Exploiting Hollywood 1980.

Chapter 1525: The Hollowed MGM

"George, I wish you a successful election in advance. Unfortunately, I am not a resident of Texas and cannot donate to you or help with your campaign."

"Ronald, you are being too polite. Without the help of your friends, it would be difficult for me to mobilize so many volunteers..."

A few days later, it was the end of the month, and along with the national mid-term elections, there were also gubernatorial elections in two states, including the two sons of the former president George Sr., George Jr. and Jeb.

George Jr. worked as the general manager of a baseball team in Texas for several years. He managed the team very well and accumulated a large number of local connections. Basically, all his father's connections in Texas recognized him as the young master and believed that he was a suitable candidate to represent the governor.

But George Sr.'s connections in other parts of the country were given to his youngest son, Jeb, in Florida, where he will run for governor on behalf of the Elephant Party this year.

In this family, former First Lady Barbara has a lot of say, especially when it comes to matters concerning family members.

Texas law states that only individuals and companies operating within the state can provide financial support for elections in the state, while Florida law is different and does not limit political donations from other states across the country.

Therefore, Jeb, the favored youngest son, got the connections and financial support accumulated by the old George family over the years, while the young George only inherited the family's resources in Texas.

Ronald, who was also restricted by the law, was unable to provide financial support for his friend's campaign for governor, but he invited Charlton Heston, the veteran star who had starred in Touch of Evil and True Lies, and some young actors from the company who played cowboys, to go there to cheer for little George.

Because Texas has always been a place that worships cowboy culture, cowboy westerns, which have declined in other parts of the country, still have a large number of fans in Texas. Charlton Heston is also a veteran action star. Wearing a prop eye mask from True Lies, he mobilized a group of volunteers to actively work for George's campaign, calling housewives to ask them to vote for George, or directly knocking on voters' doors.

Because these people have a good image, they all wear cowboy hats, boots with spurs, and holsters around their waists, which is in line with the local tastes, so they achieved good results.

This is George's first step into politics, but his family values ​​his younger brother Jeb more. Even his mother Barbara is not optimistic about George. On the day when the mid-term election results are announced, their parents will go to Florida to support their youngest son Jeb. This makes George a little sad.

Fortunately, Ronald and Doug Jr., two old friends, still looked after him. Doug Jr. also secured some cheap ads for his campaign through AMC, a Texas movie theater chain. George Jr.'s image will appear in the title sequence of all movies shown in local theaters in the month before the election.

However, electoral politics, especially local electoral politics, was unfamiliar territory for Ronald. George Jr. had finished filming the commercial and sent it to Ronald to watch.

It's all about George W.'s plan to approve the Texas concealed-carry law after he takes office, which is what the current governor, Ann Richards, opposes.

As a New Yorker who settled in Los Angeles, Ronald couldn't understand why Texas voters would support George Jr. for supporting concealed carry of guns?
"Are you coming to Texas to celebrate my election?" George Jr. invited Ronald.

"Unfortunately, I'm not a resident of Texas..." Ronald declined. It was not a good idea for a Californian to go to Texas to celebrate the election of the governor. Besides, he was not as confident in his campaign as George Jr.

Although the old governor Ann Richards was a woman, she had the style of an old-school Southern Donkey. During her tenure, the number of prisoners in prisons increased by 20,000. She also passed a law against different orientations, declaring that if a person has deviant behavior with another same-sex individual, he or she will be convicted in Texas.

"It doesn't matter. I will hold a thank-you event in Houston after I win the election. It would be great if you could come if you have time." George Jr. was still very grateful for Ronald's help. Hollywood stars, like sports stars, are powerful tools for mobilizing voters.

……

"Sorry, it's a call from an important friend." After Ronald answered the phone, he returned to the conference room, where the young people from Goldman Sachs were showing him the audit results of MGM and Credit Lyonnais.

"To make a long story short, in the years between when Credit Lyonnais provided loans to help acquire MGM and when it was forced to take over MGM, they lost a total of $50 billion."

"How many?"

Ronald could hardly believe his ears.

"Fifty billion. This is the number we obtained through detailed calculations. We also cross-validated it from the expenditures in Europe and the use in America. It is highly credible."

The young and energetic Goldman Sachs bankers are well-dressed and confident in themselves. Their global network has a strong information channel.

"Then how can they balance the accounts?" Ronald didn't understand. Such a high debt is not a small amount of money. It can be covered up through creative accounting methods. Do they still think they are a lucky director who is easy to be fooled?"

"It's hard to say. We have heard some news that the British government may cover their debts and package them to asset management companies, so that Credit Lyonnais can go into battle with less burden. However, Britain is also facing a general election, so everything is still uncertain."

"But it's still hard for me to imagine how they could lose so much money in just a few years. My friend James Cameron set a Hollywood record for the cost of making a movie, and it only cost $100 million. MGM hasn't made any big productions in recent years?" Ronald didn't understand at all.

"When it comes to finance, you make money quickly, but you also lose money quickly..." The people at Goldman Sachs laughed. It was a good thing for them that their clients could engage in high-risk investments like this, because no matter whether you made money or lost money, they would earn a lot of fees.

"In addition, we also found some signs..." The people at Goldman Sachs are still very dedicated. They have investigated the details of the merger and acquisition business of MGM and Cannon almost thoroughly.

It can be said that Giancarlo Paretti, the Italian con man who owned MGM for two years, was more like an unspoken choice for everyone to use to escape.

After receiving $400 million in financing, Cannonball invested in numerous big productions such as Superman IV, all of which failed at the box office. The British cinema chain they acquired also did not bring them the expected pre-sale funds for distribution. By the time Menahem Golan left, the hole was already astronomical.

Kirk Kerkorian, the former director of MGM, was also only interested in using the MGM brand to develop his gambling and real estate businesses in Las Vegas, and he did not care about MGM Studios.

For so many years, MGM Studios was like a cow that provided him with cash, but never got anything in return. When it was sold, Kerkorian also used many methods to hide the real assets and threw a very bad asset package to Giancarlo Parretti.

The two biggest holes in Hollywood were left to the Italian swindler. Giancarlo Paretti, who thought he had succeeded, took advantage of the sinking ship and had a good time for two years by flirting with actresses. What awaited him was imprisonment.

The two gangs who emptied MGM and drove Cannon into bankruptcy completely absolved themselves of responsibility through this major merger and went on to live a carefree life with the money earned.

Giancarlo Paretti, this idiot, actually let his 21-year-old daughter be in charge of the finance department. It is conceivable that after the incident, the financial statements during his two years in office were a complete mess, with no rules followed, which made it convenient to blame all previous deficits on him.

The 50 billion was not lost in just a few years. It was more like the result of continuous operating losses for more than a decade, and a self-righteous fool was hired to carry the responsibility.

"Kerkorian was very smart when he sold MGM. He arranged a number of complex copyright entities with cross-holdings. In fact, all the classic films of MGM in the golden age of Hollywood were sold to Ted Turner. As for the remaining ones, part of them are now in the hands of MGM, which is entrusted by Credit Lyonnais. The situation of the other part is quite complicated and it will take longer to sort out the whereabouts. We also need the help of lawyers in the industry to understand the special contracts in the Hollywood industry..."

Ronald nodded. Kerkorian was a cunning man, and he had experienced this before. He must have sold the best part of the copyright at a high price, and the rest might have been sold several times. Anyway, there were many liars and incompetent people in Hollywood. As long as they fooled around during the transaction, people like Giancarlo Paretti would naturally take the blame after a few years. The confirmation of copyright would be the responsibility of lawyers in the industry to fight the lawsuit.

"So, who owns the film copyrights of United Artists?" Ronald suddenly asked. He no longer had any hope for the mess at MGM, and he was not Redstone, who could swallow up all the garbage regardless of the cost.

But United Artists, founded by Chaplin, is different. This company does not have as many films as MGM, and its box office is not as good as MGM's films, but it has many artistic masterpieces that have stood the test of time.

These movies may not have done well at the box office in the year, but there has always been a group of fans who like their movies. This is also due to the idea of ​​allowing artists to have creative freedom when United Artists was founded.

Although seven out of ten United Artists films may get out of control, the remaining two or three may be works that can stand the test of time.

"It's still mainly in MGM's hands... TV stations don't think highly of United Artists' work, and the ratings aren't as good as MGM's..."

The TV station's classic movie channel is usually broadcast at midnight, and most of the viewers are those who can't sleep, so the performance of United Artists is average. But those movie fans are willing to pay a lot of money to buy the video tapes for collection.

"I am interested in this part. Please convey my intention to the people at Credit Lyonnais."

"It's fair... I'll pass it on right away..." Seeing this, the people from Goldman Sachs gave up the idea of ​​making a fortune. Ronald was not stupid. But it was a good thing that he was interested in part of the asset package. When Credit Lyonnais was looking for other buyers, the assets of Lianyi had no positive effect, and they were eager to get rid of the burden.

……

"I don't understand. Mr. Ronald Lee is a famous artist and producer. MGM's classic films over the years and our studio in Los Angeles are both of great historical value..."

The people from Credit Lyonnais wanted to persuade DDH...

"Don't waste my time. Your MGM is no longer wanted. I am interested in United Artists because I am nostalgic for the golden age of Hollywood. If it weren't for this, I would not have come to discuss with you."

"I'm not saying this part of the assets is bad, but MGM produced many more classic films than United Artists during those years..."

"Oh, for God's sake, you don't own the copyright..." Ronald simply said.

"What? But except for some of the ones Mr. Ted Turner took, like The Wizard of Oz and Singin' in the Rain, the others--"

"You don't have the others either. All those before 1986 were sold by Kerkorian..."

"This, this is inconsistent with the information we have..." The people from Credit Lyonnais turned pale.

"It seems that you have never really operated in Hollywood. What about Frans Afman? He knows the business."

"Mr. Frans Afman has resigned..."

Well, he was also one of the fleeing army. Ronald looked at the pale-faced bank clerk and knew that he was also an unlucky guy whose boss had concealed the truth.

Seeing him about to cry, Ronald thought of a joke and said, "Let me show you a way. When Kerkorian sold MGM to you, he did a lot of things. Now that you have found out, you should go and find trouble with him.

If he doesn't agree to your terms, you can just... I think it's better to let him buy it back and let him clean it up himself..."

Ronald waved his hand and sent the people from the bank away. Kerkorian had used the Chinese joint venture to trick him, and now it was just right to return the favor and let him have a taste of the power of the banking industry. These people may not understand the business, but when it comes to reasoning, Kerkorian, a casino tycoon, may not be able to win over them.

Moreover, Kerkorian was preparing to acquire Chrysler Corporation. At this critical juncture, he would not want his evil deeds in acquiring MGM to be exposed in the media.

……

"Our guest today, hum..."

In the evening, Ronald turned on the TV and Rosie O'Donnell's talk show was on again. The person she invited today was the person she least wanted to see.

"My boyfriend's... um, wife, Nicole Kidman."

"Hahaha, isn't this a bit weird..." Nicole Kidman walked out from the backstage and went on a show with a fan of her husband Tom Cruise. She always felt a bit weird.

But now Tom Cruise's reputation has suffered a serious blow. The content of McCall's magazine was circulated before they took action. Now several entertainment magazines in Europe, Germany, France, and Britain have reprinted the above content and added fuel to the fire.

If Tom Cruise wants to save his box office appeal overseas, he must appear on this kind of show to restore his influence.

"Hahaha, Rosie is really a funny person. Last time she asked me to be on her show, I talked about some things that happened when I filmed a movie with Tom in the past. She was awkward with me for a long time and even blushed. Is she really in love with Tom Cruise?" Diane came over and couldn't stop laughing when she saw the show.

"I don't know. Next time Tom comes on her show, she'll probably ask..."

“Tommy can you hear me?
Tommy can you see me?"

Rosie O'Donnell also unabashedly pressed a button in front of Kidman and played her own song "I Love Tommy", which made Kidman laugh so hard that she fell unconscious. The audience and ratings soared.

"Ring, ring, ring..." Mr. Li, your phone is ringing.

Aunt Wang brought the phone in from there.

"Hey?"

"It's me, Richard. Here's an invitation to President William and Mrs. Rodham's fundraising gala in Los Angeles. It's from Ovitz. Do you want to go?"