Now is not the time to discuss in detail. Duke and James Cameron didn't have long talks, and the party officially kicked off. There is no need for two people to discuss in detail in this way. As long as they can reach a preliminary intention, professionals will naturally conduct more in-depth cooperation negotiations later.

Perhaps it was because the cooperation during "Titanic" left a good impression on James Cameron, or maybe the expected investment by the King of the World was too high, James Cameron showed a bit of interest in Duke investment.

After the party started, Duke also walked to a secluded place and called out his bodyguards to record the matter, and notified Tina Fey and Nancy Josephson in time.

Although the party was not held in the form of a formal dinner, it was divided into many tables, and there were circles where there were people. In this party with a strong commercial flavor, fame and wealth were the standards for defining the circle.

There is no doubt that Duke is now a member of the top party circles.

After enjoying the carefully prepared dinner in the hotel, Duke didn't plan to stay too long. After all, there was still preparations for "Iron Man" tomorrow, but Rupert Murdoch took the initiative to find it, as if there was something to talk about.

Leading the way in front of Mrs. Murdoch, Duke and Rupert Murdoch walked into a reception room on the top floor. After the waiter delivered coffee, he sat on the sofas on both sides of the room.

"Duke, I have some opinions about you, the major shareholder of Marvel Comics."

Sitting on the sofa, Murdoch said in a half-serious and half-joking tone, "It would be fine if Marvel does not cooperate with the promotion of "Fantastic Four", but she has done so many things."

He roughly understood what Murdoch said. Duke smiled helplessly, "You should know, Rupert, I don't have any permission to participate in the specific work of Marvel Comics."

This is the truth, apart from the general direction and the necessary financial problems that allow people to supervise. Duke, a shareholder of Marvel Comics, will not participate in the operation work at all, and he is not good at this.

However, Duke is also very clear about the "Fantastic Four" mentioned by Rupert Murdoch.

Like Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk and Captain America, "Fantasy Four" are all signature characters of Marvel Comics because of the financial crisis and bankruptcy problems it once faced. Marvel Comics sold the copyright of "Fantasy Four" movie to 20th Century Fox.

After receiving Duke's investment, Marvel's financial situation improved greatly. As the comics industry's cold winter became a thing of the past, its operating conditions continued to improve, especially the success of the "Men" and "Spider-Man" movies. Marvel executives completely saw the power of their own superheroes on the big screen.

So, Marvel inevitably wanted to take the wandering children back into his own hands, and after Ang Lee's version of "The Hulk" failed, he took back the copyright of "The Hulk" movie, and then focused on "Fantastic Four".

But Twentieth Century Fox is not a fool. Even though Marvel Comics offered a high enough price to buy back the copyright, it still chose to refuse. It also carefully created "Fantastic Four" and was officially released in July.

Since there is a clause that automatically triggers when the movie copyright contract signed by Marvel and Twentieth Century Fox is automatically triggered if the box office of "Fantastic Four" is too low. Marvel has the right to recover the movie copyright at the original sale price, so when the 20th Century Fox's "Fantastic Four" is about to be released, Marvel used some tricks.

In the comics of a certain world of "Fantastic Four" in July, they not only changed the four people into evil bad guys, but also made them die in an extremely miserable way.

Perhaps it was because the comics played a role, or perhaps it was because it lacked the vase of Jessica Alba, who had no idea where they were left. The box office of "Fantastic Four" did not meet the expectations of 20th Century Fox. However, it has also won $100 million in North America and has not activated the repurchase terms of Marvel Comics.

Duke knew about this, but he had no intention of intervention, and it was just a small matter for him.

Rupert Murdoch just mentioned it briefly and then threw it aside. After all, compared to what we are going to talk about below, "Fantastic Four" is simply insignificant.

"Duke, I heard that the three-party negotiations between Duke Studios, Pixar Studios and Time Warner have reached the final stage?"

After leaving the topic from "Fantastic Four", Rupert Murdoch turned directly to Time Warner, "If this negotiation is completed, Time Warner's strength will become stronger."

Knowing that the other party had something to say, Duke just looked at Rupert Murdoch.

The media tycoon didn't let him wait, and quickly said, "I have an idea about Time Warner."

Duke raised his eyebrows slightly, thought for a while, and said, "I'm just a director..."

As soon as this was said, he was interrupted by Murdoch, "Duke, don't be so humble. Now who doesn't know how important you are to Warner. You are not only the largest individual shareholder of Warner Brothers, but the revenue generated by your related film projects is also heavyweight in the entire Time Warner..."

He looked at Duke, and his old face looked extremely serious. "If this tripartite negotiation is completed, you will become one of the major shareholders of Time Warner. Although you don't know the specific content of the negotiation, I think you and Steve Jobs will inevitably ask for a seat on Time Warner's board of directors."

"And..." He seemed to want to completely reveal the other side of Duke's hidden under the director's guise. "You have initially saved D Comics and introduced Marvel Comics into Warner's system. If these two systems can achieve the expected success, your voice in the entire Warner system will become important."

"And, you can also influence that guy Steve Jobs..."

Hearing this, Duke couldn't help but show a helpless smile that he only understood. He could indeed impress Jobs with means such as interests, but to be honest, it was really too highly regarded by him.

"Holding Time Warner's equity and board seats, and being able to affect the performance of the entire Warner through business operations, Duke, you will become the key point of Time Warner."

The eyes that should have been blurred were full of gleams. Rupert Murdoch stared at Duke for a few seconds, and suddenly sighed, "Originally, you should be a partner of News Corp., but that idiot in Townsend Rossman..."

After hearing Rupert Murdoch say a few more words, Duke picked up the coffee and took a sip, put down the coffee cup, and said, "Rubert, what do you want to do?"

"I want to acquire Time Warner!"

Duke was not shocked when he heard Murdoch's words, looked at him and said, "Why should I support you? Your success may be very low."

Since it involves business negotiations, he has no intention of beating around the bush.

Duke was not shocked, but Murdoch was a little surprised. In his eyes, Duke was too calm, but he did not show it and said, "How can you succeed if you don't try it?"

"Time Warner is no longer the Time Warner of the past."

It seems to be showing its determination and confidence, Murdoch said lightly, "Time Warner is not News Group. Its shares are scattered in the hands of thousands of shareholders. Anyone who can hold five percent of the shares can be called a major shareholder. As long as he can earn the support of the major shareholder, the acquisition will be possible."

There is no doubt that if the tripartite negotiations between Duke Studio, Pixar Studio and Time Warner are completed, Duke and Steve Jobs will become the major shareholders of Time Warner as Rupert Murdoch mentioned.

“Where is the Antitrust Bureau of the Ministry of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission?”

Why was Duke not shocked? Because he had seen news that Murdoch wanted to acquire Time Warner, "This is the media industry, how could they sit back and watch such a behemoth appear?"

"There is always a way." Murdoch just smiled.

Of course Duke could hear the meaning of this sentence. After living in North America for so many years, he knew very well that many institutions in the federal government were actually not as honest as they imagined.

Rupert Murdoch bewitched proudly, "Duke, don't you think that we can make a name for ourselves in history to create a new situation in the world media industry together?"

Duke shook his head directly, he was not interested in this title of no actual profit.

This conversation has long involved business negotiations. Rupert Murdoch is not stupid either. He knows that words alone cannot impress Duke. He also said, "If the merger and acquisition start, I will acquire the shares of Time Warner and the Warner Brothers you are about to acquire at a premium. You can gain power independent of all the News Corporate Films. All your project companies will give full support, and you can share thirty percent of all the profits you make!"

Hearing this, Duke suddenly thought of another thing, "Rupert, you want more than these, right? If Marvel's movie is successful, is it within your plan?"

"Why not?" Murdoch said very directly. "Duke, you know that News Group cannot take out so much cash flow. The transactions with you will inevitably adopt the method of share purchase. You will not only be a shareholder of the group, but I will also leave you an important position on the board of directors."

Duke was silent for half a minute before he slowly said, "I will think about it seriously."

"I hope we can continue to cooperate." Murdoch laughed.

"We have the opportunity to cooperate in the moment." Duke suddenly changed the topic, "Rupert, although the rise of the Internet has brought about certain changes, the media market is so big. The rise of new companies will definitely harm the interests of News Corp and Time Warner. I think compared to mergers and acquisitions that I don't know when it will be realized in the future, sniping at those newly emerging media groups is the top priority, such as Walt Disney!"

(The dispute between Marvel and Fox over the Fantastic Four happened this year, borrowed it.) (To be continued)
Chapter completed!