Chapter 49

"So, you and Christine sent me back yesterday?"

"Um"

"What about her, is she okay?"

"Hmm…Fortunately, she went back after seeing you off"

"Well, I still want to thank her."

Xu Can didn't know what expression to make.

Christine, I still want to thank you.

"Why are you drunk? I've never seen you so drunk before"

"Yesterday, you went to see Taylor, right?"

"No, how could it be?" Xu Can denied it flatly.

He would not confess easily until he was convinced.

"She posted a photo of having dinner on Facebook, and my intuition told me that the person opposite is you."

"How is that possible? You are overthinking."

"Okay, I guess I'm too sensitive. After all, we are just friends with benefits, right? We have no formal relationship."

Seeing Sister Shitou pouting and looking at him helplessly, Xu Can felt distressed.

He and Emma Stone have been getting along for almost a year now. As the best screen CP, as Spider-Man and Gwen… the two of them really were in perfect physical and mental harmony.

I couldn't say whether I loved her or not, but I liked her.

Xu Can didn't explain too much, but just silently hugged the fragile woman in front of him.

Sister Shitou wanted to struggle, but she was easily allowed every time. Can's offensive was resolved.

Unfortunately, it was all in vain. She finally put her arms around Xu Can's waist, rested her chin on Xu Can's shoulder, and whispered in his ear with a resentful tone.

"Sigh…I've completely turned into Gwen Stacy now."

Xu Chan knows what she wants to say.

In every universe, Gwen will fall in love with Peter Parker

...

"" John Wick" is getting good news frequently, breaking through 230 million US dollars in one week!

After the global box office statistics are settled later, it will certainly exceed US$300 million!

According to professional predictions from the marketing department, the final global box office of "John Wick" is expected to exceed US$400!

It seems that this is too far behind Spider-Man's $1.1 billion, but this is already a huge victory.

What a win!

In horizontal comparison, Tom Cruise's "Mission: Impossible 3″ has a box office of 398 million;

"Die Hard 4 380 million;

"" Superman Returns" 391 million;

"" The Bourne Supremacy" 4.4;

"Spartan 30130″ 450 million…

Which of these movies is not a combination of big-name directors and big-name actors?

The average production cost is over 120 million US dollars!

Even so, these movies were considered box-office successes, making it into the top 10 box-office lists of the year, and champagne was poured out after they were released.

With a cost of US$16 million, Xu Can created a box office myth of US$400 million!

No need to wait for the film to be released, there are already a bunch of Hollywood insiders jumping out to seek cooperation.

Everyone looked shocked during the interview

"To be honest, it cost 16 million to create a box office of 400 million. Before hearing this news, it must have been a joke. Now… I suddenly feel old. Hollywood seems to be a world dominated by young people."

Martin Scorsese, a well-known director who directed highly acclaimed works such as "The Departed", "Goodfellas", "Gangs of New York" and "The Wolf of Wall Street", said this about Xu Can.

"But" John Wick" awakened my passion, and I also wanted to make a cool enough action movie."

According to the analysis of" Los Santos Times", Xu Can earn at least 130 million U.S. dollars from this movie!

The facts are similar. The first remittance from theaters will arrive next month.

The amount is 6,000 Ten thousand US dollars!

Of which 10 million will be invested in the company, which is enough to sustain it for a long time. This includes the cost of Galaxy Music's album production for Swift.

The other 10 million will be reserved for Xu Can's use, and 40 million will be invested backhand in the production of" Iron Man" Medium.

When the subsequent box office dividends are received, an additional investment of 30 million will be made. In this way, Xu Can can account for half of the investment in" Iron Man"!

Later, when" Iron Man" is released and the box office exceeds 1 billion US dollars according to historical trends,

Xu Can will Obtain about 200 million in split income!

An investment of 70 million turned into 200 million in one year, and the annualized income of 285% was comparable to a money grab!

When Xu was planning to officially start the" Iron Man" project, Kevin Feige suddenly called

"Xu, there's trouble"

...

"Board of directors refuses to approve investment unless replaced"

"No, didn't we agree before?"

"No, I only agreed to shoot Iron Man, not the casting."

In the office of the chairman of Marvel Entertainment, Kevin Feige and Xu Can are sitting on the sofa.

Opposite, Ike Perlmutter, the current chairman of Marvel and the company's largest shareholder, has his legs crossed and looks stubborn.

"Wouldn't it be nice if you could spend a little more money and hire Tom Cruise? I communicated with him and he has agreed to participate. Do you have to be greedy and hire a vicious dog?"

"ah? When you are in contact with others, don't you communicate with me? I'm the project leader."

Kevin Feige is a little angry. As the CEO of Marvel Studios, he is solely responsible for the implementation of the movie plan. In theory, he has an equal relationship with Perlmutter!

Perlmutter bypassed him and communicated with other casting directors privately. , obviously, they don't take him and Xu Can seriously.

"I am the chairman of Marvel! The whole company is mine!"

This old man got so angry that he couldn't even pull ten cows.

Kevin Feige was also very angry. He was about to argue, but Xu Can hold him down.

Xu Can tried his best to keep calm:

"I have previously written about my detailed casting suggestions. If you want to make Iron Man, Robert Downey Jr. is the only choice."

"Tom Cruise is a Hollywood star, but he is not Iron Man."

Perlmutter was not moved at all, curled his lips, and waved his hands:

"No, I refuse to give jobs to drug addicts"

"He had quit and had just come out of a nursing home. "Xu Can also wanted to defend Downey.

"No, his presence will affect the film and the stock price. Look at the current price, the stock price fell by 10 points just because of the casting news! Do you know how much ten percent is?"

Perlmutter was so angry that he pounded the table.

Based on the current Marvel stock price of 9 yuan, the news that" Robert Downey Jr. has joined Marvel to star in Iron Man" has caused the market value of Marvel Entertainment to evaporate by 70 million US dollars.!

Xu Can didn't know what to say at this time.

Only he could see clearly how Robert Downey Jr. and Iron Man revitalized Marvel in the future.

Now Perlmutter can only see the area in front of him. Next to them,

Kevin Feige also fell silent. He was very clear about the current situation of Marvel Entertainment.

After giving up the 500 million loan, Marvel had put its head in its belt, and all of Stud's fortune was bet on" Iron Man" with Xu Can.

Before the filming of the film started, the company's market value had evaporated by nearly 100 million. Whoever replaces him as the boss will feel distressed.

Only by replacing an actor with a box office appeal can shareholders be given confidence.

He is even considering persuading Xu Can to replace him with Tom Cruise.

As for Robert Downey Jr., he should pay liquidated damages.

500,000 is nothing, not even a fraction of Tom Cruise.

When Xu Can saw this, he knew very well.

This matter can no longer be solved. Perlmutter and The idea of changing Marvel's board of directors cannot be shaken at all.

In this case…

Xu Can can only reluctantly withdraw his salary.

Since you don't agree with my casting, you are trampling on my right to speak as a director.

Then I will simply change the board of directors.!

That's right,

Xu Can plan to start the Marvel acquisition plan in advance!

...

In 2009, Disney acquired Marvel.

At that time," Iron Man" had already taken off, with the world's first 1 billion box office, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe was in full production.

Marvel's stock price soared from a dozen dollars to more than 30 dollars.

By the time of settlement before the acquisition in 2009, the closing price was already 50 dollars.

At this price, Disney spent 4 billion to complete the acquisition, which works out to 80 million shares.

Now, Marvel's stock price has been falling, and now it has fallen below the $9 mark and is around $8.8. 

If you plan to complete the acquisition and settle all the shares of the board of directors in cash… the total capital will be about US$700 million.

Very good, compared to Disney's 4 billion, 700 million to acquire Hollywood's future behemoth is already considered a bargain.

The question now is, where did Xu Can get these 700 million?

He originally planned to make a few more movies, earn hundreds of millions at the box office, and then acquire Disney before it takes action.

Now Star River Pictures has just completed a" John Wick" movie, and the company is just getting started!

It's equivalent to the shooter just making an electric knife, and he has to hit the opponent's six-god weapon.

Even if you can defeat the opponent casually with the Six Gods in the later stage, you still have to have time to develop, right?

"Happy, how much can a company loan be?"

"Yes, we have a good reputation recently. I know the loan manager very well, so I should be able to get a large loan."

Happy's tone is very relaxed.

Xu Can seems to be making a big move. He has always made plans before he makes a move. It looks like a big gamble, but it is as stable as an old dog.

It is estimated that he will have a new movie project.

"700 million"

"Okay, 700 million for me…wait, take less? U.S. dollars? The currency is correct!"

"Yes, you heard it right, 700 million, US dollars."

Xu Can repeat every word.

"Wait…Wait!"

Happy was confused and stopped what he was doing.

"What do you want so much money for? Could it be..."

"Yes, I plan to start planning ahead of time"

"But..." Happy's brain is working rapidly, thinking about words

"You were confident in your previous big bets, but this time the price is too high, so you need to think carefully. What's more, I don't have the means to get you 700 million."

Even if you can borrow 700 million yuan, if the next" Iron Man" fails, the entire Marvel and the entire Galaxy Entertainment will be completely dragged down and sink to the bottom of the water. There will be no big-name actors or first-line IP in this movie. , the movie market is still unstable, is it worth such a big gamble?

Maybe the success of" Spider-Man" is just a coincidence?

Is it just Xu Can's box office appeal?

It's like walking a tightrope – taking risks!

And most importantly, Galaxy It is really difficult for a production company of the size of Entertainment to borrow 700 million yuan.

Marvel owns many comic IPs and has offline comic sales channels. As an established company with decades of experience, it is difficult to get a loan of 500 million yuan through connections. Yes.

700 million is too difficult.

"I believe you, Happy. You said you have a lot of connections, so you can get it!"

Xu Can's tone was upright and solemn, expressing his trust seriously.

"I…I was all bragging."nHappy smiled bitterly.

If I had known, I would have boasted so loudly, but now I am shooting myself in the foot.

"If it doesn't work out, let's try it at the celebration party after the premiere of" Twilight". The producer Marty Bowen and I are friends, and he should know a lot of investors."

"Also, Christine's father, John Stewart, is also a well-connected producer. Director Catherine also knows many people..."

Happy suggested quickly to cover up his embarrassment.

Now that things have come to this, we can only take one step at a time.

Try going to the other party's celebration party. There are so many Hollywood celebrities, but you can still meet one or two useful people.

...

"One week after its release," John Wick" has grossed $300 million at the global box office.

Another more impactful work" Twilight" officially premieres!

At the premiere, director Catherine, actor Robert Pattinson, actress Kristen Stewart, and other stars made appearances.

Flashing lights on the red carpet!

However, they didn't enjoy the flashing lights for long, and there was a violent commotion on the other side of the red carpet.

Reporters and fans were attracted to it one after another, and there were endless flashes!

"Gwen and Spider-Man!"

"The best CP of the century!! Ahhhhh so sweet!"

"Xu Can, I love you!"

"What a perfect match!!"

Xu Can, who was dressed in a black suit and looked exactly like John Wick, got out of the car hand in hand with Sister Shitou.

The scene was immediately controlled by them.

Robert Pattinson was not jealous of Xu Can, who could become famous all over the world with just one Spider-Man.

Apart from himself, The upcoming" Harry Potter 5″ has been lukewarm after acting in so many movies. This is already a talent gap.

Over there, Xu Can completely took over the show and was surrounded by reporters.

"May I ask Xu, do you feel threatened by" Twilight" this time? Who do you think is better at the box office?"

"Xu, are you confident in defeating Emma?"

Reporters like to ask such trouble-making questions.

Xu Can has already experienced hundreds of battles and is fearless.

""" The Twilight Saga" will be a phenomenal movie. I predict that the global box office will exceed at least 300 million and it will gain a large number of fans."

"As for who wins or loses, Emma and I are best friends, we win together and there is no loser."

Xu Can hold Emma Stone's hand in person and show off a wave of affection in front of countless cameras.

Since the showdown that day, Sister Shitou's attitude towards Xu Can has remained the same without any change.

At this moment, she unexpectedly looked at Xu Can, His eyes wandered.

The arm holding Xu Can tightened a little tighter.

...

"Bravo!!!"

"" The Twilight Saga" is a qualified popcorn movie, with youthful and fantasy elements, and is deeply loved by teenagers.

The audience at the scene applauded in unison, and it seemed that it would not be a problem to sell well at the box office.

But after the premiere, Xu Can faintly heard the audience complaining

"It's good-looking, but the male and female protagonists don't have any sense of cliché, and they always feel weird."

"It has to be Spider-Man, the others don't match Gwen at all."

The male lead Robert Pattinson was also very embarrassed.

There was not even a kissing scene during the filming, and any ambiguous and intimate physical contact was not possible. The two people playing the couple were strangers to brother and sister. Even the leading actor couldn't act It feels so good!

The creative team doesn't care about these, as long as they can make money, and reputation almost doesn't matter.

A huge group of people rushed to the nearby Beverly Hills Hotel banquet hall to start a celebration party.

It was here that Xu Can met Taylor Swift

"Xu, the director asked me to come over. You are looking for someone to get a loan and investment, so you don't need to worry about me."

Emma knew Xu Can's recent difficulties, so she thoughtfully allowed him to act alone.

The two of them kissed each other on the cheek and went about their social activities.

"Look, that's producer Marty Bowen, let's go try it..."

Happy and Xu Can stepped forward to join a group of white successful men, holding cigars and bourbons in their mouths, and talked about the current economic conditions and current political news in North America.

After chatting for a while, Xu Can felt bored.

They brag to the sky and have nothing to talk about.

After dealing with different groups, Xu Can came to the bar alone again and ordered a glass of bourbon on the rocks.

It's still comfortable to make movies, but socializing in Hollywood is too troublesome.

While he was drinking and flirting with Swift online, an elegant blonde woman sat down next to him.

She is in her late 20s and less than 30 years old. She is wearing a low-key and luxurious evening gown. Only an expert can tell that it is of great value.

The jewelry on her body seems ordinary, but it is astronomical.

Different from ordinary rich women, this woman exudes a sense of nobility, as if she is the daughter of a wealthy family.

"Why do you feel familiar?"

"Mr. Xu, your conversation skills are too old-fashioned. "The blonde woman smiled calmly.

"Seriously, I think you look familiar… Your last name is Trump, right?"

"Yes, my name is Ivanka, nice to meet you, Mr. Spider-Man"

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