Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1079 Hollow Tycoon
In the largest Stern Hall in Carnegie Hall, the Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, which is visiting in the name of human peace, is playing Shostakovich's symphony that was played when the two countries were allies during World War II.Many listeners also came here especially for the name, and there were no empty seats.

But the musicians of the Moscow Philharmonic long ago lacked the courage and ability to play for the soldiers on the Soviet-German battlefield. Except for the official performances in Moscow and Leningrad, they played casually in other places.

However, going to the United States to perform made everyone's head broken. Apart from buying some fashionable goods here, many people have the idea of ​​connecting with the Western music industry and having the opportunity to come here to make money. Dressed up so well that I almost got into a fight when I was interviewed by a photographer.

Little George came to listen to the music together. After the show ended, he, Norio Ohga and Ronald went to the VIP lounge next to the smallest Weir Hall, and talked about someone taking advantage of Sony’s public acquisition of Columbia Pictures to bid for it. things.

"This is normal business competition. It is impossible for our American government to interfere with free market competition..." Little George carelessly said some things his mother Barbara taught him. The general meaning is that you Sony only need to follow our rules As long as you follow the rules, as for other bidders, we will not help you suppress them.

"Next time, go to some kind of country music that will be exciting..." Little George is not interested in this kind of classical music at all. If it wasn't for the purpose of spreading the word without arousing suspicion, he would not have come to sit for two hours.

"Da He-san, let's find a place to talk..." After seeing off little George, Ronald invited the helpless Da He Nooro, got into his luxury car, and drove all the way to the Peninsula Hotel.

"This is the sorrow of the defeated..." Norio Ohga was sullen, and he told Ronald some real thoughts.

Sony has no roots in the United States at all, and has just begun to establish connections with the political circles. Many times, they have not received critical warnings, and no one is willing to speak up for them.

They have relented and agreed to CFIUS's request to acquire Columbia by purchasing major shareholder Coca-Cola and other stocks in the open market.

For no reason, Sony has to pay a price of hundreds of millions of dollars.But in order to be able to enter the American market, they decided to endure.And this Australian businessman, Christopher Skas, made a stab at it, and once the news was made public, it pushed up Columbia's stock price.

Sony has suffered a dumb loss, and has no choice but to pay hundreds of millions of dollars more, and there is no way to fight back.Because CFIUS has prohibited them from privately contacting minority shareholders for acquisitions.That Skass did nothing and was able to make a handsome pre- and post-acquisition stock price difference here.

This is a problem for Dahe and Sony, and it is also a problem that can be solved with money.Although there is no problem with spending money, Dahe still couldn't help but say a few words about the unfairness to Ronald.Their money is all hard earned one by one.

"Where did this Christopher Skass know about the acquisition? Is he here to be a thief who steals money, or is he really going to bid with you for Columbia Pictures?" Ronald did not answer the words of congratulations, he Turn on the TV and jump to CNBC, just in time that Skass is being interviewed, saying that after he completes the acquisition of MGM, he will increase investment to revitalize this old film studio.

"Who knows?" Dahe was unhappy. This white Australian would be treated as one of his own people in America more often than not, while those from Japan, no matter how fluent in English and fond of high-end arts such as Western symphonies, would also be treated as one of their own. Consciously or unintentionally as an outsider.

"Hmph..." Ronald rubbed his chin, looking at this Skass, the more he looked familiar, the tone and expression of this person were very similar to an old acquaintance of his: Minahan Gran.

"Yeah, last year I paid $100 million for my 40th birthday and the other time my wife forgot her coat in Brisbane and I just flew my private jet to pick it up, I always do The carelessness of..."

Christopher Scars, shaking his head and talking about his own embarrassment, is actually showing off his wealth.This style of bragging about one's own assets first, and then fiercely bargaining is very similar to the deception of the two Israelis.

"Do you think that this person seems to be pretending to be a fat man?" Ronald looked at Da He.

"Don't say it, it's a bit like..." Norio Oga, the president of a large company who has been in the mall for a long time, carefully observed the expression of this Skas, and he also smelled something wrong.

"Hey, it's a pity that our Dongying company can find a media in America. It's an extravagant hope to speak for us fairly, let alone expose our competitors, and maybe we will be attacked in reverse."

Dahe thought for a while, but still shook his head. In this country ruled by white people, it is still steady and steady. Sony's appeal is to take root first, and spend more money as tuition fees.

"Don't tell me, I know an honest editor-in-chief."

"Ronald-sang, do you really have a clue?" Dahe's eyes lit up again, it was hard to be taken advantage of, and they would not give up if they had the chance to fight back.Moreover, Ronald is a white man, "How much advertising and public relations fees need to be placed, Ronald-san can decide for himself, and we fully support it."

"Those haven't come yet, and there will be a time when Hesang's support is needed." Ronald also wanted to let James Wells, the editor-in-chief of the New York Daily News, air.

……

"Boom..." In the New York Daily News building, the elevator to the newspaper floor was of poor quality, noisy, slow, and had a small capacity.Ronald was uncomfortable in it.

"James..." After finally getting out of the elevator, the lights in the editor-in-chief's office flickered.

"Ronald, are you here? Mary, Mary, bring Mr. Li a cup of coffee, please." James Wells called the secretary at the top of his voice. In the narrow passageway, the female secretary Mary dexterously came from various places. Shuttle between manuscripts and faxes is very dexterous.

"Why don't you fix it?" Ronald found a decent chair and sat down.

"We haven't paid the property fee yet. Although it is a company's property, but... this is New York, and there is no service without money..." Although the building is also the property of Daily News Corporation, many shareholders have long wanted to use the land The newspaper offices on several floors were driven away and then sold to concentrate on the office leasing business.

"Little Doug told me that you spent half of our sponsorship funds in two weeks. Let me ask what's going on." Ronald said with a smile. The sponsorship of 50 US dollars they allocated did not seem to last long .

"Hey, this is the result of the distribution department's low-price strategy..." James Wells said very dissatisfied.

The subsidy strategy adopted by the board of directors last year was actually a failure.Although the color printing layout has been increased and the selling price has been lowered, the circulation has indeed increased a lot.But the cheapest price among the four major daily newspapers in New York, the more they publish, the more they will lose.

The original strategy was to increase circulation to bring in more advertisements.But the idea proved to be far-fetched.

It makes sense that none of the four major dailies would like to increase their circulation in Brooklyn and Harlem, north of the island.The new subscribers of the Daily News are mainly from lower-class families in Brooklyn, and poor blacks and Latinos in Harlem.

These people can generally afford only one newspaper, relying on the "daily news" to bring them daily gossip food.A newspaper is usually read by children from two or three families.And many people have to recycle the newspaper after reading it, use it to wrap food, or put it next to the toilet.

It is conceivable that the advertising commercial value of these new readers is extremely low, if not negative (many middle-class families will think that this is a newspaper for the poor and give up subscriptions).But James Wells, who is in charge of the editorial department, has no choice. All he can do is to make good news as much as possible, so that more readers with advertising value can watch the daily news.

"With such a strategy, I think you will be in financial trouble again, and I am afraid it will not be a few days." Ronald pointed out the absurdity of the newspaper's business strategy bluntly.

"Can you bring us some news?" James Wells smiled wryly. He also agreed with Ronald, but this is not something he can solve by himself, and it will take time.By the way, I had to ask Ronald about any entertainment news recently.

"News? I'm not a well-informed person. I didn't know about Spielberg's prenuptial agreement until I read The Hollywood Reporter."

"Hey, this matter is indeed a hot topic. We don't have a first-hand source of information, so we have to do an in-depth report to talk about the similarities and differences of divorce laws in various states, so that readers can have fun."

Although Ronald, as a witness, testified in the presence of two witnesses and court clerks, supporting Spielberg's statement.But the judge once again made an unexpected incident and made a big news.

Originally, Amy Irwin's lawyer proposed acting career compensation, but there was no precedent and logic to support her claim.The income of actresses is extremely unstable, and no one can guarantee that Amy Irving will always be popular if she does not marry Spielberg.There are many things like Michelle Pfeiffer who are popular and affected by scandals.

Spielberg and Amy Irving's lawyers have already tended to reach a unified opinion to give Amy Irving a one-time compensation of tens of millions, and living expenses, and the joint guardianship of the two parties to end the lawsuit.

Who knew that the Jewish judge suddenly invoked the seldom-used independent discretion of judges and rejected the legality of the prenuptial agreement between the two.

According to the law of California, all California residents, even if they get married outside the state, the prenuptial agreement must also be subject to the provisions of California law.An agreement is valid only if it is signed with a lawyer present, or if it was drafted by a lawyer.

And Spielberg's prenuptial agreement was temporarily written on a napkin by himself.Therefore, according to California law, the judge can initiate a judicial review on the grounds that the signing of the prenuptial agreement is not in compliance with the law if there is no objection from both parties.

As a result of the review, the prenuptial agreement, proposed and drafted by Spielberg on a napkin, was voided.The divorce between the two is still under the jurisdiction of California law.The wealth Spielberg earned after marriage (worth more than 2 million U.S. dollars) belongs to the common property, that is, all the property accumulated by the husband and wife during their marriage, and Amy Irving is entitled to half of it.

As soon as the news came out, Hollywood was in an uproar.The two major newspapers, Hollywood Reporter and Variety, began to go all out to report on this $[-] million napkin.

Divorce lawyers in Hollywood also immediately saw a surge in business consultation.Many people want to know how much money can be divided after divorce, or how to sign a prenuptial agreement before marriage to minimize losses.

"It's a good idea. If you can't grab the headlines, it's also a good idea to do some in-depth reports." Ronald looked at the proof of the newspaper. The comparison of divorce laws in various states was relatively simple and easy to understand. He made a copy The copy was stuffed into his pocket.

"We need to get more gossip news like this. You can't always live on donations... A newspaper can become a profitable business if it is run well."

"Hey, what you're saying is, I'm trying to figure it out. We've had better circulation in Manhattan and Queens lately, and more advertising. Everything will be fine."

"It's better to get more gossip news. Have you seen the recent news about the Australian tycoon Skass? He flew a private jet back and forth for his wife's coat, and he also found a lot of bikini models to celebrate his birthday. There are many in Hollywood. People are very envious..." Ronald brought the topic to Skas.

"I know, this is actually a news subject. I feel that there is something wrong with this person..." James Wells' professional ability is very good, he immediately got a video tape for Ronald and played it on TV.

"Look, this person's expression and body posture are similar to our real estate developer in New York State. I suspect that his financial situation in Australia is worrying."

"No way, why do you show off like this when you have no money, and come to America to buy MGM?" Ronald asked intentionally.

"This is a way of thinking of the rich. The more financial problems you have, the more you have to show your wealth and wealth. Otherwise, the creditors will find that you have problems with your cash flow and come together to ask you to pay back the money. This kind of business can last for a while. Yes, it is about to go bankrupt and liquidate.

Moreover, if he wants to acquire MGM, it may be a financial operation. He wants to get in and out quickly, and sell it to other investors at a higher price, so as to ease his financial situation. "James Wells is a top student at Yale, and he often went to Wall Street before. He has a good sense of this kind of thing.

"That would be good news material, if only we could get the scoop," Ronald pretended.One of the characteristics of a reporter is that he likes to express.If they have any opinions, keeping them silent is the greatest psychological damage to them.

So Ronald didn't have to remind the other party to go to Chaskas at all. As long as they asked the right questions, they would say what Ronald wanted to say and arrange what they wanted them to do.

"Then what are you waiting for? We're going to turn around." Ronald looked at James Wells, as if wondering why he didn't stand up immediately and assign interview tasks.

"It's a pity that we have no money, and we can't afford to fly to Australia for interviews. Our money has to be prepared for next month's printing expenses." James Wells sighed. This kind of revealing report is the reporter's favorite. .

"Do you have to go to Australia for an interview? That's a lot of money." Ronald made a look unwilling to pay.

"Actually, it would be fine if we could collect the news reports on him in Australia before. Unfortunately, we don't have a reporter station in Australia anymore, so we can only let the guys from the Wall Street Journal take the lead." James Wells said while peeking at Ronald. Does the Hollywood director want his name to appear in a piece of news as a funder and a Pulitzer Prize?
"I can help with this. I have a friend in Australia. You can make a list of newspapers. I will ask her to find someone to collect and send them to you, or fax them to you."

"Thank you so much, Ronald." James Wells couldn't hold back anymore, took out a pen and paper, and began to write newspapers and magazines in Australia that might involve this Scars.

"Rachel? I'm Ronald. Yes, I have a friend who wants to know about your rich man in Australia, Christopher Scars." Ronald got the list from the Australian media and gave it to the actress Rui Chell Ward called.

"Huh, he's a jerk. We all hate him. He likes to invite actresses to dinners, and when he arrives, he'll fuck them in front of his wife."

"Ah? Do you have information there? Very good, I'll send someone to pick it up." Ronald covered the microphone, pretending that he had discovered the clue.

"Okay, Rachel, you have helped me a lot." Ronald put the receiver away again, and thanked Ward.

"You're welcome, the TV series 'Mission Impossible' has given many of our actors regular jobs, and I have to thank you for it."

"How is it?" asked James Wells, coming up.

"She said that there were some rumors about his financial situation in Australia, and some media covered them. She would fax all copies to New York..."

"Brilliant, Mary, Mary, to have all the financial and entertainment reporters at the meeting."

"Ha Yi, Ronald-san, what are your orders?" The head of Sony's New York office received a call from Ronald, and immediately assumed an attitude of dealing with his superiors.Norio Ohga explained that he should treat Ronald's request as he would his own.

"Let your Australian office fax the reports related to Skass to the newspaper office, the phone number is..."

Asked what newspaper users thought of the Aussie tycoon, Ronald said the man was a classic short-seller tycoon.They couldn't send journalists to Australia to cover the situation because they had no money.Ronald decided to contact his relatives in Australia and fax the media reports there to the Daily News newspaper.There was also a report about creditors suing him.

"Squeak..." Soon, the report of the Sydney Morning Herald was slowly printed out from the fax machine of the Daily News...

Tear off, James Wells ripped out the first page, a lurid headline:
"Is Scars, who owns five resorts, the Seven Network, and the Brisbane Bears Football Club, a master of financial operations, or a con man?"

(End of this chapter)