MTL - Exploiting Hollywood 1980-Chapter 845 Depression
Chapter 845 Depression of all industries
"Mr. Li, welcome..."
The captain of the business jet, no longer reserved in the past, came to the lounge to greet Ronald in person.
After Monday, the highest level of the Wall Street investment circle is very busy. They may hope to recover the losses in America from foreign financial markets. For example, the boss of the Quantum Fund, Solo, a Jew from Eastern Europe, has gone to Tokyo to supervise the battle and placed a large-scale empty order.
Others are speeding up collusion with the Federal Reserve and high-level federal government, hoping that the federal side can break the rules of the government's night watchmen, buy bonds and stocks in person, inject more liquidity into Wall Street, and stabilize the market in the run-on wave. situation.
But the number of these people is very small, and more investors are trapped in Wall Street, keeping a close eye on the market, hoping to recover a little loss from the rapidly changing market. Then deal with investors who want to withdraw after the market closes, begging.
Coupled with concerns about the future situation, the business of business jets is rapidly shrinking. At this time, the business jet leasing company that was able to grab Ronald's business and set off from Los Angeles to New York was lucky, and the captain also broke through. As usual, come with the stewardess to personally greet VIP guests who are still able to travel at this time.
"Hello, I remember that you were the one who flew the plane last time I went to New York?" Ronald looked at the captain with familiarity.
"It's us, I'm glad you can choose our company's plane." The beautiful stewardess came with the captain, a button on the collar was intentionally unbuttoned, and the hem of the skirt seemed to be modified by someone, making her look casual charming.
Ronald nodded to them, this time the plane can take off on time, because there are few passengers on commercial flights, which makes the already busy airport a bit empty.
"Ronald! Director Lee! Let me in! I know him... let me go".
A real estate agent in formal attire, with meticulous hair and a hard-working face, was struggling with the security guard at the door of the business jet lounge. He shouted desperately into the room, causing all the other passengers inside to turn their heads.
"I know, I know", Ronald hurriedly let him in, this is not Richard who helped to find him last week, a famous real estate agent near Beverly Hills, "Didn't I say it, I will talk about it when I come back, Now that the financial markets are in turmoil, I don't want to buy a house at this time."
"Hey," the agent tidied up his wrinkled clothes, and he said flatteringly to Ronald, "the latest news, Mr. Lee. Stallone's house is going to be sold, do you want it? His wife officially proposed Divorce, in order to divide the assets, the two can give a big discount, I was the first to get the news, and I will come to you immediately."
"If he wants to get a divorce, I'll wait patiently. Can the price be lowered?" Ronald knew about the house. It was located near the Golden Triangle business district on the tramway near Beverly Hills. A boutique buyer's store is less private.
"Of course, if you can't sell it, it will be lowered. But if you really want to get this house, I think it's better to start early. After all, the real estate here is very scarce, and there are many people from Japan seeking to buy it."
The agent smiled flatteringly. He didn’t believe in price cuts. He was patient... Ronald Lee and Stallone had a grudge, and it was a very rare opportunity to buy his house to humiliate each other.
"I don't have to get this house. The privacy there is not good. You should continue to help me choose among the properties near Beverly Hills north of the tramway." Ronald helped him straighten his collar After finishing, he and Richard turned and walked towards the boarding gate.
"Okay! Mr. Li, I'll help you watch. When you come back, if there is a price change, I will notify you first."
"I haven't disclosed it to anyone..." Richard saw that something was wrong, and immediately swore to Ronald to clarify.
"It's okay. In CAA and Hollywood, there are quite a few people who know about this. After I come back, you have to be tight-lipped if you help me change an agent." Ronald waved his hand to indicate that it had nothing to do with Richard. Even if he wants to buy Stallone's house to retaliate face to face, he will not buy it directly like this. He must find an anonymous fake buyer, and then show up when the money is cleared. Otherwise, if the other party took the opportunity to raise the price, wouldn't it be helping the Italian stallion instead?
But do you really want to play like this? It is also very rare to see Stallone's crooked mouth... No, his mouth is crooked.
…
Cranky Ronald fell asleep on the plane.
"Let the river flow!
Let all dreamers, wake up this country!
Come, New Jerusalem! "
On the plane, it seemed that because he was closer to God, Ronald dreamed of the scene overlooking New York City from the sky when he flew to New York last time.
The singing female voice is very high-pitched and bright, the melody of the song has a hint of piety of a church choir, and the lyrics seem to sing praises of this new city favored by God, the holy city of capitalism, the new Jerusalem-New York.
The shot is a shot of an office window from high above, a blonde woman in a high-shoulder padded suit is on the phone inside. Then the aerial camera slowly zoomed out, and more windows were pulled into the frame, and there were busy men and women on the phone in each frame.
Then more windows, more office buildings, and finally the entire city skyline of office buildings.
Ronald recognized it, this block is near Wall Street in Lower Manhattan.
This editing is quite clever, I didn’t even recognize the editing point right away, a continuous long shot from close-up to super long shot, edited seamlessly, as if it was really shot on an airplane.
For this shot, a master editor, like Walter Murch, must be involved in the design before shooting, and then on-site guidance is required during shooting, so that a suitable picture can be shot.
Ronald thought about how to shoot this kind of shot, and he seemed to fly to the shooting scene in his dream: "Everyone get in position, let's do it again, this time we must strictly follow Walter's instructions, can it be done?" De picked up the megaphone and yelled.
"Ronald? It's easy for you to say, come and try aerial photography... It's so cold that your hands are stiff." It seems that the photographer is not happy.
"Come on, let's do it one last time. I only applied for one day of shooting time." Ronald had no choice but to soften his words so as not to annoy the photographer.
"Why don't you do it yourself?" The photographer, relying on the support of the trade union, made a gesture to Ronald. Those who are not union members and have not registered with the photographers union are not qualified to take the camera at all.
"Damn it, you can do it yourself!" Ronald pushed the photographer away and boarded the helicopter by himself.
"Ronald, don't, it's dangerous...the Huey helicopter for aerial photography has no doors, come down quickly", a woman's voice seemed to be anxiously stopping Ronald.
"Ronald...Ronald,...Mr. Lee"
"Ah...?" Ronald's dream was interrupted by the blonde stewardess, she squatted beside Ronald, bent down and called out softly.
"Um, are you here?" Ronald raised his head abruptly, almost bumping into the blond stewardess who missed a button, rubbed his eyes quickly, and looked out the porthole.
Outside the window, there are already thousands of lights. In Manhattan, New York at night, the light covers the moon in the sky. It really deserves to be the city that never sleeps, the new Jerusalem.
"Huh? Why does it seem that the lights of many buildings are not on today? Even the lights of the World Trade Center are much weaker?"
Ronald didn't know if it was his own illusion, but he always felt that the light of New York was beginning to dim tonight.
…
"Why are the lights not turned on in the office here?" Ronald got out of the super fast elevator of the World Trade Center, and found that only the corridor on the destination floor was lit, and the lights on both sides of the office, which were always on when no one was there, were all turned off.
"As you can see, many companies that do hedging, stock index futures, and portfolio insurance business have been liquidated. So the tenants on some floors here have run away and no one is there.
I’ve complained to the building’s property to turn on the lights in the office, Manhattan’s skyscrapers can’t turn off the lights just because the company goes bankrupt…”
"Portfolio insurance, what is that?" Ronald knew about hedging and stock index futures, but he didn't know what portfolio insurance was.
"It is an innovative financial contract that will automatically stop losses after the stock price falls to a certain level."
It was old friend Steve Bannon who came to pick up Ronald this time. Bannon was in the stock market crash, because he had a keen sense of smell (and because a lot of money invested in the film business was not paid back), so he didn't enter the market, so he didn't lose.
He took Ronald to a large office in Building 1 of the World Trade Center. It used to belong to a company engaged in investment business, which went bankrupt during the stock market crash, and is now rented by Bannon at a low price. Not even the furniture needs to be replaced.
"Mr. Tamura is here", Bannon's secretary came to report.
"Ronald and I are going to greet him now." Bannon pulled Ronald up and went outside to meet Mr. Tamura, an industrialist from Mie County in central Japan who came to New York specially.
"Hello, Steve... Ah, Ronald Sang, I like the movies directed by you the most. It's really great to meet you this time."
A young Dongying person who seemed to have received an American education, and who had a different accent from the native Japanese, greeted the two warmly as soon as he got out of the elevator.
"Tamura-san, welcome to New York." Bannon welcomed him into the newly rented office.
After entertaining the other party to sit down, Bannon quietly moved the nameplate of the original company manager on the table aside, "Uncle your uncle, what does Minister Tamura think?"
"Uncle said that Dongpu suffered less losses in this stock market crash because of the policy effect of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry. The consortium hopes to contribute a little bit to stabilize the financial order of Greater America..."
Tamura's uncle is the minister of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry who is in charge of the economic order in Japan.
Among the civil servants in Japan, there are two schools of thought with different views on economic development.
One faction is headed by the Ministry of Finance, mainly the central government civil servants who have passed the student army examination of the University of Tokyo. They like the neoliberal policies of the current Grand Commander of America and the ideas of the Monetary School. They believe that as long as the economy is allowed to develop by entrepreneurs, the role of the government is to maintain the stability of the financial and fiscal order, and there should be no intervention in the market.
The other faction, headed by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, is a faction from places other than Tokyo. It is composed of non-Tokyo University graduates, civil servants who have taken the local civil service qualification examination, and political families who monopolize the qualifications of local representatives in local elections. They believe in the need for the government to be deeply involved in all aspects of economic development. Propose an industrial policy that suits your own national conditions, and stand up for the economy when the crisis comes.
The political family in front of me, who was born in Mie County in the central part, has been a congressman for three generations. He didn't inherit his political status to be his uncle's political secretary, but came out and joined the entertainment industry by himself. Owns a movie theater chain in the central region, and has also produced several domestic films. Recently, with the assistance of a financial consortium, it has begun to set foot in the TV business.
Different from other Japanese chaebols, he is also an international faction facing America, and is not limited to the domestic system of Japan. This investment in Ronald's project was also brought to him by two other big names in the entertainment industry.
"My uncle is a high-level official, and they play with their high-level communication. I am here now, and I still need the help of the two to find opportunities for cooperation between Hollywood and Dongying's film industry." Tamura did not have a high-level mission this time, but for his own business venture.
Behind him are a group of second-generation children of big chaebols. Now Hollywood movies are very popular in Dongying. If Hollywood and Dongying stars can co-produce some blockbuster movies, causing a sensation in Dongying and even winning awards in Hollywood, then they can participate in this kind of movie. The people in the project will have more voice in the family.
Ronald had a pleasant chat with Bannon and Tamura. Young people hope to expand their influence in the family. What could be faster than making a movie?
"Didn't their Tokyo stock market fall?" Ronald asked Bannon, why do they still have the energy to invest in us?
"It also fell, but the decline was very small. Even Wall Street didn't count Dongying as part of Black Monday, and gave them a separate name called Blue Tuesday."
"Blue isn't that bad, is it?" Ronald thought.
"The idea of the Ministry of International Trade and Industry has won this time. The government must not stay out of the financial crisis. Japan has given us a good experience. Now the Fed is considering a comprehensive support for the market. In order to stabilize the financial market, they have to give up non-intervention the rules.
This is not only a problem of our country, but also a problem of the entire Western Union. The stock markets of all Western countries have been affected. "
Bannon still has some news channels on Wall Street. This time, there is actually a lot of resistance to whether the government directly rescues the market and buys stocks.
Some people think that it is not in line with the economic policy philosophy of the current commander-in-chief, and some people think that doing so will allow those Wall Street predators who take leverage regardless of risk to make mistakes and not be punished. Others objected because they simply wanted to monopolize the latest rescue news and reap another wave in the stock market.
"Would you like to have a taste of our New York style? I still have tickets for tomorrow's Saint Laurent clothing launch." Bannon took out two tickets and shook Tamura who came back from the bathroom, "Senior Hair Country Designer Custom clothing, lots of beautiful models, let Ronald go with you?"
"Hey, I have participated in many fashion shows like this in Tokyo, and it's not very interesting. When you come to Tokyo, I'll take you to the latest entertainment called karaoke, where the girls are the most beautiful."
"Okay, it's up to you. Tomorrow we will visit some more financial institutions on Wall Street that need help. When you arrive in Los Angeles, Ronald will accompany you." Bannon handed the ticket to Ronald.
"I have it too," Ronald thought, "There are two more tickets, why don't you ask Douglas Jr. to come with Donna?"
…
"Didn't you say that Donna is coming?" Little Douglas shook his head from side to side. He is now in New York to help little George prepare for the primary election. Today, Ronaldo came and sat in the front row of the auditorium.
"She said she was too busy with work and wanted to rest." Ronald answered in the ear of little Douglas.
The live music started to play, and he and Doug Jr. sat next to the runway, the best position.
This was personally arranged by the designer Yves Saint Laurent. Originally, only Ronald had a VIP ticket. After hearing about Douglas Jr.'s background, he was also invited to the front of the catwalk.
The decline of Wall Street seems to be transmitted to the fashion industry. Many seats in the front row were vacant today. After the opening, there were still many men and women dressed like Saint Laurent staff, wearing YSL clothing, filling the vacant seats.
"Boom boom boom boom..." Rhythmic music began to sound, and models stepped on catwalks and walked out from the entry doors on both sides of the catwalk.
YSL's new season clothes are all business style. The exaggerated shoulder pads and masculine women's clothing are very characteristic.
This year's colors are mainly black and white, all the beauties are wearing trousers, with very high hairstyles, and high heels stomped on the floor.
"Crack, click...", the number of photographers who came today is also much less. Neither the sound nor the flashing lights were enough to fill the runway and blind the audience below.
Ronald took off his sunglasses. He had prepared anti-flash lights, but now it is no longer necessary.
It happened that a white model with big wavy curly hair like a black man came out from behind. Pyramid-shaped earrings, paired with a small suit with high shoulder pads, a capable and **** temperament rushed to the face, and suddenly dominated the runway.
"Papapa..." This model was the last one to appear on the stage. Ronald also started to smile and applaud with everyone. This model has slightly buck teeth, but the overall has a kind of knowledgeable temperament, and the small shortcomings make her more real .
The model has to go through strict training. Her catwalk is very proper. A highly educated woman exudes a kind of temperament from the inside out. It is not ordinary, only a model with a beautiful body can compare.
Christie Turington smiled, and her eyes swept around the audience. Good models have the ability to make every audience feel that they are seen by the models, especially the ones in the front row. It is very likely that they bought their own body this beautiful dress.
"It's Ronald." Turington glanced at a tall man, his mind fluttered, and she sent out a charming smile from the inside out.
"Crack, click", the photographer saw this kind of smile, which was completely different from a professional smile, and began to snap the shutter to capture it.
"I have to go first, George Jr. is looking for us for a meeting." After watching the fashion show, Douglas Jr., uncharacteristically, did not stay to get acquainted with the models.
"I'll meet Donna later, won't you come?"
"No, she's very busy now, and she has to find time to deal with it when I go. It's not good for her." Little Douglas smiled. He found Donna several times by himself, and it was difficult to make an appointment. If he did, it was just a simple meal. takeout.
"I'll bring you some." Ronald laughed.
"Ronald, it's really a pity that you can't come to be my model."
The designer and the founder of the YSL brand, Yves Saint Laurent, brought Christie Turington, a model who is shining today, to find Ronald.
"Yeah, I think so, too bad I want to sit down when I see a stool instead of standing up."
"Puchi...hee" Christie Turington, who had filmed an advertisement and seen the director's chair, understood Ronald's joke about the director, and let out a coquettish smile.
"However, next time I shoot a movie with a modern background, if you are interested, you can sponsor my hero and heroine." Ronald saw all the fashions suitable for business occasions today, thinking of the next filming Movies are the business elites in skyscrapers who want to attract sponsorship.
"Really? Doesn't Giorgio (Armani) sponsor you?" Yves Saint Laurent is very excited. His new season clothing conference is not as popular as before. If he can get a large-scale clothing sponsorship, It's also good marketing.
"His clothes are suitable for a dinner party. My movie takes place in a skyscraper for business elites. Maybe it is more suitable for YSL's style."
"That's for sure. The new season clothing uses black and white traditional classic colors, which is suitable for business elites..."
Yve was overjoyed and finalized the cooperation with Ronald on the spot.
"I'm going to a dinner party, would you like to order a custom outfit for a lucky lady?"
"The one Christie is wearing is fine." Ronald thought the suit with high shoulder pads was good.
"Okay, I'll ask the assistant to leave a set of quota for you, and then let the lucky ones come to my store to measure the size."
Yves Saint Laurent and Turington turned back to meet other people to socialize. Before leaving, Turington turned his head back and made a gesture to Ronald to call. As the new main model of YSL, she is required to appear on many occasions.
…
"This is what we eat?"
Ronald also went to find Donna for dinner alone, but he didn't expect that she was still busy in the office. Donna put on her coat and said that she would go downstairs to the Subway with her cousin, and eat a big sandwich with Coke for dinner with her cousin.
"I am very busy now. This kind of opportunity to watch the financial crisis is rare in decades. Mr. Simmons said that investors with experience in financial crisis and investors who have not experienced financial crisis are essentially two different things. humanoid."
"Well, I haven't experienced it either." Ronald took a bite of the sandwich, which contained tuna fish, pickles, and cola, which actually tasted pretty good.
"Yeah, I've learned more in the past few days than I have in the past few months." Donna also took a big bite.
"For example, there are still people who want to take advantage of the swaying of people's hearts, take advantage of this fear, and then magnify the fear to make money from it. The crisis is actually caused by these people and has not ended yet."
"There are such people? They will definitely make money?"
"Not necessarily, but there are. These people are full of confidence and have a lot of gambling. For example, the boss of the newly established Quantum Fund, Solo."
"Then how does your company view this crisis?"
"Mr. Simmons said that this time he has strengthened his idea of using mathematics to manage investment decisions. He now feels that there is still a gap in his mathematical method that has not been filled. Once it is filled, a new fund can be established. The brand-new mathematical method of management can completely get rid of the negative influence of human nature on investment."
"Does he still dare to use mathematics to invest?" Ronald shook his head. It is now rumored on Wall Street that the use of mathematics and computer program-controlled program transactions, as well as related insurance contracts, is the cause of this crisis. "
"There is no right or wrong in mathematics, it is the wrong use of human beings..."
"Hahaha, that's right." Ronald appreciated Donna's enthusiasm for her work.
At this point in time, it should have been a bustling time on Wall Street, but the impact of the stock market crash is everywhere. In the whole Subway, except for the brother and sister, there are only a few Chinese students who are eating the cheapest at the next table. combo.
A boy with eyes and a little shy, heard what Donna said, turned around, there seemed to be a hint of admiration and gratitude in his eyes.
"Hi, are you from mainland China?" Ronald noticed that this unique temperament and relatively deflated wallets are common characteristics of mainland students studying in the United States.
"Yes, my name is Zhang, hello. I'm a math student, and I'm a little emotional after hearing what you said."
"Hello, Ronald."
This little Zhang doesn’t seem to know how to socialize with people, and after exchanging names, he doesn’t speak, but just listens quietly to Ronald and Donna’s chat.
"Then what is the gap that Mr. Simmons has not filled? When can a new fund be issued?"
"He said that there are still problems related to pattern signal recognition, and no mathematical solution can be found. It is necessary to identify the maximum expected value for a parametric model. Covic... no, Marr is an expert on models of something.
He also said that if it wasn't for his old colleagues, Professor Chen is not his expertise in this area, and he would have filled in this part of the gap long ago. The mathematical talent of the Chinese professor is what he admires the most. "Donna said, glanced at Xiao Zhang, thinking that this is also a Chinese, I wonder if all Chinese are good at mathematics?
"You are talking about Hidden Markov chains, right? Professor Shiingshen Chern's expertise is characteristic classes and manifold analysis. For this missing link, you need to find experts in cryptography, or experts in electronic engineering. Hidden Markov chains The problem of finding the expected extremum of unknown parameters by the Cove chain has applications in electronic engineering.”
Seeing Donna looking over, Xiao Zhang told what he knew.
"Cryptography, electronic engineering, may I ask which university's experts are better for this?" Donna felt that this person was really knowledgeable, so she quickly took out her notebook and wrote down what Xiao Zhang said.
"Your boss is James Simmons, right? He's an expert in topological geometry, and functionals. If he can't find it... Well, I heard there are some people at Cornell who are using algebra to do random analysis."
"Hello, my name is Donna. This is my phone number. Can I call you for advice?" Donna decisively copied her phone number to Xiao Zhang. This kind of person has a good sense of mathematics, so maybe he can What about poaching a company to do math?
"I'm more interested in number theory, and I'm not an expert in these applied mathematics. I'm afraid it won't help your question." Xiao Zhang waved his hand, and instead of answering Donna's phone number, he reported a string of numbers as his phone number Number.
"I'm in New York to see my friends, and I'm going back to Purdue University, where I'm doing my Ph.D. in mathematics. If you want to ask me any questions about mathematics, you can call me."
"You should take my contact information, if there is anything convenient to contact." Donna pushed the note over.
"I've got it in my mind." Xiao Zhang really has a good memory, and the phone number he reported is exact.
"What is number theory?" Ronald watched the two science masters communicating, and found that he couldn't understand what they were saying.
"It's the study of positive integers, and some conjectures about prime numbers. Do you understand prime numbers? It's just..." When Xiao Zhang talked about mathematics, he was very interested.
"Ah, I understand, I understand. An even number greater than 2 can be decomposed into the sum of two prime numbers." Ronald said a conjecture about prime numbers that everyone knows.
"Hey, how do you know Goldbach's conjecture? I have been in America for several years, and many ordinary people have never heard of this prime number conjecture."
"This... Isn't this taught in middle school?" Ronald blurted out without knowing what was going on.
"It's true that I haven't taught it, how do you know?" Donna looked at Ronald also very strangely. Sometimes this cousin always knows a lot of scattered and unsystematic knowledge in strange ways.
"Maybe I heard someone say it," Ronald said aside, and after sending Donna back to the office, he returned to the hotel.
…
"Ronald", it's late, Christy Turington is late.
"Christie", Ronald saw that she had changed into a loose outfit, like yoga clothes.
"What, do you practice yoga now?"
"Well, I found that yoga can help me keep energetic and maintain my weight." Turington took off his hairpin and let his curly hair spread out.
"How did you get this hairstyle?" Ronald buried his nose in her hair, and a pleasant smell came over.
"Don't you like it? It's popular now." Turington liked Ronald's obsession with himself.
"Oh..." A voice that came from deep inside came out of her throat.
"By the way, you need to find a female partner to go to Mr. Saint Laurent's custom shop to re-measure your custom-made clothes. Our clothes are all special, and they are made for the purpose of displaying clothes, and ordinary people have to re-make them."
Turington turned his head, stroked Ronald's hair, and scratched it gently twice. She also wondered who Ronald was buying the new season's clothes for.
"No need to change it, it's for you." Ronald was scratched very comfortably, "I see you wearing it, just like a girl working in Wall Street. It suits you. The model should have one that he has represented clothing."
"Thank you", Turington was very happy, "Mr. Saint Laurent seems to be very satisfied with me, maybe I will be their endorsement model and take photos for fashion magazines."
But Turington's wish did not come true. On the second day, all the fashion media did not have any praise for YSL's new season clothing. Everyone is criticizing the audience and the lack of coverage.
The high shoulder pads that represent the trend of the 1980s, and the masculine style of women's clothing have also been criticized.
Yves Saint Laurent was so angry that he went back to Paris overnight. When he was interviewed, he said that American people don't understand fashion at all.
The stock market crash on Wall Street has inevitably spread to all walks of life, and the number of people in restaurants on the market has dropped by a few percent. Ronald also saw more and more gray faces in New York.
"Hey, it's so pitiful. A lot of the wealth of American people is placed in the stock market, hoping to outperform inflation, accumulate money for their own retirement, and their children's college tuition."
Ronald understands the thoughts of ordinary American people. The stock market crash does have a very big impact on the wealth of ordinary people.
Not only ordinary people, even singers who earned more than movie stars in the 1980s were greatly affected.
"Ronald, what you said last time, on David Letterman's show, does it still count?"
Xueer also pitifully found Ronald's agent and expressed her wish.
"Let me go ask, it should be fine."
"Did you agree to play with ex-husband Sonny?"
"Yes, he called me, we have a daughter, she wants to debut singing, I have to do some ground work for her."
"You wait for my notice."
Ronald shook his head, under the economic crisis, all dignity and face are for nothing. Now Xue'er, wouldn't she stop thinking about her current boyfriend?
(end of this chapter)
