Chapter 230
In Los Angeles, Zane personally visited Sam Raimi's home. He wasn't there as a famous billionaire. He was there as the chief producer of Spider-Man.
"Sam, this is Kevin Feige," Zane said, introducing the man next to him. "He is our vice president at Wald Pictures and my trusted partner. He will also be the executive producer for Spider-Man."
"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Feige," Sam said. "I've heard great things about you."
After a little polite chat, they got down to business.
"Wait... really?" Sam asked, his eyes wide with surprise. "You're inviting me to direct Spider-Man? Are you sure? The $140 million Spider-Man that everyone in Hollywood is talking about?"
"Yes," Kevin said with a nod.
"Incredible!" Sam gasped. He was shocked!
When his agent told him Zane Blackwood was coming to visit, Sam was surprised. After all, Zane was a huge deal! But Sam thought Zane wanted him to direct a horror movie. That made sense, because Sam was famous for horror movies like The Evil Dead, and Zane's company made a lot of scary films.
But Spider-Man? He never expected that!
"Director Sam, you don't need to doubt it," Zane said with a warm, encouraging smile. "I want you to direct Spider-Man. Just tell me if you want the job. Of course, if you need time to think about it..."
"No need to think!" Sam shouted, his face lighting up with excitement. "I'll definitely accept!"
This was a $140 million movie! Only a fool would say no to a chance like this!
"Happy to work with you, Director Sam," Zane said, shaking his hand.
"Thank you! Thank you both!" Sam said, beaming. "To tell you the truth, I'm a huge fan of Marvel comics. When I was a kid in middle school, I used to dream about directing Spider-Man. Now my dream has come true!"
Sam was so happy. He had been making movies for a long time, but only small, cheap horror movies. There were thousands of directors like him in America. This was his big break! It was like a fairy tale, or a giant pie falling from the sky!
Zane knew he had made the right choice. Sam Raimi was a special director. He started with small, weird movies, just like Peter Jackson (who would make Lord of the Rings). Sam's movies were scary, funny, and full of personality.
...
A few days later, Sam signed the contract.
His salary was $2 million.
But Zane, feeling generous, added a lot of bonuses:
If the movie made over $200 million in America, Sam got a $1 million bonus.
If it made over $300 million, he got a $2 million bonus!
Zane was usually very careful with money, but this time he was being nice. Why?
First, he knew Spider-Man would easily make over $300 million. The bonus was safe.
Second, he was thinking about the future. He wanted Sam to come back for Spider-Man 2 and Spider-Man 3. In Hollywood, if you pay people well, they stay loyal.
"Thank you, Mr. Blackwood, for your generosity!" Director Sam said happily. $2 million was way more money than he usually made.
(Of course, Sam didn't get a share of the profits. Zane wasn't that generous! But for a small-time director, this was still a fantastic deal.)
Sam's agent was grinning from ear to ear. "I'm going to be rich!" he thought. "My client is directing Spider-Man! No one can call me a small-time agent anymore!"
The big talent agency behind Sam, WMA, was also thrilled. They immediately told all the newspapers. They wanted everyone to know that their director got the biggest job in Hollywood.
Soon, the newspapers were all calling Sam a "genius" who was just as good as Spielberg or Lucas. (For the newspapers, money was always more important than the truth!)
But the public was confused!
"Sam Raimi? Who is that?"
"I've never heard of him!"
"I know him. He made those zombie movies. They're okay."
"What is Wald Pictures doing? Why did they hire a horror director to make Spider-Man?!"
"Are they going to turn Spider-Man into a horror movie?"
"This is terrible! They're going to ruin it!"
Most people thought it was a ridiculous choice. They thought Zane was making a huge mistake.
Back at Wald Pictures, Alexander asked, "Boss, aren't you angry? Everyone is saying we're fools."
Zane just smiled. "Why should I mind? Free publicity is still publicity!"
Zane had a great attitude. If you want to make money, you can't have thin skin. Let people talk! As long as they were talking about the movie, it was good.
"By the way," Zane said, changing the subject, "did you get all that Google data I asked for?"
Zane had been thinking about Google for a long time. He knew it would become the biggest search engine in the world.
Since If he didn't try to become a major shareholder of Google... wouldn't that make him the fool?
Chapter 231
In a town called Menlo Park, California, there was a small garage.
This garage wasn't for parking cars. It was the headquarters for a tiny, brand-new company.
In America, starting a business in a garage was a cool thing to do. Giant companies like Microsoft and Apple had started the exact same way. By the late 1990s, the "garage startup" was a symbol of the internet age.
Larry Page, a young man of 25, burst into the garage. His face was glowing with excitement.
"Hey! Guys! Stop what you're doing!" he shouted. "I have two pieces of great news!"
But... no one answered.
The garage was empty. It was just him. The thrill faded away, and Larry looked disappointed.
The entire company—which would one day be the famous Google—only had three people.
Larry Page was the CEO.
Sergey Brin was the President.
Craig Silverstein was their first employee and the technology director.
Even though the company was tiny, it had all the important parts. But right now, this future giant was in big trouble.
It was almost 10 a.m. when the other two finally showed up. They were late.
"Guys, where have you been?" Larry complained. "I've been waiting forever!"
Sergey Brin sighed, looking very sad and tired. "Where else? We were trying to get money. You know we've used up every loan we could get. The company has less than $30,000 left. If we don't find more money soon, we'll have to close down."
Craig nodded, looking worried. "That's right. The money is almost gone. You guys are about to run out of money to pay my salary."
Larry was stunned. He jumped up from his chair. "Are you saying... we are about to collapse?"
Sergey and Craig nodded grimly. Starting a business was much harder than they had imagined.
Larry and Sergey had borrowed money from everyone, even their professor, to raise $1 million to start Google. They had been so full of big dreams. But now, the money was gone, and their search engine wasn't even finished.
"Don't be discouraged, guys!" Larry said, trying to cheer them up. "I have good news!"
"What good news?" Sergey asked.
"Tell us, boss," Craig said.
"Everyone," Larry announced loudly, "our search engine patent has been approved by the government!"
"Oh," Sergey and Craig mumbled.
They looked a little happier, but not excited. It wasn't the explosion of joy Larry had hoped for.
"Guys, come on! Give me a reaction!" Larry urged.
"Larry," Sergey said, frustrated, "it's great that the patent is approved. But we need a lot of money to file for patents in Asia and Europe. We have no money, man!"
"Yeah, boss," Craig added. "Now that we have the patent, we need to buy new, faster computers to test the search engine. That costs money, too."
The mention of money made the room feel heavy again. The joy of the patent was crushed by the fact that they were broke. A heavy silence fell over the garage.
Ding-dong!
Just then, the doorbell rang.
A delivery driver from FedEx was at the door. "Package for you. Please sign here."
The three men signed for the package and tore it open.
"What?!"
"No way!"
"My God!"
"Is this for real?!"
They stared at the letter inside.
"Mr. Zane Blackwood, the famous billionaire, has sent us an invitation! He wants to invest in our search engine!!!"
In one second, the mood in the garage changed completely. The sadness vanished, replaced by shock, and then pure, screaming joy.
"It's not a prank!" Larry yelled, astounded. "It's really him!"
In America, the name Zane Blackwood was legendary. He was only 21 years old, but he had built a billion-dollar empire in just three years. Every internet creator knew his story.
He invested in Netscape.
He invested in Yahoo.
He was a major owner of Amazon.
He started LinkedIn.
Zane Blackwood wasn't just rich; he was a hero to young dreamers. He was the most famous "angel investor" (someone who helps new companies) in the world. If he believed in you, you were going to make it.
For the rest of the afternoon, Larry, Sergey, and Craig were buzzing with excitement. They even celebrated by opening a cheap bottle of $50 champagne.
That evening, Larry called his favorite teacher at Stanford University, Professor Andy.
"Oh? The real Zane Blackwood?" Professor Andy asked. "From what I know of him, he is a young man who keeps his promises. If he invited you, he is truly interested. Larry, you and Sergey must prepare. Show him your best work. This is a precious opportunity. Don't waste it!"
Professor Andy had helped them a lot. Months ago, he had given them their first $100,000 check. "Don't be afraid of the hard road ahead," he had told them. "I believe you will succeed!"
At the same time, Sergey was at home, bragging to his 14-year-old sister.
"Just you wait!" he told her. "Soon, your brother will be a millionaire! We're going to be stars of the internet! Larry and I have been chosen by Mr. Zane Blackwood himself! We are going to succeed!"
Craig, the employee, was just as thrilled. Even though he didn't own the company, he was an internet fan. He wanted to be part of something big.
And the name "Zane Blackwood" was enough to make anyone believe that something big was about to happen.
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