After a moment of hesitation, Eric looked at Katzenberg and said, "I will be in charge of the preparatory stage of the acquisition of abc for the time being, and I will make corresponding adjustments after the formal negotiations begin."
When Katzenberg heard the answer, he shrugged slightly to express his understanding, but his expression was inevitably a little disappointed.
After the meeting, Eric noticed that Jeffrey had just winked at him, and pretended to pack up the files and left behind.
After everyone in the meeting room left, Eric said to Jeffrey: "Am I a little too indecisive?"
Jeffrey came to Eric's side, leaned on the large mahogany desk, looked kindly at the tired young man leaning on the leather chair, and said, "I remember reading a saying somewhere that a huge amount Wealth tends to make people indifferent, so, Eric, I hope you are more humane. If you just left Michael without hesitation and handed over the acquisition to Jeffrey, I think the meeting room Most people will feel uneasy, and Michael's achievements since he became the CEO of Firefly are obvious to all."
Compared to Peter Cooper, who made Columbia Pictures a mess, Michael Lynn, who has a conservative but very steady style, has managed everything in Firefly Pictures in an orderly manner for the past two years. Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was about to take over his position, and Michael Lynn did not choose to fight infighting like Time Warner's management to ensure his position. These are the things that Eric admires very much.
If possible, Eric would definitely keep Michael Lynn in Firefly.
The reality is that a company can have two co-presidents. Just like Warner under Steve Ross. But there can only be one CEO as the commander. Moreover, Eric has not heard of the situation where the CEO and subordinates of a large group have swapped positions. Once the position is replaced by someone else, as the predecessor, he must either be promoted to a "virtual title" to maintain influence on the company, such as being the chairman of the board of directors. For positions without much decision-making power, either leave directly.
Most of the shares of Firefly are concentrated in the hands of Eric, and there is no board of directors. Moreover, even if a board of directors will be established in the future, it is impossible for the chairman of the board to fall to someone other than Eric.
Therefore, once Michael Lynn leaves, he has no choice but to leave Firefly completely.
"Michael is only fifty years old this year?"
For Westerners who generally refuse to accept old age, fifty years old can still be regarded as a stage of youth and vitality.
"Fifty-two years old," Jeffrey said, reaching out and patting Eric on the shoulder: "Eric, I always thought that many of your decisions were very risky. But now I know that you You must be confident. From this point of view, compared to Jeffrey's vigor, you are a bit conservative. Jeffrey's taking over Michael's position just complements you. So, Eric, have a good talk with Michael Let’s talk about it, Hollywood executives change is a very common thing, and Michael is only in his early fifties, leaving Firefly, and he has plenty of time to do other things.”
What should be faced is always faced, Eric took a deep breath, got up and said: "There is still some time before get off work, I will go there now."
…
Michael Lynn's secretary was originally answering the phone. When he saw Eric coming over, he quickly covered the microphone and looked at Eric with a questioning expression.
"Brew two cups of coffee for Michael and me," Eric said to the secretary, knocked on the door of Michael's office a few times, pushed the door and walked in.
When Michael Lynn saw Eric walk in, he was a little surprised at first, but soon showed a relieved expression, stood up and asked Eric to sit down on the sofa in the rest area, and said with a smile: "Eric, just let me Are you in trouble?"
Eric showed an embarrassing expression. Most executives of Firefly could realize that Eric wanted Katzenberg to be in the top position. Of course, Michael Lynn couldn't be clear.
Michael Lynn's secretary pushed the door in with two cups of coffee, and quickly backed out.
Eric sorted out his words, and was about to speak, but Michael Lynn said again: "Eric, the size of the fireflies is getting bigger and bigger, and I find that I am a little powerless in many things. In fact, I have already thought about it in my heart. Already, when my contract expires next year, I will take the initiative to submit my resignation and leave the company to do other things.”
Now it was Eric's turn to be surprised.
Michael Lynn looked at Eric's surprised expression, smiled slightly, and continued: "My contract expires in April next year, so I will hand over the work of Firefly from the beginning of next year. In fact, I also think that Jie Fury is a better fit than me."
Eric originally thought that this conversation would develop into a quarrel, but he didn't expect the situation to be far beyond his expectations.
"Michael, then... what are you going to do after leaving Firefly?"
"Maybe I will rest for a while and spend more time with my family. In addition, I like red wine very much. I plan to go around Europe to find a decent winery. After the rest, I will definitely return to Hollywood, you You know, I have been in this industry since 1967 and have been doing it for more than 20 years, and it is impossible to leave this industry now, and I will set up my own production company by then."
Eric slowly came back to his senses, and said to Michael Lynn: "If you need help at that time, you can call me at any time."
"Of course, if possible, I hope you can help me choose the script at that time."
Eric put down a big stone in his heart, and agreed in a straightforward tone: "Of course this is no problem. Speaking of which, we haven't talked in private except for the company's party. Let's have dinner together tonight?"
"There is a good Michelin restaurant on Amanda Avenue. I go there often. Let's try it together at night?"
"Okay, I'll treat you," Eric wanted to invite Michael to Angle Manor, but since the other party personally recommended him, he didn't refuse.
"Of course it's your boss who treats you," Michael Lynn said with a hearty smile, "Then I'll ask the secretary to call to locate the seat. I'll see you tonight."
"See you tonight."
Send Eric out of the office. Michael Lynn sat back in his comfortable office chair. Sighed slightly.
Michael Lynn recalled the scene when Eric had private contact with him more than two years ago. At that time, Eric was not as easy to talk as before. Michael Lynn would definitely not think that after only two years, Eric's personality has changed drastically, mainly because his position in his heart has changed. At that time, he was a member of Robert Shea's side. At this time, Eric already regarded him as his own, and this recognition of identity was also the reward brought by his hard work in taking care of Firefly in the past two years.
Of course, it is impossible for Michael Lynn not to fall in love with the position of CEO of Firefly Pictures, but he knows better than Robert Shea. When he realized that Eric was likely to let Jeffrey Katzenberg take over after his contract expired. Michael Lynn also struggled for a while, but he also quickly figured out some things. In a film company with a simple and direct ownership structure like Firefly Pictures, if there is internal fighting in order to maintain his own position, only Will prompt yourself to be kicked out.
Although outsiders have been speculating, as a player in the game, Michael Lynn is very clear that the 1991 summer film "Cut Throat Island", which cost Disney Pictures and Robert Shea hundreds of millions of dollars, It was a trap thrown by Eric.
When Robert Shea was at Firefly, he had a quarrel with Eric, and after leaving, he planned to regroup. However, the good line film company he runs has not made any improvement in the past two years, and several films that have been shot with huge sums of money have also ended in a dismal manner in a silent way. Many people have even forgotten about Robert Shea.
Among them, of course, Firefly Pictures also played a secret role in fueling the flames. Counting the newly established DreamWorks production company, through various cooperation, the major film companies that Firefly Pictures can directly influence in Hollywood include Sony-Columbia , 20th Century Fox, and MGM, plus Firefly Pictures itself, the four major film companies accounted for most of the power in Hollywood.
Under the influence of this horror, Eric didn't even need to give any instructions. Several other film companies that directly cooperated with Firefly Pictures would not cooperate with Robert Shea's production company. Even the other three major film companies will not easily contact Robert Shea in order to maintain a good relationship with Firefly Pictures.
Knowing these stakes, Michael Lynn certainly didn't want to end up in the same fate as Robert Shea.
So he made the decision just now very wisely.
Withdrawing voluntarily, not only can he retain his shares in Firefly Films, and get a generous dividend every year, but also the contacts he has accumulated in Firefly Films over the past few years can also be completely preserved, not to mention Eric William James, even his successor, Jeffrey Katzenberg, will remember his benefits, which will be a great help for him to continue to develop his career in Hollywood in the future.
…
Eric was a little confused at first, but after calming down and thinking about it, he quickly understood the intention of Michael Lynn's decision.
However, it would be great if Michael Lynn could figure it out, and Eric would not treat him badly in the future.
There was still some time before get off work, and Eric returned to his office. He had just read some documents when the phone on the desk rang.
Eric picked up the microphone, and the outside secretary said something, Eric nodded and said, "Let her in."
After a while, the Spanish girl looked around the office, just in time to meet Eric's smiling expression.
"Hi, little cat," Eric called out.
Penelope Cruz opened the door and came in after hearing this name. The girl was wearing a black suspender dress and holding a delicate white handbag. She carefully closed the office door and walked to Eric's office. On the other side of the table, he complained with a little resentment: "Eric, I thought you forgot me."
"How is it possible, I just came back from Tokyo yesterday, and I haven't had time to call you yet." Eric said, hooking his hand at the girl: "Come here, let me kiss you."
Eric's desk is very large, and the computer monitor, landline and a pile of documents on the desktop only occupy a small part of the space. Penelope showed a wild smile at Eric, and jumped on the table with her little hands slightly propped up, pushing the stack of documents in front of her to the side. Cross the table and slowly crawl to Eric.
Eric smiled in surprise. I don't mind either. He lightly pecked on the lips of the Spanish girl who came over, and asked, "What have you been doing recently?"
Penelope didn't go down after kissing, kicked off the high heels on her feet, and lay on Eric's desk lazily with her legs dangling, really like a little wild cat, looking at the reading Eric in the file said: "After our training, Michelle said that the plan for "Charlie's Angels" has changed. So we took another short-term acting training class."
"Well, it's always right to learn more now. When you become famous in the future, you will definitely not have this time."
"Eric, when will the movie start?"
Eric put down the file and thought for a while, then said, "Do you know the DreamWorks production company jointly established by Firefly Pictures and MGM?"
"I know, I just heard about it today."
"This project has been transferred to DreamWorks Production Company. The specific cooperation plan should be released this week. When Paris comes up with a finalized plan, the "Charlie's Angels" project will enter the substantive production stage. The start-up should be at the end of September , this is a green-light project between Firefly and MGM. The production funds are very abundant and there will be no obstacles.”
After getting the information she wanted to know the most, Penelope said with satisfaction: "I'll tell those two guys later, they are still worried that the movie will be pornographic."
Eric reached out and squeezed Penelope's sharp chin, and joked, "Aren't you worried?"
"Of course not, this is your movie," Penelope shook her head, shook Eric's hand away, reached out to grab it and pressed it on the table, and stretched out her fingers to draw on Eric's palm , Said: "Eric, my sister has come to Los Angeles. At first, my mother was worried that I would not be able to take good care of Monica. I... I gave her 200,000 dollars, and she didn't say anything else. In addition, I also bought I bought a house in Santa Monica, spent $950,000, and a Toyota sedan, $50,000, my sister’s school fees, I picked a private Spanish middle school... "
Penelope pretended to say these things nonchalantly, but kept carefully looking at Eric's expression. Although Eric gave her a credit card with a huge overdraft, the smart Spanish girl knew very well that this was definitely not her You can spend as much as you want, especially when you bought that house, the Spanish girl was very nervous, it was 950,000 US dollars, before she was eighteen years old, she never imagined that she could spend nearly one million US dollars in one go, this Converted into the currency of Spain at this stage, the sum is equivalent to 60 million pesetas.
Eric only listened for a moment, then interrupted Penelope to continue reporting the bill to himself. Eric is actually very clear about these things, so he is quite satisfied with Penelope's performance in the recent period: "Don't Talk about these spoilers, I don't want to hear."
The Spanish girl stopped immediately, and changed the subject: "Eric, can you come to my place tonight and see the new home I arranged?"
"I have a dinner appointment with someone, so I can't go back with you," Eric saw that Penelope's eyes immediately became bright, and said again: "It's not suitable to take you this time, let's talk about it when we have a chance." .”
Penelope didn't show any disappointment either, and asked, "Then you can come to my place after dinner?"
"It may be very late, and it will affect your rest."
Penelope shook her head: "It's okay."
"Okay then, tell me the address, and I'll go there in the evening."
Penelope took the pencil and note paper from Eric, lay down on the table and wrote the address, and took out a key from her handbag and handed it to Eric. Eric took it and put it away. Thinking of the other two girls, he asked, "Do Kate and Charlize live with you?"
"No, they are still living in the original apartment, Eric, how about I invite them to move in and live together?"
"Oh, no need, I think even if you ask, they won't move over."
Penelope stuck out her tongue, of course she knew why Eric said that, but she didn't care, and stayed in Eric's office for a while before Penelope left.
After work, Eric and Michael drove to a Michelin three-star restaurant on Amanda Avenue near the Firefly headquarters. During the meal, they didn't talk about any business, just chatted everywhere. Although there was a big difference in biological age, But after all, Eric has the experience of two lifetimes, and his knowledge is no less than that of Michael Lynn. The two of them found a lot of common topics. After dinner, they even felt a little unfinished. Michael Lynn lived in Burbank for the convenience of work, so he was very familiar with this generation, and soon brought Eric to an environment It's a nice bar, and the two didn't separate until it was close to eleven o'clock in the evening.
Eric got into the car in a daze, remembering what happened in the afternoon, took out a post-it note from his pocket and handed it to the driver, saying, "Let's go to this place."
I don't know how long it took, Eric heard someone calling himself, opened his eyes, and saw the driver in the front row pointing out the window and saying, "Mr. Williams, we're here."
Eric turned his head and saw a small villa on the side of the road that was still lit, and said to the driver: "You guys go back first, just pick me up next morning."
After getting out of the car, Eric shook his dizzy head, only to see under the street lights that this is a white two-story villa surrounded by trees and shadows, the environment is very good, the Spanish girl is quite good at choosing a place.
When he came to the door, Eric was about to ring the doorbell when he remembered that Penelope had left the key for him. After looking for it, he found the key from his trouser pocket, opened the door and walked in. (To be continued..)