"I said two hundred million dollars." Mavi clarified. Although he was Russian, he never used rubles. After all, in the year 2000, the ruble's exchange rate could drop by hundreds of basis points in a single day! (One basis point is 0.01%.)
"Oh! I see, Chairman Mavi. Alright, I understand now! A $200 million budget for Spider-Man," Joe Erwo quickly echoed. As a film producer, confirming costs and budgets was his primary responsibility.
"No, no, I think you might have misunderstood something, Mr. Erwo," Mavi corrected. "This $200 million is for producing Spider-Man 1 and Spider-Man 2. These are the scripts for two films in a series."
After speaking, Mavi signaled his assistant to hand over the printed scripts to Joe Erwo and Sam for review.
As a reborn individual, Mavi was no fool when it came to money. In his previous life, the production cost of Spider-Man 1 was around $100 million, yet its global box office earnings soared to $820 million!
Similarly, the production budget for Spider-Man 2 remained unchanged, and it grossed around $800 million worldwide.
So, investing $200 million made perfect sense for Mavi. Moreover, based on his past life's memories, he had already prepared the scripts in advance.
Joe Erwo and Sam hesitantly opened the scripts. Investors as confident as Mavi were rare. He was funding two movies back-to-back, and the scripts were already completed. But what if the first one flopped at the box office?
With these doubts in mind, Joe Erwo began reading the script. However, as he delved into the plot, he found himself completely captivated!
"Whew..."
Ten minutes later, Joe Erwo let out a deep breath and slowly closed the script. From a professional producer's perspective, Mavi's scripts were of exceptionally high quality. They perfectly aligned with North American audiences' preferences and tastes. As long as the films were executed well, there would be no issue recovering the investment.
"Chairman Mavi, I have to say, these scripts are fantastic! May I ask who the screenwriter is?" Joe Erwo praised enthusiastically, genuinely curious about the mastermind behind such excellent scripts.
"That's not important. What matters is that they make great films," Mavi replied with a smile. Who else could have written them? Of course, it was none other than the one responsible for reshaping this parallel world—himself.
Due to the butterfly effect, Mavi realized he had changed many aspects of the world. This had directly caused many familiar events not to happen at their original points in time.
Thus, Mavi felt it was necessary to steer the world toward the version he was familiar with—as long as it didn't put him at a disadvantage.
"Yes, yes, Chairman Mavi, you are absolutely right!" Joe Erwo quickly adjusted his tone, flattering him. In the eyes of a wealthy investor, actors, directors, and producers were merely employees. Investors made their profits from box office revenue, while directors and actors earned fixed salaries—with the most fortunate ones receiving a 3% to 5% cut of the profits.
Sitting quietly to the side, director Sam had barely spoken a word, awkwardly sipping his tea. He had no idea why Mavi had chosen him to direct these films.
What Sam didn't know was that, in Mavi's previous life, he had already directed the Spider-Man trilogy. Later, he even collaborated with Blizzard Entertainment to direct the highly anticipated World of Warcraft movie…
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After finalizing the collaboration, Mavi officially hired both Joe Erwo and Sam as partners in his Marvel Studios venture to produce Spider-Man 1 & 2.
The total budget for both films was $200 million. Once the payment was transferred in a lump sum to Marvel Studios, Mavi's bank account balance plummeted—leaving him with only $117 million!
Money sure burned fast. If he wasn't careful, his fortune would shrink back into an eight-digit balance.
However, this time, Mavi wasn't worried. Just yesterday, he had received confirmation that the Russian Air Force had officially invited the Royal Malaysian Air Force to visit. The meeting was scheduled for the following Friday—eight days from now.
Accompanying the military delegation would be Malaysian Air Force General Maharaleh and Malaysian Minister of Defense Durraman.
The presence of two high-ranking military officials showed just how seriously the Malaysian government was taking this fighter jet deal.
Back in the 1970s, Malaysia had been the strongest military power in Southeast Asia.
But now, the situation was far different. The country had been surpassed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Even Myanmar, Singapore, Cambodia, and Laos were catching up fast.
This worried both the Malaysian military and government. If things continued at this pace, five or ten years down the line, who knew?
Malaysia—oh, wait, "Demacia"—could very well be outclassed by even tiny Brunei...
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### Friday, 10:00 AM
A pure white Dassault Falcon executive jet smoothly landed at Saratov Airport. The plane bore the Malaysian flag, signifying the arrival of the Royal Malaysian Air Force and the Minister of Defense.
As the Dassault Falcon came to a halt and its cabin door opened, a middle-aged man in a suit stepped out. He had a tanned complexion, black-and-white beard, and slicked-back hair.
This was none other than Durraman, the Malaysian Minister of Defense. Following him closely was a middle-aged military officer—Air Force General Maharaleh.
The reason the two delegations had chosen to meet at Saratov Airport was because Saratov was home to a key Russian strategic military base—Engels Air Force Base.
This base housed Tu-160 and Tu-95 long-range strategic bombers, capable of patrolling the entire Western Hemisphere. In fact, the majority of Russia's strategic bombers were stationed here.
This was a perfect opportunity to showcase the might of the Russian Air Force, ensuring that the Malaysian officials got a firsthand look at the power of a true military superpower.
As the Minister of Defense and Air Force General stepped off the plane, a short distance away, a young Russian man in a suit exited a parked Jeep.
This young man was, of course, Mavi, the middleman for this military deal. However, this time, he was also acting as a representative of the Russian military, accompanying a Russian Air Force Major General to receive the Malaysian delegation.
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(End of Chapter)