"Saving Private Ryan" is the first heavyweight film launched by Firefly Pictures this summer, so after completing the final cut yesterday, although today is Saturday, Firefly management still can't wait to hold an internal test film.

After watching the finished film, many executives who participated in the test screening had similar doubts in their minds, the quality of the film is absolutely irreproachable, from the plot to the soundtrack is top-notch, but the overly real and tragic shots, the film's nearly three-hour duration and the R-rated rating that the film may encounter are the focus of everyone's doubts.

However, Firefly's excellent performance in the past few years makes the company not fall into a crisis because of the failure of one or two big-budget movies, and the movie is personally decided by Eric, the big boss, even if the film fails, the management will not take too much responsibility, so everyone present does not have much psychological pressure, but dutifully puts forward their own suggestions for the details of the film's promotion.

Eric had planned for "Saving Private Ryan" to be officially released on June 6, 1994, the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings.

Unfortunately, June 6 happened to be a Monday, the first day of the working day. The weekly box office statistics cycle in North America is from Friday to the next Thursday, and some movies may choose to release on Wednesday or Thursday, but for the sake of box office data, unless it is a very special day, few studios choose to put it on Monday, which is the node when people have just spent the weekend and have the least movie-watching interest.

Therefore, the unanimous discussion turned out that the 50th anniversary of the Normandy landings did not have such a strong stimulating effect on the box office of the film, and it cannot be regarded as a very special date. Eric's proposal was unanimously opposed. In the end, it was decided to bring forward the release date of the film to June 3.

It was already four o'clock in the afternoon to complete the detailed publicity plan for "Saving Private Ryan". After all, it was the weekend, and everyone quickly dispersed after finishing work.

Leaving the conference room, Catherine's initial apprehension finally eased, and she still remembers the first preview of her first feature film, "Ruthless," when she was harshly pointed out by the executives of the small production company for a series of revisions.

Although "Saving Private Ryan" cost dozens of times more to produce than "Ruthless", this situation did not happen today, and most of the people attending the preview were discussing the details of the film's announcement. This made her look at the lazy young man walking beside her, and she knew that if it weren't for the patience of this little man during the editing, he even intervened with the white of his own eyes. Saving Private Ryan will never be as good as it is today. Thinking of this, Catherine's resentment at Eric's forcible cutting out of some of her favorite shots disappeared without a trace.

Catherine was staring at the young side face a little distractedly, and Eric suddenly turned his head, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth: "Look at the way you want to talk and stop, do you want to invite me to dinner at night, hehe, then I will agree." ”

Catherine didn't have any annoyance at Eric's somewhat scoundrel tone, but subconsciously gave him a roll of the eyes: "Didn't you say that you were going to ICM's Oscar warm-up party in the evening?"

"There's a party to be attended, and dinner is to be eaten," Eric said with a smile on his face, "Everybody knows that." It's hard to fill your stomach at that kind of party. ”

Catherine was hesitating what to do when a rush of footsteps sounded behind them. Katzenberg's voice followed: "Eric, wait a minute. ”

The two stood still, and as Katzenberg approached, Eric noticed an unconcealable excitement on his face.

"Eric, I just answered a phone call, it's ......" Katzenberg suddenly stopped talking and glanced at Catherine, although he knew that Eric and Catherine's relationship was not ordinary, otherwise he would never spend $70 million to shoot a war film with a very risky investment like "Saving Private Ryan", but Katzenberg didn't know how far the two of them had reached.

Eric was about to ask Katzenberg to continue, but Catherine took her leave, "Then you can talk, I'll go back first." With that, the woman walked towards the parking lot.

Katzenberg noticed Eric's somewhat depressed expression and opened his mouth with a smile, but then remembered something and swallowed back the words that came to his lips.

If Catherine was a girl about Eric's age, Katzenberg might tease her, believing that Eric wouldn't be angry. However, thinking of Catherine's age, Katzenberg couldn't help but shake his head in his heart. However, it is usually difficult for Western women to maintain, but Catherine looks like she is about thirty years old, and has a temperament that even he can't help but be tempted by, so it's no wonder that her little boss is so concerned.

Watching Catherine drive away, Eric asked, "Jeffrey, what's going on?"

"Oh, that's right," Katzenberg also regained his senses, and returned to the somewhat excited appearance he had just had: "I just received a call that Warren Buffett, Tom Murphy, and Charlie Munger, another partner of Berkshire, have arrived in Los Angeles in the afternoon, and the three of them are now staying at Buffett's vacation home in Los Angeles. ”

Buffett and Tom Murphy actually came to Los Angeles, Eric was surprised for a while, and then he probably guessed Buffett's intention, and subconsciously wanted to contact Jeffrey and others to hold a meeting. As soon as he took out the phone, Eric's mobile phone rang on its own.

"It must be about this," Jeffrey said with a wave at Eric, "You answer the phone, I'll contact Jeffrey and them." ”

Eric pressed the connect button, and Kapoor's mysterious voice came from the other end of the phone: "Eric, a friend just called me and asked me for a few invitations to tonight's warm-up party, guess who wants to come?"

Eric smiled and gave three names: "Warren Buffett, Tom Murphy, Charlie Munger." ”

"Uh......" Kapoor was obviously stunned, and then laughed: "I should have thought of it a long time ago, such an important matter, someone will definitely notify you as soon as possible." Then you look at the preparation. I'll have to contact the security company. Heightened security for tonight's party. By the way, I originally invited some reporters tonight, do you want me to cancel this session?"

Eric said: "No, since the three of them have come to Los Angeles, then this time the initiative will completely fall on the firefly's side, and this kind of thing, it is basically impossible to keep it secret." ”

The world's media has been focused on the Fireflies' acquisition of ABC TV for some time, and Warren Buffett has not hidden his whereabouts too much in Los Angeles. If the reporter can't find out the mystery, then it will be too incompetent. What's more, since Buffett and others came to the door in person, Eric not only didn't want to keep it secret, but even hoped that this matter would be as lively as possible.

……

As soon as the sun ended, a large number of reporters were already gathered outside the Sunset Tower Hotel in Hollywood, and there were even two live broadcast vehicles for TV stations.

Attendees of the ICM Oscars warm-up party quickly realised the unusualness, with hundreds of large-scale parties taking place each year around the Oscars, but no one would attract such a large amount of media attention.

With a few phone calls, most people will be able to find out what's going on.

Although these reporters are here for meetings with big names like Eric Williams and Warren Buffett. While waiting, though. In the face of the celebrities who showed their faces one by one, the reporters did not hesitate to film at all. Every time a Hollywood star appears outside the hotel, it can bring a flash of magnesium lights. Therefore, most of the celebrities who came to the party looked radiant, especially those second- and third-tier stars who lacked exposure, and they slowed down one by one to try to get these reporters to take more photos.

It was seven o'clock in the evening, and it was completely dark in Los Angeles in March.

The banquet hall was already packed with Hollywood superstars and celebrities, and everyone gathered in small circles to discuss what was going to happen tonight.

"I thought the negotiations really broke down, and I sold all the ABC shares in my hand a few days ago, and I may have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars. The chubby white man with a glass of champagne in his hand said this to his companions in a relaxed tone, as if he did not care about the loss of hundreds of thousands of dollars. The girl, who was already leaning beside him, heard the fat man's words, and her eyes couldn't help but roll, and she rubbed against him again.

Another middle-aged man in a white suit glanced at the petite girl leaning on his companion without a trace, and said with some pride: "I bought 3,000 shares yesterday at a low price, and if Eric Williams and Warren Buffett can negotiate tonight, maybe they can exchange for a share of Firefly Pictures in the future." ”

Another tall middle-aged man quickly said: "It's not so easy to get Firefly stock, I heard that the main difference between Firefly and ABC is that Eric Williams is only willing to sell a small part of Firefly stock in the stock exchange share." There are not many ABC shares in the current market, and if the acquisition is completed, most of the outstanding shares may be required to be exchanged for cash or bonds in order to achieve privatization, otherwise it is impossible to reach the minimum number of shareholders to be delisted from the exchange. ”

The petite girl leaning next to the fat man said in a curious tone: "What if these investors don't want to?"

The tall middle-aged man smiled: "If you insist on not selling, then the shares in your hands may be placed by fireflies into a packaged holding company, but this is not cost-effective, because it is difficult to determine the market value of the company after privatization, and the value of the shares in your hands will often shrink significantly, plus those shares do not bring you any right to speak, so as long as you are smart, you will choose to cash out." ”

As the guests chatted in whispers, there was a small commotion in the ballroom, and Kapoor Sid, the organizer of tonight's party, hurried out through the crowd, realizing that the most important guest of the night was about to arrive.

Although there are a lot of outsiders in the banquet hall tonight, most of them are still stars, agents and other film and television practitioners in the Hollywood circle, although they have also heard of Buffett's deeds, but they are still more concerned about Eric, a young Hollywood tycoon with the halo of the richest man on his head, many people cheered up, and some actresses also went to the corner to check their makeup, hoping to leave a good impression in front of Eric Williams.

At the same time, because he did not expect so many reporters to gather outside the party, the driver drove the car directly to the door of the hotel. As a result, Eric and Katzenberg were in two cars, surrounded by reporters.

That is until Kapoor shows up with a brigade of security guards. Try to push through the crowd. Eric had to get out of the car.

Outside the human wall formed by the security guards, seeing Eric, Katzenberg and other firefly executives get out of the car, the group of reporters suddenly went crazy, and took pictures and asked Eric loudly.

Walking all the way to the door of the hotel, just when the reporters thought that these big names would disappear without saying a word, Eric stood on the steps and stopped, pressed his hands to signal everyone to be quiet, and then said, "About tonight's events." I'll hold a press conference after the party is over, but it's not convenient to reveal anything right now, so be patient. ”

"Is there really a showdown tonight?" a reporter asked in a hurried tone, without even having time to add any titles. The reporters, who were about to speak, heard this to the point and fell silent again.

With a light smile on the corner of his mouth, Eric nodded without a trace, but he didn't answer directly, "I don't think Mr. Buffett came here because he admired a certain Hollywood star." ”

After saying this, Eric did not give the reporters another chance to ask questions. Turn around and walk towards the hotel lobby.

Eric walked into the elevator with Katzenberg and the others to talk and laugh with Kapoor, and just appeared at the banquet. The crowd in the hall seemed to feel the magnetically attracted iron nails, and they all gathered towards the door, and various greetings floated around Eric and Katzenberg and the others.

Although most of the women's brokerage contracts are at ICM, except for Penelope, Eric didn't see any other women in the crowd tonight, and even Nizi, who likes to party, didn't come to join in the fun. Penelope just greeted Eric with his eyes, and continued to stay with the other two girls in "Breaking Bad", although the thoughtful Spanish girl didn't know the specific situation, she also clearly realized that Eric had something important to do tonight.

At present, ICM can be described as strong, James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino, Tom Hanks, Al Pacino, Julia Roberts and a large number of first-line directors and actors are gathered under ICM at this time, and the overall strength is not much worse than the CAA that was in the limelight in previous years. Since the gradual exit of the founder, Marvin Joseph, Kapoor has successfully become the head of ICM thanks to the company's initial stake and personal relationship with Eric.

Eric spent more than ten minutes greeting acquaintances one by one, and then went to a reception room with Kapoor and the others.

Buffett was not late today, Eric had just chatted with everyone for a few words, and Kapoor was notified that the three Buffetts had arrived.

Kapoor and the security guards rescued the three old men who were also trapped in the car, and the three of them, including Eric and Katzenberg, who were standing in the hotel lobby, greeted them.

After Buffett shook hands with the others one by one, he said to Eric, "Eric, we meet again." ”

"yes, I've been looking forward to meeting again," Eric said with a smile.

Warren Buffett shook hands with Eric before he said, "These two are Tom Murphy and Charlie Munger." ”

"Hello," Eric stepped forward with an unchanging smile and another compliment. Then the group did not go to the banquet hall, but went directly to a small conference room prepared by the hotel.

After waiting for the waiter to bring coffee and exit the room, Capper nodded to Eric and turned to push the door open.

Only the Fireflies and ABC executives were left in the room, with Katzenberg, Jeffrey, Michael Lynn and Frank Wells sitting on either side of Eric and the Buffett trio across from them.

After a while, Buffett finally said, "Eric, I don't think it's good for everyone to continue to drag on this matter, so I think it's better for us to be open and honest, what do you think?"

Eric smiled and nodded without refuting, but he believed that everyone present knew very well that at this time, the fireflies had completely gained the upper hand, and even a large part of the shareholders within ABC had publicly sided with the fireflies a few days ago, if it weren't for the internal turmoil of ABC, Eric could even cooperate with the part of the shareholders on the ABC side who were inclined to fireflies and quickly take control of ABC.

"Mr. Buffett, I don't want to waste too much time on this kind of thing, everyone knows very well that Fireflies are not the only ABC option. ”

Before Buffett could speak, Tom Murphy, who was sitting next to him, couldn't help but say: "Everyone also knows why you choose ABC, among the three major TV stations, only ABC is now operating the best, our TV network is now the most complete in the United States, and the affiliated TV stations are also the most in the United States." If you choose either of the other two, it will take at least three years to catch up with ABC, and of course, I even think that because of complex internal issues, you may not even have a chance to catch up. ”

Although the Fox network has been on the rise for several years, Tom Murphy is still used to being called the 'Big Three'.

Eric shook his head and smiled, "Mr. Murphy, what you're saying is just your personal assumption. I think a few years ago, a lot of people assumed that Firefly Pictures didn't have any possibility of joining the Big Seven, but now it's true. And, judging by the ratings for TV shows like Fox Network's "Friends," "The X-Files," and "Who Will Be a Millionaire," I think your assumptions don't hold up anymore. ”

Because of the defection of ABC's internal shareholders and the stalemate in negotiations with Firefly Pictures, Tom Murphy has been in a very bad mood for the past week, hearing Eric's words, Tom Murphy's face was suddenly a little embarrassed, and was about to refute, Charlie Munger, who was sitting on the other side, asked with great interest: "So, Mr. Williams, why do you insist on buying ABC instead of the other two TV networks, I think choosing either NBC and CBS will save you a lot of money?"

Eric smiled, "As Mr. Murphy said, ABC is the Big Three...... Oh, it should be the best of the four major TV networks. ”

Charlie Munger continued: "That doesn't seem to be a reason, does it?"

"That's why, of course, it's mainly because I don't want to buy NBC or CBS and focus too much on tinkering with both networks, and I have more to do. ”

"Oh," Charlie Munger was even more curious, "after completing the acquisition of the TV network, Firefly will be the largest integrated media group in the United States and even in the world, according to federal antitrust laws, it is almost impossible for Firefly to continue to expand at that time, what else do you have to do?"

Eric said, "I guess that's not what we're going to talk about today, right?"

Charlie Munger also suddenly realized that he was about to take the topic away, noticed the eyes of his old friend next to him, and coughed dryly, but still said with some unfinished words: "I'm really curious about the minds of young people nowadays, if possible, why don't you take some time to talk casually?"

Eric nodded and smiled, "Of course, Mr. Munger, you can call me anytime you have time." ”

Buffett couldn't refute his old friend's face, and when the two finished speaking, he took out a notepad from his pocket, handed it to Eric and said, "Eric, this is the last concession I can make, you can take a look at it first." ”

Eric took the little notepad, gestured to the left and right, and spread it out on the table, with Katzenberg and Michael Lynn leaning over to look at the paper, while Jeffrey and Frank Wells were embarrassed to lean over.

Buffett's offer is not much different from the last time he received it, except that he has made concessions on the shares already held by Firefly Pictures, and Firefly can add its shares to the 30% share swap ratio.

After the last offer, in order to suppress ABC's stock price, Firefly sold 3 million shares, and the percentage of shares was reduced to 5.5%, simply converted, Buffett is equivalent to reducing the share exchange ratio to 28.4%, according to the market value of $30 billion after the merger, each percentage point is equivalent to a price difference of $300 million, and the amount involved in the future will be even greater, and Eric can't easily back down.

Quickly writing down a list of negotiated figures, Eric handed the notepad to Buffett and said, "Mr. Buffett, this is our plan." (To be continued.) )