Chapter 479

As the summer blockbusters approached in Hollywood, all the movie companies geared up, eager for their films to perform well in the upcoming summer lineup.

On May 1st, 20th Century Fox released the big-screen adaptation Wolverine: X-Men Origins, kicking off the summer season with a bang.

On May 8th, Paramount relaunched the sci-fi space epic Star Trek XI with much fanfare, and Warner Bros. showcased their blockbuster Terminator Salvation.

On May 15th, Universal rolled out the Dan Brown novel adaptation Angels & Demons, a project they'd taken over from Capet.

On May 22nd, Capet's Iron Man 2 premiered grandly, alongside 20th Century Fox's Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian.

On May 29th, Disney's 3D animated feature Up and DreamWorks Animation's 3D movie Monsters vs. Aliens, distributed by Paramount, hit the theaters.

In May alone, eight major films were released, not including smaller budget films like Capet's romantic comedy The Proposal on May 15.

The fiercely competitive summer season was a crucial period no movie company could overlook, with intense battles continuing into June and July.

Meanwhile, the unconventional superhero movie Watchmen, a collaboration among Warner Bros., Paramount, and Legendary Entertainment, premiered on March 6. Despite decent reviews, its heavy and dark themes resulted in lackluster performance, with North American box office earnings reaching only $100 million. Even the overseas market garnered less than $80 million.

...

In South Korea, about 25 kilometers south of Seoul, lies Anyang in the Gyeonggi Province.

At Anyang Country Club, Charles Capet played golf with Yoo In-chon, the South Korean Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and Kim Moon-soo, the Governor of Gyeonggi Province. They discussed entertainment collaborations between Capet and South Korea.

Both Kim Moon-soo and Yoo In-chon wanted Capet to establish a production base in South Korea to strengthen film technology exchanges between the two sides.

"Gyeonggi Province surrounds Seoul and has many areas for potential business cooperation. The Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism offers grants, and Gyeonggi Province provides local tax incentives for Capet!"

Kim Moon-soo was keen to turn Gyeonggi into East Asia's economic hub and eagerly anticipated Capet, a major international entertainment group, establishing a base there.

Charles glanced at them, smiling perfunctorily. "South Korea's movie special effects seem pretty good. We can indeed discuss cooperation in this area. Let's grab something to eat. I've heard this Anyang Country Club was established by Samsung's founder, Lee Byung-chul. Let's check it out together!"

Charles then waved at Son Ye-jin, who was practicing golf nearby, beckoning her to join them. As for Kim Moon-soo and Yoo In-chon, to Charles, they were just people who might waste a bit of his time.

"Charles, are you finished with your discussions?" Son Ye-jin asked, seemingly a bit reserved, as she glanced at Kim Moon-soo and Yoo In-chon.

Charles put his arm around Son Ye-jin and led Kim Moon-soo and Yoo In-chon to the lodge.

While Charles was messing around in Asia, Hollywood finally made some moves.

...

In Los Angeles, at Universal City in Hollywood, Capet's CEO Donna Langley and company advisor Barry Diller walked out of the Universal headquarters together.

"General Electric has softened its stance. NBC Universal has been put on the market. But from what Barry Meyer just said, Comcast has also sent an investigation team to assess NBC Universal's assets," Donna Langley said, frowning.

Capet had already begun investigating NBC Universal's assets, commissioning Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase for evaluations.

Barry Diller analyzed, "Comcast is quite competitive. I need to go to New York to have a good talk with Jeff Zucker!"

After all, Barry Meyer was just the chairman of Universal Pictures, while Jeff Zucker was the chairman of NBC Universal Entertainment Group.

"Comcast is the largest cable TV operator and the second-largest internet provider, giving them an edge in TV services that we can't match," Donna Langley admitted.

A significant portion of NBC Universal's revenue came from the NBC Television Network Group. Universal's film department and Universal Studios resorts couldn't compete with NBC's television network.

Barry Diller understood this well, and Comcast operated its own cable TV stations, making them a network provider itself. The upstream channels were indeed very attractive to NBC Universal.

"I just wonder how determined Brian Roberts is this time?" Barry Diller was quite confident about Capet Group's acquisition of NBC Universal. Firstly, Capet had shown great strength in Hollywood, and secondly, Capet had substantial financial resources!

Brian Roberts was the chairman and CEO of Comcast Group.

"Do we need to call Charles back?" Donna Langley asked.

Barry Diller shook his head, "It's only the beginning. Jeff Zucker is still publicly claiming that everything is normal at NBC Universal and hasn't considered selling yet. This will be a prolonged acquisition process. We won't see results anytime soon.

Charles's current task is to act like he doesn't care much, making General Electric's shareholders feel that if they don't merge with Capet, it will be their loss! Charles is in Asia, right? I heard he's gone there to build theaters again!" Barry Diller chuckled.

"Keep him updated on the situation. Charles's strengths are significant too. He's Capet's most dazzling card!" Donna Langley smiled. "Charles went to South Korea to see if he could collaborate with the Korean government on a special effects film project."

"Capet Pictures' international presence is really impressive!" Barry Diller couldn't help but admire.

"Charles's vision is unparalleled," Donna Langley, one of the early top executives to join Capet, was fully aware of Charles's maneuvers in Europe and Japan.

Aside from English-speaking countries like the UK and Australia, Capet had established distribution channels in regions like France and Germany, all thanks to Charles's personal efforts.

Especially in France, Capet's collaboration with the French entertainment industry was extremely close!

"Now that the European and Australian channels are almost complete, and your cooperation with Sony Columbia at the beginning of last year has also built a joint distribution channel in Latin America.

At this point, it should be time to perfect the Spanish-speaking distribution network. So why do I feel Charles is focusing too much on Asia?" Barry Diller didn't quite understand this.

The Asian market, especially Japan, was almost entirely open to Western media, making things relatively easy.

"Perhaps Charles sees more potential in the Asian market!" Donna Langley chuckled.

Barry Diller nodded, agreeing with this view.

*****

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