Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1264 Ronald should be in charge of Coca-Cola’s advertising business

"It's very difficult, sort of the Holy Grail of computer animation."

John Van Fleet was still an engineer at heart, and he didn't care at all as Ronald described to him how a fluffy panda devoured steamed buns, then opened a bottle of Coca-Cola and drank it to quench his thirst, and finally burped. keen interest.

"So it can still be done?" Ronald became more and more interested after hearing what he said. The actual effect of hair seems to be a very difficult problem to overcome. If you develop it yourself, you will have monopoly production capabilities, at least for the time being...

"Technically it is possible, but it is very difficult. First of all, these hairs need to have a realistic effect, and then the movement of each hair needs to present a harmonious effect on a macro scale. Finally, even with such software, the rendering calculations The power is also at the level of aerospace technology..."

"I didn't ask you if it's difficult, I asked you if it can be done... Just make a ten-second commercial..." Ronald really has no choice about this kind of technical talent...

"Oh, that's still possible, but we have to go all out and it will take about three months..."

"Okay, just come here. If you need new people and a new powerful computer, give me a report..."

"Thank you, uh..." Van Fleet hesitated.

Ronald was even amused by him, why should he thank himself? These people are so playful, and just having a big toy for them to play with seems like the most fun thing in the world.

"If we can get a latest rendering server from SGI, we can reduce the rendering time in production by more than 40% in the future."

"It's all written in the report...I approved it..."

……

"Good guy, is this server so expensive?" A few days later, Ronald, who was reviewing reports in the office, saw the purchase price of that server. He could buy dozens of ordinary graphics servers.

"No resale to countries prohibited under the Batumi Agreement, no..."

In addition to its hefty price tag, the server comes with a thick purchase agreement that includes an embargo against its Cold War rival.

"Why is this embargoed? Aren't we going to let our opponents make special effects movies?" Ronald couldn't help complaining.

"That's not the case. Computers of this level can actually be used for many sensitive purposes..." Ronald's bodyguard Daniel knows his stuff. Scientific research, including stellar theory, space exploration, and their corresponding fields in the military industry, can all be simulated using this supercomputer.

"I want movies, not ICBM." Ronald said with a smile. Now that East and West Germany have merged, the general trend in the world still focuses on relaxation and harmony. After so many years of Cold War, everyone should be tired.

In the report, Van Fleet also listed a number of ways to reduce the difficulty of this computer-generated animation. For example, change the panda to the grizzly bear that is common in North America. Because the environment where pandas live is full of bamboo, these bamboos have to sway in the wind, which is also a very time-consuming detail.

On the contrary, if it is a grizzly bear, then just get some grass in the environment.

"Pandas are so cute." Ronald originally wanted to get some symbols with Chinese characteristics. Is it an animal that many children in the zoo love?

However, the technical staff did not take this into consideration, so he asked Van Fleet to weigh it up. If that didn't work, just make a panda without a bamboo forest.

……

Ronald, who had been back in Los Angeles for a long time, suddenly received a visit from a distinguished guest.

"Ronald, you didn't expect me to come, did you?" Warren Buffy, wearing tortoiseshell glasses, got out of the car very energetically and walked into Ronald's house.

"I heard that you have a vacation home in Laguna Beach and I am planning to visit you." Ronald shook hands with him enthusiastically.

"Ah, Susan and I bought it there in 1971. I really want to invite you to go, but all three children will be here, so it's better to leave this matter to you."

Warren Buffy talked about the vacation home he bought with more than 60 bedrooms for only $150,000 at the time. Now Laguna has become a very famous vacation spot on the West Coast, and housing prices have soared.

"You really have a bit of an American middle-class lifestyle." Ronald laughed. The billionaire's assets have increased rapidly, and his investment in Coca-Cola has given him very good returns in the past two years.

"I come from a middle-class family..." Warren replied with a smile, "Astrid complained to me today, saying that for the price of a cup of coffee in Beverly Hills, you can buy several pounds of coffee. .”

"Hey, who says it isn't?" Ronald was very in tune with America's most capable investor. He also grew up in a middle-class or lower-class family, and this habit of calculating money to get by is also very resonant.

However, Buffy's private life is nothing like that of a middle-class person. Astrid is his live-in girlfriend, and his first wife Susan, who bought a house with him back then, is now in California, and they still maintain a relationship with him, but they do not interfere in each other's private lives. Astrid was introduced to Warren by Susan, saying that the two of them had compatible lifestyles.

This time Buffy came to Ronald's house mainly to thank him for his second son Peter's Oscar win.

Although he does not have the same love for his three children as a normal family, it is not that Warren does not love his children, but his mind is focused on investment, and he will not miss important moments in his children's lives.

Among the three children, Peter was the most talented. Warren once had the idea to cultivate his investment ability. Unfortunately, Peter was interested in music and inherited his mother's talent.

Warren, who was originally not optimistic about him, changed his view after Peter won the award. He admired his son who had reached the top of his industry very much. He felt that his genes were indeed well-deserved and he could go anywhere. do the best.

He is also planning to give some small money to his children and let them make some investments respectively. If you have talent, you can also come to Berkshire Hathaway. If you don't have talent, you can live a more comfortable life.

Warren rarely entertained himself, so Ronald even organized a card game and played a game of bridge with him, which made Buffy very happy.

"What company have you invested in recently? Three No Generals..." Buffy also rarely talked about investment during the card game. He also felt that Ronald was more in tune with his temperament.

"I bought some Microsoft and it went up pretty well. Now every company in America uses their software. Four spades."

"I don't understand the tech industry, this kind of company is not stable enough. Double that."

After one set, Ronald won first and then lost, which made Buffy happy who finally won. Ronald walked him to the foyer where his car was.

"I will call Keogh. They should refer to your opinion more and should not rely on an agent to manage marketing. This kind of middleman business is actually what I try to avoid..." Ronald used Buffy The major shareholder of Coca-Cola took a roundabout approach to Coca-Cola. Buffy called Keogh to mention Ronald, and he publicly stood up for Ronald when he was interviewed by the media and asked him to comment on his views on investing in Coca-Cola.

He did not directly mention the names of either Ronald or Ovitz, but he praised the management's good performance in the past year and believed that this management team was the biggest reason for him to invest in Coca-Cola. This is undoubtedly a clear indication that we should stick to the effective marketing model of the past.

It just so happened that the top brass was evenly divided between those who supported and opposed letting Ovitz take over the advertising business. This put a heavy weight on Ronald's side of the scale. After all, Buffy was the first investor to publicly increase his holdings of Coca-Cola and show his appreciation for them.

The current share price of Coca-Cola also proves Buffy's unique vision. The two groups were at loggerheads at a meeting to decide on marketing strategy. Those who support sticking to tradition quote Buffy.

Coca-Cola is a traditional southern company, and the younger brothers have to follow their elder brothers at the top. The two factions were clearly divided and quarreled fiercely. This made Keogh, who was presiding over the meeting, very uncomfortable.

"Stop!" Keogh gestured for everyone to sit down. "I see that Ronald Lee, who shot many successful commercials and film product placements for us, is not included here. Why is he not on the list of famous directors filming Coke commercials this time?"

People from both groups looked at each other and didn't dare to say a word. On the one hand, I don’t want to say that Ronald dislikes filming Coca-Cola commercials, but on the other hand, I don’t want to say that he is actually opposed to Ovitz.

"Invite him to come and talk... I want to hear his opinion."

……

"Ronald, long time no see. You are also an important shareholder of ours. Why don't you shoot some ads for Coca-Cola?"

Keogh was quick to talk, and as soon as he saw Ronald, he was so happy that he "questioned" him.

Ronald shook hands with Keogh vigorously. This man's hand was quite strong. He just got off Coca-Cola's special plane and took a helicopter to the tarmac of the headquarters. The whole person was very relaxed, and his hands were a little white after being squeezed so hard by Keo.

This old man made a sneak attack... Ronald shook it back hard and smiled at Keogh. He said fiercely, "You haven't used product placement in my movies for a long time. We need to increase our communication..."

"Well said, our communication department does have some problems, which is also an important reason for inviting you here." Keogh was also very satisfied with Ronald's hand strength. Southern culture believes that a man who has no strength in shaking hands will It's not a good partner.

The so-called communication department is actually the marketing department. Keogh said this publicly in front of his subordinates, which was considered a severe criticism. Ronald, an individual shareholder with a large number of shares and a major Hollywood director, actually skipped Ronald when it came to movie product placement, a form of advertising that Coca-Cola pioneered in its early days?

Managers who advocated full cooperation with Ovitz were crestfallen.

"I remember that the ads you shot for us all received very good responses. I hope to see the ads you shot for us again in the next six months..."

After Keo finished speaking, he glanced sideways at the people in the marketing department. That means I don’t care what little thoughts you have, you have to put them all aside now and follow my rhythm.

"I'm very happy... My wife Diane Lane shot a 007-style commercial at that time. Before the new movie, I also directed a short commercial like this for her. It's a very good memory for me."

"Listen, this is a typical representative of us southerners. He loves his wife, loves his career, and doesn't have so many small things to do." Keogh happily patted Ronald on the shoulder and added "Be careful" in his words. , which made the executives following behind quite uncomfortable.

"Let me take you to visit our Coca-Cola world. There are the most valuable formulas in the world, Coca-Cola formulas, and Coca-Cola from all over the world. The taste is subtly different..."

"Ronald, what can you teach me about marketing?" Keogh talked to Ronald while taking Ronald to visit the Coca-Cola museum.

Ronald looked at the various packages, bottles, and advertisements used in Coca-Cola's history in the museum, and it was very interesting.

After hearing Keogh's question, Ronald smiled, "What did Ovitz tell you?"

"He said that Coca-Cola needs celebrity endorsements. He is Hollywood, no, the person in the world who knows best who will become the big stars in the next three years. By working with him, we will enjoy the most cost-effective celebrity endorsement contract."

"Well, I work in Hollywood, and I have paid attention to the history of many companies. In Hollywood, after the star system was established, the studios did make a lot of money from them. But a company's income is concentrated on one or two stars. This is not a good thing. This is why many stars later became independent and did not sign long-term exclusive contracts with studios, and a large number of studios closed down or merged."

Ronald talked about a piece of Hollywood history. Most of the current seven major studios were acquired through mergers and acquisitions by many companies.

For example, MGM and 20th Century Fox can be seen in their names. There are also Universal, Warner Brothers, and Paramount. Although their names have not changed, they have also absorbed many other companies.

These companies all had great years, with several movies selling like crazy. There are also unfortunate times when a series of movies fail at the box office and bring the company to the brink of bankruptcy. Therefore, early film companies dominated by small film companies will soon be merged, and one company can shoot multiple films to spread risks.

"I think it is difficult for even the seven major studios to ensure that their film projects make money. They can only shoot a dozen or so movies at the same time, hoping that those who make money can even out the ones who lose money. Do you think an agent can know more than they do? ?"

"Good idea..." Keogh admired Ronald very much at this time. After saying this, it is obvious that this person's investment in Coca-Cola stock cannot be based on good luck alone.

But this is a refutation of Ovitz's theory, but if Ovitz can't do it, the original old model may not be feasible either.

"You know, in Hollywood, there is only one company that makes money all the time. They can survive very well in Hollywood without relying on any stars. Although it is not the most brilliant, their annual income is very stable."

"Oh?" Keogh felt keenly that what Ronald said was important.

"It's Disney. Their Mickey Mouse and Snow White don't get paid, and they won't refuse to act because of the script. There will be no scandals and they will lose the favor of the audience overnight. For decades, they have been favored by the audience. favorite……"

"So, if I'm going to take the photo, I might as well make a cute cartoon image, so that I don't have to predict the popularity of the star..."

"This is good business thinking!" Keogh was very happy. "You should be in charge of our advertising project, what do you think?" He looked back at the senior executives who were following him from a distance.

"I have a suggestion. Why don't I help you shoot the advertisement this time, using a cute stuffed animal image? Look, I have panda grass here..."

"That's great..." Keogh didn't listen to him finish, "We used polar bears as the image of Coca-Cola in the early 1920s. What you said is great, we will use polar bears..."

"Uh... okay..." Ronald looked at the polar bear on the 1922 Coke poster in the museum. Forget it, let’s wait a little longer for our own old cartoon image, the panda.

(End of this chapter)