Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 251 Big Earthquake

"What?"

"Has there been a major earthquake in Hollywood in the last twenty-four hours?"

On the morning of February 6, Goldman Sachs co-CEOs John Weinberg and John Whitehead had just stepped into their office when they saw their secretary hurriedly handing them a tip.

The headline above reads, Ethan Jones is causing a stir in Hollywood, and the entertainment industry landscape may be rewritten.

The content is very simple. It talks about the movie "Alien" which failed to pass the review and was forced to be cut due to the intervention of Warner, MGM and 0.5 Disney, so Ethan Jones turned the table and refused to play. It also emphasized that Ethan Jones decided to establish his own set of product review standards.

This action will severely undermine the voice of major Hollywood film companies in the film industry. At the same time, some investors who do not want to provoke Ethan Jones may also sell their entertainment shares, causing the stock prices of major film companies to plummet.

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

As long as you are involved in financial investment, no one wants to come into contact with Ethan Jones.

The several hundred-word report was quickly read, and as John Weinberg and John Whitehead looked up, they both caught sight of surprise in each other's pupils.

It seems like it was last summer when Ethan Jones took over Morgan Stanley's business?
How long has it been?
Half a year?

And then he destroyed Hollywood's many years of foundation?

This is too outrageous!

"Is this all true?" John Weinberg looked at the secretary.

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

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

The male secretary replied, "Right now, all the companies involved in this matter are frantically trying to save themselves. Paramount's president, Michael Eisner, called the Department of Justice, hoping to find Barbara Babcock's friends there, and his father also contacted Yale Law School to see if they could help contact Ethan Jones. "

"The chairman of Columbia Pictures approached CBS in an attempt to connect with Ethan Jones through a business partnership;"

"Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron Miller found the US Bank where the Disney Family Foundation is located, hoping to get in touch with Ethan Jones's partner bank, Wells Fargo, in the financial field;"

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

“Of course, some people also found us at Goldman Sachs.”

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

"But the problem is..."

"So far, Ethan Jones has not shown the slightest willingness to negotiate."

“……”This result made John Whitehead fall into silence.

John Weinberg continued to ask: "So, those people decided to abandon Steve Ross? Instead of helping Steve Ross fight Ethan Jones?"

"Yes." The male secretary nodded affirmatively and said, "Mr. Weinberg, although this sounds outrageous, it is true, because Hollywood companies are very clear that their previous lobbying of states to maintain the Film Association is unconstitutional. When they have been enjoying the power brought by trampling on the law for many years, whoever can bring this to Capitol Hill will be invincible."

John Weinberg nodded slightly and said thank you. The male secretary, who understood his meaning, immediately left.

As the sound of the door closing appeared, John Weinberg immediately turned his gaze to John Whitehead. At this moment, the two men turned their heads at the same time, looked at each other for a few seconds, and then smiled with emotion at the same time.

"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 said with emotion: "Ethan Jones's action was too fast, and his blow was fatal."

"It felt like two armies were fighting each other. The other side just organized an advance team to launch a ground raid, and then Ethan called on the air force to carry out carpet bombing. More importantly, he dropped nuclear warheads. How can others fight back?"

"Geese, geese, geese..." John Weinberg laughed out loud at his friend's metaphor.

He leaned back in his chair in the same relaxed manner, and soon his eyes became blurry.

The huge office also fell into silence.

The two did not discuss the cause and effect of the matter because it was meaningless; nor did they ask who the company that came to them for help was because they would not benefit from helping those people.

What they care about is what kind of opportunities this incident can bring to Goldman Sachs. After a long silence, John Whitehead spoke first and said, "Should we try to short Global?"

"Why?" John Weinberg asked casually without moving.

"Because Steven Spielberg is likely to leave Universal."

John Whitehead turned his head and looked at his friend who was thinking with his eyes closed. He said, "Although on the surface, Warner, MGM and Disney performed the worst in this farce, but after digging deeper, we can find that Universal is actually the least capable among the seven major studios."

"Although Warner, MGM and half of Disney combined failed to hold down Ethan Jones, the chess pieces that Universal had placed in the Motion Picture Association could be easily turned against by Warner. This is the most outrageous thing. What's even more outrageous is that they didn't realize the chess pieces had betrayed them until Alien was rated the highest."

"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 Pictures?" asked John Weinberg.

"Probably not." John Whitehead shook his head and said, "From Steven Spielberg's perspective, it would be best for him to build his own company like George Lucas did. This would allow him to have a firm grip on the right to speak for his work, while Destiny Pictures could 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's nothing more than selling the filmed movies to theaters!"

“If we go one step further, it’s just a matter of negotiating with the cinemas to get more screenings and theater publicity!”

"Ethan Jones can do all these things!"

"So, whether Destiny Pictures has a distribution channel depends entirely on whether Ethan Jones wants to do it. If he is willing to spend money to support a docking team, then Destiny Pictures can instantly pull together a distribution team. If he is not willing to spend money to support a ground promotion team, then the Big Seven will be glad that Ethan Jones is just playing around."

“Right now, it’s not the Big Seven that can change the landscape of Hollywood.”

"It's Ethan Jones."

These words made John Weinberg frown slightly.

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

"First, short Universal, release the news that Alien is banned and reap the rewards."

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

"Then we are shorting Universal and waiting for Steven Spielberg to officially announce his departure."

"Under this operation, we can make three transactions in a year and maximize our profits."

"Besides, aren't there a lot of wealthy people in the market looking to buy Hollywood film companies? Like Saul Steinberg, Marvin Davis, and Australian newspaper tycoon Rupert Murdoch, they all want to enter the entertainment industry. So, with Ethan Jones here, we can also act as a middleman."

John Weinberg winked at his friend.

John Whitehead, understanding what he meant, laughed.

Both of them believed that under Ethan Jones's crazy behavior, the pattern of Hollywood would definitely be rewritten! When some players don't want to continue the game, they will definitely sell out!

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

As for the small number of shareholders who are unwilling?
That has nothing to do with them!
"Ethan Jones is such a good man!" John Weinberg sighed.

"No! No! No! Your comment is inappropriate!"

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

While Goldman Sachs was giving Ethan Jones the "nice guy" card, Lawrence Rockefeller was listening to his subordinates' work reports while enjoying breakfast.

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

the old man asked as he sipped his coffee.

"Yes."

The two subordinates who had come into contact with Ethan kept nodding.

"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, she is not qualified to see me directly."

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

"Because General Motors has already received news that Ethan Jones' CD project seems to be pursuing the miniaturization of CDs. He wants a new machine that allows people to carry CDs with them and listen to music."

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

It is marked with a universal logo.

Lawrence Rockefeller only took a cursory glance and read through the contents clearly. This document had nothing to do with technological development. It only described the exhibits that Robert Hall used to show Ethan Jones the optical storage technology when he visited General Laboratories last time.

But even these were enough for the keen-nosed Lawrence Rockefeller. "No wonder Ethan Jones wants to enter Hollywood. If the CD player is made, they can directly control the daily entertainment of the American people."

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

"And if this player can be made even more advanced, for example, a palm-sized machine that can be used as a music player in your hand and can be used to watch movies and play games when connected to a home console, then the video tape market currently controlled by Philips and Sony will collapse directly."

"Do not--"

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

“Because no one can resist this convenience.”

"If we make a bolder guess, this machine can be used with Apple and replace disks, then..."

“There are perhaps four things that the American people cannot live without in their lives.”

"Births, deaths, taxes and Ethan Jones."

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

Because this is tantamount to implicitly recognizing their work.

Just when they were expecting their boss to nod and meet with Steve Ross's wife Amanda Cushing, Lawrence Rockefeller put the document down and shook his head, saying, "But even so, I will not meet with Amanda Cushing."

"I understand what you mean, to take control of the music copyright first and bet that Ethan Jones can make the product he fantasizes about, but this behavior makes no sense."

“I’ve told you before that venture capital is never about products, it’s about people.”

"Ethan Jones is worth my investment, so I'm letting you buy into Apple."

"That investment also brought us a lot of benefits. Apple has developed very well. Ethan Jones's initiative to invite us to invest in Microsoft was even better. I like the Excel product even more."

"My judgment was correct."

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

"You have to know one thing: the stability behind peace is not so easy to maintain."

"If loyalty is not absolute, then it is absolutely disloyal."

"Now that Ethan Jones thinks we are harmless, we must maintain this innocence to the end, because he is very smart. He knows that the development of a company cannot be accomplished 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 naturally come."

As he spoke, Lawrence Rockefeller took out a metal lighter from his pocket.

Use friction to create sparks, and ignite the documents in your hand directly.

After the few light pages turned to ashes, he turned his head to look at his two subordinates and said with a smile: "Tell Amanda Cushing that compared to Ethan Jones, Steve Ross is nothing. If she uses unconventional means to help Steve Ross, then I don't mind turning into the Undertaker and sending him away."

"Then, for grandfather's sake, you can remind her that Steve Ross is a guy who can even drain the family property of his original wife."

"What is she pursuing by staying with a guy like this? Love?"

"idiot."

The two subordinates nodded quickly at the cold words.

As they left, Lawrence Rockefeller stood up and walked into the exhibition hall of the estate.

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

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

After more than sixty years of invasion, the years have turned the photo yellow, but Lawrence can still clearly capture the serious face of John Rockefeller Sr.

After staring at the other person for a while, Lawrence suddenly laughed.

"Grandfather, Dad told us before that you said something when you were teaching him—"

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

"I never understood this before because I always thought doing business was simple."

“It can be expanded at any time.”

"But now I understand that some people are born with a sense of wildness."

Having said this, he paused.

He shifted his gaze slightly and looked at his father.

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

“He did what we Rockefellers didn’t do.”

"This is really what makes me-"

"admiration."

"Because I can't imagine what I was doing at the age of 23."

"But I knew that Leland Stanford Jr. had made the right bet."

"Fred Terman..."

"This old guy is so lucky!"

"And most importantly, people in Hollywood are now begging me!"

"They thought I would help them?"

"ridiculous!"

"I've wanted to take revenge on RKO for a long time!"

At the same time that Lawrence Rockefeller refused to meet Amanda Cushing, on the Stanford campus in the Bay Area of ​​California, Fred Terman was leaning against the head of the bed answering the call after being awakened by the ringing of the phone.

When two of his students, Bill Hewlett and David Packard, founders of HP, called him one after another, the old man who was enjoying his retirement realized that only forty-eight hours had passed and Ethan Jones had already traveled all over the world to negotiate a settlement with his opponent who had designed a plan to harm him.

"So, someone approached you and hoped you could persuade Ethan Jones to follow the rules?"

"Yes."

"Then what do you think?"

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

The old man laughed out loud at the slippery words.

How could he not know what the two students meant when he already had one foot in the coffin?
When Evelyn Johnson continued her doctoral studies last fall and registered under Fred Terman's name, Destiny Game truly became a Stanford school enterprise. Just like HP, no matter what Destiny Game encounters, Stanford will come forward. It is not about right or wrong, but about closeness.

In this case, Ethan Jones flipped Hollywood's plate?
Oh! They, HP, are busy waving the flag and shouting, how can they help Hollywood persuade?
A bunch of idiots!
Of course, they could think so in their hearts, but things cannot be done that way, so making a phone call to inform them became something that the two old hands had to do.

After all, after years of being refined by society, they are no longer young.

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

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

"To the outside world, you can tell them that I know all this and that I agree with Ethan's approach."

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

"As for the movie..."

“Since movies and games are tied together, why use two different standards?”

These words made the two old men quickly agree.

After hanging up the phone, Fred Terman, who was no longer sleepy, got out of bed and went to the window.

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

The corners of his mouth quirked up slightly.

"There's someone at Stanford—"

"Hahahaha-"

He smiled happily.

Notes: ① Saul Steinberg is a financier and the CEO of Reliance Insurance, which went bankrupt in 2001. He attempted to acquire Disney in the early 1980s, but failed because he was blocked by Michael Eisner, who was brought in by Roy Disney. ② Marvin Davis is a second-generation rich man whose family sells women's clothing and does oil business. He acquired Fox in the early 1980s and sold it to Murdoch a few years later. ③ Lawrence Rockefeller's father entered Hollywood in the 1920s and founded the film company RKO, but because they could not grasp the essence of content, they were squeezed out by other Hollywood companies. (euphemism)

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(End of this chapter)