Exploiting Hollywood 1980

"Ronald, you come with me."

After Ronald and Weintraub finished talking, his wife, Jane Morgan, appeared at the door of the living room and waved Ronald over.

"Hello, Ms. Morgan," Ronald hugged the former singer.

Jane Morgan wore a long black dress today and carried a black bag on her arm, which was decorated with inlaid rubies. It looked very expensive.

"Remember what you promised Barbara at the White House last time? Her son came to Los Angeles from Texas today. You happen to be here, so I will take you to talk to him."

"Oh, her son wants to enter the film industry, right?" Ronald remembered the instructions given by the deputy commander's wife last time.

"The film industry and the oil industry are not all the same to them..." Jane Morgan smiled slightly mysteriously, "You go and drive my car, he is at the Sheraton Hotel."

Ronald got into the driver's seat of Jane Morgan's Aston Martin. The roar of the sports car engine was very loud, and Jane Morgan closed the window so that it was easier to talk.

"What kind of sports car do you drive? You are so tall, you should buy a Ferrari." Morgan said, seeing that he was a little cramped in the driver's seat.

"I don't have a sports car yet," Ronald said matter-of-factly.

"You should have one. In Hollywood and the entertainment industry, people always judge your status based on your clothes and cars. As soon as Ovitz of CAA made money, he couldn't wait to change it to a Porsche 911.

"Oh..." Ronald realized that he had also ridden in that 911. It seemed that he should buy one. The situation in the scene was indeed time to improve.

"Barbara's son George is a very good child. He is Barbara's eldest son. It's just that... his mother has too high expectations for him. Just tell him the truth. In the deputy commander's family , he is quite easy to talk to."

When they arrived at the Sheraton, they asked where little George lived at the front desk. The lobby manager recognized Jane Morgan and took them to the lounge, where a man wearing a yellow-green plaid suit with the collar unbuttoned was holding a large glass. Drinking beer.

"Jane...nice to meet you. This must be Ronald who my mother praised." The man in his thirties is very enthusiastic and does not have the typical sense of alienation that a child of a high-ranking official has. .

Ronald felt better about him than JFK.

"Two more beers,

I'm going to have a drink with my new friends. You know the oil companies in Texas, I drink that too. Every day starts and ends like this. When it comes to beer, California’s is actually not as good as Texas’. "

"Oh, you guys talk first, I'll make a call to Barbara." Jane Morgan carried her bag and was about to leave. "

"Okay, I surrender. I just need to drink less. Don't tell my mother, Jane."

"Two large portions of French fries. Everything else in California is good, but the portion is too small." Afterwards, he drank beer and chatted with Ronald.

Ronald thought the deputy commander's son was very interesting. He didn't look like the son of a high-ranking official, but looked like an uncle next door, with whom he could brag and chat. It's just that drinking is a bit too aggressive.

"I graduated from Yale, I was in a fraternity there, what college are you in, what fraternity are you in, man?"

"My grandfather also graduated from Yale, but I only attended New York University for more than a year before dropping out. When I was in college, I founded a fraternity myself and ran it into the best fraternity in New York." Ronald told Eddie about the time when he asked Eddie to be a cover model for an adult magazine.

"It's really yours," the other party laughed. "Your last name is not common in New England. Is it from the family of General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War?"

"Actually, my great-grandfather's mother's side was the Jerome family. They were in the watch business in New Haven."

"Jerome? What a coincidence. I know them. Do you know? It is said that our two families first came to America on the Mayflower."

"Is that so?"

The two chatted while drinking, and time passed quickly. The other party stopped asking for beer and walked out of the bar with Ronald and went to his suite.

"So, can you tell me, what kind of movies can make money?" After Barbara's eldest son had a drink, the two finally started talking about business.

"You asked a million-dollar question, and I don't think even the most experienced producer in the industry can tell you a simple answer." Ronald didn't expect that the other party would ask the ultimate question of the film industry. .

"Hey, listen, Ronald. We Texas cowboys like to get straight to the point, and I was asked to be on the board of directors of Silver's Partners. It was my Yale fraternity brother, Roland Bates, who got me there.

He is an investment banker on Wall Street. He told me that the first phase of the fund was in good condition. In the second phase, he decided to make it bigger, raising US$200 million, and only opening it to 20,000 high-net-worth individuals. I am a member of the board of directors, so I am responsible for the use of funds. Do you have any good way to know the box office prospects of the movie in advance? "

As he spoke, he took out another bottle of beer from the refrigerator in the room, opened the can and drank it.

Ronald was lost in thought. It was obvious that the other party didn't really want to know the formula for making money in movies, but wanted to find a way to ensure that the movies invested by the Screen Fund would not suffer huge losses like "Heaven's Gate".

"Hey, man, I don't know how to make movies. You don't have to be afraid that I will tell you your secrets." While drinking beer, the other party winked at Ronald.

"I'm thinking of a simple and easy way so that the movies you invest in will not lose money." Ronald also took a bottle of beer and toasted with him.

"If you're just investing, I think instead of looking at the script, director, and actors, it's better to look at the producer."

Ronald thought of an answer that the other party could understand. "The job responsibilities you mentioned are actually the responsibility of the producer in Hollywood. So as long as you find a reliable producer, you can be sure that he will give the green light." The projects are all good projects.”

"That's a great idea. My father always said that politics is about people." The other party drained the beer in the can, opened a small bottle of whiskey, and poured it into the glass.

“So, how should I choose qualified producers to invest in?”

"It just depends on their past historical results."

"Hey, you are really a genius. No executive anywhere in Texas Oil Company can explain the business as clearly as you. I can hear you talking about oil futures, pipelines and oil tanker oil exchange contracts every day. I don’t even understand.”

"Here, cheers." The other party took the Tennessee whiskey in his hand and toasted again with Ronald's beer.

"However, it would be too troublesome to inspect each producer. Otherwise, I should find a powerful big producer to invest and let him take care of all the small producers. That's what I told my brother Roland Bates. "As she spoke, Barbara's eldest son drew a big figure with his left thumb, and a bunch of small figures with the fingers of his right hand.

"You are a cheerful and smart man, Ronald. When you come to Texas, I will entertain you with the best beer and barbecue, both in large sizes, hahaha." The other party made clear gestures to himself Very satisfied with the investment plan.

Ronald was infected by this Texas cowboy-style blind joy and burst into laughter.

…

"Very good, your ideas are very creative and very consistent with the characteristics of the film industry. Little George, others say that I came to be a director because of your influence. Only I know that you are a very smart person at Yale... "

Roland Bates, the founder of Screen Fund, was very surprised when he heard the call from George Jr. and the investment strategy he talked about. This idea coincides with my own, investing in producers, not scripts and creators.

Investors should not presume to know how to do business better than practitioners. As long as they identify the position in the industry that is responsible for the profit and loss of the project and find the right candidate, they can be one step ahead and get a good return on investment.

"I have a similar idea to you, but you go one step further by finding a big producer to invest. The most successful executive in Hollywood in the past ten years has been Michael Eisner of Paramount. We just need to work with him. Bundled together, there will be considerable profits no matter what.”

"Haha, I'm very happy that as a director, I can put forward my own opinions." Little George on the other side of the phone was also very happy. By doing this as a director, he can be recognized by others, which is happier than being treated as a mascot in an oil company. too much. "

"I have a good friend who was introduced to me by my mother as a rising star in the industry. These opinions are based on the ideas he proposed. After the second phase of your screen fund is sold out, don't forget him. Several of his directors The movies are all very popular, and the return on investment is more than ten times.”

"Who?" Roland Bates didn't care about the specific project, but little George specifically asked him to remember it.

"Ronald Lee, his ancestry, like mine, can be traced back to the Mayflower." Barbara's eldest son boasted triumphantly.

"Is that so?" Roland Bates was surprised. Could he be one of those blue-blood nobles? Why don't you go into finance and defense industry and become an artist? "Don't worry, I will explain it to Eisner personally."

…

"Ronald, Michael Eisner called me personally to thank you." Two days later, agent Niceta found Ronald to report the good news.

"Eisner personally promised that when he officially takes over Paramount, the aircraft project will be yours, and you can pay as much as you want, whichever screenwriter you want, whichever screenwriter, director of photography, art director, you can use whoever you want.

And as long as the star has a film contract with Paramount, you can choose it, even if it is Jack Nicholson or Warren Beatty, I will try my best to convince you. Actresses range from Kathryn Turner, the most popular porn star at the moment, to unknown little actors on Broadway. You can find whomever you like, and you want to fuck..."

Niceta did not say the next words, but looked Ronald up and down. How come someone with great energy suddenly comes to support this customer? Is it true that, as Paula Wagner guessed, he found his father's family, a Mayflower passenger from the same lineage as the deputy commander's family?

"Yale University, Mayflower, New England, Wall Street, private equity funds, 200 million", all kinds of elements pop up in the broker's mind, it's not impossible.

"Mr. Eisner? I have no friendship with him?" Ronald was confused.

"Several partners of CAA are rumored that after he takes over the position of President and CEO of Barry Diller, he will receive a large investment from Wall Street. At least for the next two years, there will be no shortage of Paramount projects he will lead. money."

"Oh..." Ronald had a realization, "In this case, the script of the fighter jet should be carefully considered."

I didn't expect Barbara's son to be so capable. Since there is no limit on resources, it will be easier to handle.

"Jane, the person you introduced is really good. Roland Bates's mother called me and praised little George very much. She said that he had a brain, understood business, and most importantly, understood the essence of management. Not managing specific things, but managing people.

I'm really happy. He has been in the oil company for so long and all I have heard is negative news. Now Laura can rest assured. "

The silver-haired Barbara expressed her happiness to her old friend Jane Morgan on the phone. Although the eldest son is ineffective, it seems that he is finally qualified to be a nominal executive.

"Whose phone call is it?" Weintraub asked his wife Morgan when he returned home.

"It's Barbara. He praised Ronald very much. His eldest son has done very well this time, and she will agree to let him be the director of the Screen Fund."

"Oh, the Screen Fund?" Weintraub thought of the legendary $200 million production fund. If Colombia had not already had a similar Delphi fund, I would have been greedy for this kind of fund that only invested money and did not interfere with production.

"I'm going to Las Vegas, and Kerkorian, the boss of MGM, made an appointment with me."

"Don't forget, if you see a blond beauty in the MGM Hotel, you can get into bed with the right one for a million dollars." Jane Morgan said sourly.

"Honey, I'm just going to talk." Weintraub broke into a cold sweat.

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