After she crossed over, Jenny of course met a lot of legendary characters, and even became friends with stars or directors she liked very much before, but most of them were still big names in the entertainment industry, and suddenly jumped into politics, and they didn't attend an event at the same time, but really sat down for dinner with the second-in-command and third-in-command figures in the president's cabinet and exchanged affairs - this sense of disobedience is still a little strong, after all, the whole plate of big dreams, no matter how big it is, is billions, and Disney and other big groups can't be compared at all, Even in Hollywood, it can't be said to be a big company, and I feel that she and the secretary of state, or even the government, are not on an equal footing -- and Jenny still has some leftover of some oriental thinking inertia, and always feels that there is a clear distinction between those who engage in business and those who play politics, especially the current Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was once the first lady, and the gap between the identities and statuses of the two sides seems to be a little big. Novel www.し WXS520.com

Of course, objectively speaking, her idea cannot be wrong, at least if this time the discussion is not about the Chinese market, Jenny's status is indeed not qualified to be a speaker in the industry federation composed of the six leading members, let alone become a guest of the Secretary of State: and in terms of Hollywood's net worth, if the cultural cause it represents does not have extremely powerful political significance, Robert and Jeff. Nor could Bix represent the company and the federation and sit at the private party with the Secretary of State in attendance. After all, the promotion of Hollywood films means untold profits for the Big Six, and for the U.S. government, it also means the promotion of American values, which is part of a soft invasion – of course, Americans themselves cannot call it – part of a cultural strategy, so it is not surprising that the secretary of state ended up sitting with the directors of the industry federations.

"What is this, an amplified version of domestic lobbying?" Perhaps sensing her discomfort, Cesare whispered a conversation with Robert as soon as he boarded the plane in New York and greeted Jeanne—the matter was nothing to him, judging by his well-behaved manners, and was mainly for Jeanne's sake. "I thought you'd do it through lobbyists -- or the shareholders, and you and Jeff were on Washington at the same time, which was a bit unusual."

"You know, a lobbyist usually only gets to the Congressman, or he can find an old guy who can help us on Capitol Hill," Robert replied firmly, "but these old guys who have the means will eventually go to the Cabinet or the President, so, yes, if you can get in touch with the Secretary of State directly, why not?" ”

Cesare nodded, as if it was a common thing to sit down and talk with a senior of the Secretary of State's level, and he changed the subject, "Then this time, maybe we can find a big enough chaperone to implement the issue of Mickey Mouse's copyright protection once again......"

He and Robert discussed the intersection of Hollywood and Capitol Hill with ease, and Jenny, although she was a little apprehensive about stepping into unfamiliar territory, she had been quite indifferent during the flight from Los Angeles to New York by Cesare, she knew that she would be exposed, so she simply ignored Washington, as if it was just an ordinary dinner date, and from the moment she got on the plane, she was chatting with Robert about the commercial blockbuster trend represented by "Codename Shero". Now I looked even more tired, opened my laptop, leaned leisurely against the window, typed a few words from time to time, and casually searched for the key words in the conversation......

For a long time, Jenny has rarely publicly expressed her political leanings, because she basically has no inclinations, and she does not care about the political environment in the United States, so Jenny's knowledge in this area is almost zero, and she Googles the 'Mickey Mouse Proposal' and 'Domestic and Foreign Business Bureau', 'Paton. Boggs', looking at the relevant news and introductions, listening distractedly to the conversation between Bob and Cesare, and soon more or less cobbled together the rules of operation of the entire Hollywood-Capitol Hill system, and finally understood why he was so inexplicably asked to go to Washington - not so much coercion, but rather a promotion by the Big Six, and no wonder it was Bob who was the first to call, and Jeff. Robinov also sent an email saying that he would wait for her in Washington: he probably wanted a piece of the favor.

As long as you can watch some movies and TV dramas with political themes, you can know that the United States is an out-and-out bourgeois society, of course, this has little to do with the stereotype of traditional sweatshops - the advantage of economic affluence is that such sweatshops have been moved by the capitalists to allow them to exist. Rather, the operation of the American political system is very convenient for capitalists to seek benefits, and even the profession of politicians is actually speaking for the major capitalists, so politics in the United States is indeed not as sacred as in China, at least in the two countries, the status of businessmen is completely different, which is why China, rich people always want to immigrate, no matter which system is more correct, more relatively fair, as a rich person, it is understandable to want to go to a place with a higher status.

As far as the political activities in the United States are concerned, the endorsement of politicians for the capitalists does not mean that bribery has become a common practice, and everything has to be solved by stuffing money, in fact, it is precisely because this kind of endorsement has been regularized and institutionalized and has become a nationally recognized clear rule, so the operation of the whole system should be relatively fair, bribery does not exist, but it is impossible to be overly arrogant -- after the channels of capital's demands are opened, it is more economical to go formal, then of course there is no need for the company to play shady and relationship, just as Robert and Cesare are talking about' Mickey Mouse's proposal, this whole thing is a very typical domestic political event: all media groups in Hollywood attach great importance to copyright protection, and generally want to extend the term of copyright protection, especially Disney's demand for this point is the most urgent, because their cartoon characters such as Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck are in the name of the founder Walter. Disney's copyright is about to expire 50 years after his death, which also means that everyone in the world can try this cute mouse with impunity to make money, and Disney will inevitably be caught in one lawsuit after another if it wants to stop it.

Walter died in 1966, so if the copyright expires in 2016, Disney will lose a lot of money, so as the largest stakeholder, Disney has the most ample incentive to push for copyright law changes and extend the term of copyright protection - of course, the rest of the studios are also happy to see this, through the Motion Picture Association of America, they provide a certain amount of financial support for Disney's lobbying, plus Disney's own huge lobbying budget, and a group of interests is formed.

After the interest group is formed, the first thing to do is to choose a lobbying firm, let them reach out to the senators, and gather enough people to propose amendments, and the only weapon wielded by the lobbyists of the lobbying firm is money -- senators and representatives need campaign money to win the election, and on this kind of issue, which is almost harmless to humans and animals, and does not offend a specific group, they are also willing to say that the more campaign money the better. There are also districts located at Disney headquarters, branches, or film production bases, and congressmen who come from Disney employees and employees who have a large part of their votes do not dare to refuse, otherwise they will most likely be disgraced in next year's general election.

After the bill was proposed, through the film department of the Trade and Development Agency docked with the American Film Association, the Film Association also expressed its own opinions, supported the proposal to vote, and tried to influence some congressmen through this connection, of course, there was also the Golden Yuan Offensive, so that under the operation of no expense, in 2003, Congress passed the proposal, and the time limit of protection in the Copyright Act was revised, from 50 years to 70 years, and Disney could have Mickey Mouse for 20 more years. -- This is a typical example of a change in the law that is a common occurrence of the interests of large corporations, and even if there are some satirical cartoons, it is not aimed at such a system, but more of an emotional catharsis.

In such an example, of course, the CEO of Disney does not have to be in person, everything is done by the lobbying company, and they make a lot of money because of it. That's why politicians love lobbyists, who have the money to offer luxuries, and few ask who pays for it. -- However, as Robert said, this matter involves China's film policy, which is no longer a formal way to work, and wants the United States to speak out for the interests of the film industry in diplomatic forums and urge China to open up its market, which does not have much effect on the Trade and Development Agency to express its demands, and must take the high-level route and directly contact senior officials at the secretary of state, and in that case, it would be a bit rude to only lobby the company to come forward, and according to the principle of equal status, there must be a few big people here.

"If it's the European market, the Trade and Development Agency will be enough to solve everything." Cesare said he and Jeanne walked into the hotel's presidential suite one after the other. "It's because—"

"There are no cultural barriers between the United States and European countries, and of course there are no strategic offensive and defensive considerations for cultural export." Jenny said, rolling her eyes, "But the whole of Europe is basically Hollywood's backyard, their film industry has been shattered, and the business chain is in jeopardy -- I've always wondered why people don't think about the 'Hollywood' movement." ”

"Because there's a better way for them to join Hollywood." "Besides, European countries are generally too small in population to support their own industrial ecosystems even if they change their film policies, and their communication channels are weaker, their unions are more bureaucratic, and the possibility of changing policy is almost zero – it's a vicious circle." ”

"In addition to that, because there are almost no barriers to joining Hollywood." Jenny pointed out that "cultural barriers are a two-way street, and Japanese and Korean filmmakers are keen to defend their rights and interests, also because they have almost nowhere to go except their own country, and Hollywood simply doesn't need so many yellow people." ”

Although there are still eye-catching art films in Europe from time to time, commercial films basically belong to the level of occasional flashes of a box office masterpiece, and they can't compete with Hollywood's film assembly line at all, from this point of view, South Korea's and Japan's film industries are still intact, at least 'self-sufficient', even in the peak years of Hollywood films, they can occupy at least half of their country's box office rankings, of course, the film policies of these two countries are also extremely conservative, and they have always been the focus of the film department of the Trade Development Agency.

"Yes, China not only has the weakness of the two island nations in Northeast Asia, but also has ideological considerations," Cesare shook his head, "with its hard-line national style and unique culture, strong and belligerent military style, I am not optimistic about the short-term results of this matter - if the cabinet does not make exchanges and sacrifices, China will not be pressured to open its market to us, they are not so weak." ”

Although he does not see China as a member of the axis of evil, his assessment of China is contrary to the consistent view of the Chinese themselves - but Jenny can also understand the thinking of the United States: at least for 'if you don't do business with me, I'll fight you,' 'for the sake of oil, we have to mess up the Middle East, so that we can always have cheap oil and arms dumping countries, Maintain our world hegemony' for the Americans, China is a very uncomfortable country, although they have also been coerced, but they have always occupied the numerical advantage, and have never been completely subdued, always give people a sense of ambition, in recent years, the speed of development is so fast, and the United States has also lost control of the first island chain in the Asia-Pacific region, and now there is a feeling of buying the world, in general, this feels very similar to Japan in the 90s, and this time the American dad can not unscrupulously force another one' The Plaza Accord -- Japan will have to be pumped if it doesn't sign it, and the wool will be sheared, China is a nuclear power, and once the two great powers go to war, it is very likely that it will be the rhythm of world destruction.

For such a difficult China, it is impossible to fight a hard war, and when the United States still has the advantage in the soft war, it must seize the opportunity, which is a very basic strategic thinking -- cultural import is an extremely important part of the soft war. Dodd and GE are representatives on the board of directors of Disney and are also board members of GM. Lazaros and others will be in attendance, plus Robert and Bickers, two powerful group CEOs, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton, this party can be described as star-studded, absolutely representing the high-level figures in the American political and business circles -- you know, General Electric is the most valuable industrial group in the United States, and Rochelle's presence will undoubtedly make Hillary pay more attention to this 'tough action' against China, and being able to participate in it, regardless of whether your strength is qualified or not, and what role you play, this will greatly enhance your style -- if you stand in the perspective of an actor, Jenny can disdain this, But for the operator of a film company, this is a very obvious promotion, at least in terms of connections in the future, Big Dream already has a crushing advantage over Lionsgate and other competitors: don't think that political connections are useless, this is a very naïve idea, if Jenny met Hillary in 08 and successfully established a personal relationship, Paramount wants to get her from the tax aspect? She can make IRS take a break with a phone call, and even if they are confident that they can grow red, they don't have to wash it with a fake marriage. If the money is washed in directly and roughly, no one will ask anything......

After recognizing the photos of a whole circle of people, and listening to Cesare explain the identities and basic circumstances of these people, Jenny already knew what level of affairs she was going to be involved in, what she could get, she just didn't know what she had to give, "What should I say, Chesa, what they need is my special relationship in China - but I don't have a special relationship, and our privileges are very limited, based only on personal friendships, aren't they?" ”

"I don't think what they need is consistent." Cesare tapped on the table as he spoke, apparently gathering his thoughts, too—it seemed that the conversation he had just had with Robert was not without tentativeness, in order to gather information. "For the government, what they want is the name of the high-ranking official on the side of Beijing who has a good opinion of American culture, wants to open up the film market even further, and introduces a competitive mechanism - maybe you can only give one or two names, but it doesn't matter, it's a very valuable goal for them - this kind of ideological weakness is sometimes more favorable than a nuclear bomb, and the turning point may have come inadvertently - think about Khrushchev, how much did he contribute to the world situation? Add to that the fact that your fame may be very powerful for Hillary Clinton, and consider your popularity and influence -- her ambitions for the president have never stopped, and getting to know more public figures with good image can be of great benefit to her future campaign. So they're certainly happy to have a personal relationship with you, and it's also mutually beneficial for us - as for the Film Society......"

"They don't care if the list I come up with can reverse Beijing's cultural policies, do they?" Jenny said that she had now found a sense of awe that had faded after a series of inquiries and conversations, and that she had figured out the rhythm of this political activity, which was not so unusual as ordinary business activity, and that even the word secretary of state did not sound so condescending. "Of course, it would be better if I could, if I didn't actually have high-ranking official connections, and just relied on the synchronous privilege obtained by a few key people who had the right to speak—"

"At the dinner, Bob and Jeff will also get these two precious names." Cesare spread his hands, "So far, the market in Beijing has been a cloud to us, and it is much more convenient to be able to get the exact list in this way than to take a long detour, and they did pay the price for it - this dinner is enough to take our social circle up a notch, and for them, this rare honor is enough to pay for the little advantage we have lost." ”

Putting aside political considerations, this is also Jenny's point of concern, if she is asked, after being the boss of the company for so many years, of course she can't wait for China to introduce only her films, and the profits that monopoly can generate will definitely be greater than that of the open market - and if the relationship in Director Zhang's hands can be used indefinitely, her concerns will not be so deep, but now it is clear that Director Zhang can only cover one or two little brothers and sisters at most, and for the domestic market, he has not yet reached the point where he covers the sky with one hand, And the chain of interest exchange between Da Meng and Director Zhang is quite fragile: for Director Zhang's care, Da Meng's reward is to thread the needle for him in Hollywood, or find actors, or rush to the Olympics for public relations...... And in these resources, Big Dream and Disney, Time Warner is not a level at all, if a competitive relationship is formed at Director Zhang, then Big Dream can really only burn incense and worship Buddha and beg Director Zhang not to forget the old love.

On the other hand, even without her guidance, the Big Six would have been able to hit the ground in the end - the risk of refusing to provide information at the dinner party would have been counted: the stupid choice of lying would not have to be considered. Jenny frowned and looked at Cesare, who spread his hands, he seemed to have seen through Jenny's thoughts, and Jenny also understood what he meant: what Bob said is true, for the sake of profits like "Codename Shero", they can do anything, a market where the regular box office can reach 200 million, the six major studios should be determined to win, and under the pressure of their unity, Big Dream seems to have no second way to go except to give in.

Can...... That's a market of 200 million! In the near future, the highest box office will become 300 million, 400 million...... That's a market of 400 million!

Jeanne stood up, pacing back and forth on the carpet, glancing at Cesare inquiringly, hoping that he would offer some advice, but she also knew that she was the Chinese expert in this matter, and that Cesare could really not help that much.

The time point for China to increase the share and increase the number of imported films should be 2 or 3 years later, and in terms of the current interests of Big Dream, they should sincerely hope to accelerate this process, so that they can not only increase the share, but also maintain their synchronous advantage...... If she could come up with a name...... Take out a person's name instead of Director Zhang......

A bold plan slowly emerged in her mind, Jenny stood still, felt her heartbeat gradually accelerating, almost instinctively, she mechanically unfolded the logical chain of the plan in her mind, deliberating on the possible outcomes, risks and benefits......

“what。” When Jeanne looked at him, Cesare asked, suspiciously.

"We're going to get to Robert right now." "I realize that we have just missed a very important fact—we must talk to Robert right away," said Jenny, in an unquestioning tone. ”

Seeing Cesare's somewhat surprised expression, she suddenly realized that this was the first time she had gone ahead of Cesare in the game - not that he had deliberately hidden and deliberately cultivated her habits of mind, but that he had really discovered something that he had overlooked: although it could not be said that she had won over Cesare because of this, her weakness in this game might not be so obvious.

Later, she could rejoice as much as she could, Jenny reminded herself, but for now it was better to stay attentive - she had something to do.