Unlike Hugh Hefner, who was relatively focused on his own Playboy kingdom, Bob Guccioné expanded his business tentacles into other areas after accumulating raw accumulation through The Attic.

In the 1970s, for example, he was involved in investing in several Hollywood films: "Chinatown" - "Chinatown", "The Longest Yard" - "The Longest Yard", "The Day of the Locust" - "Locust Day".

As a result of these successes, Bob Guccione decided to play on his own, allowing "The Penthouse" to invest in a film that suited his own style, and the result was "Caligula," an epic banned film with a budget of more than $20 million and released in 1979.

The so-called epic level is naturally on a grand scale. This alone is eye-catching, and the film's commercial performance on a global scale has no rival among similar films.

However, it grossed just over $23 million in the United States, reflecting that it is not so easy to make a profit in a way that defies the world's condemnation.

Bob Gucioné's other, larger investment, a casino and hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, ran into trouble, struggling with financial and legal difficulties and no prospect of obtaining a license, with an estimated $160 million in losses if not resolved.

As for the reason, it is very dignified, except for the encounter with a nail household, the federal government finally got to the point. The FBI suspects that the Sicilian erotic tycoon has ties to the mafia.

To know. This stage. The U.S. government has successively promulgated the "Anti-Corruption of Legitimate Organizations Act" and similar laws, formulated a witness protection program, launched the most thorough crackdown on the mafia in history, and successfully removed its influence in the union organization

In addition, in the process of applying for a gambling license, Bob Guccone was also involved in a huge scandal caused by the FBI undercover operation codenamed AbsCAM, and was suspected of paying $300,000 in bribes to the license.

In this case, Tang Huan made a condition for Bob Guccone to attend Pebble Beach Golf Club activities. It's a hit on the point. After all, this event is organized for the top $1 million membership, and maybe Bob Guccione will be able to hit the jackpot and find a new financing partner with deep pockets to keep the stranded casino and hotel project alive.

Seeing that Bob Guccone was slow to make a statement, Tang Huan said in an accentuated tone: "You have to understand, I will not allow Madonna to become the second Vanessa Lynn Williams. ”

Vanessa Lynn Williams became the first Miss America with African American descent in 1983, but because of her 1982 photo shoot as a model, she was sold by the photographer to "Playboy" and rejected, and instead voted for "Penthouse" and posted it, she was already under the pressure of racial discrimination. had to give up the title of Miss America in the midst of the turmoil.

Bob Guccione smirked, "Don." Do you know how much the Penthouse issue of Vanessa Lynn Williams sold for? ”

Without waiting for Tang Huan to answer, Bob Guccione gave a direct answer, "$14 million." ”

The implication of his words is very obvious, he is not quite satisfied with the conditions offered by Tang Huan.

"You know, your business model is on the margins, and the conservative Reagan administration has been tightening its grip on this area." Tang Huan smiled coldly, "Business success is by no means achieved by focusing on immediate benefits!" ”

After savoring the threat in Tang Huan's words, Bob Guccione finally said, "Okay, Don, I'll give you face, you send someone to get the photo, and by the way, send that invitation." ”

……

A little bit of a setback, but fortunately, Madonna's photo problem was finally solved.

While Playboy is not absolutely impossible, it was carefully planned, not the uncontrolled nature of unauthorized photos.

Seeing that this trouble was gone, Madonna was completely relieved, and thanked again and again with a smile like a flower.

"When you get married, what gift do you want, I'll prepare it." Tang Huan asked casually.

"As long as it's sent by you, I like it." Madonna replied obediently.

Tang Huan bowed slightly, "Then I'll save some snacks and choose a set of jewelry." It is estimated that the itinerary will not be staggered at that time, and it can only be saluted to people. ”

As he was talking, the private detective entrusted by Tang Huan also solved the unknown director Stephen Jon Levich, sent a copy of the movie and legal documents, and recounted the processing process.

"That non-mainstream guy just owes a beating, at first he didn't eat hard and soft, but after a little lesson, he was grateful to Dade for accepting $40,000 and took the letter of recommendation to the arranged crew to report."

Tang Huan nodded approvingly, waved his hand to signal the other party to retreat, and then casually pushed everything to Madonna, "Okay, you can continue to concentrate on the goal of 'Pop Queen'." ”

Madonna's finger ran over the copy of the film and asked tentatively, "Don, I plan to complete this year's North American tour and prepare for the world tour the year after that, can I make a cameo role in a movie with worldwide influence?" ”

"This seems like a good idea, do you have any intentions?" Tang Huan asked rhetorically.

"For example, the next installment in the 007 series." Madonna replied quickly, and it seemed that she had a plan in mind.

However, this year's "AViewtoaKill" of "007" - "Thunder Kill" is not very satisfactory; According to the plan, the one released in 1987 is not easy to say. Tang Huan's tone was uncertain.

"007", which has already made more than 10 films, seems to be tired, although the budget of $30 million "Thunder Killing" has a global box office of more than $150 million, and it has not lost its gold-absorbing signboard, but this year it suffered a Waterloo in the United States. The box office is less than $60 million. Not to mention getting to the top of the box office charts in the United States as before.

In fact. According to Tang Huan's view, the plot of "Thunder Killing" is still remarkable, and the villain vainly tries to use the big explosion to cause earthquakes and floods to destroy Silicon Valley, the cradle of high-tech that is now famous, which is simply in harmony with his big boss's first business.

But the movie market often just doesn't know which cloud will rain, and "Thunder Killing" is unpopular in the United States, and the reviews are also very poor, almost so far. The worst of the 007 series.

According to the summary report fed back by Lianmei, it seems to have something to do with the conservative casting attitude of the production team, and Roger Moore, who plays James Bond, is almost 60 years old, so he can't help but look a little old. But the problem is that Tanya Roberts, who plays the Bond girl, also got bad reviews.

Of course, the failure of "Thunder Killing" in the United States is only a small problem, and Tang Huan's Hollywood company is still the big winner at the box office this year, and it has shared the summer file with Warner.

Originally, there was another eater in previous years - Paramount. But last year it underwent a major management change, with Barry Diller, Michael Eisner and others leaving. There were some signs of sleepwalking, and it was no surprise that he fell out of the game.

As for Universal Pictures, which seems to have fallen under the curse, it is still in the doldrums, Disney's previous focus on theme parks is still adjusting, and Columbia Pictures is not having a good time, and it is also distracted by the other Hollywood peers to actively expand its television business.

The opening show of this year's summer season is the sequel to Orion Pictures' "First Blood", which became the box office champion for four consecutive weeks, and Sylvester Stallone's position in Hollywood is completely solid.

Next up is Twentieth Century Fox's $15 million science fiction film "Cocoon" - "Cocoon", which only occupied the box office top once, but earned more than $70 million.

Then came Warner's smaller "Pale Rider," a smaller $7 million work, "The Pale Rider," which also topped the box office once, but earned more than $40 million.

More importantly, the subject matter of "Pale Knight" belongs to Westerns, which is in stark contrast to the poor performance of the same type of work "Heaven's Gate" released by Lianmei in 1980, which almost led to the bankruptcy of the company.

Then the main event came, and "Back to the Future", which Luen Mei and Amperin Entertainment invested $19 million, debuted - as a reborn, Tang Huan will definitely not forget this movie.

In detail, "Back to the Future" has had a disappointing experience like most other blockbuster films.

After the first draft of the script was completed, Columbia Pictures thought it was not bad, but it was not sexually stimulating enough, and suggested that the script be shown to Disney.

At this stage, popular teen-themed film and television works are often too mature, with some discordant elements, and the reason why "Back to the Future" was coldly received is here, and the film company feels that it is sunny.

As a result, Disney did not want to see "Back to the Future", believing that "the love between a son and a mother should not appear in a family movie".

The next drama was simple, Tang Huan took the script and handed it over to Luen Mei and Amperin Entertainment, and the latter's directors Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, and Lin Qingbian were responsible for the production, as if repeating the production mode of "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial".

Even so, the box office of "Back to the Future" is still not optimistic, especially the starring Michael Fox is unable to cooperate with the promotion of the film due to the schedule.

Fortunately, the facts are encouraging, and although "Back to the Future" has only been released for more than a week, it has become an instant hit, directly ranking first at the box office with a score of $12 million.

The audience was shocked by the joke that appeared not long after the movie began, but they were also impressed, and they talked about it and ran to tell each other.

The actor Marty McFly arrived in 1955 from 1985 to find Dr. Emmer Brown at the time. Of course, the other party would not believe that he had come from 1985, so he asked questions and put them to the test.

The first question is, who was the president of the United States in 1985?

Marty McFly replied without thinking, "Ronald Reagan." ”

"How could it be that actor?" Disbelief-filled Dr. Emer Brown continued to ask, "Who was the richest in 1985?" ”

"Tang Huan." Marty McFly said with some longing: "I just don't know if he was born now, maybe I should have been friends with him sooner." ”

"Oh my God, you mean, the richest man in the future is a young man who may not even be 30 years old." Dr. Emer Brown couldn't believe the answer.

……

This is the first time that the American audience has accepted a spoof of the cross-play drama, and they don't want to lean forward and backward.

It is completely predictable that with its current popularity, "Back to the Future" is likely to dominate the box office for four weeks, just like the sequel to "First Blood".

And this pattern of summer box office carve-up also illustrates the current distribution of power in Hollywood.

The four Hollywood companies that Tang Huan acquired, which originally belonged to the second echelon, have climbed to the top of the food chain;

Warner, who got rid of the entanglement with Tang Huan, followed behind, which can be described as a pole Tailai;

If Paramount doesn't come out of the confusion caused by the company's turmoil as soon as possible, it is likely to fall out of the first echelon;

Universal Pictures offended Tang Huan a lot due to the previous copyright lawsuit of the video game "Donkey Kong", and the living space was squeezed more and more narrow;

Columbia Pictures has formed an indirect relationship with Tang Huan through its parent company Coca-Cola, so it has not been negatively affected;

Disney is trying to return to the main film business and make a comeback, but Tang Huan has almost reserved hardware, software, art, talents and other resources in computer animation, and it is still unknown whether his dream of recasting glory can be realized.

Madonna is now asking Tang Huan, a veritable Hollywood tycoon, to continue to use movies to help her increase her popularity, and she has really found the right person, which also shows her shrewdness.

"Although this year's "Thunder Killing" is not highly rated by American film critics, "007" still has a great influence around the world." Madonna said her reason for insisting, "And you definitely won't let the next "007" continue to be in a slump, and the replacement of James Bond is a foregone conclusion, which will inevitably generate a lot of interesting topics." If I get a small supporting role, or sing a song in it, I will definitely be able to shine a lot. ”

"If you figured it out, then do as you wish." Tang Huan nodded in agreement, "When you mention the stubble of the movie, I want to watch the feature film of "Back to the Future". ”

Tang Huan smiled and picked up the phone and ordered, "Arrange to show that movie "Back to the Future" in the conference room." (To be continued.) )