American winner takes all

Chapter 245 The End of Sunset Boulevard (22)

"The meeting place was in Los Angeles, Hugh Hefner's famous mansion, the Playboy Castle at the end of Sunset Boulevard." Susan mentioned.

"In addition, there are several print media owned by News Corporation such as the New York Post and USA Today that have made appointments for interviews. This is the last group of media." Susan continued.

Much of the influence of Murdoch's newspaper empire in the United States is on the East Coast, and the Wall Street Journal certainly has a sports section.

Rather than saying this is a "favor" given to Ethan by Murdoch, it is better to say that it is a collateral benefit from FOX TV's purchase of the SEC's media rights for this year's event broadcast.

Both owned by News Corporation, these sister newspapers have also begun to give more exposure to Southeastern Conference-related sports information.

"You arrange the time." Ethan said.

Susan nodded.

"Also, do you want to tell Lisa about going to Hugh Hefner's party?" Susan then asked cautiously.

If this is said, if Lisa raises an eyebrow because of this matter, wouldn't she become the culprit?

"It doesn't matter, it's okay if she knows." Ethan said.

Supervision is supervision, and Lisa won't care about this.

"Then let's not talk about it." Susan smiled awkwardly.

The two separated early the next morning. Ethan returned directly from the filming location to Los Angeles to attend the party, while Susan went to Alabama to complete the final contact with the media.

This time Ethan went straight back home and arrived at his destination, Hugh Hefner's Castle of Joy at the end of Sunset Boulevard, just before the party started.

Unlike the lyrics, the Sunset Strip does not connect to Las Vegas, but the parties and wine on the West Coast are real.

The entire Sunset Boulevard runs through five areas: Hollywood, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, Westwood, and Santa Monica, extending from the city center to the coast.

Because of the famous sunset landscape, it is called Sunset Boulevard.

Hugh Hefner's mansion is located at the end of the road. The last owner of the castle was Elvis Presley. In addition to the castle itself, it comes with dozens of acres of manor, a zoo, a hot spring bath, and a natural cave.

As the envy of men across the United States, Hugh Hefner held parties here twice a week at his peak, staying up all night and partying night after night.

Nowadays, as we get older, the frequency of organizing parties is not as high as before.

As one of the few people who knew the inside story, Ethan also knew that the "unrepeatable" Hugh Hefner was holding parties now, not just for fun, but perhaps to plan a way out for Playboy, the declining entertainment empire.

After getting off the car at the door, Ethan threw the car keys to the waiter, and then led by the waiter in a tuxedo, he stepped into the house.

There were many bunny girls walking through the hall. Someone was dancing on a temporary stage not far away. Below the stage was a black jazz band.

Hugh Hefner was actually actively involved in public opinion in his early years and published articles by Martin Louis De King in magazines.

In his early years, he also invited black guests to the club TV show he hosted, which was a bold move at the time.

Then Ethan saw Hugh Hefner, standing next to him were two women, both blonde beauties.

Ethan recognized one of them as his now-wife, Kimberly Conrad, whom he had married eight years earlier.

In fact, in addition to her top-notch looks when she was young, Kimberly must also have some tricks to make Hugh Hefner, an old captain, bow down.

As for the other one, Ethan is completely unknown.

At this time, the middle-aged man standing opposite Hugh Hefner was hugging him from left to right, two on each side. The four blondes all had outstanding looks, exquisite makeup, and very hot figures.

The middle-aged man standing in front of him is a little fatter and has a mustache.He has a big head and a thick neck. He must be someone who can hold a conversation with Hugh Hefner. He must not be a cook. He must be a rich man.

At this time, Hugh Hefner also noticed Ethan and immediately waved to him to come over.

"Jerry, this young man is Ethan O'Connor." Hugh Hefner said to the person opposite.

"Tsk tsk. Look at your height, your size, and your wingspan. It would be a shame if you don't play basketball." The middle-aged man named Jerry said something similar to Kobe Bryant.

"The rugby field also needs such an epoch-making player." Hefner said proactively.

"In my eyes, there are only two kinds of athletes in the world, one is called Jordan, and the other is called other athletes. The former can really get more attention for the entire project, and the latter is responsible for maintaining the attention. Boy, do you think you can be The first type of athlete?" The middle-aged man laughed.

"I have too many stars in hockey and basketball. In my eyes, you have a long way to go," he continued.

"Jerry Buss. The owner of the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Kings (hockey), a wealthy real estate developer." Hugh Hefner introduced Ethan to him at this time.

In 1979, Jerry Buss spent $1800 million to acquire the Lakers. When he passed away in 2013, the Lakers were valued at $10 billion.

But on the other side of being an excellent boss, Jerry Buss has a dissolute personal life. He has many illegitimate children and hundreds of beauties. The Los Angeles Lakers cheerleaders have been his personal backyard for a long time.

Such a person is naturally on the same wavelength as Hugh Hefner, and the two have maintained a deep friendship.

The arrival of Ethan also made the topic of discussion involuntarily turn to football. Hugh Hefner and Bass casually chatted about this year's draft situation.

This year's No. [-] pick was Orlando Pace from Ohio State, who was selected by the Rams, who have moved to St. Louis.

He's not a running back, a receiver, or a quarterback, but a left tackle.

But later, his performance was worthy of being the No. [-] pick. He was selected to the Pro Bowl seven times and won the championship twice.

Sean Alexander, who participated in the draft physical examination, told Ethan an interesting story not long ago. Before the weigh-in, the guy deliberately took off his shoes and socks and successfully lost two pounds to avoid being overweight.

Darren Waters, a running back from the University of Texas, was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It is said that Tampa Bay was originally planning to choose Sean Alexander, Ethan's good teammate, but his intelligence test score was too low and he only scored 9 points in a test called the magic number. Tampa Bay immediately changed the candidate.

The second spot is a corner position.Shawn Springs, University of Washington.

Compared with the NBA draft, the NFL draft is much more complicated. After all, there are many people and the positions on the field are more complicated. It also involves lottery transactions, such as one No. [-] pick in exchange for two first-round picks, plus three second-round picks. Sign and so on.Moreover, the NFL's draft order does not even require a lottery. It is only based on ranking. The last one last season can steadily get a No. [-] pick, and so on.This leads to team managers often choosing only the one that suits them best.

"Speaking of the draft, Kobe Bryant has completed his total test and professional day. The Lakers also happen to need a guard. I can recommend this candidate to your team's manager." Ethan said.

"I've heard Jerry West talk about this young man, but the Lakers don't have enough early picks in the draft this year." Jerry Buss said.

Of course, team owners will pay attention to the draft, but they will not be overly involved in this matter. In fact, the team manager is still responsible for the specific operations.

"I'm fed up with this, it's too hot here." Kimberly Conrad, Hugh Hefner's wife, shook her head at this time and turned to leave.

"You still need to accompany me to meet other guests." Hugh Hefner whispered.

But his beloved wife obviously didn't give him this face, so she just walked away.

"It seems she needs to go have some fresh air. Where were we talking about just now?" Hugh Hefner resolved the awkward situation.

"Draft."

"That's right, the draft, Jerry, I don't know if you are interested. The recruitment of the Lakers cheerleaders has started the draft. Playboy is organizing a series of activities. This is part of the entire transformation plan..." Hugh Hefner was at this time Let’s get down to business.

Jerry Buss smiled, took a sip of wine, and said with a smile:

"Hugh, I know your magazine may have encountered some problems. As an old friend, of course I want to help, but you also know that the team will not pay these cheerleaders much. They are just dancers to add to the fun. They have nothing to do with the game itself. It’s irrelevant.”

It looks like Jerry Buss isn't ready to help.

"Uncle Jerry, this will not only promote the team to a certain extent, but it may also increase attendance." The woman who had been standing next to Hugh Hefner said at this time.

"Christina, listen, no one comes to a game just to see girls dance, just like no man buys Playboy magazines to see how he looks. Sorry, Hugh, I have to visit another friend." Jay Ribas hugged several girls and left.

When Ethan saw Jerry Buss's hand, he put it behind the girl's waist and kneaded it.

As for Hugh Hefner, he can only take his daughter to find the next lobbying target.

Yes, the other woman standing next to Hugh Hefner is his eldest daughter, who is currently the real controller of Playboy.

For a woman to be in charge of a media brand whose clients are men, the results are obviously not much better.

The circulation of this magazine has grown from nearly 400 million at its peak to less than [-] million now, and it is falling faster and faster.

Getting closer to sports, who came up with this idea?
Ethan then saw a group of familiar guests, Rodman and Jordan. These two basketball players were particularly obvious.

Jordan attended Hugh Hefner's party in 93.Not to mention Rodman.

There are also many heavyweights in the football field, such as Joe Namath, Jim Brown, and Orenso Spellman. The experience of these people in the NFL can be traced back to 30 or [-] years ago.

Ethan looked around and realized that except for a few people, most of the people attending the party were old men, and the number of guests was not as large as expected.

Decades have passed, and the bunny girls walking through the crowd are still so young and beautiful, but the men hugging them have changed from arrogant young people to some old and smelly old people.

Ethan came to the balcony alone, and he saw a figure from behind, a woman leaning on the railing, looking at the sea in the distance, with her back to him.

The backless dress has exquisite curves and the exposed shoulders are like a butterfly. The moonlight shines on the tips of her golden hair. There is a goblet on the railing. The breeze blows, and it seems like another world from the lively and noisy party scene.

Ethan walked over, and the woman turned her head at the same time, and snorted coldly when she saw it was Ethan.

"I recognize you, you are the guest that the bad old man talks about." She said.

Ethan didn't expect that the person standing here was actually Hugh Hefner's wife, and then he laughed.

"What are you laughing at?" she asked.

"Nothing." Ethan left directly.

The party did not last long, and the sound equipment broke down halfway through. Like this group of guests, these speakers were antiques from many years ago. When the party was forced to stop, some people began to leave, and then the third Second, and third, Hugh Hefner said helplessly that the party would end early.

Ethan waited until most people left, and heard Kimberly Conrad arguing in the middle, and then saw her rushing out of the door. It was not until finally Ethan found Hugh Hefner.

Hugh Hefner looked at the empty hall and pointed to the seat next to him.

"You obviously can't understand that the most painful thing in the world is to watch the empire you built before your eyes disappear overnight." Hugh Hefner looked very old at the moment.

"You want to transform, but I think you have made the wrong bet. It is better to invest all your resources in the emerging Internet, build a website, and put all previous issues of magazines, from the first issue to the previous year, on the Internet. Pull out the editors and set up an entertainment information website, supplemented by men's fashion, and of course, the original entertainment content, monthly playmates and so on." Ethan said.

Hugh Hefner was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head: "Thank you for your suggestion, young man, but the Internet is a barren and barbaric place. Electronic versions of magazines will completely destroy existing magazine sales, and no one is willing to pay."

"Then just rely on advertising to make money. Besides, in a few years, there may be an Internet Copyright Act? It's not too late to act now." Ethan continued.

Ethan was referring to next year's Digital Millennium Copyright Act.

Hugh Hefner was silent.

Ethan then got down to business: "I know a well-known agent in Hollywood. Every year Playboy releases many young and beautiful girls to the market, but these people do not bring more returns to the magazine. Maybe we can cooperate."

Hugh Hefner's original intention in organizing the party was to find others to cooperate, but Ethan was the only one who took the initiative to ask him for cooperation tonight.

A person with this ability would look down on Hugh Hefner's little meat, and the one who did like him didn't have this ability either. Ethan was considered an anomaly.

"Young man, I have actually noticed you since very early on, and I regard you as a symbolic figure after the transformation of the magazine." Hugh Hefner told the truth.

This is not considered use, it can only be regarded as mutual benefit. However, Ethan will not agree to this kind of thing. This kind of thing will only harm him, not benefit.

"Forget the magazines, forget the bullshit symbols. In the information age from now on, everyone's vision will become extremely broad. Not many young people will believe your old-fashioned romantic stories." Ethan warned again.

(End of this chapter)