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On the other hand, the mainstream media in North America basically exist in the form of comprehensive media groups, such as the Hearst Group and Newhouse Group with hundreds of newspapers, weekly magazines, and magazines, or the public television network, cable TV, etc. Metropolitan/ABC Group of TV stations, radio stations, etc.

Daenerys Entertainment only advertised to some of these media groups, which is enough to make these media groups short-sighted.

As a result, the efforts of the three major trade unions to counterattack in the media these days have had little effect. Many articles refuting Daenerys' entertainment views were blocked before they were even published.This made the three major labor unions seem very passive. Coupled with the move of Daenerys Entertainment to relocate film and television production overseas, it was not only the opposition within the labor unions to continue to confront Daenerys Entertainment, but even the initial complaint to Daenerys Those who were attacked by Si Entertainment all backed down.

It is always difficult for ordinary people to understand the power of capital, and they have to admit that a super rich with a personal net worth of more than 200 billion US dollars and a rapidly rising business empire are indeed not so easy to provoke.

After handing Barry Gordon a cigar, and waiting for the secretary to deliver coffee and leave, the two old men were silently puffing away in the office.

Things are by no means good for Lou Wassalman these days.

Especially after Westeros suddenly announced the acquisition of Bell Atlantic.

The shareholders of MCA were not too anxious at first, and patiently waited for the management led by Lou Vasalman to fight for more benefits for them.However, the acquisition of Bell Atlantic has made many shareholders nervous, worrying whether MCA management's deliberate price delay will lead to the failure of the acquisition.

Or, even if the acquisition is finalized, will the transaction price be lower than Daenerys Entertainment's last offer of $70 billion.

You know, MCA's stock price fell all the way after the Bell Atlantic acquisition was announced.

Coupled with the withdrawal of Panasonic and the disruption of the three major trade unions, it is difficult to say which direction things will develop.At present, the cloud of the Gulf War has enveloped the world, and the US economy is already weak. Looking back at the trauma caused by the Vietnam War to the US economy, if this acquisition becomes protracted, when the war breaks out and the stock market goes down, MCA will only become more passive. .

Simon Westeros has apparently turned his attention to the East Coast takeover of Bell Atlantic these days and has even stopped approaching MCA.Although the media confronted the three major trade unions relentlessly, many people felt that Westeros might be deliberately delaying and expecting the outbreak of war.

Counting from "Ten Days of Dangerous Love" on Halloween, to "Dances with Wolves" and "League of Pink", Daenerys Entertainment has three blockbuster films this year, which is enough to show that Dani Even without MCA, Liz Entertainment is still developing rapidly.

On the contrary, MCA is far from having such confidence.

So far, Universal Pictures has not even produced a single movie with a box office of more than 1990 million in 3. The best-performing "Back to the Future 8700" ended up with a North American box office of just over [-] million US dollars."Ten Days of Dangerous Love", which was co-operated with Daenerys Entertainment, although it was also a hit, it did not reach the level of breaking [-] million.

Therefore, Daenerys Entertainment's need for MCA is really not that urgent.

If the management controlled by Lew Vassalman blindly delays and causes Simon Westero to lose patience, and the other party wants to cancel the acquisition, they only need to pay a mere $6000 million exit fee.Not to mention 6000 million US dollars, even if it is more, it seems that it is just painless for Simon Westeros.

As for Lou Wasserman himself, he was beginning to hesitate now.

Some of the chips that Michael Ovitz handed over to him have shrunk too much compared to the agent's original plan.

Paramount Communications, which is capable of directly confronting Daenerys Entertainment, withdrew, Meg Ryan, who might cause a scandal, withdrew, and Dustin Hoffman, Tom Kerr, who originally planned to publicly oppose the acquisition, withdrew. Ruth and other Hollywood big shots also retreated.

Now, the three major labor unions in Hollywood that are most likely to suppress Daenerys Entertainment are also losing ground under the recent offensive of public opinion.

Although he still held some hole cards in his hand, Lou Wassalman really didn't have much confidence.

Even, if Westeros is in a hurry, Vassarman is not sure whether the young man will directly bypass the MCA board of directors to contact shareholders.He understood that the reason why Westeros did not do this was that it wanted to go through standard processes such as board approval and shareholder voting to achieve the goal of acquiring all the shares of MCA in one go.

Buying MCA shares directly from shareholders in cash may allow Simon Westeros to take control of MCA easily, but it will become more difficult for him to buy all the shares of MCA in the future. In the end, the shareholders who did not sell in the end will definitely be up for sale, making Westeros pay a higher and higher price.

However, even if it does not directly buy shares from shareholders, Westeros can actually call MCA shareholders to hold an extraordinary general meeting and vote to remove the current board of directors.

At that time, Lou Vasalman will lose his greatest support.

Of course, the biggest disadvantage of doing so is that this acquisition will become protracted.

However, no matter how you look at it, Lou Vasalman doesn't feel that the MCA acquisition will be delayed for several months, which will be detrimental to Daenerys Entertainment.No one would think that after the outbreak of war next year, the US economy will not only continue to decline, but will recover quickly. This is unreasonable.

After silently smoking a cigar, Barry Gordon spoke first: "Lu, we plan to reach a settlement with Daenerys Entertainment and withdraw the lawsuit by next week at the latest."

Lou Wassalman just smiled wryly when he heard this.

This is a difficult lawsuit to win. Daenerys Entertainment is not a second- and third-tier film company that is at the mercy of the union. In addition to reconciling as soon as possible to prevent Daenerys Entertainment from doing more things that endanger the foundation of the union, three The big trade unions really have no other better options.

Chapter 390 Reversing Black and White (Revision)

Nodding in understanding, Lou Wassalman asked, "What kind of reconciliation terms?"

Barry Gordon Says: "Daenerys Entertainment Abandons Plans To Set Up Film And Television Production Base In Toronto."

"Give up forever?"

Barry Gordon shook his head: "Three years."

Lou Wassalman was silent again.

Such reconciliation conditions are completely giving the three major trade unions a barely passable level.

Having been in charge of MCA for so many years, Lou Wassalman knows very well that it is definitely not that easy to build a film and television production base overseas.

Studios may pay more to shoot movies in California and have to endure various union restrictions, but they have a very stable and mature film production system.

In comparison, making a film in an unfamiliar area will often encounter a lot of problems, such as the lack of cooperation of the local government, the difficulties of residents, the high prices of businesses and even the harassment of gangsters, etc., which usually make the originally hoped Money-saving crews spend more.

Daenerys Entertainment was able to obtain many preferential policies and government cooperation in Australia because of the existence of the powerful local snake of the Westeros wife family.However, it would be naive for Westeros to assume that this model can be easily replicated in Toronto.

Probably no one would think that Simon Westeros is a naive person.

Then, Daenerys Entertainment's plan to build a film and television production base in Toronto may have been just a bargaining chip used to force the three major labor unions from the very beginning.

The three major labor unions took the initiative to back down, and Daenerys Entertainment conveniently placed this bargaining chip that was not intended to be implemented at the feet of the three major labor unions as a step, without any substantial loss at all.

Barry Gordon continued to smoke a few cigars. Seeing that Vassalman was silent, he asked, "Lu, what are you going to do?"

When Lou Wassalman heard this question, he felt annoyed in his heart. He simply extinguished the cigar in his hand and said, "Probably, this studio is still going to be handed over to young people."

Originally expecting that the lawsuits of the three major labor unions would bring enough pressure to Daenerys Entertainment, and then use resources on their own side to continue to create obstacles for Westeros at the public opinion and government levels, so that the other party will voluntarily give up the acquisition. If it is not good, it will continue to hold the control of MCA in its hands.

However, after the three major trade unions with high hopes launched an attack, they faced almost one-sided passiveness, and retreated after failing to persist for two weeks.

On the MCA side, except for the board of directors that is firmly controlled by Lou Vasalman, he does not have much advantage.Most shareholders prefer to cash out as soon as possible to avoid the continued decline of MCA stock price caused by the deterioration of the US economy.Judging from the current economic trend in the United States and the imminent war situation, this possibility is very high.

Lou Wassalman felt that if he continued to use his backhand, Simon Westeros would directly target him personally.

Perhaps, just like the accusation of the three major trade unions 'abusing their own power'.

Lou Wassalman could almost imagine that the reason Daenerys Entertainment accused him was probably abuse of power, and he really wanted to keep his power. The whole of Hollywood, Steve Ross, Martin Davis, Michael Eisner, Shirley Lansing, blah blah blah, who isn't.

Those who have tried the taste of power will probably only instinctively pursue more, and few can give up easily.

Speaking of which, the young man who is only 22 years old this year will undoubtedly become the most powerful person in Hollywood in the next few decades.And, judging by the skill Westeros has shown in the recent series of events, he is also enough to control the power in his hands.

22 years old.

It is hard to imagine why a young man who should have just stepped out of the university campus is so amazing.

Thinking of his middle-aged but still ineffective son, Lou Wassalman's sense of frustration became even stronger.

Two old men were sitting in the office chatting without saying a word, the door was knocked, the secretary came in, pointed to the TV in the corner of the office, and said: "Mr. Vasalman, maybe there is something you Should see."

Lou Wassalman nodded, and the secretary came in and turned on the TV, which was quickly tuned to a local channel in Los Angeles.

A press conference is being broadcast on the TV screen.

When Lou Wasserman saw Matthew Broderick in a row of young people sitting on the stage and telling their stories, he understood the reason of the matter.

This was originally one of Michael Ovitz's backhands.

After Simon Westero became famous, the story of him breaking five legs by himself became an anecdote in Hollywood, and everyone in the circle generally knew the ins and outs of the matter.Because this matter is really unreasonable for several young people, after Meg Ryan withdrew, neither Ovitz nor Wasserman thought much about using this move.

Unexpectedly, a few youths jumped out on their own initiative.

At this moment, looking at the young man in the center of the press conference podium who had removed his dentures and his lips were sunken like an old man, telling his tragic experience tearfully, Lou Wassalman almost couldn't help but believe it.

Five people, including Matthew Broderick and Mark Stein, who once knocked out several teeth by Simon's elbow, completely turned black and white, claiming that there was some altercation a few years ago when they were having fun in a bar. The extremely vengeful Simon Westeros secretly tracked and intercepted them, and finally not only broke the legs of five of them, but also bit back, using Matthew Broderick's reputation as a persecution, demanding that the other party do something. compensation.

Matthew Broderick had to pay $50 for a settlement in order to prevent the other party from hurting his reputation because of several consecutive blockbuster films.

However, after Simon Westeros became famous, he still did not let them go. Matthew Broderick was ruined by Westeros' revenge and has not received any film contracts for more than a year. .

When the reporter questioned why Simon Westero dared to attack the six of them alone, Mark Stein, who described the misery with sunken lips, said that Westeros brought a baseball bat at that time, and they were completely bare-handed.Moreover, Mark Stein also showed on the spot the report that Simon KO'd ten professional fighters in a row at the Melbourne Boxing Stadium at the beginning of the year, proving that he has such strength.

At the end of the press conference, Mark Stein and the five stated that they would file a lawsuit in the Los Angeles District Court on the grounds that Simon had caused continuous and long-lasting serious trauma to their bodies and spirits.

Matthew Broderick also sued Simon Westero for maliciously using his influence to destroy the careers of others in violation of California's Unfair Business Competition Act.

Not only that, Matthew Broderick's lawyer also stated that there is reason to believe that Simon Westero used the $50 extorted from Matthew Broderick to make "Run Lola Run" ", Matthew Broderick will also file a lawsuit based on this, demanding that Simon Westero return the original $50 in cash and all the benefits brought by the cash.

When the reporters at the press conference heard the end, they almost burst into tears.

Even if journalists who know some inside information of the industry force themselves to believe the nonsense of the guys in front of them, and the benefits brought by 50 US dollars in cash, if this is the case, then the excitement will be great.

As we all know, Simon Westeros made his fortune relying on the huge profits earned from "Run Lola Run", and then not only established Daenerys Entertainment, but also made a fortune by accurately betting on the S&P 1987 index futures during the stock market crash in 500. Pen.If you want to calculate the original income of 50 US dollars, Simon Westero's current net worth of 210 billion US dollars can be said to be due to this.

Watching several young people leave under the siege of the media on the TV screen, Lou Wassalman, who patiently watched the entire press conference, couldn't help feeling a little emotional.

As the chairman of the Screen Actors Guild of America, Barry Gordon had heard about the incident at the time. He looked at Lou Wassalman and asked, "You arranged it?"

Lu Wassalman shook his head and said, "I know about it, but there is no arrangement."

Everyone in the circle knows the inside story, how to arrange it?

Lou Wassalman hadn't thought about turning right and wrong into black and white like those young people just now, because this matter was too unbearable to scrutinize.

However, after thinking about it carefully, Lou Wasserman understood that several people, including Matthew Broderick, had absolutely nothing to lose.By holding a press conference with such a big fanfare and making things big, they have the upper hand. Even if their rhetoric does not stand up to scrutiny, the public always tends to sympathize with the weak.

After all, Simon Westeros is too powerful.

At the beginning of the year, the video of Westeros playing [-] and KO consecutively in Melbourne amazed many people. Such a tyrannical guy really dared to attack six people alone.

After all, he had brought a baseball bat with him.

Seeing Vassalman's denial, Barry Gordon looked at the TV screen again, and said with a smile, "Anyway, we can watch another fun."

Lou Wasserman smiled too.

Simon Westeros' almost every step of the way in this acquisition has deftly deflected many of the obstacles facing Daenerys Entertainment bit by bit, leaving Vassalman completely overwhelmed.Now, in the face of those young people who completely let go of their shameless nonsense, Wassalman wondered how the other party was still struggling.

In this era, the biggest feature of investing in large telecom industry giants is stability.The telecommunications industry has been developed for a hundred years, investing in AT&T and Seven Little Bells, these industry giants with monopolistic nature, will neither get too rich returns nor suffer too much loss.

Because the stock price of this type of company can easily rise and fall with the trend of the macroeconomic situation, and the U.S. economy has been in a downturn recently. Since Westeros wants to acquire Bell Atlantic at a premium of 30%, it holds many shares in this company. Investors have no intention of clinging to it.

Therefore, when Bell Atlantic's board of directors reached an agreement with Westeros, the shareholder vote that followed was also passed very smoothly under the careful operation of the Westeros team. ,

This is followed by submissions to the U.S. Department of Justice and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which regulates the telecommunications industry.

After arranging things in Los Angeles, Simon has been running between New York and Washington on the east coast these days for government approval.

Although the Department of Justice is one of the departments of the President's cabinet, and the ministers are nominated by the President, the Bush administration obviously does not have much favor for Simon. However, this department is not under the full control of the White House.

In the U.S. mid-term elections in early November, the Democratic Party won a big victory, winning a majority of seats in both the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.At the same time, within the Ministry of Justice, there are also Democrats serving as senior department officials, which means that Westeros' acquisition of Bell Atlantic will not encounter overwhelming obstacles.

As for the Federal Communications Commission, this aspect is more beneficial to Simon.

Because as an independent government agency, the FCC is directly responsible to the US Congress and is not under the control of the White House.

Moreover, in the final analysis, the Bush family is a very mature family of politicians. Unless necessary, it will not offend a super rich man like Simon with a huge net worth and great social influence. The company's acquisition of Bell Atlantic will not affect the industry structure, and there is no suspicion of monopoly.

Therefore, this acquisition is almost a certainty.

It can be said that during the days from the end of November to the beginning of December, Simon was more likely to use Bell Atlantic to acquire this incident, to reorganize, deepen and consolidate his contacts in the American political circle.

When he heard the news of the press conference held by Matthew Broderick and others, Simon had just had a meal in Washington with David Meroth, a member of the US Congress who had contacted a few days ago.

Janet had fully experienced the ins and outs of the original incident, so she was completely annoyed in the ensuing phone call, threatening to teach those guys who turned black and white a lesson, telling Simon to leave this matter alone, and she planned to take responsibility for it herself.

There has never been a lack of right and wrong in this world. After Simon knew the details, although he was angry, he didn't feel much touched in his heart. He really didn't have the energy to take care of this matter, so he casually agreed to Janet to take charge of it.

On the other hand, Matthew Broderick and his group obviously conspired carefully. Although the storytelling is not perfect, it is also reasonable. It was quickly hyped up.

Of course, Daenerys Entertainment will not let the matter ferment one-sidedly, and immediately counterattacked in the media.

Regrettably, that incident did not leave an official record in the police system. At that time, the situation of all the people was so miserable that there was not even a record.Afterwards, the two sides quickly reconciled. After the police were operated by Matthew Broderick, they also thought that more things would be better than less things, and did not continue to investigate further.

When Matthew Broderick and others pre-empted and seized the opportunity, everyone had their own arguments, and there were some signs that they were about to fall into Rashomon.

After the press conference, the local media in Los Angeles quickly exposed the further appeals of several young people.

Mark Stein and five people filed a lawsuit in the Los Angeles District Court on the grounds of the long-term physical and mental trauma they suffered at the time, demanding a total of $1 million in damages.Matthew Broderick opened his mouth even more, demanding as much as $10 billion in compensation.

Chapter 391 Going to the city first (revision)

Under the strong operation of the Westeros system, in less than a week, another version of the story about the attack a few years ago that was closer to the truth appeared in the media.

The legal team formed by Janet also quickly initiated a civil lawsuit against Matthew Broderick and other six people for maliciously defaming the reputation of others, and demanded compensation ranging from 1000 million to 5000 million US dollars. $1000 million and Matthew Broderick $5000 million.

Careful media found that US$1000 million is obviously a bottom line, and Matthew Broderick's US$5000 million compensation is exactly equivalent to 10 times the other party's current net worth.

Moreover, the lions of Matthew Broderick and others opened their mouths. Even if they really win and get the full claim, the amount of compensation is actually far within Simon's tolerance.

In contrast, if Simon wins this lawsuit, it will mean that the six of Matthew Broderick will not only lose all their existing family assets, but the remaining debts will also mean that they will have a difficult time in the rest of their lives. Turn over again.Not only that, after the six lose the lawsuit, there is a high possibility that they will face prison.

In addition to fighting back in the media, Simon's legal team also applied to the Los Angeles Santa Monica Police Department to re-investigate the attack in the summer of 1986 in order to prove the innocence of the parties and return the truth to the public.When the "Los Angeles Times" exposed the news, Simon immediately took the initiative in public opinion.