"Mr. Li, this is my film proposal... This will be the first documentary that reflects the front and backstage of the four major fashion weeks..." A man sat opposite Ronald and handed over a document.
"Um..." Ronald motioned for him to put it on the table while staring at an orange telephone without moving.
"Mr. Li, I dare say that there has never been a Hollywood director who could unzip a fashion model's clothes and put his hand in to see what's going on."
"Um?"
Ronald was turned back from the phone by these very strange words, and for the first time he really saw the documentary director in front of him. The muscles of this man's cheekbones were extremely tense. Although he looked tall and thick, he
Ronald always feels a little weird, and his bio-radar seems to be warning that he is a person with a different orientation.
Speaking of coming to him to talk about the documentary project, Richard and Ronald were talking about Christie Turlington and the inspiration that came when the supermodel came to shoot the movie. After coming out of Ronald's house, Richard
When De went back, he made a few calls and searched around, and sure enough he found a director who was capable of filming stories about models on the catwalk.
Although this director named Douglas Keefe has never made any movies before, nor has he participated in any crew work. At best, he only used Super 8 and Super 16 cameras to shoot some films before and after shows.
But he has an advantage that all Hollywood directors do not have: his male partner is Isaac Mizrahi, the designer of Chanel.
It just so happened that Isaac Mizrahi was preparing for this spring and summer new models. During the release of major fashion shows, Douglas Keefe, his boyfriend, took his Super series camera and kept shooting black and white film.
At this time, he received a call from Richard and heard that there was an opportunity to become a theater director. Keefe immediately came with his own materials and plans, preparing to name the film "Unzipped".
The movie was sold to Ronald for theatrical distribution in America.
This is why, as soon as he and Ronald met, he said an unconventional metaphor of unzipping a model.
Seeing Ronald staring at him for a few seconds and then turning his head to look at the orange telephone, Douglas Keefe became anxious and began to sell himself desperately. He also said that if Ronald agreed, he would introduce him to him.
It was a bit difficult to get to know the supermodels who walked the Chanel show. Big names like Cindy Crawford were a bit difficult. He dared to guarantee invitations to those who were less famous. As long as Ronald was willing to spend a lot of money to invite the models to attend the dinner...
"Keefe..." Richard next to him couldn't listen anymore and quickly spoke out to stop this reckless person. This guy relied on his Chanel designer boyfriend, but he actually knew nothing about the world other than models. He thought he
People like Ronald need to behave like those pseudo-rich people in New York, Milan, Paris, and Tokyo to be able to attract famous models.
"Guess what?" Ronald also has a bad impression of this guy, but if you can film the models backstage at the catwalk, someone will definitely watch such a documentary. After it is released, it can be sold to TV stations and videotapes, which can be guaranteed.
The return of this small production.
"Well..." Ronald, who originally wanted to ridicule him, felt that there was no need to be familiar with such a person, so he changed the topic, "I am going to let Daydream be responsible for the distribution of your movie. We have many European and Japanese distributors.
They have rich experience in film festivals and can be sent to participate in the documentary section review."
"You won't be disappointed, Mr. Lee, and I won't let you down. I'm a movie buff myself. I've been operating those cameras for a long time, and Isaac Mizrahi has seen the images I shot.
, also said that I am very good at capturing people’s charming style at a certain moment.”
"There are two conditions..." Ronald raised two fingers...
Keefe immediately shut up and stared at Ronald's mouth. If this guy wants to spend a night with a model, I will definitely let Isaac handle the matter. I'm afraid that what he likes is not a model, but a model.
Is it Isaac? Oops... It's not impossible to pursue artistic dreams.
"First, you must use a good handheld camera to shoot. If you can use color, it is best to use color. Finally, the catwalks in major fashion weeks must be shot by professionals."
"But I like my Super..." Keefe reacted, then immediately covered his mouth with his hands and nodded quickly, indicating that he was willing to accept such conditions.
"Second, why is there no Christie in your list of models?" Ronald opened his plan book. There were many names of supermodels on it, including Cindy Crawford and Linda Evangelis.
The names of Tower, Kate Moss, even Bruni and the black Naomi Campbell are all on the list, but there is no Christy Turlington.
"Turingington? She has been a little... um..." Keefe looked at Ronald's mouth, expecting to change a name from his mouth, but it never happened. Keefe had to say, "I actually like Turing very much."
Dun's expressiveness is just that compared to Cindy and Linda, she is less well-known to the public, so I didn't list her... I will include her in the starring list..."
"You will..." Ronald's eyes wandered again. He looked at the orange telephone on the table, and then at Richard. The other person shook his head. That person had not contacted him yet.
"But Christie is an anomaly. Whether she accepts a date or not depends entirely on her own ideas...I can't guarantee..." This is where Keefe's dilemma lies. Unlike models like Linda Evangelista who often attend dinner parties,
Turlington can be said to be picky about this kind of thing.
"You can't..."
"I..." Keefe wanted to say more.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! "I think it's time for you to thank Ronald..." Richard came over and took Keefe away who hadn't figured out the situation yet.
Nader has already agreed to distribute it, now all you have to do is go out, sign a contract with the daydreamer, and pop the champagne to celebrate breaking into Hollywood as an outsider.
"Why……"
Ronald also took advantage of the time before the market opened to meet with business people. His main focus was still watching the market, which was really a hard job, and it was completely different from the concept of buying stocks and making long investments by himself before.
At that time, you could just buy a Coca-Cola, or Microsoft, and just wait for them to grow with their good performance. When you go to bed at night, you won't be so worried that you can't sleep, or you will be woken up by the nightmare of large fluctuations in stock prices in the middle of the night.
You can also work on your favorite film career during the day. You don't have to stare at the stock price all day long. A little bit of fluctuation affects your heart. Even if you do other things, you will still be restless. I often read a script for five minutes and I will involuntarily go to Peng.
Continue to look at stock prices in front of Bo's terminal.
As soon as the market opened today, Viacom's stock price rose slightly, and Blockbuster's stock price fell. Although the magnitude was not large, it still made Ronald take out a Casio scientific calculator and kept pressing and calculating.
How much money will he lose now?
You are not afraid of a one-time plunge that will rebound soon, but you are afraid of continuous declines every day. Think about how much loss you will cause if you make a mistake.
Ronald looked at the phone on the secure line again, but the long-awaited call had not come yet.
"Bah, bang, bang..." The numbers on the Bloomberg terminal kept beating, and Ronald's calculator clicked loudly. Finally, when he couldn't bear it anymore, Ronald grabbed the calculator and threw it to the ground.
The thin stuff made in Japan quickly broke into pieces. Ronald apologized to his assistant Yang Yanzi who came in to check after hearing the sound, then took out a Texas Instruments calculator and continued pressing. Things made in Texas are thick...
"Boss, I see you are not in the mood. Since going public is a very important thing, why don't you go to New York? When I used to work as an assistant for Oliver Stone, he would sometimes be very irritable. At that time, he would
I will take out my notes from the Vietnam War and read them, and I will soon regain my composure.”
Yang Yanzi couldn't stand it anymore and expressed something to Ronald. When you are irritable, don't run away, but get close to the source of the person or thing that makes you irritable and go there to solve the root cause to restore calm.
"You're right, pack up and go to New York with me?" Ronald decided to stay on the short side. No matter how good the opportunity is in the future, he won't do it anymore. He is a film director, but he is not
Stock market trader.
"I'm very happy..." Yang Yanzi picked up the travel bag left in the office and came to join Ronald, "I heard it's very cold in New York..."
"I'll have someone buy you a coat and wait at the airport..." Ronald picked up the phone and asked Richard for help, and sent a lot of clothes to the assistant who accompanied him on the business trip.
On the private plane, Ronald was still looking at the analysis of Viacom and QVC's latest bid for Paramount sent by Goldman Sachs.
The specific details are still unclear, but the quotations of both have been greatly revised. News pieced together from various channels has gradually revealed the puzzle.
Barry Diller is still lowering the price. Not only has the acquisition price been slightly lowered, but the terms of the acquisition are worse than before. Paramount executives now do not enjoy Redstone's promise of guaranteed compensation for the post-acquisition share price reduction.
.And after the acquisition is successful, the current positions of these people are no longer guaranteed.
Such news is of course depressing. Barry Diller is a cunning industry insider. He certainly knows that most of these executives have little success and more than failure. Their main pursuit is to produce a few blockbuster movies during his tenure so that he can keep it.
share price and own option awards.
It turns out that they preferred Redstone because Redstone promised that current executives can maintain their current positions. In addition, he proposed that the current options and stocks of executives can be recovered if the stock price drops.
Compensation will be based on the purchase price.
By lowering the price like this, Barry Diller obviously judged that Redstone would not enter the game again.
After Viacom announced its merger with Blockbuster, the deal will still have to go through the review of many agencies, and it is estimated that the merger will not be completed until the second half of the year. But what Redstone needs most is the more than 1.2 billion in Blockbuster's account.
The cash has been exchanged with Viacom and entered his pocket.
Redstone now no longer has the board seat and high position that he originally promised Martin Davis, so he can only use these 1.2 billion bullets to win people's hearts.
I just don’t know, compared to the money or the feeling of betrayal, which one can Martin Davis endure more?
"Hey, how are the prices now?" On the plane, Ronald was still in contact with Bannon via satellite phone.
"The increase has expanded a bit, and our losses can still be sustained, Ronald. When will the final word you mentioned come..." As expected, Bannon also invested money in the great short-selling business.
, his experience in stock trading with Ronald told him that he could still make a lot of money by following Ronald.
However, such continuous small increases still made him enter a manic mood. He could restrain himself while talking on the phone with Ronald, but in private he had already smashed two chairs.
"I'm on a plane to New York, and when I get there, the news will be confirmed."
"I don't understand the IPO thing, but is the pressure so high?" Yang Yanzi had no idea what Ronald was doing and thought he was worried about DDH's listing. This was not a good sign. He could only earn as much as he could from his options.
Let’s see this time.
"You go get some sleep, I have to wait for an important call..." Ronald pointed to the empty seat and asked her to go to sleep. He kept watch on the satellite phone. No one could reveal this matter, not even Diane and Donna.
No one told.
This chapter is not over yet, please click on the next page to continue reading! Finally, at around 1 p.m. Eastern time, when the plane was already descending, the call that Ronald was waiting for, the call from Richard's office, came and was received
Satellite phones on airplanes.
"Good news! Ronald..."
"Really?" Ronald stood up when he heard Shirley Lansing's voice.
"Yes, I have been meeting with the board of directors for three days, and it is absolutely boring. Fortunately, the final result is good. Redstone will give Martin Davis a 10% premium on the stock in his hands, and I will still pay for it.
Head of Ramon Productions, we will continue to cooperate, hahaha. The promotional budget for Forrest Gump remains unchanged... No, I may be able to move a little bit over to you..."
"Hahaha, that's great, that's great. I just want to kiss you, Shirley. It's really a pleasure to work with a CEO who understands the film industry."
Ronald praised Shirley Lansing a few times, but his mind was not on his cooperation with Paramount at all. Lansing still doesn’t know about her “history” with Redstone, and she may not be able to laugh by then.
.
But this news revealed a key piece of information. In order to get Martin Davis to agree to his merger, Redstone actually spent 1.2 billion to compensate for the fact that Blockbuster had taken away the seat originally promised to Martin Davis.
For part of it, just buy him and leave.
And Barry Diller is still immersed in his shrewdness as a businessman. He has completely failed to understand the "demeanor" of Redstone's rich second generation. I don't care about such a small bill. If I want her, I will not hesitate to pay.
Get her at a price.
This was the case when Redstone put his ancestral cinema line on the line and acquired Viacom. This is also the case when he concentrated his resources to launch MTV TV station and reversed Viacom's business decline. Today's acquisition of more than 10 billion
The case is not, it is two acquisition cases worth more than 8 billion, and they are all like this.
If you can eat a Blockbuster, you can immediately eat a Paramount. This kind of "demeanor" of investing all your wealth in a big gamble without safety is really not what Barry Diller can understand.
If it weren't for the tacit cooperation between Ronald and Shirley Lansing, Lansing would provide him with superb promotion and distribution, and Ronald would provide films of extraordinary quality, as well as support for Tom Hanks and Tom Clark.
With the influence of a leading star like Ruth, it was impossible for Lansing to come to Richard's office and tell him this top secret.
Barry Diller misjudged one move, and I'm afraid he will be shocked when the victory is announced.
"Ronald!"
At the airport, as soon as Ronald stepped down the ramp, Bannon came over and asked.
Ronald nodded, the news was confirmed.
"Hahaha," Bannon turned around and left, going back to the office to finish the battle.
Everyone calmed down. After knowing the trump card, Ronald's two short-selling teams began to lose their fear and began to quietly buy large put options at the target point when the winner of the merger was announced in the future.
"What a weirdo..." Yang Yanzi couldn't understand what Bannon meant and held her luggage with both hands, "Boss, where is my coat?"
"Isn't that right?" Ronald pointed to an assistant behind him who was holding a fashionable coat. "But you don't have to wear it. Come with me to the pre-show of New York Fashion Week tonight. I'll have someone send you the dress."
Come."
"Oh yeah..." It seemed that Ronald's mood had improved. Yang Yanzi was very happy to be able to buy a dress for free.
…
"Honey, I got a contract from Ronald Lee. My...our documentary will be distributed by his company." Keefe took a commercial flight and departed at about the same time as Ronald, but arrived much later.
When he came to New York, the Men's Fashion Week pre-show had already begun. When he saw his boyfriend Isaac Mizrahi, he happily kissed her passionately.
"Ronald Lee? He seems to be coming too. I haven't seen him yet. The girls really want to meet a big Hollywood director." The designer Isaac Mizrahi also came and was busy.
In preparation, he still took the time to communicate with the supermodels who were about to represent him on the catwalk and observe their status.
"The girls are all here? Okay, okay, by the way, is Christie here? I have something to do with her."
"Oh, her condition is much better than in the past two weeks. She is not disturbed by her boyfriend abandoning her, this Bichi."
Keefe immediately started looking for someone. Ronald was so fond of Turlington that finding and convincing Turlington was a guarantee for his project.
"Hi, Cindy...you're here too. Listen, I have a friend who wants to see you. She came all the way from Los Angeles..." Turlington was not found, but Cindy Crawford appeared in all her glory.
In front of her, her annoying husband Richard Gere was not there to interfere.
"No, Keefe, not today...and not tomorrow..."
"Kara, Kara..." Keefe turned to the female model from the country with exotic hair. Hey, hey? It's OK if he can't find Turlington, right?
"Pa Dang..." The female model, who was covered in Chinese style, ignored him. The one at Cindy's place was at a much higher level than Keefe, the designer boyfriend.
"Christie..."
Finally, he spotted Turlington. She was dressed in a simple outfit, which made Turlington's temperament obviously outstanding. She was walking towards the steps outside the door, and Keefe hurriedly caught up with her.
"Christie, you can't do this. I have a very powerful guest coming tonight. Don't you want to enter Hollywood? That person can..." Keefe started shouting from a distance.
"Uh..." He suddenly stopped, with a look of astonishment on his face. Turlington got into a luxury car, and when the door opened, what sounded like Cindy Crawford's voice came from inside.
.
Another tall man came out of the door. Keefe wiped his eyes and took a closer look. Who else could it be if he wasn't the Ronald who was chatting and laughing with him in Los Angeles this morning?