Hollywood starts with an agent

Chapter 663 Victoria's Secret Angels Go Abroad
With the conclusion of the NBA playoffs Eastern and Western Conference Finals, the Houston Rockets defeated the Portland Trail Blazers 4-2 to advance to the NBA Finals.
The Indiana Pacers from the East also eliminated the New York Knicks with a 4-2 series score to advance to the NBA Finals.

The first game of the 1999–2000 NBA Finals was played on June 8 at the Dawn Center in Houston!
Meanwhile, Universal's sequel blockbuster "The Mummy 2" will also be released on Friday, while Aaron has already arrived in Paris, and Norika Fujiwara has returned to Asia to promote her new film "Thunder Cop".

At the Place Athena Paris, Christine Yerry handed Aaron, who was sitting on the sofa, a glass of champagne. "Aaron, when did you start paying attention to the luxury goods industry?"

Aaron smiled. "Saxophone Fifth Avenue is now mine, so acquiring a few luxury brands is perfectly normal!"

The easiest money to make in the world comes from women and children; luxury goods represent a huge market.

Last year, French luxury goods giant LVMH acquired Gucci, but was disrupted by the entry of another French group, PRR.

The lawsuit between LVMH and Gucci is still being heard in a Dutch court!
Christina Yerry shook her head. "The luxury goods industry is a very complex place. As a giant Hollywood media group, Dawn should just focus on securing large advertising budgets from these brands, right?"

Aaron waved his hand, "I just had this idea, and it's not Dawn's acquisition, it's my Tianhai Fund;"

Last year, LVMH's annual sales reached 560 billion francs, which is over 100 billion US dollars, while Dawning Group's sales were less than 150 billion US dollars.

"However, Dawning acquired CBS last year and underwent more than half a year of integration, so Dawning Group's sales will definitely see a significant increase this year;"

"The LVMH Group alone now accounts for almost half of the sales revenue of the Dawn Group!"

Christina Yerry smiled, "You can't say that. Everyone knows that Dawn Group is the most profitable media group in the world."

"Dawn's profits are much higher than those of other media groups in Hollywood. We are the most profitable film group!"

Aaron took a sip of champagne. "Hmm, anyway, I have plenty of money now, so investing in some luxury brands is no big deal."

"Just like Hermès, which has the most prestigious name, Tianhai Fund can acquire some shares."

Most of these luxury brands in Europe are family-run, and you would have to wait until these families run into problems before you can acquire them.

Aaron doesn't have that much time to pay attention, let's take it slow!

"Hermes? The Hermes family owns almost 70% of the shares, so they can't get controlling stake."

Christina Yeri said, and sat down next to Aaron.

“Take your time, I’m not in a rush,” Aaron said, pulling the woman beside him closer and stroking her thigh. “By the way, I heard you’re planning to hold a Victoria’s Secret exhibition during the Cannes Film Festival next year?” Christina Yerry nodded. “The Cannes AIDS charity wants to invite Victoria’s Secret Angels to participate in the fashion show to raise funds!”

Aaron kissed the girl. "Well, that's good. Anyway, you guys are going to hold the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in Los Angeles this year, so going abroad is perfectly normal."

"Also, has the Channel Tunnel between England and France been operating at a loss for the past few years?"

Christine Yeary shrugged, "The budget for the Channel Tunnel increased from £48 billion to £107 billion upon completion."

"Eurotunnel, the company responsible for operating the tunnel, is burdened with huge debts, mainly due to excessively high costs. Even with the good returns from the Channel Tunnel, it will be difficult to plug this hole!"

No wonder, as Alstom of France, the general contractor for operating high-speed trains through the tunnel, also suffered heavy losses;

In addition, Alstom's large-scale acquisitions in recent years, while expanding the market for power systems, have also increased its debt significantly. Its transportation businesses, such as trains, subways, and cruise ships, cannot offset the debt pressure.

……

In the United States, Wall Street appears to have gained more confidence in large technology companies as some chipmakers, such as Intel, released optimistic financial reports.
Shares of companies like Intel, Texas Instruments, IBM, and Yahoo have risen, and the Nasdaq index has returned to 4000 points, though it is still quite a distance from 5000 points in March.

At this crucial moment of winning back investors, shocking news broke from Wall Street: "The United States has seen the largest number of stock fraud and criminal cases indicted in its history!"

U.S. federal authorities announced the dismantling of the largest securities fraud case in history, involving both the legitimate and criminal underworld:
A total of 120 people were charged with six counts. Among the 120 defendants in this stock fraud case, there were many who knowingly broke the law, including a former police detective, 57 stock managers, 30 senior executives or "insiders" of the companies that issued the stock, as well as an investment advisor and a fund manager of a speculative investment group.
These individuals are accused of crimes including fraud, extortion, money laundering, illegal kickbacks, stock fraud, and tampering with evidence.

Subsequently, the U.S. Congress immediately held relevant hearings to investigate whether Wall Street analysts had "deliberately praised" certain stocks, misled investors, and created a financial scandal when the tech stock bubble burst.

Meanwhile, the merger between US telecommunications giant MCI and another telecommunications company, Sprint, announced last year for $1290 billion was blocked by the US and the European Union because it violated antitrust laws.

MCI originally hoped that by merging with Sprint, it could dethrone AT&T and become the largest telecommunications company in history!

Universal's blockbuster "The Mummy 2" also premiered at this time, grossing $7000 million in its opening weekend.
Aside from a more immersive visual experience, The Mummy 2 did not receive the same critical acclaim as its predecessor, lacking in concept and failing to deliver in terms of creativity and story originality.

It's clear that The Mummy 2 encountered the same situation as Paramount's Mission: Impossible 2: the increased production budget made the film more exciting and thrilling, with more magnificent and spectacular scenes.
However, the plot and storyline inevitably fall into repetition and monotony, with illogical plots, a complex and loose storyline full of loopholes, and underdeveloped supporting characters!
Of course, the good news is that "The Mummy 2" and "Mission: Impossible 2" still have strong commercial performance and are quite attractive.
However, the style is too commercial and lacks the art and depth of film. Although the numerous explosions, fights and fantasy scenes in "The Mummy 2" can attract the audience's attention, they lack inner emotions and ideological connotations, and it has become a popcorn movie that is simply carried by special effects and action scenes!

(End of this chapter)