Sensing that someone was looking at her, the girl leaning on Simon turned her head and looked over. Simon and others also noticed Barbara Broccoli.
Barbara Broccoli temporarily gave up guessing the identity of the young girl next to Simon who still had some baby fat on her face, and took the initiative to say hello. Jonathan Friedman and Jim Carrey said something, the actor stood up and left, and Barbara sat down in the seat vacated by the other person.
During the greeting process, Simon did not introduce the identity of the girl next to him. After Barbara Broccoli sat down, she looked over curiously, but the man seemed not to notice her probing gaze and continued to talk to the girl on the single sofa on the other side. Jonathan Friedman said: "Bill Clinton won the presidential election that he didn't think he would win, and George Bush lost the White House, which he also didn't think he would lose. That's why there have been various events in the past two years. What’s wrong is that the Clinton family’s foundation is too shallow, and the Bush family is starting to pave the way for the next generation.”
Jonathan continued: "No surprise, George W. Bush can easily be elected governor of Texas next month."
Simon smiled and said: "Of course, Texas is the home base of the Bush family. In fact, from this point we can also see the biggest disadvantage of the Clinton family. Do you know what it is?"
Jonathan thought for a moment and said, "In terms of foundation, the Clinton family has been operating in Arkansas for more than 20 years and should be no worse than the Bush family."
Simon shook his head and said: "Arkansas is just a state in the middle of the federation with a small population and not a developed economy. It even has only a few electoral votes. It is too far behind Texas and cannot be used as a foundation. Moreover. , this is not the disadvantage I am talking about.”
This time Jonathan couldn't remember.
Barbara Broccoli felt that the two men around her must be very chauvinistic, so they would deliberately ignore her existence. At this time, she couldn't help but interjected: "What is that?"
Simon turned to look at Barbara, and quickly solved the mystery with a smile: "The Clinton family has no heirs."
Barbara Broccoli was not familiar with the White House, but she also knew that the Clintons had a daughter named Chelsea. How could it be said that there was no heir
Jonathan didn't know if Simon was referring to the rumor that Chelsea was not Clinton's biological child, but he probably understood something and said, "Simon, it seems that you are very optimistic about the Clintons."
Simon nodded: "Of course, although Clinton is currently surrounded by scandals, the White House's governing philosophy of focusing on economic policies is correct, and the possibility of re-election is very high. The Clintons are very capable. After eight years of operation, a new brand has emerged in the federation. A wealthy political family. It’s a pity that this wealthy political family only has one very mediocre daughter, well, it is said that she is not even a biological child.”
Barbara Broccoli retorted: "Mr. Westeros, I think your idea is too biased. A person should focus more on realizing his own value in life, rather than focusing on narrow bloodline inheritance."
Simon looked over with a smile: "Barbara, in the future you will understand that a person can only be considered a winner if he lives long enough and has enough time to realize his own value. However, our lives are limited after all, so, Passing on the bloodline as much as possible is the most important way to realize one's own value. Morgan and Rockefeller, who almost dominated the United States back then, are still strong because of the large number of descendants. In comparison, because of the small number of successors No one, everything John Morgan once created has nothing to do with the Morgan family now. If you were John Morgan, would you feel a little regretful?"
Barbara Broccoli is a celibate. She is 34 years old and has no fixed boyfriend yet. She is a rare type of play princess among women. This is also a concern for Albert Broccoli who is already on the bed. .
In fact, just like Monica's parents in "Friends" who worry about their children's marriage all day long, some of the most basic concepts are the same in both Eastern and Western societies. Western society is far from what outsiders imagine, such as kicking children out of the house at the age of 18 and weakening family ties. It is even the opposite. Compared with the other side of the ocean, many people in Western society, especially the United States, care more about family inheritance.
At the current cocktail party, Barbara Broccoli listened to a certain guy's arguments and remembered her father's constant nagging over the years, and she couldn't help but feel a little loose in her heart.
However, Barbara quickly reacted, looked at Simon, and said teasingly: "Mr. Westeros, I suddenly feel that you are a bit like an antique. Are you really only 26 years old?"
"Oh, let me do the math." Simon raised a hand and twirled it a few times. As if it wasn't enough, he grabbed the delicate hand of the vase next to him and continued to count, and then said: "Add it all up, I'll probably, um, 550 Years old."
Barbara Broccoli suddenly rolled her eyes.
Having watched with his own eyes a certain young man's transformation from penniless to now extremely wealthy, Jonathan Friedman's eyes flickered slightly as he listened to Simon's seemingly joking words. Probably, only a 550-year-old weird being could create such a miracle as the Westeros system in just eight years.
Thinking of this, Jonathan couldn't help but ask: "Simon, Forbes, did you get the list data in advance?"
Today is October 7, Friday. The new Forbes 400 Richest Americans list will be released next Monday. As usual, many media and wealthy people can get the Forbes list data in advance privately.
Simon did not hide anything and said casually: "Actually, it is the number reported by some media during this period."
Of course the two girls around them knew about the Forbes list, and they couldn't help but prick up their ears at this moment.
Jonathan heard what Simon said and said tentatively: "300 billion U.S. dollars."
Simon nodded.
Simon has not intervened in the Forbes list data in the past few years. However, as personal wealth figures continue to increase, he has to make some interventions.
Just like this time.
The personal net worth figure of US$300 billion is actually the result of negotiations between the Westeros family and Forbes Group. It is obviously a very rough statistic and is not very consistent with Forbes' past meticulous style.
In fact, Forbes has another relatively accurate statistic.
But whether it exceeds 300 billion US dollars or is lower than this number, it is not what Simon wants to see.
Mainly due to public psychological considerations.
The ultimate goal of this kind of mentality manipulation is to not want the Westeros family to attract too much public attention.
The reason is simple. It is self-evident which one can give people a more vivid imagination space, 'a 300-meter-tall building' or 'a 92-story glass-and-steel structure building with a height of 312 meters in Manhattan'. Therefore, not only the figure of US$300 billion, but also the statistics on the figure of US$300 billion in the press release of Forbes magazine released next Monday will also not be as specific as before.
As for how much money Simon has now, Janet happened to conduct a more detailed statistics recently, which is definitely more accurate than a certain 'exact number' from Forbes. However, Simon will not announce this number to the public anyway.
Having seen the figure of US$300 billion in many media in advance, when the girl next to Simon and Barbara Broccoli heard the man say this, they immediately lost interest in further exploration. Jonathan, who vaguely understood something, wisely did not continue to ask.
I was running around a while ago, but I didn't have anything serious to do when I came here today. I just wanted to communicate and connect with each other on a daily basis.
It is indeed impossible for Simon to contact many of the people he met before he became successful as he did in the past. However, as long as he has time, he will not refuse to get together occasionally.
Of course, it's not all serious business.
The main reason is that Jonathan recently poached Jim Carrey from the small agency where he worked before and became an artist under WMA. Today he specially called him over, hoping that Simon would let him go. Over the past few months, after witnessing the strength of Daenerys Entertainment, Jim Carrey has completely lost the restlessness he felt when he became famous with "Planet".
Jonathan had already greeted Simon before recruiting people, and Simon had no intention of arguing with a little person.
In fact, Simon doesn't care about those first-line celebrities in Hollywood who generally act wildly when they get their ambitions, and he will not refuse to cooperate with them, provided that they must fulfill their duties as a filmmaker, otherwise, otherwise, he will not refuse to cooperate with them. It is said that you are a first-line star who has just risen to the top after many years. Even if you are an established celebrity who has been in Hollywood for many years, Simon has not dealt with it.
In the past two years, Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise have basically withdrawn from Hollywood's mainstream vision.
After chatting some more topics, Simon noticed that Barbara Broccoli looked at the vase next to her again. Finally satisfying her curiosity, she introduced with a smile: "Barbara, this is Charlize Theron. Check. Li, this is Barbara Broccoli, don't underestimate her. The Broccoli family has been the producer of the 007 series for so many years. Barbara's father has retired, and she will be in charge of this series from now on. "
Charlize Theron
Barbara Broccoli searched for a moment in her mind and found no information about this girl, but she still politely reached out and shook her hand.
After introducing the two of them, Simon patted Charlize on the waist and said, "Well, Charlie, let Barbara take you to meet some guests. I will call you when I leave."
Barbara Broccoli suddenly had the urge to roll her eyes.
She was not familiar with Hollywood at all, and just now Shirley Lansing helped her introduce clients.
However, both women also understood that the men must have some topics to talk about that they didn't want them to hear, so they both got up and took the initiative.
Jonathan looked at the backs of the two women leaving and said with a smile: "Paul complained to me yesterday. She was quite optimistic about this girl, but you left her."
The 'Paul' Jonathan refers to is Paul Verhoeven.
The original director of "Basic Instinct". Although "Basic Instinct" was tossed out in 1987 because of Simon the Big Butterfly, and Brian De Palma was chosen to direct it, Paul Verhoeven still relied on "Robocop" and "RoboCop" in previous years. "Total Recall" and other blockbuster films rank among Hollywood's top directors.
The structure of the Hollywood agency industry has been changing in recent years. Paul Verhoeven, who used to be under ICM, was hired by WMA two years ago and is currently preparing for a large-scale musical. Simon happened to remember that, in history, The infamous "Showgirls".
In the original time and space, this large-scale film, which was directly rated NC-17, cost 45 million US dollars. Although it was no less controversial than "Basic Instinct", it did not replicate the success of "Basic Instinct" and failed miserably at the box office after its release. At the same time, even the lead actress Elizabeth Berkeley was implicated and was kicked out of the agency.
Simon noticed a few days ago that the Carlock Investment Plan is also being prepared for a movie to be distributed by Paramount like the "Cutthroat Island". Out of curiosity, he asked someone to find some information and happened to see a certain famous movie. An actress named Charlize Theron was among the last few candidates to star.
Since I met him, he came over casually.
The South African beauty is only 19 years old this year, and the remaining baby fat on her face does not suit Simon's aesthetics very well.
However, it only takes a few years.
Simon had given the girl her choice before, and if she wanted the female lead in Paul Verhoeven's new film, all he had to do was say hello. Otherwise, because she is too junior, Simon will only arrange small roles for her in some movies in the next few years. Whether she can get ahead depends on her.
Although the South African beauty is young, she is not stupid after all. With no qualifications and no connections, she can still try her luck through Verhoeven's large-scale new film, and maybe she will become a blockbuster. After being spotted by Simon, he simply chose the second path.
At this time, in the corner of the living room, Simon saw Jonathan advance this matter and said: "Joe, although Paul is not directly in your name, you should be able to see that "Showgirls" has no future at all, how could you let him take over it like this? an item?"
"Showgirls" is another Joe Ezettehas script.
Although this famous Hollywood screenwriter who is good at writing pornographic film scripts also missed "Basic Instinct" because of Simon, he had a falling out with Michael Ovitz a few years ago and caused a sensation in Hollywood in the "Infantry Soldier" incident, but because of him Films such as "Flashdance" created in the 1980s were box office hits, and Hollywood thrillers and erotic films have remained popular in recent years, allowing the screenwriter to maintain his status as a popular creator.
However, "Showgirls" is destined to be a turning point for Joe Ezettehas.
Jonathan also shook his head and said with a wry smile: "The project that Paul is interested in personally is still the script of Ezet Hass, and Carlock Films is willing to invest. What else do you think I can do?" With that, Jonathan said again: " By the way, there is another script by Ezettehas, "Jade Flame". This story is quite good, very similar to the style of "Instinct". I asked someone to send you a copy of the script. Have you read it? Speaking of which , Ezettehas even joked in private that the "Basic Instinct" you wrote when you first debuted was a bit imitating his screenwriting style, and now he has imitated you again."
Simon came up with the "Basic Instinct" script in advance during the 1987 stock market crash, which was delayed by five years, so there was no crash.
However, when it comes to movie style, it’s really easy to see the context.
Simon nodded, shook his head again, and said, "I have seen it. However, the reason why "Basic Instinct" was so popular in the first place was due to the strong controversy of that film, not how good the film itself was. This time , I don’t think “Jade Flame” can replicate the popularity of “Instinct”.”