Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Mr. Li, welcome..."

The captain of the business jet lost his usual reserve and went to the lounge to greet Ronald in person.

After Monday, the top management of the Wall Street investment circle was very busy. They may hope to recover their losses in America in foreign financial markets. For example, the boss of Quantum Fund, Solo, an Eastern European Jew, has gone to Tokyo to supervise the war and placed large-scale short orders.

Others are speeding up their coordination with the Federal Reserve and federal government officials, hoping that the federal government can break the government's night watchman rules and personally buy bonds and stocks to inject more liquidity into Wall Street and stabilize the situation amid the run. situation.

But the number of these people is very small. More investors are trapped on Wall Street, staring closely at the market, hoping to recover some losses from the rapidly changing market. Then, after the closing, you have to deal with investors who want to withdraw and beg them hard.

Coupled with worries about the future situation, the business of business jets has shrunk rapidly. At this time, the business jet leasing company that was able to grab Ronald's business and set off from Los Angeles to New York was lucky, and the captain also made a breakthrough. As a rule, come with the flight attendants to personally greet VIPs who are still able to travel at this time.

"Hello, I remember you were the one who flew the plane last time I went to New York?" Ronald looked at the captain and looked familiar.

"It's us. I'm glad you can choose our company's aircraft." Coming with the captain was a beautiful stewardess. Her collar was intentionally left unbuttoned, and the hem of her skirt seemed to have been modified by someone, making her look casual. charming.

Ronald nodded to them. The plane would take off on time this time because there were very few passengers on commercial flights, leaving the already busy airport a little empty.

"Ronald! Director Li! Let me in! I know him...let me go."

A real estate agent in formal attire, with meticulous hair and a hard-working look on his face, was fighting with the security guard at the entrance to the business jet lounge. He yelled into the room at the top of his lungs, causing other passengers inside to turn around.

"I know you, I know you." Ronald hurriedly let him in. Wasn't this the famous real estate agent near Beverly Hills whom Richard helped find last week? "Didn't I say, wait until I get back?" , now that the financial market is in turmoil, I don’t want to buy a house at this time.”

"Hey," the agent straightened out his wrinkled clothes and said to Ronald flatteringly, "The latest news, Mr. Lee. Stallone's house is for sale. Do you want it? His wife officially proposed In the case of divorce, the two of you can give a big discount in order to divide the assets. I was the first to get the news and I will come to you immediately. "

"If he wants a divorce, I'll wait patiently. Can the price be lowered?" Ronald knew that the house was located near the Golden Triangle Business District on the tramway near Beverly Hills. It was in a very good location, and there were all kinds of things nearby. Boutique buyers' stores are slightly less private.

"Of course, if you can't sell it, it will go down. But if you really want to get this house, I think it's better to start early. After all, real estate here is very scarce, and there are many Japanese people looking to buy it."

The agent smiled flatteringly, he didn't believe in price reductions, be patient... Ronald Lee and Stallone had a grudge, so being able to buy his house to humiliate each other was a very rare opportunity.

"I don't have to get this house. The privacy there is not good. You should continue to help me choose from the properties north of the tramway near Beverly Hills." Ronald adjusted his collar for him Then he and Richard turned around and walked towards the departure gate.

"Okay! Mr. Li, I'll keep an eye on it for you. If the price changes when you come back, I'll be the first to notify you."

"I have not disclosed it to anyone..." Richard saw something was wrong and immediately swore to Ronald to clarify.

"It's okay. There are many people in CAA and Hollywood who know about this. After I come back, you have to be tight-lipped if you help me find another agent." Ronald waved his hand to indicate that it was none of Richard's business. Even if I wanted to buy Stallone's house to retaliate in person, I wouldn't buy it directly. I would definitely have to find an anonymous fake buyer, and then show up when the money is clear. Otherwise, if the other party takes the opportunity to raise the price, wouldn't it actually help the Italian stallion?

But do you really want to play like this? It's rare to see Stallone's crooked mouth when he's angry... No, his mouth is crooked to begin with.

…

Ronald, who was thinking wildly, fell asleep on the plane.

"Let the river flow!

Let all dreamers wake up this country!

Come, New Jerusalem! "

On the plane, it seemed that because he was closer to God, Ronald dreamed again of the scene overlooking New York City from a high altitude like the last time he flew to New York.

The female voice singing is very high-pitched and bright, the melody of the song has a hint of church choir piety, and the lyrics seem to be praising this new city favored by God, the holy city of capitalism, the new Jerusalem - New York.

The camera shot an office window from a high altitude. A blonde woman wearing a suit with high shoulder pads was talking on the phone inside. Then the aerial camera slowly zoomed out, and more windows were pulled into the frame. In each frame, there were busy men and women talking on the phone.

Then more windows, more office buildings, and finally a cluster of office buildings beneath the entire city skyline.

Ronald recognized that this block was near Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.

This editing is quite clever, and I didn't recognize the editing point immediately. A continuous long shot from close-up to super long shot was edited seamlessly, as if it was really shot on an airplane.

This shot needs an editing master, such as Walter Murch, to participate in the design before shooting, and then provide on-site guidance during shooting, so that a suitable picture can be shot.

Ronald thought about how to shoot this kind of shot. In his dream, he seemed to fly to the shooting site: "Everyone, take your positions, let's do it again, this time we must strictly follow Walter's instructions, can we do it?" Ronald picked up the megaphone and shouted.

"Ronald? It's easy for you to say, you try aerial photography... your hands are frozen stiff up there" It seems that the photographer is unhappy.

"Don't be like this, let's do it one last time, I only applied for one day of shooting time." Ronald had to soften his words to avoid annoying the photographer.

"Why don't you do it yourself?" The photographer relied on the support of the union and put on airs to Ronald. People who are not union members and have not registered with the photographers' union are not qualified to take the camera at all.

"Damn it, just go on your own!" Ronald pushed the photographer aside and got on the helicopter himself.

"Ronald, don't, it's dangerous... The helicopter used for aerial photography doesn't have a door, get off quickly", a woman's voice seemed to be anxiously stopping Ronald.

"Ronald... Ronald,... Mr. Li"

"Ah...?" Ronald's dream was interrupted by the blonde stewardess, who squatted beside Ronald, bent down and called softly.

"Uh, are we there?" Ronald looked up suddenly and almost bumped into the blonde stewardess who had one button less buttoned. He rubbed his eyes quickly and looked out the window.

There were already thousands of lights outside the window. In the evening, the light of Manhattan, New York, covered the moon in the sky. It really deserves to be the city that never sleeps, the new Jerusalem.

"Huh? Why do many buildings seem to have no lights on today? Even the lights of the World Trade Center are much weaker?"

Ronald didn't know if it was his illusion, but he always felt that the light of New York seemed to be dimming tonight.

…

"Why aren't the lights on in the office here?" Ronald got out of the World Trade Center's super-fast elevator and found that only the corridor on the destination floor had lights. The lights on the offices on both sides, which were always on even when no one was there, were all off.

"As you can see, many companies doing hedging, stock index futures, and portfolio insurance have been liquidated. So the tenants on some floors here have run away and there is no one.

I have complained to the building property and asked them to turn on the lights in the office. Manhattan skyscrapers cannot turn off the lights just because a company went bankrupt..."

"Portfolio insurance, what is that?" Ronald knew about hedging and stock index futures, but didn't know what portfolio insurance was.

"It's an innovative financial contract that automatically stops losses after the stock price falls to a certain level."

The person who came to pick up Ronald this time was his old friend Steve Bannon. Bannon didn't enter the stock market during the stock market crash because of his keen sense of smell (and because a lot of money invested in the film business was not paid back), so he didn't lose anything.

He took Ronald to a large office in the One World Trade Center. This place originally belonged to a company engaged in investment business, which went bankrupt in the stock market crash. Now Bannon has taken over and rented it at a low price. Even the furniture does not need to be changed.

"Mr. Tamura is here," Bannon's secretary came to inform.

"Ronald and I will go to greet him now." Bannon took Ronald and went to the door to meet Mr. Tamura, an industrialist from Mie Prefecture in central Japan who came to New York specially.

"Hello, Steve... Ah, Ronald-san, I like the movies you directed the most. It's really great to meet you this time."

A young Japanese man who looked like he had received an American education and had a different accent from the local Japanese, greeted the two enthusiastically as soon as he got out of the elevator.

"Tamura-san, welcome to New York." Bannon welcomed him into the newly rented office.

After inviting the other party to sit down, Bannon quietly moved the nameplate of the original company manager on the table to one side, "This time, your uncle, what does Minister Tamura think?"

"My uncle said that Japan suffered less losses in this stock market crash, all because of the policy effect of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The consortiums really hope to contribute to stabilizing the financial order of Greater America..."

Tamura's uncle is the Minister of International Trade and Industry in the cabinet who is in charge of the economic order of Japan.

In the civil service team of Japan, there are two schools of thought with different views on economic development.

One school is headed by the Ministry of Finance, and is mainly composed of central government civil servants who have passed the student army of the University of Tokyo. They like the neoliberal policies of the current President of the United States and the ideas of the monetary school. They believe that the economy can be developed as long as entrepreneurs are allowed to develop. The role of the government is to maintain the stability of the financial and fiscal order, and there should be no intervention in the market.

The other school is headed by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, which is a local school outside Tokyo. It is composed of civil servants who are not graduates of the University of Tokyo, who have taken the local civil service qualification examination, and political families who monopolize the qualifications of local members of the House of Representatives in local elections. They believe that the government needs to be deeply involved in all aspects of economic development, propose industrial policies that suit their national conditions, and step forward to provide a safety net for the economy when a crisis comes.

The man in front of me came from a political family in Mie Prefecture in central China. Three generations of his ancestors have been members of the Diet. He did not inherit his political status and become his uncle's political secretary, but instead joined the entertainment industry on his own. It owns a cinema chain in the central region and has produced several domestic films. Recently, with the help of a financial consortium, it has started to get involved in the television business.

Unlike other Japanese chaebols, he is also an internationalist oriented to America and is not limited to Japan's domestic system. This time, Ronald's investment project was also led by two other entertainment industry bosses.

"My uncle is a high-ranking official. They play with their high-level communication. Now that I'm here, I still need to ask two people to help me find opportunities for cooperation between Hollywood and the Japanese film industry." Tamura has no high-level mission this time, but for own business venture.

Behind him are a group of second-generation children from wealthy families. Now Hollywood movies are very popular in Japan. If Hollywood and Japanese stars can co-produce some blockbusters, it will cause a sensation in Japan and even win a win in Hollywood. Award, then those who participate in this kind of project will have more say in the family.

Ronald, Bannon and Tamura had a great chat. The young people wanted to expand their influence in the family. What could be faster than making a movie?

"Didn't their Tokyo stock market fall?" Ronald asked Bannon, why is there still money left to invest in us?

"It also fell, but the magnitude was very small. Even Wall Street did not include Japan in the scope of Black Monday, and gave them a separate name, called Blue Tuesday."

"Blue isn't that bad, is it?" Ronald thought to himself.

"This time the MITI's concept won. The government must not stay out of the financial crisis. Japan has given us a good experience. Now the Federal Reserve is considering comprehensive market support. In order to stabilize the financial market, they must also give up non-intervention. the rules.

This is not only a problem for our country, but also a problem for the entire Western Alliance. The stock markets of all Western countries have been affected. "

Bannon still has some information channels on Wall Street. This time, there is actually very strong resistance to whether the government will directly rescue the market and take over the stock market.

Some people think it is inconsistent with the economic policy philosophy of the current leader, and some people think that doing so will allow those Wall Street tycoons who use leverage regardless of risks to make mistakes without being punished. Others objected simply because they wanted to monopolize the latest bailout news and reap another wave of gains in the stock market.

"Would you like to experience our New York style? I also have tickets for tomorrow's Yves Saint Laurent clothing launch." Bannon took out two tickets and waved them to Tamura who came back from the bathroom, "Senior designer from China Customized clothing, with many beautiful models, let Ronald go with you?”

"Hey, I have attended many fashion conferences like this in Tokyo, but they are not interesting. When you come to Tokyo, I will take you to play the latest entertainment called karaoke. The girls there are so beautiful."

"Okay, guests are welcome. Tomorrow we will visit more financial institutions on Wall Street that need help. When you arrive in Los Angeles, let Ronald accompany you." Bannon handed the ticket to Ronald.

"I have one too," Ronald thought to himself, "I have two more tickets. How about asking little Douglas to go with Donna?"

…

"Didn't you say that Donna was coming?" Little Douglas shook his head from side to side. He was currently focused on helping Little George prepare for the primary election in New York. Today, he was pulled over by Ronald and sat in the front row of the auditorium.

"She said she was too busy at work and wanted to rest." Ronald replied in little Douglas's ear.

The live music started playing, and he and Little Doug sat next to the catwalk, the best seats.

This was arranged personally by the designer Yves Saint Laurent. Originally, only Ronald had a VIP ticket. After hearing about Douglas Jr.'s background, he also invited him to the front of the catwalk.

Wall Street's decline seems to be spreading to the fashion industry. Today, many seats in the front row were vacant. After the show started, there were many men and women dressed like Saint Laurent staff and wearing YSL clothing, filling the empty seats.

"Dongdongdongdong..." Rhythmic music began to sound, and models stepped on cat steps one by one and walked out from the entrance doors on both sides of the catwalk.

YSL's new season clothing is all business style. The exaggerated shoulder pads and masculine style of women's clothing are very distinctive.

This year's colors are mainly black and white. All the beauties are wearing trousers, with very high hairstyles, and high heels stomping on the floor.

"Kacha, Kacha..." There are also many fewer photojournalists coming today. Sound and flash are not enough to fill the catwalk, and it's blinding

Ronald took off his sunglasses. He had prepared flash protection, but now it was no longer necessary.

Just then, a white model with a black man's wavy hair came out from behind. Pyramid-shaped earrings, paired with a small suit with high shoulder pads, gave her a capable and sexy temperament, and she suddenly dominated the catwalk.

"Bah bang bang..." This model was the last one to appear, and Ronald also started to smile and applaud with everyone. This model had slightly buck teeth, but overall she had a well-educated temperament, and the small shortcomings made her even more attractive. reality.

Models have to go through rigorous training, and they can walk the catwalk very well. A highly educated woman exudes a temperament from the inside out that is not ordinary, and can only be compared to a model with a beautiful body.

Christy Turlington had a smile on her face. She glanced around the audience. Good models have the ability to make every audience member feel that they are seen by the model, especially those in the front row. It is very likely that they will buy it from them. This beautiful dress.

"It's Ronald." Turlington glanced at the tall man, her mind wandered for a moment, and she exuded a charming smile from the bottom of her heart.

"Kacha, kacha", the photographer saw this smile that was completely different from a professional smile and started to press the shutter to capture it.

"I have to leave first. Little George is having a meeting with us over there." Little Douglas finished watching the fashion show and uncharacteristically did not stay to think about getting to know the models.

"I'm going to meet with Donna later, won't you come?"

"No, she's very busy now. She has to find time to deal with it when I go there. It's not good for her." Little Douglas smiled. He asked Donna several times. It was difficult to make an appointment. When he did, it was just for a simple meal. takeout.

"I'll get it for you." Ronald laughed.

"Ronald, it's really a pity that you can't be my model."

Designer and founder of the YSL brand, Yves Saint Laurent, brought today's shining model Christy Turlington to Ronald.

"Yeah, I think so too. It's a pity that when I see the stool, I want to sit down instead of stand up."

"Pfft... hee." Christy Turlington, who had filmed commercials and seen the director's chair, understood Ronald's joke about the director and let out a sweet laugh.

"However, next time I make a movie with a modern background, if you are interested, you can sponsor my male and female protagonists." What Ronald saw today were all fashions suitable for business occasions, and he thought of what he was going to shoot next. The movie is the business elite in the skyscraper, and they are trying to attract sponsorship.

"Really? George (Armani) won't sponsor you?" Yves Saint Laurent is quite excited. His new season clothing conference is not as popular as before. If he can get a clothing sponsorship for a large-scale production, It's also a good marketing.

"His clothes are suitable for dinner parties. My movie takes place among business elites in skyscrapers, which may be more suitable for YSL's style."

"That's for sure. The new season clothing uses the traditional classic color of black and white, which is suitable for business elites..."

Yin Fu was overjoyed and finalized the cooperation with Ronald on the spot.

"I have a dinner party to attend. Would you like to order a custom-made outfit for a lucky lady?"

"The one Christie wore is pretty good." Ronald thought the suit with high shoulder pads was good.

"Well, I'll ask my assistant to leave a set of quotas for you, and then let the lucky person come to my store to measure the size."

Yves Saint Laurent and Turlington went back to socialize with other people. Before leaving, Turlington turned back and made a phone call gesture to Ronald. As the new YSL main model, she needs to appear on many occasions.

…

"This is what we're going to eat?"

Ronald also went to find Donna for dinner alone, but he didn't expect that she was still busy in the office. Donna put on her coat and said she wanted to go to the Subway downstairs with her cousin. They would have a big sandwich and a Coke, and it would be dinner with her cousin.

"I am very busy right now. This kind of opportunity to watch the financial crisis is rare in decades. Mr. Simons said that investors who have experienced financial crises and investors who have not experienced financial crises are essentially two different things. Humanoid.”

"Well, I haven't experienced it either." Ronald took a bite of the sandwich, which contained tuna, pickles, and cola. It actually tasted pretty good.

"Yeah, I've learned more in the past few days than in the past few months." Donna also took a big bite.

"For example, there are still people who hope to take advantage of the vacillation of people's hearts, take advantage of this fear, amplify the fear, and make money from it. The crisis is actually caused by these people and cannot be ended yet."

"There are still people like this? They can definitely make money?"

"Not necessarily, but they do exist. These people are full of confidence and have a lot of gambling potential. For example, Solo, the boss of the recently established Quantum Fund."

"Then what does your company think of this crisis?"

"Mr. Simons said that this time he has strengthened his idea of ​​using mathematics to manage investment decisions. He now feels that there is a missing link in his mathematical methods that has not been filled. Once it is filled, he can establish a new fund and use The new mathematical method management completely gets rid of the negative impact of human nature on investment.”

"He still dares to use mathematics to invest?" Ronald shook his head. Now there is a rumor on Wall Street that program transactions controlled by mathematics and computer programs, as well as related insurance contracts, are the cause of this crisis. "

"There is no right or wrong in mathematics, it is human error..."

"Hahaha, you're right." Ronald admired Donna's enthusiasm for work.

At this time, Wall Street should have been bustling with excitement, but the impact of the stock market crash was everywhere. In the entire Subway store, except for the brother and sister, there were only a few people who looked like Chinese students, eating the cheapest food at the table next to them. combo.

A slightly shy boy with eyes turned around after hearing what Donna said. There seemed to be a hint of appreciation and gratitude in his eyes.

"Hi, are you from mainland China?" Ronald noticed that this unique temperament and relatively thin wallet are common characteristics of mainland students studying in the United States.

"Yes, my name is Zhang, hello. I study mathematics, and I feel a little emotional when I hear what you say."

"Hello, Ronald."

This little Zhang doesn't seem to know how to socialize with people. After exchanging names, he didn't say anything, just quietly listening to Ronald and Donna chatting.

"So what gaps does Mr. Simons have not filled now? When can a new fund be issued?"

"He said that there are still problems with pattern signal recognition, and there is no mathematical solution. It is necessary to identify the maximum expected value of a huge amount of data for a parameter model. I heard that they need to find an expert in models called Hidden Markovich... No, Mal or something.

He also said that if it weren't for his old colleague, Professor Chen was not his specialty in this area, and he would have filled this gap long ago. The mathematical talent of that Chinese professor is what he admires the most." Donna said, looking at Xiao Zhang, thinking that this person is also Chinese, I wonder if all Chinese are good at mathematics?

"You are talking about hidden Markov chains, right? Professor Chen Xingshen's expertise is in feature classes and manifold analysis. You need to find experts in cryptography or electronic engineering to fill this gap. Hidden Markov chains can find the expected extreme value of unknown parameters, which has applications in electronic engineering."

When Xiao Zhang saw Donna looking over, he told her what he knew.

"Cryptology, electronic engineering, which university is better to find experts in this area?" Donna felt that this was a real expert, and quickly took out her notebook to write down what Xiao Zhang said.

"Your boss is James Simons, right? He is an expert in topological geometry and functionals. If he can't find one... well, I heard that some people at Cornell use algebra to do stochastic analysis."

"Hello, my name is Donna, this is my phone number, can I call you to ask you questions?" Donna decisively copied her phone number to Xiao Zhang. This kind of person has a good sense of mathematics, maybe he can be poached to the company to do mathematics?

"I'm more interested in number theory, and I'm not an expert in applied mathematics. I'm afraid it won't help you with your question." Xiao Zhang waved his hand and didn't take the piece of paper with the phone number written on it by Donna. Instead, he gave a string of numbers that was his phone number.

"I'm in New York to visit a friend and will be returning to Purdue University soon, where I'm studying for a doctorate in mathematics. If you want to ask me any questions about mathematics, you can call me."

"You'd better take my contact information, so that you can contact me if you have any questions." Donna pushed the note over.

"I've memorized it in my mind." Xiao Zhang's memory was really good, and he gave the phone number exactly.

"What is number theory?" Ronald watched the two science nerds talking and found that he couldn't understand what they were talking about at all.

"It's the study of positive integers and some conjectures about prime numbers. Do you understand prime numbers? It's..." Xiao Zhang was very interested when he talked about mathematics.

"Ah, I see, I see. An even number greater than 2 can be decomposed into the sum of two prime numbers." Ronald said a conjecture about prime numbers that everyone knows.

"Hey, how do you know about the Goldbach conjecture? I've been in America for several years, and many ordinary people have never heard of this prime number conjecture."

"This...isn't this taught in middle school?" Ronald blurted out without knowing what was going on.

"It's true that it's not taught, how do you know it?" Donna looked at Ronald and was also very surprised. This cousin sometimes always knew a lot of scattered and unsystematic knowledge in a strange way.

"Maybe I heard it from someone," Ronald changed the subject, and after sending Donna back to the office, he went back to the hotel.

...

"Ronald," Christie Turlington arrived late at night.

"Christie," Ronald saw that she had changed into a loose outfit, like a yoga outfit.

"Why, are you practicing yoga now?"

"Well, I found that yoga can help me stay energetic and maintain my weight," Turlington took off the hairpin, and her curly hair spread out.

"How did you make this hairstyle?" Ronald buried his nose in her hair, and a good smell came over.

"Don't you like it? It's popular now." Turlington liked Ronald's obsession with her.

"Oh oh..." A sound came from deep inside her body and came out of her throat.

"By the way, you need to find a female companion to go to Mr. Yves Saint Laurent's custom shop to re-measure the size of your custom clothes. Our clothes are special and are made to show the clothes. Ordinary people need to re-make them."

Turlington turned back, touched Ronald's hair, and scratched it twice. She was also curious about who Ronald bought the new season clothes for.

"No need to change it, it's for you." Ronald was very comfortable being tickled, "I see you wearing it, like a girl working on Wall Street. It suits you. Models should have a piece of clothing that they have represented."

"Thank you," Turlington was very happy, "Mr. Yves Saint Laurent seems to be very satisfied with me. Maybe I will be their endorsement model and take photos for fashion magazines."

However, Turlington's wish did not come true. The next day, all fashion media did not give any good comments on YSL's new season clothes. Everyone was criticizing the audience and the points that were not reported much.

The high-shoulder pads and masculine-style women's clothing that represented the fashion of the 1980s were also criticized.

Yves Saint Laurent was so angry that he returned to Paris overnight. When he was interviewed, he said that Americans don't understand fashion at all.

The stock market crash on Wall Street inevitably spread to all walks of life. The number of people in restaurants on the market directly decreased by several percent. Ronald also saw more and more gloomy faces in New York.

"Oh, it's so pitiful. A lot of Americans' wealth is placed in the stock market, hoping to outperform inflation, accumulate money for their own retirement, and their children's college tuition."

Ronald understands the thoughts of ordinary Americans. The stock market crash does have a very big impact on the wealth of ordinary people.

Not only ordinary people, but also singers who earned more than movie stars in the 1980s were greatly affected.

"Ronald, what you said last time, to be on David Letterman's show, does it still count now?"

Cher also pitifully found Ronald's agent and expressed her wish.

"I'll go ask, it should be okay."

"Do you agree to appear with your ex-husband Sonny?"

"Yes, he called me, we have a daughter, she wants to debut as a singer, I have to do some preparation for her."

"Wait for me to notify you."

Ronald shook his head. In the economic crisis, dignity and face are no longer important. Now, Cher no longer considers the thoughts of her current boyfriend, right?