American Gossip King

Chapter 16 Business is Business

The interview ended an hour later.

Next was the dinner.

The dinner was held in the banquet hall behind the CBS television station, and many important figures attended.

The chubby, fair-skinned Icabot Harnett is the director of Channel 4, a television station under CBS, and the guy Ian called in the middle of the night to sell news. He is also the host of this banquet.

In addition, there are Michael Bay, Ben Affleck, and Josh Hartnett, all Hollywood stars and Pearl Harbor actors.

If it were someone else, they might have felt a sense of reverence or worship when facing these big stars and important figures, but Ian wouldn't.

As a former top paparazzo, he had followed countless celebrities and knew that these big shots were no different from ordinary people in private... some were even more foolish.

Even successful business people have their foolish side: everyone has their own area of ​​expertise. They may be very smart and capable in their own field, but outside of that field, they may not be much better than a country peasant woman.

Their success is primarily due to the success of their environment, and only secondarily to their personal success—there is only the era's potential, not the era's potential; this statement is mostly true.

Those who can shape an era are called great people!

So when Ian looked at them, he treated them as if they were just a group of ordinary people, without any sense of humility.

At that moment, Director Hanit walked over.

He chuckled and put his arm around Ian, saying, "Ian Carl? You're a really great lad."

Back then, my predecessor met this station director with old Karl, but at that time he obviously didn't take young Karl seriously, and even old Karl wasn't worth his attention.

until today.

Director Hannet put his arm around Ian and said, "Come on, kid, let me introduce you to some important guests."

As he spoke, he led Ian to a middle-aged white man with dark hair and said, "This is Mr. Bertram Rick, CEO of Touchstone Pictures."

Ian smiled and extended his hand: "Hello, Mr. Nick."

The other party smiled and replied, "Well done, young man."

Film and television companies and television stations often collaborate, so they are in frequent contact and have a close relationship.

This incident has brought them together even more.

Harnett continued to introduce him to the next person, and that familiar face was none other than the famous director, Michael Bay.

Harnett said, "Michael Bay, you must know his name."

Ian grinned and said to Michael Bay, "The Rock, Bad Boys, and Alcatraz are all great movies."

Upon hearing this, the young and handsome Ben Affleck almost burst out laughing.

Seeing his barely suppressed amusement, Ian instantly recalled an anecdote.

When Michael Bay made "Armageddon," he made the film so popular that it was included in NASA's teaching materials—unfortunately, it was used as a negative example.

It is said that NASA requires new employees to watch this movie and point out hundreds of bugs in it; failing to meet the standards in identifying problems means you are not qualified.

When Michael Bay invited Ben Affleck to star in Arrest, he showed him the script, which completely baffled Ben Affleck.

Who is Ben Affleck?

Putting aside his excellent acting skills, he's also a genius who wrote the screenplay for "Good Will Hunting," which won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay!

After reading the script for "Cataclysm," he was dumbfounded and asked Michael Bay, "Why train drilling workers to be astronauts? Shouldn't we be training astronauts to be good at drilling? Is drilling more difficult than spaceflight?"

Michael Bay was dumbfounded.

After thinking for a while, he waved his hand dismissively: "Why the hell do you care so much? Just do it this way!"

Ian Smith boasted in public without blushing, saying that "Armageddon" was a good film. Ben Affleck's faint smile showed his good manners, and he was probably used to it.

It turns out that excessive flattery can be bad!

Fortunately, Michael Bay doesn't mind this; for him, box office revenue is the key.

Why do you care about all those other things if you have good box office returns?

There is no such thing as a work that sells well simply because it is plausible!

He laughed and gave Ian a hug: "You're the bravest journalist I've ever met. Well done, Ian."

Next, Ian greeted Ben Affleck and the others, but since they were all new acquaintances, they didn't say much.

The banquet hall was buffet style, so everyone held their wine glasses and pastries, and gathered together to chat.

After chatting for a while, Touchstone Pictures CEO Bertram Rick said to Ian, "Anyway, we have to thank you for saving Kate; you saved Pearl Harbor."

Ian laughed and said, "Pearl Harbor was already filmed, so it doesn't count as saving the movie."

Kate walked over and said, "We might need to shoot a few more shots."

She leaned close to Ian's ear and whispered, "They weren't planning on having you make a cameo appearance; the prediction failed."

She winked playfully at Ian, implying that even Ian could make a mistake.

She changed into a velvet evening gown, which made her look glamorous and noble, and she wore a precious diamond necklace around her neck, making her look exceptionally charming.

The latest novel is first published here!

Ian didn't seem to care, and simply laughed, "The Pearl Harbor project is scheduled to launch next year? We'll need to do some promotion then, and perhaps the Leading News can play a role."

For film and television productions to conduct publicity and distribution, the media is an indispensable channel.

Publicity and distribution involve both promotion and distribution, with promotion playing a more significant role!

The media relies heavily on content from movies and TV shows. As the owner of the Los Angeles Herald, Ian naturally needs to attract business for himself. Of all the content, film and television content is the most popular, since it is more exciting and easier for the media to retain clients.

Therefore, every media outlet hopes to establish close ties with Hollywood. Only with Hollywood's support can a media outlet further develop and grow.

In Ian's opinion, this shouldn't be a problem.

After all, he was involved with Kate in this matter, and he had helped Touchstone Pictures in a way, so it wasn't unreasonable for Touchstone Pictures to return the favor by giving him some business.

Unexpectedly, Bertram Rick shook his head: "I'm afraid that won't work. The Herald is too small. Actually, we have a partnership with ABC."

These words annoyed Ian.

He certainly knew about the relationship between Touchstone Pictures and ABC News.

They are sister companies, and they share a common boss: Disney!

Film and entertainment are closely related to media. Only by controlling entertainment resources can a continuous stream of news and various hidden benefits be provided to the media. Therefore, major corporate groups are all investing in the film and television industry. It's either me or you who are my boss.

For example, News Corporation owns Fox Entertainment Group, which in turn owns FOX News and 21st Century Fox; Time Warner controls HBO and Warner Bros. Entertainment; Universal Pictures belongs to Comcast; and Paramount belongs to Viacom.

It can be said that Hollywood's giant companies will eventually be controlled by media conglomerates. Only Disney is the most powerful, turning around and controlling ABC, which is why Hollywood later became a superpower with many strong players - somewhat like a global landscape.

In this timeline of America, there's a slight discrepancy from Ian's understanding: CBS in this timeline hasn't yet been acquired by Viacom.

Disney has its own media outlets, so it's impossible for them to share their business with Ian Carr, especially since The Herald is so small now—frankly speaking, Ian Carr himself is probably more valuable than The Herald.

But this annoyed Ian Carl.

I don't want all your promotional resources, just a share. Promotion doesn't have to be given to only one company.

I've done you such a big favor, and you won't even give me a sip of soup?

However, that's business; it's a cruel and ruthless commercial world.

Business has nothing to do with personal relationships. Meeting you today is just for publicity purposes.

Promotional resources?

The Los Angeles Herald is not qualified!

(End of this chapter)