The next day.
Zach Braff, a young man with dreams of becoming a director, was so excited he couldn't sleep all night.
He repeatedly checked the time, waiting until 9 AM.
With bloodshot eyes but an unstoppable surge of excitement, he finally dialed Kevin Feige's number.
"Hello? Hi, I'm Zach Braff. Are you Mr. Kevin Feige, president of Page Films?" Braff asked into the phone, his heart pounding with anxiety.
"That's right, I'm Kevin Feige. And you're Zach Braff?" a voice came through the phone, indeed Kevin Feige's.
Braff was thrilled: "You know me?"
Kevin Feige on the other end nodded: "Yes. Last night, I received an email from Mr. Page, saying that your screenplay, 'Garden State,' was quite good.
If you could, please send the script to my email, and then we can schedule a time to meet and discuss it.
How does that sound?"
"Okay, okay, thank you very much," Braff said, nodding profusely.
Logically, the submission of screenplays follows a fixed process and set of principles.
As the president of Page Films, Kevin Feige rarely handles first-hand screenplays.
The company's production department, screenwriting department, and public relations department—departments with specific functions—first review external screenplays.
After multiple rounds of review, layer by layer, and several discussions, the scripts finally make their way to Kevin Feige's desk.
And once they reach Kevin Feige's desk, is that it?
No!
More than 95% of the screenplays submitted to Kevin Feige's desk every day are thrown into storage to gather dust.
Only a very, very, very small number of lucky screenwriters have their scripts selected by Page Films, with a tiny probability.
And among that small fraction of scripts, only a handful will ever be made into a finished film!
Is it tedious?
Indeed, it is very tedious and cruel!
But without layer-by-layer selection, it wouldn't work!
As a company second only to the Hollywood Big Six, Page Films receives dozens of external screenplays every day, sometimes even hundreds in a single day.
The quality can be said to be uneven!
Moreover, the vast majority of screenplays have no chance of being made into a finished film, and profitability must also be considered.
Please, Page Films is a commercial entity, not a charity!
"This is great!"
"I knew I could do it!"
"Page Films receives so many screenplays every day that the review time alone can make many screenwriters despair, and yet I managed to gain Mr. Page's favor.
This is simply wonderful!"
Braff had every reason to be excited; merely being able to directly contact Kevin Feige was enough to make countless screenwriters envious, jealous, and resentful. Baltimore.
It is the largest city in Maryland, USA, an important port city on the Atlantic coast, and is only about 60 kilometers from Washington, D.C.
It is also the birthplace of the American national anthem.
At this moment, at Baltimore International Airport, a massive Boeing 767 aircraft landed, attracting the attention of many.
"Oh ~ this is a private jet!" a newly arrived ground staff exclaimed.
"Lope, don't shout.
You're still too young; you don't even know this is the famous 'Lola' private jet.
It's the aerial ride of the renowned American billionaire, Mr. Kyle Page," an experienced ground staff member said with a smile.
He had known for days that Kyle's private jet would land at Baltimore International Airport today.
The "Lola" is Kyle's private jet, named after the movie "Run Lola Run."
This film was the first one Kyle shot after entering Hollywood, and the name "Lola" represents the beginning of Kyle's entertainment empire, holding significant commemorative meaning.
"Boss, your itinerary today is to visit Under Armour Sports Goods Company.
Well, to be precise, you will be staying in Baltimore for three days," said Little Baggio Lister, one of the think tank members.
As soon as he finished speaking, before Kyle could respond, Chief Assistant Alexander, who had rushed to Baltimore overnight, immediately added: "Boss, your stay in Baltimore can only be for three days at most, as you have several other companies to inspect next."
Gale Capital, Roski Real Estate, California Standard Bank... these enterprises are independent of the Golden Dawn Entertainment Group, and Alexander, as the director of the Golden Dawn Entertainment Group's President's Office and the Chairman's chief assistant, naturally has no right to inquire or interfere.
However!
When it comes to Under Armour Sports Goods Company, as Kyle's chief assistant, he has an undeniable responsibility.
For this, he flew to Baltimore overnight!
... "Hi, Kyle!"
"Hi, Kevin!"
Upon arriving at Under Armour Sports Goods Company, Kevin Plank, the founder and president of Under Armour, gave Kyle a big hug.
"Mr. Plank, the meeting room is ready," the secretary reminded him.
Plank nodded, looked at Kyle, and said, "Kyle, since the meeting room is ready, shall we talk business first?"
"Sure, business is important! I'm here to witness the development of Under Armour!" Kyle waved his hand.
Not long after, everyone took their seats in the meeting room, with Alexander responsible for taking minutes.
Under Armour Sports Goods Company, founded in 1996 by former football star Kevin Plank, is dedicated to creating better, more advanced sports goods.
In the future, it will become a highly influential sports brand.
In 1998, Kyle acquired over 70% of Under Armour's shares for $4.5 million.
In 1999 and 2000, Kyle made several additional investments over two consecutive years, acquiring 91% of Under Armour's shares and transforming it into a subsidiary of Golden Dawn Entertainment Group.
Founder Kevin Plank, despite now holding only a single-digit percentage of Under Armour shares, is still very satisfied.
Since Under Armour Sports Goods Company gained Kyle as a powerful backer, it has been thriving in recent years.
"As of now, magazines like 'Fortune' and 'Financial,' as well as professional investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, estimate our Under Armour's value at up to $100 million."
"To have developed to this stage in just a few short years, we have every reason to be proud!"
"At the same time, building on our foundation of American football products, we officially began producing sports products for other sports like basketball and soccer in mid-2000.
In the future, we will also leverage the advantages of our sports brand to create hoodies, regular T-shirts, sweatpants..."
"In major cities like Baltimore, New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, San Francisco, and Salt Lake City, we began establishing direct stores at the end of 1999.
We expect the number of direct stores alone to reach 30 by the end of 2001, and the number of franchised stores to reach 100."
...Hearing these figures, Kyle couldn't help but smile knowingly.
Under Armour Sports Goods Company's transformation from a pure American football equipment provider to a designer and supplier of products for multiple sports, including American football, soccer, basketball, and tennis, is an absolutely huge step forward.
Hoodies, regular T-shirts, sweatpants, shoes... these common clothing items are even more significant growth points for Under Armour's future profitability!
Kyle looked at Plank and asked, "Kevin, regarding soccer, I have a Manchester City club in England.
So, if I were to buy an NBA basketball team, would it bring better benefits to the company?"
"Buy an NBA basketball team?!"
Plank stared at Kyle in shock, swallowing hard: "Buddy, you're not kidding me, are you?"
It was too unbelievable!
Kyle laughed: "Kevin, I just made $1.3 billion in the Japanese financial market a few days ago, didn't you know?
Buying an NBA basketball team is easy!"
Plank: "..."
I didn't know!
Yesterday, he was still in the hospital.
He couldn't help it; it was an old ailment from his athlete days.
He genuinely didn't know that Kyle's Gale Capital had raked in $1.3 billion in a single day!
"Damn, are rich people always this wild?!"