Hollywood New Century

"Then I'm leaving. I'll be in the UK for a few months next year!" Emily Blunt said and entered the airport waiting room.

Los Angeles International Airport is located on the outskirts of Inglewood on the west side of Los Angeles. As one of the city's municipalities, Inglewood has a small population but a good location, only 8 miles from the Pacific Ocean.

"Go back to the company," Simon said to the driver as he got into the car.

From Santa Barbara along the Pacific Coast Highway to the airport, it's now direct to Star Entertainment headquarters in Burbank via Carver City via Hollywood Base.

Leaning on the car, Simon looked out the window at the Los Angeles street scene. The bustling entertainment capital of the past was still affected by the financial tsunami.

The flow of people in luxury stores has decreased, but the number of homeless people in urban areas has increased, and there will be individuals holding signs to protest from time to time.

The car passed West Hollywood and went straight along Sunset Boulevard. When passing through the Hollywood base, the famous Avenue of Fame that used to be full of people was obviously bleak.

At the beginning of this year, let alone the entire United States, there have been countless strikes in Los Angeles.

The Hollywood screenwriters' strike, the West Coast dockworkers' strike, the Los Angeles teachers' strike, the Boeing machinery factory's strike, etc., are all large-scale strikes with more than 20,000 people.

However, compared to the Hollywood writers' strike that lasted for several months, the rest of the impact was much smaller.

California, as the richest state in the United States, voted to remove its governor in 2003 because of its high budget deficit. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Hollywood tough guy, was elected governor and was successfully re-elected.

However, with the passage of time, California's finances have not turned around, and the fiscal deficit has further expanded. Coupled with this year's housing credit crisis, California's finances have become even worse. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger announced at the beginning of the month. California has entered a fiscal emergency bill, and California is entering the abyss.

Five years after taking over as governor, California's budget deficit has doubled from $12 billion to $42 billion. The high approval rate when he was elected now seems more like a mockery.

Arnold Schwarzenegger is a beloved action star, but his political failure is undeniable.

"Jack, what's the matter with the rally in the small square in front?" Simon asked his driver, looking at a group of people holding banners not far away.

"Oh, sir, congratulations to the cabinet team submitted by the new president Mario's administration. The Democratic Party's Ms. Hillary has been nominated as the new secretary of state, and Congress has agreed to it, just wait until next year and the new president to be sworn in," Driver Jack Let’s talk about it, after all, Mario is the first black president of the United States, and the big killer of universal medical insurance is too attractive to the black bottom layer of the United States.

Simon nodded, still a little unhappy about Hillary becoming Secretary of State. Shouldn't Hillary be embarrassed because of the Harvey Weinstein scandal? On the politicians who have the deepest contacts with Hollywood, except for the previous President Reagan, this woman is.

However, the filth of the political circle is no less than that of the entertainment circle. Of course, the political resources of the Clinton family are also profound. Such a small incident is indeed irrelevant.

In order to reduce the resistance of the white people, the Mario administration also used Hillary Clinton, who competed with him for votes, as a high-level Secretary of State.

At the headquarters of Xinghai Pictures, the famous black movie star Will Smith and his agent are discussing the preparations of "Superman Hancock" with Xinghai Pictures in a small conference room.

"Sonia, what's going on with Weinstein Pictures now?" After all, it is also the current old rival of Xinghai Pictures, so of course Simon should be concerned about it.

"Most of their resources at the moment are focused on the musical 'Nine,' a $90 million musical, Weinstein Pictures seems confident," responded Sonia Roman.

"Fortunately, most of Weinstein's other films are at a loss, and the artistry has not achieved much."

"It turns out that, I believe that soon, Weinstein Pictures will not be a threat enough," Simon's eyes are deep, and the person in charge is riddled with scandals.

The current profit point of Weinstein Pictures is nothing more than the genre films of its Dimen Pictures, but that is definitely not enough to make up for the losses of many literary and artistic films every year.

Moreover, movies like "Life and Death", which should have belonged to Weinstein Pictures, were also taken away by Simon in advance.

"Of course it's not a threat, and now our Marvel movie box office is almost more than theirs in a year," Sonia Roman said excitedly.

"Harvey has been immersed in Hollywood for many years and has a deep network of connections. Although his reputation has been damaged this time, I believe he can't move his muscles. As long as he still has value, there will be capital behind him," Simon leaned on the chair, His fingers tapped on the table, and he continued to speak,

"However, now he is no longer at the same level as us. After this time, most of his political resources have almost been cut off."

"So, now we don't have to care about him. Now I hear that GE intends to sell NBC Universal?" Simon asked after changing the conversation.

"NBC Universal, I heard that Doncaster Group intends to enter the film and television industry. As a cable TV operator, they hope to have their own content industry. After all, they have controlled MGM with Sony before, but with MGM The current situation, there is this possibility." Sonia Roman analyzed, the specific information is not clear, after all, I don't know where Simon heard it.

"General Electric's development has been getting worse and worse in recent years, and it is indeed reasonable to sell NBC Universal. However, NBC Universal is something I am optimistic about and want to control," Simon said solemnly.

"If NBC Universal Group is acquired by Doncaster, then we have no chance. This kind of large-scale merger is very long, so I need you to keep an eye on this one; Moreover, Vivendi Group also owns 20% of NBC Universal, If GE wants to sell NBC Universal, it must first take back the 20% stake in Vivendi.”

"Simon, the valuation of NBC Universal Group is almost more than 30 billion US dollars, you really want to..." Although Sonia Roman knew that Simon was interested in this company, Simon is still very excited to say it in person.

"It is not so easy for Doncaster to acquire NBC Universal. There are many problems that TV network operators need to deal with when they are involved in the TV and movie content manufacturing industry," Simon's eyes flashed.

"At that time, we will contact Vivendi first, and see if we can get the 20% equity first!"

"Understood, but even if we acquire the 20% stake in Vivendi, NBC Universal will still be in charge of General Electric. Are you going to compete with Doncaster then?" Sonia Roman couldn't tell how she felt, talking to Tang How much does Custer cost to compete with GE's NBCUniversal?

"Get ready first, after all, there is no official news, pay attention first, and then contact Vivendi Group!"