Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Exploiting Hollywood 1980 Text Volume Chapter 79 Norio Ohga's New Acquisition With the suggestion of City Councilmember Susan Molinari, Ronald asked private attorney Lindsay Dole to draft a proposal to redraw the land rights. After applying, he only needs to wait for the Staten Island City Council meeting to approve it, and then he can resume work and continue to build his Jiangnan Garden.

After handling this matter, Ronald quickly called the travel agency and arranged to go to a resort on the east side of Long Island, New York, to enjoy a few days.

"Didn't you say you were coming by yacht?" Diane got out of the traveling car and put on big orange sunglasses, a light yellow straw hat on her head, and her white pants had a bit of a Marilyn look.

"Didn't I miss out on gardening for two days?" Ronald followed down, wearing preppy-style clothes, a navy top, cropped pants, and boat shoes.

"The outfits for taking a boat, a plane, and a car are all different. I haven't prepared them to perfection." Diane's clothes were prepared for taking a boat, which is a bit regretful.

"It doesn't matter, there are no reporters here." Ronald got into the convertible sports car prepared for him, which is the most common means of transportation here.

The easternmost point of Long Island, called Hampton, is the place where immigrants first set foot on New York State. Immigrants from England did not have any creativity and named it directly after the place name of their hometown. It was later expanded and divided into Eastampton and Southampton.

Ronald came to Southampton to ask about a holiday home borrowed by Steve Bannon, who also invested a bit in "Dirty Dancing." The house is in the village of Sagaponack, which is home to one of the most expensive zip codes on the East Coast and has only 700 residents.

Ronald drove the sports car and headed south along Route 27. Soon they arrived at Bannon's house. The waiter had already cleaned the room and was waiting for them.

The houses are far apart, so you need to use binoculars to spy on the neighbors' gossip. Ronald was quite satisfied with the place, so he arranged to go fishing on a yacht and enjoy a Broadway play. Although there are very few people here, there are many things you can enjoy compared to Manhattan. The town's golf courses are the most expensive in the United States.

Bannon arranged everything well, and Ronald and Diane rested peacefully for a few days. The next day they were able to go fishing with Long Island's famous Captain Red, and the third day they went to relax at a bathing company on Southampton Beach.

The bathing center is on the private beach and is membership-only. Ronald also relied on Bannon's special membership card to entertain the big shots in Washington, D.C., to get in.

We had lunch on the beach. Ronald chatted with the people next to him. They all had the surname Rockefeller.

Astor, the surname of an old money family like the Vanderbilts. There was nothing in common and we chatted awkwardly for a few words, so we had to sit down to eat separately.

"Are you Diane Lane? I like your 'Streets of Rage', can you sign it for me?" A young man from the Rockefeller family, who looks less than twenty years old, seems to have different hobbies from his elders , I saw a female celebrity coming up to ask for an autograph and strike up a conversation.

"Thank you." Diane didn't expect that this young man liked his own movie. In fact, more people liked "Love at the Sunset Bridge" or "The Naughty Boy".

"Would you be kind enough to have lunch with me?" Rockefeller Jr. began to be courteous.

"I came here with my friends..." Diane smiled and pointed at Ronald who was engrossed in eating across from him. He had been very brave in the quiet resort for the past two days and ate seafood whenever he encountered it.

"Everyone here is a friend, your friend won't be unwilling..." It's not like Rockefeller has never seen female stars here, "No, you are a director, right? I have seen the TV show you accepted for Top Gun Interview.”

"Ha... today is really my lucky day. I met my favorite actress and director at the same time. Do you mind if I sit down?" He said that he brought the coffee by himself and sat at Ronald's table. superior.

"Are you here on vacation? How do you feel?" asked Rockefeller Jr.

"It's great. I didn't expect to see the latest Broadway play 'Fast Plow' at the same time."

"I love it. It's a drama written by David Mamet, and it's a reflection of Hollywood. You can tell I love Hollywood. The version on Broadway at the Candy Box Theater is even better, with Madonna playing the lead role, Karen." , did you like Madonna’s performance?”

"She plays a drama? God bless her, if the role is suitable, she will be very good." Ronald did not expect that Madonna still had the dream of being an actress in her heart and went directly to Broadway.

"During the New Year's holiday, Madonna filed a domestic violence complaint against her husband Sean Penn. Unexpectedly, Broadway gained a good actor."

"Really?" Ronald was busy filming a movie, and he really didn't know about this gossip spread across the United States. Madonna is also said to have filed for divorce

"Will you buy a house here, Director Ronald?" This young man seems to know no boundaries.

"I don't have any plans...it's just a vacation..." Ronald refused to discuss further.

"Actually, the house here is very nice. If you consider it, I can say good things about you to the owners committee..."

"..." Ronald felt that the child was a little too lively.

"Mr. Li, your phone number is from New York." The waiter pulled the long phone cord over, took off the receiver and handed it to Ronald, just in time to relieve him.

"It's me, Ronald." Ronald took the receiver and turned his back to the curious teenager.

"Ronald, are you enjoying your stay there?" The call came from Bannon.

"Steve, I'm very satisfied with this vacation. Life here is more interesting than the resorts on the West Coast that host Hollywood stars."

"Hahaha, of course, this kind of place has been a resort for the rich for hundreds of years, and the service level must be higher than that of the nouveau riche on the West Coast."

Bannon felt that this helpful Ronald was happy and had achieved his goal, "I called you because your old friend came to New York and he wanted to meet you. Find me here."

"Old friend?" Ronald wondered who Bannon was and was so cautious.

"We bought shares of his company in Tokyo. Mr. Dahe said that he had a conversation with you once and that he admired your understanding of Eastern and Western cultures."

"Oh, he came to New York?"

"I'll be staying here for a few days. I happen to be free tonight. Can you come over?"

Ronald covered the phone and asked Diane, "Bannon said someone important wants to see me, can you..."

"Let's go, I'll go back with you. I've almost spent enough time here." Diane curled her lips. Although it was a good thing to have movie fans, such a hormonal boy was really difficult to deal with.

"You really don't like it here?" Ronald asked Diane on the way back.

"My father took me here when I was a kid..." Diane looked out the window at Route 27 and said, "It's just Eastampton on the east, where people with no money go. There's also a direct railway, and there's the easternmost city in New York. There are many people taking pictures there.”

"Really? Why don't we take the train too? It's still early."

America's passenger railway business is not doing well, and only some remain in operation as tourist attractions. Ronald and Diane took the direct train to Manhattan, and sure enough, there were many middle-class families on vacation.

The children screamed happily, and the parents quickly thought of ways to prevent them from running around in the car too excitedly. A family looks at photos taken with a disposable imaging camera.

"This is the life of ordinary people..." Ronald, in contrast, prefers this form of popular entertainment. As a film director, if he becomes famous, he will live in a large single-family house and be separated from ordinary people. Over time, he will fall out of favor with the public. Many directors fail to make touching films after becoming famous, and success syndrome is the main reason.

…

"Mr. Ohga..." Ronald met Sony's second-in-command, Norio Ohga, at a high-end Japanese restaurant in Manhattan.

"Ronald San, we meet again, hahaha..."

After dinner, the two drank tea and chatted in a private meeting room.

Dahe drank Japanese matcha that the waiter had mixed with tea, motioned to Ronald to try it, and then waved the waiter to leave.

"Ronald Sang, I am here this time and I want to ask you something again. This matter is top secret until it is announced. I believe in Ronald Sang's character, but the matter is very important, so I want one of yours. promise."

"Of course, I won't tell anyone before you announce it. We are just chatting among friends. In fact, I also have another identity. I bought some Sony stocks and am a de facto shareholder."

"Hahaha... That would be better..." Dahe didn't expect Ronald to say this.

"We want to acquire an American film company, and I want to ask you, will the Americans recognize us as shareholders of Laiwu Film Company?"

"this……"

Ronald did not expect that Dahe had not only acquired the record company, but now he would actually acquire the film company.

In the script of "Working Girl", the Japanese company's acquisition of an American media company was just the screenwriter's guess. Could it be that in reality, Japanese people also want to do this?

"Do you have any questions? I want to see you just to hear your true thoughts. There are people in the company who follow my opinions. I want to find someone who is objective and knows enough about Hollywood to listen. Listen to his opinion." Dahe saw Ronald's hesitation.

"Actually, it's nothing. There's a similar plot in my new movie."

Ronald took a sip of matcha, which tasted completely different from Chinese tea. He put down the teacup, thought about it, and said to Dahe.

"Records are different from movies. Hollywood has been the pride of ordinary Americans for the past eighty years. The movies here are related to the lives of each of us ordinary Americans. When we were children, we were taught by our parents We took them to see it. When we became adults, we went to see it with our partners. When we had children, we took them to see it.

It can be said that the most profound memories of any ordinary person's life are involved in Hollywood movies. To a certain extent, our lives are also shaped by Hollywood movies. "

"Is that so..." Norio Ohga frowned. What Ronald said was exactly what he was worried about.

"Japanese products defeated many domestic products in the American market, and then you came to acquire many companies, but these are all side effects. Movies are different from ordinary refrigerators and cars. They are related to the common memory of the people. "

"Then what do you think we need to do to prevent opposition from the American people?" Norio Ohga touched his forehead.

"Can I ask, why do you want to acquire a Hollywood film company? You also sell hardware in Japan, right? Video recorders and cameras are top-notch in the industry, and I use them both, but selling video recorders and making movies are two different things. Something?"

"Ronald San is still so sharp. Our beta format video tapes have not competed with the VHS format. Although the video recorder market in America was opened up by us and Universal..."

Norio Ohga talked about the case that Sony and Universal fought in the Supreme Court. After winning the case, video rental stores started to pop up all over America.

But after opening up the market, we did not get the largest share. Although the beta format video tapes have better image quality and smaller size, the vhs format video tapes have completely eaten up the market that was finally opened.

Beta format video tapes are still used by some users who have the highest requirements for image quality, but the disproportionate number of video tapes of the two formats on the market has declared Sony's failure in this war.

It seems that Sony has spent a lot of effort to develop the market, but only got the most delicious chocolate sauce on the ice cream sundae. The largest amount of ice cream is occupied by the VHS format of JVC, Panasonic, and Hitachi Alliance.

Sony's president, Mr. Morita, was very sad about this failure. He summed up his experience, mainly because the number of film libraries owned by Sony was not enough. If you can own enough copyrights of classic movies, then the beta format video tapes will exclusively own the best classic movies.

Recently, Sony has been developing new innovations. A new product with a similar concept to the best Walkman sold in America, Walkman TV, will be sold in large quantities. Sony has placed the same expectations on this product as the Walkman.

Dahe took out a small TV set to Ronald and handed it to Ronald.

The Walkman TV, which is not much bigger than a Walkman, presses a button and a TV signal appears on a two-inch display. Ronald pulled the antenna out and tried it. The image and sound were clear.

There are also some interfaces on the back of the machine that can connect to cable TV signals. The most interesting thing is that there is a socket on the back of this mini TV, which can hold beta's small video tape.

"That's all?" Ronald looked at the small TV screen, which was smaller than the TV set in the 1950s. Watching movies on it was just too much.

"Yes, Mr. Morita is very interested in this matter. He said to me that the program and the machine are like Sony's two wheels, which must be made to run at the same time. So, I want to hear your opinion on how to make it work." Don’t Americans resent our acquisition?”

】

"This...", Ronald thought, how could I know. Tess in "Working Girl" took advantage of this antipathy towards you Japanese people and used a legal loophole to block the Japanese people from acquiring American media.

Politicians also need to listen to the voice of the people. You Japanese people have a bad reputation in America. When people hear that a classic Hollywood movie has a Japanese surname, they will definitely be very disgusted.

Seeing Dahe staring at him, Ronald scratched his head. When someone comes to visit, he still has to say a few words.

"I think in many Hollywood movies, after the Japanese acquired the American company, they began to use Japanese methods to manage production and find Japanese people as managers. There was a movie 'Working Heroes' the year before last, which was for Japanese management says good things, but after it was released, the response was bad. Many people think your managers are like devils. Those who finish the last few in the production quota will be put on a belt of shame, just like the Germans during World War II..."

"I know about that movie. My friend at Toyota told me that that movie is a textbook and a demonstration of how to manage American employees."

Norio Ohga knew what Ronald was talking about as soon as he heard it. He was indeed a master of both things and the American people. Otherwise, it would be impossible for a person like this to be so sensitive.

"Also, we are very concerned about American-style heroes, and our children want to be them since childhood. If our heroes all become Japanese-style heroes in the future, then we will feel very uncomfortable."

"What do you mean?" Dahe wanted to ask for more details.

“Just like the movie I made, Daniel, the protagonist in it, learned some Japanese philosophy, but he is essentially an American hero who is not afraid of taking risks and has the courage to try.

If you bought a Hollywood studio and made a hero who looked not like John Wayne but like Toshiro Mifune, it would be very uncomfortable. We would ask, what on earth is a pearl...what is that, you know what I mean. "

Ronald almost said, after the attack on Pearl Harbor, who won? Since the Americans won, the heroes should be shaped according to our philosophy and ideas.

Norio Ohga was thoughtful. After sending Ronald away, he began to draft a report to Mr. Morita.

Hollywood is a proud cultural center that represents America. Any idea of ​​an acquisition that only considers business matters is immature and even harmful. We must use a method that does not touch the sensitive nerves of American politicians and people to complete the acquisition.