Reborn America, this is my time

Chapter 183 Duets

A few minutes later, back to the car in Los Angeles.

Lucas looked at Gary Kurtz with a complicated expression, and asked, "You got scolded?"

"Hmm." Gary Kurtz responded with his nose and nodded slightly.

"What did Ethan say?" Spielberg asked with concern.

"He said...he only gave Columbia a week to deal with the problem. If we can't resume work by then, then we need to change partners." Gary Kurtz repeated the words of the boss. Of course, those domineering His oath was concealed by him.

This decision made Spielberg turn his head decisively. Lucas, who was leaning on the nanny's car, opened his mouth to speak, but after a long while, the thousand words turned into a heavy sigh.

"Ugh--"

In fact, when they learned in John Bull that Columbia Pictures' good friend David Begelman was involved in a check fraud case, which led to the company's large and small projects being investigated by Foberle, They knew that this incident would definitely make Ethan very upset.

So, in order to calm Ethan's emotions and explain the whole thing to Ethan, they immediately decided to fly from John Bull to San Francisco overnight, trying to limit the problem to a controllable range.

The reason for this is also very simple.

Because the gameplay in Hollywood is obviously different from that in the video game circle.

The latter is very unrestrained in sales channels. Any merchant with a storefront is willing to provide a shelter for excellent game arcade machines, and when the production process of video games does not need to form cliques, Yi can rely on his personal ability to produce excellent games. Sen Jones can naturally hate the sky.

But the former is just the opposite. The release of the film depends on the North American Theater Alliance split from the film industry giants. The promotion of the film depends on the relationship between you and me. With the high cooperation of everyone, a good social circle is very necessary when the whole process from inspiration to screening of a movie requires a tacit agreement between people.

If Spielberg didn't know Sidney Simberg, then he wouldn't be able to get a long-term contract from Universal Pictures; if George Lucas didn't know Francis Coppola, then he might have to It took a while before I got the help of the nobleman to shoot "American Style Painting".

When a single character can burst out with huge energy, the network resources in the hands of the film giants who have been in business for decades cannot be underestimated. When Ethan Jones has publicly declared war with Warner Communications, he will threaten another No matter how you look at it, the film industry giants are very unwise. They made this trip because they wanted to calm down Ethan and wait a little longer.

Judging from the current situation...

"Columbia Pictures is going to explode with rage after hearing his words."

Lucas, who was leaning on the seat, closed his eyes helplessly, and said, "They are already devastated by the matter of David Begelman, and then Ethan suddenly told them that he didn't want to wait? And still On the grounds of changing partners, ask them to deal with this matter as soon as possible?"

"Oh—I don't even dare to think about the faces of those executives in Columbia right now—"

"Think about it differently. If it were me, my cheeks would turn red with anger."

Since the itinerary has been communicated to Global before departure, the security guard who picked up the airport yesterday and the nanny car that left today are the commercial fleet provided by Global.The privacy is very good, and the driver and bodyguard are their own people, so Lucas didn't mean to hide the slightest when he spoke.

With his sigh, Spielberg also shook his head.

"Their blushing cheeks when they get angry is what they deserve!"

"Since they don't have the ability to cover up this kind of thing, they should solve it quickly!"

"George, you think Columbia Pictures will be angry after hearing Ethan's words, but what if you watch the whole thing from Ethan's point of view?"

"A project was working well, and then it suddenly stopped working! The reason for the stoppage was not a natural disaster, not a force majeure factor, but the helm of the film company went out of his way to falsify checks! Finally The disgusting thing is that the film company already knew about this matter, and then covered him up! In the end, they failed to cover up and were exposed!"

"Don't you think these things are a little inexplicable?"

"To be honest, I think Ethan's self-cultivation is good!"

"If I could make [-] million a year, I would have told Columbia Pictures to go out!"

"Hollywood tycoons? What's so pompous! Why should I pay for your illegal activities? You've been working for ten years, and you don't earn as much as I do in one year!"

The suddenly raised voice made Lucas smile wryly.Before they headed to London to find a director, they actually saw Fortune's coverage of Ethan.The fact that they raked in [-] million yuan that year and the net profit exceeded [-]% shocked them.

Although they always knew that Ethan was rich, they didn't expect Ethan to be so rich.

What is the concept of [-] million cash a year?
All the special Hollywood film companies may not be able to come up with a cash reserve of [-] million!
Not to mention the real profit earned in a year!
When a company's annual revenue exceeds the sum of other industries...

Warner Communications announced to block the game of fate?

Columbia Pictures may be ruthlessly kicked out?

Then other film companies will still rush forward!

In front of the green and beautiful knife, all human relations are empty!
It's only true if you make money!

"Hey - it's because we know that this matter is too inexplicable for Ethan, so we will come here directly after the incident, right?" Lucas opened his eyes again, and cast a helpless look at the two people beside him. "According to our original intention, we have to keep Ethan steady."

"Although Columbia Pictures did a terrible job in this matter, they have a very good relationship with CBS after all..."

"When Warner Communications has decided to fight the game of destiny to the end, it is a very unwise decision to provoke Columbia Pictures, which has media relations."

The idea of ​​coming to the Greater Bay Area first was proposed by Lucas.

His original intention was not to complain for Columbia Pictures, nor for his friend Begelman who had helped him many times, but to hope that Ethan, who had set foot in the traditional entertainment circle, would not make enemies again.

If the temporary delay of the project can stabilize a media, it is an acceptable wait in his opinion.Those who play entertainment know better than anyone else what it means to be attacked by public opinion and what is meant to be fearsome.

Big brother Francis Coppola was highly praised after he shot "The Godfather", but he was scolded as boring after the second film was released. Even if Mike's character creation is perfect, the sense of difference of the times and the loneliness of the characters even It can be said to be the top level in Hollywood, but there are still countless people who are not satisfied.

This also caused the third part to be urgently stopped by Paramount.

When "The Godfather" made money, Paramount was licking Francis Coppola's DYZ to let him continue to make sequels, but after "The Godfather 2" had a polarized reputation and the box office fell wildly, Paramount immediately turned against it. I recognized someone, and I frantically dumped the blame on the media.

This kind of capitalist behavior is still fresh in Lucas' memory.

If you look at today's events in Paramount's style, on the surface, this time it is all the responsibility of Columbia Pictures. Ethan's idea of ​​terminating the contract is reasonable, but human beings are never rational. From an industry perspective, they would definitely feel that Ethan was making things worse.

Since you left decisively when I was in trouble?

Then don't blame me for hacking you!
"George, although your intentions are good, I think Ethan did the right thing." Spielberg said: "After all, what David Begelman and Columbia Pictures did this time is too outrageous." .”

"Ethan wants to cut off with them, that's a perfectly normal thought."

"and……"

“When Columbia Pictures got the FBI on their hands, they want to use the power of the media to attack us? Wow—they would definitely want to, but are they capable?”

"I do not know then."

"George, I agree with Steven." Gary Kurtz said: "From the perspective of hiring, my boss is doing the right thing. From the perspective of friends, David is too much."

"We racked our brains to help him improve his performance, but he exploded himself first?"

"If I knew that he had the idea or behavior of fraudulent checks, then "Encounters of the Third Kind" can't do it with him! One more minute of contact with him will be one more minute of bad luck!"

"We are all our own people, and I will make it clear."

"George, David may have helped you on Star Wars, but that doesn't mean we're going to be in the water with him, all rewards come with a limit, Okay?"

Although Gary Kurtz just tried to appease his boss, he just hoped that the boss would not offend all the Hollywood giants, and since the boss has made a decision, he will not say much, and even He himself also felt...'What kind of shit is this special! '

"Okay, Okay, Okay..." Lucas took a deep breath and said, "I don't mean to help David, and I don't want to help him in this kind of thing, Okay? He is really unlucky, obviously The thing that was pressed down was turned up again, but I don’t know who the guy who reported him is?”

"We can't control that much." Spielberg said: "He has so many enemies, who knows which one? And this time the momentum is too big. Columbia, Fox, Universal, and Warner all have influence. If according to Judging by the method of who benefits and who is the mastermind, then the three who reported must be Paramount, Disney and MGM... But the investigation is not our business, right? Wait for the result."

"...Forget it! Let's not talk about it!" Lucas decisively changed the subject, not wanting to continue the conversation on such a fruitless matter. "Now that we have reached a consensus, who is the next home of "Alien"?" He asked the two of them.

"Global." Spielberg was decisive and directly reported his base camp.

"If "Alien" is placed in Universal, I can copy all the terms I negotiated with Columbia before. Sidney will sign with his eyes closed like David, as long as it is a contract from me."

"As for Fox..."

"The FBI's investigation of them will definitely be more ruthless than the investigation of Universal."

"I also think Universal can be used as a guarantee, but before that, you can talk to Paramount and MGM to see how their conditions are." Gary Kurtz expressed his opinion, "Although Ethan may not care about movie money, but we have to show professionalism."

"Okay, Gary, I leave this matter to you."

Lucas slapped his thigh and said decisively: "Notify Colombia first, give them seven days, and then contact each company to ask their price. Oh, by the way, you must pay attention to safety when you go to Colombia, I really think , they will rage and beat people..."

Lucas was right. When Gary Kurtz went to Columbia with the will of his boss Ethan Jones, Columbia Pictures, which was notified unilaterally, immediately exploded.

"What the fuck???"

"Ethan Jones only gave us seven days to sort this out?"

"This is not fair!"

"As long as you have some common sense, you know that when the FBI intervenes in a case, it is impossible for them to close the net in a short period of time! No matter how hard we try to communicate, it will take a certain amount of time to solve this matter! And Even if we don't solve the whole thing, just restart the project that has not been officially filmed, it will not be settled in seven days!"

The chairman of Columbia Pictures stood up from behind the desk, put his hands on the table, and said, "Go and tell your boss, can you give us a month?"

"The director of "Alien" has not been confirmed! Neither of us has even injected funds into it! In this case, pushing it back for a month will not cause you any loss at all! At most, the movie will be postponed for a little time! And This kind of thing is very common in Hollywood, isn't it?"

He leaned forward, eyes wide open.

The bloodshot eyes were full of anticipation and pleading.

Although the two parties have known each other for many years and have been friends for a long time, at this moment Gary Kurtz still shook his head decisively and said: "It is precisely because neither of us has injected funds into it, so now is the best time for us to separate." Isn't the timing right? After we leave, you can handle the case with peace of mind and don't have to worry about the project anymore, and the start-up funds of the project can also be used for public relations."

"No!—"

The ruthless words made the chairman of Columbia Pictures roar.

"It doesn't take us too much energy to handle this kind of case at all! We at Columbia Pictures have the ability to operate multiple lines! Besides, Steven's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is still in our hands, isn't it? We will Pay him the payment on time, and we will pay him dividends on time, I think this should reflect our Colombian ability to resist risks, right?"

Speaking of this, he seemed to think of something, and continued: "Is your boss worried that we in Columbia will implicate him? You can tell us that everything here is fine! The so-called check fraud is just An accident!"

"Really? Is this really just an accident?" Gary Kurtz stared at the other party with burning eyes.

"Of course!" The chairman of Columbia Pictures stuck his neck and made an affirmative voice.

"Then please tell me, how did you make this accident happen?" Gary Kurtz said mercilessly, "This is not something that just broke out now! It was discovered by the IRS last February! Last year you The self-examination has already ended, and it turned out to be reported this year!"

"Tell me, can this kind of thing be called an accident? It's obviously someone deliberately targeting it!"

"And you may not even know who reported it now!"

"In this case, how do you ask us to continue to cooperate with you?"

"Bam—"

Gary Kurtz patted the table and stood up abruptly.

His eyes were like a bull's stare, staring at the other party.

Under his gaze, the chairman of Columbia Pictures gasped heavily, and his right index finger kept shaking, trying to angrily poke Gary Kurtz's chest, but he couldn't do anything.

"Okay, okay..." The chairman of Columbia Pictures murmured, "One week is one week..."

"We will definitely find out the truth within a week!"

"We will definitely find out that rat-headed guy!"

"Just wait and see!" He growled with the veins on his neck popping up.

"We'll wait and see." Gary Kurtz pouted with a half-smile.

Without talking, he turned and left Columbia.

After Gary Kurtz relayed the Columbia incident to Ethan, Ethan didn't take it seriously at all. Whether he can find the real culprit behind the scenes is a matter for Columbia, and it has nothing to do with him. What is important is not the end of the case, but the beginning of filming.

As long as the film can start on time, then everything is easy to talk about!

What if it can't be opened?

Then get the hell out of me!

Although Ethan is too lazy to take care of these trivial matters, starting from the first day, Steve Ballmer, the head of media news for the game of fate, who was canonized by him personally, will report to him the latest situation of Columbia Pictures every day, from media responses to events. Progress, from police investigations to stock price fluctuations, this big bald man wasted all his efforts and put all the public information he could find in front of Ethan.

The first three categories are not bright, but the fourth category is very interesting.

Because after the outbreak of the check fraud case and the Columbia cover-up case, the stock of Columbia Pictures fell like a cliff, but even so, there are still a large number of retail investors buying frantically every day.

On March [-]th, a new piece of news reached his ears.

"Boss! Kirk Kerkorian, the actual controller of MGM Pictures, announced through the media today that he has acquired 5.00% of the shares of Columbia Pictures! He is going to issue a takeover offer to Columbia Pictures The industry is under the name of MGM!"

The news made Ethan take the newspaper in a hurry.

After he finished reading the contents, his brows also instinctively frowned.

"Why did MGM suddenly acquire Columbia?"

"Could it be that they did the reporting incident this time?"

That's a question Steve Ballmer can't answer.

But while Ethan was puzzled, the bald head also left the company and went to the archives in San Jose to find all the materials related to the boss of MGM.When he returned to the company on the afternoon of March [-]th, the dozens of photocopies also showed the whole situation in front of Ethan.

"Boss, I've found out that after Kirk Kerkorian bought MGM, he didn't carefully develop their movie business, but built a casino in Las Vegas under the name of MGM. And the hotel, this kind of unscrupulous behavior has also put MGM into financial crisis."

"So, since 1970, he has continuously sold MGM's own assets, including but not limited to commemorative props for movie shooting, the production rights of major movies, and MGM's record companies and company locations. Equity in venues, theaters of overseas cinema chains..."

"These sales at the time were to raise money for the construction of the hotel and casino in Las Vegas, and after the hotel was built, the cash came back and they wanted to get back into the movie business, and they wanted to buy back what they had sold before. , but none of the buyers are willing to let them repurchase, so..."

"That's probably why they're targeting Colombia."

When Steve Ballmer told Ethan the facts that he had concatenated, Ethan, who was sitting on the office chair, suddenly looked confused, "You mean...we are the ones affected?"

He organized his own language and said: "MGM wants to acquire Columbia, but they don't want to accept their high value, so they spread the dirty material about Columbia? We happen to have a cooperation with Columbia, so before they do it when we were affected?"

"...Uh...I don't know about that either." Steve Ballmer didn't dare to be sure.

But the more Ethan thought about it, the more he felt that there was no problem.

Because MGM boss Kirk Kerkorian was famous in his previous life. When he died, he was the second oldest billionaire in the world, second only to David Rockefeller who lived to be a hundred years old. The thing that made him famous is that he single-handedly built a super resort in Las Vegas.

According to media reports, the reason why he bought MGM was purely because he felt that a casino-style hotel must have a fairly high reputation to the outside world, only in this way can tourists feel at ease.And the MGM brand is very famous in America, and the golden lion is very suitable for the extravagance of the casino, so he bought MGM and turned a film company into a hotel company.

His behavior made MGM synonymous with casinos, and he also reaped huge profits for himself.And when he achieved great success in the hotel industry, he did rejoin Hollywood. After all, MGM has "007" in its hands, so it would be a pity not to make it.

"Special code!"

"Is this the fire at the city gate and the fish in the pond?"

"The capitalists fought each other and hit me on the head?"

"Grass!"

"Why am I so unlucky!"

Ethan felt that he seemed to have discovered the truth, so he called Destiny Films and asked the company's president, Gary Kurtz, to prepare to leave Columbia with the "Alien" project.

When check fraud and hostile takeovers were linked, Ethan didn't want to be involved in this mess. Not only were these craps disgusting, they were troublesome.

But after he said his arrangement, Gary Kurtz on the other end of the phone made a bitter voice, "Boss, I have communicated with Paramount and Disney in the past few days, and now they are right We have no interest in our movie project."

"With Columbia and MGM temporarily unable to cooperate, the only options we can choose are Universal and Fox, where Steven and George can decide everything."

"What?" Ethan was startled.

"Why?" He was very puzzled.

"Didn't they rush to cooperate with us before? Why are they not interested now?"

"Is that impossible?"

Ethan's inquiry made Gary Kurtz a little silent, because he didn't know the reason.And just when the two were about to analyze the whole incident, the sound of knocking on the door suddenly entered Ethan's ears.

Before Ethan could say please come in, a loud shout came in from outside the door——

"Boss! Something big happened!"

"Philips held a press conference with Disney, Paramount, and MGM!"

"What the fuck?—" Ethan exclaimed.

"His mother's! When did it happen?" he asked loudly.

The next second, he realized something was wrong again, "Steve, come in and talk to me!"

　Note: ① In reality, after the thunderstorm in Columbia, the boss of MGM bought a large number of stocks when its stock price fell.But in the end the merger did not succeed because of suspected monopoly.After this turmoil, Columbia was also unable to operate, and was finally acquired by Coca-Cola. ② MGM’s film business was indeed dragged down by the hotel plan. In order to build the hotel, they even sold all their shares in North American distribution channels and global distribution channels. ③ There is another very interesting point in the whole thing. After David Begelman left Columbia Pictures because of check fraud and embezzlement, the boss of MGM invited him to join MGM.To put it in a conspiracy theory, the real business war is high.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)