There is a myth in Hollywood that in every economic crisis, Hollywood is a place where the storm does not spread.

During the Great Depression of the 30s of the 20th century, a quarter of Americans were unemployed, people still counted steel hammers to see the latest movies, people took refuge in movie theaters because of escapism, the film industry flourished, and Hollywood thrived instead of being hit.

The 2008 financial crisis, the worst since 1930, triggered a downturn that lasted more than a decade and shows no end in sight, with the poor having their homes repossessed by banks and the rich auctioning off their valuables, from his wife's $4,000 handbag to a $500,000 private jet.

Can Hollywood really remain a safe haven in the face of an avalanche in the housing market, a plunge in the stock market, 64,000 companies declaring bankruptcy and an unemployment rate of 7.2 percent?

Hollywood is no longer the Hollywood of the last century, and major production and distribution companies have become part of media groups, and media groups with complex industrial revenue will definitely not be able to escape this financial storm.

Entertainment stocks were not spared when Wall Street plunged, with the overall US entertainment stocks down 41 percent, and the stocks of media groups belonging to every major studio took a heavy hit.

Warner Bros.'s Time Warner-AOL, the world's largest media group, saw its stock fall from a peak of about $17 a share to a low of $7 a share, wiping $25 billion from the group's market value.

Paramount's owner, Viacom, is the biggest loser among the five major media groups in the United States, and its stock has fallen from a peak of $45 a share to $12 a share. Lei Shidong "may not be embarrassed to be a billionaire anymore."

Paramount Pictures itself, suffering from the double nightmare of the divestment of Wall Street investment companies and the breakup of its DreamWorks Spielberg, has become a very bad situation among the major studios other than MGM.

The other big loser is Sony Columbia, whose stock has shrunk by 65 percent and is on the verge of bankruptcy.

Compared with. Walt Disney had the best of the big five, and although fourth-quarter revenue is expected to fall by 13 percent from the same period last year to as much as $2 billion, it will not have much impact compared to the revenue that has already exceeded $43 billion this year.

Although Disney's revenue has been hit by the sharp decline in TV advertising and the sharp decline in theme park revenue, Disney's stock price has experienced several fluctuations and its market value has fallen by less than 15 percent, compared to the half-plunge of other media groups, and it is already the biggest winner.

Of course. It's not that there hasn't been a large sell-off of Disney stock in the stock market, but Ryan has already asked Scott to prepare a huge cash flow and use multiple funds to disperse and eat, and to a certain extent, it has also stabilized Disney's stock price.

Disney's subsidiaries all experienced a decline in revenue, with the exception of two.

One is Netflix, which announced the end of the videotape rental business model with a unique DVD mail-in rental — users can rent unlimited DVDs online for $16.99 a month — and users can sit at home, wait for the post office to deliver the film to their door, and then seal the Netflix envelope after watching the disc. Drop it in the mailbox and mail it back.

This is arguably a good way to escape the pain of the financial crisis.

The other is Marvel Comics, the craze caused by "Iron Man 2" has not subsided until now, and their comic business has been earning steadily.

The biggest impact of this financial crisis is actually the mass withdrawal of Wall Street capital from Hollywood. A brief honeymoon period ended, with many banks no longer investing in the high-risk film industry, and many Hollywood companies had to axe some projects and reduce them. It also means that the lack of work will eventually be reflected in every class that makes up Hollywood.

Those big-name stars are no exception and don't have enough jobs. They can't sustain huge expenses.

However, the team behind Hollywood stars are all smart people, and many of them have taken the route of making money overseas.

Like after a long period of madness and obesity, Britney? Spears embarked on a world tour, making fans around the world pay for it; For example, Sylvester after filming "The Expendables"? Stallone went to India, intending to make money in Ah San's Bollywood for the time being......

Compared with the stars who can go overseas to make money, the life of the major Hollywood labels is even more difficult, and Wall Street has withdrawn funds, making their liquidity scarce, and they have announced production cuts.

Among the six major labels, the saddest is Paramount Pictures, Deutsche Bank has shelved an investment agreement with Paramount of up to $450 million, leaving them with at least 30 films without sufficient funding, on the other hand, after three years of unpleasant cooperation, Spielberg of DreamWorks has always wanted to split up with Paramount, and now it has reached the point where it has to be separated.

Paramount Pictures wanted to ask the parent company Viacom for help, but Viacom can only protect itself now, and one unfortunate thing after another, Paramount was jointly sued by Allianz Risk Transfer and Marathon Structured Finance Fund for misleading and fraud in the past projects involved in Paramount Pictures, and suffered a credit freeze.

Spielberg's new DreamWorks didn't have a good time, and although he was lucky enough to escape the credit freeze because of the separation, he also lacked funds and had to put several film projects on hold and wait for an illusory $350 million loan from an Indian entertainment company called Reliance.Big.

If you want to raise money, now the major banks and financial institutions are too busy to take care of themselves, and they are running away from Hollywood at a speed that is so easy.

But Ryan is different, he and Scott's team have been well prepared for a long time, this is the moment he has been looking forward to, and only by seizing the opportunity now can he ensure that his future plans will be carried out.

"Stephen ......"

Walking to the golf ball, Ryan tried to swing the club, hit the white ball hard, and then turned around, "I heard that the independent DreamWorks doesn't want to participate in the distribution?" ”

"I think DreamWorks' focus should be more on the production side."

Hearing Spielberg say this, Ryan nodded, jumped into the battery car, patted Taylor on the back in the driver's seat, and she immediately started the car and drove towards the seaside recreation area.

Spielberg continued, "You know, we're better at producing. ”

"How about handing over the distribution to Disney?" Ryan threw the club in the back, "I promise only a ten percent release fee." ”

"It's not something I can decide." Spielberg lifted his glasses, "Besides, DreamWorks can't even find the funds to make the ...... film."

"You haven't reached an agreement with Reliance yet?" Ryan asked duly.

"Not yet." The old man shook his head, "The Indians are not having a good time either. ”

"Alison, concentrate on driving."

Warning Taylor, Ryan looked at Spielberg and didn't go around in circles, "I still have a sum of money in my hand, and if DreamWorks needs it urgently, I can lend it to you." ”

Hearing Ryan's words, Spielberg's eyes immediately lit up, even if he got the money at an interest rate higher than the bank, he was willing, after all, without funds, DreamWorks couldn't even start working.

But Spielberg has been in Hollywood for many years, and understands that there is no such thing as a free lunch, even if the two sides are very good friends.

"Let's get straight, Ryan." Spielberg was direct, "What are the conditions?" ”

"How many do you need?" Ryan asked.

"A hundred million dollars, the least." Spielberg seemed to be opening his mouth widely, "Of course, the more the merrier." ”

"I personally can lend $300 million to $400 million to DreamWorks at bank rates."

Watching Taylor tacitly drive the battery car onto the unmanned road, Ryan retracted his gaze, "An Oscar for Best Actress and an Oscar for Best Actress." ”

"I can't guarantee such conditions."

No one can guarantee that he will win the award, Spielberg shook his head directly.

"Stephen, I'm just borrowing your connections." Ryan knows that, too, "And then you're responsible for helping me lobby the old guard among the Jews this year and next year. ”

Although many people he knows, age is a problem, and Spielberg, as a representative of Jewish Americans who has been rooted in Hollywood for more than 40 years, is certainly the most suitable person.

This PR job is not excessive, and in fact there are not many things to be responsible for.

"Anything else?" Spielberg asked again.

"Of course." Ryan deliberately said very solemnly, "If possible, I want you to quit DreamWorks and join Disney." ”

"Alright, Ryan." Spielberg knew he was joking, "Seriously, I can promise, but I don't guarantee that I will get those two little golden figures." ”

"It's okay." Ryan never pinned his hopes on a single aspect, "I'll call Scott when I get back, and his people will reach out to you." ”

Then, the two changed the topic and talked about the independent film industry, which is more miserable than the major labels.

Independent films are more dependent on foreign investment than major companies with guaranteed returns, and their current situation cannot be described as difficult.

Of course, if there is a rival movie, the rival actors and production team, and the rival budget, you can still get investment.

Rival movies are comedy, action, horror, or thrillers; If it is a drama, there must be a big star in the formation; Other themes that independent filmmakers love, such as death, suicide, schizophrenia or discussing women's rights, are not being cared about at this time.

It wasn't until the evening that Ryan and Taylor left the club separately from Spielberg and headed for their next business meeting, Paramount Pictures, which had more crises and troubles than DreamWorks. (To be continued......)