Chapter 530: It's All Up to Me to Shoot

[Chapter 595: It's All Up to Me to Shoot]

"Hmm," in the hotel room, Arthur held Alicia Silverstone close and kissed her.

Alicia eagerly wrapped her arms around Arthur, responding passionately.

"Alright, Alicia," Arthur grinned, pulling away from the young actress, "this can be addictive."

Alicia promptly sat in Arthur's lap, her pretty face brushing against the man's neck, "Do you want to go on a date with me?"

"We can talk about that when the time is right," Arthur patted the girl in his embrace, "We need to head back to the event."

...

Later that evening, Arthur and Jennifer Connelly returned together to their vacation home in Long Island.

In the bathroom, Jennifer was soaking in the tub with Arthur. "Arthur, it seems like all the studios in Hollywood are really focusing on DVDs."

Arthur smiled as he gently kneaded the 34D of the girl in his arms, "Not just focusing; they're seeing it as the primary revenue stream for the future. Remember when VHS tapes first came out? They pretty much kicked off home entertainment."

No longer confined to the television, people could watch the movies they wanted anytime. The emergence of VHS was truly groundbreaking.

Now, DVDs were set to elevate home entertainment yet again -- larger capacity and lower prices could double the growth of the home entertainment market!

"Are you suggesting that DVDs will replace VHS tapes?" Jennifer asked.

"Probably sooner than we think. While VHS won't disappear completely, its market share will definitely shrink," Arthur chuckled. "After all, there are still people who appreciate the charm of VHS tapes; habits are hard to change!"

The real challenge now lay in promotion; the price of players needed to drop further to gain traction so that studios could ramp up DVD production.

Jennifer nodded, "Aren't you skipping this year's Oscar ceremony?"

"What do you think?" Arthur said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, "Have you ever seen Gerald Levin or Rupert Murdoch, or even Michael Eisner, at the Oscars?"

"Arthur, those people aren't filmmakers; they're media moguls," Jennifer chuckled. "You're different -- you're a real Hollywood screenwriter and producer who has been involved at every stage of filmmaking. And this year, The English Patient, produced by Galaxy Pictures, is a favorite for big awards!"

Arthur shrugged nonchalantly, "That just means I should leave the spotlight for others."

...

Meanwhile, McDonnell Douglas and Boeing merged through a $13 billion stock swap, effectively transforming the previously three-way joint monopoly of the aerospace industry into a rivalry between Boeing and Airbus.

In the tech sphere, stocks of Dell, Cisco, and Microsoft continued to soar.

Especially Microsoft, which was under special investigation by the antitrust commission; they had made a $150 million investment to support the struggling Apple in continuing their system development.

On the finance side, American commercial banks and investment banks kicked off a new wave of mergers, as more voices began calling for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act.

This hinted that the barriers between commercial and investment banking might finally be dismantled.

The U.S. financial capital market was the most heavily regulated and legislated sector, and the most impactful Glass-Steagall Act strictly separated commercial and investment banking activities.

But now, new financial service regulations were on the verge of lifting restrictions on banks, securities, and insurance, allowing for the creation of bank holding companies.

...

At noon, in a cafe in South Central Park, Arthur was surprised to see Warren Buffett sitting across from him. Was this a business matter?

"Arthur, what do you think about Microsoft?" Warren Buffett inquired.

Arthur hesitated, "Microsoft? That's easy -- it's been growing fast, basically monopolizing the computer operating system market."

Last year, Microsoft split its stock, bringing its outstanding shares to 1.337 billion, with a price shot up to $95, making its market cap $127 billion.

Arthur owned 0.5%, roughly 6.68 million shares, worth over $600 million.

"Berkshire Hathaway is looking to acquire at least 5 million shares of Microsoft," Warren said, glancing at Arthur. "Does California Pacific Investments have any plans to sell its shares?"

The current 5 million shares of Microsoft were valued at over $500 million.

Arthur shook his head, laughing. "I think Microsoft has a bright future too."

Berkshire Hathaway's stock price was currently at more than 30,000 dollars per share.

There was nothing surprising about them wanting to invest in Microsoft, but did Warren really think he was short on cash?

After leaving Central Park, Arthur couldn't wrap his head around why Warren Buffett thought he would want to sell his Microsoft stock.

...

Later that evening, on the rooftop terrace of the Gramercy Park Hotel, Arthur and Jennifer Connelly enjoyed a dinner together, savoring delicious food while taking in the city skyline of New York.

"Arthur, I heard New Line Cinema wants to adapt Marvel's Blade. Is that true?" Jennifer asked curiously.

Arthur nodded. "Yes, they reached out to us expressing interest, but we turned them down flat."

Are you kidding? Galaxy had acquired Marvel; there was no way they'd allow another studio to adapt Marvel superheroes.

"New Line should adapt some DC Comics; Warner Bros. is the parent company for DC," Jennifer suggested again.

Arthur laughed, "Not quite. While New Line is a subsidiary of Time Warner, within the group, New Line and Warner Bros. coexist. In other words, New Line operates completely independently in the film business and holds an equal standing to Warner Bros."

As part of the TBS family, New Line remained independent after acquiring Castle Rock and other companies within Time Warner.

New Line produced and distributed films on its own; even in international distribution, New Line was autonomous, and their partners wouldn't necessarily be Warner Bros. International Pictures.

"I know that New Line and Warner Bros. are sibling firms within the group," Jennifer sipped her champagne. "It's puzzling that Warner Bros. can't exert control over New Line."

Arthur didn't care about any of that. After all, Marvel belonged to Galaxy now, and it was up to him to film it himself...

*****

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