Bald Bezos was right. Compared with the major studios, Zucker's Wald Pictures didn't have much of an advantage.
"Haha!"
Victor suddenly smiled faintly. "Mr. Bezos, you're the president of Amazon, so of course you have the right to make your own choices. Whether or not we work together, our boss won't mind."
He paused, then continued, "As far as I know, you and the Amazon Store have negotiated with several of Hollywood's major studios dozens of times, but the results don't seem to have been very satisfactory."
"Hmph!" Bald Bezos's expression instantly soured.
Victor was right.
Zucker had read about this in his previous life, and Victor had also gathered the information over the past several days.
The Amazon Store was still just a small, inconspicuous company in the internet industry. And Victor was right: Bezos and the Amazon Store had contacted Hollywood's major studios more than once, hoping to sell their merchandise on an internet platform.
But—
He had been turned down again and again.
They had told him, "Oh, you want to sell our products on your online platform? Sure, but you'll have to pay us an additional fee."
It was just like the shelf-placement fees supermarkets charged for stocking products.
Bald Bezos was a shrewd man!
It was true that he had money, and it was also true that he liked to enjoy himself. After making his fortune, he could only be described as extravagantly indulgent: yachts, planes, mansions, luxury cars, model girlfriends, and so on. But when it came to other people, he was even stingier than Zucker!
Naturally, Bald Bezos had pushed back against the demand for shelf-placement fees.
No one was going to take advantage of him.
Just look at other internet tech companies. After they went public, how many founding teams still held a large share of the stock? Plenty of bosses were lucky to retain more than 10 percent of their companies after they grew big. But look at Bald Bezos—even in 2020, he still owned a substantial amount of Amazon stock.
What would Bald Bezos do if he ran out of money to fund his extravagant lifestyle?
Sell shares!
Before Zucker crossed over, in late January and early February of 2020, Bald Bezos had sold off a huge number of shares in just four days, netting $3.4 billion in cash.
And what would he do with all that money?
"Shop, shop, shop," of course—buy mansions and works of art, and find a new girlfriend!
So from the start, Zucker hadn't expected to get Amazon's original shares from him. That was only for now, of course. When the Internet Bubble swept across the globe, Zucker might yet find a way to get in on it.
"Jeff, you've seen what the major Hollywood studios are like. They're no less greedy than Wall Street. They won't lift a finger until they see something in it for themselves. If you work with them, you'll definitely have to pay shelf-placement fees," Zucker said firmly.
Bald Bezos shook his head and smiled. "They're big companies. It's understandable. I'd be willing to pay the shelf-placement fees. You have to realize that, for the development of the Amazon Store, the benefits would still outweigh the drawbacks."
Old Billy, sitting nearby, nodded in agreement.
"Mr. Bezos, when it comes to shelf-placement fees, I fully believe you might be willing to pay them. But what about everything else?" Victor asked.
Zucker picked up the thread. "For example, what if they demanded shares in Amazon?"
Shares?!
"You...!"
In an instant, Bald Bezos's face darkened.
It was true that the Amazon Store was still a fledgling company.
But its potential was considerable, and plenty of people could see it. Given the major studios' greed, of course they'd try to put pressure on Bezos. It was hardly surprising; it was their usual way of doing business, and a tried-and-true way to squeeze out the competition!
In Hollywood, whenever a small company made a few good films and showed promise, the big companies would come knocking right away.
A representative from a major studio would say, "We want to invest in your company. You'll get access to our distribution channels, and we'll gain a promising company. It's a win-win."
The owner of the small company would say, "We won't accept your investment!"
The representative from the major studio would reply, "In that case, we're enemies from now on."
The Big Six Hollywood Studios—what kind of entities were they?!
They were absolute behemoths!
A major studio only had to pull a few strings to keep a small company scrambling. Take Zucker's Wald Pictures, for example. Its first film, Run Lola Run, had nearly failed to get enough screens because of one remark from a second-in-command in a single department at MGM, a down-on-its-luck studio.
That showed just how much influence they wielded.
That was also why, even after the start of the twenty-first century, the Big Six remained the Big Six, while small companies never managed to make a name for themselves! Even when Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2018, it was just a battle between two major companies.
Taking a stake in promising companies was standard practice for the Big Six Hollywood Studios.
(This really happened. For example, DreamWorks Animation and Paramount had been working together until Paramount absorbed DreamWorks Animation; the same went for Pixar and Marvel with Disney. There were countless other cases like these.)
"Jeff, are you really thinking of giving up shares in Amazon just to secure a partnership with a major Hollywood studio?" Zucker smiled. "If so, then you wouldn't be the Jeff Bezos I know!"
Victor added, "Wald Pictures may be inconspicuous right now, but one day we'll shine. Even the BBC in the United Kingdom is our partner."
Old Billy chimed in too. "The major Hollywood studios are the sort who'll eat you alive and leave no bones behind. I wouldn't work with them, and I wouldn't dare to. I think Zucker's Wald Pictures is a fine company."
After a long moment of thought, Bald Bezos finally agreed!
The three companies would join forces to launch movie merchandise on the Amazon Store!
Of course, Bald Bezos had no idea that Zucker was also after Amazon's shares! This partnership was nothing more than a first step toward getting closer to him.
The next day.
With the lawyers as witnesses, Zucker, Bald Bezos, Old Billy, and the logistics company owner—Old Billy's son—all signed the contract.
After the contract was signed, Zucker hurried off to the set of Wrong Turn.
That's right. Today was the first day of filming for Wrong Turn.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Wald!"
As soon as Zucker entered the set, the entire crew greeted him.
Director M. Night Shyamalan was making the final preparations before filming. When he saw Zucker arrive, he went over to chat with him.
"Mr. Wald, you haven't met the leads yet, have you? Come, let me introduce you."
As he spoke, M. Night Shyamalan had someone bring over a man and a woman.
A handsome man!
A beautiful woman!
That was Zucker's first impression of the film's leading actors!
"Mr. Wald, it's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Joaquin Phoenix," the male lead said.
"I'm Adriana Lima. I'm an actress and a model," the female lead said.
Holy crap!
Zucker kept a straight face, but his heart skipped a beat!
Joaquin Phoenix—you're the guy who played Joker in Joker 2019! Who'd have thought you were still such a fresh-faced youngster at this point? Before he played Joker, Zucker hadn't even heard of Joaquin Phoenix. But after watching Joker, he'd been amazed to discover that the guy was an incredible actor.
Adriana Lima?!
"Damn, she's beautiful—and what a figure!"
Looking at Adriana Lima, Zucker couldn't help feeling tempted. It wasn't love at all; Zucker just wanted to get into her pants!
Come on, this was Adriana Lima!
One of the world's top ten models in the future!
Zucker couldn't help glancing at M. Night Shyamalan. He'd never imagined the guy had such a good eye for casting.
Before you continue