After Andy Grove left, Tang Huan gave the investment department some instructions, "Pay attention to the decline in Intel's stock price in the next two years, and choose the opportunity to expand the number of shares held." ”

He had just put the papers aside when Madonna walked in with a scent of incense.

"Big star, the stars have been shining brightly lately. Tang Huan joked casually.

Although Madonna has not been in the industry for a long time, her upward momentum has been very fast, especially after the release of her second album "LikeaVirgin" - "Like a Virgin" last year, which gained global recognition.

The album topped the music charts in many countries and became Madonna's first album to top the Billboard 200 album chart. The song of the same name, "LikeaVirgin", "Like a Virgin", has been on the Billboard Top 100 singles chart for six consecutive weeks.

Of course, the album has also attracted a lot of opposition, and the songs and music videos have been banned by many moralist preachers.

As a supplementary promotional tool, Madonna entered the mainstream American film industry by starring in two small-budget films of Orion Pictures, which were released in the first quarter of this year.

The first film was the romantic comedy "VisionQuest" - "27 Seconds", in which Madonna made a cameo appearance as a club singer, which grossed about $13 million.

The film's soundtrack also includes two new Madonna songs: "CrazyforYou" and "Gambler" - "The Gambler".

Another film is also a comedy, called "DesperatelySeekingSusan" - "Mystery Rendezvous", which grossed more than $27 million. Madonna's role in it is obviously much heavier. It's kind of a protagonist.

These are two small-budget films that do well at the box office. As a promotional tool for Madonna's music career, it has played a very positive and positive role, and all parties are very satisfied, and everyone is happy.

But no matter where it is, the phenomenon of many people being popular is very common, and Madonna is in trouble because of her early black history.

She sighed wistfully, "It's because of Starlight." I was just being targeted by the media watching with a magnifying glass. Don, I'm here to ask for your help. ”

Tang Huan waved his hand very boldly, "Let's talk about it." ”

"You know, when I was 20 years old, I went to New York on my own, and my financial situation was very poor, so I took fruit photos for several magazines, and I could earn $25 at a time," Madonna said quietly. Unexpectedly, now "Attic" and "Playboy" are ready to release these photos. I've approached them privately and plan to buy the photos. But the other party refused. ”

Tang Huan bowed slightly, and casually pressed the button of a phone on the desk. "Contact me with the owners of "Attic" and "Playboy", and I want to talk to them about something. ”

Then, he looked at Madonna with a look of hope on her face, "You have to plan for the worst in everything, have you consulted your public relations team, if this matter can't be suppressed, how are you going to face the public outcry from the outside world?"

"I panicked, and my mind was so confused that I didn't even think about it. Madonna shook her head.

Tang Huan prompted: "It's not a big deal, think about your maverick public image." ”

Madonna thought for a moment, and the shrewd one quickly came up with the answer, "I will remain unrepentant and resistant." ”

Nodding approvingly, Tang Huan turned to ask, "Since there is such a thing, then you might as well think about it again, if there are any other tricks in the hands of others, while you are still in the take-off stage, the cost is relatively bearable, and quickly solve it together." ”

Tang Huan really asked correctly, only to see Madonna squirm and reply: "I once made a relatively alternative small-budget movie in 1979, which had fruit shots in it, but it was not released. But that bastard director intends to use my current fame to get the film out in theaters at midnight. I'm talking to them to see if I can buy the film for $5,000 and stop it from coming out. ”

"Anything else?" Tang Huan asked angrily.

"That's all. Madonna assured with her head down.

"I hope your memory isn't wrong, otherwise, the more you drag it on, the more troublesome it will be. When the time comes, I won't be able to help you. Tang Huan said as he reached out to get the phone, "What's the director's name?"

"Stephen Jon Levich. Madonna timidly added, "It's better not to get too stiff, we're friends." The film cost $20,000 to shoot, and almost all of the actors performed for free, but I was given $100 to pay the rent. ”

"You think about friendship so much, it means that your relationship is not too stiff, but why does the other party insist on releasing this movie?" Tang Huan was a little puzzled.

Perhaps, he wants to fulfill his dream of directing. Madonna explained uncertainly: "After all, if that movie is not released, no one wants to believe him if he says he is the director." ”

"You're too busy to take care of yourself, so don't worry about other people's situations. Tang Huan snorted, "Such a so-called director of the wild road, no wonder I have no impression at all, and it is estimated that no large film company is willing to sign him, so I should let the private detective come forward and give me his contact information." ”

"Don, don't be so angry. Madonna smiled flatteringly: "Now wait and wait, I'll help you put out the fire." ”

Tang Huan asked playfully, "How did I hear that you are going to marry that handsome man, Sean Penn?"

Sean Penn, who was born in an acting family, is not the "Golden Slam" actor who won Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and the Oscars in the original time and space, but he can be regarded as an eye-catching talent.

"But I'm still single. Madonna laughed deliciously, "Does it make you feel excited?"

……

Recently, "Playboy" has threatened Zheru several times on the grounds of infringement.

The reason for this is the popularity of 2D accelerated graphics cards. The application range of image compression algorithms is also becoming more and more extensive. The standard test chart used for it. It's the November 1972 issue of Playboy that features a photograph of Swedish model Lena Sedberg – strictly speaking, the head and shoulders.

Now "Playboy" can find an excuse for hype, shouting in the air, saying that Zheru used his photos without permission and infringed on them. However, although the rhetoric was fierce, I did not see the other party really take legal action.

Zheru didn't respond much to this kind of clamour, because of this kind of standard test chart, the idea did not come from himself.

Back in 1973. When the USC Institute of Signal and Image Processing was looking for a high-quality image for a university conference paper, they didn't like the standard ordinary inspection chart of television used in the early 1960s, but wanted to find a glossy image with good dynamic range, preferably a human face, so they used an illustration from Playboy that someone else had brought with them.

The reason why this standard test chart is only a part of it, but not all of it, is not because the originators had scruples, but because they were limited by the equipment of the time, an HP 2100 small form factor computer, and a Muirhead wired fax scanner. The latter is already equipped with an analog-to-digital converter on the red, green, and blue channels.

In order to be able to put the illustration on the drum of the Muirhead wired fax scanner. The engineers first tore off the top third of the illustration.

The Muirhead wired fax scanner had a fixed resolution of 100 LPI, and the engineers wanted a 512×512 pixel image. So they set the scanning range at 5.12 inches in the upper part of the illustration, which is cut exactly to the shoulders of the figures.

The birth of this standard test chart is not entirely due to the boredom of many male engineers in the image processing research industry who want to find a very attractive photo of a woman.

In fact, this illustration is a good test photo, with details such as flat areas, shadows, and textures that can be useful for testing a variety of different image processing algorithms.

Because of this, this standard test chart from "Playboy" is quite recognized in the industry, and Zheru adopts it in accordance with public opinion. "Playboy" wants to use this to control himself, which is whimsical and self-conscious. It is estimated that it also understands this, so it only talks about it and does not take actual action, in the final analysis, it is just for hype.

However, the standard test chart incident also shows from the side that the first issue of Playboy, published in December 1953, was not just a men's adult magazine in the United States. It packages itself with liberal remarks, high-level articles, high-style middle-class entertainment consumption routes, and so on.

The interviews with the characters of "Playboy", which is known for its in-depth, corroborate this point. Although each interview is usually seven to ten hours long. But celebrities including John Wayne, Jimmy Carter, Castro, Russell, Martin Luther King, Jean-Paul Sartre, boxing champion Ali and many other celebrities have appeared in "Playboy", and even invited Tang Huan repeatedly.

Because of these entanglements, Hugh Hefner, the owner of Playboy who was first contacted, seemed very enthusiastic and agreed: "Isn't it just a picture of Madonna, I won't publish it." By the way, I'm going to have a fun party here, you can have fun. ”

"The so-called fun party is not the 'rabbit girl' of "Playboy". Tang Huan sneered, looked at the assistant's market advice and replied: "I've been a little busy lately, so I won't go to your special party." I had people take $125,000 to get the photos and sign the agreement. What do you think?"

"Raising money hurts feelings. Hugh Hefner smiled heroically, "What you ask, can I not give face?" Of course, it would be better if you agreed to an interview with the character. ”

"Bringing up feelings hurts money. Tang Huan smiled faintly, "One yard to one yard, so it's decided, I'll ask people to take the check to get the photo." As for the character interviews, let's take a look, I've been busy promoting new products lately, and I really can't spare time. ”

"That's fine. Hugh Hefner reluctantly agreed, and then demanded: "Don, you have to promise me that you can't be interviewed by 'The Attic.'" I know they also have pictures of Madonna in their hands, and you can't help but deal with them for the cash cow of Warner Records. ”

As the main competitor, from the late 1970s onwards, "Attic", which was more radical in its photographic style, did not lose the "Playboy" consumers, which led to a significant decline in sales for the big brother in the field, which Hugh Hefner hated.

In fact, with the economic development and technological progress, the decline of the market share of "Playboy" is inevitable, in addition to the competition of competitors such as "Penthouse", the already popular home video recorder is also dividing its consumer group;

Although Tang Huan understood this, he didn't waste foaming at the mouth to explain to Hugh Hefner, but just promised: "Don't worry, I really don't have time to deal with any character interviews, and "The Attic" is no exception. ”

However, compared to Hugh Hefner's knowledge, "The Attic" boss Bob Guccione is a bit tricky.

This Sicilian erotic tycoon, who was selected into the first issue of the Forbes American 400 list in 1982, has a personal net worth of $400 million, and owns a 2,000-square-meter private residence in Manhattan, New York.

There is no doubt that all this wealth was earned from "The Attic", and the trick to surpassing "Playboy" is to attract more attention than the limit, so it is reluctant to give up publishing Madonna's photo.

"To paraphrase a line from the movie "The Godfather", I can make a condition that I can't refuse. Tang Huan said impatiently, "What do you want?"

Bob Guccone directly showed his hole cards and said: "Since you don't want this cash cow to get into trouble, why don't you please replace it and accept an exclusive interview with "The Attic"?"

"Forgive me for being blunt, I can't accept the style of 'The Attic'. Tang Huan gave an exchange condition, "That's it, Pebble Beach Golf Course is holding a club event, and I can give you an invitation to attend." I know you're looking for a financing partner, and maybe you can come across a new opportunity there. (To be continued.) )