Chapter Seventy-Fifth: The Movie Magnate

  USA, Los Angeles.

  Paramount Pictures headquarters.

  Now that Barry Diller has been lured away by Sumner Redstone, the man at the helm of Paramount is Mr. Raymond.

  Raymond first studied advertising at Harvard University in the United States, and after graduation, he worked for a not-so-famous advertising company, mainly doing advertising design and promotion work.

  Later, he was discovered by American media mogul Viacom's Heinz East because of his excellent creativity and became the head of the advertising department of "Viacom Entertainment Empire".

  Mr. Raymond has always been grateful to Ray Stone for his diligence and hard work, making ViaCom's advertising business in Europe prosperous.

  Nowadays, the big boss Lei Shi Dong said that he has an important task to give him, and let him come back from Europe. After Raymond received the news, he was busy preparing for his triumphant return to his hometown.

  But upon returning to America, the first thing he did was not sit down and drink coffee or taste red wine, but take over the declining Paramount.

  It is well known that in 1966, Gulf+Western Industries purchased Paramount Pictures and it became a subsidiary of the conglomerate. With the success of the film industry in the US during the 1970s, Paramount produced films such as The Godfather (I and II), Grease, Saturday Night Fever, which were high-grossing films, and the company had annual profits and reached a record high in 1978.

  But the good times did not last, and Paramount began to decline until Barry Diller took charge; just as Viacom, headed by Sumner Redstone, was ready to pounce.

  Rai Stones East has high hopes for Barry Diller, hoping he can lead Paramount to a beautiful comeback.

  Unfortunately, Barry Diller was eventually poached mid-stream by another media mogul, Rupert Murdoch. Leaving Paramount to fall back into the doldrums once again.

  No way, outsiders can't be relied on.

  Lei Shi Dong could only trust his own people now, and his most reliable subordinate was undoubtedly Raymond.

  Mr. Raymond was hastily recalled from Europe to take over as Paramount's president!

  Damn it, when did I ever make a movie?

  This is simply forcing the ducks onto the shelves!

  This was Mr. Raymond's first reaction after receiving the news.

  The idea of Paramount is very simple, movies and advertisements are the same concept, they are all commodities. As long as you sell movies like advertisements, you will definitely be able to sell well and help Paramount revive.

  Mr. Raymond's mindset is still stuck on "I am a brick of the company, wherever it needs me to move", and he can only obey the appointment of the headquarters.

  In contrast, Mr. Raymond's wife was particularly resistant.

  "What the hell, they didn't let you work at headquarters, and instead sent you to Paramount!"

  "Everyone knows that damned Paramount has been having a streak of bad luck recently, whether it's filming or releasing movies, they're all just losing money!"

  "And another thing, what really gets me angry is that Paramount has so many female stars. You're weak-willed and can't resist temptation. What if you get seduced by one of those foxy ladies? Will I still have a good life then?"

  Mr. Raymond could only spread his hands and smile wryly, "I didn't want to either, dear baby! But if I don't become the CEO, who will?!"

  Then, in this very depressing atmosphere, Mr. Raymond took office, originally thinking that with his own talent, Paramount would be able to revive itself and he could also fully display his abilities. Unexpectedly, the first investment was sunk by Fox, nearly $200 million in joint investment, the sunken "Titanic", thoroughly trapped Raymond into the deep abyss of risk investment.

  Mr. Raymond is bleeding internally, no wonder so many people are unwilling to take over this mess, the water of Paramount is too deep.

  Fortunately, in December 1997, Titanic was finally released and box office soared.

  The originally heartbroken Mr. Raymond can be said to be "overjoyed to the point of tears", but a box office explosion is not necessarily a good thing either.

  Fox is playing Tai Chi again on his side, wanting to divide more profits.

  Raymond is no fool, of course he won't do it.

  So everyone followed the most common procedure in the United States - litigation!

  Profit distribution, one delay after another.

  Capital withdrawal, one delay after another.

  Mr. Raymond's heart bled again.

  With the heavy lesson of Titanic, Mr. Lei's investment became cautious and no longer made big moves, only making some low-cost films, occasionally buying some promising films to attract attention, just waiting for the lawsuit to be settled and recovering the hundreds of millions of investments.

  In fact, Mr. Raymond represents Paramount to acquire the rights of "Moonlight" from Emperor Motion Pictures and three films from newly established Dreamland Film Co., Ltd. The reason is to let everyone know that Paramount is still very vibrant and has not fallen silent. Look, even on Halloween, we have four films released.

  As for making money, Raymond doesn't consider it much. At this stage, even if these movies make money, how much can they make? 1 million? 2 million or 3 million? Oh my god, to Mr. Raymond who has been waiting for the 1 billion box office share of "Titan", this is just a drop in the bucket.

  However, "Halloween 7" performed reasonably well at the box office after a week of screening on Halloween, ranking fourth with $4.5 million, and didn't end up last, which made Mr. Raymond feel a little better.

  He let out a breath, in the office, Mr. Raymond had one hand in his pocket, gazing at the huge floor-to-ceiling window below which was the bustling city of Los Angeles teeming with people.

  A knock at the door was followed by a female secretary entering with a cup of coffee, which she placed on the desk. "Sir, your coffee."

  "Ah, thank you, Nina. Just put it there for now." Raymond turned around, "By the way, has this week's movie data report come out?"

  "It's already out, sir. Look, it's this one." The female secretary pulled out a document from the many papers and handed it to Raymond.

  Raymond took over the materials and sat down to carefully review them.

  The content of the material is very dry data, but in the eyes of a professional like Raymond, it is a symbol of fighting spirit.

  Seeing the wonderful place, Raymond involuntarily picked up his coffee and took a sip.

  Suddenly, his gaze paused on the documents for a moment, and the coffee in his hand shook, spilling some...

  The female secretary stood beside him, serving Mr. Raymond for so long, had never seen him so distracted.

  "Sir, is there something wrong with this report?"

  "Oh no, I'm just a little curious... The weekly box office of 'Paranormal Activity' is really $960,000?"

  "Yes, this data is absolutely accurate."

  "What's the screening schedule for this play?"

  "It seems not very high, less than one-seventh of 'Moonlight'..." The female secretary replied honestly.

  "Is it? Less than a seventh?" Mr. Raymond's eyes narrowed.

  "Besides, I heard this play is mainly scheduled for a matinee..." The female secretary added.

  Mr. Raymond's heart skipped another beat.

  Damn it, showing in the afternoon?!

  Everyone knows that the worst screening time for movies is in the morning. Who would come to watch a movie early in the morning?!

  Besides, during a horror movie season like Halloween, the best screening time is at night, or at worst in the afternoon. Who would want to screen it in the morning?

  "Who arranged this? Why was it arranged in the morning?"

  "Oh, I heard it was their own request..."

  "What?" Mr. Raymond was really surprised this time. "He asked for it himself, why?"

  Yes, why?

  Is there anyone who is still afraid of their own film making too much money and having a high box office?!

  Mr. Raymond's mind was momentarily unable to turn around.

  "Cough, Mr. Yi Feiyang said that the content of this play is too terrifying, it would be better to show it during the day." The female secretary explained.

  "The movie is too scary, how about showing it during the day?" This answer once again gave Mr. Raymond a feeling of being struck by lightning.

  Mr. Raymond thought he was calm and collected, but he was constantly startled by Yifei Yang and his "Ghost Shadow Record".

  Who can't calculate math problems?

  Raymond can calculate with his butt that if the screening volume of "Paranormal Activity" is increased sevenfold and scheduled for evening screenings, its box office will be a terrifying number!

  16 million, 17 million, even 20 million!

  Yes, unexpectedly, next week's box office champion might be this small production that I had never noticed before!

  Raymond took a deep breath and calmed himself down. As the president of Paramount Pictures, he knew what he had to do now...

  ……

  Yi Feiyang's awaited phone call finally rang.

  Yes, this phone call he had been waiting for a week finally rang when he was about to give up hope.

  The phone call was simple: Paramount's president, Mr. Raymond, wanted to see him.

  "No problem, of course no problem!" was Yi Feiyang's response.

  It was in Mr. Raymond's presidential office that afternoon. Yifei Yang saw the legendary Paramount CEO.

  In fact, in Yifeiyang's view, Mr. Raymond was very young, at most in his forties.

  He was elegant in demeanor, refined and cultured. He didn't wear any famous brand watches or suits, but if there was one thing that stood out about him, it was the small pin on his chest.

  Yes, that was a small exquisite brooch with a green vine growing upwards on it. If someone had insight, they could see at a glance that this was the emblem of the American Ivy League Club.

  There are eight Ivy League schools in the United States, namely: Harvard, Yale, Columbia, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton, Dartmouth, Brown, and Cornell.

  These eight universities have produced countless U.S. presidents and economic and political stars, including 13 presidents from Yale alone, earning it the nickname "cradle of presidents"; Harvard has produced so many economic heavyweights that some say Wall Street is its main battleground, with Harvard alumni able to make the stock market jump with just a few words.

  The eight universities form an invisible force...the Ivy League, and these people are actually in control of the fate of America's future.

  With the alliance, there must be communication, so the "Ivy League Club" was born. All sorts of stars and bigwigs gather together, communicate with each other, decide on the direction of development in the United States, reform and next steps in politics and economy...

  It can be said that this is not just a badge, but a display of glory and strength. Representing the unknown powerful energy behind it, representing its own recognition by the top elites in the United States.

  At this moment, it is such a brooch that countless people dream of, but it is inconspicuously pinned on a very ordinary suit, which makes people feel somewhat "incompatible".

  Yes, very mismatched.

  Especially Mr. Raymond's dress and behavior, there is not a bit of Hollywood big shot style, no matter how you look at it, it looks like an ordinary office worker.

  That's the first impression Mr. Raymond had of Yifei Yang.

  But Yifeng Yang knew, it was such a person who boldly invested in "Titanic", and replaced Barry Diller, a genius, to thoroughly support Paramount, which was originally weak, and became the dominant player.

  Don't judge people by their appearance.

  Yi Feiyang reminded himself.

  Just as Yi Feiyang was sizing up his opponent, Mr. Raymond was also sizing up Yi Feiyang.

  Judging from the profit-sharing agreement signed with Paramount, this guy is obviously a moron. However, judging from his operation of "The Witch" Part 1, which earned $200 million, he's as cunning as a monkey.

  The huge contrast made Raymond even more curious about this young man.

  Now face to face, this Chinese Yi has a pair of profound eyes. The eyes are the window of the soul, and Raymond has always believed in this point, so he made a judgment that this Chinese Yi is absolutely not a simple person.

  "Hello, I'm Raymond."

  "Hello, I am Yi Feiyang."

  The two shook hands warmly.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Raymond. I'm not sure what you've asked me here for today?" Yi Feiyang asked with a smile.

  "Ah, that's right." Raymond said with a smile as he gestured for Yifei Yang to take a seat. "I've taken a look at this week's movie data report and your Dream Illusion Films' three films have great potential. Yes, especially 'Ghost Shadow Record', I'm very optimistic about it, so I wanted to discuss with you increasing the film's screening volume."

  "Haha, your proposal is exactly what I've been waiting for." Yi Feiyang didn't hide his joy at all. "Actually, I've always been depressed, depressed that you gave me too few shots. Haha."

  "So I owe you an apology," Mr. Raymond said, being very down-to-earth, "At first, I didn't think much of your plays, to be honest, I just thought they were too cheap and the publicity wasn't good."

  "Don't worry about this, Mr. Raymond. As long as you're willing to increase the screening volume of these three plays, I'll make them a huge hit by tomorrow, yes, tomorrow!"

  "Oh, really?" Raymond looked at Yifeyang with some incredulity, looking at this strange Chinese man from head to toe.

  "Heh heh, if you're familiar with me, then you know I'm not one to talk big. Yes, I'm a straightforward and honest person. I despise those who talk big and spout nonsense! I like to let facts speak for themselves. So, as long as you increase the broadcast volume of my three plays, I'll definitely find ways to hype them up and make sure they're well-received, with a nice aroma that fills the air!"

  "Ah, dear Yi, your tone sounds like you're cooking up one of your famous Chinese dishes... Chinese food, I love it!" Mr. Raymond exclaimed. "Alright then, I'll immediately instruct them to triple the number of scenes for you. As long as your acting is good, I'll keep adding more scenes for you, what do you think?!"

  "This suggestion, in my opinion... is not bad. Hehe, okay then, Mr. Raymond, let's do it your way, I believe this decision of yours is absolutely correct, because you'll soon see a miracle!"

  "A miracle? I'm expecting it!" Raymond stretched out his hand again, and Yifei shook it without hesitation.

  After another simple conversation, Yifei Yang left.

  Watching Yi Feiyang's receding back, Mr. Raymond shrugged his shoulders, "This is a cunning Chinese. I just don't know what method he has to hype up his own show..."

  Mr. Raymond sat down, thinking, and took out the profit-sharing agreement signed by Yi Feiyang and Paramount.

  Looking at the agreement, the first week is 25% commission, the second week is 35% commission, the third week is 45% commission...

  No matter how you look at it, this Chinese person seems to be a complete fool. But for some reason, Mr. Raymond suddenly had an ominous premonition, especially looking at this unbelievable brain-damaged agreement, he couldn't believe that a cunning person would have such low intelligence...