Time flew by like a flash of lightning.
When Luke set foot in California again, it was already March 2001.
California had the highest GDP among all U.S. states — home to famous cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco, as well as powerhouse industries such as Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
Back in 2000, California's GDP had reached a staggering $1.36 trillion, giving it a status in North America similar to that of Guangdong Province back home.
If California were considered its own independent economy, its GDP would have ranked right behind the United States as a whole, Japan, Germany, and the United Kingdom — about the same as France.
At that time, mainland 's GDP had only just crossed $1.2 trillion.
In many ways, California's economic might was the perfect symbol of America's global dominance.
The reason Luke came here was because Universal Pictures — one of Hollywood's biggest studios — had its headquarters in California.
As one of the "Big Eight" studios alongside Paramount, Disney, and Warner Bros., Universal Pictures was a true giant.
Franchises like Fast & Furious, Jurassic Park, The Mummy Returns, and The Bourne Identity were all produced by Universal.
By 2016, after Universal acquired DreamWorks Animation and its old rival MGM fell into bankruptcy and restructuring, Universal had even reclaimed the top spot among Hollywood studios.
It was one of the biggest players in town — and Luke had deep ties with them. The two films he was currently involved in were both Universal productions.
Naturally, today's visit had everything to do with those two movies.
Fast & Furious and Jurassic Park III had both finished post-production and were about to enter the marketing and pre-release phase.
A high-level meeting to decide their release plans was scheduled for today.
When Luke arrived at 100 California Plaza, the Universal Pictures headquarters, directors Cohen and Johnston were already waiting for him.
Seeing Luke, Director Johnston waved with a smile, while Cohen stepped forward and said, "Today's meeting is crucial. It'll decide whether our movies succeed or fail. We need to take this seriously."
Luke nodded. "The main topic is the release plan, right? Are we expecting any trouble today?"
The release plan covered everything — the marketing budget, the release date, and even whether to guarantee a minimum box office return for theaters.
It was basically a full-blown strategy aimed at both audiences and cinemas — and it could make or break a movie's success.
At its core, though, it all came down to two questions: How much are you willing to spend, and how much do you think you'll make?
Those two were tied together — the higher your expectations, the more you were willing to invest. But spending too much could easily turn a profitable project into a financial mess.
And since these decisions were so subjective, they were always vulnerable to interference.
That's why Luke immediately suspected there might be some turbulence ahead.
Cohen sighed. "You're right. A friend inside Universal tipped me off — it's going to be a tough meeting. Not in our favor."
"You think we'll get blocked on key points?" Luke asked.
"We might not get what we want," Cohen admitted, sounding discouraged.
Luke smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I've got a plan."
"Oh? What kind of plan?"
"Just a little something — hopefully we won't need it. But if I speak up during the meeting, please, do exactly as I say." Luke grinned confidently.
"Do as you say?" Cohen raised an eyebrow.
"Yes. Trust me."
"Well, you have always been right," Cohen said after a moment, remembering all the times Luke had pulled off the impossible.
Johnston walked between them, smiling. "Come on, let's not be late. Cohen, trust Luke — with him around, miracles tend to happen."
Cohen was closer to Luke, but Johnston clearly had faith in him too.
After what Luke had accomplished during the filming of Jurassic Park III, Johnston's confidence bordered on blind faith.
The three of them hurried to the third-floor conference room, where two men were already chatting comfortably — clearly old friends.
Luke didn't recognize one of them: a sharp-eyed man in his sixties with a hooked nose. But the other he knew well — The Mummy Returns director, Stephen Sommers.
That brief, tense encounter they'd had before was still fresh in Luke's memory.
Sommers was also the rival he needed to surpass to complete his "system mission":
Mission Phase One: Star in a Hollywood film that surpasses The Mummy Returns in worldwide box office revenue.
When the three entered, Sommers and the hooked-nose man stopped talking.
"President Smith, thank you for making time today," Director Johnston said, stepping forward with a friendly handshake.
"I'm just doing my job," said the man — President Smith, Universal's Vice President in charge of film distribution and marketing. "In the end, success depends on the quality of the films."
He gave a brief handshake and motioned for them to take their seats.
Across from him, a few stacks of documents were neatly placed — clearly reserved for Luke and his team.
Meanwhile, Smith sat beside Sommers, which made their alliance pretty obvious.
Cohen had already explained that Smith oversaw film releases and marketing, while the other Universal VP handled production.
Sommers had long been close with Smith, and he'd undoubtedly use that connection to grab more resources for his own film today.
That was why Cohen had been worried — their side didn't have the same leverage.
Without enough marketing support or a solid release strategy, their films would start the race at a disadvantage.
Luke could only sigh inwardly: Where there are people, there's a battlefield.
And in this battlefield, it wasn't about fists or swords — it was about relationships and politics.
Whoever said Americans don't play the relationship game clearly hadn't been to Hollywood.
Still, Smith was a professional. He'd prioritize the studio's interests, and as long as their requests were reasonable, he'd likely support them.
After all, Universal had invested big money into these films — they'd want to see a return.
"Well then, since everyone's here, let's get started," Smith said.
"Wait a second," Sommers interrupted sharply, his gaze locked on Luke.
"What's the problem?" Smith asked, frowning slightly.
"Get this guy out of here!" Sommers snapped coldly, pointing directly at Luke. "Who is he, and what gives him the right to sit in on this meeting?"