Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 519 French Media Giants
In early July, the round of 7 of the FIFA World Cup in France concluded, with Italy, France, Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany, and Argentina advancing to the quarterfinals.

England, a team favored by many, was eliminated by Argentina on penalties in the round of 16.

On July 3, in the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, northeastern suburbs of Paris, the first quarter-final match took place between Italy and France!
Aaron, who flew from New York to Paris, came to the event with Sophie Marceau.

"You're a Zidane fan!"

In the VIP section of the stadium, Aaron looked at Sophie Marceau next to him and found it somewhat amusing.

Sophie Marceau smiled. "Zidane, the midfield maestro of the French team, is back for this match. Don't you like it?"

Aaron nodded. "I like him, but right now my favorite is Ronaldo!"

Of course, the most talked-about team in this year's World Cup is also the Brazilian national team.

"Hey, this is Italy vs. France, and Monica isn't here?"

Sophie Marceau pinched Aaron's waist. "She went to promote the movie, she doesn't have time!"

Actually, Sophie Marceau's film "City of Angels" will be released next month, and she will soon be going to participate in promotional activities.

"Monica said you think France will win?"

Aaron smiled. "Yeah, the odds of France winning are high. Did you guys bet on them?"

"We bought it! We each bought 600 million francs! France will win!"

Sophie Marceau, on the other hand, supports the French team, while Monica Bellucci listens to Aaron.

Before the tournament, France's odds of winning were 7.5, higher than those of Brazil, Germany, and Italy.

Aaron gasped, "Six million French francs, that's about one million US dollars. If we win the championship, it'll be seven million US dollars!"

"Okay, how about this one? Let's bet 1000 million francs?"

Sophie Marceau nodded. "I bought it too. Didn't you say you wanted to bet on France to advance? I specifically bought 1000 million francs worth!"

Aaron put his arm around the woman's waist. "Hmm, after the match, just wait to collect the money..."

At night, in the Moulin Rouge cabaret in Paris, Aaron and Sophie Marceau enjoy the song and dance performance on stage together!

"How about that? France beat Italy on penalties and advanced to the semi-finals. Feeling good?"

Aaron took a sip of champagne, and 1000 million francs instantly turned into several million, nearly 3000 million!
Sophie Marceau smiled. "Hmm, you're very lucky. Are you going to continue betting on France to win in the semi-finals and the final?"

Aaron encouraged without hesitation, "Of course! In the next match, just bet on France to win. That 1000 million francs will turn into at least 1 million francs!"

"By the way, are you familiar with General Water, the French company that just changed its name this year?"

Aaron suddenly asked.

Because this year, General Water France changed its name to Vivendi Group, thus officially entering the telecommunications and media industry;
Acquisitions of Morocco Telecom, Havas News Agency, Hachette Publishing Group, NetHold European Pay TV, etc.

Vivendi's aggressive expansion is clearly aimed at the global market, and it also has its sights set on North America!
Sophie Marceau thought for a moment, “General Water was founded a long time ago, in the 1850s, at the call of Napoleon III, mainly responsible for the French water industry; “Starting in the 1980s, General Water began to enter the waste management, energy, transportation services, construction and real estate industries, and helped to establish France’s first pay-TV channel, Canal+.

Canal+ is currently the largest pay-TV channel in France and one of the top three pay-TV channels in Europe. General Water has a stake in Canal+ TV!

"After successfully changing its name to Vivendi earlier this year, General Water sold its real estate and construction divisions and is now aggressively expanding into the telecommunications and media sectors."

Aaron leaned back in his chair and tapped his fingers on the table in front of him. Vivendi, ah, interesting.
Originally, it wouldn't have been long before Vivendi acquired Universal Pictures and Blizzard Entertainment!
"I've researched the French media industry, specifically the Lagardère Group, a diversified publishing giant. Besides publishing, they also have interests in machinery manufacturing, aerospace, and telecommunications."

“I met Arnold Lagardère once before!”

Arnold Lagardère is the son of Jean Lagardère, the founder of the Lagardère Group, and is currently the Chairman and CEO of the Lagardère Group.

Sophie Marceau asked with some confusion, "Oh, how did you meet with Mr. Arnold Lagardère?"

Aaron's lips curled into a smile. "Lagardère Group wanted to acquire Putman Publishing, a subsidiary of Dawn Publishing, but I directly refused. Putman Publishing is, after all, the sixth-largest book publisher in the United States. Dawn still has its uses."

"Recently, Germany's Bertelsmann Group just acquired Random House, the largest book publisher in the United States;"

"Bertelsmann already had the powerful Doubleday Publishing Group under its umbrella, and now with the acquisition of Random House, Bertelsmann will have a monopoly in the US market!"

The US market is a highly coveted opportunity; who wouldn't want to enter it?

Sophie Marceau nodded. "No wonder you came to France; it turns out it wasn't specifically for the World Cup."

"Not really. Arnold Lagardère and I met in New York and we talked about the World Cup."

"I came here as a vacation."

Aaron smiled and kissed Sophie Marceau on the cheek. "Besides," he said, "The Mummy has already grossed over $1.45 million in North America and over $2 million overseas."

"Notting Hill has grossed over $9500 million at the North American box office, and over $2 million in overseas markets as well."

"As for the drama film 'The Truman Show' starring Jim Carrey, it has also surpassed $1 million at the North American box office and is now beginning its overseas release!"

With such good results from Shuguang, Aaron can certainly go on vacation.

Sophie Marceau took a sip of her drink. "Luc Besson is currently filming a historical film, *Joan of Arc*."

"Gaumont Productions, with Sony Columbia of the United States participating in the investment, which exceeds 5 million francs and 8500 million US dollars!"

Aaron pursed his lips. "It seems that last year's 'The Fifth Element' gave him confidence. An investment of $8500 million for a French film is indeed not low."

The production cost of "The Fifth Element" was $9500 million. After all, it's a science fiction film, and it also has big-name star Bruce Wesley joining the cast.
"Joan of Arc" stars Milla Jovovich, who also starred in "The Fifth Element." As Luc Besson's wife, her resources are truly enviable!

Aaron certainly knew Joan of Arc; she was the national heroine of France!

"It seems Luc Besson is going to promote the Hollywood model of filmmaking in France..."

(End of this chapter)