyway."

Howard Stringer looked at him speechlessly.

After a while, he said, "If I don't accept it, will you publicize this death in the advertisement?"

Ian took a sip of his coffee. "It's more than that... Have you ever considered that this might not be an accident? Do you know what that means?"

Howard Stringer’s face changed: “Ian Carr, you can’t do this!”

"I can!" Ian answered seriously, "Chief Becton and I are good friends. I'm a reporter and I have the right to report anything I want."

Then he laughed: "But I try not to do that. As you said, you can't use blackmail to do business. I suggest you say hello to Sony's parent company. If they are willing to accept the bet, I can also give you the distribution rights of my "Shengda Greek Wedding"."

"My Big Fat Greek Wedding" was a hit movie in 02. It only cost five million dollars to make, and Tom Hanks was its investor.

Ian used eight million and promised free publicity to get 80% of the shares from Tom Hanks. However, for Tom Hanks, the most important thing was probably to make friends with Ian Carr.

Not all people in Hollywood are stubborn. Tom Hanks is a smart guy.

So Ian won't reveal anything about Tom Hanks.

At this moment, Ian said, "Think about it, this bet is not a loss, I just need you to say a few good words for me."

Sony Pictures is currently in a loss-making phase, and Ian's proposal to take controlling stake in Sony Pictures at this time is still attractive to Sony.

The most important thing is that the bet is not big this time. No matter who wins or loses, it is a joint cooperation - the loss is not big. There are only bets with more wins and less losses, so the success rate will be much higher.

A good bet is one where the losing party feels like they haven’t lost!
Considering Ian's energy, even Howard Stringer felt that this matter could not be discussed.

Sure enough, following Howard Stringer's message, Sony's parent company quickly responded.

They are very interested in this cooperation, but of course they have their own conditions.

For example, Sony Pictures' support for its parent company, Sony, that is, support for Blu-ray, etc., is what Sony values ​​most.

Ian said that this was no problem, as long as Sony agreed to his priority investment rights - most of the film and television projects of the film and television company still have to accept external investment, and regardless of the time period, shares can be pre-sold even after the film is completed.

Since I can't buy Spider-Man, I will buy the company first, and then use my power and insider information to buy up Sony's high-value assets that have not yet been revealed and then sell the shares - from the beginning to the end, he never thought about running the film and television company well.

If the pregnant woman gets pregnant, the baby will have to take my surname.

I'm happy to be the one taking over!
Sony would not have thought that this was Ian's purpose, and even Howard Stringer did not expect that Ian would attach so much importance to Spider-Man.

By the end of July, Sony and Carl Media finally reached an agreement.

With the deal done, Ian set off for New York.

After gaining sufficient capital, he finally started formal negotiations with CBS.

(End of this chapter)