America: My Time

Chapter 313 Hollywood Party

Chapter 313 Hollywood Party
For the banks in Japan, the arrival of Western Energy's loan application and its business plan was met with great excitement. Western Energy's plan clearly outlined the staggering future electricity consumption in California, projecting that building more than two power plants, or even a dozen more, would be feasible—Western Energy had such a plan.

If there were no collateral, those guys in Japan would have really considered the risks, but now they don't need to worry about risks at all. With Texas natural gas fields as collateral, it's not a problem at all. So Western Energy's funding problem was quickly solved, although Western Energy took on some debt.

John wasn't worried about such debt at all. The existence of this debt could offset the company's taxes. Western Energy could bear even the largest debt. At least before the two major power plants were fully operational and started generating electricity, Western Energy wouldn't have to pay so much tax on the natural gas revenue it extracted!

Of course, some people saw through John's strategy, but so what? It's a normal business development necessity, and no one can say anything about it. It's a normal business tactic, and if you had that ability, you could do it too. Not everyone can easily maintain this balance, and not everyone has John's vision to remain unaffected.

John's debts are mounting, and on the surface, his pressure must be staggering—billions of dollars. For some weak-willed individuals, such a massive debt would crush them. But John remains unchanged, continuing to follow his plans and attending school as usual. External pressures have no effect on him whatsoever, a performance that has shocked some of the older generation.

With the construction of the power plants underway, no one dared to complain that John wasn't creating jobs for the United States. The construction of the two power plants delighted the Donkeys, because the original agreement only stipulated one power plant, and now there was another one, which was a huge boon for them.

With the donkey backing down, Warner Bros. and Disney could no longer persist. Having lost their support, they had no choice but to bow to John and concede defeat. So, they joined forces and asked some Hollywood figures to intervene and resolve the conflict. This time, Warner Bros. truly understood the vast gap between itself and Legendary Entertainment and began to value the power of the media.

Soon John received an invitation to a Hollywood party. This invitation wasn't delivered directly to John, but rather through Robert Iger. This was a very large event, with all the Hollywood giants and well-known figures in the industry in attendance. All of this was done to get John to accept.

With Robert Iger's backing, John couldn't possibly refuse. Moreover, this was a party hosted in the name of all the Hollywood giants, so John was even less likely to refuse, otherwise it would be a slap in the face to the entire Hollywood. Although Legendary Entertainment was very powerful, it couldn't do something like this. Besides, Donald was behind it all, since California was under Donald's control.

Such a party would attract countless people's attention and drive the entire Hollywood crazy. No star would want to miss it, as it's the best opportunity to appear in front of the big shots.

Dressed in their finest attire, John led Naoko and Ye Qianwen to the venue of the party, an estate. It was unclear which Hollywood mogul owned the estate, but John's arrival drew attention from many. Those attending this party were all Hollywood figures, or at least had made prior preparations.

Although John is one of Hollywood's moguls, controlling Universal Pictures, he has never attended a Hollywood party. However, his legend lives on in Hollywood; his power is astounding. No matter how big a star you are, Legendary Entertainment will blacklist you. He shows no mercy even to the Writers Guild, and even split the guild. These tactics leave everyone in Hollywood terrified.

"I didn't expect this person to attend tonight's party. It seems that tonight's party is quite extraordinary. I was wondering why all seven big names and so many directors and producers would be here. It seems that they are all here for this big shot. But who are the two ladies next to him? I don't remember them at all."

"It's understandable that you don't remember. She's not a Hollywood star; she's a singer. Haven't you been paying attention to the newspapers lately?"

"Boss, let me introduce you to the people here!" Robert Iger quickly introduced John to the CEOs of the other Hollywood giants. John chatted with them one by one. Although Warner and Disney were rivals, John still chatted with them enthusiastically. After all, this was a cocktail party, and he couldn't be impolite.

“Iger, according to the original plan, you talk to them. If Warner and Disney want to reconcile, they need to show sincerity. It’s impossible to get away without paying a price. We’ve paid so much, we have to get something in return!” John handed over the negotiation to Robert Iger, while he himself needed to coordinate with others.

John knew perfectly well that tonight's party wasn't just about Hollywood; it also involved those who had plotted against him. He just didn't know who was representing them. John was certain that they wouldn't use any big shots, as that would expose the conflict and cause unnecessary trouble. Therefore, the representative must be someone from within Hollywood. John was momentarily at a loss as to who would be there to discuss reconciliation with him.

"Do you find it a bit unbelievable, or a little frustrating?" John smiled calmly when he saw Naoko and Ye Qianwen's expressions. Although it was a grand party, not just anyone could come up and talk to him.

"It's definitely not what we expected!"

"It's different, that's for sure. What do you think those people who came tonight are here for? To build connections and find ways to get ahead? Even if they were looking for connections, they would only go to directors and producers, not to a boss like me."

While John was explaining to Naoko and Ye Qianwen, Robert Iger had also made arrangements with those guys. In fact, tonight's party was just an opportunity. Everyone wanted to know if John was willing to reconcile. Once they confirmed that John had the intention to reconcile, everything would be much easier. The negotiations would not take place here, but at another time.

"Boss, this is James Cameron, filming Terminator!" When introducing James Cameron, Iger looked troubled. He knew why this guy was here; it was for the filming budget. This guy had approached him many times for the filming budget.

When John saw the troubled look on Iger's face, he understood why. James Cameron had gone over budget many times in the future, most notably during the filming of 'Titanic', which almost drove the bigwigs of the two film companies crazy.

"Hello, Cameron, it seems your talks with Iger didn't go very well! This is the first time I've seen Iger so troubled! How much more time do you need to finish filming, and how much budget do you need? The summer blockbuster season can't be affected; these things have already been decided!"

"Five hundred thousand, another five hundred thousand and the filming can be completed smoothly. I guarantee it will not affect Shanghai Film Studio!" James Cameron was very happy when he heard John's words. It was obvious that the big boss had agreed to his request.

"Five hundred thousand, this is the last time, no more overspending. It's not that Iger doesn't want to approve it, but Universal has a rule: if all directors follow your example and overspend so drastically, Universal's finances will be in trouble!" John quickly dismissed the film fanatic James Cameron, completely unconcerned about the guy's actions. It would be a problem if James Cameron could actually avoid overspending during filming.

"Boss, this guy is really speechless. Working with someone like him, I'm worried I'll be worked to death. Filming 'Terminator', this guy has already gone over budget by a million, and no matter what I say, it doesn't make sense. He insists on pursuing his perfection."

"Persistence is a good thing. Only persistent people can succeed. I believe he will not let us down. As long as the film can be released smoothly without delay, it is not a big deal. After all, delay has a greater impact on us! The success of Piranha 2 is enough to prove his talent. We can relax our financial support at the appropriate time. He is not the kind of person who pursues art at the expense of film quality. He knows how to balance."

As CEO of Legendary Entertainment, Iger had seen James Cameron's Terminator film. Without sufficient highlights, how could James Cameron have repeatedly exceeded the budget? However, Iger wasn't wrong; working with such talent put a lot of pressure on him.

“Don’t worry too much. Legendary Entertainment is already on the right track. The success or failure of one film won’t affect its development. Besides, these new directors are the easiest to work with and reach an agreement with. Those big-name directors probably won’t work with us easily. After all, our confrontation with the Actors Guild and the Screenwriters Guild has made many people uneasy!” John was telling the truth. Universal Pictures’ domineering and powerful nature has made many directors hesitant to work with them. Now, some of Universal Pictures’ projects have had to be suspended due to the outbreak of the war. It’s not that they don’t have the funds to shoot, but that their negotiations with the directors have gone wrong!

(End of this chapter)