Chapter 1040： Ambition

New York, Upper East Side, James Murdoch walks out of the apartment, meets Jim Pros, who is waiting here, and rushes to the newly-purchased mansion by the Rupert Murdoch couple.

"How is the situation?" James Murdoch glanced at the gloomy sky through the car window: "Is there any possibility of salvation overseas?"

Jim Prolos knew that he was talking about "Ten Thousand Years Before History". Out of the responsibility of professional managers, he can only tell the truth: "Overseas may be worse than North America."

James Murdoch is not lacking in decisiveness: "Don't invest anymore overseas, stop your losses."

"Okay." Jim Prolos felt a little guilty, and said, "I will be responsible for the failure of these two projects..."

James Murdoch waved his hand: "Isn't it time to talk about this. Isn't your recent project successful? The results of "The Simpsons" are good."

He doesn't seem to have Jim Proceeds back for the time being.

For every company in Hollywood, it is normal for the production and distribution of films to have success or failure. The three films released in the summer of 20th Century Fox, "The Pharaoh and the Gods" and "Ten Thousand Years Before History" are commercially available. It failed, but there was also the success of The Simpsons.

This film adapted from an animated series has been released in early June and has now exceeded $150 million in the North American box office.

Jim Prolos did not speak any more, after all, from the bottom of his heart, he did not want to be held accountable.

Although there are two failures in the three summer films and one success, it is a common occurrence in the Big Six in Hollywood, but the production costs of the failed "Pharaohs and Gods" and "Ten Thousand Years of Prehistory" are both 100 million US dollars. Above, and the successful "Simpsons" is only a medium-scale production.

However, this also means that "The Simpsons" can have a lot of profit, and how much it can make up for the losses of "The Pharaoh and the Gods" and "Ten Thousand Years Before History".

James Murdoch suddenly asked: "Jim, do the two failed films have something in common?"

"Hmm..." Jim Prolos had actually thought about it and said, "They are all epic films of ancient warfare."

James Murdoch asked: "Are there any other films of this type in the big production project?"

Jim Prolos said: "There is another one, Robin Hood, which has a very high investment, 130 million US dollars..."

As soon as the number came out, the air in the car seemed to freeze for a moment.

Even for a company like Twentieth Century Fox, more than $100 million is a considerable investment.

Although I can't think of the problem, Hollywood studios have their own survival criteria and ways of judging their projects. James Murdoch asked: "Can the Robin Hood project be terminated?"

Jim Prolos shook his head and smiled bitterly: "The project has entered the post-production stage. We have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in funds. If it is terminated, the loss will be huge."

"Then finish it." James Murdoch quickly made a decision: "After the completion, organize several more viewing sessions, and see the specific response before deciding on the scale of investment in the promotion and distribution."

Twentieth Century Fox will also learn from the failures of "Pharaohs and Gods" and "Ten Thousand Years Before History". The production cost of each of the two epic giants will be announced with a total cost of up to 200 million US dollars. There is not much that can be recovered.

Since the beginning of the new century, large-scale productions have invested more and more in the promotion and distribution of movies, not only approaching the production cost infinitely, but some even exceeding the production cost.

Jim Prolos quickly responded: "Okay."

It is impossible to give up "Robin Hood" which has already started post-production, but the failure of two consecutive period epic films also made the senior officials of 20th Century Fox, including Jim Pross, very cautious about this type.

"I have issued an official notice." Jim Prolos said at this time: "In the short term, there will be no more epic projects in the 20th Century Fox."

James Murdoch nodded slightly: "This decision is timely." He thought of another thing and reminded: "There are two directors, Ridley Scott and Roland Emmerich, in the future. During the year, Twentieth Century Fox will stop cooperating with them."

"I understand." Jim Prolos said: "The management of the company has reached a tacit understanding."

This kind of thing will not be said clearly, but no one wants to cooperate with the loser.

James Murdoch asked: "What about other big investment and big production projects?"

Jim-Pross said: "There is no epic film project. Currently investing in production and planning of large projects, in addition to the "X-Men" derivative series, there is also a disaster type "Super Storm", science fiction film is also a sequel "Terminator 4" and the movie "Dragon Ball" adapted from a major production game."

Hearing these words, James Murdoch relaxed and said: "Abandon other epic projects except Robin Hood, and put all the saved funds and resources into these projects."

Jim Pross responded again: "Okay."

The car left Manhattan and finally came to Long Island, stopping in front of a luxurious manor.

Entering the manor, James Murdoch just greeted other brothers and sisters and potential competitors, and was called to the study by Rupert Murdoch.

Compared to other sons and daughters, Rupert Murdoch prefers James Murdoch and gave him tremendous power, first with the control of the British media headed by Sky TV, and then 20th Century Fox.

From the outside world, this is undoubtedly a very clear signal that James Murdoch will be in charge of the future media empire of the Murdoch family.

James Murdoch himself thought so too.

"I heard that Fox has failed two major productions this summer?" Rupert Murdoch asked directly.

""The Pharaohs and the Gods" and "Ten Thousand Years Before History." James Murdoch knew that he could not hide: "It may cause certain losses to the company in the short term."

Rupert Murdoch sat behind the desk and pushed several documents to the front: "Don't be careless, always pay attention to the health of the company's capital flow."

James Murdoch picked up the file and looked at it, and said, "I know, father."

Actually, for these two projects, most of the funds came from 20th Century Fox, and some of the funds were invested by investment institutions. At least the 20th Century Fox’s losses would not be as serious as it seems.

But this also brings other problems. Those investment institutions have seriously frustrated their confidence in Twentieth Century Fox and do not plan to continue investing in other major film projects of Twentieth Century Fox.

This forced 20th Century Fox to use its own funds to invest in major production projects such as "Wolverine", "Superstorm", "Terminator 4" and "Dragon Ball".

Also, the problem of bank loans must be resolved. In the 20th century, Fox’s investments in "Pharaohs and the Gods" and "Ten Thousand Years Before History" came from bank loans.

Before I came to New York this time, some banks had already started dunning money, and some banks were even considering loans for other movie projects.

Twentieth Century Fox faced many problems, but James Murdoch did not panic. He was very confident and thought he was fully capable of solving these problems.

The British media business, after several years of hard work, he has basically built his back garden, and it is time to turn his main energy back to 20th Century Fox.

Rupert Murdoch warned: "The film and television industry has its own particularities, so don't be careless."

James Murdoch immediately assured: "Father, I will prove myself like I did in England."

Rupert Murdoch was quite satisfied with the results of his youngest son in the UK, nodded slowly, and suddenly changed the subject: "I have a plan, and News Corporation has been preparing for it for a while. "

James Murdoch had never heard of it, and immediately asked curiously: "Father, what plan?",

Rupert Murdoch said: "I am going to issue an M&A invitation to Time Warner and its controlling Warner Bros.!"

Hearing this, even with James Murdoch's knowledge, I was taken aback for a moment.

This plan is really shocking!

"Why Time Warner and Warner Bros.?" This is contrary to James Murdoch's plan.

That is, James Murdoch, if replaced by someone else, Rupert Murdoch will not explain at all: "After Time Warner broke up with AOL, the media business has been declining but they have the current The world's best content production project, the "Harry Potter" series has brought Warner nearly tens of billions of dollars in total revenue."

He glanced at James Murdoch: "In addition, Marvel Entertainment's movies proved that the era of superheroes has begun. We missed Marvel, but the potential of DC Comics is only stronger than Marvel. News Corporation’s media business, coupled with Warner’s most high-quality content business, is a combination of strong forces and complementary advantages. If the plan goes well, we will become the world’s largest media group in the future, and 20th Century Fox will also become Hollywood’s premier the company."

James Murdoch couldn't help but said, "It's too difficult."

Rupert Murdoch said: "So, now it's just a plan. I will release news to test Warner's attitude.

"Father!" James Murdoch hesitated and said, "According to your statement, News Corp. needs high-quality content. Twentieth Century Fox can no longer meet the requirements. I fully agree with this point, but Warner is not the only one. Your choice?"

In the eyes of Rupert Murdoch, James Murdoch said: "Relativistic Entertainment! A dynamic young company with countless high-quality content. If it can win Relativity Entertainment..."

"Do you think I haven't considered it?" Rupert Murdoch said lightly: "Relativity Entertainment's equity is concentrated, and it is more difficult to win it than to acquire Warner Bros."

James Murdoch did not give up: "What if Ronan Anderson agrees?"

Rupert Murdoch said: "I can consider it as a backup option."