Reborn America, this is my time

Chapter 251 The Great Earthquake

"What?"

"In the past 24 hours, there's been a major earthquake in Hollywood?"

In the early morning of February [-], as soon as John Weinberg and John Whitehead, co-CEOs of Goldman Sachs, stepped into their offices, they saw their secretary hurriedly handing over a tip.

The headline above reads, Ethan Jones is making a big splash in Hollywood, and the landscape of the entertainment industry may be reshaped.

The content inside is very simple. It tells the story that the movie "Alien" failed to pass censorship and was forcibly deleted due to the intervention of Warner, MGM and [-] Disney, so Ethan Jones turned the table and stopped playing it. thing, and highlights Ethan Jones's decision to establish his own set of product review standards.

This behavior will severely damage the voice of major Hollywood studios in the film industry. At the same time, some investors who do not want to offend Ethan Jones may also throw away their entertainment shares, which will lead to the loss of major studios. The stock prices of industrial companies fell sharply.

After all, everyone in the industry has witnessed the destructive power of Ethan Jones when he has a seizure.

As long as they are doing financial investment, no one wants to meet Ethan Jones.

The report of several hundred words was quickly read. As John Weinberg and John Whitehead raised their heads, they both caught surprise in each other's pupils.

It seems like Ethan Jones took down Morgan Stanley’s business last summer, right?
How long has it been since?
half a year?

Then he took away many years of Hollywood's foundation?

This is too outrageous!

"Are these true?" John Weinberg looked at the secretary.

"It's all true." The male secretary nodded carefully.

"What's the situation now?" John Whitehead asked with a frown.

The male secretary replied: "Now, all the companies related to this matter are frantically trying to save themselves. Michael Eisner, the president of Paramount, called the Department of Justice, trying to find Barbara from there. Babcock's father also contacted Yale Law School to see if they could help contact Ethan Jones."

"The chairman of Columbia Pictures approached CBS Network in an attempt to establish a relationship with Ethan Jones as a business partner;"

"Walt Disney's son-in-law, Ron Miller, approached Bank of America, where the Disney family fund is located, hoping to get in touch with Ethan Jones's partner bank, Wells Fargo, in the financial field;"

"Amanda Cushing, wife of Steve Ross, flew directly to us in New York and is seeking a meeting with Lawrence Rockefeller..."

"Of course, some people came to us at Goldman Sachs."

"In short, those people hope that Ethan Jones's friends can come forward and persuade this lunatic to calm down. They can accept any form of negotiation as long as Ethan Jones is willing to talk."

"But the problem is..."

"So far, Ethan Jones has shown not one iota of willingness to negotiate."

"..." This result made John Whitehead fall into silence.

John Weinberg continued: "So, those people decided to give up on Steve Ross instead of helping Steve Ross fight Ethan Jones?"

"Yes." The male secretary nodded affirmatively and said: "Mr. Weinberg, although this thing sounds outrageous, it is true, because Hollywood companies are very aware of their previous actions of lobbying states to protect the film association. It's unconstitutional, and when they have enjoyed the power that comes with violating the law for many years, whoever can bring this to Capitol Hill is invincible."

John Weinberg nodded slightly and said thank you. The male secretary who understood what he meant immediately left.

With the sound of the door closing, John Weinberg immediately turned his attention to John Whitehead. At this moment, the two people who turned their heads at the same time looked at each other for a few seconds, and then smiled in unison.

"To be honest, I feel like I'm listening to a story." John Weinberg put down the document.

"Me too." John Whitehead sat down, leaned back in his chair, and sighed with emotion: "Ethan Jones's movements were too fast, and one blow was fatal."

"It felt like a confrontation between two armies. The other side just organized an advance team to conduct a ground raid, and then Ethan started calling the Air Force to carry out carpet bombing. What's more important is that what he dropped was a nuclear warhead. This... ...How can others beat me?"

"Goose goose..." The friend's metaphor made John Weinberg laugh out loud.

He leaned back in the chair with the same relaxation, and soon his eyes became blurred.

The huge office also fell into silence.

The two did not discuss the cause and effect of this matter, because it was meaningless; they also did not ask who the company was that came to ask for help, because helping those people would not make them any profit.

What they care about is what kind of opportunities this matter can give Goldman Sachs. After a long silence, John Whitehead took the lead and said, "Are we trying to short Global?"

"Why?" John Weinberg asked casually without moving.

"Because Steven Spielberg is likely to leave Universal."

John Whitehead tilted his head, looked at his friend who was thinking with his eyes closed, and said: "Although on the surface, the worst performers in this farce are Warner, MGM and Disney, after digging deeper, We can find that among the seven companies, the one with the least ability is actually Universal."

"Although Warner, MGM and half of Disney combined have failed to hold down Ethan Jones, the chess pieces set up by Universal in the Motion Picture Association can be easily instigated by Warner. This is the most outrageous thing, and even more outrageous. However, it was not until Alien was rated that they discovered the betrayal."

"This situation will cause Universal's reputation in the industry to plummet, and it will also cause power-hungry directors like Steven Spielberg to leave Universal. Now, who in Hollywood doesn't know that Ethan Jones is stamping his feet? Can those seemingly glamorous giants be unable to bear it? Cooperating with Destiny Pictures is the real alliance of powerful forces! So Steven Spielberg will definitely choose this path."

"Do you think Steven Spielberg will join Destiny?" John Weinberg asked.

"Probably not." John Whitehead shook his head and said: "From Steven Spielberg's perspective, building your own company like George Lucas is the best approach. This will allow He firmly controls the say in the work, and Destiny Pictures can handle the distribution."

"But Destiny Pictures has no distribution channels." John Weinberg opened his eyes and looked at his friend.

"Who said that?" John Whitehead immediately retorted, "When Ethan Jones was able to bypass the Big Seven and meet with the bosses of North American theaters, the distribution channel was already established."

"What is film distribution? It is nothing more than selling the film into theaters!"

"Going further, it's just negotiating with theaters to get more film schedules and theater promotions!"

“Ethan Jones can do all these things!”

"So, whether Destiny Pictures has distribution channels depends entirely on whether Ethan Jones wants to do it. If he is willing to spend money to support the docking team, then Destiny Pictures can instantly build a distribution team. If he is not willing to spend If the money supports the ground pushing team, then Qida will be lucky that Ethan Jones is just playing around."

"Right now, it's not the Big Seven that can change the landscape of Hollywood."

"But Ethan Jones."

These words made John Weinberg frown slightly.

After thinking for a while, he laughed and said, "I have another idea."

"Be short on Universal first, and then release the news that "Alien" is banned to reap the rewards."

"Then we bought it in at a low price, held it for half a year, and sold it directly after "Alien" was released."

"Then we are short Universal, waiting for Steven Spielberg to officially announce his departure."

"Under this operation, we can do three transactions within a year to maximize profits."

"Moreover, aren't there many wealthy people on the market now looking to buy Hollywood film companies? Like Saul Steinberg, Marvin Davis, and Australian newspaper tycoon Rupert Murdoch. They all want to get into the entertainment industry, so with Ethan Jones here, we can be a middleman."

John Weinberg winked at his friend.

John Whitehead, understanding what he meant, laughed.

Both of them believe that under Ethan Jones's crazy tossing, the pattern of Hollywood will definitely be directly rewritten!When some players don’t want to continue playing, they will definitely sell out!

At this time, shouldn’t Goldman Sachs, which calls itself a white knight, help these bosses solve their problems?

As for the unwillingness of a small number of shareholders?
Then it has nothing to do with them!
"Ethan Jones is such a good man!" John Weinberg said with emotion.

"No! No! No! Your evaluation is inappropriate!"

John Whitehead quickly corrected, "He's even more powerful!"

At the same time that Goldman Sachs issued the good guy card to Ethan Jones, Lawrence Rockefeller also listened to the work report of his subordinates while enjoying breakfast.

"So, Amanda Cushing wants me to meet her?"

The old man asked while sipping his coffee.

"Yes."

The two subordinates who had been in contact with Ethan couldn't help but nod.

"not see."

The old man put down his coffee, picked up his fork, and stuffed the hot spring egg into his mouth, "Who does Amanda Cushing think she is? Even if she is his father, he is not qualified to see me directly."

"But -" the two subordinates hesitated and said, "Boss, saving Warner is a good business. It will allow us to make huge profits. If we can split Warner from it and get Warner Music Group, then We may be able to occupy a certain market share in the entertainment field in the future."

"Because there is already news from General Motors, Ethan Jones's optical disc project seems to be pursuing the miniaturization of optical discs. He wants a new machine that allows people to carry optical discs with them and listen to music."

Two subordinates took out a document from their briefcase and handed it to their boss.

It is marked with a common logo.

Lawrence Rockefeller only glanced at it briefly and read the contents clearly. This document had nothing to do with technology development. It just told about the time when Robert Hall showed Ethan Jones the optical storage technology after he went to General Laboratory last time. Exhibits used.

But even these were enough for Lawrence Rockefeller, who had a keen sense of smell. "No wonder Ethan Jones wants to go to Hollywood. If the compact disc player is made, they will have direct control over the daily entertainment of Americans."

"The home consoles they launch now may only be able to play games, but in the future, if CDs are added to the home consoles, people will be able to watch movies and listen to music."

"And if this player can be made more advanced, for example, a palm-sized machine can be held in your hand as a music player, and you can watch movies and play games after connecting to a home console, then Philips and Sony will now control The videotape market will simply collapse."

"Do not--"

"The Big Seven in Hollywood can only become his content production company."

"Because no one can refuse this convenience."

"If we make a bold guess, this machine can be used with Apple and replace the disk, then..."

"The people of America may not be able to live without four things in their lives."

"Births, Deaths, Taxes, and Ethan Jones."

The boss's idea made the two subordinates very excited.

Because this is a disguised recognition of their work.

And just when they were expecting their boss to nod and meet Steve Ross's wife, Amanda Cushing, Lawrence Rockefeller put down the document, shook his head and said, "But even so, I won't." No meeting with Amanda Cushing.”

"I understand what you mean, holding the music rights first and betting that Ethan Jones can make the product he fantasizes about, but this behavior doesn't make any sense."

“I’ve told you before, venture capital never invests in products, but in people.”

"Ethan Jones is worth my investment, that's why I let you invest in Apple."

"We also gained a lot from that investment. Apple is developing very well. Ethan Jones's initiative to invite us to invest in Microsoft was even better. Excel is a product that I like even more."

"My judgment is not wrong."

"Since Ethan Jones can bring us a lot of benefits when we live in peace with him, why should we do things before him?"

"You have to know one thing. The stability behind peace is not that easy to maintain."

"Loyalty is not absolute, that is absolute disloyalty."

"Now that Ethan Jones thinks we are harmless, we must maintain this harmlessness to the end, because he is very smart, and he knows that the development of a company cannot be completed by one person. He needs friends and allies, so We just need to sit here patiently and tell him that we trust him and believe in him, and the projects and shares will come naturally.”

While speaking, Lawrence Rockefeller also took out a metal lighter from his pocket.

Use friction to start a fire and ignite the document in your hand directly.

After the fluffy pages were reduced to ashes, he turned to look at his two subordinates and said with a smile: "Tell Amanda Cushing that Steve Ross is nothing compared to Ethan Jones. If she uses unconventional means to help Steve Ross, then I don’t mind being The Undertaker and sending The Undertaker away.”

"Then, for the sake of my grandfather, you are reminding her that Steve Ross is a guy who can even drain the family fortune of his first wife."

"What is she pursuing when she stays with a guy like this? Love?"

"idiot."

Binghan's words made the two subordinates nod quickly.

As they left, Lawrence Rockefeller stood up and walked into the manor's showroom.

In the center here, there is a picture hanging, which is a group photo of their family.

His grandfather, John Rockefeller Sr., and his grandmother, Laura Spellman, sat in the middle. Behind them stood their parents, and he and his brothers and sisters were held in their arms.

After more than 60 years of invasion, time has dyed the photo yellow, but the serious face of John Rockefeller Sr. can still be clearly captured by Lawrence.

After staring at each other for a long time, Lawrence suddenly laughed.

"Grandpa, Dad told us before that you said something when you were teaching him -"

“The growth of big business is just survival of the fittest.”

“I never understood this before, because I always thought doing business was easy.”

"It can be expanded at will."

"But now I understand that some people are born with a wild streak."

At this point, he stopped.

His eyes moved slightly and he looked at his father.

"Dad, you know what? There's a 23-year-old kid who's flipping the tables in Hollywood."

"He did what we Rockefellers couldn't do back then."

"This really makes me-"

"admiration."

"Because now I can't even think about what I was doing at the age of 23."

"But I know Leland Stanford Jr. made the right bet."

"Fred Terman..."

"This old guy is so lucky!"

"And most importantly, people in Hollywood are now asking me to be here!"

"They think I'm going to help them?"

"ridiculous!"

"I have long wanted to take revenge on RKO!"

At the same time that Lawrence Rockefeller refused to see Amanda Cushing, on the Stanford campus in the Bay Area of ​​California, Fred Terman, who was awakened by the ringing of the phone, was leaning on the bedside to answer the phone.

When two of his students, HP founders Bill Hewlett and David Packard, called one after another, the old man who lived in his old age knew that in just 48 hours, Ethan Jones had already He defeated the opponent who had designed to trap him and made peace with him all over the world.

"So, you've been approached by someone who wants you to persuade Ethan Jones to abide by the rules?"

"Yes."

"Then what do you think?"

"We...we didn't know about this...so we called you..."

The old man laughed at the slippery words.

With one foot already in the coffin, how could he not know what the two students meant?
When Evelyn Johnson continued her Ph.D. program last fall and took on Fred Terman's name, the Game of Destiny truly became a Stanford institution.Like HP, no matter what happens in the game of destiny, Stanford will come forward. There is no right or wrong here, only intimacy.

In this case, Ethan Jones has tipped the scales for Hollywood?
oh!It's too late for HP to wave the flag, so how can they help Hollywood persuade them?
A bunch of idiots!
Of course, they could think so in their hearts, but they couldn't do things like this, so making a phone call to inform them became what the two old fritters had to do.

After all, after years of social scouring, they are no longer young.

They also have relationships to maintain, and they can only watch Ethan being lawless there.

"I understand your concerns, so feel free to refuse."

"For the outside world, just say that I know all this, and I also agree with Ethan's approach."

"It's time for video games to have a grading standard. We can't allow disordered games to continue to appear."

"As for the movie..."

"Since movies and games are bound, why use two different standards?"

These words made the two little old men quickly agree.

After hanging up the phone, Fred Terman, who was completely sleepless, also got out of bed and came to the window.

Looking at the bright sky, feeling the slight coolness in the air.

The corners of his mouth twitched slightly.

"There's someone at Stanford—"

"Hahahaha-"

He smiled happily.

　Note: ① Saul Steinberg was a financier and the CEO of Reliance Insurance, which went bankrupt in 80. He made a hostile takeover of Disney in the early 80s, but failed. Michael was brought in by Roy Disney. Eisner blocks. ②Marvin Davis is a second-generation rich man whose family sells women's clothing and makes oil. He acquired Fox in the early 20s and sold it to Murdoch a few years later. ③ Lawrence Rockefeller’s father entered Hollywood in the [-]s and founded the film company RKO. However, because they could not grasp the essence of content, they were squeezed out by other Hollywood companies. (euphemism)

　　
　
(End of this chapter)