Chapter 560 Screen Fund

   "Ronald, you come with me".

  After Ronald and Weintraub finished talking, his wife, Jane Morgan, appeared at the living room door and beckoned Ronald to pass.

   "Hi, Ms. Morgan." Ronald hugged the former singer.

  Jane Morgan wore a long black dress today, with a black bag on her arm, decorated with rubies inlaid on it, looking very expensive.

   "Do you remember what you promised Barbara in the White House last time? Her son came to Los Angeles from Texas today. You are here, so I will take you to have a chat with him."

   "Oh, her son is going to enter the film industry, right?" Ronald remembered the entrustment from the wife of the deputy chief commander last time.

   "The film industry, the oil industry, they are not all the same...", Jane Morgan smiled slightly mysteriously, "Go and drive my car, he is at the Sheraton Hotel."

  Ronald got into the driver's seat of Jane Morgan's Aston Martin, the roar of the sports car engine was very loud, and Jane Morgan closed the window in order to speak.

   "What sports car do you drive yourself? You are so tall, you should buy a Ferrari." Morgan said, seeing that he was a little cramped in the driver's seat.

   "I don't have a sports car yet," Ronald said truthfully.

  “You should have one. In Hollywood and the entertainment industry, people always judge your status based on your clothes and cars. When Ovitz from CAA just made money, he couldn’t wait to change to a Porsche 911.

   "Oh...", Ronald realized that he had been in that 911 before, and it seemed that he should buy one. The things on the scene were indeed time to improve.

"Barbara's son George Jr. is a very good boy. He is Barbara's eldest son. It's just...his mother expects too much from him. Just tell him the truth. In the deputy commander's family, He's a pretty good talker."

When they arrived at the Sheraton, the two asked George Jr.'s residence at the front desk. The lobby manager recognized Jane Morgan and took them to the lounge. Inside was a man in a yellow-green fine-check suit with his collar unbuttoned, holding a large glass beer drinking.

   "Jane... Nice to meet you, this must be Ronald who my mother praised." The man in his thirties was very enthusiastic, and he didn't have the typical sense of alienation that the children of high-ranking officials would reject from thousands of miles away.

   Ronald feels better about him than JFK.

   "Two more beers, I'm going to have a drink with my new friend. You know the oil company in Texas, I drink the same way. Every day starts and ends, and when it comes to beer, California is not as good as Texas."

   "Oh, you guys talk first, I'll make a phone call with Barbara." Jane Morgan was leaving with her bag. "

   "Okay, I surrender, I just drink less, and don't tell my mother, Jane."

   "I'm here with two large servings of French fries, and everything else in California is good, but the portions are too small." Afterwards, he drank beer and chatted with Ronald.

  Ronald thinks the son of the deputy commander is very interesting. He is not like the son of a high-ranking official, but like an uncle next door who can brag and chat with him. Just drinking too much.

   "I went to Yale, I'm in a fraternity there, what college are you, what fraternity, man?"

"My grandfather also graduated from Yale, but I dropped out of New York University after only a little over a year. When I was in college, I built a fraternity myself and managed it as the best fraternity in New York," Ronald talked about how he asked Eddie to be a cover model for adult magazines.

   "It's really yours", the other party laughed, "Your surname is not common in New England, is it from the family of General Robert E. Lee during the Civil War?"

   "Actually, my great-grandfather's mother's side was the Jerome family. They ran a watch business in New Haven."

   "Jerome? What a coincidence, I know them. Do you know? It is said that our two families first came to America on the Mayflower."

   "Is that so?"

   The two drank and chatted, and the time passed quickly. The other party stopped asking for beer, walked out of the bar with Ronald, and went to his suite.

   "So, can you tell me what kind of movie can make money?" After Barbara's eldest son finished drinking, the two finally started talking about business.

"You asked a million-dollar question, and I don't think even the most experienced producer in the industry can give you a simple answer." Ronald didn't expect the other party to come up and ask the ultimate question of the film industry .

   "Hey, listen, Ronald. We Texas cowboys like to be straight, and I was asked to be on the governing board of SilverScreen Partners, which my Yale fraternity brother Roland Bates got.

  He is an investment banker on Wall Street. He told me that the first phase of the fund was in good condition. In the second phase, he decided to make it bigger, financing 200 million US dollars, and only open it to 20,000 high-net-worth individuals. I am on the board, so I am responsible for the use of funds. Do you have a good way to know the box office prospects of the movie in advance? "

   As he spoke, he took out another bottle of beer from the refrigerator in the room, opened the can and drank it.

  Ronald fell into deep thought. Obviously, the other party didn't really want to understand the formula for making money in movies, but wanted to find a way to ensure that the movies invested by Screen Fund would not lose as much as "Heaven's Gate".

   "Hey, buddy, I don't know how to make movies. You don't have to be afraid of me telling your secrets." Drinking beer, the other party winked at Ronald.

   "I'm thinking of a simple and easy way to make the movie you invest in not lose money." Ronald also took a bottle of beer and toasted him.

   "If you are just investing, I think it is better to examine the producer than to examine the script, director, and actors."

Ronald thought of an answer that the other party could understand, "The job responsibilities you mentioned are actually the responsibility of the producer in Hollywood. So as long as you find a reliable producer, you can be sure that he will give the green light. The projects are all good projects.”

   "You have a good idea. My father always said that politics is about people." The other party drank the beer in the can in one go, opened a small bottle of whiskey, and poured it into the glass.

   “So, how should I choose qualified producers to invest in?”

   "It's nothing more than looking at their past historical achievements."

"Hey, you're a genius. There's no executive in an oil company in Texas who can explain the business as clearly as you do, talking about oil futures, oil exchange contracts for pipelines and tankers every day, I can hear you I don't understand half of it."

   "Come on, cheers", the other party held the Tennessee whiskey in his hand and toasted Ronald's beer again.

"However, it is too troublesome for each producer to investigate the past, or I will find a powerful big producer to invest and let him manage all the small producers, so I told my brother Roland Bates. "Speaking of Barbara's eldest son, he drew a big figure with the thumb of his left hand, and drew a bunch of small figures with the fingers of his right hand.

"You are a cheerful person and a smart person, Ronald. When you come to Texas, I will treat you with the best beer and barbecue, all of which are large, hahaha." The other party made clear gestures to himself Very satisfied with the investment plan.

   Ronald, caught up in the Texas cowboy nonsense, laughed too.

  …

"Very good, your ideas are very creative and very in line with the characteristics of the film industry. Little George, others say that you are just borrowing your influence to become a director. Only I know that you are a very wise person at Yale... "

  Roland Bates, the founder of Screen Fund, was very surprised when he heard George Jr.'s call and his investment strategy. This idea coincides with my own, investing in producers, not scripts and creators.

  Investors should not pretend to know how to do business better than practitioners. As long as they look for the position in the industry that is responsible for the profit and loss of the project and find the right candidate, they will be one step ahead and get a good return on investment.

"I have the same idea as you, but your idea of ​​finding a big producer to invest in goes a step further. In the past ten years, the most successful executive in Hollywood is Paramount's Michael Eisner. We just need to work with him. Bundled together, there are considerable benefits anyway.”

"Haha, I'm very happy. As a director, I can put forward my own opinions." The little George on the other side of the phone was also very happy. Being a director and being recognized by others is much happier than being treated as a mascot in an oil company. up. "

"I have a good friend who was introduced to me by my mother as a rising star in the industry. These opinions are based on his ideas. After the second phase of your screen fund is sold out, don't forget about him. Several films he directed Movies are all very popular, and the return on investment is more than ten times."

   "Who?" Roland Bates didn't care about the specific project, but George Jr. asked him to remember it.

   "Ronald Lee, his ancestry, like mine, can be traced back to the Mayflower." Barbara's eldest son boasted triumphantly.

   "Is that so?" Roland Bates was startled. Could it be that he was one of those blue blood nobles? Why don't you work in the financial and defense industry and become an artist instead? "Don't worry, I will personally explain to Eisner."

  …

   "Ronald, Michael Eisner called me personally to thank you." Two days later, agent Nisita found Ronald to announce the good news.

"Eisner personally promised that when he formally takes over Paramount, the airplane project will be yours. You will pay as much as you want, whichever screenwriter you want, photography director, art director, whoever you want to use. .

   There are also stars who have a film contract with Paramount, take your pick. Even if you want to use Jack Nicholson or Warren Beatty as the leading actor, try to convince you. Actresses ranging from the hottest **** star Catherine Turner to the unknown little actors on Broadway, whoever you fancy, you can find whoever you want to fuck..."

  Nisita didn't say what happened next, but looked at Ronald up and down. How could someone with great energy suddenly come to support this client? Is it true that, as Paula Wagner guessed, he found his father's family, a Mayflower passenger in the same line as the deputy commander's family?

   "Yale University, Mayflower, New England, Wall Street, private equity funds, 200 million", various elements popped up in the broker's mind, it is not impossible.

   "Mr. Eisner? I have no friendship with him?" Ronald was at a loss.

"Several partners of CAA are rumored that after he takes over as president and CEO of Barry Diller, he will receive a large investment from Wall Street. At least in the next two years, there will be no shortage of Paramount projects led by him. money."

   "Oh..." Ronald realized something, "Since this is the case, then the script of the fighter jet can be carefully considered."

   I didn't expect Barbara's son to be so powerful. Since the resources are not capped, it will be easy to handle.

"Jane, the person you introduced is really good. Roland Bates' mother called me and praised George very much. He said that he has brains, understands business, and most importantly understands the essence of management. Not to manage specific things, but to manage people.

  I'm really happy. He's been in the oil company for so long, and all I've heard is negative news. Now Laura can feel relieved. "

  Barbara, with silver hair, told her old friend Jane Morgan on the phone about her happiness. Although the eldest son is not good enough, it seems that he is finally qualified to be a nominal executive.

   "Who's calling?" Weintraub asked his wife Morgan when he returned home.

   "It's Barbara. He praised Ronald severely. His eldest son has performed very well this time. She will agree to let him be the director of the Screen Fund."

   "Oh, the screen fund?" Weintraub thought of the legendary $200 million production fund. If it weren't for the fact that Colombia already had a similar Delphi fund, I would be greedy for this kind of funds that just invest money and don't interfere with production.

   "I'm going to Las Vegas, MGM's boss Kirkorian asked me out."

   "Don't forget, if you see a blonde beauty in the MGM Hotel, you can get into bed if you fit, one million dollars once." Jane Morgan said sourly.

   "Honey, I'm just going to talk about something." Weintraub broke out in a cold sweat.

  (end of this chapter)