[Chapter 726: Very Complicated]
Faced with a very childish boss, Filson could only advise him with a heavy heart. William White was a person who had many flaws, but one thing was for sure; he was very generous to his people.
As for his temper, that wasn't too bad. After working with William White for so many years, he hardly ever lost his temper. In fact, he rarely allowed his subordinates to see him in a bad light.
"Filson, how much severance do you reckon they need to pay for IBM's layoffs? Have you calculated it?"
"At least six billion dollars, plus some other losses. In extreme cases, it could approach ten billion."
"That much?" William White was shocked after hearing Filson's words. Good grief, this level of financial fallout could ruin the wealthiest man in the world.
"Yeah, there's going to be over ten billion in deficits for the year, no doubt about that. Sir, their stock price actually still has room to drop further."
"Then let's not buy all at once; I'm not looking for short-term investments. Let's aim for five years, hoping that this money can double in that time."
"Sir, I'm not too familiar with the IT industry; are their patents really that impressive?"
"Ha! Let me put it this way: from CPUs to memory, from floppy disk drives to hard drives. All the technology behind what you see in personal PCs, it's the best out there. Filson, I honestly don't know how Compaq and Dell managed to outpace IBM; that's quite a miracle."
"Yeah, they were first named IBM-compatible machines, and it seems they don't say that much anymore; they probably want to come up with some of their own products."
"That's true. Selling off their shares right now wouldn't be wise; there's likely significant upside potential left. IBM's stock under 30 billion dollar valuation is already incredibly cheap."
Seeing that he had convinced his boss, Filson excused himself. There was no doubt that the boss believed in IBM, and the upward trend for Compaq and Dell was evident. Selling off now clearly wasn't prudent.
...
Wall Street was also left dumbfounded by IBM's massive layoffs. As for the average public, they were even more bewildered. And so, the experts made timely appearances.
"Inflated benefits systems stifle employees' ambition. That so-called country club is nothing more than excessive luxury."
Hahaha, watching the guy on the television show going off, William White was laughing uncontrollably.
Good grief, it's just a country club; if that's considered a mistake, then they should come and see my company.
Sure enough, the audience below was not buying it at all. Pfft, what's wrong with employee benefits? The gap between them and Legendary World was hardly negligible. Your club is in the countryside, while Legendary World is in the city center.
Alright then, whenever Legendary World was mentioned, the expert's expression turned sour. Competing with someone who finds it easier to make money than to drink water was a tragedy.
When faced with such questions, the expert could only dodge and weave.
Good grief, can we still have a pleasant chat? William White was in this position simply because he had too much money; if he didn't spend it, he'd still have to pay taxes on it.
In William White's view, IBM had basically been sabotaged by the Justice Department, and that was hardly debatable.
Of course, to say that all of this was incorrect would hardly be appropriate. If IBM had been allowed to expand unchecked, who knew what would have happened to Apple, but Microsoft would certainly have floundered. As for Compaq and Dell, they likely wouldn't have even made it to the table.
The Big Blue engaging in internal cycles; what were you all even mixing in?
Attacking IBM under the banner of IBM-compatible machines was genuinely comical. If not for the Justice Department's restraint, IBM wouldn't have been searching for a rival.
As for Bill Gates, did you think the thirty thousand employees at IBM were just anyone? When it came to programming and software, Microsoft was hardly a competitor.
...
"Sir, Mr. Lucas has arrived."
"Oh? What's brought this old fellow out today? Let him in, would you?" William White was curious; wasn't this guy tinkering with Spielberg on a movie?
"George, what's brought you here?"
Lucas was taken aback. What kind of greeting was this?
"Cough, the hurricane from the Bahamas."
"C'mon, can we still have a pleasant chat? That last hurricane wasn't called George, was it?"
"Pfft, let's not go there. Why are the special effects in Blade so lacking? That doesn't align with your style at all."
"Oh come on, it's a tough economy. Besides, there have been people saying I'm just selling effects now. Where can one even reason with that? Those special effects companies are not ours anyway. So, Lucas, can you come on board with a stake?"
George Lucas's precious gem; there's no way this old guy would part with shares. William White was clearly trying to squeeze him.
"What are you talking about? That recent film was a real hassle; Spielberg even shot it for free. How about a sponsorship?"
"Sigh, I'm pretty confused myself; the script is excellent. Let me put it this way, I don't plan on watching this film; it would make me feel awful. To be honest, that period of history is just too dark."
"Yeah, I can understand that; Spielberg is going through a bit of a rough patch right now. You might not know this, but many directors have rejected this script."
"You mean Roman Polanski? If I recall correctly, isn't he of Jewish descent? The film won't be shot in the U.S.; what's there to fear? The FBI can't just go and grab him."
"It's probably not that concern, perhaps like you, he struggles to face that dark past. You must understand, he is a survivor."
What they were actually referring to was that film Schindler's List. As for sponsorship, Lucas was just bluffing. Even if that film lost a fortune, investors wouldn't mind.
"George, why not let Paramount take the distribution? If that's not possible, Fox isn't bad either. You know, they're one of us; I hope that's not offensive to say?"
When it came to these guys, William White chose his words carefully. It was somewhat difficult to fathom; Universal was apparently operating under a different set of rules, and this maneuver was truly something else.
"I don't know; the ins and outs are just too complicated for me. Maybe they considered it wouldn't be profitable, so they just picked any distributor."
Even though the old guy was rambling, William White had no desire to dig deeper. If Les Moonves and Murdoch planned to fuss over this, they'd likely be seen as traitors.
Lucas's visit was, of course, to inquire about the filming plans for Mission: Impossible. White Films had a spy film titled Mr. and Mrs. Smith ahead of it, and there was no doubt about the quality of Mission: Impossible.
"Lucas, I was planning on making this a series. However, there's an issue; I simply can't sign for such a long contract. Three films over six years is the max, and how do I change things up afterward? Just kill off the main character?"
Lucas was also taken by surprise; he hadn't realized that William White was even considering matters six years into the future.
"Killing him off isn't an issue, right? Isn't that how my Star Wars story goes? Plus, that young superstar was the one you promoted."
William White waved his hand, indicating, "George, friendships are friendships, but business is business. Moreover, those agents are no joke to deal with."
"Then just replace him. Tom Cruise is already a massive star now, and he certainly won't be easy to negotiate with."
"True enough, I'll think it over. You've seen the script; this film is essentially the American version of James Bond, and good looks are key."
"Haha, this is one I can't help you with; if you were to direct it yourself, you'd have no problem at all."
William White rolled his eyes at the old man. He was just playing around and there was no acting skill involved.
*****
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