Rebirth of America, this is my era

Chapter 252 The meeting is over!

Just when the whole Hollywood was in chaos, Ethan Jones, the instigator of the incident, experienced the feeling of sleeping until he woke up naturally.

It was noon when he got out of bed, brushed his teeth and washed his face, then stepped into the company.

When the figure holding a sandwich and casually eating it appeared, the telephone clerks in the company all breathed a sigh of relief. While waiting for Ethan Jones to come into the office, the fat man Steve Ballmer also rushed to him like he was riding a Hot Wheels.

Not only that, he was holding a pile of documents as high as a mountain in his hands.

"Yo~Steve, why do I feel like you've lost weight?"

Ethan took a sip of iced Americano and teased with a smile.

"You look... tired?"

"Oh - Boss - I've been so busy this morning -"

Seeing that Ethan was in a good mood, Ballmer immediately cried, "Since I started working at 9 o'clock in the morning, my butt hasn't been in close contact with the chair. I don't know how many calls I have answered and how many faxes I have received! I don't even know how many people have reported things to me!"

"But I know one thing!"

“That means you’re really famous!”

"You at this moment are the sun in the sky!"

“Even if people bow their heads, they can’t ignore your presence!”

Ethan grinned at the arrogant words and waved his hand, signaling the bald man not to be pretentious. At the same time, he also asked with concern: "Have you had lunch in the cafeteria?"

"Where is the time?"

"Here's yours." Ethan handed over the paper bag in front of him. "I packed this from the cafeteria before coming to the company. It includes a beef sandwich, a chicken roll, and a cup of black coffee without sugar."

"Just put the documents on the table. I'll look at them myself. You sit down and eat."

The concerned words made Ballmer nod quickly and put the documents on the right side of Ethan's desk.

As he sat down to finish his lunch with a smile, Ethan started from the top and began to flip through the pages.

Just flick your finger and glance at the files. Although there are many files, the contents can be solved with an emoticon pack.

'Brother Ji, forget it.'

That's right!

Even though the documents came from different parties and contained different words, their purpose was the same, which was to subtly persuade Ethan Jones to stop while he was ahead and not delay his work.

For example, large supermarkets in various places that had previously signed distribution contracts with Destiny sent inquiry letters one after another, asking whether Ethan Jones' previous cooperation would proceed normally, whether the home console would be laid out in June as agreed in advance, and whether the "Starfield" game would be sold on time. On the surface, they never mentioned the movie from beginning to end, but they have already learned everything indirectly.

After all, everyone in the world knows that the movie and the game will be released at the same time.

For example, the National Football League also sent a comparison table to confirm the initial version of the schedule with Destiny Game. From the documents, it seemed that they were checking the venue for the game with Ethan Jones, but the "Starry Sky" show in the final was their real goal.

Because in previous communications, Ethan Jones has stated more than once that he will show the complete "Starry Sky" to the world at the end of the finals, and wants to end the competition in a shocking way.

For example, the American Film Association still sent out invitations to join, but this time the signed members include Columbia, Paramount, MGM, Disney, Warner and Embassy Pictures...

There were dozens of documents in total, and Ethan only spent a dozen seconds reading them.

He simply had no intention of reading through the kind of stuff that could reveal the whole picture from a single glimpse.

When he threw away all the documents, Ballmer just managed to eat a chicken roll. The bald man found that his boss had finished before he was full...

The astonishing speed made his hand freeze in mid-air.

He wanted to have a second burger but didn't know if he should.

"Just keep eating." Ethan smiled and waved his hand, "Eat and talk."

"Okay." Ballmer quickly picked up the burger and took a sip of coffee.

After he started chewing, Ethan spoke, "What do you think about this matter?"

"Uh, Boss...I can't give you any advice on this matter."

Ballmer swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "This kind of behavior of breaking existing habits, or trampling on existing rules, is not something I can recommend."

"How far you want to go and where you want to end it is up to you to decide."

"But I know one thing: power is never gained through compromise, and benefits are always gained through fighting. Only parents will give up power and make concessions."

Having said this, the bald man paused.

He shrugged and added, "Of course, many parents are unwilling to give up their rights and power until they die."

"Otherwise, there wouldn't be so many cases of patricide and seizure of power in history."

"Even biological parents can't do this in front of their children, so what about other business rivals?"

"Now they actually only have one thought, which is why they didn't kill you earlier."

“Hahahaha——” Ethan laughed and clapped his hands, “Okay.”

"If you don't suggest that I compromise, then why did you send these documents to me?"

"According to your idea, the shredder is where they belong."

"Doesn't this make you happy?" Ballmer would answer this question.

The guy with thick eyebrows and big eyes was very funny at the moment. "It's so cool to see partners offering words of comfort and competitors bowing down to you! If I throw away these begging things without permission, you will definitely tear me apart!"

"Hahahahahaha——" For the first time, Ethan found a sense of humor in Ballmer.

The bald guy is right. Things like overturning the table must not be stopped halfway. It's like the Xuanwu Gate. Once you step out, you have no choice but to go all the way to the end!
What if we retreat halfway?

All that would come in return would be liquidation.

So, Ethan swept those letters directly into the trash can, leaving only the invitation letter, took out the documents drafted overnight from his handbag, and pushed them all in front of Ballmer.

"Steve Ballmer, aren't you interested in Hollywood?"

"From now on, the company appoints you as the chairman and CEO of Destiny Pictures."

"Professional matters are still handled by Gary Kurtz, president of Destiny Pictures."

"What you need to do is to be responsible for all external affairs."

"And the first thing is to deal with the American Film Association."

The sudden appointment made Steve Ballmer's eyes widen.

At this moment, he didn't even bother to eat the hamburger. He just picked up the document and read it carefully.

After he finished reading the two light pieces of paper, ecstasy instantly appeared on his face!

"Good boss!"

"No problem, boss!"

"I will definitely get this done!"

"Just wait for my good news!"

"Yeah." Ethan nodded with a smile, "Since there's no problem, then go ahead and get busy."

At Ethan's call, Steve Ballmer immediately left the office with a hamburger in one hand, a cup of coffee in one hand and a trash can in the other. He wanted to shred all the documents.

After finishing all this, it was already afternoon, so he started editing the fax and sending notification letters to various parties in Hollywood. When night came, everyone who cared about this matter received a message -

[The first extraordinary meeting of the American Film Association in 1979 will be held on February 9]

【Destiny Pictures will attend the conference as a company engaged in the film industry】

Ethan Jones compromised?
This news came as a relief to most people.

In their view, Ethan Jones was convinced.

Then the next thing to talk about is the distribution of benefits.

"What benefits are we giving up?" Kirk Kerkorian stared at the fax in his hand.

As if he knew his question was a little inaccurate, he changed his question, "What kind of benefits do you think Ethan Jones will let those people force us to give up?"

"Boss... No one can answer this question..."

The chairman of MGM said helplessly: "No one knows how far Ethan Jones will go, so those people at Paramount are reluctant to speak up for the time being, but everyone knows that putting the devil in a cage will cost a huge price."

These words made Kirk Kerkorian purse his lips, and after thinking it over again and again, he threw away the fax.

"What is the current valuation of MGM?" He looked at his subordinates with a cold expression.

"This..." The chairman of MGM understood his boss's idea in an instant, "Boss, selling the company at this time is equivalent to betraying Steve Ross. We..."

"Okay." Kirk Kerkorian waved his hand vigorously. "I'm just asking."

"Well... maybe the price is not high." The chairman of MGM thought for a while and said, "Because we don't have much left at MGM. Apart from a complete production system and a valuable film library, almost everything else has been sold out..."

This fact reminded Kirk Kerkorian of his own behavior over the years.

In order to build a casino hotel in Las Vegas, he tore MGM's film business into pieces. All that could be mortgaged for money had been mortgaged, and all that buyers wanted to buy had been sold. Otherwise, they would not have thought of returning to Hollywood by purchasing Columbia.

"Ok, I see."

Kirk Kerkorian nodded and said, "Let's talk about this later."

At the same time that Kirk Kerkorian made the decision, Walt Disney's son-in-law Ron Miller also received the fax. After reading the content, he immediately turned his attention to the chairman, Don Tatum, who smiled and said, "It was me who gave the random score to Alien."

"So I will take the initiative to resign as chairman at the shareholders' meeting in a few months."

"If nothing unexpected happens, Kaden Walker will take over the position."

"Don't worry, we will not hand over the control of the group to Roy Disney."

"Oh, Don—" Ron Miller's eyes flickered.

"This is all my problem." He felt like crying.

“No, No, No…” Don Tatum waved his hands and said, “This is not your problem. When Roy Disney hugged Ethan Jones’ thigh, he became our enemy.”

"so……"

"come on."

"Stick to it!"

Don Tatum stood up, patted Ron Miller on the shoulder, and said, "Okay."

"That's it for today."

"It's time for me to get off work, and it's time for you to go home."

Ron Miller blew his nose and nodded vigorously.

Although in any cooperative organization, it is almost impossible for there to be only three days between the publication of a document and a meeting, but at the moment, this kind of thing cannot be judged by common sense, right?
When the guy who flipped the table showed signs of negotiating, even if Ethan Jones said that the meeting would be held the next day or even that night, the guys who wanted to finalize the matter would arrive on time. For this reason, with the arrival of No. 9, the eight members of the Film Association also gathered at the headquarters in Los Angeles. The representatives of all parties nodded and entered the venue and took their seats. The bald man wearing big sunglasses also appeared on time.

After discovering that the person was not Ethan Jones, everyone at the scene frowned. But when they saw the figure clearly and realized that the person attending the meeting was Ethan Jones's chief secretary, they felt relieved.

Because it meant that Ethan Jones wasn't taking the meeting lightly.

After Steve Ballmer took his seat, Jack Valenti, president of the Motion Picture Association, who was sitting in the main seat, also turned on the microphone and said, "Now that everyone is here, I declare..."

"Dong dong!"

Before Jack Valenti could finish his words, Steve Ballmer clapped the microphone.

This behavior attracted the attention of everyone present. Ballmer grinned and said, "Who allowed him to sit here?" While speaking, he also cast his eyes on the middle-aged man with the Warner sign, "Is it your Warner?" He stared at it for a second, then moved aside, "Or is it your MGM?" Before he finished speaking, he moved another person, "Or Disney?"

Everyone at the scene was shocked when these words were spoken!
The three companies that were named were a little at a loss!
Jack Valenti, who was sitting in the first seat, was about to speak when the representative of Universal Pictures coughed forcefully and said, "Yeah, why is he able to sit here?"

"If you are not sincere, then don't talk about it."

"You!" Jack Valenti looked angry.

Steve Ballmer didn't indulge him. He smiled at the guy who was over fifty years old and said, "Do you want to leave in a dignified manner, or wait for me to find someone to throw you out?"

Although it was a question, Steve Ballmer didn't want to hear his answer at all.

"If I were you, I would choose to leave."

"After all, my children have grown up. It would be embarrassing to just throw them out like this."

The threatening words made Jack Valenti's face turn red.

He stared at the round face wearing sunglasses for a long time.

He finally picked up the documents angrily and walked out of the meeting room.

The situation made Steve Ballmer laugh out loud.

"Okay, the first person has left, so please ask the second person to leave as well."

These words made the eight people present a little confused, but just as Jack Valenti left, another figure walked in from the door of the conference room. Everyone looked closely and then their pupils suddenly shrank.

Because the person who came had a kind face and a smile on his face.

He walked up to the Disney representative and said, "Excuse me, this seat is mine."

"Roy - you!" The Disney representative screamed as if he had seen a ghost.

The next second, he turned his gaze to Steve Ballmer, "You guys——"

"If you have any complaints, please go back and cry to Ron Miller."

"Hmm?" Steve Ballmer raised his eyebrows.

Although his action looked a little funny with his sunglasses and hairless head, the Disney representative felt a chill at the moment. After staring at Ballmer for a few seconds, he finally stood up, made way for him, took his things and left the venue.

With a loud bang, the fact that the door slammed and left made Steve Ballmer chuckle.

He took off his sunglasses leisurely, sat on the president's seat under everyone's gaze, then leaned his elbows on the table and smiled at everyone, saying: "Since the Film Association is temporarily without a president, I will reluctantly preside over today's meeting. Next, our first topic is the internal reform of the Film Association..."

When Steve Ballmer pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket and began to read it, everyone present immediately took up their pens to take notes. But before they could even listen for a few seconds, everyone was stunned, except for Universal, Fox and Roy Disney who had heard the news early!

Didn’t we agree on peace talks?

So what are you reading this time?

But this emotion only lasted for a second, and they gave up thinking because they didn't dare to speak.

The current mess is not something they can get involved in!

In that case, there is no need for them to worry about the boss!
After Steve Ballmer read out the boss's decision, everyone rushed back to the company and submitted their meeting minutes to the group's big boss for review.

While waiting for Steve Ross to receive the manuscript handed over by his subordinates...

The shocking clause made him clench his fingers tightly, raise his eyebrows, and his eyes spit fire!

Because it says...

1. From the moment Destiny Pictures joins the Motion Picture Association of America, the internal positions of the Motion Picture Association of America must be re-elected and appointed immediately, including but not limited to the president of the association, the vice presidents of the association, and the senior presidents and senior vice presidents of each region.

Each company is limited to a number of nominations, which is calculated by dividing the total number of positions by the total number of members.

This behavior can guarantee the rights and interests of every member.

At the same time, staff in all management positions have a service limit, one term of four years, with a maximum of three terms. They are evaluated regularly and are required to leave on their own after the term expires, thus breaking the lifelong iron rice bowl system.

2. Since Destiny Pictures joined the American Film Association, the association's membership rights must be modified immediately. Before this, the association stipulated that more than half of the members must agree to initiate a motion to remove the president, but now, as long as one member is dissatisfied with the association's work, they can immediately start the impeachment process to impeach the association's management, and as long as the final vote exceeds half, the impeachment will be successful.

If the impeachment is unsuccessful, the member will not be allowed to file an impeachment again on the same matter within six months.

But if the impeachment topic is changed, impeachment can be started immediately.

3. Although Destiny Pictures has joined the Motion Picture Association of America, due to commercial needs and the business needs of the group company, they will not comply with the rating standards of the American Motion Picture Rating Board. In the future, all films of Destiny Pictures will be self-evaluated by Destiny Pictures and have nothing to do with the American Motion Picture Association and the rating committee under the name of the association.

But in order to enable better communication between the two parties, Destiny Pictures made public the parent company's draft ratings.

The first level is 'E', which stands for Everyone.

This means that Destiny has launched games and movies that are suitable for everyone.

The second level is 'E10+', which stands for Everyone 10 and older.

This means that the games and movies released by Destiny are suitable for people over the age of ten.

The third level is 'T', which stands for Teen.

This means that the games and movies released by Destiny are suitable for people over thirteen years old.

The fourth level is 'M', which stands for Mature.

This means that the games and movies released by Destiny are suitable for people over the age of seventeen.

The fifth level is 'AO', which stands for Adults Only.

This means that the game and movie are only suitable for adults.

Since the ratings of the Fate Game are somewhat different from those of the Film Association, the Film Association currently only has four ratings, which are divided into all ages, teenagers, under 17, and over 17. So in order to help the American Film Association better understand the Fate Game and rating standards, Fate Pictures will try to lobby the Film Association to modify the existing ratings. Of course, the Film Association can use the standards of the Fate Game, but if the Film Association cannot match the ratings, then -

This article will be linked to the fourth article.

4. Since Destiny Pictures joined the American Film Association, the withdrawal mechanism of the American Film Association must be revised. If a member feels that he or she has been treated unfairly within the association, then the member can withdraw immediately at any time and anywhere, and others have no right to prevent him or her.

At the same time, Destiny Pictures is a new company after all. When the company's scale is not as large as other members, Destiny Pictures cannot afford the high membership fees. Therefore, Destiny Pictures asked the Motion Picture Association of America to waive all its membership fees for the next ninety-nine years.

Of course, the Motion Picture Association of America may disagree.

Destiny Pictures will also withdraw immediately.

"Is this a request from Ethan Jones?"

Steve Ross is crazy!
“Is this a peace talk?”

"This is clearly blackmail!"

"It's blackmail!"

"He wants to join the Motion Picture Association while rejecting its ratings review, using his own ratings standards, and then ask us to adapt to their standards?"

"What's the difference between this special code and directly controlling the entire film association?"

"Oh my God! I'm so mad!"

"There's a difference between what Ethan Jones did and taking over the entire Motion Picture Association!"

"Because he hasn't paid yet!"

"At the same time, he wants to quit at any time and anywhere!"

"MFxxk!"

"This beast!"

Steve Ross only felt an itch in his throat, as if he could spit out flames.

Waving his hands like an iron whip, sweeping away everything.

As his anger erupted, his office became a mess. When he had dismantled everything that could be dismantled, there was nothing intact within his sight, and his legs went weak and he fell to the ground.

"What more could Ethan Jones ask for."

He looked at his subordinates who were shivering in the corner.

"Uh, today's meeting is attended by Ethan Jones' secretary, Steve Ballmer."

Warner's representative at the conference answered cautiously.

"Do not talk nonsense!"

Steve Ross didn't bother with the details, and as he roared, Warner's delegates recalled the closing remarks of the previous meeting.

Steve Ballmer sat in the first seat, looking at everyone present with a smile, and said:

"Everyone, I, Steve Ballmer, the chairman of Destiny Pictures and the secretary to the president of Destiny Games, have only one mission today, and that is to convey the will of our president, Ethan Jones, to you all."

"As for whether you accept it or not?"

"That has nothing to do with us."

"Because your opinions do not influence our actions."

"If you accept, this war will end."

"If you don't accept it, then let's continue according to the process."

"To be honest, our president wants to take a look..."

"Is it that everyone can unite as one? Or does he have a strong backing?"

"Finally, I have another piece of news to share with you. Our president, Mr. Jones, has sent the grading standards drafted by the Destiny Game to the former governor of California, the United States Legal Aid Corporation, Professor Ralph Bell, and the Washington Bar Association. These four parties have accepted the invitation to improve the grading."

"At the same time, the New York Police Association, which previously criticized Jack the Ripper, is also pleased that we have stepped forward to take the initiative to assume social responsibility. They will actively communicate with us and contribute their police strength to the restrictions corresponding to each rating."

“Starting with ‘Starfield’ and ‘Alien’, our company’s products will be marked with our own ratings.”

Steve Ballmer looked around, nodded to Universal, Fox and Roy Disney one by one, and said, "I have finished what I want to say. Let's stop here today——"

"The meeting is dismissed!"

Note: ① The operating funds of the MPAA come entirely from membership fees. I have not found out how much the membership fees were in the 1970s and 1980s, but when Disney acquired Fox in 2019, the media publicly reported that the deal would reduce the MPAA's annual membership fees by $12 million, because Disney could not pay twice. Of course, this part of the money was eventually made up by Netflix.

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(End of this chapter)