America: My Time

Chapter 1116 The Impact of Advantages and Disadvantages
Chapter 1106 The Impact of Advantages and Disadvantages
The New Year's party at the White House brought a different experience to everyone and showed them a different side of things. John didn't care about any of this, and early the next morning, he left without saying goodbye to anyone. He left cleanly and decisively. This made the White House and Donkey sigh, because some of them had some ideas and wanted to talk to John again, but unfortunately, John didn't give them the chance.

"Cameron, how much more funding do you need? It seems this project won't be completed this year. You're impacting the development of Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures. And I want you to give me a precise timeframe. You need to understand that I'm putting a lot of pressure on you right now. I need to give Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures an explanation!"

Upon returning to California, John had to have a serious talk with Cameron. The project had been delayed for far too long, two years, which had caused dissatisfaction at both Universal and Paramount. If he hadn't personally approved the project, the chairmen of the two studios would likely have been under immense pressure.

Although John knew this was a very lucrative project, knowing it himself was useless. He needed to give an explanation to the two major film studios and Phoenix Cinemas, as all of this required advance preparation. The original plan was for a summer release this year, but now it seemed far off. At least John didn't believe this guy could complete everything this year, so John needed time to prepare.

"Boss, I don't know how much more time it will take. We've only filmed a little over half of it, and it will take a lot more time. Plus, we're severely short of funds!" Cameron complained to John. The sheer size of the project's investment had already put considerable pressure on the two major film studios. The original filming period was supposed to be a year and a half, but it's still far off. As a result, the project has had a significant impact on both studios.

Although John is bearing all the pressure himself and won't blame the two major film studios, there still needs to be an explanation. Most importantly, his enemies are already taking action, and there are already negative rumors circulating in Hollywood. This forces John to be on high alert and prepared, because those guys are not good people. If they take this opportunity to attack him, the consequences will be severe.

"It will take another year, at the earliest it will be released next summer!" Facing his boss, Cameron dared not hide anything, after all, his filming speed was what it was, and lying would only make his situation more unfavorable.

"So you might not be able to release it next summer? Okay! I can accept that, but the investment won't increase anymore. Neither Paramount nor Universal Pictures will put any more effort into it. They can't put all their energy into your project. This additional funding is the last one. Don't make things difficult for me! I am the boss, that's true, but I can't keep interfering with the operations of the two major film studios. Besides, this project has consumed too much money and effort, and it has already broken the company's rules. Do you understand?"

As he said this, John's gaze was fixed on Cameron. Although the truck driver was a genius, he couldn't let the guy continue to go on like this. This project was the best opportunity to make the guy rein himself in.

“I understand. I won’t make things difficult for you anymore. I also know that you’ve taken on a lot of pressure for me for this project. If it weren’t for your support, this project would have been shelved long ago, or even replaced!” Cameron wasn’t stupid. He naturally understood how much pressure John had taken on for him in this big ship project. If it weren’t for John, the big boss, stepping in to coordinate, he would have been abandoned by the two major film studios long ago.

Although Cameron is a renowned director, the failure of such a large project would have a huge impact on him and would cost him dearly. Hollywood is not a paradise for art, but a paradise for capital. Hollywood giants prioritize capital and don't care about art. The reason he went over budget so much was to pursue so-called art. Cameron himself knows this, but he can't change it, and his producers are already quite angry.

"It's good that you understand. I believe you are very clear about the current situation in Hollywood. It's no secret how many people are pessimistic about you. Not to mention our competitors, even many people in the two major film studios think this project will be a huge disaster. So don't let me down. I won't interfere with any of your decisions from now on, but you have to do a good job with this project. I can afford the failure of the project, but you can't afford it!"

John was right. He could handle failure, but Cameron couldn't. If he failed this time, he would never have the chance to work on such a big-budget film again. The investment in the big ship project was huge, and failure would mean that the entire Hollywood would reject him. That would be a disaster for Cameron!
Pressure is a driving force. John, harboring his own anxieties, put this pressure on Cameron, letting him know the immense pressure he faced. A failure on such a massive project meant no second chance, even with Cameron's past successes. A failure on such a large project could haunt him for years!
After speaking with Cameron, John sighed. His actions weren't just about putting pressure on Cameron, but also about giving Universal and Paramount an explanation, taking all the responsibility upon himself and vouching for Cameron. At the same time, he was also manipulating his enemies, making them believe he would focus his energy on the project, thus lowering their guard and ensuring he wouldn't encounter any further trouble during his time in the US.

As John's conversation with Cameron ended, and as John took full responsibility for the project upon himself, Universal Pictures and Paramount Pictures breathed a sigh of relief. However, other Hollywood giants were mocking John, believing he had made a mistake.

However, everything has its pros and cons. Now, the bad side has emerged: Hollywood giants are targeting the Big Ship project, and they're using all sorts of underhanded tactics. But there's also a good side. When John personally took the blame for Cameron, he won people's hearts. The morale of the major media groups instantly stabilized. Cameron had caused such a huge mess, and their own boss was taking the pressure for him. This made many people happy; at least their companies weren't too heartless.

As for what the actors think, nobody cares. If anyone dares to bring this up, the two major studios will simply leave Hollywood and California. Nobody wants to bear such consequences, and preparations for this are ongoing. So neither Donkey nor Elephant dares to mess with John on this issue.

If John previously had a reputation as a Hollywood tyrant, now no one among the directors, producers, and major media conglomerates cares anymore. They all know that while John is ruthless to outsiders, he's caring to his employees. While those in Hollywood were constantly making underhanded moves, John's media conglomerates remained completely stable, quickly recovering from the impact of the restructuring. This turn of events stunned many; no one expected that a single large-scale project would bring John such benefits. Now, even if the large-scale project completely fails, it won't be a loss for John or the major media conglomerates.

Many people wanted to see John fail, but what they're seeing now isn't failure, but rather the rapid stabilization of several major media groups. As the story spreads, this applies not only to media groups but also to other companies. This situation has led many to marvel at and admire John's methods. In their eyes, this isn't a failure at all, but a tremendous success; some even want to include it in textbooks!
Many people wanted to talk to John, and many wanted to interview him, but John refused even his own interview requests, let alone those from others. John had no time to care about this matter; instead, he was contacting Middle Eastern tycoons, telling them everything about the White House New Year's party, and warning them to be vigilant and increase the financial reserves of Gulfstream Aerospace and Bentley Motors. At this time, John did not want to see these two major groups get into trouble.

These two conglomerates now have a significant number of employees for John in the United States and serve as his personal brand, so John doesn't want them to be affected. Therefore, in this matter, John hopes to obtain more financial support from Middle Eastern tycoons, and he has discussed this plan with the CEOs of the two conglomerates.

John can't personally go to the Middle Eastern tycoons to communicate and negotiate, but the CEOs of these two groups can. John is now working behind the scenes, so it's normal for him not to show his face.

When the CEOs of Bentley Motors and Gulfstream Aerospace visited the Middle Eastern tycoons, some people became wary, especially those who had attended the White House New Year's reception. They all felt that this was the beginning of John's scheme, the start of a new round of cooperation between the two groups and the Middle Eastern tycoons.

Soon, the two major conglomerates received a number of orders from Middle Eastern tycoons. Not only the two conglomerates, but shipyards also received a lot of orders, which put aside the concerns of those who had been worried. These were no small orders. The Middle Eastern tycoons gave a large portion of their shipbuilding orders to John's shipyard, making many shipyards envious. However, they were powerless to do anything about it, because the smart ones understood the deal behind it.

After this deal was completed, the rift between John and the Middle Eastern tycoons lessened considerably. Although the tycoons were still wary of John, they now understood that it was not the time to part ways with him. Their cooperation needed to continue. Moreover, they had witnessed the capabilities and scheming of their 'enemy' this time, and if they were to part ways with John, disaster would await them.

At the same time, both groups brought out their weapons, the performance of which greatly satisfied the Middle Eastern tycoons. Moreover, these weapons were significantly better than those of the Europeans, which made the Middle Eastern tycoons no longer doubt the problems with their cooperation with John. At least John did not cheat them or give them anything that was not presentable.

The new cooperation has mended the differences between the two sides, allowing them to return to their original state. However, John's energy strategy is not over yet. His plans in Europe and Asia are complete, and now John's focus is on Africa and South America, where he continues to make further investments.

A good reputation naturally brings John more benefits and profits; this is the advantage John has always maintained. At least globally, John's credibility is top-notch; no one questions his reputation, and precisely because of this, John's investments worldwide have been without issue.

"Are you sure John has so many farms all over the world? Is he now fully capable of becoming one of the world's largest grain traders?" While many were discussing John's deepening cooperation with Middle Eastern tycoons, the four major grain traders finally discovered John's global network, which gave them all a headache. They had previously blocked John's acquisitions to prevent him from becoming a world-class grain trader, but now they found that their methods had failed. John had already completed his global network, which made them extremely alarmed!
“That’s right, it’s confirmed. Many farms are under the control of the women around him. If we hadn’t made some discoveries about the winery acquisitions, we wouldn’t have found this out. That bastard is too insidious. Now I finally understand why this guy has so many women!”

"Is there any way for us to stop this, or rather, to take these farms out of his hands?"

"Impossible! Don't even think about it. John, that little fox, won't leave such a loophole. If you really try to do that, it will provoke his furious counterattack. You haven't forgotten what happened to those bastards in Israel, have you? Don't cross John's bottom line. He won't care about normal business dealings, but doing something like this is unacceptable!"

(End of this chapter)