Chapter 62

"Combining movies and games will be a great trend. If both can complement each other perfectly, it might become another profit point for the film industry," Michael Eisner suddenly said at this moment.

Li Xu raised an eyebrow, but before he could speak, Barry Diller added, "And there's TV promotion. Our TV networks still have a lot of room for improvement. But whether it's NBC, ABC, or CBS, they are all too lazy to do it, thinking that just airing an ad or a trailer is enough. It's really a pity."

It must be said that these words were very much in line with their historical roles. Eisner was the person who brought Disney out of the mire and laid a solid foundation, with a deep understanding of the development of movie-related industries. Diller, on the other hand, was very interested in TV networks. A few years later, he would leave Paramount to join Fox because Murdoch promised him the opportunity to build a new TV network.

Yes, that was the later FOX TV, and Diller did an excellent job. By the time he left FOX in the 1990s, he had received $100 million in equity redemption.

"It's too early to talk about combining movies and games," Li Xu shook his head at this point. "The game market is not yet mature. If we blindly develop it, leading to a significant disparity in game quality, it could have a negative impact. After all, games need to be fun to make players pay, just like movies need to be good to make audiences go to the cinema."

The major collapse a few years later was certainly 70% or more due to Atari's own issues, such as the notorious "quantity over quality" policy, but the disorder in the game market was also a significant factor.

Without rules, supervision, or constraints, a large amount of capital poured in without order. As long as you had an idea, you could get an investment. After all, developing games wasn't that difficult in those days—yes, quite similar to the fraudulent arms dealers in the U.S.

Then, as Eisner said, if you lacked creativity, you could just adapt movies, especially those that were big hits. Why else would the collapse be caused by "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" and not some other game?

"Alright, you're the expert, we'll listen to you on game development," Eisner said half-jokingly.

It was said that Michael Eisner was irritable and arrogant, but that depended on the time and place. He now appeared very humble and gentle.

"Of course," Li Xu chuckled. "But for movie production, we'll have to listen to you. So, Barry, Mike, I want to set up a film company under Paramount. What do you think?"

He didn't mention the previous acquisition of Paramount shares, just saying, "Like most Hollywood film companies, a few people will be responsible for operations and connections, occasionally sending me a few scripts to choose from, and if there's a suitable one, we'll collaborate."

Diller and Eisner exchanged a glance, and the former shrugged, "That sounds great. Eddie's judgment has already been proven."

"Hey, if there's a suitable role, Eddie, don't forget me," Ford interjected, as always, at the right moment.

"Don't worry, Dr. Jones, as long as you don't tear down the studio," Li Xu said with a serious face, and everyone laughed.

After that, the four of them turned to other topics, such as Ford having to return to the set in two days, going to Hawaii for filming at the end of September, and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" possibly not wrapping up until October.

Although Li Xu occasionally chatted with Diller about TV networks, he mostly exchanged views on movies with Eisner, and they got along very well.

Yes, if everything went as planned, he would still poach Eisner to Disney—discussions about Disney shares were ongoing with the Godfather and the Hearst Group, and he would definitely get them before Harvard started.

What remained to be done was to secretly acquire more shares and contact other board members, then wait for Roy Disney to challenge Ray Miller and kick them both out of Disney.

Li Xu wasn't interested in running a company, and history had already proven that Eisner did a good job, so why not let him continue? As for future expansion, that was a matter for over a decade, and knowing this, he would certainly make preparations.

As for Diller, Li Xu was still hesitant. Paramount was his secondary target. When discussing this with his father, it was clear that among the seven he could control, Disney would be the main focus, and Paramount the secondary.

With Eisner in charge of Disney, Paramount was a bit tricky. According to history, after Barry Diller, Michael Eisner, and Jeffrey Katzenberg left, Paramount returned to its original state, rising and falling several times before being acquired by Viacom in the early 1990s under Sumner Redstone.

Li Xu originally planned to cooperate with Redstone, just as his father planned to work with Murdoch—though they hadn't started yet.

Any group expanding would need a lot of capital, and with Morgan Stanley backing him, making a deal was quite simple.

However, based on the intelligence gathered and his memory, Sumner Redstone was not an easy person to deal with. He was autocratic, used to holding all the power, and even quarreled with his daughter over power, and there was no one in the family he hadn't argued with.

While it was possible he was putting on a show, it still revealed some issues. Such a person might compromise once or twice, but not three or four times, no matter how much money was offered.

Given this, it was necessary to have a backup plan, and Barry Diller was a good candidate.

In the early 1990s, Diller competed with Redstone for Paramount, forcing him to use the strategy of acquiring Blockbuster and then using it to secure a loan to finally take over Paramount.

Although Diller was more interested in TV networks, he had once been the CEO of Paramount and had a deep affection for Hollywood and the media industry. After leaving FOX, he wanted to build his own media group.

Unfortunately, while he was good at running movies, he lacked the capital management skills. Whether competing for Paramount or CBS, he lost to Redstone and had to leave, only returning to the mainstream with the rise of online media, but no longer comparable to the media giants.

So, if Redstone wasn't suitable, using Diller as a replacement was also an option, at least Diller left a good impression on Li Xu today.

No rush, take it slow. After all, his father supported this plan. Li Xu thought to himself as he left. Changing the landscape of Hollywood might be quite interesting.

Pushing through the crowd, he was about to return to his previous spot when he suddenly paused and narrowed his eyes.

In the place where he had been sitting, a beautiful figure now occupied it, and Adam and Scott were chatting enthusiastically with her.

"If this isn't fate, then what is?" Recalling their last meeting, Li Xu chuckled and walked over, sitting down next to her and putting his arm around her shoulder, "What are you guys talking about?"

The figure stiffened, her face turning red, and she started to get up, but before she could, the hand on her shoulder tightened, and she lost her balance, falling into Li Xu's arms.

Adam and Scott were stunned.

"Edward!" the girl hissed.

"What's wrong, dear Judy?" Li Xu asked with a smile.

Jodie Foster's chest heaved, her face turning even redder, and she tried to get up again. But Li Xu's hand was now around her waist, and when she tried to push away, he gave her a light twist. Jodie shuddered and fell back into his arms, her beautiful face flushing.

"What do you want?!" she growled.

"Last time you left so quickly, we still had a lot to talk about," Li Xu shrugged.

"Let me go!" Jodie struggled.

"No way," Li Xu said with a rogue's grin.

"Let! Me! Go!" Jodie said through gritted teeth.

She seemed determined, but less than two seconds later, she said in a reluctant tone, "I'm not leaving..."

"Really?" Li Xu raised an eyebrow. "At Lois Chiles' party in January, you said the same thing."

Despite this, he let go of her, and Jodie hesitated before sitting up straight.

"You know, that was a mistake," she said softly.

Then, she looked around in panic, but Adam and Scott, who had been chatting with her, were nowhere to be seen—they were quite perceptive.

"That was your mistake," Li Xu huffed.

Jodie glared at him.

"I said minors can't drink, but you said a little was fine. I said I don't smoke, but you said a little was fine," Li Xu spread his hands.

Jodie was speechless, her face turning red, and after biting her lip for a moment, she said, "You were the one who took me back to the Hilton!"

"I smoke less, and if I didn't take you back, who would?" Li Xu said matter-of-factly.

"You could have taken me home!" Jodie said angrily.

"Please, my mind was a mess at the time. I just went wherever I thought of, and besides, it was you who...," Li Xu said with a "how can you say that" expression.

"Shut up!" Jodie jumped up as if electrocuted and screamed, but her voice was so loud that everyone around looked over.

She quickly covered her mouth, sat back down, and buried her head, only glaring at Li Xu with the corner of her eye, looking... pitiful.

"Oh, by the way, I've already received my acceptance letter from Harvard," Li Xu changed the subject. "What about you? Where are you going? East Coast or West Coast, Ivy League or not? Don't tell me your grand plans fell through."