Hollywood Domination Chapter 354: Ricky’s choice

"It's over 1.8 billion..."

After closing the news page, Rich Ross, the newly appointed CEO of Disney Movies, spun around on the leather chair, smiled bitterly at the computer, and picked up a stack of The script, lightly flicked its cover with your fingers, "It's already 1.8 billion, can this script be given away?"

Squeezed his forehead-although he has only been in office for 4 months, Rich already feels that he has aged several years. He mechanically opened youtube and browsed the collection of news reports this morning: "Avatar" became the global Box office hegemony, the final box office is unpredictable, the red carpet of the Golden Globes will start at 5 pm, Marvel directors gather at the New York headquarters, and witness the Disney logo hanging on the Marvel headquarters building...

Seeing a blurry figure in a suit on the news screenshot, Rich pouted - he knew that Cesare Vijari and his wife would definitely bombard various news pages tomorrow, which would also include financial news : Regardless of whether "Avatar" won the best movie or not, Disney will announce the news after it becomes the global box office champion. With the successful fulfillment of Disney's acquisition of Marvel, Vijay, who originally held Marvel The couple will become shareholders of Disney, and Disney intends to release some of the shares held by the company from entering the market in order to repay the share of shares paid to Marvel shareholders. According to the agreement between Disney and Big Dream, Jennifer Jefferson will They can buy 160 million worth of shares at the low price when the agreement was signed, and the couple will fully realize their rights, which also makes them hold nearly 10 million shares of Disney shares, although this It is still not as good as Jobs, but the proportion of 0.5% of the shares is already among the best among individual shareholders.

This is not the end of the whole news. Disney also intends to hint to the public that in the upcoming general election of the board of directors, Jennifer Jefferson is very likely to enter the Disney board of directors and serve as an independent director. Bob believes that This will increase investors' confidence in Disney, and also make the relationship between Disney, Dameng, and Jennifer Jefferson closer. Of course, this also means that the position under Rich's **** has become even less attractive...

Although he has been employed for four months, it is reasonable to say that it is enough for him to "replace the old with a new generation". But Rich still has no real sense of becoming a CEO: President Bob Iger turned a blind eye to him and was very indifferent. He continued to skip him and give orders directly to various departments. He was suspected of setting him aside. Yi Disney, his condition worsened a few days ago and unfortunately passed away. The Disney Family Foundation has not been able to select a second Disney who has enough popularity to represent the family on the board of directors, which also makes it difficult for Rich to find a second staunch ally among conservatives, or in other words, potential opposition Pai also watched him coldly, and they didn't plan to give him favor and support until he showed enough firm determination or enough valuable value. It can be said that although there have been good news from Disney in the past four months, none of the good news has given him any blessings. At the same time, his opponent Dream is making great strides. Steps——If Roy hadn't died of illness, he might be **** to death right now: within a few months, the big dream that he once regarded as a cash cow in the group suddenly became more and more powerful in terms of prestige and wealth. They are all extremely inflated, and now they even have the meaning of being on an equal footing with the headquarters. Even, if you only look at the projects under development, you will not even know who is the main company in the group, and Jennifer, who is very optimistic about him Jefferson, who has become one of the leaders who threaten the headquarters the most, is about to join the board of directors. Even if Roy wants to stop him, he will fail severely at the box office of "Avatar".

In today's United States, quantitative easing is the favorite topic of rich people. The financial crisis has caused all the rich people to suffer from money shortages, and Disney, which is obviously more willing to spend money than Paramount, has therefore successfully negotiated After signing the acquisition agreement with Marvel, to everyone's surprise, the news was announced half a month ago. Disney bought Marvel for US$4.4 billion, and Marvel shareholders will receive US$30 in cash and 0.7452 shares of Disney stock. 2.98 million Disney shares (equivalent to about 100 million in cash), they made a net profit of 100 million in this transaction-in July last year, they sold the copyright of the "Iron Man" series back to Marvel at a price of 100 million , At that time, many people still regarded this news as a symbol of the weakness of Dameng, but this short-term transaction made everyone shut up. In one year, the income doubled, and the risk of the entire transaction process was extremely low, even Many people have discovered the connection between the Vijri and his wife's ownership of Marvel - Disney's acquisition of Marvel. There have been rumors within the company that Jennifer Jefferson sold the copyright only because of her Promised Bob to be his advance army, and settled the list for him, and the seat on the Disney board of directors was Bob's reward for her.

Because the acquisition agreement was roughly formed in September, Rich also received news of similar rumors very early, and he saw the attitude of the company's top management and shareholders' representatives to this rumor change step by step: 9 In March, the ratio of support and opposition was about 55%, which was similar to the ratio of enlightened and conservative inside the company. After "Nine" failed word of mouth, but after making a profit at the box office, the ratio of support began to rise. "Avatar" box office In the week of 2 billion, the approval rate fell to close to 0. Even those who are more optimistic and believe in Jennifer shook their heads when they mentioned "Jennifer entered the board of directors" in that week, "No matter her acting skills and With such a strong investment vision, she is not suitable to be a director at present."

However, when "Avatar" began to be released, everything was of course changed by the box office. What Rich can be sure of is that it took only one month to reach 1.8 billion. Now, no one will object to Jennifer's joining —Who would object? Not even she would object. The box office of "Avatar" is not as simple as a huge amount of money, it represents a trend, a phenomenon, an industry trend that can wash away the laggards, and in such an era of change, who would not welcome it? A pioneer who accurately grasped the pulse of the times entered the company's decision-making level? Compared with the tide-riders on the top of the waves, Ricky himself felt a little old—in front of the monstrous waves, he no longer felt excited and excited, but instinctively held his breath, and even felt a little bit of fear .

The movie "Avatar" exploded, driving Fox's stock price to rise sharply, and also made imax a star that everyone focused on-and the absurd thing is that Disney's stock price also skyrocketed. Although the stock was released, the price did not fall. In Rich's view, this may be due to the restoration of investors' confidence in Jennifer, but the right time to connect, the credit for this round of stock price rise belongs to Disney's acquisition of Marvel - which also became Bob. Iger successfully led the second acquisition, his position in the company was more stable, and he made a lot of contributions in the acquisition (it was rumored that this acquisition was her suggestion), Jennifer's personal prestige and net worth rose sharply, without a trace. Undoubtedly, they are the big winners in the company's internal struggle, and they have gained an advantage by relying on their own achievements, which makes Rich even more in a dilemma. He himself wants to make some achievements in this position, rather than continue to be embarrassingly emptied and reduced to a stamped mascot. However, if he falls to Bob's side now, is it too late?

Flicking the cover of "John Cotter on Mars" printed on it again, Rich smiled self-deprecatingly. In fact, he knew the situation clearly, but he didn't have the courage to make this decision before. : It is actually very simple to gain power. Dick's last fight before leaving has completely concretized the contradiction between the two factions. If you want to take refuge in Bob, then transfer this novel that Jennifer personally praised to Dameng. If you want to take refuge in the conservatives represented by Roy, you should promote this project as soon as you take office, no matter whether he advances or transfers it. , can join the faction smoothly, get a not-so-low position, and get powerful help, at least allowing him to start his own movie project, but it is hesitation that ruins all of this. Now that the box office is already so high, if he chooses to advance this project, wouldn't he jump out and be the target of the proud Bob? It is not impossible for him to take advantage of the current wave of momentum to take himself away. Even considering the adverse effects of frequent general changes, Bob may completely empty himself and take advantage of this to clean up the opposition.

And if he chooses to join... This novel is a good project that Jennifer pointed out. If you transfer it early, you can still have a high-sounding excuse to maintain peace in the company, balabala, even if "Avatar" just came out at the box office In those few days of transfer, it can also be said that the posture is flexible and the response is quick. It's been a month now, "Avatar" has officially become a god, and you come to flatter and beg for mercy like a dog again? Although it is said that his self-esteem is not worth a few cents in the workplace, this kind of public self-slapping behavior will directly cause his prestige in the hearts of insiders to drop-but this matter is known to almost all Hollywood. How to mix in the industry?

However, this is not what Rich is most concerned about now - what he really cares about is the talent pool in the hands of Bob Iger and Jennifer Jefferson: face, he may not care about it, but he cannot tolerate doing it himself Trading at a loss, and relying on Bob at this time, he has to pay not only his self-esteem, but also all the goodwill of the conservatives, but it is difficult to regain the trust of Bob and Jennifer, and he will not trust a person who waits until he is in another place. His subordinates who came to help him no longer needed help, and even Ricky was sure that if he moved to another place, he might just flirt with this untrustworthy and repeated villain for a while, and kick him away whenever he had the opportunity , and replace it with a more suitable one.

However, it is not so easy to find a candidate for the CEO of a film company. Excluding external recruitment (the trustworthiness of external talents is lower than that of Rich, every candidate who can be approved by the board of directors is naturally ambitious and qualified. Deep, not going to be Bob and Jennifer's loyal dog), in the Bob faction inside the company, is there any suitable candidate who is eager to try, just waiting for a suitable opportunity to become a leader?

Virgilia Vijari is considered one, but her relationship with Cesare Vijari makes all this very awkward, so the possibility is relatively low. As for others, they tend to be Bob, and neither Candidates who mind that the headquarters is suppressed by the big dream...

"Welcome back to the show, the next thing to talk about should be the topic that everyone cares about - can James Cameron get the Golden Globe? Dean, what do you think of this issue? The Golden Globe will choose tradition Yes, the safe "The Hurt Locker" and "Millionaire", or follow the popular will and choose "Avatar"?"

"Well, if the box office of "Avatar" is only 800 million US dollars, then I will answer you without hesitation, it must not be "Avatar."

Amidst the laughter of the hostess, the guest commentator continued, "Now, the wishes of the people are obviously boiling like water, and their attitudes have been expressed quite clearly. We can see that by flipping through social media. How high is the support for this movie."

"Yeah, wow, look at these words on the big screen: #阿凡达拍最好电影# Why is the best movie always the movie that kills people? It's not "Avatar" it should be "Millionaire" ——I guess this spokesperson must be a fan of Jennifer Jefferson."

"Avatar is the greatest movie ever, it changed my life as much as the iPod." Dean also chanted, "Well, obviously, this is from."

"What is certain is that the effective ratings of the Golden Globes tonight will be very high. "Avatar" has brought young audiences back to the TV. This is the most important point-young people really They cared about it, they connected with the movie."

"Yeah, they're almost screaming for more of this type of movie, subversive special effects, very real alien planets, not just a few special effects shots, one that puts you on the scene "Avatar" has captured the hearts of young people around the world. From this point of view, it is indeed great enough. I think the film studios should be crazy about making similar projects."

"Haha, yes, but the long lead times mean there's always someone going to be the first movie to fail when the market is saturated. Dean, who do you think will be the first to fail?"

"This question is a complete wild guess. Is this what you want, Dinah? - Well, well, if I'm to guess, just let me guess, Sonny."

"Sony."

"Sony."

"—Because of the six major film companies, that is, the only six companies in Hollywood that can afford "Avatar", this is the only one that didn't cooperate with Dameng?"

"I can find many reasons to support my conjecture, but I will say, yes, you are right, Dinah, like all short-sighted investors, I have enough for Jennifer right now, even Blind confidence.”

"Well, let me say, Dean, your argument is also wrong, because as far as I know, Sony has restarted negotiations with Dameng on the "Spider-Man" series..."

Turning off the TV, Rich shook his head and pressed the intercom, "Is Bob at work today?"

After getting an affirmative answer, Richie waited for a moment, and when his secretary called to let him know that Bob was available to see him now, Richie took one last look at the Mickey Mouse statue in the display case.

His footsteps became heavy under this look, and this look even seemed to be able to change all his decisions—those animations, those reasons that inspired him to jump to Disney, and even the reasons that inspired him to enter the film industry—

The outstretched hand paused in the air, and Rich could hear his own breathing, rough in his ears...

In the end, he still grabbed the script, stood up and walked towards the door: The last person who wanted to go against the times had already been kicked out of the company. It’s not mean to be like a dog. The film companies that produce artworks are dead. The current film companies are just golf clubs in the hands of the rich. Their purpose is to chase profits. Art is just a by-product. Dignity, persistence, Tradition... before profit, everything is a by-product. The more you rely on these, the sooner you will be out. Just like Dick, he was reduced to a leather bag company to live his life. This is a dog-eat-dog world. There is no dignity, no persistence, no tradition, only the frenzy of the times, only great changes, and only eternal profits!

At the moment before opening the door, Rich stretched out his hands and tugged at the collar—this is a habit he has maintained since childhood. Mickey Mouse always likes to tug on his bow tie, but he can only tidy up his shirt without a bow tie Collar——soon, he put on a happy business smile, frankly put the cover of the script outward, tucked it under his arm, and walked towards Robert Iger's office area.

"Good afternoon, Rich."

"Rich."

"Rich."

It happened to be lunch time, and in the corridors of the park, the employees spontaneously greeted him, and their eyes all fell on the shiny white A4 paper: "Hi, Rich... ..."

#

"Jennifer - Cesare!"

"Jennifer!"

"Jen! Ah, and Chesa, sorry, it's kind of hard to notice you around your glamorous wife—"

The award ceremony always starts at 8 o'clock, and the red carpet segment that starts live at 5 o'clock is to facilitate the interaction between the guests and the media. Usually, big names like Jenny are late. This time Of course, there is no exception. Jenny even arrived later than James Cameron. The crew of "Avatar" did not engage in family kissing. Instead, they walked the red carpet separately, led by James, Anthony Ryan and Sigourney Weaver and other actors arrived at the scene on time at around 7 o'clock, and of course they also received special attention from the media. However, the climax of the audience was when Jenny and her husband Cesare Vigeri appeared Appeared - almost just stepped on the red carpet, they were surrounded by greetings and ridicules from acquaintances or friends, and the media even pointed their guns at the two, taking pictures and shouting .

"Look here."

"Here, here, Jennifer, can you smile at me?"

Among the dense shutter sounds, the red carpet interview team had already been waiting aside, and even the mobile camera was focused on the Jennifer couple to capture the shots, and was completely indifferent to another actor who had just stepped on the red carpet.

"You are so beautiful tonight, Jennifer, is this a Dior dress?"

"Yeah, after all these years of Valentino, I guess we should try something new every once in a while, don't you?"

"Yeah, yeah, the red dress suits you really well, and your husband's really handsome - he came last year as a staff member or something, right? Of course, at the time you were already— —It’s all just to keep a low profile.”

"Yes, yes, thank you very much for your enthusiasm, let me have the opportunity to attend the Golden Globes for several years in a row-this year, at one point I thought I could eat ice cream and watch TV at home."

"But Avatar ruined it all, didn't it?"

"Ha ha ha, yes, "Avatar" completely changed my life, I should punch James for it."

"Cesare, how about you, how does it feel to appear in front of the camera for the first time?"

"I also had some experience of being interviewed at the premiere. Of course, as an agent, I have dealt with a lot of media, so it's okay, I can barely adapt."

"Yes, you are indeed experienced, and you have come to the Golden Ball many times, haven't you, Cesare?"

"Of course you know it very well, because you hosted my first Golden Globe - I was leading Jennifer Bell at the time, right?"

"Yes, she was interviewed by me five minutes ago, with her husband - she said she was very optimistic about "Avatar" winning the best director, and what do you think of the award tonight What, Jennifer?"

"I'm very happy that Millionaire and Avatar are not in the same group, so I don't have to be in a dilemma, and of course I hope that both films can win-and for Catherine and Christopher, it can only Say sorry, I will pray for you next time when we are not in a war zone."

"Haha, it's very humorous..."

The red carpet interview is not an ordinary reporter’s inquiry, there are strict topic ranges, and questions that deviate too much from the Golden Globes and movies will be criticized, so Jenny and Cesare were able to escape a lot of difficult topics , just to discuss the innocuous movie box office and awards, but even though the interview ended soon, the camera still followed them until they walked into the venue and then reluctantly withdrew - but It does not mean that they can get some private time. Although there are no cameras in the venue for the time being, there are many acquaintances, and most of them have a lot to say to them.

"Jennifer, dear, it's been a long time, how long will you be staying in Los Angeles this time? You know, you really don't look like a qualified resident of Beverly Hills—" Of course, the radiant Jennifer Bell was the first person to come over to say hello. Now that she is filming "oz", she found an opportunity to show her face at the Golden Globes thanks to her relationship with Disney. ——Always so good at making money, but Jenny can feel that after the box office of "Avatar", Bell's attitude towards her is much more natural this time, maybe because the 2 billion box office convinced her completely, and she turned off and My comparative mind and her flattering and affectionate attitude are much more natural now than before. "Georgia has been clamoring to invite you to dinner at home, but you and Cesare are too busy."

"Jennifer——Cesare—you kid!" Jeff Bridges, the most powerful contender for Best Actor this year, and also the villain of "Iron Man 1" raised his finger at Cesare, Some childishly tapped a few times, "It finally appeared, today you must honor your glass of wine—"

"j.j!" Robert Downey Jr., who rose from black to red with "Iron Man" and was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical Comedy with "Sherlock Holmes", walked forward with a smile and shook his hand. Holding Jenny's hand, "—I really don't know whether I should hate you, j.j, I've already told Chesa that "Sherlock Holmes" can't even win a championship, it's hard not to be jealous."

"At least it didn't lose money, did it?" Chris put his hands in his pockets, stepped forward a little angrily, raised his fist and punched Jenny, "Hey, are you two hiding from me? We had dinner together, but I haven't received any calls from you yet."

"We both returned to Los Angeles this morning and noon respectively." Jenny told him, "But I have read the script, the general idea is still okay, but the choice of director may be particularly important—hey!"

Temporarily putting down Chris, Jenny, James, Anthony and other crew members hugged each other firmly several times, "J.J, listen, after tonight we're going to Fox to hold a celebration party, you know, I've got a mission , we must invite you here."

"I'm fine, but are you sure James won't fall asleep? I think he's very sleepy right now..."

If you want to judge the happiness index inside the venue, the crew of "Avatar" must be among the best, and the happiness index remains high. Being able to participate in this movie with the world's box office champion, even if the salary remains the same, the actors I feel so honored, not to mention that Fox has already announced that it will give dividends after the box office exceeds 2 billion, so no matter whether I am nominated or not, whether the film will win an award or not, the crew members are very excited, and the cohesion is unprecedentedly strong , James Cameron was not angry at being ridiculed like this, but spread his hands with a smile, "I expected this, so I started to take preventive caffeine this morning."

"Do you think we can break through 2.5 billion before the Oscars?"

"Yes, give us a little more oracle, will the box office exceed 2.5 billion before the Oscars?"

This year's Oscars ceremony is late, mainly because the Winter Olympics will be held in February, so it was postponed for two weeks, and the ceremony is scheduled to be held on March 7. According to the current momentum of 2 billion in January , there is one month left, if "Avatar" continues to go against the sky, it should not be a problem to break through 2.5 billion by March-in the current movie screening cycle, about 90% of a movie can be produced in three months % of the box office, many analysis articles pointed out that if "Avatar" wants to break through 3 billion, it must produce at least 500 million box office in February, so that the trend can continue all the way to 3 billion.

"—But, **** him, which analyst can predict the box office curve of "Avatar" now? We are a miracle," said Anthony, who starred in a movie for the first time, and now his stardom is very smooth. Excited, he dragged Jenny to babble for a while, but Jenny left quickly.

"Meryl!" She quickly stepped forward and embraced Meryl Streep, "Honey, you are here to collect trophies again this year."

"And you are standing on the cusp of a higher wave again, aren't you?" Meryl's tone was somewhat kind and spicy. She looked at Jenny and shook her head again, "Every time I see you, the people around you The halos are a little more pompous than before - just think about the life you're living now -"

She flicked her tongue, obviously disapproving of Jenny's news during this period, and Jenny can fully understand this-to a certain extent, Meryl and Salvi are the same people, they are more The focus is on her own artistic life, and Meryl will definitely not agree too much with Jenny's way of actively interfering with business.

"I'm the boss of a company after all," no matter whether it was her own choice to do these things, but now, her helpless emotions are genuine, Jenny sighed, exchanged a look with Meryl, and then They separated tacitly and greeted more acquaintances. ——Nine years later, in the round table area designated by the Golden Globe Awards for nominees, there are not many people she doesn't know.

"George - got nominated again, didn't he? Hope this is your lucky year."

"Jennifer - history is being made again, isn't it? See you dominating the headlines every year."

"To each other, George, by the way, I am very interested in your arrest-oh, hehehe, Brad, Angelina, hi."

"Hi, j.j—"

"Jennifer, dear, long time no see."

"Ah, Julia..."

To be a show, you have to take great risks in many cases, but the benefits are proportionally high. Jenny's '2 billion' did make her questioned and cold-eyed, but it also made her largely regarded by people. As an important leading figure in "Avatar", stealing the limelight from Fox and Cameron, it is hard to say that the stars will not be affected by this, but in fact, no matter how much you hate Jennifer Jefferson, facing this theory The production ability is so strong that it has already won two best movies. When it comes to acting, there are three Oscars in hand. When it comes to public relations, the team plays with the public opinion in the United States. The handle, the handle is almost equal to zero - facing such an existence that is so strong in all aspects, no matter how much you hate her, as long as you have a normal IQ, you probably won't want to come out and be hostile to her. ——The big star who has no shameful little things, really matched up with Jennifer, the team behind her has no limit, can blow up your black history in minutes, and at the same time let you Assuming the name of a villain, she herself has always maintained a pure white image, and continues to be her St. Jennifer without hindrance.

It's normal for big names in Hollywood to dislike each other. Even the best producers and directors would dare to provoke them. It is the personality of an artist. However, at tonight's awards ceremony, whether it is George Clooney, whose political stance is obviously different, "In the Clouds" was rejected by Beijing, or the Olympic work was crushed at the box office and word of mouth. None of Brad Pitt showed even the slightest bit of dissatisfaction with Jennifer, and no one was hiding a knife in his mouth or a smile—at least in Jenny’s perception, everyone’s smiles were so sincere, and they wanted to have a good relationship with her The wishes are so obvious. Whether it is George, Bell or Brad who had a faint disagreement, they have all put on sincere smiles now. It is estimated that even if they are ridiculed by her face to face, they will never get angry.

This is indeed the power of power, and there is nothing better than this feeling-being among a group of elite people, you clearly know how good they are, and at the same time you clearly see how good they are. How longing for your favor——

If it wasn't for Salvi's question, Jenny guessed that she would probably be immersed in the sense of accomplishment and intoxicated by her success, but now, even if she couldn't completely suppress her joy, I will never be dominated by this feeling again. When the awards ceremony was about to start and all the guests were seated, she even felt a little bit of relief: finally, she didn't have to be in front of the stars in that 'month', and she could get out of social life and do some serious things.

"Are you doing well in New York?" Ignoring the teasing eyes from Christopher at the next table, she moved her chair closer to Cesare, "How is the filming of "Youth Team"?"

"The progress is not bad, and the signing ceremony is going well." Cesare's tone also reveals a faint tiredness-the two people's schedules are so full that it makes people collapse. After Jenny returned to Los Angeles today, she directly I went to Disney and Robert for their meeting. Cesare also came directly from the airport for the Golden Globe Awards Ceremony. After tonight, he will fly directly to China to talk about the release of "Code Shero" and at the same time set up Dameng's China work If it wasn't for controlling public opinion and reducing unnecessary speculation about marriage, he wouldn't even come back for the Golden Globes. "How did you and Bob go?"

"Bob did talk about joining the board of directors," Jenny lowered her voice, "of course he also talked about things in Beijing, but we talked about Disney most of the time-Rich put "Mars on Mars" John Carter" was sent back to Bob."

"Ah, finally." Cesare's eyebrows moved, but his expression was still calm. "This is indeed good news, what does Bob say?"

That's what she really wants to talk about tonight - glancing at the big screen, not paying attention to Avatar playing in the opening scene, and tonight's awards: when everyone cares about 'now When the miracles and gains and losses occurred, Jenny found that she had already focused on the layout of the next few years like those top CEOs. She lowered her voice again, leaned over to Cesare's ear, covered her mouth and quietly Said, "I guess this came out after Avatar hit the box office—though Bob does have other ideas about Richie..."