1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 705 Two "Tyrants"

Li Changhe understood David's concerns. Lou Wasserman's current support for the Elephant Party was basically entirely based on his personal support for Riggs.

After all, he and Li Gen were very close.

Therefore, this shift in personal feelings does not actually represent a shift in personal stance.

It's normal that David doesn't trust him.

However, this did not have much impact on Li Changhe.

To put it bluntly, in a few years, he'll have to get to know Xiao Ke's side.

"David, I actually think that this kind of thing doesn't have a big impact."

"You know, Hollywood these days wasn't really your base to begin with, was it?"

"Even if you push Lou Wasserman out, it will only maintain the status quo."

"But on the other hand, if we grow the company big, then the company is ours, and the influence we achieve is also ours."

Li Changhe then spoke after careful consideration.

In Hollywood, I've actually been more of a supporter of the Democrats, because they're a bunch of celebrities who don't do industry or investment, so I don't need anything from the Elephants.

However, some of the Democratic Party's policies on easing immigration and finance sometimes align with Hollywood's interests.

Therefore, Hollywood deserves a lot of credit for California's transformation from a red state to a deep blue state and becoming one of the Democratic Party's strongholds.

Li Changhe felt that now that Loewatherman had changed his stance, if the Democratic Party continued to dwell on the past, it would only lead back to the old situation where Hollywood as a whole supported the Democratic Party.

Instead, they might as well take advantage of Lou Wasserman's betrayal now and drive a wedge into Hollywood.

"Vic, from what you're saying, you're confident you can make the TV station a big success?"

"Aren't you afraid that Lou Wasserman will kick you out of the game later?"

David then asked curiously.

He was a little surprised by the other party's persistence.

Are you that optimistic about Hollywood?
"That's why I've come to you to collaborate, David!"

"Here's what I'm thinking: the Rockefeller family will control the majority of the television station's shares, while a content company under my control will be responsible for the station's content."

"This company will primarily focus on the copyright of various program productions and establish cooperative relationships with television stations."

"In this way, Lou Wasserman only controls the operation of the TV station, with the majority of the shares in your family's hands, while I hold a portion of the content copyrights. Even if he really has designs on the station, for us, it's simply a matter of replacing the person in charge of the TV station."

"But for now, given Lou Wasserman's influence in Hollywood, he can provide us with a great advantage in getting started."

"Moreover, David, there's another point you need to consider: Lou Wasserman isn't young anymore. Even if he still supports the Democratic Party, such a change is unlikely during President Reagan's term."

"I estimate that it will be at least seven years or even longer before the next election. By then, his influence on us may not be as great as we imagine."

Generally speaking, the re-election rate of US presidents is very high, especially in the last two years, with the introduction of Reagan's economic policies having a strong driving effect on the domestic economic recovery in the United States.

Therefore, David also understood that Reagan's re-election in the midterm elections two years later would not be a problem.

So even if Luwotherman is biased and supports the Donald Party, it won't start until the election after that.

However, given his long history of cooperation with the Elephant Party, it remains to be seen whether the Donald Party will trust him again when that time comes.

Conversely, given Lou Wasserman's age at that time, he would certainly have carefully considered whether to rebel or settle down and ensure a peaceful future for his family and descendants.

Thinking about all this, David understood Li Changhe's line of thinking.

"Alright, since you're so confident, I don't think I have any reason to refuse."

"I will then arrange for a company to liaise with MCA. How about we have them discuss the specific details of the cooperation with MCA?"

Seeing Li Changhe's confidence, David Rockefeller didn't insist any further.

Based on Li Changhe's performance over the past few years, he still enjoys considerable recognition from David Rockefeller. Moreover, a television station is not a significant asset for the Rockefeller family.

Meanwhile, Lou Wasserman, who was touring Rockefeller Estate with David Rockefeller's assistant, was also very nervous and had no interest in the tour at all.

After all, family members know their own affairs. He had never discussed his political views with Victor, but before that, he was indeed a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party.

If it weren't for the fact that this year's winners were his acquaintances and friends, he probably wouldn't have switched sides.

But that's where the problem lies. David Rockefeller couldn't possibly be unaware of his past, as evidenced by his attitude towards him just now.

However, on the other hand, some members of the Democratic Party are now very dissatisfied with him because of his defection.

The reason why the Department of Justice is relentlessly pursuing the MCA case, and why the piracy incident was so quickly escalated into a state-sponsored case, is essentially retaliation from the Democratic Party against his defection, while also damaging Ricci's reputation.

Lou Wasserman is now, in a sense, a pawn abandoned by both sides. The Elephant Party doesn't like him, and the Donald Party hates him. Even if the Republicans protect him, it's all in vain.

To the average Californian, Lou Wasserman remains the aloof Hollywood king and the head of the MCA, but many are aware that he is now in a precarious situation.

The tiger may be old and powerful, but there is no doubt that in the jungle of Hollywood, there are already many ambitious people eyeing the throne and preparing to become the new king.

The owners of Fox, Warner Bros., and Columbia Pictures had secretly formed an alliance to dismantle the MCA empire.

Lou Wasserman is well aware of his situation, so he is now working closely with Victor in order to leverage Victor's relationship with Rockefeller and find a powerful patron for himself again.

"Mr. Wasserman, David invites you to dinner!"

Just as Lou Wasserman was idly touring Rockefeller Estate, his assistant, who had been notified, came to his side again.

Hearing the invitation, Luwoserman breathed a sigh of relief.

Clearly, Vic did convince David Rockefeller.

Otherwise, if the two men's negotiations failed, they would not have stayed to have dinner with David.

The banquet, a lively affair with guests and hosts, came to a close amidst the clinking of glasses. That evening, Li Changhe declined David's invitation to stay overnight and instead boarded David Rockefeller's private helicopter to return to New York.

In his study, Li Changhe didn't rush to rest. Instead, he sat alone, looking at the New York night view and pondering his next strategy.

Today's conversation with David Rockefeller was, for him, a test.

He was actually very clear about Lou Wasserman's ideas and knew about his past. After all, how could he not know Lou Wasserman well if he was going to choose him as his partner?
However, Li Changhe still took Lou Wasserman to Rockefeller's estate, wanting to see David Rockefeller's attitude.

Li Changhe is not often in the United States, so he cannot keep track of many developments there at all times, including the attitudes of these family tycoons.

Even an occasional test can reveal how much they trust themselves.

Moreover, he wasn't entirely without confidence in bringing Lou Wasserman along.

The Elephant Party has tried to get involved in Hollywood more than once or twice. Westinghouse Electric had previously intended to acquire MCA, but it was thwarted by Lou Wasserman.

Later, within the MCA, there were also people close to the Elephant Party; Lou Wasserman's former opponent was a clear member of the Elephant Party.

However, he still couldn't defeat Lao Lu in the end.

Moreover, Li Changhe also knew that Lao Lu's closeness to the Democratic Party was not because he supported the Democratic Party, but more importantly because this guy had a dirty past and close ties with Black people. The US Department of Justice had already taken action against the MCA many times.

They're just spending money to buy their lives.

Judging from today's conversation, David Rockefeller still has a certain level of support for him, and he hasn't been too much of a jerk.

This also means that their cooperation is still in its honeymoon period, which is a friendly response for Li Changhe.

As for Luwotherman, Li Changhe couldn't easily kick him out. On one hand, he still held considerable power in Hollywood and was a very important figure.

On the other hand, Lou Wasserman's influence on MCA is too profound. After all, MCA is a publicly traded company. Even if Li Changhe controls a large number of shares, he cannot do whatever he wants if he wants to split up MCA. He must have Lou Wasserman's support.

This is also why he so strongly supports Lou Wasserman.

In retrospect, he has cleared the last hurdle to the MCA's breakup.

The next step is to take control of Global.

Universal is now a major player in Hollywood, thanks to the success of Loewatherman.

However, according to the information Anna provided him, several other Hollywood companies were not satisfied with Universal and Luwatherman in the past two years.

Hollywood today is divided into two camps: Luwatserman's Universal and his ally Paramount. This camp also controls two major union organizations: the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Ambilight Film Production Association (AMPTP).

The latter includes not only movies, but also content production for major television channels.

Both of these current chairmen were promoted by Luwoserman.

Li Changhe also found information in the documents that Lew Wasserman had used a trick to promote NBC's president, Gintner, to the position.

This demonstrates the extent of Luwaserman's power before his death.

Therefore, Li Changhe must use a gradual approach to resolve the problem of Lao Lu, rather than resorting to force.

This also includes taking control of Global.

The current president of Universal Pictures, Sidney Seanberg, was chosen by Lou Wasserman. In Li Changhe's view, Seanberg's abilities are unremarkable. Universal Pictures under his leadership has not been outstanding in the past two years, but it is not bad either.

However, Li Changhe had another suitable candidate in mind, namely Michael Eisner, who later took control of Disney and built it into a major company.

Li Changhe didn't know much about the people in the European and American entertainment industry. His knowledge of many people in Hollywood came from the entertainment novels he read in his later years.

Michael Eisner is one of them, known as the tyrant of Disney, but his abilities are undeniable.

Michael Eisner is now the president of Paramount Pictures, and Indiana Jones was a success under his leadership.

However, it is precisely because of the success of Indiana Jones that Eisner is now in a very bad situation; to put it bluntly, his achievements have overshadowed his master.

Being called a tyrant is enough to show that Eisner's personality is problematic. When such a person becomes arrogant, he is naturally difficult to control, so it is understandable that he would clash with the boss of Paramount.

Li Changhe didn't care about that. It would be even better if Eisner could build Universal into a successful company, even if he became the soul of Universal.

However, the current CEO of Universal, Sidney, also has an advantage, a unique strength, which is that he has Spielberg on his side.

Sidney was Spielberg's mentor; Spielberg's current films for Universal, such as "Jaws" and "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," were all supported by Sidney.

The two have a very good relationship, and as a result, Spielberg is now considered one of Universal's go-to directors.

Li Changhe only knew a few famous Hollywood directors: George Lucas, Cameron the Truck Driver, Spielberg, and later the renowned Nolan.

George Lucas currently controls both the Star Wars and Indiana Jones franchises, and he's already very successful in Hollywood. It would be difficult for Li Changhe to poach him.

The truck driver wasn't famous yet, but Li Changhe had someone find out about him. He had just filmed Piranha 2 last year, but it was a mediocre flop. This was Li Changhe's next target.

Then there's Spielberg, who's practically a shoo-in for the directorship, but it's not a sure thing, since he's tied to Sidney.

As for Nolan, he's probably still quite young, it's a long way off!
Therefore, for Li Changhe at present, the directors he is most likely to have in hand are Spielberg and Cameron.

However, this raises a problem: given Eisner's personality, he might not be able to get along well with these big-name directors.

Putting everything else aside, Eisner is known as the Disney tyrant, and Cameron is known as the on-set tyrant. Li Changhe reckons that these two "tyrants" would definitely not be able to work together.

Choosing a director?
Or should we choose the CEO?

After thinking it over, Li Changhe decided to wait until he returned to Los Angeles to contact Sidney first.

He planned to personally give Sidney a chance first, after all, the man wasn't entirely incompetent to become the president of Universal Pictures.

While Li Changhe was considering the fate of Universal, Lou Wasserman was also contemplating his own destiny.

He knew he had to find Victor and have a serious talk.

(End of this chapter)