The voices he'd just heard belonged to Charlize Theron. She'd been talking to a girl named Jenny inside the store.
"Jenny, Charlize, what were you two saying about Yahoo? What's going on with Yahoo?"
Zucker immediately asked, looking rather anxious.
"Boss, take it easy. You're hurting me."
Charlize was unhappy because, in his excitement, Zucker had accidentally grabbed her arm hard enough to hurt.
"Sorry, sorry. Tell me exactly what you were talking about." Zucker apologized.
It didn't take long for Zucker to get the gist of what was happening with Yahoo.
Yahoo was going public on April 12.
Holy crap!
It was Yahoo!
Although Yahoo had fallen on hard times after 2005, getting worse with every passing year, before then it had been the world's largest internet portal. In January 2000, its share price had peaked at $475, giving it a market value of over a hundred billion dollars.
But what would its opening share price be?
Zucker hadn't known much about it before he'd traveled through time, but he vaguely remembered it being just over twenty dollars. If he bought Yahoo stock when it went public and sold it in January 2000, he'd make a surefire profit of more than twenty times his investment!
"Ring, ring~~!"
Just then, the store's phone rang. It was a call for Zucker.
"Boss, it's Victor. Thank goodness I finally found you."
A voice came through the phone.
"What is it? Have they set the release date for Run Lola Run?"
Zucker was puzzled that Victor had called SpongeBob House, but he asked anyway.
Why had Victor called the store's landline instead of Zucker's cell phone? Because Zucker didn't own a cell phone. The ones available at the time were "brick phones," not the pocket-sized phones that would come later.
"Boss, the release date's been set, but that's not the main reason I'm calling."
"Oh? Go on."
"Boss, I just got a call from the United Kingdom. It was the BBC, and they want to work with you to develop and produce Teletubbies for the global market."
Teletubbies?
"Holy crap, talk about getting exactly what I need! The Brits are about to throw money at me!" Zucker was thrilled.
Teletubbies was aimed at a younger audience, and its merchandise wasn't as wildly popular as Peppa Pig's, but it was a national treasure in the United Kingdom that had deeply influenced a generation. Even when Zucker had been living in China, he'd watched it more than once. Sure, a lot of people didn't like Teletubbies, but there was no denying its existence or its influence.
"Victor, I'll head to the office in a bit. We can talk in person."
Zucker said a few more words, then hung up.
"Zucker, are you leaving?"
James came over. He'd seen how listless Zucker had looked earlier, but after that phone call, Zucker was grinning from ear to ear. James couldn't help wondering what had happened.
"Yes."
Zucker answered and was about to leave, but then he remembered something and turned back. "James, it's not busy this morning, and it's not the weekend. Come with me to the film company. I have something I want to discuss with you."
"Sure. I'll make the arrangements now." James nodded.
James might have been a world-class screwup who'd gotten Zucker into plenty of trouble, but he'd also helped him out many times. Since joining SpongeBob House, he'd worked with impressive diligence. He'd changed quite a bit.
He needed this steady job.
After all, his mother was bedridden, and his little sister was still young. They both depended on him.
Family had a way of making a man grow up!
"Oh, right, James. Bring Charlize along too. I need to talk to her as well. Hey, what's that look for, man? I'm not that interested in her. If I were, I'd have made a move already. You know she has daddy issues and is looking for an older boyfriend. I have actual business to discuss with her." Zucker rolled his eyes.
Soon, Zucker, James, and Charlize Theron drove to Wald Pictures.
After entering CEO Victor's office and briefly greeting him, Zucker spoke with Charlize first.
"Charlize, you're planning to leave in another week, right? Are you sure?" Zucker asked.
Charlize nodded. "Yes, boss. You know I'm an actress, after all. Working for you was only a temporary measure. Now that I've finished all my acting classes, I need to give my dream everything I've got. Of course, I'm very grateful to you and everyone else for looking after me during this time."
What could Zucker say?
Should he try to talk her out of chasing her Hollywood dream?
Come on, man. This was Charlize Theron!
How many actresses who made their mark in Hollywood had been pushovers? Charlize had clear goals of her own. Zucker wasn't going to make her give them up by saying a few words, and he had no intention of forcing her to stay, either.
"All right. Then I wish you every success in Hollywood."
"Thank you, boss."
"Don't call me boss. We're friends. Just call me Zucker from now on."
"Zucker..."
"Exactly. That's what friends do."
For the next few minutes, Zucker chatted with Charlize about everything from her family and work to her plans for the future. They kept talking, and the mood was wonderful.
But then,
the conversation turned to endorsements!
"Charlize, I think you'd be a perfect fit for SpongeBob House. You could be our brand ambassador. What do you think?"
That was what Zucker had really brought her in to discuss. All that talk about chatting and looking out for her was nonsense.
Only a fool passed up a chance to get something for free.
Since Charlize Theron hadn't made it big yet, Zucker planned to sign her to a long-term endorsement deal—ideally, a lifetime contract. And she wouldn't be the only one. Once he had more money, he also planned to sign Leonardo DiCaprio. After all, when Titanic came out the following year, DiCaprio would become a global sensation!
"Boss, you really... Are you sure I can make it big?"
Charlize was speechless at first, then delighted. She knew Zucker was a penny-pincher, so the fact that he was willing to pay for an endorsement deal was a vote of confidence in her.
"Of course. You're so beautiful. You're bound to make it big!"
Zucker went on to shower her with compliments, without a thought for what they cost him. Before long, Charlize found herself signing an endorsement contract.
And it was a lifetime deal.
Zucker paid $100,000 up front. That move proved brilliant and later brought him enormous returns. Of course, there had to be a penalty for breaking the contract: a full $20 million.
The $20 million penalty nearly made Charlize faint.
(Some people might say this kind of contract could be illegal, but did Zucker care? It was just a lawsuit. He could drag it out for a few years.)
The second person to enter the office was Zucker's longtime neighbor, James Shaw.
"James, here's a list of films coming out soon. Find lawyer Zhang Wei and visit the various film studios. Make sure you secure the merchandise licensing rights within the next few days." Zucker handed James several sheets of A4 paper.
James couldn't help getting excited.
Why?
Zucker was asking him to handle this. Clearly, he planned to entrust James with something important!
"Zucker... I mean, boss, don't worry. I'll get the merchandise rights to these films at the lowest possible prices, as quickly as I can," James said solemnly.
At first glance, the list of films looked ordinary.
1. Independence Day.
2. Twister.
3. Mission: Impossible.
4. The Rock.
But.
If you looked at the list again next year, you'd see that these films all ranked among North America's top thirty box-office hits of 1996.
Independence Day was directed by Roland Emmerich and starred Will Smith. Released on July 3 and produced and distributed by 20th Century Fox, it grossed $50.22 million on its opening day, breaking the North American opening-day box-office record. Its North American total reached $306 million, making it the highest-grossing film in North America in 1996. Its worldwide box office exceeded $800 million.
Twister grossed $241 million in North America.
Mission: Impossible grossed $180 million in North America.
The Rock grossed $134 million in North America, and so on. Zucker had listed fifteen films in all. Although he couldn't remember the precise box-office rankings for 1996, he knew perfectly well that securing the merchandise rights to these films now was a sure bet.
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