A Phone Call from England

The murmuring voices just now came from Charlize Theron, who had been talking to a girl in the store named Jenny.

"Jenny, Charlize, what were you two saying about Yahoo just now? What's going on with Yahoo?"

Zucker asked immediately, looking somewhat anxious.

"Boss, take it easy, you're hurting me."

Charlize was unhappy because Zucker, in his excitement, had accidentally grabbed her arm too hard.

"Sorry, sorry, tell me the specifics." Zucker apologized.

Soon, Zucker understood the general situation regarding Yahoo.

Yahoo was going public on April 12th.

Holy crap!

That was Yahoo!

Although Yahoo had been in decline after 2005—truly a case of "the old man's New Year getting worse every year"—before that, it was the world's largest internet portal. In January 2000, its stock price reached a high of $475 per share, with a market value exceeding $100 billion.

However, what was its opening price at the IPO?

Zucker didn't know for sure before he transmigrated, but he vaguely remembered it being around twenty-something dollars. If one just bought the stock when Yahoo went public and sold it in January 2000, that was a guaranteed profit of over 20 times!

"Ding ding ding~~!"

Just then, the store's telephone rang, and it was for Zucker.

"Boss, this is Victor. Thank God I finally found you."

A voice came through the phone.

"What's the matter? Has the release date for Run Lola Run been set?"

Although Zucker was puzzled as to why Victor was calling the SpongeBob House, he still asked out of curiosity.

As for why the call was made to the store's landline instead of a mobile phone? That was because Zucker hadn't bought a mobile phone; the mobile phones of today were those "brick phones," not the ones that could fit into a pocket later on.

"Boss, the release date has been set, but that's not the main reason."

"Oh? Go on."

"Boss, just now, I received a call from the UK. The other party is the BBC, and they intend to cooperate on the production and development of the global rights for your Teletubbies."

Teletubbies?

"Holy crap, talk about getting exactly what I need! These Brits are practically handing me money!" Zucker was incredibly excited.

Although the content of Teletubbies was very juvenile and its merchandise wasn't as crazy as Peppa Pig, it was a national treasure-level series in the UK that deeply influenced a generation. Even in the hinterlands of China back then, Zucker had watched it more than once. Well, even if many people didn't like Teletubbies, they couldn't deny its existence and influence.

"Victor, I'll head to the company in a bit, let's talk in person."

After saying a few more words, Zucker hung up the phone.

"Zucker, are you leaving?"

At this moment, James walked over. He had seen Zucker looking listless earlier, but after that one phone call, he had become beaming with joy, and he couldn't help but feel curious.

"Yes."

Zucker replied and prepared to leave, but suddenly thinking of something, he turned back and said, "James, it's not busy this morning, and it's not the weekend. Come with me to the film company; I have something to discuss with you in detail."

"Alright, I'll make the arrangements." James nodded.

Don't let the fact that James was a total disaster fool you—he had screwed Zucker over many times in the past, but he had also helped him many times. Ever since joining the SpongeBob House, his work could be described as diligent and conscientious, and he had changed quite a bit.

He needed this stable job.

After all, his mother, who was paralyzed in bed, and his young sister both relied on him for support.

Family makes a man grow up!

"Oh, right, James, bring Charlize along too; I have something to discuss with her as well. Hey, I said buddy, what's with that look? I don't have much interest in her, otherwise, I would have made a move already. You know, she lacks fatherly love and hopes to find an older boyfriend. I have real business with her." Zucker couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Soon.

Zucker, James, and Charlize Theron arrived at Wald Pictures by car.

After entering CEO Victor's office and briefly greeting him, Zucker spoke to Charlize first.

"Charlize, you're planning to resign in a week, right? Are you sure?" Zucker asked.

Charlize nodded: "Yes, boss. You know, I am an actor after all. Working for you before was just an expedient measure. Now that my acting classes are all finished, I have to go all out to chase my dreams. Of course, I am also very grateful for the care you and everyone have shown me during this time."

Hearing this, what could Zucker say?

Should he persuade her to give up her Hollywood dream?

Wake up, buddy, she's Charlize!

Among the actresses who would go on to make a name for themselves in Hollywood, how many were pushovers? She had clear goals for herself; it wasn't something Zucker could make her abandon with a few words. Besides, Zucker didn't intend to force her to stay.

"Alright, then I wish you a bright future in Hollywood."

"Thank you, boss."

"Don't call me boss anymore. We're friends, so just call me Zucker from now on."

"Zucker..."

"Right, that's what friends are for."

For the next few minutes, Zucker kept chatting with Charlize, talking non-stop about everything from family to work and future plans. The atmosphere was incredibly good.

However.

As they talked, the conversation shifted to endorsements!

"Charlize, I think your image is a perfect fit for SpongeBob House. You could definitely be our brand ambassador, don't you think?"

That's right, this was the real reason Zucker had sought her out. All that small talk and concern was just nonsense.

Only a fool leaves money on the table.

Since Charlize Theron wasn't famous yet, Zucker intended to sign a long-term endorsement deal, preferably a lifetime one. Of course, it wasn't just Charlize Theron; once he had more money in his hands after a while, Zucker also planned to sign Leonardo DiCaprio. After all, once Titanic was released next year, he would become a global superstar!

"Boss, you really are... are you sure I can become famous?"

Charlize was speechless at first, then felt a wave of joy. After all, she knew Zucker's stingy nature all too well; the fact that he was willing to spend money to sign an endorsement contract was, in itself, an affirmation of her potential.

"Of course, you're so beautiful, you'll definitely make it big!"

Following that, Zucker showered her with compliments as if they cost nothing, and so, in a daze, Charlize signed the endorsement deal.

It was even a lifetime endorsement contract.

For this, Zucker paid out 100,000 dollars in one lump sum. It must be said that this move was absolutely brilliant and would later bring Zucker a massive return. Of course, a breach of contract penalty was mandatory, set at a full 20 million dollars.

The 20 million dollar penalty nearly made Charlize faint on the spot.

(Some might say such a contract is suspicious and potentially illegal, but does Zucker care? It's just a lawsuit, after all; he could just drag it out for a few years.)

The second person to enter the office was Zucker's old neighbor, James Shawn.

"James, I have a list of movies set to be released soon. Take this to lawyer Zhang Wei and go to each of the film studios. You must secure the merchandising rights contracts within a short period." Zucker handed several A4 sheets to James.

As the words left his mouth, James couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.

Why?

The fact that Zucker had him handle these matters clearly showed an intention to promote him!

"Zucker... er, no, Boss, don't worry. I will definitely secure the merchandising rights for these films at the lowest possible price in the shortest amount of time," James said solemnly.

This list of movies looked like an ordinary list of films.

1. Independence Day.

2. Twister.

3. Mission: Impossible.

4. The Rock.

However.

If you were to look at this list next year, you would find that the movies on it were all among the top thirty at the North American box office in 1996.

Independence Day, directed by Roland Emmerich and starring Will Smith, was released on July 3rd and produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox. It grossed 50.22 million dollars on its opening day, breaking the North American single-day box office record. Its total North American box office reached 306 million dollars, making it the 1996 North American box office champion, with a global box office exceeding 800 million dollars;

Twister had a total North American box office of 241 million dollars;

Mission: Impossible had a total North American box office of 180 million dollars;

The Rock had a total North American box office of 134 million dollars, and so on. Zucker listed fifteen films in one go. Although Zucker couldn't remember the exact box office rankings for 1996, he knew very clearly that securing the merchandising rights for these films now would absolutely not result in a loss.