American Entertainment: Starting with playing the role of Little Beaver

Chapter 63 Using Thunder King to Blow Up a Cigarette Pit

"Oh...I am sorry..."

"Uncle Valentine, I think I may not have understood what you mean."

On the evening of April 6, 2003.

Isabella received a call in Reykjavik, Iceland, from her lawyer, Valentine O'Connor, who sported a powerful hairstyle.

Then, the other person's opening remarks completely confused Isabella.

After exchanging greetings, the bald man's first words were, "It seems like you're being watched."

Not to mention that she hasn't done anything right now, and she hasn't caused any trouble recently—oops! She never causes trouble! She's always been a well-behaved girl; even if she did cause trouble and angered someone, it would probably be the people in Hollywood who hold a grudge against her, right?

She's currently only active in Hollywood!

So how could Valentine O'Connor, a British lawyer, have known that she was being targeted?
But after the bald man finished explaining the whole story, Isabella's brows furrowed instantly.

"Uncle Valentine, you mean someone broke into your law firm to commit theft, and was caught red-handed by your people. During the inventory of the lost items, you discovered that the firm's archives seemed to have been tampered with? And only the financial filing cabinets from two thousand years ago showed signs of being ransacked? So you suspect that this person was targeting me or my father?"

"Yes."

The bald man on the other end of the phone said, "Because our law firm rarely takes on clients from the financial industry, and so far, among all our financial clients, only your father died in an accident. The others, whether alive or deceased, are not currently troubled by legal disputes. So... you've been quite popular lately, so we suspect that these people are targeting you."

The question made Isabella squint.

Because she was indeed blocking the way for many people at that moment.

Take Ted Turner, for example. When she sided with the Ross family, Ted Turner must have hated her to death.

For example, her peers in the same industry, girls in the same category as her, must all have the idea of ​​killing her.

but--

No matter how much these people hate her;

They probably wouldn't use Valentine O'Connor, or rather her adoptive father, as a starting point.

The reason is simple.

Take Ted Turner for example. This guy has a very bad temper. After he dared to beat up the Ross family in public and challenge Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox, to a duel, if he wanted to dig up her information, he would have done it long ago.

They wouldn't have waited until now.

Not to mention her colleagues in the industry, who would dare to mess with a simple celebrity these days? It's like an old woman hanging herself to death!

therefore……

"Uncle Valentine, are you sure about your judgment?"

“Isa, if I remember correctly, I’ve always been there for your public birthday celebrations.”

“But I can’t think of anyone who would want to get me, so… do you think it’s possible that my dad is in debt?”

Isabella felt that the person searching for her father's information was probably not after her, but after her money.

Because her adoptive father's business was very complicated.

Those who work in finance inevitably use leverage. And anyone who has used leverage has most likely raised funds. So, if her father was in debt, his dramatic suicide could indeed wipe out his debts. But what if his child suddenly becomes wealthy?
The creditor might very well come back for revenge.

Don't talk about contractual agreements or the lack of rights afterward if you don't pursue the matter earlier.

If Western elites had even half the spirit of contract they claim to uphold, the world wouldn't be the mess it is today.

Isabella's guess caused the bald man on the other end of the phone to fall silent for a moment before he affirmed, "I dare say your father Eric didn't have any debts, but I dare say that all the cancellations went smoothly when dealing with your father's funeral arrangements."

Since the bald man had said so, Isabella turned her gaze to her mother beside her.

Valentine's call was actually to Vivian.

But Vivian wasn't sure about what was going on in Hollywood, so after responding, she let her daughter listen for herself.

Of course, she didn't leave either; she stayed by her side the whole time.

So, under her daughter's watchful gaze...

Vivian said directly, "I don't usually interfere with your dad's work, so I don't know if he has any debts. But let's think about it this way: if your dad really did have debts, would the creditors have waited until now to come after us?"

"Normally, they would appear as soon as you get Hermione Granger."

"Or rather, our house in Mayfair is worth millions of pounds no matter what."

“If your dad really owes money, the creditors will just kick us out.”

Isabella thought her mother's words made a lot of sense.

If that is the case—

"Uncle Valentine, do you know who the thief is?"

"The police information indicates that he is a bankrupt homeless man who came to our company to steal just to see if there is any cash to steal."

"Okay, I understand, thank you."

As soon as the information about the bankrupt vagrant appeared, Isabella was certain that she was being targeted.

Because the best basic education in the world is in the East, Western thieves can only make free purchases. Therefore, a normal thief cannot steal documents from a law firm; only people with a certain level of education can understand the files.

And the educated people went bankrupt?

This is practically a tailor-made identity for a thief!
So……

"I'm being watched."

Since these people wanted to play this game, Isabella simply summoned the security personnel Warner had assigned to her.

Her words stunned the white man who had come up to listen to her instructions. He paused for a moment, looking around nervously.

“W...What?”

Isabella was amused by his adorable look and waved her hands repeatedly, saying, "No, no, no, I didn't mean that I was being watched here. I meant that my home in London was broken into and someone wanted to hurt me."

Before he finished speaking, the middle-aged man's face suddenly turned cold.

He nodded to indicate that he understood, then decisively turned around and made a phone call.

About five minutes later, the guy came back again.

As he handed the connected phone to Isabella, he whispered, "Mr. Mayer wants to speak with you."

He raised his eyebrows to indicate he understood, then took the phone and listened attentively.

"Isa?"

"Yes, Mr. Mayer, this is Isabella. It's nice to receive your call."

"I am not happy."

Mayer's words were direct: "What happened to you? Who wants to get you?"

"I do not know."

"You do not know?"

"Yes, I just received the reminder myself..."

Isabella recounted her ordeal, and Barry Mayer immediately said he would investigate right away.

As the phone call ended...

Isabella regained her ease.

That's right~
Since she and capital are in cahoots, why should she take matters into her own hands when problems arise?
She and the Ross family are currently in their honeymoon period!

If anyone shows her any malice, Barry Mayer will be the first to explode!

"Oh~ Isa~"

Vivian, who witnessed all of this, was somewhat moved.

"Mom?"

As the girl returned the phone to the security guard and told him to go and rest, she also looked at her mother.

"You're smarter than your dad."

Vivian pursed her lips and said, "You know what? I actually never wanted Eric to leave Barclays, because I felt that no matter how capable an individual is, they can't surpass a century-old bank, but... I respected his choice..."

'hahahaha~'

Isabella smiled, but did not laugh out loud.

She understood what her mother meant.

Once you have a certain amount of money, it's just a number.

The most crucial transformation lies in how to turn numbers into capital.

Anyone who has read Marx should know that capital is not money. If your money cannot be transformed into a social relationship, cannot create stable employment for society, and its normal appreciation cannot bring tax revenue to the government, then you are a pig.

So, in Mom's eyes, Dad might earn less if he stayed at Barclays, but the improved social status would definitely prevent him from jumping to his death. Isabella thought this was true, but...

Everyone has their own ambitions, don't they?
No one can control another person's life.

I didn't want to dwell on this pointless topic, so I put my worries aside and continued my vacation.

It wasn't until Isabella passed the buck to Warner that she truly witnessed the power of capital.

She told Warner Bros. on the evening of January 6 that someone was trying to target her, and then on the afternoon of January 7, just after she arrived in Stok, Iceland, before she could even begin to admire the rare geysers, Barry Mayer called her personally.

“Isa…it seems that…”

As he recounted his story, the name Miramax slowly came to mind.

When Isabella learned that the people targeting her were likely the Weinstein brothers, and that their reason for targeting her was that The Voice's Oscar bid was in their way, the young girl was speechless.

“Uh… Mr. Mayer…”

Call me Barry.

"Okay, Barry, I don't recall saying I was aiming for the Oscars, did I?"

“Yeah, Isa, you’re right, but we haven’t officially announced that we’re giving up on the Olympics.”

"So, Weinstein attacked me based on just one 'possibility'?"

"Uh...Isa...I don't need to introduce the Weinstein brothers, right? They'll do anything to keep their business afloat, and this year, they've invested quite a bit, so..."

Barry Mayer stopped before he could finish speaking.

He believed Isabella could understand.

Isabella understood, "Okay, I get it. So, how does Warner Bros. plan to handle this?"

"That depends on your attitude."

Barry Mayer on the other end of the phone said, "As far as I know, when Weinstein learned that his men had been arrested by the London police, they quickly began to destroy all traces of their previous actions. He should... realize his mistake?"

"You know you're wrong? I doubt it?"

Before Barry Mayer could finish speaking, the young girl on the other end of the phone burst out laughing.

The little girl licked her lips and said, "Mr. Mayer, don't you think the Weinstein brothers have realized that if they don't stop, they might die? They don't know they're wrong; they're afraid of dying."

These words left Barry Mayer, who was on the West Coast, completely stunned!
His eyes narrowed slightly; he wondered if he had misheard.

"Okay, I'm sorry, Isa, could you repeat what you just said?"

Did I just speak, Mr. Meyer?

A cute laugh came through the receiver, "Since the malice comes from within the industry, Mr. Mayer, I'll leave this matter to you. Right now, I just want to rest well and be in top condition to film 'Azkaban'..."

As the phone call ended, Barry Mayer looked up.

His eyes were fixed on the person standing in front of him... cough... Nathan Bailey.

Ever since this guy perfectly completed the task assigned by Barry Mayer, allowing "The Voice" to successfully siphon blood from "The Lord of the Rings," he officially became Barry Mayer's second-in-command.

then……

This unlucky child then encountered another unlucky event.

'How come Isabella ran into trouble on another project I was working on right after I got promoted?'

This is simply…

'too……'

'What bad luck!'

Barry Mayer, however, paid no attention to such trivial matters. He pointed to the phone in front of him, which he had just put on speakerphone.

Did you hear what Isha just said?

“Hmm.” Nathan Bailey nodded.

"So I can interpret her words as meaning that people who are hostile towards her must disappear?"

“I… I think it’s fine…” Nathan Bailey nodded again.

"So what's your idea?" Barry Mayer frowned.

Nathan Bailey paused, then sighed, “Boss, I told you before, you can’t judge Isha with the eyes of a minor. Isha’s thinking is completely different from normal kids. Normal kids can’t write the script for ‘The Voice,’ even with Chris’s help, because their worldview isn’t big enough, their vocabulary isn’t big enough, but Isha…”

"Her vision is very mature, and many of the words in the film are things that are taught in many university literature departments."

"Since she is precocious and mature, then... we have to try to understand her thoughts using the adult world, right?"

“In our world, Weinstein should be dead.”

"Because no matter how he attacks Isha, it will affect her HP."

Barry Mayer took a deep breath.

That's right.

The reason he looked surprised was because he sensed a different kind of maturity in Isabella.

The reason he told Isabella that Weinstein knew he was wrong was to imply and guide her, to tell her that Weinstein had now realized their suspicions and would no longer target her.

But what was Isabella saying?
That is……

Those who harbor malicious intent deserve to die.

Regardless of whether his actions were completed or attempted.

This should be the worldview of Warner, or rather, the Ross family, Ted Turner, and others.

Well, that's how the world of capital is. You, a mere insect, dare to lay a hand on my cash cow?
Then I'll have no choice but to kill you. Because if I don't kill you, people will think I'm merciful, and in the future, countless people will want to provoke me.

Barry Mayer's reason for not wanting to touch Weinstein is simple: the person behind Weinstein possesses magic, and if Warner gets targeted by international human rights organizations, they can cause them endless trouble.

To put it simply, if Warner Bros. really angers them, they can report Warner Bros.' movies. If there is any violence in your movie, they will accuse you of promoting ideas that disregard human rights.

Warner can ignore them!
The North American Board of Film Classification has seven members!

I'm both a player and a referee, so what are you anyway?
But Warner Bros. isn't the only company in the film industry.

With Warner Bros. gone, there are fewer people to share the pie.

Therefore, if Warner is attacked, other companies will definitely join human rights organizations in making a fuss.

Furthermore, Warner Bros. is not united internally, and Ted Turner certainly wants to seize power.

That's right, Miramax's reliance on magic is actually the real reason why they've been able to remain slick in Hollywood for so many years!

Weinstein's scumbag Hollywood is notorious, but nobody wanted to deal with this cesspool until—

The emergence of MeToo.

Because my father said that only magic can defeat magic.

"Sigh... So what's your opinion?"

Barry Mayer asked Nathan Bailey a question.

Nathan Bailey didn't want to answer this question, but he had to.

He gave a wry smile and shook his head, saying, "Boss, I personally think Weinstein needs to be taught a lesson."

"Because our dignity is inviolable, we cannot let others feel that HP is a target."

"Then……"

“Isa is special.”

"She just helped us deal with the new line, and less than a week later, she's already being bullied?"

"Then we advised her to ignore it?"

"If word gets out, who will dare to work for us in the future?"

"So we'll do it ourselves?" Barry Mayer chuckled wryly.

Would he not understand these principles?
He understands!

But he didn't want to blow up the latrine with a firecracker!

That would get you splashed with sewage!

Barry Mayer's questioning plunged the large office into silence.

Neither of them had a good solution.

but--

About five minutes later, Nathan Bailey suddenly perked up and looked at his boss.

"Boss, if I remember correctly, the rights to The Lord of the Rings weren't originally held by New Line Cinema, were they?"

"Correct."

Barry Meyer nodded and said, "The new line was bought from Miramax. What's wrong?"

He didn't understand what Nathan Bailey meant.

Nathan Bailey continued, "Boss, if I remember correctly, the copyright transaction fee for 'The Lord of the Rings' was cash plus box office revenue sharing? They said it was $1200 million plus 5%, but it was actually $1200 million plus 2.5% plus 2.5%?"

Barry Mayer narrowed his eyes.

After thinking about it carefully, he instantly understood what Nathan Bailey meant.

"Yes--"

He nodded vigorously.

"Okay!"

The affirmative reply energized Nathan Bailey, who made a palm out with his left hand, clenched his right fist, and slammed it down.

"Boss! Shall we call Robert Iger?"

"If Bob is willing to help us take out Weinstein, wouldn't this whole thing be perfectly over?"

"Then……"

"Our 'The Voice' will have an even better chance of winning the Oscars!"

“I know Isabella doesn’t want to pay for the Oscar bid, and that money of hers…”

"Personally, I think we can just go for it."

"There are two reasons."

"First, it's true that Isabella can't win an Oscar, or rather, she can't win the highest honor for an actor. When the Oscar for Best Actress is destined to be out of her reach, it's really putting her in a difficult position by asking her to spend money to try for an Oscar."

"So, it's not a big deal for us to pay to help her get a nomination."

"Secondly, many of the Oscar statuettes are helpful to us."

"Take the Best Original Music, for example."

"The Voice soundtrack and Isabella's personal mini-disc haven't even gone on sale yet. Our initial plan was to release the soundtrack and mini-disc along with the videotapes after the movie's theatrical run, but now..."

"Weinstein is gone, why don't we help her win a prize?"

"If her song wins an Oscar, we can earn even more."

"Furthermore, there's another advantage to doing this for us..."

“Ted Turner has always wanted to sell our business.”

"Isn't it?"

Nathan Bailey paused at this point.

With his eyes fixed intently on his boss, Barry Mayer's mind raced as he analyzed Nathan Bailey's words.

First, the first thing to identify is 1200 million + 2.5% + 2.5%.

This was the final price paid by New Line Cinema and Miramax for the rights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

New Line Cinema did pay $1200 million plus 5% of the box office revenue in the rights deals for "The Lord of the Rings" and "The Hobbit," but 2.5% of that 5% went directly into Weinstein's pocket, bypassing Miramax.

Miramax has always held the copyrights to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.

Because Weinstein initially wanted Disney to invest in the project.

and so……

Anyone who has been through the real world should understand what this means.

Job occupation crime.

Embezzlement.

Once this reputation was established, using Disney's hand to strike Weinstein was something no one could fault.

Even if Amnesty International wanted to intervene, they couldn't find a reason to do so.

Ah!
I'll break your magic wand!

Let's see how you use magic!
Do you, a human rights organization, want to defy federal law?
If you dare to nod, I'll let the CIA out the door right away!
Who the hell doesn't have anyone?

Secondly, the second thing to identify is that Ted Turner wanted to sell Warner's assets.

That's Warner Music.

Since the merger of AOL and Time Warner, the entire group has been operating at a loss and desperately needs cash flow to survive.

Since AOL has no quality assets, its market value is all due to the dot-com bubble, and it can't be sold off even if it wanted to. Similarly, Time Warner doesn't have anything of value either.

Therefore, everyone turned their attention to Warner.

Warner Music does indeed possess a wealth of valuable assets, and the most suitable one to sell is Warner Music.

The arrival of the internet age has had a huge impact on the music industry. Everyone thought that physical music was going to die, and only digital music, which Steve Jobs created, could survive. In this situation, clearing out all copyrights before physical music still has value is the best way to escape the peak. Nobody knows how far digital music will develop.

There is far too much piracy on the internet these days.

Of course, Warner itself was unwilling to sell!

Warner Music was also built up by Steve Ross!
How could the Ross family possibly sell their private plot of land to clean up the mess left by the conglomerate?

They didn't go crazy!

Unfortunately, when Steve Case of AOL, Ted Turner of Turner Broadcasting, and Time Inc. all wanted to break up Warner, the Ross family simply couldn't hold on, especially since Warner Music had indeed been losing money for the past few years.

So……

Do you really think a mini-disc and a movie soundtrack from Isaac can save Warner Music?

Barry Mayer looked at Nathan Bailey.

"No."

Nathan Bailey shook his head decisively, but at the same time he also said, "But with a gimmick, at least we can improve our performance."

"With good performance, we can speak loudly at the shareholders' meeting."

"The real economy still has a future, but everyone is looking in the wrong direction."

"If we can drag out the deal, we'll gain more room for thought, won't we?"

"Even if all of the above fails, we can still gain more goodwill from the Ross family."

"We are trying our best to preserve their assets within the group."

"The harder we work, the longer we can stay in this position."

Nathan Bailey's words echoed throughout the large office.

Barry Mayer looked at him with a complicated expression, then after a moment, he chuckled and shook his head.

“Nathan, there are many times I really want to say you’re a fucking unlucky kid.”

"But many times I want to say that your mind is indeed as youthful as a young person's."

"so--"

"Let's avenge our little princess!"

"Take down Weinstein!"

"I'm calling Bob!"

The words have not yet fallen.

Barry Mayer picked up the landline receiver again and dialed a number.

A few seconds later——

"Hi Bob, this is Barry. Your Disney princess has been bullied."

"W...What? Barry, are you out of your mind?"

"Hey Bob, why are you swearing? I'm talking to you about serious matters! Isabella's been bullied, someone wants to ruin her, so aren't you going to help her get revenge? They just helped you! You want to promote someone? Okay, they'll help you promote them! You want to meet Steve Jobs and get a movie contract? Okay, they'll agree to all of that! They've already gone to such lengths, and then she gets bullied, you can't just ignore it, can you? Most importantly, let me tell you, the people bullying her are from Disney!"

"..."

Robert Iger, who was on the other end of the phone, was constipated.

He felt that Barry Mayer was showing off his intelligence.

He is Disney's COO, and the only person who can outrank him is the chairman and CEO, but the latter is currently being watched by the shareholders.

So, Barry Mayer said Isabella was bullied by Disney?
What's the difference between this and directly saying he bullied Isabella?

And he bullied Isabella?

He's not mentally ill!

Just a few days ago, he had a friendly phone call with Isabella!

therefore--

"Okay, okay, Barry, could you please stop using long and complicated sentences?"

"I feel there's something wrong with your logic right now."

"Can you tell me properly what happened?"

If we hadn't known each other for so many years, and if we weren't all in the same boat...

Robert Iger would have fired Barry Mayer long ago.

His helplessness made Barry Mayer laugh.

He knew Robert Iger; he knew that venting his emotions first would make Iger listen more attentively.

and so--

“Okay, so, Bob, Miramax from Disney has made a move on Isaac…”

Because the matter was not complicated, Barry Mayer explained everything in less than three minutes.

After Robert Iger surveyed the entire situation like a god...

His face immediately turned cold.

"Barry, have your men send over your investigation materials. I'm in Burbank right now."

"Then, if you can get hold of the trade agreement between Newline and Miramax, even a copy, give it to me."

"I'll get back to you after I've verified all the information, okay?"

“Okay~~” Robert Iger’s words made Barry Mayer smile.

Before he even hung up the phone, he had already tilted his head towards Nathan Bailey.

Understanding what he meant, the young man turned and left without saying a word.

(End of this chapter)