Chapter 373 - 346: The Reason, Emma Watson’s Approach

"Ladies and gentlemen, why don’t you introduce yourselves to our young friend here!" George Lucas joked. He was already quite familiar with them, so he opted not to make the introductions himself.

"Mr. Wu! Welcome to the United States! I’m Robert Iger, the current CEO of Disney." Robert Iger said as he handed over his business card.

Wu Yun also pulled a business card from his pocket and exchanged it with Robert Iger, saying, "Mr. Iger, your reputation precedes you! I’ve heard of your renown even all the way in Huaxia!"

After the two exchanged pleasantries, the man with glasses standing beside them handed over his own card. "Mr. Wu! A pleasure to meet you! I’m James Murdoch, and I’ll soon be taking a position at Twentieth Century Fox!"

As soon as James Murdoch introduced himself, Wu Yun immediately realized this was the son of the legendary media tycoon Rupert Murdoch, though he wasn’t sure which of the children he was.

Wu Yun’s knowledge of these titans from the wealth lists was limited to just the short blurbs written about them.

The reason Rupert Murdoch’s name was so familiar was because of the scandal involving a Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

The moment they exchanged cards, Wu Yun purchased a file on the Murdoch Family from the System Store, instantly giving him some insight into James Murdoch.

As it turned out, this James actually had some connections with the Huaxia People.

After Rupert Murdoch bought Star TV in 1995, it had accumulated US$650 million (about 4.3 billion RMB) in losses. In 2000, James became the chairman of Asian Star TV and successfully passed his trial by fire. Three years later, Star TV launched on the Huaxia Continent and made a major breakthrough in the Indian market, finally becoming profitable.

Although, according to rumor, the only reason James was able to find such success with Star TV was because Wendi Deng had asked Old Murdoch, "Why is Star TV so terrible?" This question supposedly prompted Old Murdoch to finally take the project seriously.

Even so, it was still a testament to James’s business talent.

According to the information from the system, James and Lachlan (James’s older brother) were set to formally take over Twenty-First Century Fox Film Company on July 1st of this year. James would become the CEO of Twenty-First Century Fox Film Company.

Wu Yun felt a bit of sympathy for James. ’He’s always lived in his father’s shadow. As long as Old Murdoch doesn’t step down, he and his brother will never have any real power.’

Moreover, the affairs of the Murdoch Family could fill a palace intrigue novel, replete with power struggles and all manner of schemes.

Of course, this information just flashed through Wu Yun’s mind. Wu Yun smiled and said, "Mr. Murdoch, I was quite a contributor to the ratings of Star TV back when you were in charge!"

James was stunned for a moment, then broke into a smile. His favorable impression of Wu Yun grew immensely, not only because Wu Yun knew about his past, but also because Wu Yun had addressed him as Mr. Murdoch.

"Wu, just call me James! You’ve really caught my interest. I hope we can talk privately after the party!"

After saying his piece, James stepped aside.

Just then, a smiling middle-aged woman extended her hand. "Hello, Mr. Wu! I’m Laurena Powell Jobs! I’m doing some investing at the moment. If you’re ever in need of capital, feel free to let me know!"

After Laurena and Wu Yun exchanged cards, she said nothing more and simply stood to the side with a pleasant smile.

George Lucas chimed in, "Laurena is as low-key as ever! Mr. Wu, Lady Laurene Jobs is Mr. Jobs’s wife."

At this, Robert Iger, who was standing nearby, added with a smile, "Mrs. Jobs is our largest individual shareholder at Disney! And she also owns a portion of Apple Inc.’s stock."

George Lucas nodded and said with deep feeling, "Laurena was ranked seventy-third last year. She’s far wealthier than I am; even Old Murdoch can’t quite compare. She really is incredibly low-key!"

Robert and James nodded in agreement.

After everyone had exchanged pleasantries and become acquainted, Wu Yun finally voiced the question that was on his mind: "Mr. Lucas, I was wondering... why did you invite me?"

Seeing the surprised look on Wu Yun’s face, George Lucas said with a smile, "You seem surprised by how much I know about you, Mr. Wu!?"

Wu Yun nodded. Seeing James take a glass of wine from a waiter’s tray, he took one as well and had a small sip.

"It’s actually quite a coincidence how I came to know of you! It all starts with a novel from your country, *The Three-Body Problem*!"

George Lucas got a nostalgic look on his face and continued, "I had the pleasure of reading the work of a novelist named Liu Cixin, *The Three-Body Problem*, and I felt its world-building was on par with, if not superior to, *Star Wars*. So, I got the idea of adapting it into a film."

"I also felt that the novel was certain to win an award in the United States! So I wanted to acquire the rights before it became a huge hit, treating it as an investment as well!"

’I have to admit,’ Wu Yun marveled inwardly, ’none of these tycoons are to be trifled with. Their foresight is incredibly sharp.’

"So, before the Spring Festival in your country, I sent people to Huaxia to see if they could be the first to acquire the rights to this book, as well as Liu Cixin’s other works."

A look of regret crossed George Lucas’s face. "But after many twists and turns, my people reported back that the rights had already been acquired by a film company called Phoenix Entertainment. I knew right then that my chances of acquiring them were next to none."