Mature

The film ended, and the audience slowly woke up from their dream.

The director had told a simple love story with two ordinary narratives. It wasn't passionate or earth-shattering; it was more like meeting the right person in the right place at the right time.

Will's love for Martha led him to let go, while the artistic young man Alex's love for the director made him stand firm.

Two different approaches, but ultimately, it was the same thing. Throughout the entire movie, the shots remained subtle and restrained.

Just as the film had said at the beginning, it aimed to tell a simple love story.

The director had achieved that, making it so compelling that no one wanted to miss a scene. Even though there wasn't much conflict in the plot, no climactic kiss, there was an undeniable desire to keep watching.

Bella, somewhat mischievously, glanced around the theater.

As she expected, even when the subtitles started appearing, no one left the theater. Bathed in the bright light from the screen, many people had expressions of admiration, clearly captivated by the love portrayed in the film.

Perhaps everyone was fantasizing about placing themselves in the movie's scenes.

It had to be admitted that there was such magic.

At the age of yearning for love, who hadn't had such fantasies? Every girl had traced countless times in her heart what her Prince Charming would look like, and every boy had imagined dating someone special and walking through life together.

Bella sighed. While she hoped to savor this moment of beauty, she had to accept the reality that she was still single.

And she was a film critic; she had to go back and write her article.

As Bella contemplated where to start to write an article that would impress her editor, the lights in the theater came back on, pulling the audience's attention back.

In fact, she was quite relieved that the director had provided a relatively satisfying ending in the second story. If it had ended tragically, she probably wouldn't have had the heart to think about these things.

She also made a resolution in her heart that she would continue to watch Lyman's next work as soon as it was released.

"Real romantic. Why don't you play any musical instruments?"

"You don't play any either."

"Get lost."

In front of Bella, there was a couple.

Listening to their discussion, she found it quite amusing.

"Will is such a good guy, so handsome."

"I think Martha is beautiful, especially in her dress at the birthday party."

"Alex is not bad; he can play the guitar."

"Sophie Marceau is still so beautiful."

"I want to watch it again."

...

These discussions continued non-stop.

At the same time, Andrew David, the head of Paramount's marketing department, immediately called Sherry Lansing after receiving feedback from the audience. He reported, "Madam President, our arranged surveyors have sent a message. They say the atmosphere in the theater is very good, with almost no one leaving early, and most viewers have praised the movie. It seems that Lyman's film should do well."

"I understand. Anyway, whatever will be, will be. "Effervescent" is doing well, and it's good for Paramount. The theaters are pushing for more screenings, and when it comes to promotion, we'll follow the usual steps."

Sherry hung up the phone and turned to look at Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the executive director of the animation department who had previously served as the head of Disney's film division, and David Geffen, known as the "Godfather of the Record Industry".

These three individuals were the founders of DreamWorks.

"How are you three feeling about this?" Jeffrey looked at Steven and David. He hesitated to speak because the animation department he supervised had already been split off and gone public. This acquisition case had nothing to do with DreamWorks Animation.

"A valuation of $2.5B is too low unless they're willing to shoulder our debts," David spoke up.

You see, the three founders of this company each received a billion dollars, and the remaining funds were raised with $800M from Microsoft's co-founder Paul Allen and the Lee family of Samsung Group. They also secured a $1B loan from a certain bank.

After all, wanting to create an independent film kingdom free from the control of conglomerates, capable of competing with Hollywood's Big Six, required both ambition and financial strength. With their goals spread too thin and funds rapidly circulating, DreamWorks began to feel overwhelmed not long after its founding. Even before Paramount approached them, DreamWorks was considering selling its record company to Universal Music.

This was one reason why David was somewhat eager. He wanted to cash out.

"If you want us to shoulder external debt, that's fine. But in addition to all copyrights and equity, we'd lower the acquisition funds to $1.3B. How does that sound?"

"That's too low."

"DreamWorks is already carrying a $1.4B debt. I think my offer is reasonable."

"But it's not a one-time repayment; there's plenty of room for maneuver. Plus, DreamWorks owns the complete copyrights to over fifty films, including critically acclaimed works like "Saving Private Ryan" and "Gladiator". I believe Paramount's offer is a bit low."

"But what about the employees? I can't just lay off all those people. Won't they be a burden?"

Upon hearing this, Steven couldn't help but say, "Their job performance is quite good."

"Paramount doesn't need that many employees. Here's what we can do: I have other matters to attend to. Let's discuss this again next time."

Once the three titans of DreamWorks had left, Sherry summoned the negotiating team members and said, "Continue to engage them. Lower their bottom line, and perhaps David Geffen's side will be a breakthrough."

Who would want to pay a high price to acquire DreamWorks at the moment?

While Sherry believed that Steven had the capability to elevate Paramount's production standards significantly, those complex external debts and equity transfers had to be dealt with.

She didn't want to invest so much and solve major problems for others only to get an incomplete DreamWorks in return.

To be honest, in her heart, she preferred to acquire Firefly Films. Especially now, the performance of "Effervescent" had proven Lyman's filmmaking abilities.

She had tried to make contact privately, but both René and Lyman seemed unwilling to negotiate. She had no choice.

All she could do was hope that DreamWorks' entry would be a good move and bring about changes at Paramount.m