Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1460 Settlement and Grand Jury

“Ring, ring, ring… Ring, ring, ring…”

It was already nine o'clock in the morning and the wake-up call bell had been ringing for a long time before Ronald finally got out of bed with sleepy eyes.

After taking a shower, he called the concierge and bought him new underwear to change into quickly. He then told the concierge not to disturb the guests in the room and that whatever they wanted to eat, how long they stayed, and how many volcanic mud SPA sessions they had should all be charged to his account.

Yang Yanzi, who came over to join him, watched Ronald deal with a mountain of fried eggs, bacon, beans, bread, and two large glasses of orange juice in the restaurant. She was very interested and even applauded him when he finished eating.

"Replenish your nutrition. Today is another big day."

"Mental work, like physical work, works up an appetite," Ronald argued with a smile, then forked another fried egg into his mouth.

Today is indeed a big day on the surface, because DDH's listing has been approved by the SEC. This means that today the underwriter Goldman Sachs will determine the offering price range with DDH's shareholders, and then hold road shows in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other places, and officially ring the bell at the stock exchange after two weeks of sprint.

"This is my preparation outline, can you help me with it?" Ronald finished drinking the orange juice, touched his stomach with satisfaction, took out a piece of paper from his belt and handed it to Yang Yanzi. This was the presentation outline he was going to use at the roadshow to introduce the profitability of Daydream and the movie he directed and produced.

"Boss, no problem." Yang Yanzi took the letter paper from the hotel and took a look at it. There were all very popular projects on it. She told him how to find the patterns among them, touting the boss Ronald's keen eye, and then summarizing some seemingly plausible experiences to explain to investors that Ronald's vision for selecting movies could be learned and promoted by his subordinates in the listed company in a systematic way, thus becoming DDH's competitive advantage.

Ronald ignored all these chores and went shopping in the luxury stores on Fifth Avenue. He bought a lot of necklaces, earrings, and brooches to bring to Diane. He also ordered several dresses to be customized for Diane in Los Angeles.

This time, it is not the usual preparation for competing for the Oscars, but preparation for participating in the IPO, so the style and temperament must be different from before.

"Has the news spread? Since the opening of the market today, Viacom's stock price has been falling slowly and steadily..."

At noon, Ronald came to have lunch with Bannon at the New World Tea Restaurant in Chinatown. There were many Chinese people here, and most of them spoke Cantonese, so two white people could whisper here without worrying about being overheard.

"Yeah, many people in the industry know about it. At least Lei Shidong will not give up. He will bid to the end..."

The two of them chatted in the restaurant for a long time, and then changed places to go to the delicious Xiaolongbao to eat some different dim sum. They each ate a basket of Xiaolongbao and bought a few siu mai, eating while walking.

"How long do you expect this one to last?"

"We'll know on the second Monday in February."

"So we can operate until at least mid-February? Great, what will the stock price be by then? Thirty? Twenty-eight?"

Such a critical and sensitive matter is not convenient to discuss in any indoor place. Bannon also cooperated and talked about the details in a low voice while eating siu mai.

"Maybe it will be even lower. Viacom is going to spend over 10 billion to buy something worth 7 billion. If you calculate the ratio... he will have to pay real money to make Martin Davis leave willingly."

"Ha..." Bannon finished eating the steamed dumpling in a few bites and exhaled a breath of white air, "Ronald, you may not know that I was born in a blue-collar worker family in Norfolk, Virginia, and my father was a telephone line maintenance worker.

I went to Virginia Tech and worked at a scrap yard during my vacations to earn money. Then I joined the Army and was stationed in the Persian Gulf for several years. I came back and used the GI Bill to get an MBA.

I never thought that I would have the qualifications to compete with rich kids like Redstone. I never said thank you, Ronald before. "

"Come on, let's show these people how powerful the descendants of blue-collar workers are!"

After a few days, rumors in Hollywood and Wall Street grew louder and louder that Redstone would acquire Paramount at a huge loss.

Barry Diller also noticed something was wrong, adjusted his offer, and began to contact some Paramount managers and shareholders.

However, because the most critical person, Martin Davis, was the one who fired Barry Diller from Paramount, Barry Diller still couldn't bring himself to go and meet with Davis, who originally wanted to humiliate him with the acquisition.

The opportunity gradually slipped away, and rumors in the market increasingly tended to indicate that Lei Shidong would be the first to cross the finish line and obtain more than 50% of the shares.

"My dear, I bought this set especially for you. It's suitable for going to the stock exchange to witness the listing..."

Ronald, who has returned to Los Angeles, begins to express his love for Diane.

"Ronnie, do you really want me to dress like this?"

"Of course, you dress like a working girl, very sexy and beautiful."

"Why are you so nice to me?"

"Well, I want the whole world to see how beautiful my wife is."

"Ronnie..." Diane suddenly looked serious and looked at Ronald in the eyes.

"What's wrong?" Ronald remained calm on the surface, suppressing his doubts. It's unlikely that someone would betray him, right? Besides, that crazy night was because he was under too much pressure and needed to release it. It was all pure physical pleasure and release, and had nothing to do with the love in my heart. I, Ronald, still love Diane, um... and part of me loves Helen.

"What if I say, I don't want to dress like this... or I don't want to go to the New York Stock Exchange to ring the bell?" Diane's chest rose and fell, and she finally said what she was thinking.

"Um... then I won't wear it and I won't go..." Ronald's doubts finally disappeared, and he agreed without any hesitation.

"Really?"

"Of course, you are Diane, Diane Lane, you can do whatever you want, well, not everything, but most things in the world..."

"Ronnie, you are so nice..." Diane rushed over and buried her head in Ronald's chest, feeling very touched.

"I want to be an actress, and be remembered as an actress, not as the wife of a director's outdated celebrity, or even the wife of a Hollywood tycoon..."

"Of course, I always think that you are the best Hollywood actor, the kind of talented actor who can continue to act until he is seventy years old."

"But now I have no chance..." Diane shook her head in distress. Your status is getting higher and higher, and now I can't get any scripts.

"How could that be? Just tell me what you want and I'll ask someone to find it for you..."

"It's useless. In the eyes of others, if I marry you, there will be many roles that I won't be suitable for..."

"How could this be possible? As the wife of a famous Hollywood director and producer, shouldn't you have more opportunities and scripts?"

"No way. For example, if there's a nude scene, no one would ask me to read the script..."

"What? You want to do a nude scene?"

"No, let me give you an example. If a Hollywood actress encounters a good script, she will be willing to do it even if it involves nudity. Besides, look at Jamie Lee Curtis. Didn't she convince Cameron to change the nude scene into pole dancing in sexy clothes?"

"OK..." Ronald thought it made sense. Those middle-level managers would not ask for trouble. They did not need to ask Diane to read this kind of script. Look at Spielberg's two wives. After they got married, basically no one asked them to play female roles like in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

After all, many people would be vulgar and go to see the movie just to see Spielberg's wife naked on the screen. Ronald put himself in the shoes of the audience and thought that it was really uncomfortable to have these audiences fantasizing about it.

"Also, no one wants me for action scenes anymore. No one wants me for dramas with love scenes either..."

"Don't talk nonsense. Didn't I give you the money for other people?"

"That was directed by you. No one would dare to come if it was directed by someone else..."

"Oh……"

Ronald understood that this was a tacit rule in the Hollywood circle. Many people would make love scenes real on the set. Therefore, many male directors had many restrictions on filming movies with their girlfriends or wives.

For example, Italian director Rossellini forbade his then-wife Ingrid Bergman to act in other directors’ films. Bogdanovich also tried to get his then-girlfriend Sybil Shepherd to act in his films, but when the films didn’t make money, Sybil Shepherd started to act in other people’s films, and as expected, she broke up with Bogdanovich.

“Then I will try to find a role suitable for you in the future, or recommend you to my friend’s place…” Ronald thought of Bergman’s autobiography. The only film directed by another director that she could act in at that time was “Elena and Her Men” by Rossini’s good friend Renoir.

"Don't fool yourself, Ronnie. For actresses like us to become directors' wives, it's because you can't find anyone else, so you ask us to act..."

Ronald was a little embarrassed when Diane revealed his true feelings. This might be the nature of men. He would feel uncomfortable subconsciously when his wife was seen on screen and dating other male stars. This subconscious thought also prevented Ronald from actively seeking any breakthrough female lead scripts for Diane or Helen.

"Look, Diane. I think what you said makes sense. You are a talented actress and you have the desire and ambition to perform. I understand and love your ambition very much. I have a solution..."

Ronald thought for a while and decided to give Diane a solution. He asked Diane to become an actress with a producer role. As long as she thought the script was good, she could take it and act in the one that suited her.

In this way, no matter what intentional or unintentional obstacles others may have, they will no longer be a problem in front of the producer.

"Really? But I won't be a producer..."

"Then I'll find someone to be your producer, and you'll be listed as the executive producer, to ensure you get to see the best scripts."

"Ronnie, I'm so happy..." Diane hugged Ronald and kissed him non-stop, "You said last time that you liked me wearing an office suit..."

"Didn't you say you didn't like it?"

"I'll wear it at home for you to see..."

……

"Yes, Diane likes acting. My request is simple. You just give her some suitable scripts. It doesn't matter if they involve romantic love and moderate... roles."

The next day, Ronald went to discuss with David Simkins to find a suitable production unit for Diane within Daydream, which would have a certain degree of independence but would also be under the supervision of David Simkins, the script supervisor.

"Well, I see that the sub-category of chick flicks is gradually gaining attention. In the past, the kind of female movies directed by you and Jim Cameron, with big investments, big stars, big productions, and strong women as the protagonists, had a lot of risks. The studios would shelve many of these scripts unless they found the right stars and directors.

But this part of the female audience market is still very attractive, so we are receiving more and more scripts for small-scale feature films with female protagonists..."

"Very good, let's focus on this..."

Ronald was very satisfied. This type of movie has to meet the PG-13 rating to attract the largest female audience market, teenage girls. Most of them are romantic movies with twists and turns, light comedies, which are in line with the preferences of female audiences. There are not too many emotional scenes and sex scenes.

This kind of movie only needs a female lead and a male lead who are a little famous, and the rest can be played by newcomers with good acting skills. The director does not need a lot of experience, especially experience in big productions...

As a newly debuted producer, it is a good idea for Diane to practice with some small productions like this.

"Ah, you've finished it so quickly? But don't you have any scripts for me to choose from?"

In the evening, Ronald gave Diane his newly made business card and told her to work from the office or at home.

"I thought you wanted to be a real actress with producer authority, including choosing the script."

"Humph, this isn't that difficult, I can learn it too."

The two of them were playing and joking around, recreating the good old days before they got married. Suddenly, there was breaking news on TV.

"Michael Jackson's lawyers announced that they have reached a settlement with Jordan Chandler's family for $2300 million, which will be used to set up a trust fund for Jordan Chandler, $ million for his parents each, and $ million for the family's lawyers, for a total of approximately $ million.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Jill Garcetti, who is leading the criminal prosecution, said the civil settlement did not affect the criminal prosecution, which remains ongoing.

"Liz, this is Ronald. What happened?" Ronald found the report a little unexpected. MJ, who had always been unwilling to reconcile, actually spent the amount that Jordan Chandler's parents wanted to reconcile with them. Something must have happened, so he called Elizabeth Taylor to find out.

"They have meetings at my place every other day. Something is wrong. You will know it soon. The Los Angeles County Attorney will set up a grand jury to review whether to bring charges against MJ."

"Oh," Ronald thought, that makes sense. A grand jury is used to review whether there is evidence to bring a criminal case against someone, which is different from a petit jury that enters the court process.

The grand jury has great power. It can summon witnesses without going through a judge and directly decide whether to bring criminal charges against someone. Sometimes, if the prosecutor does not have enough evidence to prosecute through normal channels, a grand jury can be convened to reach an indictment.

The high-priced settlement with Jordan Chandler's family is because they don't want some of the evidence in this lawsuit to be used in front of the grand jury. These people are not professional judges, and their review of evidence is also from the perspective of ordinary people. They are easily influenced by the media. At that time, it is really impossible to predict how they will judge.

"If you need any help, just let me know." Ronald hung up the phone. The prosecution actually used the grand jury's trick, and now it was a bit like a witch hunt.