Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 613 Hollywood Female Executives
Since Sony acquired Columbia Pictures for a total of $50 billion in 1989, it has suffered losses for 10 consecutive years.
If it weren't for Sony's policy of using content to drive consumer electronics products, it certainly wouldn't have received continuous financial support, and it would have ended up like Panasonic selling MCA Universal.

Following the passing of founder Akio Morita in Tokyo, Japan last month at the age of 78, Sony President Nobuyuki Idei assumed the role of CEO last year, Norio Ohga officially withdrew from Sony's management team, and now Nobuyuki Idei has also assumed the role of Chairman of the Sony Group.

The continued losses of Columbia Pictures have been a headache for Nobuyuki Idei. He had previously replaced Mickey Schulhoff, head of Sony America, Jon Peters, head of Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Peter Cooper, but there has been no improvement.

Subsequently, Howard Stringer, head of Sony America, fired Mark Canton, president of Columbia Pictures.

Mark Canton was the former president of production at Warner Bros. He joined Sony in 1995. After Canton was fired, Sony appointed Amy Pascal, the head of production, as president of Columbia Pictures, to co-manage Sony Pictures Entertainment with John Culli.

Amy Pascal's appointment makes her the third woman to head a major Hollywood studio, following Sherry Lansing of Paramount and Dawn Steele of Universal!

However, the media is not very optimistic about Amy Pascal's appointment as chairman of Columbia TriStar Film Group;

Speculation about when she will be fired by Sony has become a hot topic in Hollywood recently...

Aspen, Colorado.

In the morning, in the bedroom of the Aspen Hot Spring Resort Hotel, the snow-covered mountains and forests outside the window were covered in white, while the room was warm and comfortable, just like spring!
"Hmm," Sophie Marceau groaned as she crawled out of the covers and nestled against Aaron's chest, panting.

Aaron stroked the alluring body of the woman in his arms for a few moments, then whispered, "Want to get up and eat something first?"

“Wait a minute,” Sophie Marceau said, nudging Aaron in her arms. “I’m not hungry right now.”

Aaron chuckled twice and smoothed Sophie Marceau's chestnut hair. "By the way, did you work with Nicolas Cage on another movie this year?"

"Yes, it's a racing action film from Disney's Touchstone Pictures, *Gone in 60 Seconds*, directed by Dominic Cena, who also directed *Kalifornia*."

"I guess it's because my previous film with Nicolas Cage, 'City of Angels,' was well-received, and now I'm playing lovers with him again."

"However, while 'Gone in 60 Seconds' is a thrilling action movie, 'City of Angels' is a romance movie."

Judging from Sophie Marceau's tone, she clearly prefers last year's "City of Angels" and isn't too keen on the recently filmed "Gone in 60 Seconds"!
"Gone in 60 Seconds" is a remake of a 1974 film of the same name, telling the story of a retired car thief who is forced to return to his old ways in order to save his brother.
The film mainly attracts audiences with thrilling action scenes such as gunfights and car chases.

"That's fine. Hollywood blockbusters are produced in limited quantities each year; they're still better than those low-budget, poorly made projects."

"Besides, Nicolas Cage's fame is off the charts right now."

Aaron patted the girl in his arms as he spoke, "We'll go to town for a stroll later. Aspen is really lively this time of year!"

Aspen, a town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, is known for its ski resorts and is a wealthy residential area and vacation destination in the United States.

Aspen attracts a large number of tourists every year, offering summer retreats and winter skiing opportunities! "There are quite a few people here, and quite a few shops on the street too," Sophie Marceau said as she strolled along the streets of Aspen with Aaron at midday.

Aaron tightened the scarf around his neck and put his arm around Sophie Marceau's waist. "I'm planning to buy a vacation villa here so that I can come here when I'm on vacation at Paradise Ranch."

"That's not bad either. This year I spent over 4000 million francs in Bordeaux, acquiring a winery with nearly 200 hectares of vineyards!"

Sophie Marceau is not short of money now. She didn't care much about investments before, leaving them to others to manage. This year, she also bought a winery.

Aaron smiled. "Luxury goods are a good investment in France. Aren't you interested?"

LVMH (Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton) and PPR (Pinault-Pincentrum) are both actively pursuing mergers and acquisitions in the luxury goods sector!

Sophie Marceau shook her head. "Well, Christina Yerry might be interested; her Victoria's Secret agency is doing quite well."

"I've collaborated with some major international brands, but as you know, I'm not very interested in shooting commercials."

“Okay, whatever you want to do in the future, I will definitely support you,” Aaron kissed Sophie Marceau on the cheek.

Sophie Marceau smiled and said, "You said I wanted to direct myself, so you can't go back on your word, can you?"

Aaron nodded. "Of course, as I said before, I'll definitely support it!"

Afterwards, the two went to a restaurant in the city center for a meal.

In their seats, Aaron embraced Sophie Marceau and gave her a passionate kiss!
After all the food was served, Aaron suddenly saw a somewhat familiar person enter the restaurant; it was Michael Bloomberg, the chairman of Bloomberg.

“What are you looking at? Eat,” Sophie Marceau patted Aaron on the shoulder.

“Oh, okay,” Aaron said, turning his gaze away and clinking his glass against the woman’s.

Bloomberg and CBS have long hoped to partner with Bloomberg or Forbes to create a financial cable channel.
Just like CNBC, which is owned by NBC, it also has the involvement of Dow Jones, the parent company of The Wall Street Journal.

Bloomberg Business Radio and Forbes Channel are important financial news channels, but they are certainly not large enough.
Partnering with CBS would certainly lay a solid foundation; the MSNBC news channel, a collaboration between NBC and Microsoft, is a prime example of combining the resources of both companies.

If CBS wants to create its own 24-hour cable news channel, it will face great difficulties, since it does not have the Microsoft online news material of MSNBC, nor the News Corporation newspaper content of FNC.
However, creating a financial cable channel is still possible, whether it's partnering with Forbes or Bloomberg!

Then, Aaron glanced at Michael Bloomberg, who was embracing a young and beautiful woman. It was obvious that the other man was also on vacation and had brought a female companion.
Bloomberg's development in recent years has been remarkable, and it has a great reputation in the business world. Although Bloomberg is not publicly listed, its current valuation is definitely over $150 billion.

(End of this chapter)