Chapter 322: Strategic Positioning in Advance

Chapter 322: Chapter 322: Strategic Positioning in Advance

A week later, Irene walked into the new office area of Echo Pictures under the morning light.

This was originally the headquarters of Future World Pictures. After two months of renovation, it had long since shed the dullness of the old company.

The workstations in the open office area were neatly arranged, with the Los Angeles skyline visible through the floor-to-ceiling windows. Classic posters of Pirates of the Caribbean and Million Dollar Baby hung on the walls, and replicas of Oscar trophies were displayed on shelves in the corners, exuding the vitality and confidence of a cutting-edge company everywhere.

Since the acquisition of Future World, Irene had decisively given up her previous small office and moved the entire core team here.

She had also carried out a major streamlining of personnel. Those ’freeloaders’ from Future World who were just muddling through with low efficiency were all given full severance pay and made a decent exit. Those who remained were either veteran backbones proficient in distribution channels or young people with both creativity and executive power. The entire team’s cohesion and efficiency had improved by more than just a notch.

Just as Irene reached the door of her office, she saw Lisa Evelyn standing in the hallway waiting.

This former veteran of MGM’s Copyright Legal Department was dressed in a sharp grey skirt suit, holding a thick file bag. Her hair was combed meticulously, and her eyes reflected the rigor of years spent dealing with legal clauses and copyright agreements.

She had spent a full twelve years at MGM, witnessing the rise and fall of the giant. Eventually, due to the company’s deep financial crisis and departmental layoffs, she was scouted by Robert Smith’s keen eye and brought to Echo Pictures.

"Irene, here is the recent copyright organization report and project progress details. I’d like to sync up with you." Lisa’s voice was steady and professional as she handed over the neatly organized file bag, which had clear and concise labels.

Irene smiled and stepped aside to let her in. "Have a seat, Lisa. You’ve worked hard lately. I heard you re-organized all the previous copyrights?"

"Yes." Lisa sat in the chair across from the desk and opened the file. "Some clauses in the copyright agreements you held previously weren’t detailed enough, especially regarding streaming rights and sequel development rights for some films. There were gray areas. I’ve revised supplementary agreements and contacted the relevant partners for confirmation. Now all copyright ownership and rights divisions are clear. Here is the organized list."

Irene took the list and flipped through it. As her eyes scanned the lines of entries, she couldn’t help but nod in approval.

Lisa’s work was extremely meticulous. Not only did she mark the copyright expiration dates and revenue-sharing ratios for each work, but she also specifically circled potential legal risk points and IPs available for secondary development with a red pen. Many details Irene had previously overlooked were now all filled in.

"You’ve done an excellent job, Lisa. With you here, I can finally feel at ease leaving the copyright side of things to you."

"It’s my job." Lisa smiled slightly and continued her report. "Additionally, all coordination with the publishers has been completed. As soon as the first novels of Twilight and Taken are proofread, the publishers will immediately launch a large-scale distribution and promotion." ℯℯ𝑙.

She paused and took out another document: "And regarding the Marvel copyright matters you asked me to focus on, there’s some new information. Marvel’s financial situation has gradually stabilized through the sale of some non-core assets, licensing film and television adaptation rights, and multiple rounds of financing. The current CEO, Isaac Perlmutter, explicitly stated in a recent interview that they will not sell the rights to any more of their superheroes in the short term."

Irene’s fingertips lightly tapped the tabletop, her face showing no expression.

This was exactly as she had predicted. The box office success of Spider-Man and X-Men had given Marvel a taste of the sweetness of IP licensing. Now that the company had ample cash flow, they naturally wouldn’t be as desperate as before to sell off core copyrights.

But that was the Marvel Universe, worth hundreds of billions of dollars. Just thinking about those superheroes sweeping the globe in the future, it was impossible for her not to be tempted.

But reality was right in front of her: Echo Pictures had just completed the acquisition of Future World. Some funds were invested in the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean 2 and channel integration, while some needed to be reserved for the distribution of Saw and Little Miss Sunshine. At this stage, there simply wasn’t enough capital to buy Marvel whole, and even acquiring the rights to a single core hero seemed a bit out of reach.

But she knew in her heart that in a few years, when Iron Man burst onto the scene and the Marvel Cinematic Universe officially set sail, let alone an acquisition, even trying to participate in a partnership would likely be difficult.

"It seems that without an astronomical offer, we won’t be able to move them." Irene sighed softly, her tone carrying a hint of reluctance.

Robert happened to push the door open and enter. Hearing their conversation, he added, "Marvel’s current valuation has already tripled compared to three years ago. Especially after the sequel plans for Spider-Man were announced, the capital market’s confidence in them has surged. Trying to snatch meat from their mouths is indeed very difficult."

Irene fell silent for a moment. A thought suddenly flashed through her mind—that Hulk movie destined to flop at the box office.

She suddenly looked up at Robert: "By the way, has Universal’s Hulk set a release date?"

Robert was stunned for a moment, then recalled: "It’s set. It opens on June 20th, just in time for the summer season."

Irene’s eyes instantly lit up, and a sly smile curled at the corners of her mouth.

She knew the fate of this movie all too well. The long-winded plot, the dull pacing, combined with characterization that didn’t meet audience expectations—it would ultimately become cannon fodder for the summer season.

And this might just be her opportunity.

"Vera!" Irene called out toward the door, and her assistant immediately walked in quickly. "Make a note for me: June 20th, the premiere of Universal’s Hulk. Be sure to remind me to attend."

"Okay, Irene." Vera quickly noted it down, feeling somewhat puzzled. The boss rarely attended competitors’ premieres. Why was she so enthusiastic this time?

"I can’t wait to see Universal’s latest ’masterpiece.’" Irene’s tone was somewhat mocking as her fingers lightly tapped the desk, but she thought to herself: If the Hulk they spent so much money on flops, Marvel will definitely have doubts about the value of this IP. When that time comes, maybe I can take the opportunity to bring the Hulk’s rights into my pocket at a reasonable price.

And then further get her hands on other characters.

This was a risky move, but if it succeeded, it could open the doors of the Marvel Universe for Echo Pictures.

Even if she only secured the Hulk, she could gradually penetrate this hundred-billion-level IP ecosystem through crossovers and sequel developments later on.

Watching Irene’s actions, Lisa secretly admired her. This young female boss not only had precise market vision but also the courage to position herself strategically, always finding a breakthrough opportunity in seemingly unsolvable situations.

"Lisa, keep following Marvel’s movements, especially the box office data when the Hulk movie is released and Marvel’s subsequent statements." Irene turned to instruct Lisa, "Robert, help me organize the company’s currently available funds and make a preliminary bidding plan. In case the opportunity comes, we can’t miss it."

"Understood!" both of them responded simultaneously.

After seeing off Lisa and Robert, Irene walked to the floor-to-ceiling window and looked at the bustling crowd below.

The view from the new office was wide and open, just like the development prospects of Echo Pictures at this moment.

Filming for Pirates of the Caribbean 2 was progressing smoothly, the integration of Future World’s channels was showing initial results, new IPs like Twilight were being incubated, and now there was the potential opportunity of the Hulk.

Although a full acquisition of Marvel was temporarily hopeless, as long as she seized the opportunities in front of her, deeply cultivated copyrights, and accumulated capital step by step, it might not be impossible to stand as an equal against the Big Six in the future.