Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 249 How many steps does it take to put an elephant in a refrigerator?

"Boss, there's movement in Washington."

Monday, February , .When Warner Chairman Steve Ross stepped into the office under the rising sun, the secretary's report also sounded in his ears.

"explain."

Steve Ross waved his hand.

The male secretary immediately took over.

"At 3 a.m. Western time and 6 a.m. Eastern time, former Stanford professor Barbara Babcock boarded a United Airlines charter flight from Washington, D.C., bound for San Jose."

"If nothing unexpected happens, she has already arrived."

"And yesterday, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas also flew to San Jose on a United Airlines charter flight, followed by Ethan Jones."

"Earlier, Ethan Jones also visited the software development lab."

"The people there said they were there to inquire about the purchase of the database."

The concise words made Steve Ross nod slightly.

"Is there anything else?"

"Nothing."

"Then go to work."

"Okay Boss."

The secretary's departure gave Steve Ross some quiet time. He sat down in the boss chair and glanced at the desk calendar. The circle marks on the calendar made him smile.

"Found?"

"But what's the use?"

"Ethan Jones, you can't solve the problem."

"Because you've made too many enemies."

Muttering a few words, and collecting his thoughts, Steve Ross refocused his gaze on the schedule in front of him. The full schedule made him forget about the little episode in the early morning.

While he was looking through the documents, Barbara Babcock, who had flown in overnight, also rushed to Ethan's home. After hearing about their experiences, the wizard burst into laughter.

"Oh - Ethan - your company's legal advisor can earn at least 100 million a year, right?"

"Why do you encounter such strange problems every day?"

"I have been in the legal profession for almost 20 years, and I have never seen a lawyer, or an employer, who constantly encounters tricky questions that the general public will never hear in their lifetime, and that people in the industry will only encounter once or twice in their entire careers."

"Your company is really..."

"too tired!"

Barbara's words were full of emotion, and Ethan responded with a smile, "Oh Barbara, this may be the distress of industry leaders, isn't it?"

"So the one who is anxious now is actually my opponent."

Evelyn, who was sitting next to Barbara, rested her head on Barbara's shoulder and exposed Ethan's lie in a bad mood, "Don't look at how hard he is laughing now, but he didn't sleep at all last night. These facts are so worrying that I even feel that my hair is falling out when I turn my head."

"Hey Evelyn——" Ethan glared at his sister.

Evelyn didn’t bother to pay attention to him, hugged Barbara’s arm and closed her eyes.

This situation made Barbara chuckle and change the subject, "Okay, okay, you guys stop fighting. I'm here to solve the problem, not to watch you quarrel... So, you are facing two main problems now. One is how to make the movie "Alien" be released smoothly? The other is to study Rockwell, or whether the software development laboratory has any legal problems?"

"Yes." Now that they were getting to the point, Ethan stopped joking.

As he nodded, Barbara also fell into deep thought. After a moment, she said, "You told me before that Steven Spielberg and George Lucas are here with you?"

"Yes, it's next door."

"Then please ask them to come over, we will deal with the Alien issue first."

"Compared to what happened to Vinton, I think the issue of the film being banned might have a higher priority."

"Right?"

Ethan had no objection and stood up to call for help.

After Spielberg and Lucas arrived, Barbara asked them about the details of what happened, including but not limited to the time when "Alien" was submitted for review, the time when the modification notice was received, the process of their going to the Film Association to convince people with reason, and the current handling results of the Film Association.

After asking all these questions, Barbara, who was taking notes while asking questions, raised her head and said, "Steven, I want to know what Universal's opinion is on this matter."

"Or, I want to know what your good friend Sidney Sheinberg, the chairman of Universal Music, the parent company of Universal, thinks about this matter?"

"You know, the movie Alien has been handed over to Universal for distribution. Theoretically, after Destiny Pictures hands over the film reel, all the remaining work will be yours."

"According to the normal process, this matter would never appear in front of Ethan."

Barbara looked at Spielberg seriously.

Spielberg also nodded and said, "I know, but Sidney can't find a solution now."

"We at Global have gone through the normal process, but we didn't get it right."

"After the president of the Motion Picture Association betrayed us, Universal's voice within the association became extremely weak and insignificant, and I have also told Ethan this."

"What is Universal's attitude?" Barbara asked. "After all, you are the distributor of the film."

"Universal will definitely support Ethan. I can guarantee that." Spielberg said frankly: "Although Universal and Destiny Pictures have not officially joined forces, Warner's actions have completely pushed Universal to Ethan's side. Universal is very dissatisfied with Jack Valenti's betrayal, or even very angry. If possible, we even want to kill him."

At this point, Spielberg's eyebrows raised instinctively.

The murderous behavior was as if he was just about to eat Jack Valenti alive with a knife.

This statement made Barbara very satisfied. After asking Spielberg, she turned her attention to Lucas and asked about his control over Fox.

When faced with this question, Lucas said that the general manager of Fox who had helped him retain all the copyrights of "Star Wars" had been fired for selling the company's assets at a low price.

But this action did not reduce his influence in Fox. When the copyright contract of "Star Wars" was not signed in violation of regulations, he was the real father of Fox as he controlled "Star Wars".

In order to keep the distribution rights and expand its own influence, Fox replaced its general manager in anger, and the new guy did not dare to go against Lucas' will.

"So you can help Fox make some decisions?" Barbara asked the key point of the matter.

"I can make some decisions that don't affect the overall situation." Lucas took the initiative to draw a scope. "For example, I can bring some movie projects to Fox and let them invest. I can also directly express that I don't like a certain executive and let him get out."

"Of course, on Ethan's side, I can get Fox to fully support him."

"After all, I am now also a producer on Alien ."

"and……"

“In the future, all Star Wars games will be made by Ethan.”

"Okay." Barbara understood.

Twisting again, he looked at Ethan.

"Disney side..." she asked with a smile.

"I could have Roy Disney come over, but I don't think it's necessary."

Ethan shrugged.

“If you need his help, he’s just a phone call away.”

"Because now he can't wait to be bound to me."

"Oh—ok—" Barbara understood.

He lowered his eyes, looking at the notebook in his hand, as if thinking about something.

The ensuing silence also made the living room silent.

At this moment, no one spoke, because everyone was very curious. When the Film Association used the power of rules to prevent "Alien" from passing the review, what solution could Barbara come up with to solve the problem?
Directly dismiss the president?

Reshuffle the association?
They have already considered this plan, and it won't work if there aren't enough votes.

To win over other companies?

Using all the tactics of a tactical switcheroo to get Alien approved?
This approach didn't work when Warner, MGM and Disney wanted to strangle Ethan with their own hands, Columbia lost "Alien" for nothing, and Paramount and Ethan actually had business conflicts.

When the simplest way to solve the problem has been passed by them...

to be frank.

Spielberg and Lucas were actually enveloped in pessimism.

They don't believe anyone can solve this problem.

And Ethan...

His eyes were always focused on Barbara.

He believed that as long as people were alive, there would always be a way.

"Ethan." As he waited patiently, Barbara suddenly looked up and said, "Does the movie have to be released? I mean, does it have to be released on the same day as your home console?"

"If the game is released first and then the movie is released, I believe that after the game has been sold for a while, the Film Association will still allow Alien to pass the review, because Warner and others can't make things too ugly."

"After all, the movie was distributed by Universal."

"If they keep suppressing the release of the film, then when Warner Bros. releases its own film to the market, Universal can also suppress their film and ask them to revise it."

"Although this is my judgment, I think this judgment is valid."

"Because I looked at the number of votes you have now, the influence of 2.5 is actually the same as the 2.5 on the other side. Oh, 0.5 refers to Disney. Although this number of votes cannot remove the president of the Film Association, it can block the opponent's movies."

This solution made Ethan laugh.

He changed his posture and crossed his legs, "Barbara."

“The more Steve Ross keeps me from going, the more I have to go.”

"The more he doesn't want me to do something, the more I have to do it."

"You know?"

"Yeah~" Barbara nodded with a smile, "I know."

She closed the notebook in her hand and said, "Since you think so, then the matter is very simple. Just let Universal directly contact the North American theaters to discuss the film scheduling."

"If there is no classification, there is no classification."

"If you want the movie to be released, you can release it directly."

"What???" Spielberg and Lucas jumped up at this. Evelyn, who had been resting there with Barbara's arms around her, also sat up again.

"Barbara, what do you mean?" Ethan frowned. He felt that he understood Barbara's words, but he did not understand Barbara's thinking.

And Barbara...

The great wizard put on his pen and leaned back on the sofa.

"The meaning is very simple."

She spread her hands and said with a smile: "Ethan, since the Film Association can't give you a satisfactory rating, then you don't have to listen to the Film Association's opinion."

"Because the Motion Picture Association is an autonomous organization jointly established by Hollywood giants."

"Their association's charter is to promote the better development of the film industry through advocacy."

"They do have considerable influence in the film industry, but—"

“The Motion Picture Association is not a legislative body, nor is it a law enforcement agency.”

“They cannot make laws, and the documents they issue have no legal force.”

"You think the grading system is a big distraction? Then just ignore it."

"Because they can't force you to accept their grading."

"At the same time, there is no law in the entire United States that requires films released in North American theaters to be rated by the Motion Picture Association."

"So, as long as you want your movie to be released in North America, no one can stop you."

"Do you understand what I mean?"

Barbara winked at Ethan.

That's right!

In Barbara's opinion, the problem Ethan faces is not a problem at all!
Or maybe Spielberg and Lucas fell into a misconception in this matter! They only thought about following the traditional way of doing things and didn't think about breaking everything!
Why was the American Film Association established?

Isn't it because early Hollywood movies were full of gimmicks and chaos?

They dare to film anything! And then the public is very dissatisfied!

When this incident became a big deal, the gentlemen in Washington began to pay attention to Hollywood, which dared to wantonly promote bloody violence and dared to tell everything in front of ordinary people!
In order to avoid legislation by the bosses and to avoid losing the power of independent operation, American film distributors came together to set up a film association!

It was precisely because the producers wanted to prove their innocence to the general public and show their loyalty to their masters that they went to Washington and invited William Hays, chairman of the National Committee of the Democratic Party, to serve as chairman of the Motion Picture Association in order to avoid federal legislation as much as possible!

They don't want to wear shackles!

As long as there are no shackles, Hollywood will be ruled by the capitalists!
Since the Motion Picture Association was first established with the goal of self-governance rather than law, Hollywood has actually been operating in a vacuum over the past few decades.

then……

Without legal enforcement and supervision, capitalists began to engage in their favorite monopoly.

This kind of autonomy and monopoly allowed the giants to enjoy supreme power in Hollywood, but when the Paramount Decree was finalized, everything ended. Without the ability to integrate vertically, they could no longer arbitrarily set prices for movies, nor could they monopolize the film distribution and theater markets at the same time, but——

At this point, nothing matters anymore, right?
Decades of accumulation have enabled them to squeeze out all newcomers in the industry!
In this case, the authority of the Film Association still exists, and according to normal procedures, they will continue to have authority because no one can bypass the Big Seven and communicate directly with North American theaters.

When all the small and medium-sized film producers can only rely on the Big Seven for survival...

The seven major standards are the industry norms!

But at the same time, if someone can bypass the Big 7 and negotiate directly with North American theaters, then...

All associations!
All the rules!
That's all based on the defense!
"Well - this idea is very bold, but there is a problem in its implementation."

Lucas understood what Barbara meant, and he was deeply shocked and said: "Although there is no law in our country that stipulates that movies released in theaters must first pass the classification review of the Film Association before they can be released, but I want to let Should North American theaters directly release unrated movies? This is difficult."

"After all, North American cinemas have always relied on the Big Seven."

"They dare not go against the will of the seven major companies and accept movies from some small companies."

"Especially the unrated ones."

Lucas's concern made Barbara laugh.

But before she could say anything, Spielberg poked Lucas and motioned him to look at Ethan.

As he turned his head, Lucas found that Ethan, who was sitting next to him, was smiling at him.

At the same time, he gestured:

'Star Wars'.

When this revelation appeared, Lucas was stunned!

Because he suddenly remembered that the Big Seven's control over North American cinemas was already a thing of the past!

When selling the Star Wars video game, Ethan Jones had already negotiated business with North American theaters under pressure from the Big Seven! And when selling Ms. Pac-Man, he even suppressed those powerful film companies in front of North American theater owners!

When Ethan personally called Steve Ross and told him that he was going to sell video arcade machines to North American theaters, Warner's previous tough image collapsed with that roar!

Although Fox, Universal, Paramount, and Roy Disney have contributed to this, how many of these guys are boycotting "Alien" now?
Since the Film Association is not a united front at all!

Since the decision of the Film Association itself has no legal effect!

that--

How could they stop this?
As for what is said, North American theaters rely on the Big Seven to survive?

Correct!
This is the truth!
But since 1977, North American theaters have opened up another source of income!
The popularity of the "Star Wars" video games has made them a lot of money!
And the siege of Ms. Pac-Man made the original cinema run look more like an arcade!
When Ethan Jones can bring them tangible benefits without taking a cut...

To be honest, as long as you are a businessman, you will vote with your feet!

"So, Warner's blockade is actually easy to solve, right?"

"As long as North American theaters are willing to show "Alien", I can guarantee that no one in the entire federation can jump out and say that it is illegal without a standard." Barbara shrugged and looked at Ethan with a smile, "So..."

"Are you satisfied with this plan?"

"Ethan~"

"yeah--"

Ethan laughed. "Barbara! I'm very satisfied!"

This kind of unconventional thinking is exactly what Ethan wants!

In other words, what he wants to do now is to destroy Warner's job!

Want to force him into submission by using rules?

Excuse me!
He is a man of strong bones!

Can't kneel down!
"Steven?" Ethan turned his gaze to Spielberg.

"Okay, I'll call Sidney now."

Spielberg smiled and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, I will convince Sidney. Since the dog we raise is disobedient, then it doesn't need to exist."

"Uh-huh." Ethan smiled and raised his eyebrows.

He looked at George again.

Before he could say anything, George Lucas stood up with his cane.

As he walked towards the telephone booth in the villa, he also said, "I will tell the boss of the North American cinema that there will be a video game for next year's Star Wars."

"If they don't accept Alien, I'll let you make the game into a console version instead of the arcade version that's currently being planned. I think... that's enough..."

"Oh—" Ethan clapped his hands and said to Barbara and his sister, "Okay, then I'll call Roy Disney and ask him to bring the owners of North American theaters to discuss business."

"Although we have two things, we should deal with them one by one."

Barbara shrugged without objection.

Evelyn hugged Barbara and snuggled into her arms.

In a muffled voice he said, "Oh - Barbara, you are so kind."

Barbara smiled brightly at the compliment.

While stroking the girl's head, he said, "Oh Evelyn, you are wrong. No matter what industry you are in, ideas are the least valuable thing, aren't they?"

“There are many people who can come up with good ideas, but few who are capable of implementing them.”

"So, you should celebrate with Ethan now."

"If it weren't for the fact that he never compromised, I wouldn't have proposed such an extreme plan."

"If it weren't for the fact that he always uses all his strength when fighting his enemies, then even if he told others that he was going to overturn the table, no one would be afraid of him."

"Only when everyone thinks he can do anything..."

"He can do these things."

"but me?"

"I just followed you guys and got the title of a well-known non-litigation lawyer."

Looking at the figure hurrying up the stairs, Barbara curled the corners of her mouth.

She knew that once this case was solved, her reputation in the circle would rise to a higher level.

Although the number of cases she has handled in her nearly twenty years of practice is not as many as a lawyer in a law firm has handled in five years, quantity has never been the key to measuring whether a lawyer is good, right?
Helping your employer defeat Motorola once is more useful than handling divorce cases.

If you help your employer take down Hollywood, this battle will definitely be more massive than the case of the century.

After all, the collapse of capital is never silent, it is only violent.

After sighing for a while, Barbara patted Evelyn, "Eve——"

"Ok?"

"They will be busy until the evening at the earliest, so I want to rest for a while."

"Okay, I'll take you to the guest room."

"No, please go home with me. I want to take a shower and find some books."

"No problem, let's go..."

Note: ① The American Film Association was established to evade legal supervision. Because of this relationship, all their documents can only be said to be initiatives and have no legal effect. ② The method of flipping the table described in the article has indeed appeared in reality, and even appeared twice. The first time was George Lucas. On the eve of the release of "The Empire Strikes Back", the American Directors Association found that Lucas actually put the director's list at the end of the film. They were very dissatisfied and asked for changes. Lucas did not change, so the Directors Association wanted to teach him a lesson and asked the Film Association to withdraw the label and ban the film. Because the rule of that era was that the director and others must be signed at the beginning of the film, the Film Association thought that the Directors Association's request was fine, so they helped them block Lucas, and Lucas exploded. He directly withdrew from the Directors Association and said that his film did not need to be reviewed by anyone and would be released on time because the decision of the association had no legal effect. When Lucas flipped the table, everything was unimpeded. He and Spielberg were two gods. When they were young, they were against the sky, the earth, and the air. Another example is Netflix. When they first started making movies, they thought about using the film association's ratings to help audiences choose movies better, but the film association's ratings are all decided by members, so they gave up and chose to build their own ratings. Because of this, Hollywood was very resistant to them, but with the explosion of the Internet, the film association found itself a joke, so they later tried to attract Netflix to join the association. It wasn't Netflix that wanted the film association, it was the film association that wanted him. Whoever has the bigger fist has the final say.

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(End of this chapter)