Chapter 593: Bourne 4?

After returning to Los Angeles, Charles Capet quickly received transfer contracts from Manchester City and Arsenal. Samir Nasri transferred to Manchester City for PS26.5 million, and David Silva transferred for PS28.5 million, which totals to EUR66 million.

Barcelona spent EUR50 million to bring David Sanchez to Camp Nou.

Winning the UEFA Champions League and the World Cup made the value of Spanish national players more than double. Arsenal's goal for next season was the treble.

This year, Arsenal won the FA Cup and the UEFA Champions League but lost the important league title to Chelsea.

Although in August there were still the Community Shield and the UEFA Super Cup games, and later in the year the Club World Cup, even if all three titles were won, making them a five-time champion team, it still felt incomplete without the league title.

...

At the Waterworld Hotel in Universal Studios Hollywood, originally the Hollywood Sheraton Hotel, a business cocktail party was underway.

"The renovation is nice. The pool redesign has made the hotel more popular," said Evelyn Capet, sitting on the balcony with her son, admiring the pool view.

"Hollywood already attracts many tourists. Universal Studios Hollywood is a major draw, aligning with the park's theme makes sense," Charles Capet added. Waterworld at Universal Studios Hollywood was quite popular.

Evelyn nodded. "Recently, EDR received an investment from American Capital Group. EDR might be looking for IPO soon!"

"Listing EDR now is too early. They should at least wait until they integrate resources," Charles reminded.

"American Capital Group? They just bought some shares of Time Warner Group from Liberty Media earlier this year and replaced them as the largest shareholder!"

Although American Capital Group wasn't as big as BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street, or Fidelity Investments, it was still significant. They had considerable investments in manufacturing, resource mining, and the military industry and were one of the major shareholders of Lockheed Martin.

"Jeff Bewkes just appointed Jack Griffin as the new CEO of Time Inc. this month!" Evelyn mentioned.

"Yeah, Ann Moore resigned?" Charles was a bit surprised.

Ann Moore had been the CEO of Time Inc., and the Time Warner Group sold off some of its publishing and printing businesses years ago. However, Time Inc. still owned numerous publications like Time, Fortune, Sports Illustrated, People, and Money.

Evelyn nodded, explaining, "You know, print media has been declining in recent years. These historic newspapers and magazines mostly represent cultural and political significance."

Time magazine, being America's largest news weekly, was still doing alright. However, fellow major news weeklies Newsweek and U.S. News & World Report weren't faring as well.

Newsweek's parent company, The Washington Post Company, sold it for $1 to Sidney Harman, the 91-year-old founder of audio equipment manufacturer Harman International Industries, just assuming Newsweek's debt. Newsweek's business continued to decline, with over $30 million in losses last year. Another news weekly, U.S. News & World Report, changed its publishing frequency from weekly to biweekly in June 2008, and then to monthly in November 2008. Now, U.S. News & World Report had announced a switch to an entirely digital version, except for special issues.

"Looks like Time Warner might split and sell Time Inc. soon," Charles observed casually. Magazines like Time, Fortune, and People would always attract wealthy individuals looking to increase their political capital.

Top newspapers like The Los Angeles Times and The Washington Post would also face similar fates and might be bought by individuals in the future.

Capet Pictures' The Huffington Post was already an online newspaper. The New York Observer, although just a small weekly in Manhattan, was actively promoting its online version after merging with The Huffington Post.

"These are minor issues. I heard that this year, after Peter Schlessel left Sony's Columbia Pictures, he founded a new film company, FilmDistrict, and signed a cooperation agreement with your Capet Pictures?" Evelyn suddenly asked.

Charles nodded, "FilmDistrict is considered an independent film company. Peter Schlessel aims to establish an independent distribution system. The cooperation with Capet Pictures mainly involves distribution agreements with Focus Features and Matrix Pictures.

Which independent film company can avoid thriller and horror genres nowadays? Focus Features handles art and foreign films, while Matrix Pictures deals with horror and gore B-movies. It's enough to satisfy him."

Evelyn sighed and smiled, "So much has changed in just a few years!"

"Indeed. I still remember needing Nicole Kidman's introduction to meet Peter Schlessel when I pitched Underworld to seek support from Sony's Columbia Pictures," Charles reminisced with a smile. "But now, Peter Schlessel isn't qualified to meet with me anymore!"

Evelyn's gaze suddenly fell on Cate Blanchett in the distance. She pointed discreetly, "Is Universal not planning to use Matt Damon anymore after several of his movies flopped?"

"Matt Damon, Russell Crowe, Keanu Reeves, and Johnny Depp - all of them are too costly for Capet Pictures now," Charles didn't hold back.

"EDR can focus on the actors from the Marvel series. They are very popular right now!"

Matt Damon was with EDR, Russell Crowe and Keanu Reeves were with CAA, and Johnny Depp was signed with UTA.

"In the era of blockbuster films, the importance of superstars is greatly reduced. What I need are affordable and practical actors!"

Charles guessed, "Is mother asking because of the Bourne 4 project?"

"Is Universal planning to start?" Evelyn asked casually.

Charles shook his head, "Producer Frank Marshall proposed it, but I vetoed it. The Bourne trilogy is very complete. Director Paul Greengrass explicitly stated he doesn't support Bourne 4, and Matt Damon stands with him. Besides, now Universal doesn't lack high-grossing franchises. Why would they take on such a high-risk project?"

"Alright, I'll head back first," Evelyn casually mentioned. She wasn't genuinely interested in a single actor under her management anyway.

Right now, Evelyn was quite interested in Cate Blanchett!

*****

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