Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"We are now quoting buying prices through different New York Stock Exchange seats every day. The buying price at this stage has not caused fluctuations in the stock price. The action of buying Coca-Cola stocks at a relatively low price has been successful so far."

The manager of Charles Schwab is very satisfied with Ronald as a customer. Compared with those speculative traders who do short-term trading, or who open the market every morning to fight for reverse fluctuations, Ronald's trading strategy of buying one million every day requires almost no stock brokers, not even an intern. Can do very well.

Although it has dropped by nearly 25% from its peak, Coca-Cola still has a market value of more than 10 billion U.S. dollars. Such a buying order of more than 20 million yuan, if bought slowly, will not create any waves at all.

"Very good, you should be more cautious in your operations, so that you can buy more shares when the price is low." Ronald was very satisfied with the professionalism of Charles Schwab, and he could still transfer some money to buy here in the future.

"Don't worry, we are the most professional on the West Coast. We are not inferior to those financial institutions on Wall Street. We are even stronger in technology. We have technical analysis briefings generated by computer programs every day. It is free for big customers like you. You need to Don’t you need me to order one for you?” The manager was dissatisfied with this simple transaction and tried to sell more stocks to Ronald. Only brokers can make money by buying and selling.

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"Hey, I don't understand that, just buy Coca-Cola. This stock has helped me make a lot of money before, and I like Coca-Cola."

"There are not many investors as dedicated as you, and I admire you very much." Charles Schwab's manager said nice things, but he was still thinking about how to get Ronald to buy more other stocks. In fact, it doesn't matter whether the customer makes a profit or loses when buying and selling stocks. The important thing is to trade more.

Coca-Cola now has a price-to-earnings ratio of nearly 14 times. It is an ancient carbonated beverage industry and is being closely chased by Pepsi. It has continued to decline in the first half of the year. Soon Ronald will not be able to bear the loss of this kind of wealth. When the time comes, I will sell him financial consulting services.

"Hey, I need to take care of a little thing, please continue."

Ronald came out of the office where he was on the phone and continued talking to the visiting guests.

The visitor is David Horowitz, the owner of a public relations company in Hollywood. He found Ronald through a relationship with Ronald's marketing consultant, Michael Gray, and came to ask for help.

The name Horowitz sounds like a Jew, and he looks a bit like him. His distinctive nose and bald head are typical characteristics of Eastern European Jews. He was commissioned by television producers Linda and Harry Thomason to speak on the project.

"Linda and Harrison were good friends of mine when they came to Little Rock, Arkansas, and I trusted them and owed them a debt. I tried a lot of things, but Johnny Carson was the best person in American television. A powerful man with the most ego, I can only find ways to find help from everyone who can persuade him to let the governor of Arkansas appear on his show.”

"You are the second person to come to me about this matter," Ronald looked at him. "Actually, I asked someone to find out. Carson is not willing to destroy the gatekeeper role of traditional media."

The so-called traditional media gatekeepers actually refer to people like Johnny Carson, the actual leaders in the journalism and media industries.

They are very conceited and believe that the general public does not know what news they should believe and are often led astray by false or biased news, forming prejudices that are harmful to society.

Media gatekeepers, such as news editors, producers, reporters, anchors (people like Carson, but also the Watergate exposer Bernstein) should be responsible for deciding what information deserves public attention and how to disseminate it.

To maintain the image of a media gatekeeper to the public, it is necessary to be impartial in the elections between the two parties, so Carson has always been very strict about not inviting politicians to talk shows, and the only exception is The current leader, Ronald Sr., only appeared on Carson's Late Show in 1975 after he had resigned as governor of California.

Moreover, the commander-in-chief was originally from Hollywood and had served as a program host on a television station for many years, so he was considered half an industry insider. The governor of Arkansas is the current governor and has no connections in the media. It is unusual for Carson to encounter obstacles.

"I just think it's unfair. He didn't have a fair opportunity to express his views in front of a national audience. Such a promising young politician should not have his future cut off by such an inexplicable broadcast accident."

"Humph..." Ronald found it interesting. Arkansas is a famously poor state. Many people on the east and west coasts don't know where this state is and who its celebrities are. But for such a governor, there are so many people in the media circle working tirelessly for him. He is a very charismatic person.

"Maybe you're right, but I can't be of much help. You may have heard that I have a good relationship with David Laitman, but you should also know that Laitman is not a suitable lobbyist."

Johnny Carson had a big ego and was difficult to talk to. David Letterman also changed from his apprentice to the host of his show. Although the two had a good relationship, it was not convenient for them to interfere in each other's program arrangements. , there is a very subtle competition here.

Letterman's late-night show is already the second-best late-night talk show in America in ratings after Carson. The best of other shows, Ted Koppel's ABC news show "Nightline," couldn't compare to Letman.

Johnny Carson relied on prime time, and the ratings were twice those of Letterman. However, the content quality of his program may not be twice as high as that of David Letterman. Especially now that the writers are on strike, the gap between the two is getting closer.

David Horowitz didn't know how to beg. Harry Thomason and his wife may have helped the governor of their hometown because they were from the same hometown, but he received money to solve problems for others.

As a public relations person, he has the advantage of knowing a lot of people, but for things like breaking the rules of the TV station, he doesn't have such powerful people in his network. Ronald may have no choice, or he may not be moved by enough benefits, so he had to prepare to stand up and leave, and continue urgent public relations.

"Why do you want to help him?" Ronald's voice came. "I rarely see people working so hard for a politician."

"He is a person who sincerely works for the people. He may have many shortcomings, but if you know him, you will be moved by his ambition." Horowitz heard that he was interested and quickly memorized the Thomassons' remarks. Again.

"Horowitz's public relations skills in Hollywood are not weak. Maybe you can ask him for help during next year's awards season." Michael Gray was standing by to give support to this colleague. In many cases, public relations companies and marketing consulting companies are To help each other.

"Maybe..." Ronald thought for a moment. People with dreams are worth helping. "Maybe you can go find Gerald Slater from PBS and I will give him a call."

"I have looked for him, but Carson is famously difficult to talk to. I came to see you because I wanted to do my best. I still went back to find his show producer Fred DeCordova. Try to arrange a meeting between him and the governor. Many people don’t like him at first, but after meeting Bill, they can’t help but be impressed by him.”

Horowitz got up and left.

Ronald was so interested in hearing what he said that he became somewhat curious about the governor. He had only seen such personal charm in the current commander-in-chief, but George Sr. and his opponent Dukaski did not have it at all. .

Ronald put the matter behind him, he had more important things to deal with. The Writers Guild strike has dragged on for too long and it’s time to end.

The Producers Union held another meeting and invited all members of the union to attend to jointly resolve the issue of the strike.

"We got what we wanted." Nick Kuant, the league's president, waved the contract document in his hand and asked his assistant to distribute a copy to everyone present. "The three main demands are to increase "We gave them the bare minimum in terms of contract years, more creative freedom, and residual rights to one-hour programming."

Ronald flipped through it and took a look, especially the demands of the three major screenwriters unions. In fact, there was no substantial difference in terms from the last negotiation.

It seems that the members of the Writers Guild can no longer hold on. The actors' charity sale did not raise much money. Compared to the Producers Alliance, the screenwriters were the first to have income problems. Most members regretted rejecting the agreement last time.

These producers, instead of making concessions as negotiator Walton promised, insisted on holding on to their conditions. It seems that screenwriters are not so irreplaceable compared to these capitalists. The producers were unwilling to budge, preferring to hire more foreign writers and allow more non-union workers to work.

Maybe these capitalists will really make them unemployed collectively. When the time comes, there will be no creative freedom, and if the dividend ratio is not increased, I will starve to death first, my wife will remarry, and my child will be beaten by his stepfather.

This time the other party refused to make concessions, which made everyone understand that Walton, the negotiator who said he was nice, had actually seriously misjudged the producer's bottom line, and he was used by him and became cannon fodder.

They banded together and passed a motion for a vote of no confidence in Walton. In this way, those extreme members who were still immersed in false dreams had no choice but to agree, and with the persuasion of the commander's special commissioner, they proposed a new settlement agreement, taking a big step towards ending the strike.

Now the ball has been kicked to the side of the Producers Alliance.

Ronald looked around and saw that the faces of the small and medium-sized producers here showed joy. Many of them did not read the terms carefully. They hurriedly flipped through the important points and began to discuss with each other how many projects could be resumed after the signatures were signed. advanced.

"It seems that we can't stand it anymore." Ronald handed the contract to the lawyer Kanter who came with him. He is the attorney for several producers here. After reading the contract, he nodded to his clients. , acceptable.

Like screenwriters, all producers need is an excuse to get off the ground smoothly. After being shut down for so long, everyone can hardly bear it.

"Start voting now..." Nick Kuant began handing out ballots.

The results of the live vote count still failed.

Although the Producers Guild has many members, each member has different voting weights on the labor-management agreement. The seven major studios and the three wireless TV stations produce the most programs, so they should have more say in labor-management negotiations.

This vote was like this. The hardliners led by NBC and Warner Bros. were still unwilling to compromise. The last clause stipulates that TV programs shorter than one hour can also participate in the dividends of international distribution.

This is the biggest loss for them, while other small and medium-sized producers and cable TV networks do not have much international distribution capabilities. Even if they agree to this clause, there are not many problems.

Wireless TV stations and Paramount and Warner among the seven majors have strong international distribution capabilities. If the red line of the minimum length of one hour of programs is lost, not to mention that the dividends for screenwriters will increase significantly, and other creator unions will also demand the same clause based on precedents.

Seeing that these major producers once again rejected the labor-management agreement, more than a hundred small and medium-sized producers and regional TV stations in the venue began to speak loudly.

This is a conspiracy by the big manufacturers. They use the rules to further weaken the strength of these small TV stations and small studios. If there are financial problems, they can buy them at a low price.

"Quiet, quiet," Nick Kuhnt knocked the gavel on it, "The new labor agreement has not been passed."

Seeing that everyone was quiet, he took the opportunity to announce the result, "The second agenda, the board of directors of the Writers Guild proposed another temporary motion. They can represent the screenwriters and each studio to sign a temporary agreement to exempt everyone's current projects."

Just like in the Producers Union, everyone has ulterior motives. The Writers Guild is also very divided.

Some committees represent the interests of those extreme members and stand with the negotiating representative Walton. They are determined not to give in on the three major clauses, especially the one-hour minimum time limit for participating in overseas distribution dividends involving economic interests.

But most members have been annoyed by these extremes. No matter what harsh terms, it is better than having no work now and living as a thief.

They bypassed the negotiating representative Walton and passed a temporary resolution on the board of directors of the union to give screenwriters who want to return to work the opportunity to negotiate with the production company alone.

In other words, they no longer believed that any union would represent their interests. They simply launched a vote and let the board of directors, who understood the situation, intervene in Walton. They knew that the minimum time limit clause was difficult to pass, so they first went around to get some money and get through the difficulties.

"Agree, pass..." More than 100 small and medium-sized producers and small and medium-sized TV stations shouted. The seven major producers and the three public TV stations, that's enough. Everyone has to eat, so we can't smash all the rice bowls, right?

In the second round of voting, because it was a temporary agreement, only a simple majority was required to sign it.

Soon, more than 150 union members voted in favor. Warner, Paramount and the three major TV stations still opposed it, but it was a temporary agreement, and their opposition was not binding. Soon, the small and medium-sized member units began to applaud. Although it was not the expected victory, it was just a temporary agreement for one month, and it had to be renewed when it expired, but it was finally able to bypass this damn strike.

"Hurry up, let's sign a temporary agreement with the Writers Guild, and several projects can be resumed soon." Ronald was very happy and quickly asked people to notify several crews that they could hire screenwriters openly.

However, because the formal agreement with legal effect was not signed, the Writers Guild could not stop the strike, so the strike continued.

The small producers in Hollywood still have a limited number of screenwriters employed, and the major TV stations with the largest number of employees have not signed a temporary agreement to resume work.

Most of the more than 9,000 members of the Writers Guild have not resumed work. They were very disappointed with the Producers Alliance and the negotiating representatives of the union, and made a drastic move that no one expected.

The Writers Guild held a general meeting and demanded a re-election of the board of directors, asking the new board of directors to remove the negotiating representative Walton and take back his full power to decide the terms of the negotiations.

In addition, including the seven major studios and several major TV stations, 18 large companies that did not sign the temporary agreement and voted against the formal agreement were also sued by the screenwriter Ben, who took back the board's dominance.

"What is he suing them for? Opposing the agreement is not against the law, right?" Ronald was also confused when he heard the news.

"Antitrust..." Nicita, who was talking to Ronald about the casting of the new film, uttered a term that made all Hollywood people shudder.

"Antitrust? Are they going to drop nuclear weapons?" Ronald was shocked. Hollywood, which was still very prosperous in the 1950s, was beaten by television without any chance of fighting back because of the antitrust law.

"It's more like nuclear deterrence. Recently, a screenwriter ended his life because he couldn't afford the tuition for his child's college and overdrew his credit card. So the members of the Writers Guild want to drop a big bomb to make everyone end this farce as soon as possible."