Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1325 Paramount's New President
"Ronald, you've always been good to me, and I got the most coveted job in Daydream. But this is an invitation from Paramount, and I don't want to do anything behind the scenes, so I have to be honest and say that I want to give it a try. I hope you can understand."

Michelle Cannold, the distribution director who had been working for Ronald since "Dirty Dancing", found Ronald that day and confessed that he had been contacted by a headhunter and would be invited to interview for the new president position of Paramount Pictures.

As a typical white man who had never been immersed in the office politics of a big studio and had been developing in daydreams since his debut in videotape distribution, he was quite frank with Ronald.

Michel Cannold said that he was very satisfied with the platform that Daydream gave him, but the big studios were an irresistible temptation for everyone working in Hollywood.

"Oh, Michelle, the big studios may not be suitable for you. In Daydream, as long as you do your job well, there will be no problem. But it's not like that in the big studios. There is no boss watching over you. It all depends on how the senior managers below plan for themselves..."

Ronald was also surprised by this sudden poaching. This time it was Martin Davis, the president of Paramount's parent company Gulf & Western (who has the same name as the original owner of 20th Century Fox), who suddenly intervened in Paramount's personnel matters.

Ever since Michael Eisner was forced out of Paramount and failed to take over smoothly, Paramount has been in a situation of competition among many people. Every vice president-level person thinks he can take the position and copy Eisner's path.

But no one has both Eisner's skills and his ability to identify and appoint the right people. Paramount has been going from bad to worse in recent years, and the production of good works has fallen far short of the years when Eisner was in charge.

To make matters worse, when Michael Eisner was at Paramount, he had many visionary and capable independent producers under him, who contributed more than half of the box office and award-winning films.

For example, the two producers of "Top Gun" directed by Ronald, Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer, were also driven away by these infighting people.

Their previous project with Tom Cruise, "Days of Thunder", was eliminated due to internal strife because of its mediocre box office performance and failure to recoup costs in the domestic market. It could only wait for a slow return on investment from overseas box office and video revenue.

The two were not the type to sit still and wait for death, so they immediately went to Disney to find their old partner, Eisner. Eisner was also decisive and immediately signed a distribution contract for three films with them, which immediately made the internal strife of Paramount an open secret.

As a result, the stock price of Paramount Pictures' parent company, Gulf & Western, fell from its peak of nearly $50 to below $40. Disney, on the other hand, rose from $25 per share to $32 per share thanks to the huge sales of "Beauty and the Beast".

Gulf & Western, which had changed its name to Paramount Communications in the stock market, was rejected by fund traders and analysts on Wall Street. President Martin Davis could not stand it and had to appoint a capable person like Eisner to revive the company. He completely ignored the fact that he was afraid of Eisner when he first came and drove him away.

"I know, I just want to give it a try..." Michelle Cannold took out a letter of resignation and handed it to Ronald.

"You don't have to resign yet. I'll still keep this position for you. Just give it a try. If you fail, you will still be the distribution director of Daydream." Ronald didn't even read the resignation letter. He just turned it over and slammed it on the table, then said the above words.

Michelle Cannold left gratefully, not expecting the young boss to understand him so well. Ronald closed the door and went to Richard to scold him.

"It's really too much that they poached people from my company. Daydream is just a medium-sized film studio at best..."

"It's really hard to refuse. Here he is facing Lundgren and Jean-Claude Van Damme. At Paramount, he can decide whether to give the green light to a project, and that will be a star like Tom Cruise." Richard is very clear about this. Many Hollywood producers have such a dream of giving advice to stars.

"Whatever. I don't think Michelle has such talent. It may not be a good thing for him to sit in the position of Paramount. Unfortunately, I used to be very optimistic about him and regarded him as a candidate for the president of Daydream in the future..."

Ronald shook his head. He already had some arrangements in cinemas, production, overseas distribution, videotapes, television stations, etc. If God gave him a chance to integrate these resources, it might not be a mini Paramount Communications Company.

"I don't think it will succeed. The most likely candidate for the position at Paramount this time is..." Richard whispered the man's name in Ronald's ear.

"This is Tom and Paula's chance. I won't comment on this matter. It depends on who of them can get the position..." Ronald nodded. Cruise/Wagner Pictures was lucky. A major studio happened to be changing its president. This was a rare opportunity.

However, it is hard to say whether agents like Paula Wagner knew some inside information in advance and were so determined to establish a production company with stars as the core. If so, Michelle Cannold's prospects are worrying.

His own Daydream Pictures was not big enough to attract talented people. If Michelle Cannold had done something like this in a big studio, he would definitely have been kicked out. He had to give him a chance, but Ed Bastian, who was in charge of newspapers and TV stations in New York, would have the first chance for future business and promotion.

Richard, who was leaving, was also amazed. Was his client's tolerance for a subordinate so sincere or just a gesture? No matter which one it was, it was not something a simple businessman could do.

In any case, this nostalgic behavior shows that Ronald is not a cold-blooded person. In business calculations, he will also take some old relationships into consideration, which is a good thing for his status.

……

Sure enough, after the interview, Michel Cannold only received a notice to wait for news. Feeling cheated, he could only return with his head down and ask Ronald for forgiveness.

However, Ronald didn't seem to mind this matter too much and even comforted him.

"Ah, don't lose heart, Michelle, at least you still have a daydream distribution system running for you..."

"I don't know what's wrong with me. The headhunters blinded my mind. Alas, I shouldn't have made such a choice." Michelle Cannold said with a little frustration.

"Don't think like that. I understand that people want to realize their ambitions. This is what everyone who makes their way into Hollywood wants. And you have been very honest with me... I have no reason to blame you..." Ronald emphasized the word honesty.

Michelle Cannold's heart skipped a beat, but luckily he didn't go to the interview without telling Ronald because he didn't listen to the evil headhunter. Hollywood is not a place where secrets can be kept for long...

"What questions did Paramount ask you? What kind of person are they looking for?" Ronald asked another question casually.

"This is..." Michelle was about to say that the questions in the interview were confidential, but his heart suddenly jumped again. Ronald's words of honesty were still ringing in his ears. He quickly organized his words, "I think they want to find someone who can bring them box office. I lost points on this question..."

Michelle Cannold honestly told Ronald all the interview questions and his answers. As expected, Paramount needed a president who could boost the stock price.

Therefore, it is not just a question of how to make money, but also how to satisfy the analysts and fund buyers on Wall Street. Although they do not understand Hollywood, they can influence the company's stock price. The same financial report can cause the stock price to fluctuate greatly depending on whether it is promoted or not.

However, this is the only evaluation criterion for the boards of directors and CEOs of those companies.

Michel Cannold, who was the distribution director of a private company like Daydream, had no similar experience. His answer was to control the scale of investment, produce and distribute a large number of small- and medium-cost productions, and cooperate with other small production companies. Each film did not seek to be a big success, but only to make a small profit and recover the cost in the local market.

Simply put, it means accumulating small victories into big ones, ensuring that you do not lose money. The goddess of luck will always favor one or two productions out of ten, thus achieving good box office results.

This kind of thinking is quite consistent with the thinking of non-listed companies like Daydream. If they have their own distribution channels, this approach will undoubtedly achieve good results.

But in the eyes of Paramount's boss Martin Davis, this answer is simply incomprehensible. If you don't make big productions and gather big stars, how can you let people know what you are doing on Wall Street? Those fund managers have to face dozens or even hundreds of recommendations from listed companies every day. If there is no movement, how can they buy Paramount's stock?

Michelle Cannold, who knew nothing about maintaining investor relations and only knew how to make movies, was undoubtedly not a good candidate, so he was eliminated in the first round.

……

"What did you say during the interview?"

On the other hand, CAA agent Kevin Hooven was also communicating with another potential candidate for president. He did not expect that this outdated female star, producer Shirley Lansing who worked behind Stanley Jaffe, would have a great chance to become Paramount's new president and CEO.

Ever since being fired by the oil boss of 20th Century Fox (also named Martin Davis), Shirley Lansing has been working in the independent production business with Stanley Jaffe.

Their co-produced film "Fatal Attraction" successfully expanded the influence of the male lead Michael Douglas and the female lead Glenn Close. However, at the Oscars, Glenn Close was defeated by Ronald's Cher and won the Best Actress award. She also lost to "The Last Emperor" who swept the Oscars that year, and won nothing out of the five nominations.

However, she also became a well-known female producer in Hollywood, and many niche film projects came to her, such as "Black Rain" co-produced with Japan, Michael Douglas and Ken Takakura, which tells the story of the atomic bomb generation's resistance to American cultural invasion, and "The Untold Story", which won Jodie Foster her first Best Actress award.

In fact, these film projects could not find distributors in mainstream Hollywood, but under the operation of her partner, Stanley Jaffe, they achieved double success in box office and awards.

What followed was a series of dazzling operations. Stanley Jaffe and Shirley Lansing broke up, and he went to Paramount to replace Brandon Tartikoff, who left NBC because of his daughter's car accident, and became the president of Gulf and Western, the parent company of Paramount Pictures.

When it came to the major changes at Paramount Pictures this year, they were inseparable from his advice to Chairman Martin Davis.

In this way, the benefits were kept by the outsiders, and his partner at the time, Shirley Lansing, naturally became a strong contender for the CEO of Paramount Pictures.

"I followed the plan you gave me. I hired celebrities and big-name directors to reduce the risk of each project. I did not pursue market share and profit margins, but instead pursued the maximum box office revenue for each movie. This way, even if the market share and profit margins were reduced, I could still get a relatively high profit figure and have a very good influence."

"Very good. This is the result of my discussion with several famous celebrity agents. After comprehensive analysis, this is the answer that is most beneficial to the stock price of listed companies. Then how can you get these good projects?"

"Hey, what can I say? Grab those popular stars, especially male stars who are capable of acting in different types of films. You know, Stanley (Jaffe) was responsible for selecting the scripts."

"No, no, no, you are the best producer and the one who plays a leading role in the Stanley-Shirley combination. Your answer is very good. I got some news that you have entered the second round."

"Well, you should find some directors for face-to-face talks with me as soon as possible. In the second round, they will definitely ask me how I choose good scripts and directors." Shirley Lansing thought to herself, you don't even need to tell me this, Stanley has already called me.

"I have found the director who is most suitable to answer this question to talk to you. You will definitely get this position..." Agent Kevin Hu Wen smiled.

"Oh, who is it?"

"Ronald Lee may be one of the directors with the highest return on investment in Hollywood..."

"Oh, it's him..." Shirley Lansing felt a little uncomfortable. The director circle is mostly composed of middle-aged and elderly people. Such a young director, with her charming appearance, is not very attractive. Moreover, she had rejected Ronald when she was at 20th Century Fox in her early years.

"Don't worry, Ronald also has something to ask of you. He will tell you the secret of how Hollywood selects successful scripts..."

　I didn’t adjust my sleeping time today, so I will try to write in the morning tomorrow and try to make up for the shortfall.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)