Chapter 377: DreamWorks SKG

In the morning, the warm sunlight bathed the city; the weather in Los Angeles in September was still quite pleasant!

In the bedroom of the apartment in Culver City, Arthur lay on Yu Feihong, kissing and caressing the fair-skinned girl's chest.

"Hmm, Arthur, aren't you getting up yet?" Yu Feihong squirmed, letting out a low hum.

"Mmm," Arthur responded by passionately kissing the woman's lips beneath him.

"Alright then, today you have to go to school," Arthur said with a grin after breaking the kiss and rolling off her.

By noon, Arthur returned to Glendale's company headquarters and discussed MGM's international operations with Tom Rothman.

Regarding English-speaking countries like the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, it was straightforward. France, Germany, and Italy had already been ongoing endeavors for Galaxy.

Now, Galaxy's focus was turning to the Spanish-speaking Latin American market. "Let's proceed methodically and start by establishing an MGM International Spanish Distribution branch in Madrid.

Also, in the U.S., Los Angeles on the West Coast can handle the Mexican market, and Miami on the East Coast can reach Central and South America!"

Tom Rothman nodded in agreement. Galaxy's growth had been rapid over the past few years, with ample funds and talent enabling the release of excellent works and a swift expansion.

In the afternoon, Arthur met Jim Colt for dinner. "In the future, keep an eye on the South Korean chaebols for me. After the Miracle on the Han River, Korean companies are aggressively merging and trying to compete internationally with Western enterprises. Relying too heavily on foreign debt, with the decreasing dollar index, borrowing dollars is becoming more frantic!"

Jim Colt chuckled, "It's almost time; we've been closely monitoring Asian economic development, especially the East Asian market."

Arthur nodded, "South Korea has been applying to join the OECD. But South Korea's financial market is not fully open yet. Foreign capital's shareholding in Korean banks cannot exceed 50%. I'm certain that once the opportunity arises, Wall Street will fully control South Korea's financial market. Just keep a close eye on South Korea's economy!"

South Korea's economy was dominated by chaebols, and Arthur had his eyes on the most powerful among them - Samsung. His plan was to control Samsung by obtaining a controlling stake in a Korean bank and cooperating with other Wall Street investors.

Arthur had known since the previous year's pound short-selling incident that Wall Street had shifted its focus from Europe to Asia.

Around the same time, Jeffrey Katzenberg, who had just left Disney, teamed up with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen to establish DreamWorks SKG, causing a stir in Hollywood.

SKG stood for the initial letters of their surnames.

There was a grand banquet at the Bel-Air Hotel hosted by DreamWorks, inviting many individuals from various fields.

"Congrats! With this many friends from the media, DreamWorks is practically born with a silver spoon in its mouth," Arthur clinked glasses with David Geffen.

"Actually, DreamWorks still has many issues to resolve," David Geffen shook his head. The three founders were pivotal figures in their respective fields.

But now Katzenberg was negotiating severance with Disney, and Spielberg had ongoing projects with other film companies.

Arthur subtly smiled, "DreamWorks is an integrated entertainment company encompassing movies, TV, and music. And involving both live-action and animated films means it's essential to get production, marketing, and distribution ready from the get-go, which requires more preparation time."

DreamWorks had investments from Paul Allen and Korea's CJ Group, so they weren't short on funds. Still, Jeffrey Katzenberg was undoubtedly in charge, given his significant accomplishments at Paramount and Disney.

Secretly, Arthur hoped Katzenberg wouldn't stay at Disney since he was the Disney executive most passionate about CG animation.

Katzenberg had always been enthusiastic about Pixar and still maintained contact with Pixar's animator John Lasseter.

On the contrary, Disney's Michael Eisner wasn't keen on computer animation, especially after The Lion King made him even more dismissive.

"Is it Michael Ovitz handling Katzenberg's severance negotiations?" Arthur asked, somewhat uncertain.

David Geffen nodded, "Yes, it's him."

Meanwhile, Michael Eisner was focused on acquiring a television network.

Afterwards, Arthur ran into James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger. The summer action blockbuster True Lies had impressive scenes.

However, with a production cost of $100 million, the North American box office had just passed $100 million and would probably go for $150 million by the end of its run.

Including the overseas market, True Lies was considered a success, but judging from the input-output ratio, its commercial success was somewhat dim.

It was evident that James Cameron was great at spending money on movies. He was currently preparing for Titanic, and Arthur looked forward to seeing the scenario when the budget ran out during filming.

"Arthur, isn't Spider-Man happening?" James Cameron still seemed attached to his Spider-Man script.

Arthur's lips twitched, "You're not only preparing Titanic now but also considering Terminator 3. Do you really have the time?"

James Cameron shrugged, "If my project budget doesn't get approved, I'd have time!"

Arthur laughed. James Cameron was the type of director who never saw costs as a constraint.

The budget numbers Cameron submitted typically only covered 80% of his actual usage. Overbudgeting was standard for him.

Terminator 2 and True Lies had both severely overshot their budgets. Independent company Carolco couldn't handle him, so the producer for True Lies had shifted to 20th Century Fox instead.

"Well, I've always liked your work. If you ever need help, you can always seek assistance from Galaxy MGM," Arthur said, patting Cameron's shoulder.

"Thanks!"

Arnold Schwarzenegger was currently alternating between action and comedy films. This year, his action film True Lies had just been released. Later this year, he had a comedy movie, Junior, to be released, where the bulky Schwarzenegger would be playing the world's first pregnant man!

He was now filming a Warner Bros. action movie titled Eraser.

*****

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