"Sir, the companies you needed to split up have all been done."
"Ugh, what bad luck for me, Filson. Now, the think tank is short on people; you need to expedite this."
"Yes, sir. The pressure is definitely mounting."
"Ugh, if it weren't for the high margins, doing this would sink my company."
"Ha, not necessarily. NBC is indeed too big, but we must split MTV and WOWO cable."
"I expected that. What really annoys me is the gaming consoles; this split is total waste."
"Sir, when do you plan to wrap up this lawsuit?"
"By the end of this year should do. Once all the games are finished, we'll hit them hard."
"Sir, are you sure?"
"Alright, Filson, no more persuasion. If this doesn't make a mark on them, do you think they wouldn't keep bothering us?"
"Fine, if that's the case, let's proceed."
Filson knew the follow-up plans but still disliked such behavior. No matter what investigations happened later, they wouldn't cause such huge losses.
So, depending on the perspective, one's way of seeing things changes. At this point, William White wouldn't worry about any local victories or losses. Money is vital, but inducing respect is even more essential.
Faced with troubles, if you choose to retreat, they'll leave you with nothing but bones.
...
William White sorted out a heap of personnel appointments, and the crew for Mr. & Mrs. Smith completed its preparations. After all, this was just a regular commercial film; even with some location shooting, it was nowhere near as complicated as Pirates of the Caribbean.
"Lucas, as the producer, have you made up your mind?"
"That woman took over a hundred million, and I'm so broke I could use a new pair of pants."
"Alright, alright, do what you want. The location's in the Bahamas."
"Okay, I'll take care of it."
William White knew that while Lucas claimed to have no cash, he was genuinely curious about how he operated a commercial movie.
Movies were truly where his joy lay, and having a strong assistant saved him a lot of trouble.
This film had high acting demands; the couple had to be both mundane and exciting. It was like living with two people who were mentally split.
Chases, explosions, shootouts -- while those provided excitement, they paled in comparison to the clashes between this married couple.
If you watched Hollywood movies, you'd realize that the audience loved such plots. Be it Spider-Man or Captain America, before they became superheroes, they were all pretty pathetic.
Mr. and Mrs. Smith were no different; despite being top assassins, one looked like a housewife while the other resembled a salesman.
Such a cliche kept popping up in Hollywood, likely because the writers were somewhat shy, or maybe audience simply liked that kind of contrast.
Lucas noticed the sheer number of high-tech products in this film was astounding. Apparently, Motorola had spent quite a bit; besides cell phones and beepers, there were also satellite phones.
Well, the leader of the assassination group could even make video calls. And what was this thing called a laptop? It seemed to have military applications?
"William, are you sure this thing is useful?"
"How could it be? It's just junk, but they gave fifty grand."
Okay, Lucas fell silent. Money talks, after all -- if they tossed in another fifty, it might even have a calling feature.
As a producer, once Lucas accepted everything, he was stunned to find that William White had already pulled in over ten million dollars in sponsorships.
Needless to say, there were sponsorships for cars, suits, and sunglasses. As for consumer products like Coca-Cola, that was a given.
Good grief, the film was stuffed with ads.
Lucas began to have doubts -- did anyone really want to see this movie?
He could only say that people had a habit of getting jealous. The question of whether anyone would watch was something William White never worried about. Before he flopped, White Films was a gold standard.
One could imagine next summer's box office would be a battlefield. To compete with this film, you'd have to reach the status of E.T.
...
Sophie felt a bit flustered. Although she was very familiar with the jerk, she found it hard to focus under everyone's watchful gaze.
"Darn it, we're filming a movie; how can I think about that?" The young beauty chastised herself, while William White, unbothered, knew they had plenty of time for the movie.
"Let's take a break for a bit," William had certainly been through this before, and while he chuckled inwardly, he had to pause the shoot.
After a well-deserved break, the results were naturally impressive. However, it seemed one person's waist had gotten even slimmer.
About William White, Hollywood no longer cared about news concerning him, even the headlines about him wrangling ten million in advertising sponsorships.
Everyone in the industry had zipped their lips, and critics were loath to say much. Before this guy bombed, any underestimation would seem like a joke later on. They believed NBC would surely call them out to eat their words.
...
Though no one was voicing their concerns, they were indeed unsettled, especially Murdoch, who was growing increasingly jealous. When a film reached this level, losing money wasn't even the issue -- it was just a matter of how much they would make.
Scratching his thinning hair, Murdoch felt defeated. He wanted to work up the courage to challenge William White, but even he felt some dread, let alone those investors.
For other big productions, the head of Paramount found the situation frustrating. "You can collect ad money? Where do I go to find mine?"
That rascal William White officially opened Pandora's box. From this moment on, Hollywood stepped into the era of product placement.
...
"Lucas, are you trying to sink Apple?"
A visibly distressed Lucas replied, "When did I say he could sell computers? I've always said animation production is our strong suit."
"Well, actually, Jobs' move wasn't wrong; Markkula has gone a little crazy. The audiences are different; why bother worrying?"
"That's not right; we all agreed on this, and you can't go back on your word. It's only been a few days."
"So let them take it to court; that's where they resolve issues. My TV station can also find something to do."
Facing a shameless person, Lucas had no strength to retort; it was obvious this guy was just there to stir the pot. His face dripped with insincerity, and anyone could see it.
William saw Jobs' graphical computer, which was indeed stunning. But he didn't understand -- why did it need to have a cube shape?
Clearly, Jobs remained fixated even after going through tough times.
William actually wanted to tell him, "You can give me a bare machine; I only care about performance."
Thus, William White was an ordinary man. If it weren't for his special advantages, he wouldn't stand a chance against Jobs. Only such a determined person could create Apple's legend. If it were William White, Apple would just be another HP or Compaq.
Living in the same era as Jobs was painful; the guy had been through so much turmoil yet still managed to keep making headlines.
"Steve, can't you find a way to settle this? Why don't you talk to Markkula? Your prices are so high, and the target audience is different. What's the point?"
"Sigh, do you think I don't want to settle? Lawsuits cost money! The problem is my computer targets schools."
"Fine, forget I said anything." William gave up trying to persuade him; the stakes were too high. *****
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