Arthur Smith's Hollywood Odyssey

[Chapter 607: The Future is Uncertain]

Galaxy Tower, in the ballroom of the Ritz-Carlton Hotel.

Arthur and Sophie Marceau were dancing the waltz in the center of the dance floor with others.

"Arthur, haven't you been busy lately? How come you always have time to spend with me?" Sophie had been with Arthur for several days.

Arthur smiled, "Did you not say before that you were considering having a baby? If I'm not around, how would that happen?"

"Why force it?" Sophie seemed unconcerned. "It's fine to just go with the flow."

Arthur nodded as they stepped out onto the balcony to enjoy the New York skyline.

"I'm also an actor, and I'll be heading off to other locations to shoot soon, so I can't stay with you," Sophie said, giving Arthur a kiss and then laughing.

Arthur embraced Sophie. "It won't be long; I'll be busy soon."

"Yeah," she said, and then she playfully offered him a kiss.

...

The Galaxy Publishing Group was just a small part of Galaxy, holding shares in the Mirror Group, which published Premiere and Wired magazines. However, Galaxy Publishing now also owned 15.1% of Amazon and was a member of Amazon's board.

As for PolyGram, they intended to sell their shares in the Mirror Group, and the News Group being a potential seller was not a good sign.

In New York, in the Galaxy Tower office, Arthur leaned back in his chair, talking on the phone with Tina Brown, who had already returned to England.

"In the UK media landscape, the News Group has already acquired The Times, Sunday Times, The Sun, and the News of the World," he remarked. "If they are now looking to get involved with the Daily Mirror, isn't that a bit greedy?"

Tina Brown chuckled on the other end of the line. "There are quite a few investors in contact with Philips, which means many companies are interested in the Mirror Group. The News Group already controls a significant amount of British public opinion, so it's quite difficult to grab a piece of the Mirror Group."

Putting down the phone, Arthur thought it over and understood that national newspapers with considerable influence meant that the negotiations were not just business transactions; political implications had to be considered as well, much like how the Washington Post and The New York Times weighed political factors over commercial ones.

"Let's handle these little troubles for them," Arthur said, lighting a cigarette as he instructed Tina. "Just have Galaxy Publishing buy a portion of Mirror Group shares directly. Just ensure Galaxy owns 51% of the Mirror Group. I think Philips would be quite open to that."

"Got it!"

PolyGram's parent company was Philips, since Siemens had sold all its shares in PolyGram years ago. Galaxy Publishing originally held 40% of Mirror Group shares, managing it while PolyGram and Bertelsmann stayed out of the management.

Now, Arthur directed Galaxy to repurchase some stock from PolyGram, increasing their stake in the Mirror Group to over half. He didn't need to worry much about the rest; even if Bertelsmann decided to sell Mirror Group shares in the future, Galaxy would be secure.

...

Before long, Kate Beckinsale arrived at Arthur's office.

"The contract for The Matrix with Warner Bros. has been signed; Warner Bros. will handle the North American distribution, while MGM will take care of international distribution," she reported.

Arthur breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing that.

He reviewed the documents and was somewhat astonished. "A budget of $65 million! Warner Bros. doesn't seem to take the Wachowski brothers too seriously. They didn't even come up with this budget, so it's considered a bargain for us, MGM."

Kate frowned. "I've seen the script, and it's quite ahead of its time and complex. Does this kind of movie really have a market?"

Arthur laughed. "Don't worry; my instincts are rarely wrong. But with this budget, it's clear that the film can't be shot in America. Inviting A-list stars isn't feasible; we can only go for second-tier actors or even lesser-known ones."

"Exactly, it sounds like they plan to shoot in Australia to take advantage of the tax breaks and cheaper labor there," Kate explained.

Arthur asked, "The film is in pre-production now, right?"

Kate nodded.

Arthur felt a little regretful; when The Matrix was released, it would surely take the world by storm, and Warner Bros. would not let MGM be involved in any sequels. However, the international rights to the first film would still bring in substantial profits for MGM, especially with other income like DVD releases.

"By the way, let MGM Home Entertainment monitor the sales and rental situation for the first batch of DVDs," Arthur remembered something.

Last year's releases, Independence Day and Twister, were among the first batch of films to have DVDs released in Hollywood.

Next up, Galaxy MGM intended to roll out more DVDs, with MGM's extensive film library being Arthur's advantage.

The combined rights of film libraries from Galaxy, Orion, MGM, United Artists, and Samuel Goldwyn accounted for a sizable collection. Now, only Time Warner was at a level to compete with Galaxy in terms of film libraries; no one else stood a chance.

Kate Beckinsale reminded him, "Currently, the sales of DVD players in the U.S. are at 100,000 units; projected sales by the end of the year should reach around 400,000. It's a long process; the home entertainment market is still dominated by video tapes."

Arthur chuckled. "I know that; before the millennium, video tapes would definitely still be the mainstream. DVDs won't surpass them until after the millennium. But even then, it's only three or four years away. You have to remember that video tapes started showing up in the late '70s, and it's been over twenty years."

Once audiences experienced the advantages of DVDs, they would quickly become all the rage, and the benefits built up by video tapes over two decades would soon dissipate.

It's simply how the times evolve; simplicity, easy storage, and low cost are exactly what home entertainment needs.

*****

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