Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"That's it? Nothing else?"

"No more, you know I don't have many clothes..."

Helen Slater had just moved into a Fifth Avenue apartment and was about to move out again after the Central Park jogger suspect was targeted in a nearby public housing estate.

In order to allow Helen to live safely, Ronald temporarily contacted a real estate agent and bought her a penthouse apartment on the Upper East Side. Because of her father's and her own status as an actor, the property management committee immediately approved her move-in.

Helen is barely a successful actress, but her character is still like a child from a divorced family, without any hint of Hollywood vanity fair style. All she owned were two large boxes.

Rather than giving away a house, Helen was happier with Ronald personally helping her move. This was the ideal relationship in her dream.

"Are you Ronald Lee?" A gentleman who looked like a mixture of Middle Eastern and black race, with a short stature, curly hair, and wearing a vertical striped handmade suit stopped to ask Ronald at the entrance of the lobby.

Bodyguard Dan and the two bodyguards next to this Middle Eastern man glanced at each other and immediately recognized each other's identity, nodded and retreated to the side.

"It's me, who are you? Wait, let me guess, you are His Highness the Prince of Saudi Arabia..." Ronald remembered what the real estate agent said to him.

"Haha, I didn't expect to see you here. I heard little George talk a lot about your abilities, and the commander-in-chief was also full of praise for you..."

Prince Bandar also serves as the Saudi ambassador, but he often returns to New York. This and Washington, D.C., are the two places where he spends the most energy.

"I didn't know you...we all have a mutual friend, Little George." Ronald shook hands with him. Bandar received an elite education in the West and often looks more like a New Yorker than a New Yorker.

Ronald looked at the way he said he was familiar with old George's family, and it seemed that they had an extraordinary relationship. Bandal was a diplomat after all, and Ronald felt like he was having a blast chatting with him. The two of them also agreed to go hunting wild ducks with little George when they were free.

"Are you moving now?" Bandar saw the two boxes next to Ronald and glanced at Helen again.

"It's my friend. Those five thugs live too close to each other..." Ronald gestured to Helen, a single woman, to stay away from danger.

"Mr. Developer also told me that you didn't move, and you advised me not to move. It's very safe here..." Bandar continued to ask, as if he wanted to make friends with Ronald.

"I feel that the developer is telling the truth, but although the risk is very small, why should we take the risk?" Ronald thought to the residents who live here, any risk is unnecessary.

"You're right. Why don't we find a place to chat. I'm also very interested in Hollywood movies, especially Top Gun, which you directed. You know that I was a fighter pilot in the Saudi Air Force when I was young."

Without waiting for Ronald to say anything, Bandar enthusiastically asked his housekeeper to help Ronald move his luggage, and asked his secretary to hand over a gold-plated business card.

Ronald saw Helen's eyes wide open and wanted to meet the Saudi prince. Just agreed.

"Go and move my luggage out, and we'll stay at the Peninsula Hotel." Bandar turned to the butler and gave the order. He continued to smile and chat with Ronald as he walked out.

"Oh, you are really admirable." Helen couldn't help but exclaimed after hearing Bandar's personal experience.

This Prince Bandar is actually the illegitimate son of the real prince and an Ethiopian maid. But he was very motivated and went to military school to become a pilot. He also served as an informal envoy to persuade the then commander-in-chief to agree to sell the most advanced F15 fighter jets to Saudi Arabia.

As a diplomatic talent in the Saudi royal family, he has also been to China and seems to have made a big deal there. But when asked about the details, he was reluctant to tell.

Helen treated this as a legendary story, and Ronald somewhat understood Bandar's intention of befriending him. This guy must have been frustrated by something in Washington, D.C., and now wants to reestablish personal relations with the commander-in-chief.

Ronald knew how to deal with this kind of thing, so he called little Douglas. After several rounds of blending, little Doug even called little George. It just so happened that the commander-in-chief's family was also interested in rekindling this personal relationship that had been open when George Sr. was the deputy commander-in-chief.

Ronald just acted as a sounding board and contacted them to meet in New York.

"If you have any projects in Hollywood, is it possible for me to invest? I love Hollywood movies very much. As long as I see good movies on the screen, I don't care about the return on investment. This is the common spiritual wealth of mankind. , I will be satisfied as long as I see a good movie..."

After finalizing the meeting with George, Bandar took the initiative to invest in Ronald's film project without any return. Of course, Ronald will not let him suffer too much, and will still give him the usual returns enjoyed by foreign investors.

"Ambassador Bandar is really a friendly person who loves movies..." Helen was very happy when she heard that her lover had such international reputation and that the prince from the Middle East actually wanted to fund Ronald's film project without asking for anything in return.

"Maybe..." Of course, Ronald knew that this was his reward for pulling the strings. Besides, Saudi Arabia does not allow cinemas to appear, so he loves movies.

After sending Helen back to the newly purchased penthouse, Ronald looked for the nearest newspaper and finally discovered the reason for the matter in the Washington Post.

In 1986, Bandar asked the American military to buy ballistic missiles to counterbalance the growing power of Israel in the Middle East. After being rejected, Bandar went to the other side of the Pacific Ocean and bought the big missiles he had always dreamed of.

When the American military and CIA learned about this, they were very angry and immediately threatened to reconsider their special relationship with Saudi Arabia.

In order to calm the anger, Bandar acted as a transit point for underground transactions between the CIA, the military and Persia, and gave 30 million US dollars of financial support to the guerrillas in Central America. This is part of the Persiagate scandal that was later exposed.

Originally, this incident made Bandar's relationship with George, who was in charge of the transaction and the boss of the CIA, and Ronald, the then president, more stable because they shared a secret. During the congressional investigation, Bandar also acted as a mouthpiece for First Lady Nancy and cabinet members to exchange some information that they were not convenient to talk about themselves (collusion...).

Seeing that the new president, George Sr., would take Bandar's personal relationship with their family closer, who knew that the Saudi king had a new idea.

Just like a child who has a baseball bat, he always wants to swing it in his hand. Saudi Arabia bought 36 big and thick sticks from the other side of the Pacific Ocean, and it is impossible to keep it secret all the time.

They found a free time and announced the news that they had the sticks. This made the American State Department very annoyed and recalled the ambassador to Saudi Arabia to protest. Now the relationship between the two countries has fallen to the bottom because of this incident. Bandar is very eager to meet the president, and then like last time, pay a large sum of money to end the abnormal cold state between the two countries.

Ronald did not participate in his discussion with George Jr., but just found the superior Japanese restaurant where he had eaten last time, acted as a host, and invited two friends who like to hunt wild ducks to discuss the next hunting itinerary together.

Seeing that they were chatting very happily, Ronald felt that he had done a good job in this line.

"Ronald, if you have some spare money, you can consider investing in the dock facilities on the east and west coasts. Recently, many docks and shipyards in America are good trading targets..."

"Oh? I thought these docks and shipyards were all acquisition targets of Wall Street capital. I heard that if they were split up and sold separately, they would be higher than their original market value..." Ronald remembered the story in the script of "3000" that he had read, which must have been written with reference to a lot of reality.

"Shipyards always have to build large warships, and docks have to park aircraft carriers... right?" Little George seemed to be revealing something.

"Oh, this is really beyond my knowledge... My investment is limited to the entertainment industry and the products I use myself..."

"Hahaha, you are also a very interesting investor" Bandar laughed out loud. This is a little inside information given for Ronald's help, but this Hollywood director seems to not understand it.

Saudi Arabia has a lot of money, and America's shipping and shipbuilding industries, especially warships, are the basic plate of the president.

Bandar came to apologize, and finally the conditions offered by George Sr. were to let them invest in the manufacturing and shipping industries that had been gradually depressed in the past decade, open up Middle Eastern capital to acquire docks on the east and west coasts, and invest in the shipbuilding industry. The President would also lead Congress to increase funding for the navy.

Bandar agreed to the conditions offered by the George family, and of course he got a reward. Soon, George Sr. would shake hands and chat with him publicly at a reception in Washington.

Showing these things to Ronald was giving him a chance to make a fortune. As a result, Ronald seemed to not understand it at all. It seemed that he was just an artist.

Ronald pretended not to understand. This kind of opportunity might be cheated by someone in the capital market if he was not careful. There was no need to make this money.

However, Bandar was so rich, and it would be a good idea to let him invest more in his own projects in the future.

"Now that foreign capital is investing in our country's assets, I wonder what your attitude is, George?" Ronald turned to George Sr. and asked.

"Hey, your friend Doug said it well. Land is an asset that cannot be moved away. It is also a blessing from God to us Americans..."

Ronald smiled knowingly. This was meant for Bandar. You invest in our port and get a reasonable return, but if you dare to have second thoughts, these assets will not grow legs and run away by themselves. At that time, it will be a matter of a court ruling.

Now it was Bandar's turn to look unhappy. The wealth he took out was all owned by the royal family and handed over to him for clean investment through the International Credit and Commercial Bank. He also wanted to invest his own private money to boost his wealth growth... Now it seems better to invest in some safer assets.

"I wonder if Ronald knows any good investments in America. We Saudis like tangible assets..."

"It seems that he doesn't like to invest in movie projects..." Ronald understood what Bandar meant. He thought about it, "In fact, investing in movie theaters is a good business now..." Anyway, he only knows more about the entertainment industry. If you don't invest in movies, you can invest in movie theaters...

Ronald immediately explained that a large number of old movie theaters in America are facing elimination. Newly built multi-hall theaters in shopping malls or converted from old movie theaters will be good investment directions in the next 20 years.

"Is this business really possible?" Now even little George was interested.

"Of course..." Bandar quickly wiped his mouth with a white handkerchief, "I listened to Director Ronald's incisive analysis and thought this was a good business, but I don't know much about the American film industry. , I urgently need someone familiar with the American film industry to help me..."

Having said this, Bandar stared at Ronald with bright eyes, raised the huge ring, adjusted its direction, and used reflections to indicate it.

"I can only be your partner. The person you are looking for is someone who is familiar with the people's thoughts in America and has a broad vision. I think George is very suitable. Of course, if you are interested in helping Bandar, Your Highness..." Ronald waved his hand to indicate that he understood and stop using the ring's reflection to shine on him.

"Hahaha, we are good friends, Bandar...you are like a cousin to our family, and you, Ronald...hahaha" Little George was so happy that he couldn't close his mouth.

…

Some people are happy, and some people are worried. Bandar moved his belongings out of his Fifth Avenue apartment with great fanfare, causing a stir among the residents and more people wanting to move. Moreover, as the Saudi ambassador, Bandar's move has also attracted the attention of the media. If the news is successful, the residents of this apartment building may make a big escape. In this way, the rent of the building will also fall in a chain.

Of course, the developer was not willing to sit still. On the one hand, in order to emphasize the safety of the building, and on the other hand, in order to bribe the four major media in New York, he asked them to suppress the report of Bandar's move. He paid a lot of money and gave it full pages in four newspapers. advertisment.

"Bring the death penalty back to New York, bring the NYPD back to New York!"

The huge advertising title catches the eye, and the content is even more exciting.

"Mayor Koch said hatred and resentment should be removed from our hearts. I don't think so. I want to hate these robbers and murderers. They should be forced to suffer... Yes, Mayor Koch, I want to hate these." Murderers, and I always will... How can our great society tolerate the continued brutality of insane misfits against its citizens? Criminals must be told that when our security is attacked, their civil liberties end!"

This was an expression of dissatisfaction with the mayor of New York by name, triggering a counterattack from a large number of outstanding black people. Donkey Party candidate Dinkins even said that this advertisement "proves that everything is possible in America" ​​and "even fools can become millionaires."

"Actually, it's a billionaire..." Ronald looked at the newspaper and corrected Dinkins' slip of the tongue. "Working Girl" After the vicious case in Central Park happened, Ronald announced that he would donate part of the box office profits as recovery funds for the victims, and was greatly welcomed by New York professional women.

They went back and contributed a lot of movie tickets, making the weekend box office exceed 2.5 million again. The total box office has exceeded 80 million US dollars.

The video tape is also ready to be released, and Carly Simon's record company has also agreed to give up the copyright of the film insert, and Ronald's film soundtrack album will be released together.

Ronald and Little Doug established a new joint venture to attract funds from all over the world while looking for new cinema investment opportunities. Doug finally found an industry that he liked very much. Their family was originally engaged in land management, and investments such as movie theaters happened to be his strength.

Ronald brought back the investment intentions of Bandar and Bannon. He flew back to Hollywood, where there were still several projects waiting for his check.