Top of the Great Era

Chapter 2218 Artistic Breath
There are dozens of theaters on Broadway Avenue, with Broadway Theater and Empire Theater as the center, forming the art district in this area. Generally speaking, every theater can be called Broadway Theater.

When traveling to Manhattan, more than 60% of the tourists will come here to watch the theater.

Many well-known Hollywood movies are actually adapted from Broadway plays, such as "Chicago", which won numerous Oscars.

This is the highest art form in the acting industry, higher than Hollywood movies.

After all, the threshold for watching a show is too high.

Ordinary people don't say they can't afford tickets, and even if they can afford them, they don't understand.

Not to mention ordinary people, why not Zhou Buqi?When he was in China, he never saw any traditional theater performances.

Look at Broadway again...

I'm really ashamed.

I still satirize the lack of culture and heritage here in the United States every day, but people are actively appreciating this advanced art form... Domestic Kunqu Opera, Peking Opera, Yue Opera, etc. can't live happily, and the new ones are all popular. It is a superficial amusing group such as Deyun Society and Happy Twist.

Zhou Buqi decided.

He has bought tickets to come to Shakespeare, so there is no reason not to watch his own Kunqu Opera!

Can you understand and not say.

They have all come to the United States to perform, and they must support it.

Looking at the date, it's three days later.

Together with Ning Lu, Zhou Buqi entered the theater very low-key.The ticket was bought by Don Mattrick, and the seat is better, in the sixth row.It will neither be too far away, nor will it need to keep raising its neck because it is too forward.

When I saw Patrick's wife and his daughter, I went to shake hands.

While waiting for the opening, Ning Lu whispered, "Haven't you watched "The Peony Pavilion of Youth"?"

"No..." Zhou Buqi glanced at her, "What are you doing? Have you seen it?"

Ning Lu nodded lightly, "Yes, I've seen it."

"Really?" Zhou Buqi was a little surprised, "Where did you read it?"

Ning Lu giggled, "During my sophomore year, I was in school."

"School?" Zhou Buqi twitched his lips, "Is it performed by the college student art troupe? What's the matter? It's Kunqu opera. It has to be a boy's work. It's not something that a college student can perform on stage."

Ning Lu said softly: "It's not the art troupe in the university, it's the team of "Youth Version of Peony Pavilion", or the actors on the poster just now."

Zhou Buqi was surprised, "The original crew?"

Ning Lu said: "That's right, it's them. No one has listened to Kunqu opera, so they just walked into the campus, performing for college students for free, to promote it."

Zhou Buqi was not completely stunned, and nodded, "Well, the threshold for appreciation of Kunqu opera is too high. Peking opera is full of vernacular, and Kunqu opera is full of classical Chinese. Don't talk about college students, almost even college students can't do it. !"

Ning Lu pursed her lips and smiled, and glanced at him.

Zhou Buqi was surprised, "What's wrong?"

Ning Lu jokingly said, "You're right, a drama troupe works so hard to perform in colleges, and they definitely can't go to every college. There will be trade-offs, so I won't go to the colleges that are close to it."

Zhou Buqi was speechless.

He and Ning Lu were basically college students at the same time.

In other words, when "The Peony Pavilion of Youth" entered the university campus to perform, it happened to be when Zhou Buqi was studying in university.

But he had never heard of it.

That can only explain one problem, people don't look down on Beike at all, and think it's useless to go... As for the college students in Beike, they may not understand it.

Zhou Buqi explained: "I am a university of science and technology, and you are a university of liberal arts. There is a difference, so there is nothing strange. You can check later to see what is going on with this team... "The Peony Pavilion" I do know that it is the most famous of Kunqu operas, from Tang Xianzu, a dramatist in the Ming Dynasty."

Ning Lu said softly: "Tang Xianzu and Shakespeare are from the same era. One is in the east and the other is in the west. They are equally famous in the drama world. The greatest work is "The Peony Pavilion."

Zhou Buqi asked: "Then why is it "The Peony Pavilion of Youth"?"

Ning Lu had seen the scene live, so of course she knew what was going on, "Actors, the actors here are all young and beautiful actors, very youthful. Well, this book is about a love story between a young man and a woman. The traditional "The Peony Pavilion" is performed by old artists, and they are all men, so it is difficult to attract people in form and color when they are old."

Zhou Buqi agreed, "Well, it should be like this. Traditional things must be adhered to, but they must not be left behind. There is a lot of dross in traditional things. Men are superior to women and women are not allowed to take power. How can there be such a reason? There is also class nature. What kind of old artists are stubbornly occupying their positions? It is a general trend for a new generation to replace old talents.”

Ning Lu remembered it in her heart.

She has already felt it, and the big boss seems to be very interested in this matter.

Go back and check it out.

As a liberal arts student, Ning Lu also has a certain degree of art worship. When she watched "The Peony Pavilion of Youth" live in the university auditorium, she still remembers that scene vividly to this day.

She and many of her surrounding classmates were in tears.

Not moved by the story.

Instead, I was infected by the powerful artistic tension of Kunqu Opera, as if people's souls were baptized.

……

The next day, Zhou Buqi made an appointment with Carl Icahn.

to his studio in downtown Manhattan.

The design of the office is really artistic.

On the wall is a famous European painting of the 19th century. The protagonist in the painting is Napoleon on a horse, invincible on the battlefield.Probably this is Carl Icahn's self-expression, thinking that he can always defeat his opponents in one fell swoop just like Napoleon in a business war.

However, his clothes are very simple.

Casual cotton trousers and boat shoes, a pair of reading glasses wrapped around his neck, and white hair drooping when he bows his head, looks like a scientific scientist in Silicon Valley.

But if you really believe it, you will be fooled
This old guy in front of him is definitely full of fighting spirit!
In the front, Yahoo's affairs have not yet been settled; in the back, PayPal's affairs are still queued up on the schedule.

He has already made a new move, launching a hostile takeover of Lionsgate Films, a well-known Hollywood film company.This man was notorious for scaring Lionsgate to death as soon as he made a move, and then reacted immediately to launch the "poison pill plan".

This is not counting.

Just a few days ago, Netflix CEO Hastings also suddenly called Zhou Buqi, asking in a serious tone, whether Netflix needs to start the poison pill plan!
Zhou Buqi was stunned, "Poison Pill Project? Why?"

Hastings said in a deep voice: "Carl Icahn made a move. It was just announced yesterday that his holdings had reached the critical point of 5%. He made a request today, saying that he wanted to join Netflix. board of directors because he already has 10% of Netflix’s shares.”

"So fast……"

Zhou Buqi was also really surprised.

Hastings said: "He didn't buy it from the secondary market, he bought it from several important investors... He has a wide range of contacts in this field, and big capital institutions respect him. He has already It is proposed to hold a general meeting of shareholders and elect him to the board of directors."

Zhou Buqi is very cautious about this.

Although Netflix is ​​a godson, but this godson is very capable and can make money!

This godson must be protected.

Carl Icahn is an old jerk, and no serious company would want a Wall Street jackal like that on the board.

That means risk, means uncertainty!
Zhou Buqi told Hastings, "Don't worry, I'll go to New York to meet him."

That's why this trip to New York came about.

After arriving in New York, he got another sensational news in Hollywood.

Carl Icahn launched a hostile takeover of Lionsgate.

Before that, he was already the second largest shareholder of Lionsgate Films. He wanted to further acquire shares to become the largest shareholder, and then become the chairman and CEO of Lionsgate Films to gain the power of the company.

It's too obvious what the purpose is.

The most typical investment style of Carl Icahn is to acquire first, then spin off all the way after the acquisition, sell all high-quality assets at high prices, and cash out after earning a lot of money.

As for whether the company will live or die in the future, what does it have to do with him?
This must be the reason for his hostile takeover of Lionsgate this time!

I guess it has something to do with Netflix.

Carl Icahn wants to get the control of Lionsgate Films, and then sell the copyright of Lionsgate Films’ property-the film and television copyright library, so that he can make a lot of money and please Netflix .

Then, he cashed out and left Lionsgate, and smoothly entered the decision-making level of Netflix.

For Zhou Buqi, whether Lionsgate is alive or dead is beyond his control.

But Carl Icahn can't be on Netflix's board under any circumstances.

Zhou Buqi was not in a hurry, he chose to start with Yahoo, and said with a smile: "I heard that Yahoo's new CEO has a little problem?"

Carl Icahn looked at him with a half-smile, "Who said that?"

Zhou Buqi said: "He lost the support of the board of directors."

Carl Icahn sighed, "Thompson is a capable person. He is better than the past few Yahoo CEOs. In the past few months, he has cleaned up Yahoo's mess without the help of external funds. It even gave a nice financial report."

This is for sure.

The current CEO of Yahoo is Scott Thompson, who was previously the CEO of PayPal. PayPal, as a subsidiary of eBay, did not fall behind in the mobile era, thanks to this Thompson.

Unfortunately.

In the face of a larger strategic deployment, one person's excellence cannot save the overall situation.

At most, he can only be a talented outcast.

Next, Carl Icahn said frankly: "Yahoo's board of directors has to be reorganized. Yang Zhiyuan has left, and his followers have to leave too. The responsibility for appointing Scott Thompson must be borne by them."

Zhou Buqi asked: "What's wrong with Thompson? Isn't the financial report he gave excellent?"

Carl Icahn glanced at him and twitched his mouth, "I've been following him for several years! I even sent a private detective to investigate him!"

Zhou Buqi secretly sighed.

This is so special!

What a jackal!
It is really insane to play the business war to such an extent.

Carl Icahn said indifferently: "The plan has been drawn up, and the results will definitely come out within two or three months. Scott Thompson's falsification of academic qualifications has caused a huge scandal, and he must take the blame and resign. The director behind him We also have to bear related responsibilities and leave with him."

(End of this chapter)