I am Hollywood

Chapter 903: Chapter 905: Kinship

Chapter 901: Chapter 903: Roller Coaster

Chapter 899: Chapter 901: If You Want to Listen



[Chapter 901: If You Want to Listen]

Eric finished his call with Amy Pascal around noon and flew to San Francisco that afternoon. Besides visiting the assembly plant for Fireflyer, Eric was most concerned about the development progress of several products in the Firefly Electronics program.

For any high-tech company, product marketing is certainly important, but the accumulation of technology and patents is fundamental for the survival of a high-tech enterprise. Therefore, Eric specifically asked Victor McNally to provide an overview of Firefly Electronics' research and development achievements from the last few months. Although the first- generation Fireflyer player was quite popular, there were many areas needing improvement, such as battery life, storage capacity, and audio decoding. The reason Eric kept Victor McNally, who primarily handled technical research and development, as the CEO of Firefly Electronics was subtly to express his fundamental stance on the management strategy of Firefly Electronics.

...

Returning to Los Angeles, it was already seven in the evening.

Eric got off the plane with Kelly, and just after they left Santa Monica Airport, intending to drop Kelly off at her place before heading back to the Liberty City Manor, his phone in his pocket rang.

Kelly, sitting beside Eric, listened to him chat for a moment before he hung up the call. She asked, "Eric, was that MGM again?"

Eric tucked his phone away and nodded. "Pierre Truc wouldn't leave; he's still waiting at Century City, insisting that he needs to see me today."

"Shouldn't we go see him?"

"I can handle it myself; I'll drop you off first."

After dropping Kelly back at her place in the northern part of Santa Monica, Eric instructed the driver to turn around and head toward the MGM headquarters in Century City.

...

The MGM headquarters was a large building covered in tempered glass, located on a rather narrow street not far from the intersection of Santa Monica Boulevard and Wilshire Boulevard in Century City. After circling around Santa Monica, Eric's car made its way to Century City, and by this time, night had fallen, and the shops lining the streets began to glow with colorful lights.

As the car turned onto the street where the MGM headquarters was situated, Eric heard the faint sound of commotion. Looking out through the windshield, he saw a crowd in front of the MGM building holding various signs, shouting something, nearly blocking the entire street.

The driver slowed down automatically and glanced back at Eric for instruction.

Eric stared at the crowd for a few seconds, a smirk appearing on his lips.

True fans usually only came to express their opinions during working hours; it was clearly already after work. According to common sense, most employees at MGM had likely gone home by this time. Who were they protesting for now? Did they think that he would do what he did for The Matrix and sell off the spy movie universe just because of fans' discontent?

He withdrew his gaze and instructed, "Ignore them; just drive into the underground parking lot."

In front of the building, the crowd noticed a black car turning onto the street and instinctively parted the way. However, the media reporters stationed there noticed the recognizable Rolls Royce emblem on the car's hood, quickly surrounding it. Some even boldly stood in front of the vehicle, raising their cameras in an attempt to catch a glimpse of the occupants, but they were quickly pulled away by security rushing out of the building, allowing the Rolls Royce to enter the side alley and into the underground parking lot.

...

After taking the elevator to the top floor of the office building, Eric exchanged a brief hug with Drew who greeted him, nodded to Amy Pascal, and then walked straight into a conference room without saying anything.

Inside the empty conference room stood a middle-aged man, around fifty years old, wearing a black suit and frameless glasses, appearing refined and polite -- surely, he was Pierre Truc.

"Have a seat, Mr. Truc," Eric said, not bothering to greet him or to sit at the head of the conference table. He casually pulled out a chair and sat down, looking at the man. "So, you wanted to see me?"

Although Pierre Truc held a high position at Vivendi, he still felt a subtle sense of pressure facing Eric. Ignorance may be bliss, but after years in the workplace, Pierre Truc understood the extent of power this young man held.

However, recalling the directions given by Vivendi's higher-ups and the promises made by Richard Lovett, Pierre Truc still maintained his composure and sat down evenly, saying, "Yes, Mr. Williams, I think we need to talk."

Eric looked at him and replied calmly, "What about?"

Pierre Truc glanced at Drew and Amy, who sat beside Eric. Straightening his posture discreetly, he spoke earnestly. "Mr. Williams, we appreciate the changes you've brought to MGM, but we also hope you will refrain from intervening in MGM's management. After all, you are just an outsider to MGM. As the second-largest shareholder of MGM, we demand that the management immediately retract the decision to replace Pierce Brosnan. Such actions would only ruin the entire spy movie universe. While you undeniably created the spy movie universe, we can't allow you to destroy it."

Eric tapped his fingers on the smooth conference table twice, nodded slightly, and continued, "Go on. Since you've come here, does Vivendi have any more opinions on MGM's operations?" Pierre Truc felt that Eric was putting on a show, but he didn't back down and continued. "Of course, Vivendi does not agree with MGM's recent decisions to consecutively acquire E! Entertainment Television, to make a one-time investment of $300 million to launch The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and to acquire Rainbow Media stock among many other aggressive commercial moves. This company has only recently begun to recover; issuing corporate bonds in large amounts for these plans may very well drag MGM back into a debt quagmire. We hope the management can implement these plans in a more prudent manner."

Eric waited for a moment to confirm that Pierre Truc had finished speaking; he nodded again and said, "Alright, since that's the case, Mr. Truc, let me tell you how this will be resolved. First of all, as the second-largest shareholder of MGM, Vivendi only has 16% of the voting rights; even if all the other European shareholders sided with Vivendi, your voting rights would still only amount to 31%, which is insufficient to decide anything. Therefore, you have three choices: first, find a way to become the controlling shareholder of MGM, then you can replace the board of directors and management to implement whatever decisions you want. Second, remain as a good second-largest shareholder, accepting all decisions made by MGM's existing board and management. Third, if you can't stand being overlooked, you may choose to sell your shares in MGM. I can arrange to take over your shares at any time. So, is there any problem?"

Halfway through Eric's statement, Pierre Truc was filled with an impulse to flip the table; he felt Eric was mocking him outright. Forced to wait until Eric finished speaking, Pierre Truc slowly said, "Mr. Williams, are you toying with me?"

"Oh," Eric suddenly appeared to remember something, tapping his forehead in realization and saying, "I almost forgot; I'm just an outsider. So, if you wish to hear it, I can have Drew or Amy repeat what I just said. They should count as insiders, right?"Nôv(el)B\\jnn

Pierre Truc turned to Drew and Amy. "Ms. Barrymore, Ms. Pascal, are you truly willing to let Mr. Williams ruin all of this?"

Amy's expression was a bit uncertain; she turned to the two beside her and noticed Eric was smiling at her. Feeling a jolt in her heart, she turned her gaze away but her resolve solidified. Facing Pierre Truc, she said, "Mr. Truc, Eric's decision is the management's decision. If you think it's necessary, we can convene a board meeting to vote."

Four of the seven directors at MGM were selected under Eric's instructions. Pierre Truc didn't need to think to know which side those individuals would stand on.

Realizing that today would ultimately be fruitless, Pierre Truc's hand resting on the

conference table clenched into a fist, and he was at a loss for words.

However, Eric didn't want to continue dragging things out with Pierre Truc. He patted the girl

beside him. "Let's go. Dinner hasn't been served yet, right?"

"Yeah," the girl moved closer like a little kitten, linking her arm with Eric's as they stood up

together.

"Amy, please entertain Mr. Truc," Eric instructed Amy Pascal before turning his gaze back to Pierre Truc. His smile remained unchanged, but his expression turned serious, and his eyes slightly cooled. "By the way, Mr. Truc, some of your earlier comments were quite reasonable; MGM definitely should move forward more cautiously. Therefore, Firefly will take over the investment for The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and MGM only needs to be responsible for the

distribution."

Pierre Truc looked momentarily stunned, while Amy gazed at Eric in surprise.

In fact, Amy also thought it was too risky to invest $300 million in The Lord of the Rings trilogy all at once and had hoped that Firefly could co-invest. However, she never expected Eric would suddenly take the whole project, leaving MGM just the distribution rights. But after she noticed that Eric's gaze swept over her again after he finished speaking, Amy promptly realized that Eric's decision may also carry a warning for her.

Perhaps her performance today had indeed been too cautious, coming off as overly indecisive.

Even without any shares in MGM, the entirety of Hollywood recognized that this major film company was still under Eric's control. As one of the seven major female leaders, Amy was well aware that her autonomy received from Eric far exceeded that of Sherry Lansing at Paramount, which was a mark of Eric's trust in her. However, if she continued to fretting over losing Brosnan for the 007 series, she would soon risk losing Eric's trust as well.

...

Having silently reflected on this, Amy no longer hesitated. She stood to see Eric and Drew out before turning back to Pierre Truc, who was still seated across the conference table. "Mr. Truc, it's getting a bit late. Do you need me to arrange a car to take you to your hotel?" Coming back to his senses, Pierre found Eric and Drew had already left and felt a glimmer of hope. He turned to Amy, saying, "Ms. Pascal, how about we all go have dinner together and

chat a bit?"

Amy politely shook her head without finding an explanation, simply refusing, "Sorry, Mr. Truc, if you don't need a car, I can walk you downstairs."

*****

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