Chapter 385: Tesla

Tesla's market value was less than $500 million at the time, but due to the financial crisis, its debts were high. Elon Musk was very pleased with Charles Capet's investment and support.

Dona Williams quickly negotiated the investment ratio with Tesla after returning to New York. The Capet Fund secured 22% of Tesla's shares with $100 million in cash.

This was Tesla's Series E funding round, and the major contributor was Elon Musk himself, who had already invested $55 million into Tesla by then!

...

In late June, Charles returned to Los Angeles from New York, around the same time Thor's North American box office earnings exceeded $150 million, with overseas earnings also crossing 200 million.

Marvel Studios held a celebration banquet at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood. Achieving a global box office of over $350 million using relatively unknown actors was undeniably a success.

"This approach is correct. Thor 2 is also set to release in 2010," Kevin Feige was now in awe of Charles, acknowledging that this defined Marvel Studios' operational strategy.

"Starting next year, Marvel Studios will release two movies annually, with The Avengers series featuring in-between. Let's see how DC Entertainment tries to shake our Marvel Universe," Charles chuckled.

"Warner Brothers' The Dark Knight is really popular this year. Christopher Nolan's 2005 Batman Begins started off strong," Kevin Feige was very focused on Warner Brothers' adaptations of DC Comics.

"Warner Brothers' reboot of Watchmen is a non-traditional superhero theme. It started filming last year and releases next year!"

Watchmen had quite a following. Zack Snyder, after directing 300 for Capet Pictures, became a big name. 

DC Comics had several sub-brand comic companies producing titles like Constantine, V for Vendetta, Red, Watchmen, Jonah Hex, and Road to Perdition.

"Is there any news on George Miller's Justice League project? Did Warner Brothers abandon it?" Charles asked.

"After last year's writers' strike, I heard Warner Brothers shelved it. With Christopher Nolan's Batman being so successful, Warner Brothers is hesitant to cast another actor as Batman," Kevin Feige explained.

Charles laughed, "Christopher Nolan's portrayal of Batman doesn't really fit into a team dynamic. He's already a Dark Knight!"

The plot of Batman Begins was indeed deep, and Nolan's Batman trilogy had a high tone.

Unlike Marvel Studios' positioning, which was more about family-friendly blockbusters with lots of special effects, focused on spectacle rather than plot!

After chatting with Kevin Feige, Charles found his mother.

"Look, I've made two more newcomers famous for you. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are becoming known!" Charles said, glancing at Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston in the distance.

Evelyn smiled, "You seem to like French actresses quite a bit, don't you? Eva Green, Marion Cotillard?"

"They are cheap, obedient, and compared to American, Australian, and British actresses, they need opportunities more!" Charles wasn't running a charity, but with their talent and looks, if they were affordable, of course, he'd use them.

"It helps Capet Entertainment's international market as well," Evelyn Capet knew her son's ambitions were significant.

"This is all small stuff. By the way, has Hillary decided to drop out of the presidential race? The Democrats should be selecting their candidate soon, right?" Charles was curious about Obama's presidential campaign.

"It's decided. At the Democratic National Convention next month, they will nominate Obama. Hillary will announce her withdrawal at the end of this month," Evelyn whispered.

Charles nodded and smiled, "Hollywood support really has its effects. Hillary's reach due to Bill Clinton's political resources is truly impressive!"

"Obama's attitude toward Silicon Valley is better than toward Hollywood. Aren't you worried?" Evelyn reminded him.

"What should I be worried about? Can America do without Silicon Valley but not without Hollywood?" Charles scoffed.

"Right now, the main focus is the Internet Copyright Revision Act. It's a significant point of contention between Silicon Valley and Hollywood; Congress won't dare to favor either side. Hollywood can be frightening when united. The Internet Copyright Revision Act has to pass, or companies like Google and Facebook will keep taking advantage of us!"

Hollywood wanted Congress to pass this act to secure its copyright interests, while Silicon Valley opposed it, hoping to continue using some Hollywood film clips to attract traffic.

"By the way, the two Democratic Senators from California, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, are getting old. Do you have any ideas?" Evelyn reminded him again.

Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer had both been elected in 1992. This was their third term, with each term lasting six years.

Dianne Feinstein was 75 and Barbara Boxer 68, but the American Congress had many members in their seventies and eighties.

Unless there was a significant event, it was tough to replace them!

"I have funded Dianne Feinstein before. As for Barbara Boxer, I'm not close to her. This year I will push Dianne Feinstein to become the California Democratic Party Chair.

If Barbara Boxer, who is 68, supports my candidate in replacing her as the next California Senator in two years, I will fully support her replacing the current Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. Nancy Pelosi would then remain the Democratic leader in the House of Representatives!"

Charles didn't like Barbara Boxer but disliked Nancy Pelosi even more. He planned to push Barbara Boxer further into Washington, as she was already well-known within the Democratic Party and had more seniority than Nancy Pelosi.

The downside was, Barbara Boxer was famously seen as one of the dumbest senators, making headlines before!

Charles looked at his mother, "You know how much work I've put into Obama's presidential campaign. He has to give me the due rewards, and Obama wouldn't care whether the Speaker of the House is Nancy Pelosi or Barbara Boxer. They're both left-wing representatives within the Democratic Party."

Nancy Pelosi had been a California Congresswoman before becoming a House Representative. Barbara Boxer replacing her would be a perfect transition.

"Alright, I will discuss this with Arianna Huffington," Evelyn hadn't realized her son was already so deeply involved in politics.

*****

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