Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"George, long time no see. Do you still go to church every weekend?"

Ronald, who was continuing to prepare for his new film in New York, was suddenly interrupted by a phone call from Douglas Jr. He said that the commander's son, George Jr., had something to do and wanted to interview him. Because of the sensitive status of the commander's son, we made an appointment at church on the weekend.

This Quaker church donated by Aunt Karen has a certain number of believers. Everyone comes to pray every weekend and talk about things in the community. Ronald is very respected here, and no one knows who he meets. was leaked out.

"Yes, I have been inspired by God since I went to church with you. Now I go to church with Laura every weekend. I have not drank alcohol for a long time. God has favored me... Do you also go every week now?"

George's family was Episcopalian, but after he married Laura, they converted to the Methodist Church. His religious piety was not limited to his sect. After getting married, he would also go to his parents' church to participate in activities. It was also unusual for him to come to Ronald's Quaker church. Everyone was quiet and peaceful, which made him feel good.

"Ashamed, I'm too busy at work, but after I have little Roger, I will spend time with Diane." Ronald scratched his head. In fact, America has a large number of religious people. Will he do the same in the future? How many more times do you want to come?

"Okay, family is very important..." Little George is now interested in politics. Family was indeed very important to the image of politicians among voters.

The two walked to the lawn behind the church and chatted about private matters.

"I heard that your company made a film

"It's actually a Western, about a Northern Army lieutenant in the Civil War, but compared to traditional Westerns, the Indian

"Very well, my father will pass the seal in Parliament

"Oh, really? It's really great to be able to help the commander-in-chief." Ronald did not expect that little George would bring good news. Old George's nickname is Mr. 80%. He will speak out on TV only if 80% of the people agree with it. He usually cherishes his feathers very much.

George Jr. explained that although most congressmen tended to support this bill, they were still divided into two groups. Members of the Donkey Party advocated complete passage, while members of the Elephant Party opposed the Indian

If the original draft is followed, then only those Indians identified by the government will

Some members of the Elephant Party prefer not to have strict certification seals

"When do you expect Congress to pass this law?" Ronald hoped to get some inside information. 80% of Mr. Gentlemen who like to be in the limelight must have judgment on this kind of thing.

"About mid-November..." Little George said with a smile. This was a gift he gave to Ronald.

"Thank you...God bless..." Ronald crossed himself happily, which matched well with the large-scale release schedule of "Dances with Wolves"...

"But, I'm here for another thing..." Little George has learned very well from his father's way of doing things in the past few years. The political world and the business world are like a revolving door. People inside turn out information, and people outside What is transferred in is the green banknotes.

"Please tell me..." Ronald glanced at bodyguard Dan. He nodded to show understanding, and stood some distance away from the former colleague who protected Little George in the SWAT team to separate outsiders.

"The trick we played last time when Sony acquired Colombia, now we have the opportunity to do it again..."

Little George lowered his voice and stated his original intention of coming this time. Last time he was involved in Sony's acquisition of Colombia and the lobbying activities of the Committee on Foreign Investment (CFI), he acted as a bridge between the Japanese and the two houses of parliament. He not only earned benefits, but also established connections with many powerful people in politics.

Moreover, these connections were not assigned by his mother Barbara, but were exclusive to him, George W... There was no need to please his mother, or compete with his annoying brother Jeb, he had earned it himself resources, these contacts only recognized him...a young political figure who brought them the goodwill of a Japanese entrepreneur who brought them wealth.

Since then, he has successfully connected many political forces with business forces. Unlike his father, who relied on Middle Easterners, he saw the huge wealth that East Asians can bring with their discipline and industrial capabilities. Perhaps future politicians can gather this power to ensure a more solid political career in the future. The cornerstone, even the position of great commander...

"This...but I have already promised Da He Sang not to participate in this matter..." Ronald said to himself that such a transaction was indeed profitable. Little George relied on this big lobbying case to achieve financial freedom in one fell swoop. It's like stepping into the political world.

But it’s one thing what you think, I don’t have many opportunities here...

"I heard that Michael Ovitz, the president of CAA, is handling this matter..." Ronald was halfway through his sentence. He understood that George had come to see him specially, and he probably had made some progress on this matter. .

I am definitely not as familiar with Ovitz’s connections in Hollywood and the true thoughts of Universal’s internal shareholders. But what makes him better than him is his political connection with the White House. George must have grasped something important.

Sure enough, little George said to him in a lower voice, "This time I have caught the MITI's sore feet and will definitely make them succumb. As for Sony from the Ministry of Finance, they will understand..."

This is different from Sony, which grew up after the war and is based on the international market and has good relations with the Ministry of Finance. Panasonic is actually a long-established company that became a powerful enterprise before the war. They have a close relationship with the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which advocates the establishment of industrialization, provides industrial guidance to the Japanese market, and favors the closed Japanese market as the basis of the enterprise.

In fact, the two groups of companies have completely different strategies. One group hopes for free trade and open markets to find its core competitiveness in international competition. The other group relies on industrial guidance to form a domestic monopoly, and then builds its own core competitiveness on this basis, and then goes out to increase market competition in America.

A large part of the reason why Panasonic, a member of the International Trade and Industry faction, wanted to acquire CA was because Sony's acquisition caused a lot of discussion in Japan. The Ministry of International Trade and Industry was afraid that the Ministry of Finance would steal all the limelight.

The Committee on Foreign Investment (CFI) has raised more doubts about Panasonic's acquisition this time. The reason is that CA has two major companies, Universal Pictures and Universal Music. This is different from Sony's two acquisitions of Columbia Records and Columbia Pictures. All antitrust concentration ratios must be calculated based on one company.

Independent film companies and record companies are actually not very concentrated in America, and acquiring one is not too conspicuous. But CA controls two companies, so there are many ways to calculate the market capacity. If the degree of monopoly is calculated strictly according to the positioning of the media group, then...

As soon as Ronald heard this, even though he had promised Norixiong Oga, he couldn't help but feel itchy in his heart. This business is really good...

Like Columbia Pictures, Universal also owns many local television stations and radio stations, as well as a large non-film recording business, many of which are not allowed to be held by foreign capital under American legislation.

If you can eat a piece while Panasonic is cutting the meat...it will be very fat. In addition to this asset package, a large amount of "consulting fees" are also indispensable for mergers and acquisitions to solve the difficulties faced by legislators and committees.

He can transfer some to Little George through investment funds, and Little George can also use this to win over a group of powerful political figures to pave the way for his own political career. And he can also buy stocks...

Here, TV stations are very difficult to acquire. If I hadn’t encountered such an opportunity, even if I had to pay double the valuation to buy it, no one else would want to buy it.

"I have to ask Sony's Dahe Sang for permission first. George, I hope you can understand. The way these Japanese people do business is different from ours." Ronald thought for a long time and finally said this.

Dahe's connection with his own interests is not known to the public, and it was slowly established after a long period of getting along and helping each other with many things. Japanese people don't like a partner who betrays them the most. Although Ronald finds the assets he talks about very tempting, at the cost of losing Dahe's trust, it may not be a cost-effective deal.

"Don't worry, today is different from the past. He will agree. My father is having in-depth exchanges with their prime minister. Even if he is unwilling, in the context of such a major event, a little personal thought and a company's Profits are nothing.”

Little George refused to go into more detail, but just hinted that as long as they communicated with Sony, they would not have any obstacles.

"Ah? Really? What big thing could be bigger than a six billion dollar merger?"

"Hey, you should watch more international news, Ronald, especially the ones from West Germany...and the Middle East..." Little George left a sentence with a smile, and waved over there, joining his wife Laura It was included in the discussion about parenting lessons shared with Diane.

…

"West German news? Middle East news?" Ronald used the remote control to switch back and forth between various channels. Only cuu played news 24 hours a day, so he quickly found German-related content.

“East and West Germany signed a state treaty, which stipulated that the five states restored by East Germany shall abide by the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany.

It turned out that one year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the two Germanys began to restart the merger process, despite the opposition of America and Europe. Previously, the two countries signed a treaty on the free convertibility of East and West German marks, and the West German government gave the East German people an exchange rate that was far superior to the previous actual exchange rate. Vast amounts of East German wealth was preserved.

As for this national treaty, East Germany suffered a loss. Instead of merging with West Germany to form a new country, they dispersed and joined West Germany as new states as each state. In effect, West Germany annexed East Germany. East German bureaucrats and civil servants were not as lucky as their people.

"What does this have to do with Japan?" Ronald was puzzled. Politics is too complicated...

There is no special news in the Middle East, except that General George Sr. gave a speech on the federal fiscal deficit at a joint meeting of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and once again stated that Iraq must withdraw from Kuwait... and then China and Britain also announced that they would send troops to Saudi Arabia. …

It is said that the stunt coordinator of "Firebird" has been deployed to the Middle East with his helicopter. He has done nothing but defend Saudi Arabia at the airport there. The current war is not in Riyadh, but in Kuwait City. Such good helicopters and pilots are really wasted. It would be great if I could still work on my own movies.

"Mr. Li...your phone number..." The maid came over to inform Ronald that the transoceanic call was coming.

It was already very late, and Ronald was still waiting for Dahe's call. He was working in the Japanese office and had to wait for him to get up.

"Ronald-san..." Ohga's voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Ohga-san, I have an unwelcome request. If you don't agree, I won't complain..." Ronald hinted to Ohga about the setback in Panasonic's acquisition of CA and the fact that he was asked by the son of the president to facilitate this lobbying work.

"Hey..." Ohga Norio sighed on the other end of the phone, "I didn't expect Ronald-san to call me..."

"I..." Ronald blushed. Although the situation was different, he still broke his promise.

"I didn't expect a gentleman like Ronald-san..."

"Ahem..." Ronald cleared his throat. He was still too thin-skinned and couldn't learn the Jewish moral concept of not making money.

"I didn't expect that at this time, he would still think of taking into account the feelings of me, a small entrepreneur. I am really touched. Ronald-san is really the best friend I have made in America."

"Ah... this..." Ronald opened his mouth wide. No, Ohga Norio didn't seem to be speaking in a sarcastic way? How did I become a good person?

"The MITI people finally bowed their heads... In exchange for our Japanese companies not being deliberately harassed when acquiring assets in the United States and other markets in the free world, this is the price we have to pay.

As Japanese, let's forget about our little face. After all, Panasonic is also a Japanese company, so we'll help if we can..."

Ronald was even more confused. What is the price to pay? Politics is really profound, and Japanese politics is even more profound.

"If you need some knowledge about Panasonic, I can ask my assistant in the New York office to go over and do some auxiliary work for you. Please, Ronald-san."

Ronald hung up the phone in a daze, but he was clear about one thing. Ohga actually didn't buy into Panasonic's acquisition of CA, and specially sent his confidant to completely expose Panasonic's bottom card.

"George, I've bought a fishing rod and the bait is ready. When you are free, we can go fishing..." With the help of an assistant who was familiar with Japanese corporate culture and Panasonic's business conditions, Ronald quickly sorted out a plan.

"Very good, we will go fishing this weekend, and this time we must bring a long enough fishing line..."