Movie Release

After James and Charlize's issues were resolved, Zucker and Victor began discussing matters regarding Teletubbies.

"Boss, the person who contacted me is Smith, the head of the content department at the British BBC. Their stance is very clear: they are demanding that we rush to London as soon as possible to discuss the development of the copyright with them."

In truth, Victor's mind was currently filled with confusion.

His own boss was truly something else!

Wald Pictures' first film, Run Lola Run, hadn't even been released yet, and he was already getting involved with a behemoth like the BBC. It was simply unbelievable.

"Wait a second, don't get excited just yet. You just said they are in a hurry?" Zucker suddenly interrupted.

"Uh..."

Victor was stunned, then said, "Yes. Although Smith's tone was very calm, the fact that he, as the head of the BBC's content department, called personally speaks volumes. And..."

Suddenly, Victor began acting mysterious.

"And what? Speak up, don't keep me in suspense." Zucker laughed and scolded.

"Boss, it's like this. I have a good friend who works at the BBC in charge of information equipment maintenance. After I hung up the phone with the UK, I beat around the bush and asked him about it. It just so happens he knows a thing or two. He told me that the BBC is currently collaborating with the British company Ragdoll to produce a children's educational series. Coincidentally, its content is shockingly similar to the Teletubbies for which we have already registered global copyright, and the working title of their series is also Teletubbies."

One has to say, this matter is quite a coincidence.

Well, that is for Victor.

For Zucker, what he felt in his heart was definitely not coincidence, but relief!

Why?

Because in the original timeline, the series Teletubbies was indeed produced through a collaboration between Ragdoll and the BBC.

Holy crap! Good thing I registered the global copyright a step ahead of them, otherwise this gold mine would be gone. And I bet the people at the BBC and Ragdoll are absolutely dumbfounded right now, Zucker thought craftily.

The facts were indeed as such.

In reality, Ragdoll and the BBC had finished one-fifth of the Teletubbies content and were just about to finalize the release date and copyright registration. However, when they submitted their application materials to the copyright office, they were told it could not be approved because someone had already snatched up similar copyrights more than 40 days prior.

They were completely bewildered!

BBC: "..."

Ragdoll: "..."

Faced with Zucker's shamelessness—oh wait, rather, Zucker's copyright—the two companies had no choice but to grit their teeth and contact him. After all, they had already invested a significant amount of pounds into the Teletubbies project and were extremely optimistic about it; it was clearly impossible for them to give it up now.

"Victor, arrange for someone to make contact with them immediately. Probe their bottom line, and in a while, you and I will personally take a trip to London," Zucker instructed.

"Understood, boss." Victor immediately made the arrangements.

Faced with a fat piece of meat delivered to his door, Zucker was definitely going to take a huge bite.

Well, you might say it is a very shameless act for Zucker to snatch the fruits of others' labor and then demand high copyright fees.

Yes, you are right.

Zucker never considered himself a good person; if one doesn't look out for oneself, heaven and earth will destroy them. Moreover, regarding the act of snatching the copyright from the Brits, Zucker did not feel ashamed; on the contrary, he felt it was a supreme honor. Mom, Dad, I've brought glory to my country!

The matter of Teletubbies came to a temporary pause, but the release of Run Lola Run had encountered problems.

"Victor, are you saying that Run Lola Run, which we originally scheduled for release on April 12, is being given a hard time by theater chains, and that it's MGM exerting influence on the major chains?"

Zucker couldn't help but frown.

"That's right, boss. Initially, through Wald Pictures and some of my previous connections, I had preliminarily negotiated 315 screens for the premiere, with subsequent adjustments based on box office performance. But just today, I received a call saying that many of their theaters have cut my screens. Now, only 120 screens remain, and it's estimated that number will decrease further."

Speaking of this, Victor was truly filled with rage.

It was infuriating!

They didn't keep their word!

They were just one step away from signing the theater revenue-sharing contract, and they actually went back on it.

As the CEO of Wald Pictures, this was the first theatrical film he was handling the distribution for. He had wanted to show off his capabilities in front of his boss, but who the hell knew that something like this would happen? You tell me, isn't that infuriating? If it weren't for a theater manager he had a good relationship with revealing that MGM was behind it, Victor wouldn't even have known what was going on.

Damn MGM!

Knock, knock, knock!

Hearing this, Zucker suppressed the anger in his heart, tapped his fingers repeatedly on the desk, and pondered, "Victor, try contacting the theater chains again to see if you can increase the screen count. I'll call John Lasseter to see if he can help."

"Understood, boss."

Action followed thought; Victor immediately stood up and left, intending to head to the theater chains personally to communicate.

Meanwhile, Zucker contacted Lasseter at the first opportunity.

Although John Lasseter was also a newcomer to Hollywood, he was the leader of the Pixar Five and the director of Toy Story, the film that took the box office crown in '95. His influence with theater chains was far more effective than Wald Pictures'.

"Zucker, you're saying MGM is the one playing tricks?"

"Do you need my help?"

"Help? I'll definitely help."

"My dear friend, don't worry. Your business is my business; I'll think of a way for you."

As expected, he was a man of his word. After receiving the call for help from Zucker, John Lasseter agreed to assist without a moment's hesitation, his tone devoid of any excuses or perfunctory politeness.

The reason he was willing to help was, first, because of the deliberate efforts Zucker had made to cultivate their relationship, and the two of them got along quite well.

Second, during the process of Pixar going public and issuing shares, it was Zucker who had strongly urged him to purchase his full allotment of shares, which had significantly increased his net worth.

Not long after, old Billy, far away in Utah, also received a call from Zucker.

His name was Billy Jarde, and he was the owner of a chain of film merchandise stores in Utah. Although his chain wasn't the largest in the state—it didn't even rank in the top five, with only nine locations—he had been operating for decades and was familiar with the managers of all the major cinemas, making him a seasoned local heavyweight.

Zucker had gotten along well with him regarding the merchandise licensing for Toy Story, and they had communicated several times since, building up a bit of a rapport.

"Zucker, when it comes to messing with MGM, you've come to the right person."

"It's good that you don't know the details, and I won't tell you anyway, but just understand this: I have a grudge against MGM, they screwed me over once!"

"Don't you worry. I wouldn't dare speak for other places, but here in Utah, I can certainly help you out."

One day later.

Through Victor's renewed efforts, along with the help of Lasseter and old Billy, Run Lola Run finally managed to secure some additional screens.

355 screens.

That's right, a full 40 more than the originally planned 315 screens. Of course, the film's premiere was not nationwide, but limited to places like California and Utah.

Furthermore, the premiere date for Run Lola Run was moved up from the planned April 12th to April 5th.

In other words, there were less than two days left until the release of the first film directed by Zucker.