King of Hollywood
Chapter 661 - 69 Sundance Film Festival

Chapter 661: 69 Sundance Film Festival

The future of music was ruled by paid downloads, which further spurred piracy. Online piracy was easier, even in the United States where intellectual property is highly regarded, it was unstoppable. Who hadn’t secretly downloaded a song from the internet? Sticking too closely to album sales was a dead end—within five or six years, a singer achieving seven or eight million album sales worldwide was considered extremely popular, and breaking ten million was almost impossible.

Thus, singers needed to broaden their pathways for sustained growth—maintaining a popular image while keeping the exposure was very important. At the moment, Britney still mostly retained the girl-next-door look, though she showed a sensual side in her third album, it was far from a transformation.

Therefore, Adrian arranged for her to further her education at college, giving the public a positive impression. This way, even if her exposure reduced moderately, it would keep her fans eagerly anticipating, and with a set of strategies in place and immense resources in support, as long as Britney did not perform any self-destructive actions as in her previous life, rising to Madonna’s level or even surpassing her was not a difficult task. There wasn’t much need to worry about that, at least Britney was happy as a pet.

Beyond that, it also paved the way for Avril­—yes, this was another reason Adrian sent Britney to college. The decline in the record industry was irreversible, but it would take time, there was still a glimmer of hope at least in the next two years. With his support, Britney caught the last glimmer of hope, so why couldn’t Avril?

As for Christina, oh, Adrian had plans for her as well, In the next few years, the Latino population in the United States was going to increase significantly, and Christina, with her Latino heritage, would be a great asset to appeal to them. As Britney’s top competitor, how could Adrian possibly forget her? Moreover, Christina was very obedient. Her family situation was between that of Leighton and Sarah, Kirsten. She might not realize it herself, but her world had been completely controlled by Adrian—the only variable was Christina’s obsession with surpassing Britney. However, that was inconsequential; if the tactics were high enough, turning her into another little pet was also possible.

In summary, Adrian began a new round of planning for the record companies, and facing the upcoming events, some saw but dismissed, others chose blind optimism—though the court wouldn’t announce the results until the next month, anyone with clear vision knew that Napster was doomed, having offended the RIAA and all record companies and musicians, further appeals were merely death throes.

The record industry was overjoyed, but it couldn’t stop the tide of free internet access, so some had already started planning for the future, like Adrian, and like the guy now sitting in front of Adrian, incessantly pitching his ideas and products.

"A portable MP3 player, quite compact, approximately 4.3 inches long, 2.6 inches wide, you can hold it in your hand or clip it on your belt, listen while walking with headphones, with a capacity of about 5GB, you can download hundreds of songs to put inside, and you only need one thumb to operate it. Besides, it can also serve as a storage device for files, along with some useful little features, cool, isn’t it?" Steve Jobs, as usual, tirelessly infused Adrian with his ideas and merchandise in a corner of the party.

"Indeed, it’s cool. Just hearing your description makes me want to own one. When do you plan to launch it?" Adrian asked with a smile.

"Probably in the second half of the year. We still have some testing and equipment work to do, we want to make it perfect. This will be another leap for Apple," Steve Jobs replied.

"I completely believe it, Steve," Adrian patted his shoulder, "In the past few years, everything you’ve done has proven my point. Apple is only truly Apple with Steve Jobs. Michael Dell must deeply regret what he said back then, and he will regret it even more in the future."

After Steve Jobs took over Apple in 1997, Michael Dell had mocked him, saying he couldn’t save Apple, and claimed that if he were in that position, the only thing he’d do would be to sell off Apple and return the money to the investors. Of course, now everyone knew those words had become a joke, especially compared to a badly wounded Dell in the burst of the IT bubble and a newly radiant Apple.

"Thank you," Steve Jobs smiled, with a hint of pride – everyone liked to be admired, especially when he indeed had achieved what many hadn’t. Of course, he also knew Adrian was indirectly praising himself, but what did it matter? Adrian had every right to do so.

"So ..." he began to say something else, but was interrupted before he could continue.

"You’ll have to talk to Claude about this," Adrian said with a smile, knowing well what Jobs wanted, nothing but the iPod trademark.

When initially registering the iPad globally for future plans, they had also registered the iPod and the iPhone across all categories; now, if Jobs wanted to launch the iPod, he would have to buy the trademark from them.

"Claude isn’t easy to talk to," Jobs pushed up his glasses.

"That’s why I appointed him as CEO, isn’t it?" Adrian spread his hands, "Let’s talk to him first, Steve."

Frankly, registering the trademarks for the iPad, iPod, and iPhone globally across all categories wasn’t a good idea. The right approach would have been to leave out North America and register across all categories in other regions. This way, once Apple registered the related trademarks in the United States, they would inevitably have to negotiate well with AC Media to use the same trademarks globally, which would bring substantial profits.

But things had changed now; the desired trademarks were already registered by someone else, and Jobs might consider a new one, thus rendering their efforts futile. However, likely because AC Media almost unconditionally supported him on Apple’s board, Jobs felt they were easy to talk to, so he still approached them. Of course, in Adrian’s view, his decision to do so was probably because the iPod and iMac shared an intrinsic charm, and he didn’t want to give that up.

In any case, this was a good opportunity; as long as the iPod sold well, the next two would not be a problem either. However, this would also require high negotiation skills, so Adrian did not respond to Jobs’ demands and let Claude handle it entirely. His only task was to deepen Jobs’ impression that "AC Media was a partner standing with him, not a controller."

"Do you support PC?" Adrian asked at that moment, Jobs raised an eyebrow but didn’t answer.

"The Apple computers are indeed great, and many are proud to use them, but, Steve, whether you admit it or not, there are far more PC users than Apple users," Adrian said earnestly.

Unexpectedly, Jobs wasn’t upset; he laughed, "I’ve considered it, Ed, don’t worry, these things can be taken slowly. But you’ve reminded me, I could design a third-party software allowing PC users to use this player."

Adrian soon understood his plan: firstly, he needed to observe the market situation after launching the iPod; secondly, he could release a new model supporting Windows, then add some capacity or more minor features to attract buyers, making money and gaining a good reputation. Clearly, Steve Jobs was a capitalist too.

"How many phones do you own?" Adrian changed the subject at that point.

"Two. Are you trying to sell me a phone?" Jobs laughed, "Although I play with phones occasionally, the ones with low power consumption and simple functions suit people like us."

"Yes, but I still think you should look at this phone," Adrian said, pulling out a sleek mobile from his coat pocket, "a Blackberry—the smartphone launched by RIM."

"These dense keys aren’t fun at all," Jobs fiddled with it for a moment, then frowned and handed it back.

"Exactly, it’s said that RIM named it ’Blackberry’ because the keys look like the seeds on a blackberry," Adrian shrugged, "Though it might not look appealing, it indeed has many functions, can wirelessly access the internet, send and receive emails anytime, anywhere, making it an excellent business phone, perfectly suitable for secretaries and assistants."

He chuckled as he spoke, "What I want to say is, hasn’t Apple considered creating a superior smartphone?"

Behind the lenses, a spark clearly flashed in his eyes. After a moment, Steve Jobs, pinching his chin and squinting his eyes, asked with interest, "Why do you think that?"

"Because it’s the trend of development," Adrian stared intently into Jobs’ eyes. "Moore’s Law states that computer performance doubles every 18 months, but we all know that the current update speed far exceeds this number. Tablet computers that currently have a small market within industrial, medical, and government customer groups might become popular among student groups or more professionals in three to four years, and then in seven or eight years become as essential as personal computers. Therefore, the trend toward smartphones is irreversible; besides the basic communication functions, they might also incorporate features like sending and receiving emails, listening to music, watching videos, playing games, and taking photos. It’s a huge market, and I can’t believe that Steve Jobs, the inventor of personal computers, would not see this."

Jobs didn’t speak. He took off his glasses, pulled out a lens cloth to wipe them, then put them back on and looked at Adrian again. "I think it’s definitely a good idea to fire the planning department staff and invite you to take over as the director."

"Sorry, Steve, I have to refuse," Adrian laughed, raising both hands. "This is just a sideline for me; I still prefer making movies."

It was a successful conversation. Attending many parties might become tedious but not without its benefits. Conversing with intelligent people was always enjoyable because they could see far ahead. From Jobs’ performance, it was evident that even if Apple didn’t have a plan for smartphones, they certainly had a general idea. Not to mention that the iPod would be released this year. It’s worth noting that iTunes had already launched on Apple’s website more than ten days ago, and users could download this music store to their computers or all devices within seconds.

Jobs had clearly seen the immense profits in distributing music online early on, perhaps even when Napster was created, which made the timing of the iTunes launch so opportune. Speaking of which, Napster was essentially a trailblazer for iTunes. Of course, iTunes involved a fee for downloads, and Apple would definitely seek the support of AC Media, one of the top five record companies; Claude might consider taking advantage of this opportunity.

Perhaps acquiring Napster could be considered. Following the judgment, if they wanted to continue developing, they would necessarily have to change their model. However, shifting from being free to charging a fee would inevitably result in a loss of users. People accustomed to free services would definitely not be willing to pay, not even a single cent; it’s the same everywhere. Therefore, allowing Napster to continue providing free services and creating a platform for those who love singing and wish to publish their songs might just help record companies discover a few future stars...

Nevermind. Adrian suddenly shook his head and laughed. He had a better platform; perhaps merging Macromedia and Adobe would be a good idea.

These matters could wait for now. Checking the time, Adrian then flew to Park City, Utah, where the Sundance Film Festival was in full swing.

The Sundance Film Festival, founded by Robert Redford in 1981, was created to give independent filmmakers a chance to showcase their work. In fact, the proposal existed since 1978 but was only formally established in 1981 and was officially named the Sundance Film Festival by 1991.

Compared to most film festivals around the world, the Sundance Film Festival truly exemplifies the word ’festival.’ Every year at this time, Park City is bustling with people who come to play, watch films, ski, and seek autographs from celebrities; no wonder the media say that even if big-name celebrities attend, the real stars are the ordinary people.

However, Adrian always found it amusing that such a well-known film festival was organized in Utah. As it’s widely recognized, Utah is one of the most conservative states in the interior of the United States. For instance, homosexuals could fly rainbow flags in San Francisco and West Hollywood, but would they dare to do so in Salt Lake City? Similarly, some films that won major awards at other festivals might be subject to severe criticism by the locals here.

Yet, ironically, Utah is adjacent to Nevada, where the openness of Las Vegas sometimes even exceeds that of some coastal cities. What’s legal locally is legitimate here, and what’s illegal in many places remains legal here! The stark contrasts between these two neighboring states in terms of conservatism and liberalism are quite ironic.

Regardless, the Sundance Film Festival is still one of the most renowned among the American film festivals internationally, so it continues to receive many donations each year; Adrian himself had donated quite a bit. Hollywood studios also liked to scour this festival for potential hits, and although there haven’t been many low-cost, high-box office films like The Blair Witch Project recently, the Sundance Film Festival has still sold quite a few impressive works, and Miramax really enjoyed it here.

"It’s almost a year since you promised, Ed; you’re not planning on backing out, are you?" Harvey Weinstein, bundled up in thick clothing, complained incessantly as he followed behind Adrian.

"How could I, Harvey? Do I look like someone who would go back on his word?" Adrian laughed heartily. "Considering I got three opportunities from you and have even arranged the last two, how could I forget what I promised?"

"Yet the fact is that throughout the entire past year, you haven’t mentioned it once. If I hadn’t brought it up today, you surely wouldn’t have."

"Relax, Harvey. You have to wait until the lead actress grows enough to have the ability to star in the movie, even if her role is just eye candy, she still needs to look the part," Adrian stopped and turned to look at him.

"Grows enough to have the ability?" Harvey gaped, "Are you telling me... you plan to launch some actress with this movie?"

"Is there a problem?" Adrian shrugged, speaking in a relaxed tone.

"Of course not, just..." Harvey gestured, "you had said that this series of movies..."

"Yes, of course. How could I launch her without a high box office and a bright performance?" Adrian spread his hands, discussing this topic was nothing these people needed to be discreet about.

"Alright then... who is it?" Harvey thought for a moment, switched from his previous line of questioning to another topic, "Which young girl has caught your eye this time?"

Adrian smiled and remained silent.

"Well, you truly are Hollywood’s famous playboy," Weinstein sighed. "At least let me see the script, huh? Don’t tell me you don’t even have a script!"

"No problem. Since you’re so eager, I’ll make a call and have it sent over right away," Adrian nodded in agreement.

"Hey, you aren’t planning to launch her, are you?" Weinstein suddenly pointed toward the distance, clearly still concerned about that issue.

Following his gaze, Liv Tyler was laughing joyously as she speeded across the ski slope alongside Sofia Coppola, who had chosen her new work "Innocence" to participate in the Sundance Film Festival. A bit further away were Julia Roberts and her niece Emma Roberts; Julia was there to accompany Small Emma, as Small Emma’s film "Little Miss Sunshine" was also participating in the Sundance Film Festival.

Like "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Billy Elliot," "Little Miss Sunshine" also had a limited screening in Los Angeles at the end of December. Unlike the previous two films, "Little Miss Sunshine" had minimal promotion after its release, so low-key that it was almost forgotten—until the opening of the Sundance Film Festival! (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it at qidian.com – your support is my greatest motivation.)