King of Hollywood-Chapter 81 - Some Discussions
Chapter 81: Chapter 81 Some Discussions
A face shaped like the Chinese character for “apply,” with eyes that narrowed into a glint of shrewdness, a slightly balding forehead, and thin lips—that was Michael Eisner, the CEO of Disney, who transformed the company from an ordinary large business into the conglomerate it is today, and who would soon earn the title of “tyrant.”
“It is a pleasure to meet you again, Mr. Adrian,” Eisner said with a smile, offering his hand warmly. “Life is full of surprises, isn’t it? I remember when you were still a student at Stanford, a rebellious young man, and now you have already acquired the title of genius director.”
“Thank you. That’s because I had my own goals. Every young person has their rebellious phase, just as they have times when they work hard for their goals.” Adrian shook his hand.
Adrian had indeed met Eisner before at a party hosted by his parents, which is why the latter had said, “It is a pleasure to meet you again.” Of course, with Adrian’s personality back then, he had probably forgotten about it already.
“Indeed,” Eisner nodded in agreement with Adrian’s statement, “Laverne has mentioned on more than one occasion that you are the most talented and confident young person he has ever seen. I think he’s right.”
“Laverne is a good CEO.” Adrian offered a smile, saying no more, but inside he felt a deep sense of gratitude toward his mentor, having already been greeted by several film company executives prior to this.
After the pleasantries, Eisner didn’t mention anything more about the film industry and soon left with Ronris. After exchanging a few words with Claude, Ronris turned, smiling, and patted Adrian on the shoulder, “I hear you’ve been quite busy lately, Ed?”
“I’m sorry, Godfather, I should have taken the time to visit you and Beth…” Adrian said, apologetically.
“No worries, young people should spend their time building their careers. Although you took Crow from me, I don’t blame you for it, Ed,” Ronris said, shaking his head with a smile. “You were probably planning your move in the futures market about this time last year, right? I never imagined Crow could achieve so much; he clearly shouldn’t stay at my side.”
“Dad.” Claude couldn’t help but call out softly.
“It’s fine, Crow, you did well.” Ronris patted his son, “I am proud of you.”
Then he looked at Adrian: “Keep up the good work, Ed. The Soviet Union project was nicely done. You’ll succeed.”
“The Soviet Union project?” Adrian looked puzzled at his Godfather.
“Oh, right,” Ronris then realized, “Crow asked me not to tell you. He’s planning a surprise for you—of course, I think he actually just wants to show off a bit.”
At that moment, Claude covered his forehead with his hand, “Dad!”
“Alright, I didn’t say anything,” Ronris laughed heartily as he walked away from the two men toward another part of the room.
Watching the Godfather walk away, Adrian turned his gaze back to Claude, “Maybe you’d like to explain, Crow?”
“If you really want to know, I can tell you right now,” Claude said with a cheeky grin.
After a few minutes of thought, Adrian declined the idea, “All right, you can tell me when you’re ready. Of course, if the surprise isn’t impressive enough, you’re going to be in trouble, Crow.”
“Just wait and see,” Claude shrugged.
Adrian looked around, then let out a soft sigh, “I don’t know how to thank the Godfather.”
“Just work hard toward the goals you set for yourself,” Claude shrugged. “Speaking of which, Ed, why aren’t you willing to appear on TV shows or accept interviews? Although you currently have the reputation of a genius director and are making one film after another, in the eyes of outsiders and the public, you’re just a pretty good rookie director. Why not promote yourself more actively?”
“It’s not time yet,” Adrian smiled faintly. “Have you seen my previous film, ‘The Shawshank Redemption’? The constant suppression until the final explosive breakthrough; that sort of thing leaves a deeply lasting impression.”
Claude raised an eyebrow, “So, when do you plan to ‘explode’?”
“Soon,” Adrian smiled faintly again.
“Scent of a Woman,” “Pulp Fiction,” “Howards End,”—these three movies coming out next year were not just aimed at securing nominations for Best Actor and Actress or Best Director; they served an even more important purpose.
Four days after returning from The Godfather’s cocktail party, Adrian was persuaded by Claude to go to Ronris’s private horse ranch, um. Claude didn’t actually choose to play golf, even though he would have liked to see Adrian’s exasperated expression.
Since they were horseback riding, Adrian was happy to bring Kate along, for whom it was undoubtedly an exciting and interesting experience, as she had never ridden a horse before.
“Oh my god, Ed, I can barely stay on! I’m going to fall off!”
“It’s alright, don’t worry, I’m holding you. Even if you fall, I’ll be underneath to catch you.”
The two of them made several laps around the horse ranch together on one horse, with Kate screaming and shouting excitedly like a child, while Adrian held her soft body and enjoyed the comfort.
“Your little girlfriend is indeed quite cute; it seems like you’ve really fallen for this type,” Claude teased Adrian privately. Adrian just shrugged, avoiding the topic and continued to talk about corporate affairs.
Although they went to the horse ranch for leisure, it was also a good place to discuss business matters, especially for confidential business secrets; many private deals were settled in such places.
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AC Media’s current situation was very stable. As for Bossworth Film, needless to say, under Adrian’s leadership, despite some aggressive moves, its progress was still very solid. Sales for the novel version of “Resident Evil” were unspectacular, but the publishing company that had stabilized thanks to this book had already begun a new round of accumulation. As for the venture capital firm, Clinton had won the election but still had to wait until next year to take office, so they still needed to wait; after all, the Soviet Union was about to get started.
Therefore, the majority of their conversation revolved around the talent agency. Although Claude didn’t know much about the film industry, having grown up in Los Angeles, he understood the importance of a talent agency, as many management issues were interrelated.
“There are a few agents whose actors and directors are quite good; I think they’re worth holding onto,” Adrian recalled, “I’ll give you a list when I get back.”
“No problem. However, I’m currently planning to poach a senior executive to serve as CEO, I can’t always double as the CEO of the talent agency,” Claude said.
“The CEO of the talent agency?” Adrian raised an eyebrow, “I actually have a good candidate in mind.”
“Who?” Claude asked with interest.
“Not the right time yet,” Adrian shook his head. He had thought of a very suitable candidate thanks to Michael Eisner, but it wasn’t feasible yet, he would have to wait at least another two years.
“I suggest first trying to promote someone from within the company. Otherwise, if you poach someone and they leave in less than two years, it’s going to cost a lot of money,” he said.
(Sorry that tonight’s update is a bit late due to some things; continuing to ask for votes and bookmarks, sigh…)
