Rebirth of America, this is my time

Chapter 160 Steve Ross

Oh Michael - you misunderstood. I didn't look down on you Paramount, let alone Star Trek. This project now is purely a temporary idea. If you have inquired about its specific situation, then you should know , Dan O'Bannon has been in contact with you a long time ago, but the project was stalled due to some personal reasons. Now his partner has found me, and George has convinced him. So simple……

Hi Tang En, yes, yes, I am here in Los Angeles again... Oh, my trip this time was just a beautiful accident... No, No, No, I like you Disney very much. You know, I watched Mickey grow up. Older child, when I was little, the thing I looked forward to the most was to have my aunt and uncle take me to Disneyland in Anaheim... Ah - this project is still a live-action science fiction film, and the script is written by Luca Si Pictures... I also want to cooperate with Disney, but if I remember correctly, we at Disney don’t seem to have live-action film business? Oh - this is really a pity -

Hello Mr. Sheinberg~ I have heard your story from Steven a long time ago. Your training and care for him is really a good story in Hollywood... Yes, yes! I Now in Los Angeles, we are working on a film project. Steven should have told you everything, right? Okay, okay, after the project budget comes out, if we lack funds, we will definitely come to you, Universal...what? ?Distribution? Oh - I don't understand this - Steven and George are the producers of this film, I gave them carte blanche on the film project... Oh! I understand, when Steven comes back , I will definitely ask him carefully how the film industry works...

Roy? Oh my good friend, why are you here-

That's right!

The so-called Put Liu Da in his belt and move forward and Break Liu Da's head are just Ethan's words in front of Xiaosi's classmate, just for fun, just pretending to be a little bit. ~

As for really ignoring the six tough Hollywood?

Ethan Jones is indeed handsome, but his handsomeness does not come from his IQ!

When the Hollywood giants are notorious, and Fox even said in person that it was the six major Hollywood giants who jointly forced North American theaters to ban the purchase of electronic arcade machines to prevent their box office revenue from being diluted by emerging entertainment, no matter how confident he is, Ethan Jones , and it is impossible to foolishly declare war on the six major powers.

Just like this, when classmate Xiao Lu persuaded Dan O'Bannon, he said that as long as he sold the Star Monster script in his hand, when his director skills improved in the future, Lucasfilm and Ethan's Destiny Game would support him in filming. After making his own movie, the first thing Ethan did was to set up a wholly-owned subsidiary called Destiny Pictures in Los Angeles under the name Destiny Game, and then used the price of 50,000 US dollars and the box office of a single movie to , video tapes, TV license fees, novel publishing license fees, movie character peripheral toys, and 50% of the revenue, as well as the right to author the sequel, the Alien script was completed in an aboveboard and aboveboard manner.

Although it seems like a lot is given, it is actually not much. Because Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett can only draw $50,000 when five incomes hit $100 million.

And this price is actually the industry price in Hollywood.

no way……

No matter which circle you are in, as a newcomer, it means you will be exploited.

If you want to make big money, you either have to be lucky like George Lucas and give up your income from a single movie in exchange for the copyright of a super IP, or you have to become a son of the plane like Steven Spielberg. A movie becomes a hit, and it stays popular for decades.

As the news was released, the film company executives who had visited earlier used their magic to get the phone number of Ethan's new company. They called without hesitation, followed by a series of complaints and solicitations.

Michael Eisner, the president of Paramount, said bluntly on the other end of the phone that Ethan looked down on Paramount. Otherwise, why would he choose to make movies alone?

Disney CEO Tatum said sadly that children at Disneyland are actually looking forward to the characters on the screen jumping lively on the screen.

Sidney Sheinberg, CEO and President of MCA, expressed surprise at Ethan's choice, but because he has a good relationship with Steven Spielberg, he was direct when the call came. An invitation to co-produce was sent to Ethan, and he expressed his willingness to contribute funds to create a science fiction thriller with Ethan. He was also willing to take on the distribution work, so that Ethan could concentrate on making games.

Yes, even if Ethan has not made any statement to the outside world, the whole world knows that he will make games for the new movie. There is no reason, just believe it.

In this case, there were naturally no shortage of greetings from other companies. The most interesting one was undoubtedly Roy Disney. After learning that Ethan had established his own film company at the speed of light, he rushed directly to the company. When I arrived at the office building that Destiny Pictures had just rented in Century City, I looked at the office area that had not yet been set up, and said sadly: Oh Ethan - why did you make your own movie?

And it's a science fiction movie?

Although the current situation of science fiction is very good, fairy tales are eternal!

Because in this world, children's money is the best thing to earn!

Those who like science fiction are adult men. Most of them have their own worldview. If you produce content they like, they will pursue you crazily and put you on the altar. But if one day in the future, you If your point of view cannot be accepted by them, they will definitely leave you without mercy! So, even if you want to make a movie, you should make animation!

When Roy Disney held Ethan's hand and advised him not to go astray, his sincere words almost made Ethan cry! Then... he summoned Gary Kurtz, the general manager of Destiny Pictures, and asked him to accompany Roy Disney while he fled.

If he didn't know about the infighting within the Disney family, Ethan Jones might still listen carefully to Roy Disney's advice, but now...

Do you want me to be a gunman?

Ah--

There are no doors!

The windows are blocked for you too!

Speaking of Gary Kurtz, the general manager of Destiny Pictures, he was the first employee after the film company was officially established. He was born in 1940, making him exactly 47 this year.

Entering the industry in 1965, his first job was as an assistant director to Monte Hellman, assisting him in the filming of the film Frightened Goddess. Although the movie was not well-known, it brought him a lot of connections because it starred a young Jack Nicholson.

Later, he produced many films as a producer. In the early 1970s, he collaborated with Francis Coppola and became the producer of American Style Painting. Because the cooperation was very comfortable, he later , George Lucas invited him to take charge of the Star Wars crew.

In the future, if there is another Star Wars 2, the two will definitely collaborate again.

When Ethan saw this resume, he knew that this guy would be a good steward, because this guy not only had rich production experience, but also had a good teacher. Gary Kurtz studied in Hollywood B-level movies. Roger Corman, the king of the company, has done a lot of work for him. When Roger Corman can push him out, then this guy will definitely be able to control the budget of the company's projects.

no way……

Who makes Roger Corman the most famous mogul in Hollywood?

And when the company has been established, the script has been obtained, the general manager has been in place, and the lineup of producers is unprecedented, and then... it is estimated that only they themselves can copy it, the film project will proceed naturally, waiting for everyone. We sit down together to study whether the script needs to be revised by a script doctor, and then propose a budget based on the script, and then when the directors in the evaluation circle try to invite...

Ethan didn't say anything and crossed out the name on the script first.

Then he wrote Alien.

Such a situation attracted doubtful looks from everyone. He shrugged and said: I think the name Alien is enough, just like Jaws, you can't let the audience see horror just from the title. That just prepares them mentally.”

Everyone was stunned by this explanation, and then nodded.

Since the boss who paid the money couldn't stand the original title of the show, it was just a matter of changing it.

After classmate Xiao Lu stared at the script for a while, he smiled and said: Ethan, do you have any other ideas? For example, actors? Director? And plot?

Do you need us to design any plot for the game?

At the same time, he also said bluntly: Although Steven and I can accept your intervention on the project, we both hope that your intervention should be completed now.

Because when the project is officially in operation, if you interfere with the project, it may have an impact on the production of the film. After all, those in our line of work are more or less artistic pursuits. Steven doesn't like others. Edit his movies, and I... at most I can tolerate him editing my movies, and other people... even if I am more civilized, I will say Go out.

Oh - no more - Ethan liked Lucas' serious attitude.

What happens next is up to you. He smiled and clapped his hands.

Although Ethan could decide who would direct the movie, he didn't want to.

The reason is also very simple, that is, there is Steven Spielberg in the producer column.

As the most successful director in the commercial field, the cumulative box office record that only James Cameron can break has proven his talent in movies. In this case, changing his name is enough, and the rest is Yes, that is to make a game based on the prototype of the monster in the movie.

Ethan's letting go allowed the discussion of the project to continue, but while Stoudemire and Xiao Lu took over the power of producers, there was an undercurrent in the calm outside world.

Burbank, Warner Headquarters, Chairman and CEO Steve Ross is leaning on the boss's chair with a high back, his eyes slightly closed, his face solemn, and he is carefully listening to the reports of the row of subordinates in front of him.

According to our latest survey results, the cumulative sales of the video game Star Wars launched by Destiny Games this year has exceeded 30,000 units. Judging from the sensational effect caused by Star Wars in our country, the popularity of this game in our country Total sales may exceed 50,000 units, bringing at least 100 million in cash income to Destiny Games.

At the same time, the products of Destiny Games have also caused a sensation in this book. Snake has brought Ethan Jones at least 20 million US dollars in revenue, Pac-Man is expected to reach 50 million, and According to the information we heard from Fox, they have reached a consensus with Ethan Jones and are preparing to launch the Star Wars movie in this submarket next summer. Since both of them have already cooperated, the Star Wars game The guaranteed income in this book should exceed 100 million.

Although these expected revenues cannot be realized immediately, the current value of Destiny Games should exceed one billion US dollars, and their cash reserves should be more than 30 million US dollars.

Because they are unlisted companies, we can't get the share ratio, but...

This company should be fully controlled by Ethan Jones because his sister has not had any financial disputes with him so far.

A white man with a straight face carefully read the document in his hand.

His words made Warner Chairman Steve Ross nod slightly, Yeah.

Steve Ross nasalizes the sound to show he knows.

Then he waved his hand and said: Next one.

As soon as he finished speaking, another white man in a suit immediately raised the document in his hand and reported: Chairman, according to your request, we have carefully investigated Apple Computer Company.

So far, Apple Computer's main product is the APPLE 2 personal computer developed by Steve Wozniak, with a market share of about 30%, second in the industry.

The performance of this computer is not the best in the industry, and there is no advantage in price. Their real selling points are all piled up in the color image display produced by Steve Wozniak and the accompanying video game functions. So far, There are already more than 30 electronic game cards in circulation on the market. Users only need to follow the instructions on the electronic game card and enter the corresponding code into the machine, and then they can play games on the computer. This educational and entertaining method has been favored by A lot of popular reception.”

Furthermore, as far as we know, the current CEO of Apple Computer, Steve Jobs, is interested in discussing procurement cooperation with major schools in our country. The selling point is that their computers can teach programming.

Although we did not analyze whether the cooperation they are seeking is feasible before coming here, we have calculated their expected revenue this year. Based on their current shipments, their main business revenue this year should exceed One hundred million.”

The total value of the company should also exceed one billion US dollars.

Ethan Jones holds 30% of the shares and is estimated to be worth more than... 300 million.

When the number 300 million was mentioned, the voice of the white man who reported the report trembled.

Although it quickly returned to normal, everyone present captured the subtle change.

Such a situation made Warner Chairman Steve Ross chuckle lightly as he closed his eyes to relax.

He waved his hand again and said, Next one.

At his call, a third white man appears.

Chairman, according to your request, we have carefully investigated Chuck Pato Chip Company. Chuck Pato Chip Company is a subsidiary of MOS. It was established to avoid the legal issues of MOS 6502. So far, They have sold over 400,000 6502 chips.

Although their chip shipments are higher than those of Intel and Motorola, their operating income is not good because of the low selling price. Perhaps it is because the products are selling well but they cannot make money, so when MOS started to develop sixteen When it came to the 16-bit chip, some people in the chip team were dissatisfied with the product pricing issues and chose to leave, which caused difficulties in producing the 16-bit chip.

This situation has made MOS Company very anxious, and according to the information we have received, the shareholders of this company are also very dissatisfied with the difficult childbirth. Among their shareholders, the most dissatisfied is Alan Bu Radley, an automation equipment manufacturing company based in Milwaukee.

When the name Allen Bradley appeared, Steve Ross suddenly opened his eyes.

He looked at his subordinates and said, If I remember correctly, this is a military company?

Yes. The white subordinate said quickly.

Why do they hold a majority stake in MOS?

Because during the calculator war, they provided chips for Texas Instruments, so they invested in MOS. However, overnight, those calculator manufacturers were destroyed by HP.

The reason is clear to Steve Ross.

Then he closed his eyes again and said, Next one.

When the fourth white man came forward, he reported on the situation of Jones and Johnson Agricultural Production Company, According to the latest information we got, Ethan Jones and his family currently own more than 6,000 acres in Santa Clara County. Agricultural land is used by local farmers.”

Ethan Jones' uncle, Thomas Johnson, the father of his sister Evelyn Johnson, has been invited by the local agricultural cooperative organization. If nothing happens, he will get a position when the next organization changes. .”

As the report ended, Warner Chairman Steve Ross, who was leaning there, moved his index finger slightly and knocked on the armrest. When the clicking sound appeared, everyone present felt their hearts hurt.

The inexplicable pressure made them want to escape from here.

As soon as this thought came up, Steve Ross laughed——

Ethan Jones was born in 1955, right?

Twenty-two years old this year?

A twenty-two-year-old child has already mastered such a huge wealth?

Wow - this speed is faster than drilling for oil -

Although he sighed, there was no smile on his face.

When he opened his eyes again, his cloudy eyes were full of sharpness.

A guy like this came to Hollywood and said it was an accident? Do you believe it?

His eyes swept over the bodies of several subordinates one by one.

Those guys drooped their heads, and no one answered.

Because, just two months ago! They, Warner, are still fighting the Destiny Game with fists and fists!

So far, their reputational lawsuit between Warner and Destiny Games has stalled!

This result made Steve Ross raise his eyebrows and said: You don't believe it, do you?

very good--

Then tell me, what should we do in the face of Ethan Jones's active punch?

Um?

That's right!

While other companies were openly asking Ethan about the situation, the Warner headquarters was completely ice-cold!

If for other companies, Ethan Jones's behavior is difficult to understand, then for Warner, the founder of this Chiguoguo company is a demonstration!

Ethan Jones had just destroyed their Atari subsidiary in the video game industry, and then jumped right into what Warner Brothers does best, movies?

This damn fist was swung in their faces!

Other film and television companies may be able to wait and see, but they cannot!

The silence of his subordinates also made Steve Ross turn away.

He crossed his arms and laughed.

What's wrong?

Afraid?

If you are scared if something like this happens, then you should leave Warner as soon as possible!

You are not welcome in this company with more than fifty years of history!

Such words made the Warner executives standing in a row look grim.

After looking at each other for a moment with the chairman of the company, the white man responsible for collecting the specific situation of Destiny Games said, Boss, after two months of rest, Atari's current situation is far beyond expectations. The current CEO Red Mon Casa has officially approved the project for Superman, and if nothing else happens, the Superman arcade game will be launched together with the movie.

When we introduce Superman, a character with market influence, to the public, it will definitely gain more public attention. We tentatively set the time for Christmas next year because of the popularity of Star Wars at that time. It will definitely decline, and Ethan Jones actually likes to squeeze out the market value of a product, so according to our estimates...

His next game will be in 1979 at the earliest.

We can regain some of the lost market before that happens.

Very good. This report satisfied Warner head Steve Ross.

He nodded with a smile and moved his gaze to the second person.

In this situation, the guy reporting to Apple took a step forward and said, Chairman, although our company may not be able to attack them in the computer business, when I was collecting intelligence about Apple, I discovered another news. In the personal computer market Commodore International, the company with the third largest market share, had collaborated with Allen Bradley, the parent company of MOS, in the calculator field, and they also supplied Texas Instruments.

Although they have not shown any cooperation matters so far,...for Commodore International, acquiring MOS may be the best way to regain its market position, and we feel that they may be waiting for the 16th The advent of the chip.”

Okay! This news made Warner boss Steve Ross' eyes light up.

I understand what you mean. He nodded.

Then, he turned his gaze to the third subordinate.

Although his colleagues had already told him what he was doing, the Warner executive who was investigating Chuck Padre's chip company did not show any timidity, but smiled and said: Boss, the acquisition of MOS can be executed, because as far as we know , another company is also eyeing them, and that company is called Rockwell.”

Because according to their announcement, they will launch a personal computer based on 6502 to the market next year. If this product is good, they will definitely acquire the MOS company, or in other words, they will definitely acquire the MOS company. Most of the stock is Allen Bradley's, because by acquiring them, they can become the largest defense contractor in our country, and at the same time, they can obtain the full power of 6502.

Well—— This information made Steve Ross give a thumbs up.

But when he turned his attention to the fourth person, the guy who was investigating the land issue talked about something else, Boss, they did a very clean job on the land issue.

There's probably nothing we can do.

But we have sent people to monitor their factories. So far, they have no intention of expanding production. That is to say, as of yesterday, they have not made a home console.

The reason why I say they are not doing it is because we firmly believe that they are definitely doing it, because according to the information we have received, they seem to want to join forces with the Stanford research team to conduct research on optical storage. If nothing else, this thing may It will be used on home consoles.”

So, my suggestion is, send the message—

To Philips.

The fourth person looked at his boss seriously.

Bah bang bang - His behavior caused Steve Ross to applaud and said happily: Brothers! You are great!

Although Ethan is very powerful now, if it is a sniper in a single industry, it may not pose much threat to him, but we at Warner never do those boring things, right?

And while you are working hard, I have prepared a surprise for you!

Now--

You'll hear better news!

Before he finished speaking, Steve Ross picked up the phone on the table and dialed the company's short number.

A moment later, there was a knock on the office door from outside.

He tilted his head slightly and motioned to his subordinates to open the door. As the visitors appeared, everyone present widened their eyes!

Nolan? they exclaimed.

Why are you here? they asked.

Nolan Bushnell, who had a beard, came to Steve Ross with a smile and saluted him respectfully. After the other person nodded, he turned around with a smile and looked at the man before. colleagues.

Brothers - he said: Steve is an excellent leader, and he knows that the failure of Atari New Generation has nothing to do with me.

The reason he hurriedly fired me was because he wanted me to get more information, more information related to Ethan Jones.

And now, I have results, and I can share it with everyone.

First, Ethan Jones had a falling out with his book partner, Nintendo.

It's not appropriate for me to say more about the specifics, but I've already reported it to Steve.

This news is absolutely true.

Second, a strong ally of Ethan Jones is in trouble. His sister's teacher, Professor Vinton Cerf, who went to DoD, is being harassed by a private company.

This information comes from my former partner Don Valentine, who is now paying attention to this company. If there is an opportunity, I think everyone can also learn about it, because if nothing else, it will be our ally, and It’s also in California, it’s called Software Development Lab, and its founder is Larry Ellison——”

Warner executives frowned upon hearing the overwhelming amount of information!

When they cast doubtful glances at their boss, the gray-haired Steve Ross laughed heartily.

Hahaha--

Ethan Jones may feel that the battle between businesses is product competition.

But in fact, the quality of the product is only the most basic and least important point, isn't it?

Even if he doesn't come to Hollywood, we at Warner Bros. won't let him go!

And now that he's here—

Then let's all have fun!

Our film and game project will be launched next year, right?

Then we will fight a protracted war with him!

And the horn...

Steve Ross grinned and said to the subordinate: Go, make an announcement in the name of Warner. From today on, all studios owned by Warner will not accept all rentals for projects related to Destiny Pictures. , all current employees of Warner are not allowed to participate in Destiny Pictures’ project invitations, and Warner’s audio reserves are not open to Destiny Pictures.”

“Didn’t Ethan Jones want to make movies?”

I let him do it!