*Chapter 194: The Vice President*

Wayne expected the box office for Hotel for Dogs to be around $200 million, so they were only about $3 million short. To him, that wasn’t a huge sum, but he wasn't about to give Harvey a free discount.

After a moment of thought, Wayne grabbed his phone and called Alan Horn.

"Hello, Mr. Horn, this is Wayne."

After some brief small talk, Wayne told him about the current offer and asked if he wanted to use his first right of refusal. Wayne was hoping that Alan Horn would use this right on Hotel for Dogs rather than Taken.

On the other end, Alan Horn was also wrestling with the decision. Although Taken had a higher production cost and, as an action film, had greater box office potential, it didn’t guarantee that Taken would bring more profit than Hotel for Dogs. After all, other distribution companies could see these advantages too, so Taken would undoubtedly get a higher offer than Hotel for Dogs.

Under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t matter much. But Alan Horn had just taken over as CEO and had made waves by selling Warner’s most valuable IP to Wayne, against the advice of many. So, he had to choose the project that would make more money to prove that his judgment was correct.

After a moment of hesitation, Alan Horn explained his predicament to Wayne and asked for his advice. Without Wayne even needing to ask, Horn also mentioned that Warner Music had considerable influence in the Chinese entertainment industry. While he wasn’t the CEO of Warner Music like Howard Stringer, he did have some connections there. If Wayne needed anything, he would do his best to help.

"Mr. Horn is quite well-informed, I see," Wayne raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected Alan Horn to know so quickly that he was planning to start an entertainment company in China.

However, Horn wasn’t exaggerating. Compared to Sony, which focused on Japan and Taiwan, Warner Music indeed had significant influence in the Chinese music scene. They had big-name female singers like Sammi Cheng, Na Ying, A-Mei, Stefanie Sun, Zhou Xun, Gigi Leung, and Jin Haixin, along with male stars like Aaron Kwok, Pu Shu, Sun Nan, and Lao Lang.

With such a roster, they could practically cover an entire New Year’s Eve TV gala.

Of course, because of the rampant piracy in China, even packaging all these big names together wouldn’t earn Warner as much as a single Hotel for Dogs.

So, if Wayne proposed exchanging a couple of artist contracts, Alan Horn was 100% confident that he could convince Time Warner executives to agree to the deal.

With that in mind, Wayne didn’t hesitate.

"I'm interested in the film and business contracts for Zhou Xun and Aaron Kwok, as well as the music contracts for Na Ying, Stefanie Sun, and Sun Nan. Do you think you could help with that?"

Alan Horn quickly did some mental calculations and agreed readily. Among the artists Wayne mentioned, the most valuable wasn’t Na Ying or Sun Nan, but Stefanie Sun, who had exploded in popularity just last year.

While Na Ying and Sun Nan's influence was limited to China, Stefanie Sun was gaining fame throughout Southeast Asia.

Considering the rampant piracy, Stefanie Sun’s contract was the most valuable, probably worth about $1.5 million to Warner Music.

The most challenging part of the deal would be convincing Zhou Xun and Aaron Kwok to switch their film and business contracts to Wayne’s company, Lighthouse Entertainment. Zhou Xun's current contract was with Rong Xinda, and since actor fees were still relatively low in China at the time, the cost of buying out her remaining contract would be around $500,000, practically pocket change for Warner Music.

However, Aaron Kwok, as one of the Four Heavenly Kings, would be much more expensive. Whether buying out his contract or persuading him to terminate it would cost significantly more, probably over $5 million, about ten times what Zhou Xun's contract was worth.

And this was still a time when competition in Hong Kong’s entertainment industry was fierce, and even the Heavenly Kings didn’t command especially high fees due to the pressure from local film companies. Otherwise, it would’ve cost even more.

Alan Horn, as Warner Bros. president, wasn’t intimately familiar with the Chinese market or the workings of Warner Music, but he knew that selling Warner Music’s China division wouldn’t fetch more than $20 million. Compared to Hotel for Dogs and Taken, that value was far less significant.

"Thank you, Mr. Horn. Lighthouse Entertainment is set to officially launch on the 6th of next month. I hope to hear some good news from you before then. As for Hotel for Dogs and Taken, I was actually planning to turn Taken into a trilogy from the start."

Hearing this, Alan Horn immediately understood what he should choose. For the trilogy to succeed, the first film’s quality and box office performance had to be solid. Given that Taken starred Liam Neeson, it might not reach the heights of Mission: Impossible or The Bourne Identity, but it should still gross at least $300 million.

After hanging up, Alan Horn felt a weight lift off his shoulders and immediately called his superiors at the parent company to push the deal forward.

Meanwhile, Wayne couldn't help but smile. On the surface, his deal with Alan Horn seemed like a win-win, but in reality, Wayne had won twice. Since Warner wouldn’t be using their right of first refusal on Hotel for Dogs, Wayne could now sell the rights to the highest bidder, DreamWorks, and let the "ambitious" DreamWorks continue drawing the attention of the other seven major studios.

Later, Wayne called Mia to inform her about choosing DreamWorks. That same night, they worked overtime to finalize the remaining contract details, and by the next morning, they had completed the signing and payment.

With a $20 million investment, it had taken less than two and a half months from project inception to completion, yielding more than four times the return. It was clear that once a brand and reputation were established, making money became incredibly easy.

On the other side, DreamWorks was especially delighted after successfully acquiring the rights to Hotel for Dogs.

Steven Spielberg even called personally to express his gratitude and invited Wayne to attend the private screening and party scheduled for the 29th.

Naturally, Wayne didn't refuse this potential ally and happily accepted the invitation.

As for the Wedding Crashers crew? They'll just adjust the shooting schedule and film other scenes for now.

"Oh, by the way, Ella, why don't you come with me?"

After hanging up the phone, Wayne, while enjoying the luxurious lunch specially prepared for him by the crew, turned to Ella Fisher sitting next to him.

Ella Fisher instinctively exclaimed in surprise, her face lighting up with excitement.

"Really? I can go too?"

"Of course, you have a major supporting role in it. You'll walk the red carpet with me and Martina."

"Ah! That's amazing! Thank you, Wayne!"

Ignoring the envious looks of the others, Ella threw her arms around Wayne's neck and gave him a big kiss on the cheek.

Walking the red carpet with Wayne, even if Martina was there too, would surely draw immense attention!

No exaggeration — even if someone without any work experience got the chance to walk the red carpet with Wayne, they’d quickly gain exposure and buzz comparable to a third- or even second-tier actress.

With the release of Wedding Crashers, Ella's fame and status would undoubtedly experience a significant leap.

Like Scarlett Johansson and Megan Fox, it wasn’t impossible to jump from obscurity to second-tier celebrity status!

Others noticed this too.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and the newly joined Son Ye-jin and Han Ga-in were a little more restrained, with a mix of envy and expectation.

However, for actresses like Rose Byrne and Helena Mattsson, they were practically green with envy.

Sadly, the number of women vying for coffee meetings and deeper conversations with Wayne was growing.

People like Harvey, Howard Stringer, and Alan Horn were scouring for beautiful women who could catch Wayne’s eye. For these women, getting in was much harder than it was for Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ella Fisher.

Just then, Wayne’s phone rang again.

Wayne glanced at it and saw it was a call from Li Ying.

"Boss, I've checked out the three locations selected by that professional agency for the new store in Los Angeles. They match the report pretty well. All of them are suitable. Would you like to inspect them personally?"

Wayne continued cutting his Wagyu steak, imported from Japan, and after a moment's thought, agreed.

"Alright, I'll head over after I wrap up my scenes this afternoon."

With the help of Anne Hearst, Wayne had completed the acquisition of Supreme in just three days for $15 million.

Supreme's founder and head designer, James Jebbia, along with his design team, had signed ten-year contracts, tying them securely to the company.

But Wayne didn’t shortchange them; everyone got a raise, and James Jebbia was appointed as the new company’s vice president and head of design, with 3% equity shares.

Meanwhile, the acquisition of the Los Angeles textile factory, which had been moving a bit slower due to the selection process, was completed two days ago thanks to the behind-the-scenes help of Antonio Villaraigosa.

Yes, Wayne had quietly reached out to Antonio Villaraigosa.

Being the Speaker of the California Assembly, Antonio had quite a bit of influence in Los Angeles.

Villaraigosa, a savvy politician, immediately understood Wayne's intent and was especially attentive to the matter.

With his advice and assistance, Wayne secured a mid-sized textile factory in Glendale for $28 million.

Although the factory only employed about 1,300 people, both the equipment and workforce were top-tier for Los Angeles.

The factory mainly produced for a few mid- to high-end brands, focusing on premium quality.

Through the workers' families, the factory's influence indirectly extended to four or five thousand people.

With this factory, along with the now-expanded Hermola Films, which employed over 200 people, Wayne could now provide $4 million in cash for political contributions.

Additionally, the former owner of the textile factory was also a vice president of both the California Textile Association and the Fashion Association.

Thanks to Villaraigosa's maneuvers, Wayne had taken over his position and added two new titles to his name.

Next, after integrating the textile factory into Supreme, the focus would be on gradually expanding the workforce and production capacity, as well as selecting new store locations.

Currently, three locations were being considered—one in Beverly Hills and two in downtown Los Angeles.

Given that Supreme, as a streetwear brand, primarily catered to street culture enthusiasts, opening the new store in downtown Los Angeles seemed the most appropriate.

But when Wayne considered the possibility that downtown Los Angeles might turn into a zero-dollar shopping haven in 20 years, he leaned more toward opening the new store in Beverly Hills.

After visiting the three locations in the afternoon, Wayne felt even more confident about his inclination.

However, Li Ying and her team, focused more on the current customer base, still favored the downtown Los Angeles locations.

After all, Beverly Hills and street culture seemed like a bit of a mismatch.

In Beverly Hills, people of color dressed in streetwear might even be stopped by the police!

Wayne chuckled at the image Li Ying had painted.

"Alright, you've convinced me. Let's compromise and open a store on Melrose Avenue!"

Melrose Avenue, located in West Hollywood, was only five kilometers from downtown Los Angeles.

Currently, it's a well-known shopping and tourist street in West Hollywood, and later on, as more and more trendy shops opened, it became Los Angeles’ largest and most famous street for trendy shopping.

Li Ying, who had recently been studying all the shopping streets in Los Angeles, considered the idea and nodded thoughtfully.

While Melrose Avenue didn’t yet have as many trendy stores as it would in the future, its customer flow and environment were already among the top 15, if not the top 10, in Los Angeles.

Opening a store here might not cater as directly to streetwear culture as downtown, but it wasn’t necessarily worse.

Every year, countless tourists visit Hollywood, and it wasn’t impossible to turn them into new customers.

Moreover, since tourists come from all over the world, it could also help spread Supreme’s brand.

Though, with Anne Hearst's help, they didn’t have to worry about brand awareness, more exposure couldn’t hurt.

(End of chapter)