A few days later, through Mr. Lundy's mediation, Mike met film investor Morgan and Director Cameron in a conference room in Los Angeles.
Compared to last year, Morgan looked much older and more haggard, and at this moment, he was irritably puffing on a cigar.
Director Cameron's expression next to him was very calm, but from his small gesture of clenching his fists, it could be seen that he also had a suppressed anger within him.
"What's wrong? If there are problems, we can discuss them. There's no need to delay the film schedule out of spite. In the end, we're the ones who lose money," Mike said, pouring a glass of red wine for each of them as the initiator of this conversation.
Although he spoke very politely, he still subtly hinted at Morgan.
After all, Morgan had previously promised to take full responsibility for both the filming and promotion of the movie, but now, due to financial issues, he couldn't even manage the filming properly.
This was already a significant oversight.
As the second-largest shareholder of the film, Mike had the right to question him.
"I've tried my best to control the filming costs. The agreed production cost was 250 million, but I only used about 200 million..." Cost issues were not Director Cameron's responsibility, so he directly expressed his dissatisfaction: "Although the remaining few shots are very expensive, they only require ten million."
"I can guarantee that with this ten million, Titanic will absolutely become a classic in film history."
"But now that 200 million has been spent, our Mr. Morgan is starting to be stingy with that ten million..."
Director Cameron was present when Mike and Morgan signed the share contract, so he clearly understood Morgan's intentions.
It was precisely because of this that he looked down on Morgan, this opportunistic capitalist.
"That's ten million, not one thousand dollar. Besides, the 250 million dollar budget isn't just for filming costs; it also includes the upcoming promotion and theater distribution..." Being called out by the film director, Morgan had to explain himself.
However, his tone gave a somewhat guilty feeling.
In fact, Morgan had invested in the film industry for many years and indeed had his own connections in film promotion and theater distribution.
His previous plan to cut costs and save money was also based on his network in these two areas.
It was just that the film hadn't even reached the promotion stage, and there was already a funding gap, which Morgan hadn't anticipated.
And as he said, ten million was definitely not a small sum.
Although Morgan was quite wealthy, with an estimated total asset of 500 to 600 million, most of that was fixed assets, and some were funds waiting to be recouped.
Asking him to produce ten million in cash now was indeed a bit difficult.
"Is Mr. Morgan planning to keep fifty million for promotion?" Mike looked at the blustering Morgan and generously said, "Then I'll cover the ten million filming shortfall, but I also need to see your sincerity."
"In the four or five months until the film is released in the summer, I want to see you, Mr. Morgan, genuinely invest fifty million in promotion, not a single cent less."
"Is my meaning clear enough?"
As King Investment Group became a large conglomerate with total assets exceeding 100 billion, Mike gradually transformed from a Wall Street newcomer into a capital magnate.
Now, he was enough to make wealthy people like Morgan look up to him.
Initially, Morgan was somewhat relieved to hear that Mike was willing to cover the filming deficit.
However, after hearing Mike's pointed reminder, a layer of cold sweat broke out on Morgan's back.
As a wealthy person, he knew all too well the power of a capital magnate.
Mike had previously just been a little indifferent to Morgan's petty cleverness, but once he truly became serious, Morgan couldn't play tricks anymore.
"Well, I'm having a small cash flow problem right now, and I'm afraid I can't come up with fifty million within four or five months..." How much promotional funding could be raised in the next four or five months depended entirely on how much profit Morgan's several small and medium-budget films, which he had invested in out of greed recently, could generate.
There were many uncertainties involved.
Film investment, after all, isn't always profitable; some even fail to recover their principal.
Feeling immense pressure, Morgan secretly wiped the cold sweat from his forehead and shamelessly said, "How about you, Mike, invest a bit more money, and then when the movie makes money, I'll give you a larger share proportionally."
This untimely remark instantly silenced the room.
Morgan, who had become the film's largest shareholder by promising the most money, belatedly realized how naive his idea was.
Having already shown his weakness, he quickly lowered his head like a turtle retreating into its shell, no longer daring to meet Mike's eyes.
On the other side, Mike, leisurely holding his red wine, stared expressionlessly at Morgan for several moments.
Only when the atmosphere in the room became so heavy that breathing felt difficult, Mike gently tapped the table and called out, "Mr. Lundy, please bring the items in."
Mr. Lundy, who was already prepared outside the door, pushed open the slightly ajar door and quickly walked in, carrying a stack of documents.
"Mr. Morgan, these are all the film projects you've invested in over the past year. Except for Titanic, they are all small and medium-budget investments. According to professional predictions, the likelihood of your small and medium-budget film investments quickly recovering their costs is not high..."
Mr. Lundy placed the documents in front of Morgan and said, "So there's a high probability that you won't be able to afford the promotion for the new Titanic film later..."
"Furthermore, if you continue to struggle, the subsequent promotion of Titanic will drag you down and lead to your total assets declaring bankruptcy."
In some cases, making a movie is indeed a very expensive endeavor, and Mr. Lundy was not exaggerating.
Moreover, Mike's arrival was not without preparation.
Before coming, he had already asked Tina to investigate Morgan's situation and faxed the information to Mr. Lundy.
In other words, due to Morgan's unqualified performance, Mike had already decided from the beginning to kick him out of the Titanic project.
Watching Morgan gradually become withdrawn under Mr. Lundy's words, Mike spoke at the opportune moment, "Mr. Morgan, I express my regret for your current predicament. You now have a choice, which is to sell all your shares in Titanic to me."
"This way, not only will you no longer have to worry about the future promotion of the Titanic film, but you will even have surplus funds to circulate for your other film projects."
"What do you think?"
After speaking, Mike calmly took a sip of his red wine, seemingly unafraid that Morgan would disagree with his proposal.
On the other side, Morgan, whose mind was gradually calming down, finally realized that Mike had other intentions this time.
However, just as Mr. Lundy said, Morgan, who couldn't manage his cash flow, had no other choice.
Especially since he was now facing a big capitalist like Mike.
"Five hundred million!!!" After a long ideological struggle, Morgan's forehead veins bulged as he gritted his teeth and said, "As long as you can come up with five hundred million, I will sell all my shares in Titanic to you."
It must be said that Morgan was indeed an old hand in the film investment industry.
If the new Titanic film went smoothly, his investment this time could indeed earn him a profit of 500 million.
However, for him to still want 500 million in his current situation, it could only be said that it was a bit of a pipe dream.
Even if Mike wasn't short on money and wouldn't suffer a loss, it didn't mean he would continue to tolerate others taking advantage of him.
"One hundred fifty million. You won't lose money and will even earn fifty million." Mike leaned back slightly in his chair, his gaze looking down at Morgan opposite him.
"Four hundred million, no less. I can introduce you to promotional teams and theater connections..." Morgan argued with reason.
As a businessman, this was a basic quality.
"One hundred million, I'll let you break even." Mike reminded him, "You need to understand your current situation; I'm not begging you."
Someone who was almost bankrupt due to Titanic dared to ask for a higher price; this was simply intolerable.
"One hundred million? Too little. I'll concede another step, three hundred million." Morgan said based on experience, "You and I both know that this new movie is definitely worth that price."
As mentioned before, Morgan was also considered an old film industry veteran, and he had his own assessment of whether the new film could make money and how much.
It was just that now, the momentum was clearly not with him.
"Ten million for filming costs plus fifty million for promotion. If you can cover that gap, you might earn three hundred million." Mike retorted, "But the situation is different now, so I'm only offering you one hundred million. If you're not satisfied, I'll leave now."
"However, I must remind you that any choice you make now concerns whether you will go bankrupt in the future."
Mike's words indirectly reminded Morgan of who he was about to offend.
Sure enough, hearing Mike's warning, Morgan's face turned even paler.
Finally, after weighing the pros and cons, Morgan relented and said dejectedly, "I invested 100 million in this project alone, plus the effort and human management fees I've put in during this time, I think I deserve that 150 million."
"Deal!" Mike smiled again and said, "You made the right choice, Morgan."
It must be said that with the ability to read minds, negotiations are just that simple.