American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 141 Using Overt Schemes to Target Your Weakness

"What did you say? Lionsgate sold its Marvel rights to Carl Icahn?? And Carl Icahn is going to sell those rights to Ted Turner and Steve Case???"

2005 7 Month 2 Day.

After receiving a call from Isabella, Barry Mayer, who was heartbroken by the failure of "Batman" and unable to calm down for a long time, almost jumped off his chair as chairman of Warner Bros.

He's not stupid!

So he could understand the meaning behind the message!
When Carl Icahn was the infamous "Wolf King" of Wall Street, whose signature move was to select a publicly traded company that could be broken up, then win over disgruntled shareholders and cause trouble, Barry Mayer saw the deal between Carl Icahn, Ted Turner, and Steve Case as a sign that these people intended to dismantle Warner Bros.!
Or perhaps, they have already sounded the horn of a secret war!

Now that the enemy has already raised their swords, any normal person would be surprised and nervous!
Barry Meyer, his brow furrowed from the lightning strike, narrowed his eyes and decisively asked, "Is the information accurate? Oh wait—Issa—where did you get this information from?"

“I don’t know if this news is true or false, but Kevin Feige told me about it.”

"Who? Who are you talking about?"

Barry Mayer was somewhat bewildered.

Because in his memory dictionary... there doesn't seem to be a name like Kevin Feige!

However, with Isabella's explanation, or rather, when the name Richard Donner appeared, Barry Mayer instantly understood everything: "Oh, you mean Kevin Feige, the guy who wanted to turn his movies into TV series?"

"Barry? You know him?"

"I've heard of him. He's like a car horn, always blaring whenever he meets the right person in order to secure investment. So... he's approached you again this time?"

"Ah."

"Okay, I understand. I get what you mean. Let's hang up now. I'll call you back when I have more information."

"it is good."

Although Isabella personally felt that the news Kevin Feige brought was most likely true, not only because Carl Icahn did attack Time Warner in her past life memories, but also because nowadays, anyone who wanted to deceive her would pay the price. Furthermore, spreading rumors about something that could trigger a capital war would, once exposed, mean that Kevin Feige would be unable to continue working in Hollywood, or even in the human biosphere.

But, isn't it better to be safe than sorry?
What if Kevin Feige is a shill sent by some corporation to stir up trouble? If they listen to Kevin Feige and start fighting with Ted Turner and Steve Case, wouldn't that be a classic case of the snipe and the clam fighting while the fisherman reaps the benefits?

Ok.

In today's world, there are actually many people who hope for internal strife within WarnerMedia.

Take Rupert Murdoch, for example. When this guy who wants Isabella and Warner dead finds out that the X-Man in his hands has entered a state where it must be rebooted, could he then use the excuse of creating an X-Man universe to incite Kevin Feige to fabricate false information in order to provoke a conflict between the Ross family and Ted Turner?
Will he then be able to cause trouble again?
Then, even if Kevin Feige's information is true, it's still extremely important to know whether Carl Icahn really teamed up with Ted Turner and Steve Case.

If Carl Icahn's attack is a solo effort, without teaming up with Ted Turner and Steve Case, then attacking them rashly would be giving the enemy an easy win and handing over their allies.

Therefore, verifying the authenticity of the message was Isabella's instinctive reaction after receiving it.

Isabella isn't overthinking this!
Rather, she was standing a bit too high.

This means there will be many people who want to push her down.

"How did he say?"

As the phone call ended, Vivian, the mother, became concerned about Barry Mayer's reaction.

He said he knew and would check right away, so go to sleep first.

Isabella reassured her mother.

Since verifying messages takes time, Isabella's choice was to continue living her life while waiting, or rather, this is a skill that anyone who wants to succeed must learn.

Excessive emotional fluctuations can impair your judgment.

If you don't get enough rest within your limited time, it will affect your thinking.

As for Barry Mayer's efficiency...

It's actually quite fast...

On July 2nd, London time, Isabella delivered a message to Barry Mayer.

Barry Mayer responded on July 3rd, London time.

But unfortunately...

"I haven't detected any abnormalities yet."

On the evening of July 3rd, London time, Barry Mayer made a satellite phone call with Isabella and Columbus.

“Carl Icahn has been very busy lately, so I don’t know if he has acquired any shares in our Time Warner.”

“He started a new predatory fund in 2004, which was last year, and so far he has sown $50 billion, so it is difficult for me to make an effective judgment based on limited information.”

As early as 1968, when he was 32 years old, Carl Icahn founded his own investment company.

Then, he set up a fund and started acting as a market maker, focusing on risk arbitrage and options trading.

Uh……

Don't ask people why they can become the dealer at the age of 32.

The question is, then Carl Icahn wasn't from an ordinary family either.

The start-up capital for his company came from his uncle, Rick Schnahr, a current American billionaire, owner of the NBA Hawks and Hornets, and partner of global private equity giant CDandR. He is from his uncle's lineage.

Although Carl Icahn started using shell companies a long time ago, his shells are now so well-known that any move he makes can be detected by people of the same level, making it difficult for him to carry out masked robberies as before.

Therefore, last year, Carl Icahn chose to get a new look.

This fact allowed him to 'disappear' once again.

This is also the real reason why Barry Mayer said he couldn't capture useful information.

Then, after changing his shell, Carl Icahn launched three hunts in the past year alone.

It's absurd to wage war against three companies at the same time.

What's even more outrageous is that these three companies are quite powerful.

They are Mylan, Kerr McGee, and Bestar.

Bestar needs no introduction, those who know, know. As for Mylan and Kerr McGee...

The former is a globally renowned pharmaceutical company. Last year, they even wanted to acquire King Pharma, a peer company that owns a bunch of patents for effective drugs such as levofloxacin. However, before they could even make a move, Carl Icahn had already drawn his sword.

The latter is an energy company, a major U.S. oil producer.

When Carl Icahn spent $50 billion in cash to attack these three companies, and needed to keep a certain amount of reserves in case of unforeseen circumstances, did he make any moves to target Time Warner?

It's hard for anyone to judge.

Therefore, Barry Mayer's analysis could only end in failure.

And this...

"Barry, so what do you mean now?"

After listening to Barry Mayer's words, Chris Columbus looked at Isabella.

Seeing the little girl gesture for help, he immediately said, "Should we wait? Wait for them to take the initiative?"

"No, no, no—we can't wait—"

Before Columbus could finish speaking, Barry Mayer said, "Although I haven't gathered any useful information, I've figured out a way to verify the authenticity of the message, so, Isa, I need your help."

Do you need my help?

Isabella squinted and turned to look at her mother, who shook her head, also not understanding what Barry Mayer meant.

"Yeah~"

"I need your help."

You'll help me, right?

"Are we allies?"

It seems they feel that time is limited and cannot be wasted?
But it's also possible that the alliance made Barry Mayer act without restraint.

He said directly, "Right now, only you can easily verify the authenticity of the message..."

Barry Mayer's proposed verification method was quite simple:
Since Kevin Feige came secretly this time—only an idiot would choose teammates openly—then in Ted Turner and Steve Case's eyes, Kevin Feige's visit to Isabella was to show Isabella his Marvel Cinematic Universe plan and to help them challenge the Ross family.

Therefore, Isabella only needs to extend an invitation to Lionsgate, expressing her desire to acquire the Marvel rights held by them, and then she will know whether Lionsgate has actually sold the Marvel rights to Carl Icahn.

If Lionsgate accepts the offer, it proves that Kevin Feige is lying and that Lionsgate still owns the Marvel rights.

If Lionsgate rejects the offer, there's a 50% chance Kevin Feige is telling the truth. As for the remaining 50%...?

There's a good chance that Lionsgate really wants to make Marvel movies.

'...'

Isabella did not understand Barry Mayer's words.

She made a gesture to her mother.

Mother Vivi understood perfectly and said, "Uh... Barry... I don't think I understood what you meant..."

"Didn't you say that as long as we make an acquisition offer, we can find out whether Lionsgate sold the Marvel rights to Carl Icahn? But what you just said... doesn't seem to yield the results you're looking for?"

"Oh, that's because I didn't finish speaking."

Barry Mayer continued, "What I just said is only the first half of the testing process. The second half is that if Lionsgate rejects the offer, they've chosen a path to hell."

"Because Lionsgate is a company listed on the NYSE, we were able to publicly announce our desire to collaborate with Lionsgate on more Marvel movies after they rejected our private offer."

"At that time, Lionsgate's stock price will definitely rise accordingly."

"Who doesn't know Isabella's fame right now?"

"Then, at this point, Lionsgate will be in trouble."

“Once we publicly express our intention to cooperate, they can only publicly answer our questions. If Lionsgate says they won’t cooperate, then we can make their stock price fall back to the same level as it rose.”

"Then their board of directors will be questioned by the shareholders."

"If Lionsgate's executives don't give us an explanation, we'll fire them."

"Of course, if Lionsgate says the rights have been sold... okay, that's the end of it."

"And if Lionsgate agrees to cooperate, that would be even better, since the copyright hasn't been sold, right?"

Barry Mayer's question made all three people on the phone laugh.

His actions were a calculated, open strategy.

“Oh, Barry, what are you doing—if you don’t answer my question, I’ll send you to meet God, right?” Columbus said with a laugh.

“Yes,” Barry Meyer replied bluntly, “Executives at small companies like Lionsgate don’t have a choice.”

"They think they can cover for Carl Icahn with their small builds?"

"Are they worthy?"

The undisguised contempt made the three of them shake their heads repeatedly.

Isabella added, "Barry, your plan is very good, but I personally think there's a loophole: Carl Icahn won't buy the rights from Lionsgate under his own company's name."

"What do you think?"

"Oh, you're absolutely right."

Barry Mayer, based in Burbank, Los Angeles, chuckled, took a sip of water, and continued, "A smart guy like Carl Icahn wouldn't use his own company to acquire copyrights. So, the only information we can get from pressuring Lionsgate is whether they've sold the Marvel copyrights."

"But that's okay, because forcing Lionsgate to answer questions is just the first step in my verification plan."

"Once they say the copyright has been sold, we can begin the second step of verification."

"The second step was to release the news that Beaver Pictures had abandoned Resident Evil because of Marvel movies."

“If Ted Turner doesn’t intend to join forces with Carl Icahn, then they will definitely find a way to attack you.”

"If Ted Turner and his group want to win you over, they will give this matter the cold shoulder."

"But what if Rupert Murdoch makes a move?"

Before Barry Mayer could finish speaking, Columbus interrupted and asked a question.

This question prompted Barry Mayer, who was holding the phone, to hum softly and lean back in his chair. "If Rupert Murdoch made his move, but Ted Turner and his group didn't, then I have a second verification."

"Isha, your Beaver Entertainment drama is already in production, right? When will it air?"

"If it can air soon, we'll play Fox again."

“If only Fox is fighting back after we openly confront Fox, it proves that Ted Turner and Steve Case have joined forces with Carl Icahn. If they still want to kill you, they wouldn’t keep missing opportunities to strike, and they wouldn’t give up their cooperation with Rupert Murdoch.”

"And Rupert Murdoch will certainly call on them for help after the attack."

Isabella was somewhat moved by his smooth and flowing thoughts.

"Barry, is this the strength of someone who has defeated all competitors and successfully taken control of a Fortune 500 company?"

“Hahahaha—” Barry Mayer laughed and said with a smile, “Your Highness, experience related to struggle can only be gained from continuous struggle, so don’t worship me. I just win more often.”

"..." Isabella was speechless at this shameless self-praise.

Rolling her eyes, she continued, "Okay, Barry, that covers the verification process. Now, what happens after verification? If Ted Turner and Steve Case really do work with Carl Icahn, then... what will you do?"

"Oh, Miss Questioning, you really do have a lot of questions."

Barry Meyer said, "I can answer your other questions, but this one... I'm sorry, I can't answer it."

"Because different situations require different solutions."

"For example, if Ted Turner and Steve Case really want me out of Warner and the Ross family to sell off all their shares, I can't just slap them back, can I? What do you think?"

Isabella thought Barry Mayer was right.

They're trying to kill you, and you're still smiling at them? Aren't you shameless?
and so……

"Mom, why don't you call Susie and ask her to send out invitations?"

That night.

After hanging up the phone and returning to her hotel room, Miss Beaver told her mother what she was thinking.

Since Vivian thought Barry Mayer's approach was sound, she nodded.

The following day, Susie Figgis, vice president of Beaver Entertainment, heard that her boss wanted to acquire the Marvel rights from Lionsgate. Without hesitation, she immediately extended an offer to Lionsgate, and then…

Lionsgate is in an awkward position.

"What did you say? Isabella wants to buy all the Marvel rights we own?"

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer stared at his secretary with a furrowed brow.

"Yes."

The secretary handed over the fax. "Mr. Feltheimer, this is an invitation from Beaver Entertainment."

I received the fax.

Clean the paper.

The content written in black and white is both simple and complex.

It's simple because Beaver Pictures' requirements are very straightforward.

It's complicated because they simply can't respond to this invitation.

Just like the message Kevin Feige conveyed.

Currently, Lionsgate has already sold the Marvel rights to Carl Icahn.

Although Carl Icahn did not ask them to keep it a secret, and they neither knew nor were entitled to know Carl Icahn's true plans, they dared not publicize this deal. The reason was simple: Carl Icahn bought the copyright but did not take it away.

At this moment, the copyrights for Captain America and Black Widow are still held by Lionsgate.

Furthermore, this 'being' exists in the form of 'being held on behalf of others'.

Carl Icahn did this for a simple reason: he's a seasoned veteran who's always been cautious.

If he buys the copyright and takes it directly, that transaction can be traced by others.

If people of the same level saw this, their first reaction would be that Carl Icahn is up to something again.

However, by not taking it and choosing the right time to deliver, he can hide his identity.

Then, when Carl Icahn can pull off such 'crazy' maneuvers in something as simple as copyright transactions, if Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer still can't sense something's wrong, he might as well hang himself.

therefore……

At the moment...

People started asking him if Carl Icahn had hidden anything at his place.

This……

"So why does Isabella want to buy the rights? Does she have a conflict with Carl Icahn?"

Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer looked at his secretary.

The middle-aged man in a suit shook his head and said, "I don't know if Isabella and Carl Icahn have any conflicts, but the whole world knows that Isabella likes Marvel. Besides, didn't Warner Bros. ask her about it last year?"

"We just didn't sell it back then."

“Oh—” Jon Feltheimer bent his four fingers and tapped his forehead.

It may have happened suddenly.

He had completely forgotten that Isabella liked Marvel.

"So, you mean Isabella's offer this time is simply to buy the copyright?"

"Uh...maybe so..."

"Alright, you can go now."

Jon Feltheimer waved his hand.

The secretary responded and left.

As the door closed, Jon Feltheimer leaned back in his executive chair.

At that moment, he felt things were somewhat complicated—

As Barry Mayer said, he was also a lousy laborer.

The real owner of Lionsgate is actually a Wall Street financier named Frank Gistra.

This person's main job is investing, and he is particularly passionate about mining investment.

It controls Goldcorp, the world's fifth-largest gold producer.

Frank Gistra founded and invested in Lionsgate purely because his father loved watching movies and hoped that the Vancouver and Canadian film industries would develop in North America and even internationally. That's why he poured money into the film industry.

Given the background of Lionsgate's development, Jon Feltheimer sees Isabella's invitation as a double-edged sword that could backfire if not handled properly.

The logic is simple:
When they no longer owned the Marvel IP, they had no choice but to turn down Isabella's offer. It would have been better if their boss hadn't found out about it, because once it did, their boss would have definitely made them look like idiots.

His boss would definitely ask him if he didn't want to lead Lionsgate to success.
His boss would definitely ask him why he sold the Marvel rights for money.
His boss would definitely ask him why he didn't work with Isabella through a copyright transaction.
Yes.

There are many ways to trade copyrights in the film industry.

For example, if I own the copyright but can't produce it, and you are famous and capable and want to buy it, then in this case, I can cooperate with you by exchanging the copyright for investment rights, production rights, and distribution rights.

To put it simply, it means I'm 'giving' you the copyright, but this 'giving' comes with conditions. You must promise in the contract that you will reserve a certain amount of investment for me when developing future projects, and that I will participate in the production and distribution of the projects.

If you think my conditions are too demanding, then... we can still discuss it.

For example, I don't want the production or distribution rights, but I want to put a logo on it.

Jon Feltheimer knew that if he had made good use of the copyrights he held, and if Isabella had truly loved Marvel, he would have had the opportunity to collaborate with her. So, after missing that opportunity, he felt somewhat numb.

Of course, he could also argue with his boss that he was forced to sell the copyright.

It was Carl Icahn who insisted on forcing a sale.

but……

Once he said that, his boss could ask him why he didn't come to him when he was being threatened by Carl Icahn.
Well, his boss is also a player on Wall Street.

Surely no one would think that the person who controls the world's fifth-largest gold production company is less capable than Carl Icahn, right?
At that point, Jon Feltheimer will be even more embarrassed.

Because at that time, he only had one path to take.

That's just telling the truth.

But the truth is...

In his view, Spider-Man is Marvel's most valuable IP.

There's no way to create other IPs.

Last year, after several Marvel movies flopped, he completely gave up on it.

Therefore, when Carl Icahn offered a relatively high acquisition price, he chose to make his move at the 'high point'.

When this explanation emerged...

Ah--

Even though his boss doesn't understand movies or Marvel, he can still fire him!
Because in his boss's eyes, he had a great hand but played it terribly!
"Oh—what the hell is all this nonsense—"

"Why is Isabella inviting us again?!"

Jon Feltheimer scratched his head vigorously, bewildered by the situation.

But that's not important!

After much deliberation, he came up with a method that seemed like that of a seasoned pro—

"No way! I can't let this kind of mess ruin my future!"

"Since the copyright is in Carl Icahn's hands, I'm going to let Carl Icahn know about this!"

"Then, I replied exactly as he instructed!"

"That way, even if the boss questions me about why I sold the copyright, I can say I was coerced by Carl Icahn! And if the boss asks me why I didn't ask him for help, I can say that Carl Icahn coerced me the whole time!"

With that in mind, he decisively took out his phone and dialed Carl Icahn's number.

then……

"What did you say?"

"Isabella wants to buy the copyrights you have?"

new York.

Manhattan.

Carl Icahn, who was reviewing the sniper reports submitted by his subordinates in his private office, looked up.

"Yeah~"

Upon hearing Carl Icahn's inquiry over the phone, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer promptly passed the buck, saying, "Mr. Icahn, you heard me correctly."

"Today, Lionsgate officially received an offer from Beaver Entertainment to purchase Marvel IPs."

"Since these IPs now belong to you, therefore..."

"How do you think we should respond to this?"

"Is it a direct refusal?"

"Are you saying we've already sold it?"

"Or...uh..."

"Since we are not clear about your purpose in having us hold the IP address on your behalf, this matter is up to you to decide."

“…” Carl Icahn narrowed his eyes.

(End of this chapter)