Upper East Side 79th Street, in a red-brick condominium off Third Avenue.

The party was not large, and it was basically made up of close friends of the Raybould family, with more than 20 men and women.

After a pleasant greeting, and sitting down in the living room next to the living room, James Raybould talked about one of Simon's recent concerns: "I've gathered a copy of New World Entertainment, Simon, if you need to, you can take it back when you leave." Before the stock market crash, the company's business was still okay. While the film division isn't great, both the TV and comic book divisions are profitable, and NBC's "Ultimate Police Network," which ranked third in the fall season, is a production from New World Entertainment. ”

New World Entertainment was reorganized from New World Pictures last year.

James Raybould mentions the company mainly because New World Entertainment, which is now the parent company of Marvel, bought Marvel Entertainment last November from a company that went into liquidation.

Simon pulled his attention away from one of the guests, a middle-aged man who worked for the ABC network, and asked, "What now?"

"After the crash, New World Entertainment's share price has plummeted 51% from its peak, leaving just under $190 million. However, the company's liabilities exceed $220 million, and its main creditor is General Electric. ”

When Simon heard this, he didn't need to explain more from Raybould to understand what the situation would be next for New World Entertainment.

Film and television production companies rely on external funding to a very high degree, and the business situation of New World Entertainment before the stock market crash may have been quite good. But now, the stock price has plummeted to the point of insolvency, and financial institutions will certainly not provide any more funding for the company.

Lack of funds, difficulty in starting projects, and the loss of profits, followed by a vicious cycle of bankruptcy.

However, Simon was a little curious: "How could New World Entertainment get involved with General Electric?"

"GE acquired NBC last year, and as a result of several laws enacted by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the mid-'70s that restricted the network from producing its own programming, GE turned to New World Entertainment as its television provider," explains James Raybould. ”

Simon didn't expect that there would be a big backer like General Electric behind New World Entertainment, and he was originally only interested in Marvel in the hands of New World Entertainment. However, combing through the information mentioned by James Raybould in his mind, he soon had another thought.

With a tepid film business and a profitable TV and comic book division, New World Entertainment's company almost complements Daenerys Pictures. If he can buy the entire New World Entertainment, in addition to the Marvel he wants, Simon can also get involved in the field of TV production.

However, the risks of doing so are obvious.

New World Entertainment now has a market capitalization of $190 million, and if it were to buy it all, it would definitely have to pay a premium. In addition, more than $220 million in debt will definitely need to be borne by itself in the future.

Moreover, buying the company is simple, you only need to pay for it, but when it comes to operations, Simon himself is inexperienced, and he is not sure if Amy is up to the task.

Thinking of this, Simon glanced towards the living room again, and was about to withdraw his gaze to continue chatting with James Raybould, only to find that the middle-aged man named Robert Egger, whom he had been paying attention to, came over with two eleven or twelve-year-old girls.

Coming to the two, Robert Iger took the initiative to introduce: "Simon, this is my daughter, Kate and Amanda, they are your fans. ”

As soon as Robert Iger finished speaking, Amanda, who was a little shorter, approached him very familiarly and said, "Simon, you play the guitar really well, can you teach us, well, as long as "Wild Bees Flying"." ”

Simon smiled and said, "There's no trick to this piece, just practice a little more." ”

Amanda shook her head: "No, Kate and I have been studying for more than half a year, and we still don't play as well as you." ”

Simon said patiently: "That's it, it's a pity that there is no guitar now, otherwise you can play it, and I'll see what the problem is." ”

The two little girls suddenly showed disappointed expressions.

Because it was a house party, the conversation was interrupted, but James Raybould didn't mind, and said, "Jenny has a handful, you can let her bring it." I happened to see the video on "Good Morning America" that day, and seriously, I'm looking forward to hearing Simon play guitar again. ”

When the two little girls heard this, they turned around and ran to find Jennifer.

Simon invited Robert Iger to sit down, looked at the middle-aged man who had brought Disney to the peak again after Michael Eisner, and said, "Speaking of which, Bob, I've always wondered how you guys found that cassette?"

Robert Iger looked at the young man on the other side of the sofa, was stunned when he heard this, and said, "Don't you know?"

Simon was a little confused: "What do I know?"

Robert Iger looked at James Raybould again: "Jim, you don't know either?"

James Raybould was even more puzzled: "Does this matter have anything to do with me?"

Robert Iger suddenly smiled and said, "In that case, then I'd better not talk too much." ”

Simon and James glanced at each other, quickly realized Robert Iger's hint, and said in unison, "Jenny?!"

Robert Iger shrugged and smiled, "I didn't say anything. ”

Jennifer Raybould soon came downstairs with two little girls, Amanda still holding a folk guitar in her hand.

Most of the people at today's party had heard of Simon playing "Wild Bees Flying", and when they saw that he was going to instruct the two little girls on the spot, they all came over with great interest, standing or sitting around the living room.

Simon didn't take any shelf, let the two little girls play it once, followed a few words, and under the encouragement of everyone, he also played two tunes himself.

As soon as she took the guitar downstairs, she felt the teasing in the eyes of her father, Simon and Bob, and Jennifer realized that the little secret she wanted to be her own person still couldn't be hidden, and she hid out a little embarrassed, and saw that everyone was gathered in the living room, so she stood at the door, looked at him and laughed with everyone over the crowd.

After a while, a burgundy figure unconsciously appeared next to him, and he found that it was Janet, so he nodded slightly.

Janet held a glass of red wine, did not come forward, watched quietly for a while, then turned to her, noticed that Jennifer was still wearing a ponytail tonight, leaned over and whispered, "He likes it very much." ”

Jennifer felt that Janet's gaze was heading, and she was already a little weak, but when she heard this, her fair face suddenly turned red, and her eyes dodged, wanting to pretend that she didn't hear it.

Janet was unaware of her embarrassment, and continued, "But be careful, little bastards are very hateful. ”

Jennifer was a little confused, waiting for Janet to take the initiative to continue, but there was no follow-up.

After a while, he couldn't help but turn his head to glance at her, and his voice was so low that he almost couldn't hear it: "What, what?"

Janet's strange little hand reached over, grabbed her ponytail and stroked it gently, and then quickly let go, and the corners of her mouth came to her ear with a smile, and said, "One night, he had to let me tie my hair up, and, you know, like riding a horse, it was so hateful." ”

Like, like riding a horse.

This one.

Well.

I should pretend I didn't understand.

It's just that a strong sense of the picture is floating in her mind, and her face is about to burn. In the end, he still couldn't hold back, propped up the door frame and took a step back, and turned around and slipped upstairs with a sound like a mosquito.