A few days later.
After several rounds of negotiations and consultations, the Producers Alliance, the Writers Guild, and the strike representatives finally reached an agreement on the afternoon of December 19th.
Faced with a Producers Alliance that was extremely tough and held the advantage in media public opinion, the Writers Guild and strike representatives, despite their frustration, knew they were powerless to change the outcome and could only grit their teeth and sign the various regulations.
At 3:00 PM, the negotiation meeting was officially concluded.
At 3:20 PM, a press conference was held regarding the strike, marking the official end of the three-week-long walkout.
"I announce that, effective immediately, all strike matters have concluded. In other words, we are returning to work now!" Michael Eisner, the temporary chairman of the Producers Alliance and Chairman of Disney, announced loudly to the gathered news media.
"The strike is over; work officially resumes!" representatives from the Writers Guild and the strike also spoke up one after another.
"Phew~"
At this moment, everyone from the screenwriters who participated in the strike to the high-and-mighty producers of Hollywood breathed a sigh of relief.
The writers secured higher salaries and benefits; even if the increase wasn't much, it was still a hard-won victory.
"What else is there to say?"
A veteran screenwriter who participated in the strike said in a heavy voice, "We only had the upper hand in the early stages of this strike. However, as the Producers Alliance pulled out all their tricks and public opinion reversed, it marked our defeat."
Another screenwriter representative said solemnly, "Returning to work a day earlier is fine; after all, Christmas is approaching, and many people want to reunite with their families."
The members of the Producers Alliance were also extremely relieved about the resumption of work.
Sumner Redstone, Chairman of Viacom Group and Paramount, said, "This strike event lasted three weeks. Under my banner, Paramount Pictures had as many as three film crews and two TV series crews stop work. The direct economic loss alone reached several million dollars."
Murdoch, Chairman of News Corporation and 20th Century Fox Film Corporation, smiled and said, "Our losses at 20th Century Fox weren't small either, but this time our Producers Alliance achieved a total victory. Considering the long term, we've come out ahead."
Kyle also accepted interviews from many media outlets.
"Ending the strike and
returning to work, and ending it in such a short time—I personally am delighted to see this."
"Unity benefits both sides!"
"I believe the lessons from this strike will make Hollywood better and make the World better!"
It must be said, Kyle's skin was certainly thick enough.
He had plenty of tricks up his sleeve!
Just a few days ago, Kyle had been constantly blasting and mocking the striking writers in the media, calling them 'thugs,' but now he was talking about being one big happy family.
Tsk, tsk, tsk~
The corners of the many reporters' mouths couldn't help but twitch, cursing Kyle in their hearts as a shameless, fickle villain.
But... why don't you try saying that to his face?
Despite Kyle's current amiable appearance, anyone who knew him knew that if you dared to say it to his face now, Kyle would definitely give you a piece of his mind.
"Fickle villain," a reporter muttered softly.
"Heh!"
A photographer nearby laughed under his breath, "Don't get worked up. Don't you know all capitalists are like this?"
It's over!
The strike has officially ended!
...The strike was over, but there were still many things to handle in the aftermath.
For instance: were those screenwriters who participated in the strike really going to be fine?
You're dreaming.
The face of a capitalist can be summarized in four words—settling scores later!
The next day.
The crews of Spider-Man and Harry Potter, which were being filmed by Page Pictures, officially resumed work.
Director Sam Raimi said, "According to the current progress, the Spider-Man movie will complete all filming in early January. It's expected that by March, all post-production work will also be finished, and the final cut will be ready."
The final cut could be finished by March?
Kyle and the executives of Page Pictures all nodded in silent agreement.
Spider-Man was Page Pictures' key blockbuster for the year 2000, a major sign of Page Pictures officially joining the summer season.
"Don't look at how many of our previous films have achieved good box office results; we've had almost no presence in the summer season. This time, Spider-Man will surely win us some honor," Mr.Bill said solemnly.
Kyle nodded.
The summer season has always been the private domain of The Big Six of Hollywood. It was difficult for works from other film companies to get high screen counts; even Page Pictures could only survive in the cracks during this period.
"This is a challenge~" Kyle said in a deep voice.
Having finished talking about Spider-Man, he naturally had to ask about the Harry Potter crew.
The Harry Potter crew was slow~
There were simply too many child actors in that crew, which undoubtedly increased the difficulty of filming;
At the same time, many of the British actors who joined the film were big stars or veteran actors moving between various sets. They couldn't appear on the Harry Potter set every day, so their schedules needed to be coordinated.
"Can the final cut be finished before June?" Kyle inquired.
Hearing this, director Chris Columbus shook his head. "My God! Mr. Page, what you're asking is almost impossible. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone will be completed in September at the earliest."
It is well known in the film industry that the hardest things to film are not sci-fi movies, but children and animals. Once they stop cooperating, the difficulty of filming will skyrocket.
Kyle was surprised for a few seconds, narrowed his eyes, and said, "It seems Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone can only be released during the Christmas season of 2000."
The Christmas season... it was a popular release window that Page Pictures had never touched before, and Kyle was full of anticipation... After visiting the resumption ceremonies of the Spider-Man and Harry Potter crews, Kyle returned to Page Pictures.
"Kevin Feige, in the near future, you will be responsible for hiring some screenwriters who are not registered with the Writers Guild," Kyle said in the office.
Kevin Feige was immediately startled. "Boss, the strike has just ended. If you do this, it will surely cause more trouble!"
Kyle smiled and said, "I know your worries and concerns. But what if we tell the public it's for new variety shows on the UPN Television Network and the WB Television Network? By then, even if they have grievances, they'll have nothing to say. After all, variety show writers and directors have always been their weak point."
Hearing this, Kevin Feige's eyes also lit up.
That's right, Kyle was settling scores.
This major strike served as a reminder to Kyle that he must recruit a group of people without a Writers Guild background to resist future strike waves.
Stopping work means losing money!
In fact, Kyle wasn't the only smart person in Hollywood. Many film companies were doing this, especially The Big Six of Hollywood; they were even more unscrupulous in recruiting screenwriters without a Writers Guild background.
Everything was brewing the even more bitter fruit of the 2007-2008 strike.
"Ring, ring, ring!"
Kyle received a call, a call from Gale Capital on Wall Street in New York.
"Mr. Page, the nasdaq index is already as high as 3800 points. It might even break the 4000-point mark before the end of December. We're going to make a fortune~"
The voice on the phone was full of excitement and agitation.
Kyle also clenched his fist.
The footsteps of the Dot-com Bubble were drawing ever closer!
For many, many companies and individuals, it would undoubtedly be a huge disaster, even triggering large-scale bankruptcies, closures, or even deaths. But for a speculator like Kyle, the Dot-com Bubble was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity... an opportunity to make big money!!!