Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 367 The Unexpected Guest

With the arrival of October, temperatures in New York City are starting to drop!
Sugon's IPO preparations are proceeding smoothly, and this time, Sugon plans to raise more than $15 billion.

In East Hampton, Long Island, New York, Aaron's vacation home welcomed an important guest: Jack Welch, Chairman and CEO of General Electric.
Currently, Jack Welch can be considered the world's number one CEO!

"Mr. Welch, do you mean you want to merge NBC and Dawn?"

In the study, Aaron took a sip of coffee and looked at Jack Welch sitting opposite him, still quite surprised.

As everyone knows, a few months ago, Disney's attempt to acquire NBC failed, right?
Jack Welch nodded. "I won't waste my time either. NBC's business is just so-so."

"Given the current trend of mergers between television stations and film companies, Dawn and NBC are complementary."

Aaron smiled. "General Electric, are you planning to give up NBC?"

Dawning's current size is definitely much larger than NBC's, so it's impossible for GE to acquire Dawning even if it wanted to.

"Aaron, my idea is that General Electric could sell its 49% stake in NBC to Dawn, with Dawn taking over NBC's content production."

“NBC will continue to be run by General Electric. I want to give Bob Wright a few years to see if he can improve NBC’s ratings and performance with the support of Dawn?”

Bob Wright, currently the vice chairman of General Electric and CEO of NBC, is Jack Welch's key deputy, responsible for the operation and management of the NBC broadcasting network.

Aaron's eyelids twitched. "Does GE mean that Dawn is simply investing in NBC?"

Jack Welch smiled, "With NBC's support, Dawn Universal's film and television distribution system will definitely reach a new level."

"Moreover, GE will definitely reduce its stake in NBC in the future. Who else but Dawn will be the buyer when it sells to them?"

Aaron tapped his fingers on the table, then stared intently at the other man. "Mr. Welch, this isn't the same condition you made to Disney before, is it?"

Jack Welch shrugged. "Perhaps the current glimmer of hope is more appealing to NBC!"

Aaron pursed his lips. "Dawn is definitely interested in television stations. NBC, as one of the three long-established national wireless broadcasting networks, naturally has a strong appeal."

"But what Dawn needs is its own broadcasting and television network."

It's definitely impossible for Dawn to help GE develop NBC!

Hollywood's film studios excel in content creation. General Electric wants to acquire content from Hollywood's film studios but doesn't want to relinquish control of its television networks—that's too greedy.

"That's such a pity!"

Jack Welch was somewhat helpless; Dawn's content production was unparalleled in Hollywood.
Compared to selling half of its shares to Disney, GE would definitely prefer to sell half of NBC to Dawn, mainly because Dawn's film and television productions are classics.

After Jack Welch left, Christina Yerry walked over and said, "General Electric, the number one company by market capitalization!"

Aaron smiled. "So what if we're ranked number one? GE's manufacturing business is shrinking, but its financial business is thriving."

GE Capital has grown significantly in recent years.

Aaron then sat down on the sofa. "Twentieth Century Fox had a project adapted from the novel of the same name by the famous Canadian author Michael Ondaatje, *The English Patient*. They seem to have withdrawn. I've read the script; it's not bad. We can let Crescent Pictures take over the filming!"

Christina Yerry nodded, picked up the proposal from the coffee table and flipped through it. "I will inform Crescent Pictures as soon as possible."

The reason why 20th Century Fox abandoned the project "The English Patient" was mainly because the film's director, Anthony Minghella, wanted to use actors who did not fit 20th Century Fox's ideas.

Anthony Minghella, being British, wanted British actress Kristen Thomas for the lead role, while 20th Century Fox wanted the more famous Demi Moore.

Seeing the cast list on the proposal, Christina Yerry smiled. "The male lead is Ralph Fiennes, and the female lead is Juliette Binoche. They're both excellent actors!"

Ralph Fiennes has already collaborated with Dawn on "Schindler's List" and "The Silence of the Lambs: Red Dragon," needless to say;
French actress Juliette Binoche has also gained considerable international fame for her roles in films such as "Darling in the Fury" and "The Red of the Three Colors Trilogy".

"Yes, director Anthony Minghella is a relatively new director, but he was very persistent with 'The English Patient'."

"Anyway, the budget for 'The English Patient' wasn't very high. As an independent art film, let him have his own ideas!"

Aaron actually knew about this movie; it seemed to have won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Anthony Minghella wrote and directed the project, and it seems that Miramax's Harvey Weinstein was also interested in it.

Unfortunately, although Miramax is now an art label under Disney, its development in recent years has been a mess. How can it compete with the brand of Dawn?
Miramax missed out on Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction and has already lost the opportunity to become famous;

Harvey Weinstein is going to have an even tougher time without Quentin Tarantino as his mentor!

“Hey, there’s Friends tonight. It’s a really funny show,” Christina Yeri said, turning on the TV.

Last month, the second season of Friends premiered on NBC, and with the support of the first season, the second season's ratings were even higher.

You like it too?

Aaron put his arm around Christina Yerry, who was standing next to him, and smiled.

Christina Yerry nodded. "I love it! It's very captivating, and it's great that they found the right actors!"

Aaron then watched on TV and saw that Jennifer Aniston, who played Rachel Green, was becoming more and more beautiful and charming.

The popularity and discussion surrounding Friends have been steadily increasing, and NBC has certainly tasted the sweetness of a hit show.

Dawn Television's "ER" also had very high ratings. General Electric's desire to sell part of Dawn's stake in NBC Networks is definitely due to its interest in Dawn's production capabilities!

“Don’t worry, Dawn TV will definitely produce more and better TV series in the future,” Aaron said, reaching out to caress the woman’s thigh.

"Yeah, I know you're good!"

Christina Yerry kissed Aaron on the cheek. "Let's watch TV."

(End of this chapter)