Chapter 304 The new identity of the ship, the new experience of the ship
June 18, 1999, Friday.
When the first ray of sunshine in the morning spreads across the earth, quietly lifts the veil of darkness, and gently awakens all things that have been sleeping all night, the deserted streets and alleys gradually gain a bit of popularity.
Burger King, McDonald’s, and KFC, which are open 7×24 hours, all opened their glass doors to make it easier for customers to come in and out. Not only that, they also skillfully replaced the closed signs at the fast food pick-up places.
When the young man in overalls packs the food neatly according to the customer's request, collects the money with one hand, delivers the food with the other hand, and then shows a mechanical smile, saying "thank you for your patronage" and "welcome" to welcome the old and welcome the new, the whole city, It is like a precision instrument, with the support of these people who work hard for their livelihood, it is running in an orderly manner.
If the earth is short of someone, everything will continue to run, but if the society is short of people, the system will collapse.
People who wake up early and work late into the night are the foundation of the system. When they set foot on their posts and shine for the new day, the various businesses derived from it also glow with their own vitality.
Cable radio stations convey the latest news from all over the world to the public;
The shopping malls that are open one after another provide the people with the necessities of life;
Public facilities serve the public;
And Hollywood that contributes happiness to people...
With the opening of the doors of the major studios, the tool people in charge of creation have also arrived at their posts.
In the same factory, but under the guidance of the field management of different projects, the lighting, scenery, costumes, props and other major groups were all busy, and while they were busy, actors and directors also showed up one after another.
What is different from the past is—
During the shooting of major projects on weekdays, the chief butler of the crew is in charge of the overall situation, but now, when the production directors in charge of shooting, finance, and venues all arrive on duty, the producer who is in charge of the overall situation, also appeared.
The most typical one is Universal Studios.
In the "Never Compromise" project team directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring Julia Roberts, Albert Finney, and Aaron Eckhart, with the arrival of the main creative team , the film's producer Danny - DeVito also smiled.
Although he is only five feet tall, the guys around him don't judge by appearance, because he is a classmate of Michael Douglas, a golden supporting actor in Hollywood, a friend of Woody Allen and Tim Burton, and a member of the Jewish gang.
With his appearance, Steven Soderbergh, who had worked with him in "Strategic Master" before, came up to say hello, and accompanied him around the crew. Wherever he went, various classification work The person in charge will come to report just right.
In addition, a similar situation also occurred on the other side of Universal Studios, the crew of "One Woman and Four Men".
Producer Sidney Pollack wears round glasses as the film's stars Kristen Thomas, Sean Penn and Anne Bancroft discuss today's shoot with director Philip Haas Accompanied by the co-producer Arnon Milkan, they randomly checked the completion of the work of each department on the set.
And when they found out that some departments were not doing their job properly, they immediately blurted out the order to rectify immediately. Although the attitude was not bad, the tone was very tough.
Such a situation also made the staff of Universal Studios a little puzzled.
"What day is today? Normally these producers would never come to the crew to visit the set!"
In the security monitoring room of the studio, a fat and fat man who had not been working for a long time muttered in confusion.
"I don't know! The status of these groups today is abnormal!"
Hearing the words of his companion, the young man as thin as a bamboo pole took over the conversation.
"The two crews of "Never Compromising" and "One Woman and Four Men" are in a normal state. Although the producers Danny DeVito and Sidney Pollack are both on the crew, the two crews There was no shutdown because of their presence."
"But "The Three Kings" is different here."
Speaking of this, his thin fingers pointed to the surveillance screen in front of him, "Look, George Clooney, John Turturro, and Tim Nelson, the leading actors of "Three Kings" are in the production and director Joel - Filming under Cohen's lead while Joel Coen's brother Ethan Coen is inspecting the facility..."
"Before changing, this is simply impossible!"
"The Coen Brothers only focus on creation, why would they focus on other piecemeal projects?"
"There are too many production directors doing chores under him, and they don't need to worry about trivial things at all!"
"But what about today? He stopped shooting and checked every link himself!"
"It's so abnormal, there must be something big happening!"
"Did you hear something?" The fat man turned his head to look at the thin man and asked curiously.
"I'm in the same class as you, you don't know, so what do I know?"
Shou Zhugan shrugged and said, "I'm just guessing, do you understand guessing?"
"Hi!" Hearing this, the fat man rolled his eyes and leaned back on the chair back, "I thought you knew something."
Should be acting like this, Shouzhugan raised his eyebrows even more, "Why are you like this?"
Faced with his companion's complaints, the fat man simply didn't bother to pay attention.
The small mung bean-like eyes moved to the monitor again, and cast a curious gaze on the colorful screen.
Under his gaze, project teams from other factories also arrived one after another, and like the three major film crews, those small-cost project teams and TV drama project teams were also frantically checking for gaps.
The state of hard work is like a candidate who is about to go to the battlefield. He is afraid that he has not brought his admission ticket and ID card, not to mention that he is afraid that he will turn the black pen into blue.
While they were checking, the time was also passing by every minute and every second. When the hands of the clock quietly approached half past eight, a low-key black Buick also quietly entered the set. When he got out of the car, the fat man who was watching the monitor suddenly yelled, "Wow! Isn't this Stacy Schneider?"
"Why is she here!"
"Could it be that those people checked themselves first because they knew she was coming?"
Stacy Schneider, graduated from California State University, soon after getting a law degree, became Jerry Bruckheimer's secretary. After seven years at Sony, she came to Universal at the beginning of this year and was promoted to the president of the film company.
Although a new official took office and was in a high position, for the guy watching the surveillance, calling out is instinctive.
After all, this is what they eat.
Same as security, if they don't recognize people, they will have a lot of fun.
However, after hearing the surprised words of his companion, the thin man, who was already dissatisfied with the fat man's attitude, provoked a thorn.
"Aren't you talking nonsense?"
"Although Stacy Schneider is the president of the film company, she still has a certain gap compared with those big names."
"If she was alone, Sean Penn, Julia Roberts, the Coen Brothers who were on set could handle her, and Sidney Pollack and Danny DeVito wouldn't be at all because of She showed up!"
Maybe it's because the thin man's words are full of sarcasm, but it's also possible that he really knows a lot, so after hearing such an analysis, the fat man who thought that the thin man's colleagues could not bring him insider information suddenly became greasy. Ignoring the previous unhappiness, he asked, "Then you mean, the president, Stacy Schneider, is just a pathfinder?"
"I didn't say that!" Seeing that the fat man asked himself for advice again, the corners of the thin man's mouth twitched, "But..."
"Based on her status in the circle, her position really cannot allow a bigwig like Sidney Pollack to come to the scene in person."
The words full of class discrimination aroused the fat man's interest.
He took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket, and was about to take out one to light it, but the next second, the sound of "cough cough cough" made him wake up.
"This is the monitoring room! There is a smoke alarm!"
"If you don't want to do it anymore, then just report your resignation and don't get me involved!"
Although he was spat back by the thin man, the fat man didn't care. Instead, he got up and made two cups of coffee, and served them in front of the other party, "Brother, you came here earlier than me, and you know more than me. Tell me about it." chant~"
Should be satisfied with such an attitude, although he understands that after he satisfies the fat man's thirst for knowledge, this guy will make a bad face like before, but that doesn't matter at all, right?
Because the next time he wants to know something, he will still shout sweetly.
So, after taking a sip of his coffee, he looked at the picture on the monitor screen and started talking...
"In our industry, the hierarchy is much more complicated than other circles."
"In other industries, the president of a company is quite a big position. Those who work down there, big and small, have to look at their faces. But in our line of work, the president is also very big. Yes, there are quite a few people under their control, but at the same time, there are also many people who work, and they don't need to look at their faces to act. Not only that, many times, in front of these big names, the president is just a position that can be replaced at any time That's all."
"Because whether these presidents can secure their positions depends on the company's performance, and how does our entertainment company's performance come from? Don't we still rely on various film and television drama projects? If it is an ordinary director, screenwriter, lighting, set, Actors, these presidents naturally step on them whenever they want, but if it's a popular actress like Julia Roberts..."
"Do you see these guys talking to her?"
While the thin man was speaking, Stacey Schneider, president of Universal Pictures in the surveillance screen, was already wandering around various project teams in a planned way.
She first went to the crew of "A Woman and Four Men" with the most big names, then switched to the studio of "Never Compromise" with Julia Roberts, and then went to "Never Compromise" with the Coen Brothers and George Clooney. "Prison Break Three Kings" stayed there for a while, and finally...
is wandering back and forth in the miscellaneous photography room.
As the thin man said, in the first three crews, the executive producer was responsible for the reception. The producer would chat with her for a few words before continuing to follow the filming. No one would stop their work because of her arrival. Work.
But the following projects of low-cost film and television dramas are different.
When they learned that the president of the film company was coming towards them, they took a break from filming, and they just finished filming the part they were filming, so they stopped in the name of finding a feeling. work on.
After the other party arrived, these guys came up to say hello like licking a dog.
Unfortunately-
Facing these enthusiastic guys, Stacey Schneider stayed far longer than the three crew leaders before.
"So, you mean..." Fatty turned his head and guessed curiously as he watched the various aspects of life conveyed from the surveillance video, "This is the chairman of the film industry? Lon Meyer?"
Since August 1995, Lon Meyer has served as the chairman of the board of directors and chief operating officer of Universal Pictures. Although he has not produced any big hit projects, he is still the biggest boss of Universal Pictures.
Since the surveillance footage has proved that those creative bigwigs are not behind Stacy Schneider, the only person Fatty can think of is him.
But in the eyes of the thin man, this guess is actually a little bit worse.
"Although Lon Meyer is the chairman of the board of directors of Universal Pictures, there are still many people who can make him look up and speak, like Steven Spielberg, and the "Tornado" led by DreamWorks is the leader of Lon Meyer. It is a project that he desperately wants to swallow, but in front of Spielberg, how much Universal can invest is simply not what he can decide."
"As for the project of "Jurassic Park 2", Universal under his leadership doesn't even have the right to participate."
"Although these guys at the scene don't have the same power as Spielberg, those old men can at least sit on an equal footing with him, and let them rush over early in the morning to wait for someone? It's too unrealistic..."
The thin man's words made the fat man raise his eyebrows. Looking at the monitor, he returned to the studio of "Never Compromise" to observe the filming of Stacy Schneider. His eyeballs rolled up. , "Could it be someone from Universal?"
On March 5, 1995, Seagram Liquor Group in Canada acquired American Music Company from Panasonic, and then, on July 10 of that year, CAA executive Lon Meyer was poached by Seagram. to Universal.
In December 1998, the entire company underwent a large-scale acquisition and reorganization, and Universal Music Group was born. However, Universal Pictures, which originally belonged to American Music Company, has not been spun off, so...
Universal Pictures is actually a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.
Although in Hollywood, when people mention Universal, they refer to Universal Pictures, but if they specifically emphasize Universal, they are talking about the father of Universal Pictures, Universal Music Group.
No way, as a non-profitable subsidiary, Universal Pictures is just a stinky brother.
The fat man's analysis made the thin man very satisfied, "I also think it might be someone from Universal..."
"Although these big names don't pay attention to the executives of the film company, they will not be too stingy in front of the real financial backers. In addition, Universal Music is the parent company of Universal Pictures, so if it is true today Those executives are here, and building a good relationship with them will do more good than harm for these guys!"
Such an analysis made Fatty agree.
Although the topic they were talking about had nothing to do with them, isn't it a pleasure for them to watch those guys who are usually high above them humiliate others?
Usually, the ones who deal with them the most are the production directors of each area.
Looking through surveillance cameras when you lose something, deleting records when there is a scandal, being secretly photographed to find the real culprit...
Whenever something bad happens, they are always the first ones called to ask questions.
Of course, if it's a simple question, it's fine.
The point is that the attitude of those people is arrogant, making them feel like a prisoner being interrogated.
The hush-hush request afterwards made them feel even more humiliated.
You guys made a bunch of **** up yourselves and you made us shut up?
You guys are a jerk!
Not even paying for hush money!
If it wasn’t for the good salary of this job, they would have quit long ago, but even if the salary is good, it can’t resist people’s greed. In the past, when faced with oppression, they could only be obedient, but now...
Although he is hiding behind the monitor and punching hard, as long as he can watch that guy who looks like a dog bend over and laugh—
This is already a steady profit without losing money!
"Look, aren't you a dog too?"
Drinking coffee and humming a song, watching those big guys sitting patiently in the studio under the sun for a long time, blowing on the air conditioner, let alone how happy they are, and waiting for the time to quietly reach nine o'clock, Lon Meyer, also appeared.
As they had guessed, Lang Meyer, who had a higher status, only went around the three important film crews, and then got together with the producers, chatting in the cooler rest area.
Isn't this obviously waiting for someone!
It wasn't until about half past nine that an old man with gray hair appeared by car.
When the black leather shoes step on the hot ground, and the neatly ironed formal clothes are stretched on the body meticulously, even if there is no feeling of going out, even though two screens are separated, the fat and thin Toutuo can still feel that there is a wave of heat, which is ruthless. Ruthless package!
Following his appearance, he had already received the news, and all the people who arrived at the scene and waited surrounded him.
Lon Meyer was the first to shake hands and hug him, followed by Sidney Pollack and other famous directors. After they finished greeting, it was the turn of Stacy Schneider and some celebrities in the circle. go say hello.
"Who is this guy!" The fat man trembled, and almost smashed the cup in his hand, "Isn't he hot?"
Although this question is very naive, the thin man doesn't care.
Because at this moment he—
The facial features are almost bursting out of the cheeks!
"Fuck! Isn't this Frank Biondi?" Looking at the old man on the screen, the thin man exclaimed.
But the fat man was still confused after hearing the name, "Frank Biondi? Who is he?"
"Don't you know?" The thin man turned his head quickly, looked at his colleague suspiciously, and then turned his gaze back in the shortest possible time, "Frank Biondi is the CEO of Viacom!"
"In 1996, he was recruited from Viacom to Universal by our boss Edgar Bronfman Jr. He is now the chairman and CEO of Universal!"
"Don't talk about Universal Pictures, even in Universal Music, he is the biggest!"
"Because he reports directly to Edgar Bronfman Jr.!"
Edgar Bronfman Jr. is the foolish rich second generation who controls Seagram and can sell DuPont's stock worth 12 billion for 9 billion, but even if he is stupid, he can't It is not something that Fat and Thin Toutuo can compare to.
So when the fat man learned that the old man in front of him could represent the will of the biggest boss of the group, he who was still watching the fun became excited. Not only that, he also fantasized and asked—
"Does this mean that the head office wants to vigorously develop Universal Pictures?"
"Last year, the head office spent 10.6 billion to buy Polygram, making Universal Music the largest record company in the world. So this year, do they also want to make some big moves for Universal Pictures?"
"The "Mummy" we released this year has a box office of 400 million!"
"The release of "Notting Hill" also has more than 300 million yuan!"
"Do they think that the film company has a good performance and has the potential to become bigger, so they come to the set to see?"
"And if they are willing to inject funds, doesn't that mean that our treatment also has a lot of room for improvement?"
The thin man was beeping in a daze when he heard the dream-like words.
The big boss here just came down to inspect, and you are thinking of getting promoted and raising your salary?
Brother die, you probably didn't wake up!
But just when he wanted to spit out a few words viciously and let the fat man stuff the shit-like thoughts back into his mind, the changes in the characters on the monitoring screen made him swallow the words that came to his lips again .
Because when Lon Meyer and those guys all greeted Frank Biondi, they didn't intend to enter the set for inspection at all, but just stayed where they were.
The appearance of stopping and looking up, seems to be waiting for someone.
In such a situation, the thin man frowned, because in his opinion, the only one in the entire group that could welcome Frank Biondi in this way was the big boss of the group company, the current chairman of Seagram, and Edgar Jr. Bronfman —
's daddy!
Yes, in his eyes, Edgar Bronfman Jr. did not deserve the welcome of Frank Biondi.
Because of Frank Biondi, he was with Summer Redstone before!
As one of Summer Redstone's two lieutenants, Frank Biondi was invited by Edgar Bronfman Jr. to manage the entertainment company!
Edgar Bronfman Jr. begged him to save the company, not him begging for shit!
For this kind of guy who can go anywhere in the world, a dude like Edgar Bronfman Jr. will never win his respect. Even if the other party wants to come to inspect, this old man will just wait for the other party inside. so-
"Does that mean there are big bosses coming?"
When this conjecture was blurted out by the thin man, he himself was taken aback by the thought, but just when he wanted to shake his head and put this unrealistic thought behind him, he also noticed something was wrong The fat man suddenly pointed at the monitor at the gate and shouted: "Oh my goodness! Another car is coming!"
"No! It's three!"
Hearing these words, the thin man immediately turned his eyes and looked in the direction of the fat man's finger.
An ordinary black Mercedes-Benz, without showing any identification, just honked the car horn twice, and the guard at the door pulled up the railing and waved to let it go.
As it entered the field, the other two vehicles following behind also entered directly, without any explanation at all.
This scene made Fat and Thin Toutuo’s eyes widen. As the place where the content of the Sixth Congress is produced, unless they are familiar with their own people, how could it be possible to obtain admission permission just by swiping the license plate?
But if it’s my own—
"Could it be that several other companies want to acquire Universal?"
"Or maybe Universal wants to acquire other film companies?"
Besides these two reasons, the thin man couldn't think of any other explanation!
Because if it's any other small business, there's no need for Frank Biondi to come forward!
But if it is the first type, it is bad news for them!
Because all the acquisitions will bring the bad news of layoffs!
If it's the second type, that's good news for them!
Because all acquisitions will bring about a salary increase decision!
It is precisely because they feel that their future life has been dominated by those three Mercedes-Benz, so after seeing the figure of the car, they widened their eyes and tried hard to catch the unknown movement.
And when the car stopped firmly in front of the group headed by Frank Biondi—
Fat and thin Toutuo's breathing has stagnated.
At this moment, their hearts are always saying "MGM! MGM! MGM!"
Because apart from MGM, Warner, Disney, Fox, Paramount, and Sony are not acquired by Universal!
However, just as their hearts were beating faster, looking forward to the coming of a better life, the young man who got out of the car made them stunned on the spot, not because he was too young, but because he was dressed too casually!
Flower shirt…
Beach Shorts…
flip flops…
There is also a toad mirror on the nose...
Compared with those social elites in suits and leather shoes, he is just here to make a joke!
Not only that, after getting out of the car, he just nodded his head in front of the old men and women who were obviously waiting for him, and then ran to the other side, opening the door...
This scene left Fat and Thin Toutuo confused!
Which family’s rich second generation is this?
Why are you so arrogant!
But after the young man opened the car door and led the young woman in casual clothes out of the car, the unshielded face made the fat and thin Toutuo in the monitoring room jump up immediately!
"Fuck!!!"
"Isn't this Kate Winslet?!!"
"That man can be so close to her? That means he is Roland Allen!!"
"My God!"
"So many people have been waiting since eight o'clock in the morning! The bosses of the film company and the music group are all present, but the one waiting is Roland Allen? This... this... this..."
"What's going on???!!"
(end of this chapter)