Exploiting Hollywood 1980

Latest website: "Young man, are you going there to make another Oscar-winning movie like The Last Emperor? Hahahahaha..."

"Forehead……"

Hongqiao Airport is now being expanded with the help of Japanese companies, and the procedures for applying for a private jet to dock are too complicated. In order to avoid trouble, American entrepreneurs who go to attend the Mayor's International Entrepreneur Advisory Conference all take an Arthur Andersen account. The office's charter flight goes there.

This Mayor's International Entrepreneur Advisory Meeting was brokered in advance through Arthur Andersen Accounting Firm.

Ronald is too young among this group of people. Many big bosses in the manufacturing industry have a very subtle attitude towards him, and there is some seeming frivolity in their words.

Ronald had nothing in common with them, especially Thomas, the Chrysler executive who spoke rudely and toughly. He relied on his tough attitude towards suppliers to make this old car factory win over the backdrop of the union's repeated strikes demanding wage increases. Turn losses into profits.

They previously acquired the AMC brand, a joint venture with China, but they did not trust the manufacturing capabilities there and showed arrogance and disdain at every turn. Thomas failed in his bid for the position of CEO. This trip gave him the impression of being marginalized in the power struggle. Unhappy, he began to make fun of Ronald, the youngest member of the group.

"Ah, little Ronald, please come and sit here. I have some questions about Hollywood film insurance and I want to ask you..."

Ronald, who was being annoyed by a group of big-bodied capitalists, suddenly heard one of the most senior members of the delegation, the CEO of AIG, Greenberg, who was elected as the head of the advisory group last year, yell to stop. , gave up the seat next to him and let him go over to chat.

This big boss is also a New Yorker and a Jew. He joined the army in his early years and participated in the Normandy landing. Later, he became the founder of AIG and appointed Starr as his successor. He is personable, has a well-controlled figure, speaks with his head slightly tilted, and has a kind of approachable charm.

"Those people looked down on the manufacturing capabilities of the people in that country, but I clearly saw huge potential in them waiting to be unlocked... Mr. Starr once told me that the people there are natural salesmen, visionary businessmen, and The best workers…”

Maurice Greenberg may be the most optimistic about China among these entrepreneurs. He made a lot of pertinent suggestions at the advisory meeting last year when it was most needed, and was later elected as the leader. He told Ronald People who are friendly to China like this also appreciate it, so I want to make friends with him.

"Has Mr. Starr been there?" Ronald asked curiously.

"Oh, God, have you never bought life insurance? Don't you know the company AIG? The company introduction of our contract will be printed with "founded in Shanghai... Come on, let me talk to you about life insurance" The importance of..." Greenberg deliberately acted like a salesman.

After listening to what he said, Ronald realized that the top three life insurance companies in America were first established on the other side of the Pacific in 1919. There are still many senior white salesmen who can speak fluent Modu dialect. They all practiced it in order to sell insurance policies.

"So, do you want to buy some insurance?" Greenberg asked again after introducing the company's history.

"Um..." Ronald touched his nose. This man really spoke in a humorous manner. "To be honest, I'm still not familiar with the ways of doing business there. Could you please tell me, what is the most important thing?"

"Hehe..." This flattery was really in the right place. What Greenberg is most proud of is being able to catch the big fish at the right time. His risky actions last year won the other party's favor, and now he has begun to consider issuing a license to his AIA and introducing a wholly-owned company as an exception to serve as a teacher for the domestic insurance market.

"Let me tell you, they are different from the stiff-minded people in the league. They are more pragmatic. The key is that you have to understand what they really want and be flexible enough..." Greenberg would only say a few words. The general principles are talked about in general, but the real secret is silent.

Ronald asked several times, but Greenberg kept repeating the same formula over and over again. When he was pressed, he would talk to him, "Where is the beautiful woman with you at the Los Angeles Airport? Why didn't you take this flight with me?" Flight? By the way, let me ask you again, do you want to consider buying some insurance? "

"Oh my gosh, I heard Woody Allen once say that the definition of hell is sitting next to a life insurance salesman on a transoceanic flight." Ronald was touched by his sense of humor and came. One sentence.

"Hahaha, I like you, Ronald." Greenberg waved to him and stopped chatting.

"Hi..." Ronald returned to what he was writing at the back, took out his notebook and wrote down Greenberg's words. Although there were only general principles, he could also figure out some gaps.

After writing, he put the notebook into his bag, lowered the chair and tried to sleep.

Diane won the Best Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Television Series category at the Golden Globe Awards party, and her acceptance speech was broadcast live on NBC to the world.

Of course, Helen in New York also saw it. This time she flew to Hongqiao Airport with the PBS documentary crew. When she saw Ronald at Los Angeles Airport, she was very cold. Helen was unwilling to invite her on his special plane, saying she wanted to go with the film crew. Ronald had to get on the special plane alone...

…

"Ladies and gentlemen, your... flight has arrived at Hongqiao Airport..."

This time I came to Ronaldo and saw some new things. Hongqiao Airport began to use English and Japanese broadcasts simultaneously, and the terminal building was also renovated according to Japanese standards, making it much more convenient than before.

People from the Commerce Department and the Grain and Oil Company were already waiting outside for Ronald's arrival, along with employees from the Coca-Cola office.

"Mr. Li, this time our meeting will be held at the New Jinjiang Hotel, not the western suburbs last year. This is the arrangement of the meeting." Someone from Coca-Cola came over to help Ronald carry his luggage.

"I want to talk to a friend," Ronald shook hands with entrepreneurs such as Greenberg and said goodbye, and then waited at the airport for Helen's plane to arrive. Fortunately, the people in the Business Office could not make unified arrangements for these entrepreneurs. After asking the leaders for instructions, they handed Ronald the representative certificate and then accompanied him on the trip.

"Ladies and gentlemen, your... flight has arrived at Hongqiao Airport..." Seeing Helen's flight arriving, Ronald, who was waiting at the door, suddenly saw Helen walking out on the arm of a middle-aged man. .

The hand Ronald just raised froze in mid-air. This middle-aged man is none other than Helen’s father, Gerald.

"Hey, Ronald, what did I tell you? You have taken good care of my daughter, why do you still need me to accompany her?" Gerald approached and said to Ronald when he came up.

"Um, I didn't know you were on the same plane. No wonder Helen didn't get on my flight."

"I came here with the film crew to inspect the TV market here, No..." Gerald fully understood his daughter's thoughts. This kind of thing is quite common in the entertainment industry, and Ronald actually has a deep understanding of her. He took good care of her, so he stopped scaring Ronald and gave his daughter's arm on his arm to Ronald.

"Hehehe, at the airport just now, did it look like a father handing over his daughter's hand to the groom at a wedding?" When the two arrived at Xinjinjiang, Helen regained some of her emotions in the restaurant and started joking with Ronald.

"Uh..." Ronald was speechless. Wasn't it all agreed upon at the time? It seems that women are fickle.

"You seem to like being the host of this documentary?" If that doesn't work, he has to "buy" a Golden Globe for Helen.

"I came here as a game. This kind of dubbing and narration is effortless for me. It can also be treated as a trip. I still want to invest the main energy in the movie..."

"Um..." Ronald put a hand on his forehead and rubbed his forehead hard several times. The competition for these movie awards is much more fierce than the TV awards. The highest honor of Oscar is not just about money. It’s done, otherwise I would just get a few for fun first. “The Oscar is actually a very fair professional association award...”

"So, getting an Oscar nomination is the real recognition of acting skills..." Helen posted.

"Uh..." Ronald was in pain. How could he bear the strategic competition now?

Suddenly, he saw an acquaintance sitting three or four tables away in the restaurant of the New Jinjiang Hotel.

"Director Huang?"

"Ah, Director Luo? What a coincidence..." Director Huang was very happy when he saw it was Ronald, and hurried over to greet him, "Are these my siblings?"

"Um...", Ronald's forehead was almost bald, "This is my friend, Miss Helen Slater, she has played Supergirl... This is Director Huang, I produced it in Xujiahui Good friends from the studio..."

"Hello, Director Huang." Helen stood up and shook hands with Director Huang. She had watched her "Man, Ghost and God", a very feminist film, and saw the director in person, so she listened obediently.

"I'm having a party with two of my friends, how about we come together?" Director Huang sent out the invitation.

"Okay..." Ronald hurriedly stood up to greet Helen. Helen was very well-behaved in front of the creators of these truly good artistic films. Let’s change the topic quickly!

"These two are from America. This is a good friend of mine. It turns out that Zhu Liang from the Academy of Arts and Crafts immigrated there. This is an actor that my parents have known, Lu..."

"Ah, are you the one who played Cixi in The Last Emperor?" Helen was shocked to realize that this was the Chinese-American actor Lu Yan who played the chilling Empress Dowager Cixi in the beginning of The Last Emperor, which won many Oscars.

"It's me, hello, Miss Slater." Lu Yan originally went to school in Shanghai and entered the entertainment industry, and has known Director Huang and his family for a long time. "Should I call you Director Li or Director Luo?" Lu Yan can only play Chinese Americans in Hollywood and doesn't have many roles. She came back before and starred in the new drama "The Last Noble" directed by Xie Xujiahui. This time I just happened to come back to meet old friends and attend a movie screening event.

"Call me Xiao Luo, what kind of temple do you want to enter, what kind of wooden fish do you want to knock..." Ronald laughed.

"Director Ronaldinho's Songhai gossip is a tripod? Are you here to make a movie?" Lu Yan looked at Director Huang with a different look. It seems that such a big-name director in Hollywood has a very good relationship with Director Huang. The same as usual, joking around.

"They were all led by AIG's Greenberg... I came here to attend a meeting and meet an old friend..." Ronald explained the reasons for his and Helen's visit, and asked Director Huang, "What movie are we filming now?" ah?"

"Hey, the film market has fallen sharply now. Film studios don't have much money to make movies, and I can't get my turn, so I'm changing my career path and preparing to make TV series..." Director Huang sighed, and she took away her "Man, Ghost, and God" She has won awards at several film festivals, but there is no Golden Bear award like Yimou. Considering the income, she has no more conditions to make this kind of film, so she has no choice but to make a TV series.

"Ah? That's really a pity. If you have any scripts suitable for Hollywood, you can ask me to invest..." Ronald knew that co-productions are more strict now than they were a few years ago. For an American imperialist capitalist like him, Due to his status, it may be difficult to get the treatment that Bertolucci received, but you can change your mind. What if Director Huang comes to Hollywood to film?

"Really? In fact, no one has filmed our Chinese stories in Hollywood. If Director Ronaldinho is interested, he might as well pay attention to the new work of a Chinese writer Amy Tan last year, called The Joy Luck Club..." Lu Yan heard that Rona When De said this, he immediately became interested and immediately recommended to Ronald a best-selling book describing Chinese family life.

There are so many Chinese actors in Hollywood. In fact, many of them came to the United States from here, and their standards are very high. However, in the Hollywood environment, they can only play stereotypical supporting roles.

"Oh, I'll write it down..." Ronald wrote down the name of the Joy Luck Club. "I'll go back and talk to Chao Li and ask him if this adaptation is okay."

Lu Yan opened her mouth. She didn't expect that Ronald also knew a famous Chinese actor like Chao Li in Hollywood. It seemed that he had to climb on this thigh. In the future, wouldn't Chinese actors have an extra backer in Hollywood?

Lu Yan squeezed Director Huang's hand on the ground, and then started talking, "Director Huang is directing a TV series adapted from a famous family, which is very popular among intellectuals... right?"

"Oh? What's it called?" Ronald looked back at Director Huang, but he didn't expect it to be a TV series adapted from a famous book? I wonder if there is any sales on Chinese TV stations in America? You can explore the way.

"Besieged City, I went to the home of the author, Mr. Qian, and adapted it with his permission." Director Huang hadn't even thought of selling it to America...

"Let the producer contact me, and I'll ask my company to find sales in America. You don't know, I recently acquired a small TV station in New York and am looking for suitable TV series. And those from your animation studio Cartoons, if you like, I can also buy the rights to play some movies without dialogue. But the price is not high."

Ronald knew that the animation studio here had many short and medium-length stories without lines, so he could try playing them without any hindrance.

"Director Luo, may I ask if your TV station has any TV series? I just need to introduce some suitable TV series now..."

Director Huang's friend, Zhu Liang, who had been silent all this time, suddenly interjected when he heard this.

"Huh? You want to buy a TV series?" Ronald didn't expect Zhu Liang to care about this business, and thought she was just an outsider friend of Director Huang.

"Let me meet you, I am the general manager and chairman of the Sino-American Culture and Entertainment Company..." Zhu Liang quickly handed over a business card in both Chinese and English.

"China-US Culture and Entertainment Company?" Ronald felt that this company's name was too big.

"Actually, it's just a handbag company. It mainly sells American TV series to local TV stations for dubbing and dubbing. I have already introduced Detective Hunter..."

It turned out that Zhu Liang, the so-called founder of Sino-American Culture and Entertainment Company, saw that local TV stations did not have suitable TV series to show, so he took the initiative to contact the city government and bought the copyright from Lolima Films, an American overseas film and television rights distributor, and gave it away free of charge. Play it to the TV station.

"Then you don't make money?" Ronald was surprised. He found that none of the businessmen who came to this country could openly discuss money like they did in America.

"It's profitable, but there are some difficulties..." Zhu Liang talked about the difficulties he encountered. Currently, local TV stations cannot use foreign currency to import copies of TV series. So she can only exchange advertising time with them at equal prices.

Today's local TV advertising prices are not expensive, and the Magic City family cannot cover the purchase cost of "Detective Hunter". So Zhu Liang very cleverly used the contacts he had accumulated from running America's Ice Ballet to perform in Shanghai a few years ago, found a deputy mayor, and contacted three other local TV stations in the capital and coastal areas.

"Detective Hunter" was dubbed by the newly established dubbing team of local TV stations, and then premiered in the "Overseas Film and Television" column. It was switched to the advertising period of this program, and then sent to three other TV stations for the second round, also using local Ad break swap. Of course, it would be difficult for her to supervise it alone, as she mainly relies on advertising revenue from the local Channel 20.

Lolima Film and Television began to increase the price for her last year. Now this model is somewhat unsustainable, so Zhu Liang heard that Ronald was the owner of the television station and immediately wanted to test it out.

"Detective Hunter? Don't you have to give a Miranda warning before catching the bad guys?" Ronald did not expect that the trend of reform and opening up would gradually spread here.

"No problem, the deputy mayor personally agreed... In the end, the copyright of Lolima Film and Television Company will be released..." Zhu Liang had worked hard in America and knew what Ronald meant.

"Hunter is not a first-tier TV series. Why not buy some real high-quality American TV series to show?" Ronald asked instead of answering Zhu Liang's question.

"First-line TV dramas are too expensive, and they are now raising prices. The advertising costs in the market here are not enough to cover..."

"What if I sell you the copyright at a low price, and then we share the advertising revenue?" Ronald interrupted the other party and directly gave the solution.

"Ah?" Zhu Liang was stunned for a moment. He didn't expect that when eating with old friends, a pie would fall on his head? "I can contact the deputy mayor to meet with you. As long as it's a well-directed movie, it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Okay, let's eat first..." Ronald said no more, he saw a good opportunity.

…

Zhu Liang quickly brought the Detective Hunter videotape and asked Ronald to watch the dubbed version.

The effect was very good, almost the same as the dubbing effect of the dubbing studio that Ronald had seen before. It seems that the income of actors here is not high, but there can still be such good actors doing dubbing work.

Ronald asked the switchboard of the New Jinjiang Hotel to make international long-distance calls. This service is now very good in foreign-related hotels. As long as you pay US dollars, you can make transoceanic calls in your room.

"I want to purchase the East Asia sales rights of Growing Pains directly from ABC. Can you ask them if they are willing?"

"Yes, ABC has good cooperation with us, and the people in their TV production department appreciate your help." Ed Bastian, the president of the TV station, immediately agreed.

Ronald started watching the dubbed version of "Hunter" again. For some reason, he felt that the dubbing of this version was very familiar, more so than the actors in the original version.

"Statement from Legal Counsel Fu Xuanjie: The copyright of overseas film and television columns belongs to "America Lolima Film and Television Company" and may not be reproduced without permission. Violators will be prosecuted in accordance with the law."

Looking at the legal statement at the beginning of each episode of the TV series, Ronald smiled and lay in Helen's arms. From now on, TV viewers here will see their company's name appear at the beginning of the TV series every night.

This familiar feeling is the most important thing. One day in the future, when the film market is opened here, my own brand will already be ahead of the seven major studios and be the first to establish it.

…

Soon, Ronald obtained the authorization letter from ABC TV station and signed an agreement with Zhu Liang. The broadcast rights of "Growing Pains" were provided at a very low price, and then Channel 20 was responsible for the dubbing and dubbing. Zhu Liang's company obtained the advertising time and shared it with Ronald.

The deputy mayor in charge of publicity also gave a special banquet to Ronald and his entourage, thanked his American friends for their selfless help to the country's television industry, and took some group photos.

Helen and her father Gerald also benefited from the honor and became guests of the deputy mayor. The filming of the documentary also received great support.

…

"The deputy mayor... met with Ronald Lee, a famous visiting American film and television director, to discuss the direction of film and television reform and development... Director Ronald once directed 'Break Dance', which was very popular in our country..."

I saw the news of Ronald being interviewed in the evening newspaper the next day. Zhu Liang was really convinced. Big capitalists are just taking a long-term view to catch big fish. They would rather lose money than make their company a brand familiar to the public.

"Who said we were going to lose money?" Ronald laughed. He has contacted Coca-Cola's office staff and negotiated an advertisement for the "Overseas Film and Television" column of Channel 20. And submitted a reply to the deputy mayor for approval.

Ronald asked Coca-Cola to choose and send out all the advertisements with a smooth image. They are very concerned about the advertising industry and can't find any problems.

Through this incident, Ronald had a preliminary understanding of how to do business in this country. Unlike manufacturers of export products such as lightning lamps, in order to enter the domestic market, as Greenberg said, you must be flexible and understand what the other party wants, and you must make steady progress and use clever arrangements to avoid some of the reforms. restricted area. Try this method for a few years, and then the other party may change some terms to be more convenient.

Just like Coca-Cola wants to set up a wholly foreign-owned enterprise, but there are too many restrictions. Ronald told the people at Coca-Cola what he thought. They were inspired and came up with a flexible method

Since the other party wants to set up a joint venture, foreign capital is not allowed to hold more than 50%, and Coca-Cola does not want the secret formula of the puree plant to be leaked, so it must control 100% of the equity of the puree plant.

After understanding the ideas of both parties, Coca-Cola came up with a wonderful arrangement. It first invested in the establishment of a sole proprietorship of a puree plant and a bottling plant, and then gave half of the assets and bottling plant to the government.

In this way, the government obtained 50% of the equity of a general factory, while Coca-Cola still controlled 100% of the puree factory.

After this plan was submitted to Coca-Cola, President Keogh immediately approved it. When I found out it was Ronald's idea, I called to express my gratitude.

"Hahaha, they are actually very pragmatic people, and I am slowly learning how to do business with them. If we want a win-win situation, everyone wins..."

After hanging up the phone, Helen helped Ronald put on the dark blue coat, then inserted the handwritten name tag into the plastic card and pinned it to Ronald's chest. He was about to attend a formal international business advisory meeting.

…

"Hua Hua Hua..." More than 60 multinational entrepreneurs, including Ronald, applauded in the newly opened conference hall of Xin Jinjiang. Above is the mayor delivering a welcome speech.

"This is... the first time that we have welcomed such a large number of foreign executives at such a high level. On behalf of... I would like to thank you all for attending... for providing ideas for... development...

I can tell you with confidence that in a few years, the area east of the Huangpu River will become...a new foreign investment zone with a relatively ideal investment environment, more attractive investment policies, and better and better conditions for foreign economic exchanges.

I appeal to all foreign guests and look forward to all far-sighted and visionary industrialists to come and cooperate together in the process of developing and building a modern new district. "

The lunch afterwards will be a buffet style, everyone queues up to get their meals and can communicate freely. When Greenberg saw Ronald, he came over and patted him on the shoulder. This little guy made big news without saying a word. If he came to sell insurance, he would definitely be a good man.

Ronald was also smiling. Because of his contribution to the introduction of TV series and the establishment of Coca-Cola factory, he was also hired as the mayor's special expert together with Greenberg, and was issued a bright red letter of appointment. Now he has truly become an officially recognized old friend of the Chinese people.

The next day, the news about Ronald also escalated. Although some entrepreneurs did not want to be too high-profile, the report did not mention their names and titles, but this time the report on the Mayor’s International Entrepreneur Advisory Conference was from a daily newspaper, which was better than the previous one. The evening paper has gone up a notch.

"Ronald, I heard that you were praised by the mayor."

The news spread quickly, and even Sony CEO Norio Ohga called to inquire.

"Hahaha, yes, I just thought of an idea..." Ronald was still feeling satisfied.

"Can you give me an idea? Come to Tokyo?"

"I have to know Hollywood. There are a lot of things there, and I also have to accompany Diane..."

"I won't delay you for too long. I'll send a special plane to pick you up and take you back to Hollywood..."