America: My Time

Chapter 95 Splitting Global
Chapter Ninety-Five: Splitting Up Global

"Actually, this matter is not as dangerous as you think. Although Universal Pictures is about to enter the era of blockbusters, this will take time. For Universal Pictures, the first thing we need to do is to improve our layout. In the future, whether it is Universal Pictures or Legendary Pictures, we cannot invest too much in the promotion of individual films. What we want to do is to make series films. This requires a fundamental change. We cannot be controlled by others!"

"The boss wants to limit actors' salaries, but their management companies won't agree!"

"I disagree. They have no say in this. If we intend to make a series of films, we must sign contracts for several films with the actors before casting them. We won't give them the opportunity to raise their prices or threaten us. It's either agree or get out. There are no other options. At Legendary Entertainment, we will never be controlled by actors or threatened by those companies that rely on financial backers. Actors are just tools, tools that serve the overall development of the film industry!"

John's words were shocking. If Universal Pictures could truly achieve this, it would fundamentally eliminate the threat that actors posed to film series after gaining fame through Universal, placing complete control in Universal's hands. In Hollywood, there are many actors who want to become famous; as long as Universal Pictures can take that crucial first step, everything will be fine!

“Boss, if we do that, we'll be on the opposite side of the talent agencies and those top stars. It will be very difficult for us to hire top stars in the future!” At this moment, Robert Iger finally understood why Legendary Pictures signed multi-film contracts with actors. It was all part of his boss's calculations!

“I know that from the very beginning, film studios and talent agencies were on the opposite side, opposing top stars. Although those top stars can generate huge box office revenue, their salaries are too high, putting too much pressure on film studios. If it's a series film, they will inevitably demand exorbitant prices, forcing our carefully prepared series films to be subject to their control. They will become the biggest obstacle to our series films, as you can see in 007. Whether it's Universal Pictures or Legendary Pictures, they all have to go down the series film route, so top stars are not suitable. What top stars can do, we can achieve through a large investment in publicity. In comparison, our heavy investment in publicity is much more practical than hiring top stars, and the initiative is always in our hands.”

There's an even more important point John didn't mention: comic book adaptations. He's now eyeing Marvel. If they acquire Marvel, the profits from the entire franchise will be even more staggering. Therefore, Universal Pictures must prepare in advance and take the initiative in the relationship between the studio and the actors, rather than being passive.

"Boss, we have another big problem to solve. In the era of blockbusters, the investment in special effects will be huge. We don't have our own special effects company. If we can't control the special effects, we will also be subject to others when we usher in the era of blockbusters!"

"I understand. That's what I'm going to talk about next. We're going to invest heavily in visual effects. We have a greater advantage than other companies in this area because we have Dreamworld and NVIDIA behind us, and we can get their full support. After taking over Universal Pictures, our first goal was to establish our own visual effects company. Not for making money, but for accumulating technology and preparing for the future era of blockbusters! To be honest, Dreamworld is already developing professional software, workstations, and servers."

"Hiss!" Upon hearing these words, Robert Iger couldn't help but gasp. Although he had thought that his boss had a plan, he hadn't expected that his boss had already done things ahead of time. As long as Universal Pictures was acquired, there would be no obstacles. His boss had already arranged everything.

“Stan Winston, you should be familiar with him. If we can get him, he will be the leader of our visual effects company! You can tell him that Legendary Entertainment invests a lot of money in visual effects research every year. We want to study not only movie visual effects, but also animated films. I believe he will not refuse our invitation!”

Ambitions, enormous ambitions! At this moment, Robert Iger realized that he had underestimated his boss's ambition and ability. Such a complete plan could not be completed in a short time; it would probably take a long time. Once his boss's plan succeeded, Legendary Entertainment would become the strongest giant in Hollywood, without exception.

“Okay, no problem. I believe he won’t refuse our invitation. However, we need to completely transform Universal Pictures, which will take time to adjust. Next year’s filming plans will have to be halted!” “Then stop. After taking over Universal, while splitting up the company, we will also review Universal’s scripts and conduct a new review of next year’s filming plans. Everything before will be overturned. We will break down the old and start anew, appearing in Hollywood with a completely new image!”

Although the problems with the NBC network were not major, John still wanted to remind Robert Iger that the network was an important part of Legendary Entertainment Group and could not afford any mistakes. Moreover, John had his own ideas and requirements for the network. The new NBC network had to have a new look, a different stance, and a different target audience!

“Iger, you also need to handle the network issues quickly. After we take over, NBC should focus on young people and maintain a neutral stance on political parties. There should be absolutely no discussion of issues such as race and religion; that's the bottom line. Fairness and impartiality should be the foundation of the network. As for dramas, we need to speed up our production. I've already prepared the script outlines; you just need to make the arrangements. Everything at Legendary Entertainment is in your hands.”

On the way back, John made arrangements for Universal Pictures and NBC, and prepared the script. Legendary Entertainment wanted to take complete control of the two companies in the shortest possible time. NBC was the easiest; as long as there were good programs and good TV series, it wouldn't be a problem. The biggest problem was Universal Pictures.

John only oversees the general direction of Legendary Entertainment and doesn't get involved in the specifics. That's for Robert Iger to handle, as Iger doesn't have that much energy to devote to it. He'd rather spend that time copying more classic films and TV series.

John hadn't forgotten his enemies either. After Legendary Entertainment took over NBC, he planned a special program where he would deliver a fatal blow to them on television, completely eliminating the threat of them constantly using his age as a pretext. He didn't have much time to waste on these persistent doubts; this time, he was determined to turn the tide and leave his enemies no excuse.

Instead of dealing with doubts, it's better to invest your energy in more plans and make better preparations. You have many plans in mind that haven't been implemented yet, which require more time and effort!
John Iger didn't personally handle Legendary Entertainment's acquisition of Universal Pictures and NBC; everything was done by Robert Iger. The American people had long known this day would come, but when it actually arrived, they were still shocked and awestruck by Legendary Entertainment's feat.

Today's Hollywood giants have to face the impact of Legendary Entertainment. Legendary Entertainment is no longer a small company, but a real media conglomerate with enormous resources. The biggest pressure comes from Warner Bros., the Hollywood giant that has been suppressing Legendary Entertainment.

What followed was Legendary Entertainment's madness that shocked everyone even more. Universal Pictures was directly split up, with most of its assets being given to other companies within Legendary Entertainment. Universal Pictures retained only production, distribution, theaters, and cinemas, truly streamlining itself to the extreme. This change shocked the entire United States.

They thought Legendary Entertainment had gone mad, truly mad, to make such a reckless decision. Suddenly, the entire American media industry lost faith in Legendary Entertainment and Universal Pictures, believing that this drastic dismantling of Universal would render it completely uncompetitive. But were things really as dire as they predicted?
No, Legendary Entertainment was unaffected by external forces. Legendary Music quickly changed its name to Universal Music Group, consolidating all of Legendary Entertainment's record labels. The publishing house was also spun off, and Universal's pay-TV service was renamed Starz. The cable television network was renamed AMC Classic Movies Channel. Simultaneously, a cable television group under Legendary Entertainment was formed, comprising Starz, AMC, MTV, and ESPN!

After splitting up Universal Pictures' parent company, Legendary Entertainment's various subsidiaries grew rapidly. Whether it was the music company, the cable television group, or the publishing house, they all experienced a qualitative leap. After the integration, Legendary Entertainment Group was not as bad as many people thought, but was developing rapidly. Only Universal Pictures itself was affected.

This split also shocked the Japanese banks, as it would have a huge impact on their loans. They were worried about loan problems, especially since Universal Pictures was currently at a standstill. The most worried bank was Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank, as they had assumed all of Universal Pictures' loans!
(End of this chapter)