April 1, 1999 was a day worth recording for Donn and Don Pictures.

After seven months, eight negotiations, and four with Don himself, Down Pictures and Marvel Entertainment finally reached an agreement.

Towne Pictures acquired all shares of Marvel Entertainment for a total price of $80 million.

Since then, Marvel has officially become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Down Pictures.

The success of this negotiation is the result of the joint efforts of many parties.

Among them, CAA is responsible for communicating with Avi Arad and Ike Patham, Endeavor is responsible for getting in touch with Marvel management, and Warner is behind the scenes, completely cutting off Marvel's idea of wanting to go to Hollywood alone.

Donn's legendary experience of quickly establishing his status as a first-line director in Hollywood in just two or three years is also a huge source of confidence for Marvel.

On the same day, witnessed by various media outlets, Donn and Beverly Hills' Montage Hotel officially signed an equity transfer agreement with Avi Arad and Ike Patham.

The photo of the three people smiling and shaking hands amicably, also broadcast live on television and spread throughout North America.

This was originally a cooperation between two small companies, but it involved Marvel Entertainment, one of the most influential comic book companies in the United States, and the popular director Donn Walker, making such a small thing quickly become the focus of the United States.

Not only are fans paying close attention, but so are fans of comics.

Could it be ...... The rumors are all true, is Director Walker going to make a superhero movie?

After the signing ceremony, Tang En immediately held a press conference as the big boss of Marvel Entertainment, which was attended by as many as 100 reporters, and almost all entertainment newspapers and TV stations in North America paid close attention.

April 1st is a special day.

When the initial news broke that Down Pictures would officially buy Marvel on this day, everyone thought it was an April Fool's joke.

But now it looks like it's the real deal!

"May I ask Director Walker, what gave you so much confidence that your Donn Pictures acquired Marvel by swallowing elephants? You are just a director, you don't understand comics, how do you guarantee that Marvel will complete the turnaround?"

Warner's TBS received exclusive rights to the broadcast, and the first question, naturally, was asked by their reporters.

Don En smiled slightly, "Since I entered the industry, I have never lacked confidence. The Internet era has arrived, and paper comics will gradually fade out of the historical stage. But I'm a big fan of Marvel, and I don't want a comic book company with decades of glorious history and endless joy for people across the United States to go out of business. ”

"Therefore, whether from private feelings or from the public interest, it is the general trend to buy Marvel, rescue Marvel, and transform Marvel. No matter how big the risk is, I will not hesitate to do it! As for the guarantee you mentioned...... I'm sorry, I can't give you any guarantees, any business investment, there are risks, but I will do my best to make Marvel reborn. ”

"Here, I would like to thank Mr. Arad and Mr. Patham for their hard work and efforts for Marvel over the past few years, they have recovered most of the lost hero rights, expanded the distribution channels of comics, and they are gradually taking Marvel on the right path. Now that this glorious and sacred mission has been entrusted to me, I will do my best to complete it. ”

The reporters in the audience all opened their mouths wide and showed surprised expressions.

This......

Is this still Donn Walker?

He's changed too much, hasn't he?

Just a few years ago, at the press conference of "Titanic", Don was still talking about it, saying that "Titanic" would guarantee a box office of $1.8 billion!

Although his prediction succeeded in the end, his youthful madness, arrogance, and impetuous personality were also known to everyone.

Unexpectedly, after more than two years, Tang En talked eloquently, behaved moderately, and was steady and generous.

No wonder he's been on a back-to-back basis, he's growing so fast!

The reporters present looked at Don En smiling confidently and sitting like a mountain, admiring and then a little disappointed.

With one less big mouth, there are fewer major topics that can be hyped up.

"Director Walker, what is your specific strategic plan after you acquired Marvel? Is it really like the rumors, are you going to shoot a superhero movie?"

This is a young female reporter from the Los Angeles Times, looking into Donn's eyes, like a fan girl.

"Of course, I'm a director. I love movies, and my greatest ability is also movies. Don paused for a moment and looked around at everyone, "Taking this opportunity, I also officially announce a message to the public, from now on, the movie project of "Spider-Man" will be officially launched!"

Spider-Man!

As a superhero second only to Batman and Superman among the comic book heroes in the United States, he obviously has many fans.

Don's words immediately caused a slight agitation in the venue.

"Excuse me...... Did you direct it yourself?"

At the mention of Spider-Man, many reporters get excited.

Don said tactfully: "It's hard to say this at the moment, I need to discuss it with my team." However, I can give you some inside story, this movie must be a big production with huge investment! It is by no means a small fight in superhero movies in the past few years, and the director is ...... It must also be a big sensation in Hollywood. ”

"In the early 90s, there were rumors that James Cameron was desperate to direct Spider-Man. Will you have a second collaboration this time?"

Don laughed, "James and I have a good friendship, and we did talk a little bit about Spider-Man. However, whether cooperation can be reached depends on the next work arrangements of the two sides. ”

"Superhero movies have not been doing well in recent years, will it be too risky to invest so much in the filming of "Spider-Man"?"

"I'm sure it will work. ”

"Twentieth Century Fox's "X-Men" has been established, and they are also Marvel superheroes, do you think their movies will be successful?"

"I hope so, I have a deep friendship and a good cooperation with Twentieth Century Fox. ”

……

As soon as the press conference ended, Don went to Marvel headquarters and held a management meeting.

At the meeting, Don made several major confessions -

Done Walker is the chairman of Marvel Entertainment, Alan Vane is CEO and leads the creative committee, Dan Buckley is the chief operating officer, Stan Lee is the chief creative officer, Joe Quisada is the chief content officer and editor-in-chief, and Brian Bendis is the deputy editor-in-chief......

This basically maintains the power and status of the Marvel veterans, and there is little change, and what surprises everyone is Donn's adjustment of Marvel Studios.

Prior to this, Marvel Studios was a subsidiary of Marvel Entertainment, but Tang En was inspired to focus on the development of the film industry, and Marvel Studios, a shell company, naturally became the top priority.

But what Don hates most is for the layman to guide the insider.

In the previous life, a big reason why Marvel movies were popular was that after Disney acquired Marvel, it carried out industrial adjustments, separated Marvel Studios from Marvel Entertainment, and mentioned the position alongside Marvel Entertainment, which are all subsidiaries of Disney Studios.

In this way, Marvel Entertainment only has the right to advise Marvel Studios, but no leadership, allowing Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, to calmly display his talents and build the Marvel Universe.

Now, Don has made the same choice, elevating Marvel Studios to the position of a subsidiary of Downe Pictures, on a par with Marvel Entertainment.

This will certainly dislike the Marvel bosses, but Done's attitude is very resolute, and the film industry must be led by filmmakers.

As for who is the president of Marvel Studios......

Don was a little embarrassed.

Kevin Feige is still just a stunned young man who has just entered Hollywood.

It's easy for Donn to make a movie, but it's hard to manage a company, especially a complex group of companies.