Chapter 404: CEO

On the surface, the Weinstein Company's film "Vengeance for Father" had a stronger cast and crew. Paul Sorrentino was a renowned Italian director, whose films had won numerous David di Donatello Awards and Cannes Film Festival awards. The lead actors, Sean Penn and Frances McDormand, were top American actors, both Oscar winners and nominees, with high box office appeal. The film's story, about a retired rock star overcoming obstacles to find the Nazi officer who persecuted his father, was a Jewish story that aligned with mainstream themes.

Palm Beach Pictures' "Bridesmaids," on the other hand, appeared to be a wedding-themed comedy film, similar to "The Hangover." Apart from supporting actress Emma Stone and extra Link, there were few big-name stars, and the director, Paul Feig, was a second-tier Hollywood director. Moreover, "Bridesmaids" faced competition from three other wedding-themed comedies, "Wedding Crashers," "The Wedding Planner," and "Made of Honor," all released around the same time. With such a crowded market, "Bridesmaids" faced an uphill battle to achieve success.

Based on available information, over 70% of professional media and film critics favored Weinstein's "Vengeance for Father," while the rest were watching with interest, curious to see how much "Vengeance for Father" would win by and whether Palm Beach Pictures would suffer a significant loss on this project. This sentiment was similar to boxing fans speculating on which boxer would win before a match. Thanks to media hype, both films had become two of the most anticipated films in May without spending much on advertising.

However, May was the start of the summer blockbuster season, and three other films were also receiving attention. First was "Fast Five," scheduled for release on April 29th. Second was Marvel's "Thor," releasing on May 8th, and "Pirates of the Caribbean 4" on May 20th. These three films were all big-budget projects with investments exceeding $100 million, making it even harder for "Bridesmaids" to stand out and achieve success.

"With such intense competition, is it appropriate to release it at this time?" Link asked, flipping through a film magazine at the dining table.

"It doesn't matter. There are many blockbusters during the summer, but there are also more people watching movies. As long as the film quality is good and the promotion is in place, the box office results won't be bad. Last month, 'Bridesmaids' held an internal screening, and representatives from major theaters gave an average rating of B-, which is a good evaluation. The estimated box office is 40 to 50 million," Catherine said, stirring the pasta sauce.

"Only 40 to 50 million?"

"I'm talking about the North American box office. The global box office is estimated to be 70 to 80 million. The production and promotion cost of this film is 32.5 million. If it can sell 80 million at the global box office, it won't lose money," Catherine said.

Link raised his eyebrows. He remembered that "Bridesmaids" had a global box office of over 300 million, surpassing many blockbusters in the same period and becoming a dark horse in the summer of 2012. It was considered the most successful film among those following the "Hangover" theme. Now, the distribution department's prediction after the screening was only 80 million, a significant difference.

Could it be related to him? He hadn't seen this version of "Bridesmaids" and didn't know how different it was from the original. But considering the several major productions in the same period and the three films of the same type, it was indeed difficult for "Bridesmaids" to stand out and achieve a box office of over 100 million. He could only lower his expectations for the box office of "Bridesmaids" to avoid disappointment if the film didn't perform well after its release.

"Is breakfast ready? I'm hungry."

The round-faced girl yawned and came out of the bedroom, barefoot, wearing a loose nightgown, her hair disheveled. The blueberry jam from last night's cake was still on the corner of her mouth. Too messy.

Link was about to speak, but Selena quickly covered her ears, pouting and saying, "Don't talk, and don't nag me about getting up late. I've been reading and doing questions day and night for a while, almost exhausted. Now that I've finally finished the exam, it's normal to sleep in. Otherwise, do you think it's easy to get 1400 on the SAT?"

Link shook his head helplessly. This girl had been studying hard for the SAT and got a score of 1400, 40 points higher than him back then. She was so happy that she went around proclaiming her SAT score, even in the news. At home, she was even more proud, always mentioning her score, as if getting 1400 on the SAT was more worthy of bragging than winning a Nobel Prize.

"What are you proud of? If I hadn't given you 100 sets of practice questions, could you have gotten this score?" Link said, taking a sip of milk.

"Hmph, you still mention it. Your hundred sets of practice questions almost exhausted me. Now, I feel like vomiting when I see the test paper," Selena said, puffing up her round face.

The practice questions Link brought back were too many and too difficult. She was forced to do them continuously for more than three months, and she didn't finish them until the eve of the SAT exam. She felt that anyone who could finish all those questions could easily get a perfect score on the SAT.

"Don't move around. Look at yourself now, like a homeless woman. Go wash your face and comb your hair."

Catherine slapped away her hand trying to steal food and pushed her into the bathroom to wash up.

Little Annie also got up, half a palm taller than last year, wearing a cartoon dress, her small face the size of a palm. She greeted Link and Catherine in a soft voice, and then Catherine also pushed her into the bathroom to wash up with Selena.

During breakfast, everyone talked about music, and Selena took the opportunity to ask him if he had any new songs. She had passed the SAT exam, and he should write a song for her as a reward.

Link said that "We Don't Talk Anymore" was already a reward, and she had cashed it in advance. The next time she wanted to get a song written by him, she would have to wait until she graduated from college.

Hearing this, Selena poked the fruit pie with a fork, her big black and white eyes rolled, and she smiled slyly. "Fickle brother, do you want to know about Taylor? If you write a song for me, I can tell you about Taylor."

Link smiled gently. "No need. Continuing to write songs for you will make you dependent, which is not good for your development. Also, Taylor is your friend. Telling me about her will make you a disloyal friend, so this deal is unnecessary."

"Hmph!"

Selena puffed up her round face and ate breakfast sullenly.

"Is Taylor in Los Angeles recently?" Catherine asked.

"Yes, she's releasing a new album and going on tour. She has a lot of work, and I've only seen her once," Selena said, stuffing bread into her mouth.

"How is her recovery?"

"Very good, like she wasn't pregnant early last year. Taylor said this is the result of her persistent training for the past two months," Selena said.

"How is her mood?"

"Also very good. We met and talked and laughed like before." After Selena finished speaking, she realized it was Link who asked. She snorted and stuffed an egg into her mouth, her round face bulging.

Catherine glanced at Link, wanting to say something, but seeing that he was in a good mood, she swallowed her words.

---

After breakfast, Link arrived at Lionsgate to take charge. His daily work now mainly involved reviewing company information, familiarizing himself with the responsibilities and operating modes of various departments, understanding the progress of film and television projects, and reviewing each project.

There was a lot of work, and it was complicated, but it was also important. He could only patiently learn and do it.

Knock, knock, knock!

"Chairman, Mr. Fellerman has arrived," the secretary brought from New York said at the door.

"Okay, please ask Mr. Fellerman to come in."

Link put down the documents, got up, and went to the door to greet Jon Feltheimer, the former chairman and major shareholder of Lionsgate.

Feltheimer, 58 years old, was a well-known Hollywood producer. In 2005, he spent $85 million to buy a large stake from Lionsgate founder Frank Giustra, becoming the chairman of Lionsgate. Under his leadership, Lionsgate acquired several distribution and television production companies, gradually reaching its current scale. The Hollywood Reporter described him as a pioneering film company manager and a second-tier producer.

When Link acquired his shares some time ago, he had an agreement with Feltheimer to hire him as a Lionsgate executive after taking control of the company. At that time, Feltheimer did not agree, saying he wanted to think about it. After two weeks without a response, Link thought he was not interested in the position he promised. Unexpectedly, Feltheimer would personally visit today.

"Jon, how does it feel to come to Lionsgate again?" Link shook hands with him and invited him to sit in the small meeting room.

"Not bad, everything is the same," Feltheimer, wearing a shirt, with graying short hair and stubble, looked around the small meeting room and smiled.

"Yes, your office is still reserved for you. If you are willing to come back to Lionsgate, you can continue to work there," Link said directly.

He knew that since Feltheimer came to the company in person, he must have this idea, so he didn't beat around the bush.

Feltheimer pondered for a moment and said, "Link, I've been at Lionsgate for over six years. I know this place very well, and I have many unfinished goals that I want to continue pursuing. But I want to know, if I come back, how much autonomy will I have at Lionsgate?"

"Vice Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for the company's next development plan and optimizing the company structure. My goal is to make Lionsgate a production company on par with the Big Six, at least on par with DreamWorks. I lack experience in this area and need someone who can provide advice and guidance during Lionsgate's development. You have made great contributions to Lionsgate's development in recent years and are very suitable for this position. I hope you can seriously consider it," Link said.

Feltheimer frowned and thought for a moment. "Providing advice and planning is no problem, but I'm not interested in being the Chief Strategy Officer. There's too much work involved, and it's very detailed. I'm old and don't have that much energy to do it. My original job was as a producer, and I hope to stay in the film production department. I don't need much salary. With those Twitter shares, I'm not short of money now."

Link was a little surprised. He had planned to retain Feltheimer with the position of Vice Chairman and a generous annual salary, even a share of the dividends, and invite him to offer advice during Lionsgate's development. But now, Feltheimer only wanted to work in the production department.

Thinking of The Hollywood Reporter's evaluation of him as a second-tier producer, it was not appropriate to let him work in the production department.

Link hesitated for a moment but agreed. He also retained the position of Vice Chairman for Feltheimer, allowing him to participate in Lionsgate's senior management meetings and decision-making, acting as a consultant for Lionsgate, with a tentative annual salary of one million and dividends from the projects he participated in producing.

"Haha, Mr. Baker, I look forward to your guidance in the future," Feltheimer stood up and laughed.

"Jon, I also hope to get your guidance," Link reached out and shook his hand.

After seeing Feltheimer off, Link returned to his office and added Jon Feltheimer's name to the list of Lionsgate executives. In addition to Feltheimer, President Bix, and the original six executives, there were also four management talents that Ivanka had poached from other companies through a headhunting firm. Once these four people took office, they would form a new Lionsgate management team with the original executives.

Ivanka's idea was that if the original company structure remained unchanged, it would lead to the original management forming cliques and jointly resisting his orders, and even doing other more excessive things. Therefore, it was necessary to introduce new executives to supervise each other, compete with each other, and improve the company's operational efficiency. After two years, when he was familiar with Lionsgate's operating model, he would eliminate unqualified executives based on their performance and completely control Lionsgate.

Link thought Ivanka was right. When he was looking through the company's senior management information, he found that five of the employees above the supervisor level had worked at Miramax. For example, Andrew Kramer, the Chief Operating Officer of International Business, had served as a supervisor in Miramax's international distribution department. Although this did not mean they were Harvey's people (if they were really Harvey's confidants, they should be working at The Weinstein Company now), it did not mean there were no people in these executives who were close to Harvey.

Therefore, he needed to be careful when using people. Always be vigilant, so as not to fall into the enemy's trap.

Thinking of these problems, Link pinched the bridge of his nose, feeling that he had found himself in big trouble. Although spending 700 million to acquire Lionsgate was a good investment, he was just a boxer. Originally, running a record company relied entirely on Ivanka, and now he came to manage a film company. Sitting in the office every day looking at documents, if this continued, his physical function would gradually decline.

He got up and walked around, pondered for a while, then called Ivanka and asked her what she was doing. Ivanka said she was doing beauty treatments and would go shopping with Georgina later.

Link asked her if the work at Link Music was busy.

Ivanka said it was not busy at the moment.

Link asked her if she was interested in being the chairman of Lionsgate.

"Are you kidding me? I don't know anything about film operations. How can I manage Lionsgate?" Ivanka said.

"You didn't know how to manage a record company before, but you've done a great job in the past few years. Why don't you take on more responsibility and also serve as the chairman of Lionsgate?"

"No need. I already have a lot of work and don't want to do anything else," Ivanka said.

"Try it. You're good at managing people. You don't need to do much here, just sign documents every day, and leave the rest to the executives," Link persuaded.

"...If I become the chairman, what will you do? Have more time to flirt with girls?"

"Of course not. I'll be your assistant, mainly responsible for developing and investing in film projects. We'll work together to make Lionsgate bigger and stronger. In the future, we can even merge with Link Music to become a large entertainment company comparable to Warner and Sony. At that time, you will be the helm of this company," Link said seriously.

Ivanka hesitated for a moment and said she would think about it carefully before giving an answer.

(End of Chapter)