"Sorry, Pat." Duke spread his hands and felt helpless. "I don't quite understand what you mean. I'm just a director."

Pat Kinsley certainly understood that Duke was pretending to be stupid, but explained, "You are friends with Leonardo DiCaprio, why don't you persuade him to join Nancy's Im?"

Hearing this, Duke shook his head, "You should talk to Nancy about this kind of thing, not me."

Although he is not afraid of anyone, including aa, he will not randomly open the halo of mockery to attract all hatred in the industry.

Now that Tom Hanks has gradually faded out of the actor industry and transformed behind the scenes, Leonardo DiCaprio has become the most heavyweight client under the current AA controller Ino Martin. Everyone knows that one of the biggest barriers for Ino Martin to stand firmly under the partnership system is the heavyweight client in his hands.

It is obvious that Pat Kinsily, who once joined forces with Ino Martin to drive away Martin and Bob, has begun to plot against the chair in front of AA.

With the departure of Michael Orwitz and Martin Bob, the battle between Duke and AA has come to an end. Although his relationship with Ino Martin is very ordinary, he will not accept AA's packaging policy, which does not mean that he has to put himself in the opposite direction of AA again.

It is better to have one enemy missing than one more enemy.

No company will be a solid piece of iron, and internal struggles are normal. This is an internal struggle of AA, and Duke does not want to participate in it.

To be precise, this does not do him much good.

If Pat Kingsley finds Nancy Josephson to dig Leonardo, Duke will not intervene. Although several brokerage companies are jointly dealing with Michael Orwitz's artist management company, just like the six major Hollywood companies are both cooperating and competing, it is very common to dig up the other party's corners by the way.

Seeing that Duke had no intention of nodding, Pat Kinsily didn't say much and quickly left here.

"What did you talk to Pat?"

Another person came over. She sat directly opposite Duke, "She didn't seem very happy."

"Nothing," Duke took the glass handed over by Cate Blanchett and drank it together. "It's just a trivial matter."

Cate Blanchett put down his wine glass and suddenly said, "I have news, I guess you will be a little interested."

Duke made a gesture of asking for help.

"I heard someone some time ago." Cate Blanchett said, "Pate wants to bring Mel Gibson back to Hollywood."

"Is that?" Duke couldn't help but shake his head and smiled, "You Australian Gang is going to grow stronger again."

He didn't care at all, and in fact he didn't care at all. Even if Mel Gibson returned to Hollywood, what else could he do? This is a forgetful circle. He has disappeared from Hollywood for almost fifteen years. Even if he comes back, he can only play soybeans in some small B-level films. It is basically impossible to return to the mainstream film industry.

Once the support of Sylvester Stallone and Rotter Donnie Jr., Mel Gibson disappeared in Hollywood for a shorter time, and it could not change his destiny, let alone now.

The two have not been in contact since filming the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. The relationship in recent years can only be said to be very ordinary. Duke can't guess the purpose of Cate Blanchett's words, but he also understands that the other party is not just coming to say it.

Just like most people in Hollywood, Duke and Cate Blanchett then talked about the situation in "The Hobbit", but only they knew what they were thinking in their hearts.

That's right. The Hobbit trilogy directed by Peter Jackson is about to begin filming, and like Duke, the fat New Zealand man will also adopt a one-time shooting strategy. The success of the Lord of the Rings trilogy has created a large number of Lord of the Rings fans. Warner Brothers also gave Peter Jackson a certain degree of trust and support.

In fact, Duke also knew that as long as the special effects of the trilogy were guaranteed, the story was not particularly bad, and box office and commercial revenue were not a problem at all.

The day after the party, Duke went to Peter Jackson's office in Los Angeles and met him. The entire crew was about to go to New Zealand, which was similar to the previous one, but the other party chose the location of the film's outdoor location in his own country.

Of course, the New Zealand government has given the crew the greatest assistance from taxes to human support.

Duke stayed for a short while and returned to his office. Tina Fey was already waiting here.

"Our competitors are starting to make a difference."

After picking up the coffee pot and pouring a cup for himself, Tina Fe sat opposite Duke's desk with her in hand, saying, "David Ellison's Sky Film Studio has been actively contacting several film funds recently, and he himself has met Michael Eisner and Ryan Cavalug of the Relativity Company."

"So…" Duke's fingers gently tapped the armrest of the chair, "Is he interested in Disney's project?"

"To be precise, it's four super projects." Tina Fe put down her coffee cup, "The Cult of War, Robin Hood, Super Battleship and Alien Battlefield."

She shrugged, "If it weren't for his limited funds, I'm afraid other projects would have been involved."

Duke nodded slightly, "David Ellison's liquidity cannot exceed $300 million."

Larry Ellison does have tens of billions of dollars in assets, but they are different from David Ellison, and their assets are also different from liquidity.

What the movie foundations in Hollywood and Wall Street lack is not assets, but liquidity.

In this regard, Duke, who has been prepared long ago and has sufficient cash in his hands, is a transaction object that they cannot refuse.

Tina Fei said at this time, "There is also good news. We have basically reached an agreement with Relativity Company on four projects: "Avatar" and "X-Men: The First Battle", as well as "Crazy Primitive Man" and "How to Tame Your Dragon" by DreamWorks Animation Studio. The foundation acquired their shares in these film projects at 40% of the original Relativity Company's investment."

"Sign the agreement as soon as possible."

This is indeed good news, Duke gave Tina Fee a thumbs up, "Good done, Tina."

"Thank you." Tina Fei laughed and then joked, "I'm also helping myself make money. Don't forget that the foundation has some of my own investments."

You have to gain something when you give. This is the most basic business rule. There has never been a thing in this world where you are willing to serve others and do not charge any rewards.

Duke is very clear about this. The core members of his team are the people with the highest income in the circle with the same positions, such as Tina Fee, who will also receive a portion of his shares in some of his investment funds in return.

Is it possible to want people to work hard for you without giving out real money and platinum?

Tina Fei served him for more than ten years, and the trust relationship between the two is indeed extraordinary. In addition to improving their positions, Duke never neglects money.

"Others continue to negotiate," Duke reminded, "especially several Disney projects."

Duke still can't figure out what Michael Eisner is thinking about, and so many big productions have started.

In addition to these four movies, there are "Alice in Wonderland" and "Pirates of the Caribbean 4". If it weren't for the support of the movie fund platter plan before, Disney wouldn't have taken huge risks to start these projects separately.

Hollywood has always liked that people pay for their production costs, even if the funds come from Wall Street.

Nowadays, Wall Street is swaying, and these film funds are not those big companies with a long history and strong strength, and their ability to resist risks is average.

Two days later, Duke made an appointment with Ryan Kavalug of the Relativity Company to meet at a club in Burbank.

"So, Mr. Kavalug."

After the two exchanged simple greetings, Duke went straight to the topic, "How long has the company's headquarters in New York been besieged by investors? How long has it been since you made public?"

Like all investment funds, the funds for relativity companies to invest in movies do not come from their own companies or individuals.

"Relativity companies invest in high-quality projects!" Ryan Kavalug also refused to give in. "If this was not the case, with the eyes of director Rosenberg, it wouldn't be possible to like them, right?"

“Indeed, I think these projects are likely to be profitable.”

After changing to a more comfortable sitting position, Duke shook his finger at him, "Don't forget that the economic situation is bad now, and few companies are willing to invest in the film industry. Now Hollywood is causing a shortage of money, major companies are shrinking money to save expenses, and the six major companies have postponed and cut off many projects this year..."

After a brief pause, Duke said, "The North American economy may recover in the next two years, and Hollywood will also return to its previous prosperity, but can relativity companies wait until that time? I believe that it won't take long before you and your company will receive a court subpoena, and those angry investors will tear you down."

This is a business negotiation, and Duke doesn't need to be polite when speaking, "As far as I know, many of your investors are big shots."

Ryan Kavalug opened his mouth but said nothing.

"Relativity companies need a lot of money to break the current predicament," Duke pointed his chest, "I have enough cash in my hands to get you out of the predicament!"

"40% is too low!" Ryan Kavalug shook his head.

Duke stood up, "This is already a fair price. If you think about it, you can call Miss Tina Fee directly."

Leaving Burbank, Duke took a bus to the Hollywood area, and there was an awards ceremony waiting for him tonight. (~^~)
Chapter completed!