Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1466: The Lion King's Advance Warm-up
"A new young media mogul takes over historic Madison Square Garden..."

The deal for the largest sports stadium and professional team in New York was quickly concluded at the urging of Redstone. Ronald and several private investment funds led by Doug Jr. joined forces with the original broadcaster, the Dolan family, to invest $1 billion to buy the largest sports temple in New York.

The New York Times, Wall Street Journal and other national newspapers also published important news. In their view, such investment in traditional assets does not seem like what a young media tycoon should do. Everyone believes that Douglas Hansen Jr., who may come from a wealthy family in Staten Island, is more likely to be the main driving force behind it.

Nowadays young people generally prefer emerging industries. For example, William Gates, chairman of Microsoft, who got married in Hawaii at the beginning of this year, is not yet 40 years old. The rising momentum of Microsoft’s stock this year is enough to put him on the throne of the world’s richest man according to Forbes.

Moreover, Ronald's company's listing and the private wealth exposed by the acquisition of Square Garden will undoubtedly be on the Forbes list at the end of the year, surpassing Barry Diller, whose failed acquisition caused the decline of QVC's stock price, and becoming a member of the film and television industry on the list.

Yes, the acquisition of Paramount ended up being a farce where all three parties lost money. Redstone's net worth dropped by almost half, and Paramount was forced to sell multiple assets to raise cash to pay back the bank. Not only did Barry Diller fail to acquire Paramount after entering the market, but he was also considered to have made a mistake in his bid, and was successfully ambushed by Redstone at the last minute. The market's doubts about his management ability increased, and QVC's stock price began to fall.

This means that Barry Diller only played a supporting role, causing the former Paramount chairman Martin Davis and many shareholders to cash out at high prices and leave.

Only short sellers like Ronald made money from this acquisition.

"Hey, Ronald, you have to invest some money. The Knicks have a lot of hope this year. The Bulls can't beat them at all."

Spike Lee, sitting in the best courtside seat, expressed his dissatisfaction with Ronald next to him. Although Ronald gave him a permanent courtside ticket, he seemed to be thinking about something and did not seem to be very enthusiastic about the game. He did not even stand up and cheer for Ewing's dunk.

After Jordan retired this year, the Bulls' strength has greatly decreased. Under Pippen's leadership, their playing style has declined compared to the previous three consecutive championships, while the Knicks' strength has increased even more than last year.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking about something." Ronald had just learned about some new developments at Disney and was thinking of countermeasures.

"This year that man retired to play baseball, and the Knicks can finally beat the Bulls in the Eastern Conference playoffs and will definitely win the finals. I tell you, we are beaten by that man every year, and as long as we get over this mountain, the West will not be our opponent at all."

"That may not be the case..." Ronald thought to himself, but he couldn't bear to dampen Spike Lee's enthusiasm, so he said it another way, "Even if Coach Riley wins the championship, the fans will still say that we stole the championship when Jordan was away. I would rather beat the Bulls in the Eastern Conference Finals..."

"Hey, Man, what you said is..."

In the end, the Knicks won the game. After the game, Ronald attended a symbolic ceremony with Dolan and other new shareholders, announcing that they would give more support to the Knicks...

To celebrate, Ronald paid out of his own pocket to give each audience member a thin-crust pizza and a beer, plus some coupons as gifts. The fans were very happy and cheered for a long time at the scene, unwilling to leave.

However, Ronald couldn't understand the game when the New York Rangers of the Hockey League played. The ice hockey court is fast and the puck is small. If you are not a sports fan, you can only watch the fun. Sometimes Ronald couldn't even find the puck.

However, the Rangers seemed to be better than the Knicks. At least they were more aggressive than the Knicks, who were more defensive, and played well. Especially the captain, center Mark Messier, and offensive guard Brian Leach. After the game, they came to ask Ronald, Dolan and others not to be partial to one team over the other...

Of course Ronald accepted the offer and gave free pizza to the audience. His popularity in Manhattan, New York, immediately caught up with that of the new mayor Rudy. Not only did he promise better support for the team, but when he watched the game live, he also gave free pizza and beer every time the team won. He became a saint.

……

"The Knicks suffered two consecutive losses, losing to the Seattle Supersonics and the Houston Rockets respectively. Fans called on the new owner Ronald Lee to watch the game, hoping that he would bring good luck and free pizza..."

There were some sports news on TV, and Ronald, who had returned to Los Angeles, actually saw the news about himself.

"Do you go to watch football often? In Britain, many team owners will go to the box to watch the game, and some fan owners will never miss a game..." The person asking the question was Ronald's friend, British musician Elton John, who flew in from London specially. He stayed at Ronald's home during his stay in Los Angeles.

"I don't go there very often, at most I'll watch one game during the finals. My friend Doug likes it, and he often takes the ferry to the Plaza Garden to watch the game, and by the way put some pressure on the new mayor to implement the free Staten Island ferry as soon as possible."

Ronald waved his hand. He was not interested in the Knicks' boring style of play. Even if they could win, he would fall asleep watching them.

"It seems like you're not a real fan."

"I like to play games with passion and skills, which can inspire me. A good game is like a work of art. I am always interested in good art, just like the new song you made for Disney, which is simply a masterpiece."

Ronald was talking about the theme song that Elton John wrote for Disney's new animated film "The Lion King" this year, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?"

"So you agree with me, too, right?"

"Of course, your version is the best. This is the tradition of Disney animation. Those people at Disney don't understand what they are doing now..."

The conflict between Elton John and Disney that Ronald mentioned was about this theme song. In The Lion King, Disney animators originally wanted two comedy characters, Pumbaa (warthog) and Timon (meerkat), to sing this song.

I don't know why they wanted to change the tradition since the founder Walt Disney. The theme song of every animated feature film is a passionate and great love song, and instead have two dramatic characters sing a clown-like funny song.

Elton John expressed very strong dissatisfaction and even flew to America in person. Under his strong protest and the threat of not authorizing the copyright to Disney, Chairman Eisner finally intervened personally and modified the version of "Can You Feel the Love Tonight?" to be sung by a voice-over, with Pumbaa and Timon only singing a few choruses.

Finally, Elton John was invited to sing his own version at the end of the film as the ending song of the movie. He was satisfied with this and stayed to record.

Elton John, who didn't like living in America, was quite interested in the garden at Ronald's house. Living here, he was not harassed by paparazzi, as their view was blocked by the open space and tall shrubs outside the private residence. Even with a telephoto lens, they could not capture the activities inside.

"Papa, I want a McDonald's Happy Meal..."

Little Roger ran in happily. He had just seen the joint advertisement of The Lion King and McDonald's on TV. It featured watching The Lion King, eating Happy Meals, and winning a mystery gift.

Although Ronald has a lot of toys of all sizes at home, and Lion King has launched many plush toys in advance, Diane also bought a lot for him. But when little Roger saw the TV commercial, he still wanted to eat the toys given in the children's meal.

"Do you like McDonald's?" Ronald asked him.

Little Roger shook his head.

"Then why did you say you wanted to eat this children's meal?"

"I want a toy..." Little Roger made a gesture taught in a TV commercial.

"Oh my God, this ad is really evil..."

Ronald had no choice but to cover his face and hold his son to coax him for a long time before he had to agree to find a variety of children's dining toys for him to choose from.

Maybe what children like is not those cheap plastic toys, but the excitement of not knowing which one they will get when eating children's meals. This is the nature of human beings, especially children, right?

People like Disney have done a thorough study of children's psychology, and by the way, they have also done a thorough study of parents' psychology.

Give children some toys as gifts to plant the seeds in their minds that "The Lion King" must be very good, and then use the children to "force" their parents to watch it together when the movie is officially released in the summer.

Regardless of who was in charge of the marketing for “The Lion King,” it was a huge success. It was pre-launched six months in advance, with joint meal packages offered in major restaurants, Simba and Nala toys sold, and previews held across the country.

As long as you cut out the lottery ticket from the local newspaper, or if you are a VIP card holder of a certain cinema, you have the chance to win a prize and be eligible to watch the movie a few months in advance.

It’s not like no one in Hollywood has ever done this, but this is the first time that distribution marketing has been done on such a large scale and six months in advance.

This caused a lot of media to scramble to report on it, and it was like several rounds of free warm-up advertising.

"I want a McDonald's Happy Meal... oops..."

Little Roger was still clamoring for a children's meal, but Diane, who heard the news, grabbed his dungarees and lifted him up, and he stopped clamoring. He obediently went to play somewhere else with his mother.

Ronald then took back control of the remote and tuned to NBC News. Elton John couldn't help but say, "You really love your children."

"Hahaha, I can't see him when I'm filming. I miss him and Diane so much... I'll play with him more when I come back..."

"First Lady Rodham calls on hospitals and state governments to support the reform of health insurance and change the current situation in which America is the only country in the G7 group of Western countries without universal health insurance, so that all citizens can have basic health insurance."

Ronald was attracted by the news on TV. Rodham was different from the previous two first ladies. She was not willing to be lonely in the White House and wanted to take an administrative position to promote legislation. It was as if she was not President William's wife, but his business partner.

Universal health care has always been a big problem in America. Successive Democratic administrations have tried to promote it, but all have failed miserably. Rodham wants to make a breakthrough here, and he obviously wants to accumulate political capital for himself.

Maybe she wants to be the president in the future? The first female president of America.

"Oh don't be as bad as the NHS in Britain..." Elton John commented.

"Why do you say that?"

Although Elton John is a rich man, the poor condition of the NHS has become a consensus among the British people. People have to wait in line for several months for chronic diseases, and there were no patients for more than a year after a public hospital opened. These plots that only appear in TV comedies have become reality.

This may also be one of the reasons why America’s universal health care cannot be promoted.

The basic card of the Elephant Party, especially the people who benefited from the economic development during the presidency of Ronald Sr., generally has the idea that only by maintaining fierce competition among private sector enterprises can the people enjoy the benefits of competition.

Universal health care is nothing short of heresy to these people. I didn't expect that the United States would still learn this after the alliance has been disintegrated for several years.

The health care plan proposed by Rodham (it is said that it will be named Rodham Health Care after it is passed by Congress) has several points that touch the uncomfortable spots of many people. Although it has been constantly promoted in the federal media, it does not have a good reputation among local people.

For example, the Roehampton Health Insurance Program requires small and medium-sized enterprises to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage for their employees, which makes many workers generally worry that their bosses will lay off employees due to rising costs and they will not get the good benefits.

For example, many people living in small towns and low-income people in big cities are worried that the medical insurance is too complicated and they don’t know how to see a doctor to enjoy the cheap price. They don’t get any benefits but have to pay more.

The two biggest issues are what the experts on TV are discussing now.

First, the health insurance requirement is implemented at the federal level, and the states are not on the same page. Everyone is worried that they need too much matching funds to pay, or that other states will fleece their own state's health insurance funds.

Another concern of the states is that Rodham proposed to hold national bidding for medical equipment, drugs, and medical insurance, so that the state's connections will not be able to get the most lucrative medical drug and medical insurance orders.

The most vehement opponents now are the Elephant Party members in various states. In countless interviews in the past few months, they have all expressed opposition to this kind of medical insurance that has a strong 'big pot' nature.

Even the Democratic Party, to which she belongs, is not without its opponents. For example, Dennis Rodman's health insurance requires that only a health insurance card can be used to enjoy insurance and medical treatment. Such universal health insurance requires every insured person to apply for a health insurance card with their own private information.

The Democratic Party is most opposed to this de facto ID card, but they may not be able to speak out, so they can only oppose it under other pretexts. For a time, they were suppressed by President William, who still supported the First Lady's legislative breakthrough.

"Ronald..." It was Ronald's marketing consultant Michael Gray knocking on the door.

"You go and do your work first..." Elton John took the initiative to let Ronald go to work.

"How is it? Any ideas?"

Ronald went to his study and sighed. Disney's combination of attacks made him a little nervous.

According to the planned schedule, Forrest Gump and The Lion King will be released about a week apart. Now the other one is still more than three months away from large-scale screening. Is the popularity so high?
"I have a plan here. Forrest Gump has experienced many hot events in the past thirty years in America. We can edit a series of trailers. There will always be one or two things that the audience has experienced, which will slowly arouse their interest..."