Chapter 92: Blocked

"Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, Hawkeye, and Ant-Man!" Upstairs in the Beverly Hills Mercedes showroom building was the headquarters of Marvel, where Charles and Marvel Chairman Ike Perlmutter happily signed a licensing agreement.

"Mr. Perlmutter, a pleasure working with you!" Charles said with a big smile as he shook hands with him.

"Charles, even with the licensing, Marvel wants to participate more in the early movie production stages, like selecting scripts and the creative team, to ensure the main storyline and concept settings aren't too far from the original comics!" Ike Perlmutter reminded him.

Charles glanced at Marvel Studios President and Chief Creative Officer Avi Arad and Marvel Entertainment's COO David Maisel, both of whom wore helpless expressions.

"Rest assured, Carpe Films will develop these characters according to the contract!" Charles laughed inwardly.

After Charles, Evelyn, and Dona left Marvel headquarters, Charles turned back to look at the second floor of the building lobby.

So, have I blocked Marvel Entertainment's rise this time around? Would Charles develop it within the five-year contract period? Definitely not, unless it was after a complete acquisition of Marvel, only then could it begin its rise. Ike Perlmutter and Avi Arad together held nearly 60% of Marvel's shares.

At this moment inside Marvel headquarters, only Ike Perlmutter and Avi Arad remained in the office.

"Ike, why are you selling the adaptation rights to film companies? Didn't we agree to develop our own movies?" Avi Arad asked incredulously.

Ike Perlmutter lit a cigar, sat in his chair, blew a puff of smoke, and calmly said, "Avi, I told you before, the risk of developing movies is too high. The company has no funds. We should continue to license other film companies to develop movies. What we should focus on is using the movies' extended merchandise to sell toys and comics!"

"You've seen David's proposal, right? We have so many characters at Marvel, we could completely interlink them and develop movies ourselves. If it succeeds, the profits would be limitless," Avi Arad had always hoped to develop movies himself. Though Marvel was involved in licensing, neither Sony nor 20th Century Fox considered them beyond consultants.

They hardly wished to engage in deep discussions and exchanges with Marvel's creative committee.

"Look at Daredevil, Hulk, The Punisher, apart from the popular Spider-Man and X-Men series. What about that early low-budget Fantastic Four movie? Which one was a success?" Ike Perlmutter frowned.

"Lions Gate even dared not release Man-Thing after finishing filming!" he added.

"But 20th Century Fox is rebooting Fantastic Four this year!" Avi Arad exclaimed excitedly.

"Moreover, David mentioned he's confident about securing investment funds for film development from Wall Street, and now you've sold the rights to characters like Captain America, Iron Man, and Thor from The Avengers!"

Avi Arad felt exhausted. As one of the producers of Sony's Spider-Man and 20th Century Fox's X-Men series, he longed for Marvel to develop its own movies!

But Ike Perlmutter, as the major shareholder and chairman, with nearly 46% of Marvel's shares, didn't care much about Marvel Entertainment's heroes. He only wanted Marvel to sell more licensed toys and premium limited-edition art books.

Avi Arad left Ike Perlmutter's office despondently, knowing David Maisel's plan was dead.

The plan to persuade Wall Street to invest and develop Iron Man had ended before it began. After the contract with New Line expires next year, Iron Man would be handed directly to Carpe Films.

David Maisel entered Avi Arad's office with a wry smile and asked, "What should we do now?"

Avi Arad looked at David Maisel and said in a low voice, "Spider-Man 2 will be fully released at the end of the month. We cooperate with the film's release to promote the toys and comics. This year, 20th Century Fox is developing Fantastic Four and Elektra, I need to take care of a lot as the film producer. As for everything else, I don't know!"

Avi Arad now contemplated leaving Marvel Entertainment, as Ike Perlmutter's operating method simply didn't suit him.

Los Angeles, Universal Studios lot, on the set of Wedding Crashers.

In a quiet rest room, Charles was getting cozy with the beautiful Scarlett Johansson on the sofa.

After some suppressed sounds, Scarlett Johansson, who was perched on Charles, leaned against him and laughed, "You did something crazy in France this time."

"How crazy? Maybe next month someone might just go nuts. Until the last moment, no one knows what will happen," Charles still worried about potential surprises. With prize money worth several hundred million euros, could the team be bought out?

Resting her chin on Charles's shoulder, Scarlett Johansson weakly said, "I got cast in another blockbuster, DreamWorks' The Island directed by Michael Bay!

A sci-fi movie with a budget of more than hundred million dollars. This could be my breakthrough year."

Hollywood was all about resource competition, especially those big-budget blockbusters that could catapult someone to stardom overnight.

Charles patted the girl, signaling her to get up, but said, "The male lead is Ewan McGregor, and you're the female lead. Two actors from art films starring in a blockbuster. Spielberg has some thoughts!"

While getting dressed, Scarlett Johansson said, "Many art film actors are transitioning into commercial films now. Though it's not as easy as commercial actors doing art films, one must seize every opportunity."

Charles finished adjusting his own clothes and looked at Scarlett Johansson as she began touching up her makeup, pondering if he should suggest she drop out.

After all, The Island had infamously tanked, a memory that was still fresh. It was the commercial disaster that prompted DreamWorks' sale to Paramount.

Scarlett Johansson, with her youthful energy, was pouring her heart into this commercial blockbuster. But would it backfire?

Charles walked over, kissed her, and said with a laugh, "Looks like we're about to start. I'll head back to Carpe Films!"

Better not to intervene unnecessarily, at least Wedding Crashers might boost her confidence.

*****

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