Chapter 281: General Water Company

After chatting with the Mayor of Paris, Arthur met Guy Dejouany, the chairman of the French water utility company, General Water Company, the famous future Vivendi Group.

Since Guy Dejouany became chairman of General Water Company in the late 1970s, he embarked on a path of diversification and acquisitions. It had now expanded into the media industry.

French pay-TV channel Canal+ (France 4) belonged to General Water Company and had a long-term cooperation relationship with Galaxy!

In the evening, after Arthur and Christiana Reali left the Ritz Hotel, he was still pondering about the General Water Company, the future Universal Pictures, Universal Music, and Vivendi Games.

Who would have thought that the General Water Company would become a global media giant?

"Arthur, you seemed to have had a great time chatting with those entrepreneurs tonight!" Christiana called out to Arthur, who was still lost in thought, after returning to their apartment beside the Seine in Neuilly.

"Ah, it was alright," Arthur said as he loosened his tie and leaned back on the sofa, pulling Christiana into his arms. "Let's take a bath!"

France underwent another round of privatization reforms, focusing significantly on telecommunications and energy.

However, Arthur was about to go to Japan, and his California Pacific Investment Company account had only a little over ten million dollars in cash left.

Originally, there were hundreds of millions of dollars, but sadly, acquisitions of the Ritz-Carlton, investments in Snapple Beverage, and ventures into real estate had nearly depleted the funds!

In the misty bathroom, Arthur pressed Christiana against the wall, kissing her as warm water from the showerhead trickled over their bodies.

Water droplets ran down Christiana's wet hair as she clung tightly to the man in front of her. She leaned toward Arthur's ear and reminded him, "I have an audition with a film crew tomorrow, so I can't be with you."

"Hmm, it's okay, I also need to leave France for Asia!" Arthur replied.

After a little while, Christiana leaned weakly against the wall, collapsing. "I'm exhausted, darling."

Arthur panted a few times, smiled as he looked at Christiana on the bathroom floor, and reached out to touch her hair...

...

Three days later, in the afternoon, Arthur arrived at Narita International Airport in Japan. The sun was shining gloriously, with perfect weather.

Arthur took a deep breath and smiled at his bodyguard, Carl Anderson. "Do you know what I smell?"

Carl Anderson was momentarily stunned. "Boss, what do you mean?"

"The smell of chaos," Arthur said as he put on his sunglasses and headed to Tokyo with his bodyguards and assistants.

This time, Arthur brought not only his assistant Anna Walker and consultant Emily Shead but also seven or eight bodyguards from the Seraph Security Company.

In a suite at the Imperial Hotel Tokyo, Arthur sat on the sofa, listening to Anna's work report beside him.

"Mrs. Doubtfire will start its North American premiere later this month, and the promotional activities are going smoothly.

Four Weddings and a Funeral will be released in the middle to end of next month, and the promotion has already started..."

Arthur tapped his fingers. "By the way, how's the box office for Indecent Proposal, distributed by Paramount? It's been in theaters for two months, right?"

"It's grossed 95 million dollars in North America, and it's expected to break 100 million," Anna quickly replied, as it was one of the hit films released in April.

"Any specifics on Viacom and QVC's acquisition of Paramount?"

"Not yet. They're negotiating, and Viacom has also been getting cozy with Blockbuster recently."

Arthur stood up, walked to the window, and gazed out at downtown Tokyo. "The female lead for Forrest Gump isn't confirmed yet, right?"

"Not yet, but the two kids are set!"

"Then let's cast Madchen Amick. The TV series The X-Files produced by Galaxy TV will air its first season this year, and I'm confident about the ratings." Madchen Amick wasn't a big star at the moment but had played the lead in Twin Peaks.

She's one of his women. The role of the female lead in Forrest Gump isn't appealing to top actresses, but it's quite attractive to someone like Madchen Amick.

By the time The X-Files airs, Madchen Amick will have a certain level of recognition, just in time for Forrest Gump to be released next year.

"Understood," Anna Walker nodded. "The company has already greenlit the comic-based project The Mask, and we've discussed the script with Jim Carrey. We plan to present it as a comedy, and Jim Carrey is very supportive and involved in the script adaptation."

"Jim Carrey," Arthur chuckled. "He's signed on for three movies, right?"

"Yes, his pay for The Mask is 540,000 dollars!"

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective hadn't been released yet, so Jim Carrey was still just a small-time comedian, and a low salary was normal.

"However, due to some special effects scenes, the production budget for The Mask is higher, at 23 million dollars!" Anna Walker reminded Arthur.

Arthur nodded. "That's to be expected; after all, it's not as simple as Warner Bros' Ace Ventura: Pet Detective."

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective had a lower production cost of just 15 million dollars. It was a simple comedy with no big-name stars, going the low-budget route.

The next day, Vivian Chow arrived in Tokyo from Hong Kong to meet with Arthur. As soon as she entered the hotel room, Arthur hugged and kissed her.

"Didn't expect to see you in Japan. I'm heading to Vancouver next month to shoot Rumble in the Bronx, and the crew is already preparing," Vivian was delighted to see Arthur in Japan.

Arthur held Vivian's hand and sat her down on the sofa, pouring her a drink. "I was planning to visit Tokyo Disneyland and then learn more about Japan's game and comic industry. I heard you've been to Japan several times this year?"

Vivian nodded and explained, "I released a Japanese mega album, Legend of Pure Love, recently, marking my official entry into the Japanese music market!"

"The Japanese music market is incredible. It has the best copyright awareness in the world, unmatched even by other developed countries," Arthur admired Japan's strong copyright practices.

"Yes, many Hong Kong singers expand their business in Japan," Vivian added.

"And Japanese music is amazing. Many Hong Kong songs are covers of Japanese songs!"

"I know that," Arthur said, planting a kiss on Vivian's cheek.

*****

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