Chapter 465: The Hottest Male Star

[Chapter 527: The Hottest Male Star]

In the conference room of the Western Oil Company's headquarters in downtown Los Angeles, CEO John Edwards looked at Arthur Smith and asked the other board members, "This is an oil field that Arthur has secured in East Java, Indonesia, although it involves some disputes with the Indonesian National Oil Company. But according to the intelligence we've gathered, the oil reserves in that area should be substantial, making it a great addition to our Southeast Asian crude oil market!"

At that time, the stock price of Western Oil had risen from $7 per share to nearly $11; its market value was approaching $10 billion, and Arthur's collaboration on the oil field in northern Somalia was also successful.

"What I mean is, let's continue working with Arthur to develop the Southeast Asian oil and gas market!"

"I agree..."

"I agree too..."

"Arthur always has a good eye for these things. We can send someone over to survey the reserves in more detail..."

Arthur, sitting in a chair, smiled, knowing that Western Oil made the right choice. After all, even though Arthur was a shareholder in Western Oil, it didn't prevent him from collaborating with other oil companies!

...

That evening, John Edwards specially invited Arthur to dinner.

"Arthur, what are your thoughts? Indonesia is no worse than Africa," John Edwards clearly had a sweet taste of Africa, and Indonesia's location offered even greater value.

Arthur chuckled, "It's all the same. As long as the Indonesian National Oil Company listens, otherwise, we might have to swap for a more compliant president. Now is the era of oil company mergers. Western Oil, Shell, Chevron, and other major oil companies have significant influence in Southeast Asia! With the rapid growth of oil consumption in Asia, Western Oil needs to seize this opportunity!"

"Don't worry, Arthur. The shareholders will fully support you," John Edwards understood what Arthur meant. "Western Oil will offer $200 million in cash plus $30 million in stock options for this oil field. Once we get the oil field sorted out, those 30 million shares will be immediately issued to you!"

Arthur considered it and agreed; 30 million shares corresponded to about 3.2% of Western Oil's stock. The $200 million cash offer was reasonable since the land price alone was $80 million, and Arthur still needed to settle surrounding relationships for the oil field!

Overall, it was a pretty good deal...

...

As December began, the Christmas atmosphere thickened in the city. Time Warner announced it would acquire TBS for a total price of $7.4 billion; Ted Turner became Time Warner's largest individual shareholder and vice chairman of the group!

When reporters asked him: "Why not compete for the chairman or CEO position of the group?"

Ted Turner replied, "I've been a CEO for decades now; I want to spend more time on other things!"

...

At the ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Arthur sat on the sofa. "Did Western Oil send anyone to Indonesia?"

Emily Shead nodded, "Seraphim's crew went with them, and Western Oil's $200 million has also been received!"

Arthur initially had over $100 million in cash to pay the $80 million for the oil field and now had an additional $200 million.

"Let's have Seraphim gather useful intelligence. We're planning to make a big push next year," Arthur was determined to strike hard against the Indonesian National Oil Company this time.

"Got it!"

"By the way, Yahoo is preparing for a second round of financing, with an estimated value of $40 million, Sequoia Capital is very interested, along with Japan's SoftBank!"

Emily Shead mentioned another matter.

"$40 million?" Arthur scoffed, "Tell them the valuation needs to be raised to $80 million. Otherwise, we can just keep investing!"

After all, California Pacific Investment Company owned 40% of Yahoo's shares, so Arthur wasn't concerned at all.

Emily Shead nodded, clearly the boss had a lot of confidence in Yahoo!

...

Before long, Catherine Zeta-Jones joined Arthur; her project Sense and Sensibility was about to be released.

"Arthur, the box office disaster of Cutthroat Island has made it into the Guinness World Records," Catherine Zeta-Jones kissed Arthur on the cheek.

It had been nearly a month since the release, and the film barely crossed the $10 million mark!

Arthur shrugged, "Eh, it'll probably gross an extra couple of million when it wraps, considering Carolco has gone bankrupt anyway. Another film, Showgirls, isn't faring better either, with a box office of only $20 million."

The losses from Cutthroat Island were staggering, surpassing even Waterworld; particularly the director Renny Harlin and lead actress Geena Davis saw their reputations sinking fast with critical backlash!

"By the way, has the filming of your project Titanic: The Final Chapter wrapped up?" Arthur was increasingly interested in anything related to Titanic; even though the television movie Catherine starred in didn't quite qualify as a major feature film.

"Not yet; it was halted for a while. We'll finish filming next year. I just shot a superhero adaptation called The Phantom!"

Catherine Zeta-Jones winked as she said this.

"20th Century Fox is also gearing up for James Cameron's blockbuster Titanic. Arthur, you are keeping an eye on that movie, right?"

There was no denying it; whenever James Cameron engaged in a project, it drew Hollywood's attention instantly.

"Alright, I'll come find you tonight," Arthur said while giving the lady a gentle squeeze at her waist.

"Uh-huh!"

...

"Hey, Tom," Arthur then embraced Tom Hanks.

"Arthur, good evening!" Tom Hanks was undoubtedly one of the hottest male stars, reigning supreme with Philadelphia and Forrest Gump; this year, his film Apollo 13 also garnered both critical acclaim and box office success.

"I heard you wrote, directed, and starred in a musical comedy. Is that true?" Arthur asked with a smile.

Tom Hanks nodded, "United Artists supported me a lot; it's kind of a dream for me to direct for the first time!"

Considering Tom Hanks' relationship with Galaxy at the time, any aspirations to direct were hardly an issue for him.

Then, Tom Hanks called over the lead actress of his movie, Liv Tyler, who, being the daughter of Steven Tyler, had more than enough scripts over the years!

"Liv, good evening!" Arthur and Liv Tyler shared a smile and an embrace; the 18-year-old lady was growing increasingly alluring.

"Hey, good evening, Arthur," Liv whispered a room number into Arthur's ear!

*****

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