The morning sun filtered through as Duke sat behind the desk of his Paramount office.
After a month of consolidating, Hacksaw Ridge had been a great success, a film that had silenced the critics and filled their coffers.
He looked up as Stanley Jaffe walked in. Jaffe looked energized, holding a steaming cup of coffee and a thick binder.
"You look like you're already planning something, Duke," Jaffe said, pulling up a chair.
"1971 is a foregone conclusion, Stanley," Duke replied, leaning back. "With the slate we've built, The French Connection, Dirty Harry, Shaft we're going to have a great cash flow by next year."
"Hopefully, we'll be able to refinance by early 1972."
Duke stood up and walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at the lot. "I've been thinking about three specific fields for expansion for Paramount."
"Animation, Comics, and Theme Parks. If we wait until there's competition, we'll be too late."
Duke turned back to Jaffe. "Let's look at the landscape, Stanley. Disney is in a coma and Walt's been gone four years, they're just reheating old ideas. Warner Brothers has shuttered the Looney Tunes shorts. Hanna-Barbera is stuck in the 'limited animation' trap for TV."
"Right now, there is a total vacuum for high-quality, theatrical-grade animation."
Jaffe nodded, his expression surprisingly sharp. "You're preaching on that one, Duke. I've been tracking the animation houses."
"Everyone thinks it's a dying art form because the labor costs are too high. But they're looking at it wrong. They're looking at it as a cost center, not a brand builder."
Jaffe leaned forward. "Warner would probably be willing to sell their legacy animation assets if the price was right. They don't see the value on it anymore."
"And Taft Broadcasting, who owns Hanna-Barbera they're looking to diversify. They might sell the production house as long as they can keep the theme park rights for Kings Island."
"That's exactly my point," Duke said. "But I want to go beyond just the American market. Right now, Japan's animation industry is in its infancy in terms of global reach."
"Korea is locked down away from Japan by its own laws. China doesn't even have television sets. If we build a world-class animation studio now, we could become the global standard."
He remembered that until 1990, Korea would restrict Japanese media through laws, which was the perfect condition which allow for an American company to swoop in.
"It's a long-term play," Jaffe cautioned. "But a smart one. If we wait until we refinance the debt next year, we can headhunt the talent at Disney."
Duke shifted the conversation. "Which brings us to IP. We need characters. I'm not interested in Marvel, they've already been scooped up by Cadence Industries, and frankly, their market share is too volatile right now. I am more interested in something like DC or Archie."
The Top 3 comic companies in 1970 were DC as the market leader, Marvel as the runner up but the wildcard was Archie Comics, the owners of Archie, Sabrina the Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats and also the publishers of that great song 'Sugar, Sugar'.
Jaffe sighed, rubbing his chin. "DC is the big prize, Duke. But Kinney National Services they aren't going to let go of it easily. They know those characters are icons, even if they don't know what to do with them on screen."
"And Archie? Archie is a money-maker, but the asking price would be astronomical because their sales are so consistent. They're probably worth more than the New York Times."
Duke steepled his fingers. "Well, I'm not looking for a prestige purchase. I'm okay with going for a foothold."
"Then you want Charlton Comics," Jaffe said immediately.
Duke blinked, impressed by Jaffe's quickness. "Charlton?"
"Exactly," Jaffe said, standing up to pace. "Charlton is unique. Every other comic company, they outsource their printing. It's their biggest expense and their biggest bottleneck."
"Charlton owns their own printing presses. They do everything in-house, the art, the editorial, the printing, the distribution. It's a vertically integrated machine."
"Because they own the presses, they can produce books for a fraction of what it would costs someone like DC."
"If we buy Charlton," Jaffe continued, "we get a library of characters, Blue Beetle, Captain Atom, Question for pennies. But more importantly, we get the infrastructure."
"We can use those presses to print our own promotional materials, and our own magazines. We can buy them this month if you want."
"Buy them," Duke said. "But keep it quiet. I want that printing capacity before the year is out."
"The third pillar is the Parks," Duke said. "Disney and Universal have shown that if you own the experience, it's a money printer."
Jaffe looked skeptical. "Duke, a theme park is a hundred-million-dollar bet. We can't break ground on a 'Paramount Park' while we're still paying off Bluhdorn."
"And besides that? We have Paramount yeah, but we don't have a Mickey Mouse."
"Not yet," Duke admitted. "That's why I want to wait until 1977. I have a project in the works that will provide a big IP ata that time. Until then, we don't build a park. We build a brand."
"I do agree on the park," Jaffe said, "but we should start with a Universal-style tour of the lot."
"People want to see the gates, the water tower, the stages where Hacksaw was filmed. It's low overhead, high margin, and it builds the 'Paramount' identity in the public's mind. We can start the tours by the fall."
Jaffe paused, his expression turning slightly awkward. He cleared his throat and adjusted his tie. "Speaking of things... I got a call this morning. Henry Fonda."
Duke didn't move. "And?"
"He wanted to apologize, Duke. Personally. He was very clear that he doesn't share Jane's views on Hacksaw Ridge. He said he was deeply embarrassed by his daughter's behavior at the premiere."
Duke nodded slowly. He didn't feel a surge of triumph, he felt a calm sense of inevitability. "Henry is really a man of a different era."
"He sounded... tired," Jaffe added. "I think he realizes that you aren't just a producer he can ignore. You're a Mogul now, Duke."
"Accept the apology, Stanley," Duke said. "But the casting policy on Jane remains. I don't hold a grudge, but I also don't subsidize people like Jane."
Duke moved to the final item. "I met with Nolan Bushnell. He has this idea for Atari... something called 'Pizza Theatre.'"
"It's a pizza parlor filled with animatronic characters and arcade machines. He wants to use it as a way to sanitize the image of arcades for families."
Jaffe's face twisted. "A pizza parlor with singing robots?"
"It's not about the robots, Stanley. It's about the quarters. And the real estate. Nolan thinks it's a fast-food play. I think it's a way to appeal to the suburban American family."
"I want to study the arcade market first," Jaffe said firmly. "I want to see the numbers on those 'Pong' machines. Let's not rush into the pizza business before we've mastered the film business."
"Fair enough," Duke conceded. "But keep it on the radar."
Jaffe closed his binder. "One last thing. The lawyers were asking about the corporate structure. You're acquiring tech, comics, printing presses, and studios. Are you going to wrap these into a holding group?"
"Yes. We'll call it the Ajax Group. It's not the focus today, but eventually, everything, Paramount, Ithaca, Atari, Charlton will sit under that umbrella."
"Ajax," Jaffe mused. "The Greek hero."
"Precisely," Duke said. "Now, let's go look at those lot tour plans."
The meeting ended, and Duke spent the next several hours in a state of hyper-focused flow.
He walked down for lunch, noticing the way the atmosphere on the lot had changed. People were walking faster. Directors were huddled over scripts in the sun.
As he ate, he pulled out a napkin and began to write.
Ben 10
Rogue Sun
Blue Bettle
He was interrupted by Peter Bart, who slid into the booth across from him. "You look busy, Duke."
Duke smiled. "How is the search for the Klute lead going?"
"Pakula is obsessed with a girl he saw in an off-Broadway play," Bart said.
"Good," Duke said. "Tell him to screen test her. If she's good, give her the contract."
"And the movie with Coppola? The Godfather?"
"Francis is in New York with Albert Ruddy," Duke said. "He's scouting locations and he's worried about the mob, the budget, and casting. In other words, he's exactly in the mindset where he needs to be."
Duke finished his coffee as he and Peter discussed the marketing for Sweetie Baddass.
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Short chapter