hunt hollywood

When Disney made a big splash in Los Angeles, Simon was playing golf on the East Coast with Jack Welch, the head of General Electric, accompanied by Daenerys and some executives from both sides of GE.

After passing the merger and acquisition review in March, General Electric began to implement the merger and adjustment of Time Warner.Within three months, the two companies were basically merged into one.After several games, Terry Semel, the former CEO of Time Warner Group, succeeded in taking over the position and became the general manager of the media and entertainment business of General Electric Group. He was in charge of assets such as Time Warner and NBC Television Network. Network chief Bob White served as Terry Semel's deputy.

Jack Welch, who was well aware of the chronic problems within the Time Warner Group at the time, was very resolute in sweeping out Gerald Levin, Robert Daly and other executives this time to ensure that the media and entertainment business under General Electric would not be affected to the greatest extent possible. Development will be affected by infighting again.

If an enterprise wants to expand stably, it often needs a leader who is strong enough.In Simon's view, this time it was mainly Jack Welch who replaced Steve Ross. Otherwise, the newly appointed Terry Semel and Bob White would not be too harmonious.

This time, Welch also offered to propose that the executives of the two parties play together to connect with each other.

Unlike the situation in which General Electric has overtaken Westinghouse Electric in fields such as electric power and energy in recent years, Welch clearly knows that in the media and entertainment industry, it is impossible for all related assets of General Electric to be integrated with the current Daenerys. Daenerys Entertainment, let alone media entertainment assets, the current market value of the entire General Electric Group is not as high as Daenerys Entertainment.

It just so happened that Simon showed a certain tendency to hope that Daenerys and Time Warner would stand side by side. Welch, who knew that this pattern was beneficial to both parties, was very active in promoting this situation, including this selection with Daenerys. Terry Semel, who is close to Silk Entertainment, is in charge of GE Media and Entertainment Assets, all out of this consideration.

In a golf course near the wealthy area in the northern suburbs of Greenwich.

While playing golf, everyone casually chatted about various political and economic topics. Jack Welch is a senior golf enthusiast who has almost reached the professional level. Everyone on the scene, Simon, who has inherited more than ten personal memories and skills, happened to be in golf. The ball is a short board.However, neither Welch nor the accompanying Terry Semel, Robert Iger and others expressed any opinion on Simon's skills. Instead, they all deliberately accommodated Simon's rookie level.

This is actually very rare in the circle of professional golf enthusiasts.

In similar circles, people whose golf handicap index differs too much cannot play together at all, and they will only be ignored or ridiculed if they try to force it together. Plenty of private time dedicated to practicing golf.

All in all, the disparity in status is less than a certain degree, so don't even think that others will accommodate you.

On the court, Jack Welch waited for Simon to swing a shot casually, watched the golf ball slanting out of the hole not far away, smiled and walked over with Simon, and said: "I recently It was very inspiring to read carefully the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that you had someone hand over to me, but if this method is used too much, it will inevitably lead to backlash.”

Simon held the cue in both hands, and subconsciously wanted to try the feel. Unexpectedly, this expensive titanium alloy cue was bent directly in his hand. Seeing Welch's slightly surprised eyes, he just smiled and attracted a lot of people not far away. The beautiful girl caddy changed a club and said: "Actually, what I want to express is a concept, Jack, not just that bill. The next few decades will be an era of high-speed globalization, global economic integration We are one, but each country has different rules. If we want to be the winner as much as possible, we need to drag our competitors into our own rules as much as possible, and then use the rule advantage to defeat each other.”

Jack Welch was thoughtful, then smiled self-deprecatingly, and said: "I am 61 years old, and I have already started to arrange my retirement schedule. I may not have the opportunity to participate in these games in the future."

Simon shook his head: "I also feel very sorry about this."

Feeling the strangeness in Simon's tone, Jack Welch moved slightly, and asked, "Simon, what do you think of General Electric after I retire?"

Simon glanced at Welch: "Jack, do you want to hear the truth?"

"of course."

Simon said: "I am very, very pessimistic."

Welch saw that Simon used two "very" in a row, subconsciously slowed down a bit, and said in a serious tone: "Why?"

"Because of what I just said, globalization," Simon slowed down, and said, "Under the trend of globalization, many of GE's current businesses, such as power, lighting, transportation, water, etc., will inevitably be lowered by relative costs." In the end, only a few cutting-edge aviation, nuclear power and other businesses can be retained. Oh, yes, there is also the media, which is a relatively strong cultural industry in the Federation. As long as it is properly operated, it will always be Neither will be out of date.”

Jack Welch simply stopped in his tracks and stood on the spacious lawn. He also attracted the attention of Robert Iger and others who were not far away and made a round of balls, thinking that the two had encountered some problems.However, the two bosses didn't call out, and the others didn't come over ignorantly.

After thinking for a moment, Welch said: "Simon, I think you are a bit serious. At this stage, the global economy has already shown the characteristics of globalization, and General Electric still maintains its strong position very well."

Simon is not very interested in golf. Seeing Welch stop, he simply pointed to the outside: "Jack, why don't we take a rest."

Welch, eager to know the answer, nodded.

The two called the battery car, and soon came to the reception villa outside the stadium, sat in a coffee shop, and waited for the waiter to deliver coffee and desserts to leave, then Simon continued: "What I just said, globalization, is just one of them. One reason. And then there's the question of your successor, Jack. Without any probing, I can be sure that no matter how carefully you choose, your successor will not have your current status within GE. Prestige and strong control over GE. This will inevitably lead to another result. Without strong control, GE’s operations will inevitably be interfered by external factors.”

"external factors?"

Simon pointed to himself: "Like me."

Welch subconsciously had some vigilance: "Simon, what do you want to do?"

Simon shook his head with a smile and said, "Jack, I am also one of the major shareholders of General Electric now. You should believe that my interests and General Electric's are the same."

The expression on Welch's face still didn't relax.

Simon could only shrug his shoulders: "Okay, then there is the third reason after the trend of globalization and weak successors, and the most important one, the financial capital of the Federation is becoming stronger and stronger, compared to industrial capital because The hollowing out of industry in this country has been in decline for decades. With your control of GE, Jack, nothing will happen as long as you are in office. However, once you retire, financial capital will be driven by various factors. It will soon become a dominant force in the development of GE. As for what financial capital will do, you can look at what Wall Street has been doing since the 80s, and you should understand. Well, in fact, the changes in ATT in recent years are one of the most Obvious reference."

What is the change in ATT?

Since the split in the 80s, although the federal government has continued to loosen telecommunications regulations over the years, ATT has been continuously stripped and dismembered. The fundamental reason is that American financial capital has controlled ATT. Through continuous splitting and integration, etc. Capital means, as much as possible to obtain more benefits in the short term.

This trend towards AT&T will continue for years to come.Even Simon, in private, has taken a fancy to some of AT&T's business and is waiting for the right time to make a move.

As for whether these actions will hurt the foundation of AT&T and whether it will affect the long-term development of this telecom giant, who cares?

The same is true of General Electric in the post-Welch era in memory.

The huge GE empire has been split up and sold in just over a decade after Welch retired. At its lowest point, the market value of GE was once less than one-tenth of its peak in 2000.

After hearing Simon's words, Jack Welch's face changed several times. How clever this legendary senior official of General Electric was, he soon realized that what Simon said was true, and even an unstoppable industry trend , could not help but feel a little depressed, but still asked: "Simon, why are you telling me this?"

Simon took a sip of coffee, leaned on the back of the chair, and said, "You can take this as a kind of introspection, Jack, in fact, you don't have to lose, anything, birth, growth, prosperity, decline, and death, these are It is inevitable, but standing in my current position, I can’t help but think about many things, and it turns out that there is really very little we can change.”

Jack Welch looked at the young man with a lazy attitude on the opposite side, and suddenly smiled again: "Simon, I didn't expect your mentality to be older than mine."

"It's the same if you've lived hundreds of years and lived many lives."

"Heh, it's a joke, isn't it?" Jack Welch smiled more and said, "In fact, everyone has been very curious about you these years, and I am the same, but, Simon, I believe you are a miracle, But definitely not a miracle."

Simon just smiled.

Jack Welch paused, picked up the coffee in front of him slightly, put it down again, obviously hesitated for a moment, and said again: "Simon, actually, you want to control GE in the future, right?"

Simon was noncommittal: "Why do you say that?"

"Your intentions are too obvious," Welch simply let go of the coffee cup in his hand, and said, "I have paid attention to the three companies you have established recently, FusionTimes, SolarCity and SpaceX, nuclear energy, solar energy and aviation. Speaking of which, GE has deep accumulation in these three major areas, and can provide you with a lot of help for these three companies. Although you were very indifferent just now, I can understand that you still hope to change some things, want to change, Of course, the more resources that can be used, the better. Moreover, you judge that my successor cannot have my current prestige. It just so happens that you have this, and you are also a major shareholder of GE. Finally, and most importantly, You are young enough."

Sensing Welch's piercing gaze, Simon's smile remained unchanged, he paused for a while, and nodded slightly.

Seeing the young man on the other side admit it, Jack Welch leaned back in his chair relaxedly, pondered for a moment, looked up at the other side again, and said seriously: "Simon, I will seriously consider this matter."

"I look forward to your decision."

At the end of the topic, neither of them continued, but Welch brought up another matter: "About the negotiations between the DC movie universe team and Batman actor Adam Baldwin, Simon, I think, a basic salary of 1500 million US dollars, plus 10% of the global box office gross profit is not too much to ask, don't you think?"

Daenerys and Time Warner are quietly negotiating with Batman star Adam Baldwin for an additional film deal, which has been rumored in Hollywood for a long time.

In fact, this is also an intention of both parties.

Compared with Brad Pitt, who has been set as the leading actor of "Face Changing" by Simone, Adam Baldwin is more deeply bound by the role of Batman. Baldwin's attempts to play Bruce Wayne in other movies over the years have basically ended dismal , coupled with Daenerys Entertainment's prosperity in Hollywood, the actor gradually corrected his mentality and began to seek more practical benefits from the "Batman" series.

The basic maximum salary in Hollywood has been successfully locked at $1500 million by Simon over the years.

The focus of the negotiations between the two sides is still divided.

After such a long period of time, Adam Baldwin no longer seeks to distribute profits to peripheral channels, but insists on obtaining a share from the global box office rather than the local box office that the producer prefers.

Simon didn't expect Jack Welch to talk about it himself.

Not surprisingly.

The head of General Electric neither lacks the macro vision of running a business, but also often participates in various micro-managements.

In the original time and space, as one of the pillars of NBC TV network "Seinfeld", the main creator Jerry Seinfeld really didn't want to continue the show until the end, but Jack Welch personally came forward to meet Jerry Seinfeld, and finally paid 1 million The sky-high price of US dollars was renewed for an additional season, and NBC did not suffer. The finale of "Seinfeld" created a ratings miracle that 7500 million people watched at the same time.

Jack Welch spoke in person, and Simon also confessed: "I also think this price is not outrageous. The current dispute is about several contracts. I hope Adam will sign three more. By then, the DC movie universe can be laid out." When it comes to "Justice League 2", there is hope that one film will be signed, and I don't want to see this kind of uncertainty."

Based on Adam Baldwin’s participation in the DC movie universe project’s global box office volume of 10 billion US dollars in the future, the studio will be able to share about 4 million box office worldwide, and the total cost of future production and publicity of the DC movie universe series will be about 2 million Around US dollars, the gross profit is 2 million US dollars, and 10% of the global box office gross profit share is 2000 million US dollars.

For a $10 billion movie, Simon doesn't think it's too much for the lead actor to take away a total of $3500 million.

Jack Welch saw that Simon was not entangled in the price tag, but hoped to sign three films at once, and he also agreed, not to mention more, the DC movie universe has continued until now, and Welch also understands that this series wants to be more To continue well, the stability of the main creative team is very important. In fact, it means that long-term contracts are very important.

Chapter 966 Lin Dong

After playing golf with Jack Welch and others for an afternoon, we didn't have dinner together in the evening, and Simon had other arrangements.

Returning from the golf course to the nearby Manor in the northern suburbs of Greenwich, it was around six o'clock in the afternoon. Chen Qing and Lin Su were already waiting here, as well as Lin Su's younger brother Lin Dong and Lin Dong's girlfriend Bai Lan.

Simon had already known Lin Su's younger brother in advance, and this was the first time he had met him.

Like his elder sister, Lin Dong inherited the good genes of his parents. He looks handsome, is nearly 1.8 meters tall, and wears a pair of rimless glasses, adding a bit of elegance.Lin Dong's girlfriend Bai Lan is also tall and has a very attractive oval face.Standing together, the two can be described as a pair of lovers.

Lin Su was both looking forward to and apprehensive about Simon calling her to bring her brother over for dinner, looking forward to his brother being recognized by Simon, but apprehensive about what to do if a certain guy behaved too harshly, not to mention the relationship between the two The relationship is really indescribable.

Standing by the side at this time, watching Simon and his younger brother skillfully exchange greetings, a certain person is not arrogant, and his younger brother also behaved calmly, and finally he felt relieved.

Of course, there is still a little dissatisfaction.

A certain guy's Chinese is so good, why did he deliberately use English to talk to his younger brother, when he was with them on weekdays, he always used Chinese.

Then he thought of a reason for him.

Probably because he wants to test his younger brother's English ability. Speaking of it, oral English is indeed a shortcoming of Lin Dong. After all, he lacks a practical application environment. Fortunately, he is a top student at Peking University, and Lin Dong has no problems in daily conversations. However, Bai Lan, who had already started talking about marriage with her younger brother, obviously couldn't keep up.

It doesn't matter that much.

After a brief exchange of greetings, everyone went to a living room in the villa to sit down. Simon did not forget to invite the housekeeper Angore to inquire about the preparations for the dinner. Then he looked at Lin Dong again with a gentle tone: "I have been in the United States for a week. , how do you feel about this place?"

Lin Dong thought for a while and said, "It's very prosperous and surprising."

In fact, the real feeling is far more than that.

When he was still in China, the Lin family was actually an upper-class official class. For ordinary people, Lin Dong was born with a golden spoon in his mouth.However, these days after arriving in the United States, or, since he took the Gulfstream V private jet, Lin Dong felt that he had suddenly come into contact with another world.

A capitalist society that perfectly fits the imagination of many people.

Although he came from a good background, Lin Dong is not a nerd who stays in an ivory tower and doesn't care about world affairs. He knows very well that all this is not the real gap between China and the United States, nor is it just a matter of jumping out of the territory on the other side of the ocean. The prosperity and prosperity that can be enjoyed.

The fundamental reason is still the young man sitting next to him at this moment.

Simon Westeros.

The world's first trillion-dollar super rich and the only one trillion-dollar rich, this young man's net worth even exceeds the current GDP level of China with a population of 12 billion.

And his sister is his lover.

If it were in other circumstances, if my sister became someone else's lover, it would definitely embarrass the Lin family.However, when this person is Simon Westeros, many people think it is perfectly normal. Now in China, many people around the Lin family know this. Except for a few unavoidable bitter words, most people’s The attitudes are all amazement and envy, as well as all kinds of clinging and flattery.

Even Lin's father and Lin's mother, apart from being a little worried about Lin Su's future, did not show much resistance to the matter itself.

It is precisely because of his sister's identity that Lin Dong was able to get in touch with the scenery at the top of the pyramid.

MIT's OFFER seems to be just a word from someone.

Taking a private jet, which is just a fantasy for most Chinese or most ordinary people in this world, seems to be very common.

When you arrive in the United States, you can directly live in the top high-rise duplex apartment in Manhattan.

In the rumored Wall Street, his sister took him to a party and met many executives of financial giants who could influence the world's economic structure.

As such.

like a dream.

Because of his frequent attention, Lin Dong is actually very aware of the living conditions of most Chinese students studying abroad.

Gold everywhere?

Totally imaginary.

If it wasn't for his sister's factors, even if he was born in a family of officials and could not get a full scholarship, after arriving in the United States, even if he was not reduced to washing dishes in a restaurant, he would have to try to find some part-time jobs.After all, his family is just an ordinary bureaucrat, and his parents are also very disciplined in the officialdom, or because of their position, they don't want to make much money, so it is impossible to support him in the United States.

Given China's current state of development and the exchange rate difference between the U.S. dollar and the renminbi, the proportion of children of international students who can really come to the United States to enjoy life is pitifully small.

Most people go abroad to study, in the eyes of the Chinese people, it is glamorous, and it is inevitable to wash the dishes.

Lin Dong didn't expect that he would be able to avoid this kind of necessity, and these days, being led by his sister to see the scenery at the top of various pyramids had a rather shocking impact on the pride he had formed since he was a child. I even had the idea of ​​not wanting to continue studying but going directly to the sea to fight.

What's the use of getting a Ph.D. or going further academia if you can't live that kind of life in the future?

Listening to Lin Dong's answer, Simon looked at Lin Dong's motionless hands on his knees despite being relaxed on the surface, smiled slightly, and said, "It's summer vacation now, I don't know the schedule of doctoral students at MIT. How is it, if you don’t need to go to report as soon as possible, during this time, your sister can take you around the United States.”

Subconsciously, of course Lin Dong wanted this very much.However, after a little hesitation, he still said, "Simon, if possible, I hope to find a job during this time."

Simon looked at the young man who was only a few years younger than himself on the sofa next to him. He didn't answer the question immediately, but said, "So, are you sure you will start business after graduation?"

If possible, Lin Dong would like to go into business right now.But he is also a very smart person. He is not sure about his sister's attitude towards him, and he does not intend to express his opinion rashly. My sister also said during this time that Simon Westeros is a person who values ​​personal ability very much. If so, no matter what the future holds, it is still necessary for him to get a doctorate at MIT.

Lin Dong also knew that as long as he was capable enough and had the help of his sister, or to be precise, a man like his sister, he would have many opportunities to succeed in the future.

Thinking in his heart, Lin Dong nodded seriously, "Yes."

"In this case, let your sister accompany you to look around during this period, don't worry," Simon said, suddenly smiled a little badly, and continued: "When you really start school, you may not have any time to rest .”

Lin Su, who had been listening quietly, noticed the smile on the corner of Simon's mouth, and suddenly remembered that a certain guy said that he would arrange her brother's future for her. Lin Dong was tortured by Simon, and his younger brother had never suffered much when he grew up so big.

After a little hesitation, Lin Su still asked, "Simon, what... are you going to ask Xiaodong to do?"

Lin Su spoke Chinese. When her sister interrupted, Lin Dong, Bai Lan and Chen Qing from the other side all looked over.Lin Dong was also a little embarrassed about his sister's title of "Xiaodong", but he couldn't say anything.

Simon then looked at Lin Su, and also changed to standard Mandarin: "I remember telling you that I will arrange for Lin to take part-time MBA courses while studying for a doctorate in the future. Harvard will do it. In addition, Now that Lin is determined to go into business again, it’s best to start some practical exercises right away. In Boston, um, I’ll arrange a job for him at Boston Consulting Company. Consulting companies may seem a bit unrealistic to you, but they are It is the most convenient way to develop business vision.”

Boston Consulting Group is a corporate strategy consulting firm as famous as McKinsey.

Of course Lin Su knew this.