The silver Rolls-Royce sedan drove up Fifth Avenue, the speed inevitably slowed down, although it was not the rush hour for commuting, but the congested Manhattan traffic was still worrisome, sitting in the spacious back seat, Duke looked at his watch, it was still early, even if he was stuck here for an hour, he would not be late.

As the largest shareholder and board member of Marvel Comics - Marvel changed its name only in Chinese in 09, in order not to conflict with the present, it will be called Marvel in the future - he came to New York this time to discuss future plans with Marvel executives.

Maybe Marvel has indeed been confused in the past few years and can't see the direction of the future road, but the first part of "X-Men" soared at the box office of more than $150 million in North America, which is enough to sober them up.

The people who can become the top executives of companies that are famous all over the United States, including those who make bad decisions and cause companies to lose money, are all human beings.

The daily tasks that Manhattan would play out every day came to a complete stop, and Duke simply leaned back and closed his eyes to think about the topic of today's meeting.

As the majority shareholder of Marvel, Duke also did his homework before flying to New York.

There is no doubt that Marvel has reached an inflection point in history.

Since 1995, the North American comic industry has ushered in a frozen period, not only Marvel, including DC and Dark Horse Comics, life is not good, comic sales are also declining, and even in the lowest year, the sales of comics in the United States are less than 300 million US dollars!

Since last year, the situation has improved slightly, but the ice period of paper comics is far from over, and the comic industry wants to get out of the trough, and it is simply impossible to solve it by relying on comics alone.

The pan-entertainment of comics is the way out for comic book companies, and DC Comics is far ahead of Marvel in this regard. Superman and Batman are both typical examples of the success of comics in pan-entertainment.

However, even if the Superman and Batman movies were once big hits, and the first part of "X-Men" got off to a stunning start, comic book movies are far from the mainstream of the market.

If comic films want to truly become a part of mainstream films, they must go through a long process of investigation, analysis, integration, preparation, and compilation.

Now that "X-Men" is a big hit, Duke can offer some suggestions to Marvel. Speed up the process, but if Marvel wants to reach the heights it once had, it will never be possible in two or three years.

Although the experience is different, he only has one of the most normal human minds, can't be as casual and omnipotent as a computer, and even Marvel things have been ignored over time, or Ian? McLean's Magneto evokes relevant memories.

Maybe there really is a super genius in this world who can do anything, but Duke knows very well that he is not one of them. He can put forward some suggestions based on the memories that have been evoked, but these suggestions need to be summarized and implemented by Marvel professionals, and Marvel has been in decline for many years, and it will inevitably need to be reorganized and rectified internally, which is not something that can be solved by standing there and talking endlessly for a while.

This kingdom worships individual heroism, but even if it is as powerful as Bill? Gates, Steve? Jobs and Warren? Warren Buffett also needs a team with equally outstanding ability as an executor.

In fact, anyone who knows a little about the comic industry can see it. The current problems of Marvel are not solved by a successful movie.

Half an hour later. The silver Rolls Royce stopped in front of 417 Fifth Avenue, and as soon as Duke got out of the car, a Marvel staff greeted him and led him to the elevator to the office floor belonging to Marvel.

Although he was not late, it was not early, and Duke followed the staff directly into the conference room. I greeted Marvel's board of directors, as well as several other executives who attended the meeting.

Of course, there was only one of these people sitting in the conference room, and Duke really remembered one, Stan, who was wearing a pair of sunglasses and had age spots all over his face? Plum.

Even if I admire the other party for creating so many comic heroes. Duke maintained the attitude he should have, and treated him no different from other people, this is a business activity, and if it is too affectionate, it will be a bit rude not to say that it does not conform to his identity.

Only five minutes later, it was confirmed that everyone was there, and the board meeting of Marvel kicked off, and the person who presided over the meeting was Marvel CEO Kevin? Fitch.

After a few simple topics, the meeting quickly came to the comic book heroes.

"I believe everyone has seen the charm of our heroes, and it is not only DC's Superman and Batman who can succeed on the big screen, but also our superheroes!"

Sitting at the front of the long conference table, Kevin? Feige's words were sonorous, "Guys, we must no longer sell the rights to our superheroes!" ”

The CEO, who only sat in a high position at a critical moment, was not the standard company executive in a suit and leather shoes and a meticulous tie, he was huge, and he wore a random Marvel character-themed hoodie, with bulging half-worn jeans and gray sneakers, and he didn't look like a company decision-maker at all.

His mention was supported by everyone, including Duke, without any suspense.

After receiving Duke's investment, Marvel's financial pressure has been greatly eased, and now it naturally doesn't want to sell the rights of other comic book heroes stupidly.

Obviously, Kevin? Feige has the support of the majority of the board of directors, and Duke will also support him as long as the decisions he makes are in Marvel's interest.

There's enough support, Kevin? Feige also threw out a series of reform plans to optimize Marvel's internal and gradually solve the contradictions and problems accumulated over the years.

What impressed Duke the most was that he proposed Marvel's pan-entertainment concept and wanted to promote Marvel's reorganization, especially the establishment of a dedicated Marvel Studios to produce superhero movies belonging to Marvel.

His plan is indeed exciting, but Duke knows that this can only be a long-term plan, just like he thought in the car when he came, the problems facing Marvel now cannot be solved by relying on movies alone, and with Marvel's current situation and capabilities, it can only be a luxury for the time being to make a successful movie.

And some people will always be blinded by immediate interests, and there are two executive directors who directly build yì Marvel to join the ranks of the film industry to make money.

Still, Kevin? Feige and his lieutenant Avi? Arad is sober enough.

"For the film industry, the whole of Marvel is a layman." Kevin? Feige's eyes fell on Duke, "Here is one of the most successful directors in Hollywood, why don't we listen to Duke's construction." ”

Everyone's eyes turned to Duke, to be present in this meeting, there would be no real idiots and rubbish, understanding that Duke had more say in this regard than all of them combined, and that he himself was the largest shareholder of Marvel, and it was impossible for him to say something unreliable.

"Kevin, have someone send me the information I brought."

This is also a long-term meal ticket for the future, and just like understanding the animation industry, Duke made a detailed plan based on vague memories and the future development of the film industry.

Two assistants opened the two thick bags that Duke's driver had brought in, walked around the sides of the long conference table, and placed a copy in front of many executives.

Many people couldn't wait to open the text, and the two executive directors who were a little anxious just glanced at it and frowned unconsciously.

One of them said, "Five years is too long, isn't it?" ”

The other people's eyes looked at Duke again, and Duke slowly rested his arms on the table, "On the contrary, if everything turns out to be our expectation, it will take five years to meet Marvel's needs, otherwise it will be longer." ”

Since the beginning of the meeting, Duke has been basically silent, more like a mascot, but when it comes to what he does best, his voice is no better than Kevin? Fitch is weak.

"Ladies and gentlemen, keep turning the information back in your hands." His voice is not high, but it is extremely loud, "This is not a simple movie project, but to connect our superheroes into a world with movies!" ”

"It takes time for Marvel to reshuffle internally, it takes time to set up a brand new Marvel Studios, and it takes time to find partners and distributors!"

He directly pointed out the problem of time, "Marvel is just a newcomer in the film industry, even if I am next to take care of it, it will also take time to get familiar with this circle." Ladies and gentlemen, there is never a shortage of tricks in the film industry, and Hollywood is no simpler than any competitive business circle. ”

"And, the most important points!" Duke's gaze turns to Stan? Lee, "The Marvel Universe is extremely chaotic, the relationship between the protagonists is extremely complicated, and the copyrights of many heroes are not entirely in our hands, and if we want to maximize the benefits in the future, we must take back all the copyrights of the superheroes I listed in the plan, which also takes time to negotiate!" ”

Stan? Li had been flipping through the plan, and when he saw the last few pages, his hands trembled slightly, and there was irrepressible excitement in his voice, "Duke, your plan, your final plan......"

"Yes, that's right!" "We put Marvel's most popular characters in the same universe, connected them with movies, and then supplemented the world structure with new comics, cartoons, and series. Finally, our superheroes come together to take on the toughest challenge and form the Avengers! ”

"And that's not the end of it!" Duke continued, "If the plan really goes according to plan, we can get out of Earth and set our sights on Marvel's ultimate universe! ”

His words and plans are not too complicated, this is just a building, the best person to realize the plan, is undoubtedly the one who created the Avengers and knows the most about the Marvel Universe.

"And of all these film projects, the most important is the first one. If the first part fails, the subsequent plans will suffer a serious setback, and we must be cautious! Sufficient preparation time is the basic condition for success. ”

The plan thrown out by Duke attracted the extreme attention of Marvel's management, and the board of directors extended it from one day to three days, and the next two days were basically discussing the feasibility of the plan. (To be continued......)

PS: It's the weekend, and it's going to be busy again...... Ask for a monthly pass~