Exploiting Hollywood 1980

   Chapter 839 four hundredth

"Most of the houses on both sides of Central Park and on the Upper East Side are in the form of cooperative apartments (Co-op). The transaction price of this kind of house is relatively cheap, but the monthly fee is higher. If you use a loan, An additional state tax is also required.

  As the owner, the purchaser also needs to submit an application for the approval of the owner's board of directors. However, there must be no problem with Mr. Li's qualifications. So I bring photos of a few houses that best meet your requirements, all next to Central Park, penthouses. Please see..."

  The real estate agent Lawrence found was a white man who was very enthusiastic.

"I like this one better," Ronald flipped through the photos, and he took a fancy to a house with windows facing Central Park. The interior decoration is also very classical, a bit like the one where Ingrid Bergman lived. building. "

   "How much is Mr. Li going to borrow?"

"Hey, he's Ronald Lee, he doesn't need a loan." Of course Lawrence knew that Ronald had just made a lot of money, and he was a little dissatisfied with the agent's question. Didn't he explain Ronald's identity and background before coming here? ?

   "OK, that will save a sum of state taxes." The agent was a little surprised. Many film and television stars actually bought houses with loans. Only Chinese like Lawrence like to use cash.

   "This is the application form, Mr. Li, let's compare each item, and I will help you fill it out." The agent quickly filled in Ronald's name, occupation, and so on.

  The property rights of cooperative property rights apartments are relatively complicated in law. Those who buy a house need to get the approval of the owner's board of directors. There are still many questions to ask in order to prevent some people who have considerable income but will affect the value of the property from living in. Such as criminals breaking the law, **** girls, etc.

   "Are you single? How many people are in your household?

  Do you sublet the apartment to someone else?

  …”

   "This is buying a house, why do you still ask me such personal privacy?" Ronald snatched the application form, and there were more than 20 questions on it.

"It's standard procedure, Mr. Lee. The landlord's board doesn't want to see buyers renting out the house, bringing in tenants they don't like, or taking advantage of the fluctuations in the rental market, so there's a penalty clause here, if you don't buy it within a year If you sublet the house, you need to pay a sublet.”

   "Are you reviewing the person who bought the house, or reviewing the criminal suspect?" Ronald was annoyed. The small apartment he bought back then didn't have so much trouble.

"Let me help you fill in the questions. These are very simple questions. If you buy a newly built condominium (Condo), not only the monthly property fee is more expensive, but the location is not as good as Central Park. The unit price of the house It is also about twice as high as this kind of shared property rights.”

  The broker is still very competent, but the other side of the trouble is that the house price is cheap. And near Central Park, the most livable place in New York, most of them are co-op houses.

   “How much of the year do you live on the Upper East Side?”

   "I don't know, maybe a month or two. My main job is still in Los Angeles." Ronald answered the question patiently considering the cheap price of the house and the superior location.

   "That's not okay, you need to live here at least 6 months a year, if you..."

   "Doesn't the Upper East Side belong to America and New York State? I live here, and I still need a green card?" Ronald was annoyed.

   “In a way, yeah, it’s just different here.”

   "I have a cousin, she can usually live in this apartment." Ronald wanted Donna to help him sit in the "immigration prison", and let her have a place to work by the way.

   "Sorry, cousin is not an immediate family member, if it is your wife, or long-term cohabiting girlfriend..."

   "Fxck!" Ronald was angry, why am I a well-known Hollywood director, and you make things difficult for me to buy a house with real money? "You still introduce me to the joint property rights (Condo), I would rather spend twice as much."

   "Actually, it's not that difficult. I can arrange an interview with the board of directors for you. They will make an exception and give you some preferential treatment."

   "I'd rather not..." Ronald could already imagine that the members of the board of directors would use various excuses to pry into his private life after he moved in.

"Well, Mr. Li. Joint property rights are a better choice for customers like you who are very concerned about personal privacy. I recommend this building to you. It was built in 1983. There are many apartments above the 39th floor. Good service, particularly strict security system, many people in the entertainment industry also choose to rent here..."

   "Isn't this the $8,000-a-month apartment that Demi Moore used to rent?" Ronald immediately recognized the glittering interior in the photo. And on the roof of the lower floors, there are really big trees planted.

  “This is a landmark building on Fifth Avenue. The bronze and mahogany styles are uniformly decorated from the 30th floor to the 55th floor, and then up to the 68th floor, which can be decorated according to the owner’s needs.”

   "Well, very good, very good", Ronald looked at the photos of the interior, there are many lofts on the upper floors, which are real urban villas. It is also on Fifth Avenue, the busiest shopping mall, where eating and shopping are very convenient, especially suitable for people like me who come to New York occasionally and don't want to stay in a hotel.

   "Which layer are you more interested in?"

   "66, 68, seems more auspicious?" Ronald thought, it feels good to come to the highest level.

   "Those three floors are reserved by the developer for himself and his wife. She is a famous model from Eastern Europe."

   "Hey, you have vision." Ronald felt that the developer had chosen 66-68 as the highest number of floors, which is quite discerning. In fact, the middle floors of this building were skipped. Above the shopping malls and office buildings on the 20th floor, the apartments were counted directly from the 30th floor, making up an auspicious number.

   "Or 58, the 58th floor is not bad."

   "There is a very good two-story apartment on the 58th floor. I can talk to the owner of the developer. It is the best apartment except the one he left for his parents on the 63rd floor."

   "Okay... make an appointment with him", Ronald decided on the house he wanted to buy, and then began to prepare for the warm-up briefing party held by Little George for his father's participation in the party primary election.

   George Jr., as a manager of his father's upcoming campaign office, is very enthusiastic about nominating for the New York primary election.

  His mother, Barbara, didn't approve of the eldest son who was drinking, cheating, and doing nothing in business. Not because of anything else, but because little George was so similar to his father that he even cheated on his wife, just like old George, looking for a secretary around him.

  But since Ronald and him recovered the lost faith in the church, coupled with his film investment business, the profit of the oil business is much better. In New England society, the son's reputation slowly began to improve.

  Barbara couldn't stand the eldest son's plea, and gave him a chance to start again, allowing him to contribute to the most important cause in the life of the patriarch George Sr. in the most important election of the family.

  As an important old lady in the family, Barbara is very fond of the willingness and hard work of these children to contribute to the family.

   Her favorite young son, Jeb, had been a longtime volunteer for George Sr. in the 1980 election. Last year, he was deeply involved in the election campaign of George Sr.'s ally, Florida Governor Martinez, and has now served as Florida's Secretary of Commerce. It's just that he won't be able to come this time for the husband election.

This time, George Jr. was also full of confidence and asked to come to New York State. In this most important state in the east, the state that won the election in 1984, he persuaded more local forces for his father's party primary election. faction to support the current deputy commander.

  Douglas Jr., who is a powerful person in the Elephant Party of Staten Island, has been in the hotel to help introduce George Jr. to powerful people in New York.

  They saw Ronald's arrival, and came up to greet him together.

"Laura, help me continue with them. I have something to discuss with Doug and Ronald." Little George asked his wife to continue socializing with those donors, and he pulled Doug and Ronald into the next door. a small room.

   "Here are those who are competitive in the Xiang party and propose to run for election, and here are the promising candidates who have made rumors in the donkey party..."

  Little George pointed to the two piles of materials on the table and introduced them to Ronald. Old George's campaign ad needs to be worked on in which direction, and he and Ronald need to deliberate together.

   "Are these guys handsome? They look like movie stars."

  Ronald can't understand what these politicians' political opinions and resumes represent. He can only judge these candidates from the perspective of a film director.

   On the Elephant Party side, the most handsome guy is New York State Representative Jack Kemp. He is a former NFL quarterback, and the introduction materials say that he is the JFK Kennedy of today's Elephant Party.

   On the side of the donkey party, the most handsome is the Senator from Tennessee, a guy named Gore. He is also a good-looking talent, looks very popular with the audience, and can play a small town youth in a traditional Hollywood movie.

   "Why, do you look at the candidates and only look at their appearance? This is not a movie casting." Little Douglas joked.

"That's not necessarily the case. The most important tool for America's current election campaign is TV advertising, and the most influential thing to vote is TV debates. For example, the last president vs. Mundell..." Ronald's own aunt also voted, not so much She particularly agrees with the political views of the Grand Commander, it would be better to say that she agrees with the face that represents conservative values.

   "So, you mean, handsome candidates are more likely to be elected?" George Jr. was thoughtful.

"It's not exactly like this. Different types of movies require different leading actors. The current commander-in-chief was not the most popular when he was in Hollywood, but he played a smart, tough and sympathetic commander-in-chief. This role is perfect for him.”

Ronald commented on the looks of these candidates, "This Camp is more popular with female voters in big cities, and this Al Gore is very in line with the imagination of female voters in the southern region. These two can play a romantic movie. .

   No, I remember that the candidate for the Grand Commander must be born in America and be at least forty years old? "

  Ronald suddenly discovered that this Gore is only 39 this year.

   "He will be 40 years old when he is elected next year, which happens to meet the minimum requirements of the law. He is also the youngest candidate for the Grand Command ever."

   "Oh, this one can't be the protagonist, it looks like a villain, and it also has a treacherous feeling when it smiles." Ronald looked at a candidate for the Elephant Party, named Rumsfeld, a bureaucrat from Illinois.

   "Well, that's how it is. What about this one?" George Jr. found this kind of physiognomy discussion very interesting and wanted to participate.

   "This one is a bit rascal..." Ronald looked like a senator from Delaware, and he smiled like a villain.

"This, this is better, it can act in a real drama." Ronald turned to a governor of the southern state of Arkansas. Don't say that this person has a sunny temperament and an affinity, which is more convincing than the previous two more handsome candidates. what they said.

   "Our main opponent in the primary election is this person." Little George remembered Ronald's feelings. He took out a photo of an ugly old man and pushed it to Ronald.

   "Robertson, isn't this man an evangelical pastor?" Ronald remembered the pastor who preached on TV and didn't like him. The person who accidentally saw him appear on TV and was about to turn over the channel.

"He called on the believers to endorse him. If there are one million signatures, he will run for the commander-in-chief. Now that he has got three million signatures, he officially announced his candidacy." George Jr. tapped on the table. This is his father. In the primaries, the biggest competitors are out.

   "He also has candidates?" Ronald expressed disbelief. A magic stick, someone in America would choose him as the great commander?

   "3 million signatures, this is a force that cannot be ignored."

   "What charm does he have?" Ronald looked carefully at this Robertson's resume. He claimed to be a Marine Corps combatant serving in North Korea.

"Is this man a fake? Look at his eyes, unlike your father, who has the temperament of having participated in the war." Ronald looked at Robertson's oily eyes, and did not believe that such eyes would grow in a Faces of people fighting opponents on land.

   These eyes reminded him of Michael Cimino, the director of "The Deer Hunter". He just didn't dare to look directly at the camera, as if he was always hiding something. Cimino also faked his military experience.

   "I will find someone to investigate. Do you think my father's image should be built on the military?"

  Little George also felt that his father, when needed, could emit a frightening light.

"Veterans are always respected, especially your father has such a legendary experience. In fact, you can use it. I always feel that watching your father appear on TV, although he does not have the charm of the current commander-in-chief, but we Everyone will feel that the country is led by such a person, and they will feel at ease, and no one will feel like bullying us."

  Ronald talked about his general idea, and Douglas Jr. wrote it down and handed it to George Jr..

   "When I go back, I will talk to my mother about your views. She has found a campaign consultant, Roger Ailes, and I heard that he was one of the campaign consultants of the Grand Commander."

  …

   After all, George Jr. is still the son of an old political family. Seeing that Ronald can give him advice, he feels at ease.

   He continues to go out and chat with the upper class here in New York, get their opinions and perspectives.

   "What do you think?" Douglas Jr. pulled Ronald and asked George Jr., who was making vulgar and outrageous jokes in the crowd.

   "Fortunately, his father's image is relatively good." Ronald also felt that Old George was more like a politician than this son. If Little George wants to choose, he has to choose the script carefully, maybe he can play a western cowboy?

"Anyway, we have contacted them. This time we are deeply involved in this kind of national election. We have obtained a ticket for the Staten Island Congressional District and local elections. Wait for the next mayor, When the governor and the House of Representatives are elected, we can also have some influence."

   "Then you have to work harder." Ronald was not used to this kind of occasion where everyone said nonsense, and he patted Little Douglas.

   "Ronald, why are you here?" A deep voice came from behind.

   "Why are you here, Arnold? Er... hello, Maria." Ronald greeted his wife who came with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

   "I have always supported the Elephant Party, but you, I thought you, like most Hollywood people, supported the Donkey Party?"

"Uh... Actually, I have voted for candidates from both parties. I came with my good friend, Douglas Jr. We were on a wrestling team in high school." Ronald didn't want to expose his political inclinations, so he put the little Douglas rolled out.

   "Hello, Mr. Schwarzenegger, I like your movie very much." Little Douglas stepped forward with a smile.

"It was a coincidence that I actually supported the Elephant Party. At that time, I just came from Europe and watched a TV debate. The candidate of the Donkey Party was talking about social fairness. I saw it, isn't it the same as my hometown? I That's not what you came to America to see.

  I happened to see Richard, the candidate of the Elephant Party. He talked about small government, free competition, reduction of public expenditure, and tax cuts. "

   "Hahaha", Ronald and Douglas Jr. burst into laughter, this Schwarzenegger's acting skills are good. His native country is Austria, and these words make people hear him as if he came from the Eastern camp.

   "I said, that movie asked you to star, what do you think?" Ronald remembered the Joel Silver movie and had approached Schwarzenegger.

"Honestly, I don't want to act. You know, Ronald, the box office of action movies is not as good as before. I still rely on my muscles to act. It's not that many years. Don't you think, my muscles are not as good as the end of acting. Did you get smaller when you were an actor?" After leaving Hollywood, in this place where there are no other showbiz people, Schwarzenegger is not polite.

   "Indeed", Ronald saw that Shivasinger was indeed a circle smaller than before.

   "I have to develop a little room for comedy acting, so I want to do comedy more. I have an appointment for a "Dragon Brother and Mouse Brother" comedy film. Sorry, Ronald."

   "I understand this", Ronald also found out that Stallone's box office appeal is also declining. The audience seems a little tired of watching pure action movies to show off their muscles.

"Let me introduce you to George, the son of the deputy commander." Ronald knew that it was not for nothing that Schwarzenegger brought the wife of the younger generation of the Kennedy family to New York, so he introduced him to the younger brother. George knew.

   "It's so annoying, these people are more hypocritical than Hollywood actors." Ronald couldn't stay for a while, and he became annoyed. The performance elements of talking between politicians are no less than that of actors. And his acting skills are so poor that he wanted to call Cut!

   It happened that the real estate agent called. The real estate agent had agreed to sell to Ronald and wanted to have an interview with him. Ronald decided to look at the house.

  …

   "Welcome, my friend. This is my wife, welcome to my building." The developer of the building is tall, waiting for Ronald in the lobby. It took a long time for luxury houses to be sold, and Ronald, who could pay the full price, was considered a very good client.

   "Thank you, I heard that you are willing to sell me the duplex apartment on the 58th floor?"

   "Of course, you deserve this building. I wish all the artists in America bought houses here. How about it, do you like it?"

   Ronald took the special elevator and went up to the 58th floor of the house. This is a unit with the 59th floor, connected by elevators and stairs. There are many large bedrooms, a cloakroom, a smoking room, a wine room, a direct private elevator, and a large study and living room. The existing finishes were walnut and bronze, which Ronald was happy with.

   "Come to my place to chat, do you have any movies, can I shoot scenes here? I have always wanted to play a cameo role in a movie."

  After viewing the house, Ronald initialed the letter of intent, and let the broker, accountant, and lawyer handle the rest.

   Ronald accepted the invitation and came to the big house on the top floor of 66-68 floors.

"Originally my house was also in bronze style, but after I saw the decoration of the tenant, the rich Saudi businessman Khashoggi, I decided to upgrade this interior style to the current gold style. I strongly recommend that you do the same after buying the house deal with."

   "Um... I'll think about it" Ronald was not at all interested in this style of upstarts with shiny golden doorknobs. He felt that the house in this good location should not be spoiled like this.

  However, this style is very unique, and the owner's taste can be seen at a glance. Ronald thought a little bit, how about hiring someone from China to get some Chinese furniture?

   "Look, here's an interview I did in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Boston Globe.

  The current American political arena is occupied by some old-fashioned and incompetent politicians, such as New York Mayor Ed Koch, who also accused me of violating the interests of New York citizens. As a result, he initiated two lawsuits against me and failed.

   These people play politics every day, and they can't even repair an ice rink. The Wollman Ice Rink in Central Park, from 1980 to the present, Koch spent 12 million US dollars. I bet him that it can be completed in less than 1 million.

The results of it? I modified the design and found a professional company that built the ice rink for the NHL. It only cost $750,000 and it was repaired in four months. I promised them a lot of hype and they didn't even want a profit.

  What is this called? This is the art of trading!

  It's ridiculous that Koch lost face and came to trouble me every day, saying that my building does not meet the tax reduction policy, and he is doomed to fail.

"Come here, give you this book, my brainchild. This is the newspaper I was interviewed on, you can read it, a lot of wisdom. Tonight you can also watch CUU, the interview with the host Larry King will air."

  Holding the book warmly presented by the owner, Ronald returned to the hotel. He flipped through it and found that the author column said Tony Schwartz. Ronald laughed dumbfounded, how stingy this is.

  Ronald, who has worked as a screenwriter, knows that if you want to write a book, find a ghostwriter who does not sign and only writes, and the pay is twice that of those ghostwriters who want to sign.

  This person is not even willing to pay the money, so he asked the ghostwriter to sign in the author column. Anyway, on the cover, above the title, his name is written in large fonts, and readers rarely go to the author column on the inner page. The vast majority of readers may still think that he wrote it himself.

   "Are you quitting the Donkey Party and joining the Elephant Party?" Larry King, the well-known host of CUU on TV, asked a question to a real estate agent on a TV screen. This is the form of realizing the recorded video and pretending to be an on-site interview.

   "Yes, I just joined the Elephant Party."

   "Okay, why are you being interviewed in the newspaper? Do you want to elect a general?" Larry King asked him bluntly. This is what the audience wants to know the most.

   "No no, I haven't decided yet..."

   "Shxt! It seems that you really want to..." Ronald sat up after hearing this. He dug out the interviews with him in the New York Times, Washington Post and other newspapers presented by the other party, and the more he looked at it, the more he felt that he had guessed right. Ronald picked up the phone and dialed a number.

   "Hey, Doug, are you with Jr. George? Look at CUU, the **** real estate developer wants to elect a general."

  (end of this chapter)