—So if the story satisfies a thousand people, all of them NBA figures, they'll give the green light, and you'll end up crafting a script that revolves around a single star, while only teasing a few characters who've already graduated. —sighed Raimon.
—It's simple, look… it'll span from 1970 to 1999, only now we'll use today's stars, since I based the essential points on the stars of today. So the only thing left is to treat the past as if it were the present. —answered Billy.
—And how did Jordan agree to it? —asked Raimon.
—Signed original manuscripts. Plus, his family are huge fans of mine. —remarked Billy, completely distracted, recalling the earlier meeting. It was bizarre in so many ways how fans can do so much or so little depending on their devotion. And although for Billy it was a real advantage—nothing surprising—every time he'd faced a problem, fans responded kindly to the fallout. For now, he had a 500-page script that was still being polished with tailored lines for each participant. For instance, he would use Larry Bird as his manager, as Sakuragi's coach, who gets tested on the East Coast with the Boston Celtics, while working part-time serving drinks at a small bar.
He turns him into a shooter.
—Let me read it. —burst Raimon, like an excited child.
—What are you talking about? —sighed Billy, lifting his gaze from the chair. —It's confidential. You can take any other one, except this. We have something called secrecy. Though I'll let you see the sketches once I start the comic. —
—How much have you paid so far for the whole contract? —asked Raimon.
—Almost 3 million, in contracts, royalties, salaries, and specialists. —answered Billy, well aware that a production of this scale was incredibly hard for anyone starting out, given the street footage, photographs, and thousands of field studies they conducted in the settings where everything would unfold, bringing the scenes to life and molding Boston in his own way.
Different from Death Note—where he could fabricate brands and rely on stylized infrastructure—but Slam Dunk needed the full weight of realism behind it.
—Good thing we made nearly a thousand times that in Asia. —said Raimon, though much of that evaporated with the purchase of two major car brands, while William Dommer Rockefeller's contacts did what they did best: initiating the active acquisition of Toyota shares. It wasn't hard—at least getting over 40%—while also pulling in various metallurgical companies and securing the funds to acquire Daewon Motors of Korea at a lower price.
—We'll dominate the Korean market our own way. —Billy commented to Raimon.
—The car market? —he asked.
—Animation. I expanded the studio by 50%. Hired 50 new candidates from the best Korean universities. It's not hard. —replied Billy. He knew Akom Productions was already an established branch, and now he was setting the groundwork for his second idea: Pixar Asia, which would use the stories of the Eastern continent and the best ethnological elements to perfect the 3D anchoring model, with a growing level of security that only one company could possibly surpass.
—Yes, and we already have the idea of entering the Irish market. —sighed Raimon, wondering why there was so much interest in building so many companies that barely made money and carried enormous operational loads, driven only by bursts of inspiration that looked like a headache waiting to happen.
—The Irish market is just a gateway to other companies where I want to conduct commercial operations. —replied Billy, just as he spotted Anne and Rachel entering, carrying everything prepared for the Apple review—a straightforward setting where every side chipped away at Jobs' ability to generate revenue: the board trying to inject money, the attempted purchase of NeXT denied and rebranded as an authorized acquisition of technology and personnel, while Jobs sold the remaining assets to the highest bidder. That put Rachel in full control of operations.
—It's 2 p.m. —said Anne.
—Meeting, got it. —Billy replied, fully aware now of the commercial stakes.
Anne arranged the presentation materials while Rachel took a seat, sorting through a report in under ten seconds. She was calm about the implications within Apple's restructuring: they cut the product line from 70 to 5—two desktops, two laptops, and a new version of a music player.
Rachel pursed her lips, scratching her head. Something about the entire situation was gnawing at her.
—It's simple, not complex at all. —said Rachel, presenting the new ROI figures and production margins. Her eyes narrowed as she reasoned through how difficult it was to sell products and how the media handled advertising. Yet, strangely, it became simple when they intertwined Hollywood, sports, and countless other fields.
—We've got a decent stress test. At least the numbers are in the green. The debt level surprises me. —commented Billy, aware that the company had taken on several loans last year earmarked for investment, and now, at the end of 1997, repayment and consolidation meetings were close.
—Well, they've been tweaked. —said Rachel, noting Jobs' efficiency in making so much progress—most of it projected for 1999—but he achieved it in half the time. Enough that now he could remain with a new perspective on the company's evolution.
—I hate it. I hate him. —Rachel frowned, clenching her fists until they went white.
—But he's incredibly capable. And now comes phase two: improving the Apple ecosystem—using what matters most, creating an ecosystem that functions on its own terms while building application modules for music, video, apps, and utilities. —Rachel said sharply, summing up the Jobs era.
—Then let him do it. Now it's time to build our own application subsidiary. —said Billy, fully aware of the future relevance of the video game and software markets.
Anne nearly wanted to hit herself. Another company—he never stopped.
—Talk to Jobs. —said Anne.
—He makes me nauseous. —responded Rachel.
—Don't talk to Jobs. Just tell him I'll handle the applications. I want us to focus on four simple app types. —whispered Billy, jotting down what might matter: camera, calculator, weather, notes, calendar, clock, and stopwatch.
Anne checked her phone.
—Your girlfriend is coming down from the parking lot. —said Anne, pointing out Monica's arrival. She wasn't fully aware, but she knew the meeting would need to be wrapped up quickly.
—Let's continue. —said Billy.
—We have twelve days. —said Anne.
Billy frowned.
—What do you mean, twelve days? —
—To create the company. —said Anne. It was the time left before the seven-day collective holiday for all employees.
...