America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

At Disney Studios, producer David Baron hurried to the president's office.

Ellen Horn accompanied him into the reception room and said, "I'm planning to launch more Disney live-action fairy tale films."

David Baron was taken aback, "President, isn't that a bit too hasty? 'Beauty and the Beast' is still in production; should we wait a bit?"

Ellen sat back on the sofa and said, "Has the failure of 'Magic Forest' made you lose confidence in this genre? The 'Harry Potter' series you managed with David Heyman falls into the category of live-action fairy tales too, and it was extremely successful over so many installments."

David Baron was one of Ellen Horn's old subordinates. As a producer, he had been involved in the entire 'Harry Potter' series and had defected to Disney Studios to explore possibilities for Ellen Horn shortly after Kevin Tsujihara became CEO of Warner Bros.

The two of them were deeply connected.

However, since coming to Disney Studios, David Baron's luck had not been great, with his first major project, 'Magic Forest', being a commercial disaster.

This made him skeptical about live-action fairy tale films.

David Baron sincerely suggested, "To be safe, I think it's better to wait until 'Beauty and the Beast' is released..."

Ellen had completely different ideas, "Someone suggested to me that we should start working on more similar live-action movie projects simultaneously."

David Baron thought for a moment and asked, "Is it Martin Davis?"

He remembered clearly that Martin Davis played a crucial role in initiating 'Beauty and the Beast'.

"Yes, it's Martin." Ellen Horn had great confidence in Martin, "Within just four days, 'John Wick: Chapter 3' has grossed over 200 million US Dollars in North America alone. How much was the production cost? It wasn't even 100 million US Dollars!"

She recalled the events of 'Terminator 2018' and said, "If even Martin Davis's judgment can't be trusted, what else in Hollywood can be?"

David Baron came from Warner Bros. and had heard some rumors about Martin and Warner, and he worried Ellen might fall into a trap, asking, "President, is Martin Davis involved in investing in these projects?"

Upon hearing this, Ellen knew his concerns, but in business, it was not wrong to remain vigilant. She immediately said, "Martin will be here shortly, let's hear which projects he suggests we promote. If his Davis Studio isn't investing, we'll hold off on those projects for now."

Her words reassured David Baron considerably. Live-action fairy tale movie investments were very high, and for any major investment projects like these in any of the 'Big Six' studios, they would raise budget funds through financing. Davis Studio was undoubtedly a suitable choice.

The two chatted for a while until Martin arrived.

David Baron was an acquaintance, so Ellen didn't need to introduce Martin.

The meeting amongst the three today was to discuss the next step in Disney's live-action fairy tale film plans.

Ellen said with a smile, "Nowadays, everyone around the world who pays attention to movies is talking about 'John Wick: Chapter 3' and many say we live in a world that belongs to Martin Davis, to the point that even I feel like you're the main character of the world."

Martin shook his head, "The main characters of the world now are America, the Great Commander in Washington D.C., and the proprietors of the large consortia. How much could I possibly earn a year? I'm just a playboy who likes to enjoy life."

"Enjoying life is good; you should enjoy it more when you're young, though enjoyment depends on the support of money," Ellen continued along Martin's line of thought, "Do you have a clear target for your next money-making project?"

Martin didn't answer directly but instead asked, "Surely Disney Studios has some plans already?"

Ellen replied, "There are some, just turning Disney's classic animated films into live-action movies, like 'Snow White', 'Cinderella', 'The Little Mermaid', 'Pocahontas', 'Tarzan', and the likes."

Martin was well prepared before coming and said, "Disney's classic fairy tale animations have a broad audience worldwide, creating a strong brand effect. In my personal opinion, live-action fairy tales should first establish a brand effect similar to the animated films."

Ellen had considered this point, "The success of the initial films is very important. Commercial and critical failure could have a massive negative impact on subsequent films."

Martin agreed, "We must ensure the success of the first few films."

David Baron took up the conversation, "That means we need to carefully select from the series of animated films."

Ellen's gaze fell on Martin, whose discerning eye was most reassuring. She asked, "Which ones do you fancy?"

Martin took out a document and handed it to Ellen, saying, "Classics never go out of style. I believe the next best choice is 'Cinderella', and we shouldn't adapt it too greatly or create some nonsense like Cinderella deliberately leaving her shoe to seduce the prince. We should film it as close as possible to the most widely known version."

Nowadays, live-action fairy tale movies were particularly heavy on adaptations, especially those like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood, which had all been turned into crafty schemers.

Even Snow White was no longer as beautiful as the queen, and the magic mirror seemed to be lying too.

David Baron thought of 'Magic Forest', the film in which he served as a producer, which was an extensively adapted live-action fairy tale that fused Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk, under the guise of satire to create a dark fairy tale.

The outcome was a complete mess.

Ellen asked, "Significant adaptations are very popular right now."