Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Mike Medavoy took responsibility for the box-office failure of "Valmont" and has already met with the richest man, John Kluge, to submit his resignation.

Before leaving, he left a good impression on John Kluge. Mike Medavoy introduced Sony-Columbia CEO Peter Guber to discuss with Orion Pictures the purchase of Orion's overseas distribution business.

1989 was a miserable year for Orion. Although they made seventeen movies and hundreds of hours of TV series, their box office revenue was only $60 million, less than 5% of Hollywood's domestic market share.

In 1988, John Kluge spent US$78 million to buy out Redstone's shares in Orion, holding 67% of the shares and becoming a veritable boss of Orion. But Orion's debt has also accumulated very much. Long-term debt has reached 60% of the company's value, and this is even under the premise of using many creative accounting techniques.

The box office failure of 1989 and the dilemma of not having a single movie make money made Orion's financial situation even worse. The long-term debt ratio was close to 80% of the company's value. If you add in the accountant's deliberate delaying of losses, the company has actually been Insolvent.

For John Kluge, this loss is not a big deal, but the failure of a business run by the richest man is a particularly big damage to his reputation. Where did the previous success come from? There is widespread confusion among ordinary people.

At this time, Colombia extended a hand of friendship. Proposed a one-time acquisition of Orion's overseas distribution cooperation.

Columbia Pictures would offer $150 million as an advance payment for all Orion films produced over the next six years, as well as video releases for fifty older films, plus some Orion television productions.

In this way, Orion can abandon the system of independent distributors in various overseas regions that it has relied on before, reduce its personnel, and reduce some expensive overseas distribution costs. Add in a cash advance and you can get back on your feet on your cash flow.

Columbia's offer is quite sincere. The biggest reason is that the new CEO wants to make some achievements. Orion has won two Oscars for Best Picture in the past few years. Being able to buy their video distribution rights is an unbelievable amount of money. Good deal on questions.

However, most of the wealth of John Kluge, the richest man, was earned by his own hard work. He deliberately delayed it and asked Guber to increase the price...

"Thank you, Ronald. Dahe Sang spoke. There was almost no delay in my proposal. The other party immediately got on the phone with Mr. Kluge. The negotiations have entered a substantive stage. It can be said that I can leave Orion with peace of mind."

Mike Medavoy called to thank Ronald. Because of this business, John Kluge did not embarrass Mike Medavoy too much and gave him the golden parachute popular in the Hollywood industry, a generous severance package, plus a three-year cooperation agreement between his personal production company and Orion .

"I'm glad to hear this news. Dahe-san values ​​you very much. Once the deal is completed, we can talk about your new job..."

After talking to Mike Medavoy, Ronald put on a handsome handmade suit, kissed Helen Slater goodbye, and prepared to go out to Staten Island to vote in the mayoral election.

"My dear, can you come back here at night?" Helen, wearing home clothes, looked at Ronald with an expression that said, "I want to go with you."

"Okay, I'll come back as soon as I can. I haven't seen Aunt Karen for a long time. Let's talk to her and I'll be back in the evening."

After Ronald got married, he and Helen mainly hung out in the Fifth Avenue apartment and did not bring her back to Staten Island. This made Helen obviously dissatisfied. She had also known Aunt Karen for a long time, and it was normal for them to meet each other.

But Ronald was a little afraid to take her to see his aunt, because in his eyes, Aunt Karen was a woman who respected traditional values. Although he was pretty clean according to the standards of Hollywood directors, he brought a woman other than Diane back. When I see my aunt, I am still afraid of causing unnecessary trouble.

This matter has almost become a knot in Helen's mind, and Ronald is planning to go back this time to test his aunt's tone.

As the car drove out of Fifth Avenue, Ronald saw that many polling places on the road had already begun to line up. Today was not a legal holiday. Many people chose to queue up at the polling places in advance before going to work. Not all companies would do this because of the city. Holidays are given for long elections.

When the car arrived at the pier, Ronald and Little Bud got on the yellow ferry. It had been a long time since the two of them took public transportation like ordinary people.

After experiencing the life of ordinary office workers, Ronald and Little Bud took an hour-long intercity train ride back to their home in Totville.

"Bud, Bud..." The four sisters of little Bud's family were already waiting for him under a huge poster with family members.

It was the aunt and GMB's mother who got the veterans to support Rudy's poster campaign. Many Vietnam War veterans have entered the disciplinary force system headed by Rudy, so their support for Rudy is also very high.

"My child, you dressed very solemnly today and came to your hometown to vote by yourself again. Aunt Karen is very happy." Aunt Karen wore formal clothes and tied a ribbon representing the veteran family. She saw that Ronald could abide by the traditional American values. , attaching importance to election voting, special satisfaction.

"Of course, it's not convenient for Diane to fly now. She has already voted by mail..." Ronald knew that his aunt liked this old-school American style and said something nice.

"Let's go over..." Auntie took Ronald's arm and walked to the front of the voting place to queue up.

"Mr. Li..."

Many people in the queue knew Ronald and greeted him one after another, and some old-school black employees would take off their hats to him.

Ronald nodded and greeted one by one. Some of them looked familiar, while others were unfamiliar. They might be workers recruited as Ronald's business of additional film equipment expanded in the past few years.

Don't tell me, this feeling of being respected from the bottom of one's heart makes people feel a bit elated. No wonder those factory owners in old Hollywood movies are the backbone of the place. Ordinary people are proud to invite them to their weddings and funerals.

Ronald thought of the movie he dreamed of. Gregory Peck was also very prestigious among the workers.

He instantly understood why the factory was unwilling to sell this character to the Hollywood banker played by Danny DeVito at a high price even though the factory was not profitable. This feeling of genuine respect from the local people cannot be bought with any amount of money.

These people also treated Aunt Karen with respect, which made Ronald feel even more satisfied. Although the scale of his factory is not very large, it is an indisputable fact that he can feed some local people and give them better income.

Their wages may not be as high as those of white-collar workers in Manhattan, but houses in the countryside are cheap and prices are not expensive. Douglas Jr.'s family provides all services from supermarkets to hairdressers, ballet classes for children to movie theaters. In fact, the standard of living here is actually No worse than those polished white-collar workers in Manhattan.

Some are well-educated employees, as well as those who travel to various parts of the country to serve crews. Ronald's lightning light factory, editing tape factory, scenery tape factory, and the latest dog-view camera auxiliary equipment factory are all locals. Most desired job opportunity.

These small devices are in a very professional market and have few competitors. Due to patent protection, it is not cost-effective for a small company to pay Ronald for imitation, and large companies look down on such small things. Sales and profits at Ronald's factory were good.

In terms of Ronald's wealth, what he earned from making movies and investing in securities was hundreds of times that of these factories, but this real feeling of owning an industry was stronger every time he returned to Staten Island.

…

After voting, Ronald and his aunt enjoyed dinner together. Donna works in an investment company and cannot take time off to vote, but she still comes to have dinner with her mother and cousin in the evening.

The family hadn't had dinner together like this for a long time, and Ronald and his aunt were very happy.

"What a delicious dinner...", Ronald finished the baked cookies and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

"Better than your personal chef?" Donna exposed the hypocrisy of the form.

"Don't tell me, I just love this taste...my chef can't make the taste of aunt baking cookies." Ronald didn't care and continued to say nice things shamelessly.

"Ahahaha...Ronnie, you really make me happy..." Aunt Karen burst out laughing.

"When will you bring Helen home to meet me?" Suddenly, caught off guard, my aunt asked, "Helen is also a good girl. I haven't seen her for a long time..."

"Ahem..." Ronald, who was caught off guard, choked and quickly drank a few sips of coffee.

"Remember, Ronnie, don't let your woman feel hurt. Family harmony is the most important..."

Ronald looked back at Donna, who shrugged, indicating that my mother already knew about this.

The folk customs in Staten Island are a bit like those in the South. My aunt had seen a lot of this kind of thing when she was young, and she only thought it was a normal behavior for a capable man. But the first condition is not to destroy the family.

Ronnie seems to be able to handle this...

Ronald didn't expect that the matter would be resolved. He didn't disturb little Bud who was going home for a reunion at night. He found an apartment by himself and ordered two luxury cars to pick him up at the pier. Ronald chatted with his aunt for a while and then got on the intercity train back to Manhattan.

As soon as he got off the ferry, Ronald saw the Mercedes-Benz picking him up on the other side.

"Mr. Li? Please..." The driver, also a black man wearing a suit and dress, got out of the car and opened the door for Ronald. The people with luxury apartments on Fifth Avenue are the rich and famous, and they have seen the photos and recognized their faces.

"Hello……"

"Barney, Barney Thomas is at your service..." the driver introduced, then honked the horn twice, and the car turned around and drove towards the apartment.

"Didi, didi..." The driver turned from West Street to 48th Street, preparing to turn to Fifth Avenue, but in the dark place in front, there were many buses parked there, and people were getting on and off. Block the road tightly...

"It's so late, are there any tour groups?" Ronald didn't understand. He knocked on the back of the seat and asked the driver Barney what was going on.

"Hey, Mr. Li, these people are all black people, have you noticed?" He turned on his headlights and shook the crowd in front of him. It attracted a lot of abuse.

"Huh?" In the brief light, Ronald saw the bus in front of him. They were all black people. Someone guided them to get off, and then they threw some things into a big box one by one, and immediately returned to the bus. , there seems to be someone responsible for counting them at the bus door and handing out some things.

"What is this for?" Ronald couldn't understand at all. Why were there so many black people in Lower Manhattan? And he doesn’t look like a tourist, nor does he look like someone coming to receive relief.

"Didi..." Seeing that someone seemed to be checking in front of him, the driver honked the horn twice and turned around to change the road. When the people in front saw that it was a high-end Mercedes-Benz, they didn't come over to ask. They left cursing and yelled at the staff who were handing out things at the door of the bus, "Be smarter..."

"Hey, hey, why did the person in front have an extra bag of stuff, but we don't have any?" a black man yelled. His waistline was about the same as his height. He started to scold the staff member at the top of his lungs and wanted to get justice for the loss he suffered.

"This is the group of people who vote. Most of us black people don't have cars. When we vote, we drag them to the polling place to vote. That's what you see. Many of them live at the junction of Harlem and Uptown. After voting, You can also give a gift, ranging from flour to shopping vouchers..."

"This..." Ronald didn't expect that voting could be done like this... However, voting for money, isn't this considered a violation?

"I don't know. I was like this when I was a child. It is said that it is not illegal to deliver things..." The driver has now jumped out of the slum and is now a decent driver. He doesn't care about the scars of this black man.

"But you said they live in Harlem, why come to downtown?" Ronald felt that the black driver knew a lot, so he asked casually.

"Mr. Li, this is a disgraceful thing. It started when I was a child. Many people will go to several polling places to vote in order to get an extra gift..."

"Is this? Doesn't the election committee care?" Ronald didn't expect that the voting election that Aunt Karen holds so sacred would actually have people voting indiscriminately just to get some gifts..."

"America is very lax about voting and doesn't check driver's licenses. You are successful people and don't understand us little people."

"Oh, that's it...is it okay if we see them voting like this?" Ronald first thought of the staff who came over just now to check. They didn't think of themselves as reporters, right?

"No, we are a luxury car. If we turn around and drive away, they will not care. Many people know this. It is a repertoire of every election."

"Uh..." Ronald didn't expect such a thing. There were many aspects of America that he didn't understand.

"Thank you..." When they arrived at Fifth Avenue, Ronald gave the driver a few extra twenty dollars in cash as a tip. He handled the matter well and didn't get himself into trouble.

"Helen, I'm back..."

"Ronnie..." Helen rushed up to kiss him.

"I talked to my aunt, and she said I haven't seen you for a long time, and I have the opportunity to go for a weekend." Ronald first conveyed the aunt's invitation to Helen, "This is the baked cookie she gave you..."

"Really? You're so kind..." Helen felt happy. Originally, she didn't deserve this kind of family gift. "I'll make you a cup of coffee and we'll eat a few bucks..."

The two were leaning on the sofa, drinking coffee, eating cookies, and smiling at each other. Helen felt sweet. Although we don’t get together much, each time is very warm...

"The voting has ended. It is reported that the votes of the two candidates are very close. Rudy and Dinkins have both submitted requests for a recount. It seems that who is the mayor of New York will have to wait until tomorrow..."

The live broadcast of the mayoral election is still being broadcast on TV. Unlike previous years when Mayor Koch had declared victory in the evening, this election is quite anxious...

"Hmm... um..." Ronald and Helen were already kissing each other passionately. Ronald fumbled to find the remote control and turned off the TV with a snap.

…

"Um... what time is it?" Ronald woke up from his deep sleep. He and Helen were very involved last night, and they didn't wake up until about nine o'clock in the morning today.

"Well..." Helen hadn't slept enough yet, and she was still holding Ronald in her arms, not wanting him to leave the bed.

"Honey, let me see the election results..." Ronald turned on the TV.

"Dear viewers, my name is Peter Hannington. The reporter in front of me just sent shocking news..."

Ronald looked at the ABC news host strangely. He did not mention the results of the New York mayoral election, but looked very confused, as if something very strange and incomprehensible had happened.

"The East German government announced that anyone who wants to cross the Berlin Wall can move freely. Simply put, the Berlin Wall no longer exists..."