Five Hundred and Fiftieth Chapters Take the Initiative to Withdraw

After a moment of hesitation, Eric looked at Katzenberg and said, "I will be personally responsible for the preparatory stage of the acquisition for the time being, and I will make corresponding adjustments after the formal negotiation begins."

When Katzenberg heard this answer, he shrugged slightly to show his understanding, but his expression was inevitably a little disappointed.

After the meeting, Eric noticed that Jeffrey had just winked at him, and pretended to pack the papers and landed behind.

After everyone in the conference room had left, Eric said to Jeffrey, "Am I a little too indecisive?"

Jeffrey came to Eric's side, leaned on the large mahogany desk, looked at the tired young man leaning on the leather chair, and said, "I remember seeing a saying somewhere that a huge Wealth tends to make people indifferent, so Eric, I want you to be more human, if you just left Michael without hesitation and handed over the acquisition to Jeffrey, I think in the conference room Most people will be upset, and Michael's achievements as Firefly are there for all to see."

Compared with Peter Cooper, who has made Columbia Pictures a mess, Michael Lynn, who is conservative but very stable, has managed everything in Firefly Pictures in an orderly manner for the past two years, and is ready to take over at any time in the face of Disney, a subsidiary company. Jeffrey Katzenberg and Michael Lynn, who were in their own positions, did not choose to fight with Time Warner management to ensure their status. These are things that Eric appreciates and likes very much.

If possible, Eric will continue to keep Michael Lynn in Firefly.

The reality is that a company can have two co-presidents, like Warner did in Steve Ross's days, but only one as a conductor, and Eric hasn't heard of a large conglomerate In the case of swapping positions with subordinates, once the position is replaced by someone else, as the predecessor, either a 'virtual title' will be promoted. Hold positions like chairman of the board that retain influence over the company without much decision-making power, or simply leave.

Most of Firefly's equity is concentrated in Eric's hands, so there is no board of directors, and. Even if a board of directors is established in the future, the position of chairman of the board of directors cannot fall to someone other than Eric.

Therefore, once Michael Lynn resigned, he had to choose to leave Firefly completely.

"Michael is only fifty years old this year?"

For Westerners who are generally dissatisfied with old age, fifty years old. It can still be regarded as a stage of youth and strength.

"Fifty-two years old," Jeffrey said, reaching out and patting Eric on the shoulder: "Eric, I used to think that many of your decisions were very risky, but now I know that you were Must be well-intentioned,

From this point of view, compared to Jeffrey's aggressiveness, you are a little more conservative, and Jeffrey came to take over Michael's position. It just complements you. So, Eric, have a good talk with Michael, the change of Hollywood executives is a very common thing, and Michael is only in his early fifties now, leaving Firefly and has plenty of time to do other things. "

What should be faced is always to be faced, Eric took a deep breath, got up and said: "There is still some time before I get off work, I will go right now."

...

Michael Lynn's secretary had been answering the phone. Seeing Eric coming, he quickly covered the microphone and looked at Eric with a questioning look.

"Make me and Michael two cups of coffee and bring it in," Eric said to the secretary, knocking on Michael's office door a few times. Pushed the door and walked in.

Michael Lynn saw Eric walk in, his eyes were a little surprised at first, but he quickly showed a relieved expression, stood up and asked Eric to sit down on the sofa in the lounge area, and said with a smile: "Eric, just let him Are you in trouble?"

Eric looked embarrassed. Most of Firefly's executives can realize that Eric wants Katzenberg to be in the top position. Of course, it is impossible for Michael Lynn to not know.

Michael Lynn's secretary pushed in the door with two cups of coffee, and quickly backed out.

Eric sorted out some words and was about to speak, but Michael Lynn said: "Eric, the scale of fireflies is getting bigger and bigger, I found that I am a little bit powerless about many things, in fact, I have already thought about it in my heart. Now, when my contract expires next year, I will voluntarily submit my resignation and leave the company to do something else.”

Now it was Eric's turn to be surprised.

Michael Lynn looked at Eric's surprised expression, smiled slightly, and continued: "My contract period is until April next year, so I will start handing over the job of Firefly from the beginning of next year. In fact, I also feel that Jay Fury is a better fit for the position than I am."

Eric originally thought that this conversation would develop into a quarrel, but he did not expect the situation to be far beyond his expectations.

"Michael, then what are you going to do when you leave Firefly?"

"Maybe I will rest for a while to spend more time with my family. In addition, I like red wine very much. I plan to go to Europe to find a decent winery. After the rest, I will definitely return to Hollywood, you. You know, I have been in this industry since 1967, and I have been doing it for more than 20 years. It is impossible to leave this industry now, and I will set up my own production company."

Eric slowly came back to his senses and said to Michael Lynn, "If you need help at that time, you can call me at any time."

"Of course, if possible, I hope you can help me choose the script at that time."

Eric put down a big stone in his heart and agreed in a straightforward tone: "Of course there is no problem with this. Speaking of which, apart from the company party, we haven't talked privately yet. Let's have dinner together at night?"

"There's a good Michelin restaurant on Amanda Street, I go there often, try it together in the evening?"

"Okay, I'll treat you," Eric wanted to invite Michael to Jiaojiao Manor, but since the other party personally recommended it, he didn't refuse.

"Of course it's your boss who invited you," Michael Lynn said with a hearty smile, "Then I'll ask the secretary to call to locate the location, see you in the evening."

"See you tonight."

After sending Eric out of the office, Michael Lynn sat back in his comfortable office chair and sighed softly.

Michael Lynn remembered the scene of Eric's private contact with him more than two years ago. At that time, Eric was not as easy to talk as just now. Michael Lynn will never think that just two years later, Eric's personality has changed greatly, mainly because his position in his heart has changed. At that time, he was a member of Robert Shea's side, and at this time, Eric had regarded him as his own. And this kind of identity recognition is also the reward brought by his diligent management of fireflies in the past two years.

Of course, Michael Lynn couldn't not love the position of Firefly Pictures, but he knew better than Robert Shea. Michael Lynn also struggled for a while when he realized that Eric was likely to put Jeffrey Katzenberg on the job after his contract expired. But he also quickly figured out a few things. In a film company with a simple and straightforward ownership structure like Firefly Pictures, if he fights to maintain his position, he will only be swept out of the house.

Although outsiders still have speculation, but as a player. Michael Lynn knew very well that Cutthroat Island, which cost Disney and Robert Shea hundreds of millions of dollars in the summer of 1991, was a trap thrown by Eric.

When Robert Shea and Eric were at Firefly, they had a lot of trouble. After leaving, he planned to regroup. However, the good line film company he ran has not made any progress in the past two years. This silent way ended bleak, and many people have even forgotten the man Robert Shea.

Among them, of course, there is also the role of Firefly Films secretly contributing to the flames, including the newly established DreamWorks production company, through various cooperation. The big film companies that Firefly Pictures can directly influence in Hollywood already include Sony-Columbia, 20th Century Fox and MGM. In addition to Firefly Pictures itself, the four major film companies occupy most of the power in Hollywood.

Under the influence of this kind of horror, Eric didn't even have to give any orders, and several other film companies that directly cooperated with Firefly Pictures would not cooperate with Robert Shea's production company. Even the other three major film companies, in order to maintain a good relationship with Firefly Pictures, will not easily contact Robert Shea.

Knowing the stakes, Michael Lynn certainly didn't want to end up like Robert Shea.

So he made the decision just now wisely.

Taking the initiative to withdraw will not only keep his shares in Firefly Pictures, but also get a generous dividend every year. Moreover, the contacts he has accumulated in Firefly Pictures over the past few years can be completely preserved, not to mention Eric Williams, even his successor Jeffrey Katzenberg. He will also be remembered for his goodness, which will be a great help for him to continue his career in Hollywood in the future.

...

Eric was a little puzzled at first, but after calming down and thinking about it, he quickly understood Michael Lynn's intention for making this decision.

However, it would be better if Michael Lynn could figure it out, Eric would not treat each other badly in the future.

There is still some time before get off work. Eric returned to his office, and just after reading a few documents, the phone on the desktop rang.

Eric picked up the microphone, the outside secretary said something, Eric nodded and said, "Let her come in."

After a while, the Spanish girl poked her head and looked at the office, just in time to meet Eric's smiling expression.

"Hey, little wild cat," Eric called out.

When Penelope Cruz heard this, he pushed open the door relaxedly and came in. The girl was wearing a black suspender dress and holding a delicate white handbag. She carefully closed the office door and walked to Eric's office. Across the table, he complained a little resentfully: "Eric, I thought you forgot me."

"How is it possible, I just came back from Tokyo yesterday, and I haven't had time to call you." Eric said, hooking his hand towards the girl: "Come here and let me kiss."

Eric's desk is very large, and the computer monitor and landline on the desktop, as well as a pile of files, only occupy a small part of the space. Penelope showed a wild smile at Eric, and jumped up on the table with his little hands, pushing the stack of documents in front of him to the side, and slowly climbed over the table to Eric.

Eric smiled in surprise, and didn't mind it. He lightly pecked on the lips of the Spanish girl, and asked, "What are you doing recently?"

Penelope didn't go down after kissing, kicked off the high heels on his feet, and swayed his calves on Eric's desk lazily, really like a little wild cat. Looking at Eric who was reading the document, he said, "After our training ended, Michelle said that the plan for "Charlie's Angels" had changed, so he asked us to participate in a short-term performance training class."

"Well. It's always right to learn a little more now. When you become famous in the future, you will definitely not have the time."

"Eric, when does the movie start?"

Eric put down the file and thought about it, and said, "Do you know the DreamWorks production company jointly established by Firefly Pictures and MGM?"

"I know. I just heard about it today."

"This project has been transferred to DreamWorks production company. The specific cooperation plan should be released this week. When Paris comes up with a final plan, the "Charlie's Angels" project will enter the substantive production stage, and the start-up should be at the end of September. , this is a green light project between Firefly and MGM, and the production funds are very abundant and will not encounter any obstacles."

After getting the information he wanted to know most, Penelope said with satisfaction: "I'll tell those two guys later, they're still worried that the movie will be yellow."

Eric reached out and squeezed Penelope's sharp chin. Ridiculously: "Aren't you worried?"

"Of course not, this is your movie," Penelope shook his head, threw Eric's hand away, then reached out to grab it and pressed it on the table, stretched out his fingers and stroked Eric's palm. , said: "Eric, my sister has come to Los Angeles, and my mother was worried that I couldn't take good care of Monica at first. I... I gave her $200,000. She didn't say anything. In addition, I also Bought a house, in Santa Monica. For $950,000, and a Toyota sedan, $50,000, my sister's enrollment, I picked a private Spanish high school..."

Penelope pretended to say these things casually, but kept looking carefully at Eric's expression. Although Eric gave her a credit card with a huge overdraft, the smart Spanish girl knew very well that this was definitely not something she could spend freely, especially when buying that house, the Spanish girl was very uneasy, it was 95 Ten thousand dollars, before the age of eighteen, she never imagined that she could brush off nearly one million dollars at one time, which is equivalent to 60 million pesetas in Spanish currency at this stage.

Eric just listened for a moment, and then interrupted Penelope to continue reporting the bill to himself. Eric is actually very clear about these things, so he is also satisfied with Penelope's recent performance: "Don't I don't want to hear about these spoilers."

The Spanish girl stopped immediately and changed the subject: "Eric, can you come to my place tonight and see the new home I have arranged?"

"I made an appointment with someone for dinner, and I can't go back with you," Eric said when he saw Penelope's eyes immediately brightened, "This time is not suitable for taking you there, I'll talk about it when I have a chance. ."

Penelope didn't look disappointed, and asked, "Then you can go to my place after dinner?"

"It may be very late, it will affect your rest."

Penelope shook his head: "It doesn't matter."

"Okay then, tell me the address and I'll go there at night."

Penelope took the pencil and note paper that Eric handed over, lay down on the table and wrote the address, and took out a key from his handbag and handed it to Eric. Eric took it and put it away, remembered the other two girls, and asked, "Do Kate and Charlize live with you?"

"No, they are still living in the original apartment, Eric, why don't I invite them to move in together?"

"Oh, no, I don't think they will move in even if you speak."

Penelope stuck out her little tongue, of course she knew the reason why Eric said this, but she didn't care, and after staying in Eric's office for a while, Penelope said goodbye and left.

After get off work, Eric and Michael drove together to a Michelin three-star restaurant on Amanda Street near Firefly's headquarters. During the meal, they didn't talk about any business affairs, but just chatted everywhere. Although there was a big difference in biological age, But after all, Eric has the experience of two generations, and his knowledge is no less than that of Michael Lynn. The two of them found a lot of common topics, and even had some unfinished thoughts after dinner. Michael Lynn lived in Burbank for the convenience of work, so he was very familiar with this generation and quickly brought Eric to a family environment. A good bar, until nearly eleven o'clock in the evening, the two were separated.

Eric got into the car drunkenly, remembered what happened in the afternoon, took out a note from his sincerity pocket and handed it to the driver, saying, "Go to this place."

After an unknown amount of time, Eric heard someone calling him, opened his eyes, and saw the driver in the front row pointed out the window and said, "Mr. Williams, here we are."

Eric turned his head and saw a small villa with lights on by the roadside, and said to the driver, "Go back first, just come and pick me up next morning."

After getting out of the car, Eric shook his dizzy head, only to see under the street light that this was a white two-story villa, surrounded by trees and shadows, and the environment was very good. Spanish girls are quite good at choosing places.

When he came to the door, Eric was about to ring the doorbell when he remembered that Penelope had left him the key, looked for it, found the key in his trouser pocket, opened the door and walked in. (To be continued.)