Chapter 489: Constantin

[Chapter 552: Constantin]

On the top floor of the MGM building, Arthur woke up to a delightful aroma wafting from the kitchen.

Sure enough, Naomi Watts was in her pajamas, preparing breakfast. Arthur hugged the woman from behind and kissed her, "Has Madchen already left?"

"Yeah, she's off to attend the Oscars," Naomi replied cheerfully, her breakfast spread lavish.

Arthur smiled, stroking the soft skin of the woman in his arms and planting a few kisses on her face, "Are you envious? You'll be up there someday too!"

"Well," Naomi said, leaning against him, feeling a bit weak in the knees. "Haven't you had enough fun these past couple of days?"

"What do you think? Should've devoured you back in Australia," Arthur said, his excitement growing.

"But what about Nicole? She's so beautiful and has a fantastic figure!" Naomi teased with a smile. "Let's eat breakfast first, okay?"

"But I feel like eating you right now!" Arthur kissed her perfumed shoulder.

Naomi turned around and touched Arthur's face, "Alright, how about a little appetizer first, before breakfast?"

...

By 10 AM, Arthur got dressed and glanced at Naomi, who looked great in her knit top.

"Where are you heading off to?" he asked.

"Oh, I've got a romantic movie to discuss with the producer and director, my agent is taking me. It's a co-production between the U.S. and Australia," Naomi said with a smile, adjusting Arthur's tie. "Looking sharp as ever!"

"Alright, I'll pick you up tonight," Arthur said, brushing her cheek.

Arthur was off to Galaxy Tower, where Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, and Deutsche Bank were underwriting Galaxy's IPO; he needed to attend an investor meeting.

In the media hall of Galaxy Tower, Arthur energetically delivered a speech on stage, with Wall Street fund managers and bank representatives watching below.

"As you all know, we're in Hollywood's era of diversification. Just last year, Hollywood studios made several significant acquisitions," he said.

"Time Warner acquired TBS, and Disney bought ABC. These two are now the largest media groups in the world," he continued.

"But Galaxy is not far behind. We've acquired MGM and CBS, and we're on the offensive against Time Warner and Disney," Arthur declared. "I've always said there are only two movie companies in Hollywood: Galaxy and the rest. That's still true today..."

Applause broke out among the investors in response to Arthur's remarks.

One representative stood up smiling, "I'm a rep from Vanguard. I'd like to ask Arthur, how long until Galaxy surpasses Disney and Time Warner?"

"Not even ten years, Galaxy will become the largest media group in the world, and by a significant margin!"

"I'm with Carlyle Capital. Arthur, will Galaxy be the box office champion this year?"

"Ha, we are absolutely confident!"

...

In Arthur's office, Grinde von Heibert, the president of Deutsche Bank in the U.S., clinked glasses with Arthur. "At present, Galaxy is the most anticipated IPO on Wall Street. I've had multiple discussions with Jim Colt. When the time comes, Deutsche Bank will be promoting Galaxy in Europe."

Arthur smiled; Wall Street had been more than enough for Galaxy to shine. "I heard Deutsche Bank also bought shares of Gucci?"

"Yes, because with you in the picture, we are optimistic about Gucci's development."

Arthur took a sip of his drink, curious about what Deutsche Bank would think once the Asian financial crisis struck and Gucci's stock price fell.

"Actually, we also want to discuss another matter with you," Grinde von Heibert said.

"Oh? What's that?"

"Deutsche Bank has acquired a majority stake in Constantin Film, aiming to develop it into an international film production and distribution company," he explained. "Not just a traditional German film distribution company."

Arthur understood; currently, local films in the German market held less than 20% share, dominated by foreign films, primarily Hollywood blockbusters.

Constantin Film had initially focused on distributing Hollywood works in Germany, but now they wanted to step into the international production scene? Just like Village Road Show Entertainment in Australia and PolyGram in the U.K., they couldn't avoid confronting Hollywood -- the largest market in North America.

"Strengthening film cooperation between Galaxy and Constantin is definitely possible," Arthur replied, although Galaxy had ongoing collaborations with Bertelsmann's UFA Film. But now, UFA's main business revolved around marketing, not production.

"Germany's film tax incentives will surely attract a lot of Hollywood films to shoot there or enlist German capital, which is also an opportunity for Constantin."

Arthur had no objections; Deutsche Bank had specifically set up a film investment fund for Galaxy.

Since Constantin wanted to enter the international film production field, Galaxy's United Artists and Orion Pictures would be great collaboration partners.

Grinde von Heibert nodded and shook hands with Arthur, "Pleasure to cooperate!"

Arthur smiled back, "Pleasure to cooperate. Galaxy also places great importance on the German market."

Europe's film market essentially operated as Hollywood's backyard, leaving European production companies unable to invest significantly in productions.

For instance, although Luc Besson received support from Gaumont to create the blockbuster The Fifth Element, he still needed to attract Hollywood funding to participate.

The current positioning of Constantin Film was perhaps akin to an independent producer in Hollywood, mainly focusing on low-cost commercial films.

Galaxy's Orion Pictures would make for an excellent partner for Constantin Film.

Last year, Orion's science fiction horror film Species, produced and released, achieved a respectable $60 million at the North American box office and over a hundred million worldwide.

Despite the flop of the released film Showgirls, Orion still saw success with Jack Chan's movie it released last year.

Moreover, Orion had previously released hits like The Silence of the Lambs and the Scream series, with commercial elements taking precedence over the artistic emphasis of Galaxy's other independent label, United Artists.

*****

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