Domination in America, Starting from being a Boxing Champion-Chapter 773 - 559: Joker and Car Accident_2

But this character is very popular, and if it's turned into a movie by Lionsgate Films that does well in the box office, the shareholders will think this group is incompetent.

Pam didn't quite understand why the company's top executives agreed to the deal.

"The company's opinion is to collaborate with Lionsgate Films to develop this character, and in the meanwhile, try to learn Lionsgate's movie production techniques and see if there are any secrets to uncover, though the rights to the Joker character still belong to Warner."

Tesuhara said while smoking.

Pam Abdi thought it over and understood their plan.

That approach wasn't bad.

"You have negotiated with Lionsgate Films before, and the company plans to have you handle this negotiation, trying to keep the initiative on our side."

Tesuhara said.

Pam Abdi nodded; he indeed had prior dealings with Lionsgate Films. It was back in 2011 when there was a scandal about Warner skimming box office earnings, that he personally stepped in to negotiate with Palm Beach Films and Lionsgate.

At that time, Warner was one of the Big Six, and both Lionsgate and Palm Beach were smaller companies, making it easier for him to take the lead in negotiations. But now, with Lionsgate's strong rise, having a market value of over 7 billion, it had outperformed Warner Bros. at last year's North American box office.

Negotiating with Lionsgate now, it would probably be difficult to maintain the upper hand.

As for this negotiation, all he could do was his best.

——

"Boss, Warner Bros. just called, they've agreed to discuss collaboration on the Joker character."

In the coffee area of Lionsgate Films, Vice President Michael Burns said.

"Oh, that's good news."

Link nodded. He had been worried that Warner would refuse, so he had specially acquired the adaptation rights to American writer Stephen King's thriller novel "It".

After being adapted into a movie, it was renamed "Joker", and it was a highly-rated thriller.

With a production cost of 35 million, it grossed over 700 million worldwide, making it a dark horse amongst blockbuster films.

Warner's version of the Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix as the lead in the art film, grossed over 1 billion US dollars at the box office and even helped Joaquin win the Oscars for Best Actor, seemingly with a not-so-high production cost.

If he could hold the rights to both versions of the Joker, he would be able to make at least 600 million US dollars from the two movies, which was very worthwhile.

"Mike, you handle the acquisition of the rights. Warner probably won't give up this character easily. In the negotiations, play it by ear, increase the offer, or propose a collaboration if necessary, just strive to obtain the adaptation rights to this character."

Link said.

"Understood, boss."

Michael Burns nodded and discussed some other work before leaving the coffee area to get busy.

Ding-a-ling-ling!

The mobile phone on the table rang; it was Ms. Anne's call. Link picked it up and immediately furrowed his eyebrows.

"Is Paul okay?"

"He's still being resuscitated, my suggestion is, I'll arrange for someone to stay at the hospital and keep you updated with any new developments. There are too many reporters at the hospital right now, you coming over would affect traffic."

Ms. Anne said.

"Alright, do as you said."

Link put down the phone, shook his head, feeling helpless about the news he just received from Ms. Anne. Paul Walker had been in a car crash at around three in the afternoon in Long Beach, Los Angeles, while speeding, and was later discovered by passersby and taken to the hospital.

He was currently still in critical condition, his fate uncertain.

Link felt helpless when he heard this; having met Paul Walker in 2008, he had repeatedly advised Paul to drive slower and to avoid speeding whenever possible, advice that Paul had taken.

He thought that since Paul had been incident-free last year, that period had passed, but unexpectedly, it happened again this year.

There was nothing else he could do but pray for Paul.

He opened the browser and saw that there were many news stories about Paul Walker's car accident online. Some said that Paul had passed away, while others reported he was still being rescued, but Paul's agent had not made any public response yet.

Link sat in the office for a moment, and only after he went home with Ivanka did he receive a message from Ms. Anne saying that Paul Walker had suffered extensive burns and, after being resuscitated, was now out of danger and resting in the ICU, still unconscious. Sadly, the assistant who was in the car with him had perished.

Upon receiving this news, while Link felt sorry for the assistant, he also breathed a sigh of relief. After such an incident, it was unlikely that Paul would ever get behind the wheel again.

Ding-dong!

His phone received an instant message from Taylor, asking if he had seen the news about Paul Walker's car accident.

Link replied that he had and mentioned that Paul Walker was now out of danger.

Taylor didn't care about Paul's condition; she just reminded him not to drive too fast in the future, and when going out, to try to avoid driving and only take modified limousines.

Link replied that he understood and told her to do the same, casually asking if she wanted to bring the kids over for the weekend.

Taylor said it would depend on her schedule, but if she had time, she would come.

Link said okay.

After spending Christmas together, the relationship between the two sides had become closer. Even when Taylor and Ivanka lived together, there was no longer that awkward feeling. Although it hadn't reached the point of sleeping in the same bed, the situation now was better than expected.

Link's next goal was to build on the momentum and, in a couple of years, try to have another child with Taylor, to truly anchor her to this "aircraft carrier" of his.

In addition to Taylor, Marion Cotillard, Emma Roberts, Emma Stone, Beyonce, Lana Del Rey, and Frank also sent messages in succession to ask about Paul Walker's situation, either earnestly or teasingly advising him to slow down and not to make the same mistake.

Link accepted their advice and said he would be more careful.

The next day, upon receiving news that Paul Walker had awakened, Link and Ivanka drove to the hospital to visit him. According to the hospital, Paul Walker had extensive burns, over a dozen fractures, even comminuted fractures, and had suffered substantial internal bleeding.

The main reason he survived this time was the quick response of the ambulance and the short distance to the hospital. Any longer delay of twenty to thirty minutes, and he may not have been so lucky.

Link waved at Paul Walker through the glass; his head and face were wrapped in bandages.

Paul Walker grinned and gave him the middle finger.

Link shook his head; this guy had broken over a dozen bones in his body, but the middle finger that should have been broken was intact.

Affected by the atmosphere in the hospital and the recent spate of plane crash news, on the way back, Link and Ivanka discussed life and death, feeling that making too much money was pointless, and it was important to live in the present and enjoy life properly.

For this reason, they made a holiday plan on the spot, increasing this year's vacations from two to three times, with each lasting at least a month.

——

"The Millers" had been in theaters for 24 days, and the North American box office had officially passed $100 million, with the current box office at $100.1 million US dollars, making it Lionsgate Films' second film to break the North American box office this year.

The overseas box office also surpassed $100 million this week, at $106 million US dollars.

The film also became Lionsgate's first movie this year to break $200 million worldwide.

Meanwhile, "Fatal Call" has also accumulated $51.87 million at the North American box office and $20.4 million overseas, totaling over $72 million. Compared to the production cost of $12 million US dollars, Lionsgate Films made a profit of over $30 million.

This week, Lionsgate Films also released another movie, "Ender's Game," produced by Summit Entertainment, with the production budget cut from $110 million down to $82 million.

The film earned $27.01 million in 3,407 theaters over the three-day weekend, which is a mediocre result for a commercial sci-fi film, barely breaking even and making it difficult to turn a profit.

At the time of its release, media reported internal disputes within Lionsgate Movies, claiming that Lionsgate had reduced Summit Entertainment's production budget for the project, causing a serious decline in the quality of the film.

Some media outlets, taking Summit Entertainment's perspective, expressed sympathy for the company's situation.

In response, the former chairman of Summit Entertainment and current vice chairman of Lionsgate Films, Robert Friedman, stepped forward to explain that the current cooperation model between Lionsgate Films and Summit Entertainment was the most reasonable and there was no suppression.

Furthermore, "Ender's Game" had some issues with the theme, and reducing the investment was a reasonable move, which the results proved to be correct.

Robert spoke up mainly because when Lionsgate Films acquired Summit Entertainment, he and other shareholders were paid with shares of Lionsgate Films. Now that Lionsgate's market value had doubled since last year, their shares had naturally appreciated.

As long as they made a profit, they wouldn't have any complaints.

Apart from "Ender's Game," Lionsgate also had three movies scheduled for release before the summer season: "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Black Madwoman 3," and "Divergent: Insurgent." During the summer season, "Gone Girl," "John Wick," "The Neighbor," and "Step Up: All In" were set for release.

Whether Lionsgate Films could outperform the six major studios this year would depend on the performance of these films during the summer season.