hunt hollywood

Janet nodded and said: "It's been done a long time ago. I rented a Boeing 767. If you are sure not to delay, we will leave at 7 o'clock tomorrow morning and arrive in Melbourne at 9 o'clock in the afternoon on September 1st in Australia. , direct flight, no need to stop halfway.”

Simon recalled some information he had read, and said, "Boeing 767, this is Boeing's mid-sized jetliner, are you sure it's okay to fly directly to Melbourne?"

"Of course, this is an ultra-long-range Boeing 767 200ER, with a standard full-load range of more than 12000 kilometers. However, if it is used as a private jet, it is no problem to have a range of 16000 kilometers. Los Angeles to Melbourne is less than 13000 kilometers. "

Sophia heard what Janet said, and said, "Boeing 767 is a twin-engine airliner, so it should be restricted by twin-engine extended-range flight?"

Twin-engine extended-range flight is a requirement put forward by the International Civil Aviation Organization to ensure the flight safety of twin-engine passenger aircraft. It stipulates that once a twin-engine passenger plane fails and shuts down during flight, a single engine can be guaranteed to be on the route. Arrive at the alternate airport within 120 minutes if any point is met.The cruising speed of a subsonic jet airliner is usually within 1000 kilometers per hour, and it is difficult to meet this requirement for a trans-Pacific flight involving a journey of tens of thousands of kilometers.

Janet shook her head and said, "Private jets are not subject to this restriction."

Simon also probably knew something about this matter, but he didn't care too much. He asked Sofia, "When are you planning to return to Europe?"

Sophia heard the words, but looked at Janet.

Janet said: "A few days ago, I blocked a news release about a nurse in the Watsonville hospital. In order to prevent those people from continuing to talk nonsense, I want George and Sophia to contact some people to sign a non-disclosure agreement."

Simon paused. He didn't shy away from his experience in the Watsonville Mental Hospital, but he didn't want to be repeatedly discussed about it. After thinking about it, he said, "I'll talk to Chap later. Make a phone call to Dr. Man, he took good care of me at the time. George and Sophia can go over there and ask him to help with this matter."

Janet nodded and said, "I was going to do that."

If George and Sophia came straight to the door and demanded that Dr. Chapman sign a non-discrimination agreement without discrimination, it would definitely be very hurtful.But if Dr. Chapman is asked to cooperate with George and Sophia in this matter, it means that he has pulled the other party to his side and still retains a favor.

Now that Janet thought of this, Simon stopped talking.

Janet usually looks lazy and careless, but Simon knows that she is smarter and more careful than most people.If she hadn't happened to ask, the woman might have already handled the matter properly in private.

Because this trip to Australia was not just for work, Simon rushed back to Malibu in the afternoon to prepare with Janet.

Woke up very early the next day and arrived at Los Angeles International Airport at six o'clock.At seven o'clock, everyone arrived, and a Boeing 767 taxied from the airport runway to the sky on time.

Compared with Simon's Gulfstream IV, which can carry only 20 passengers, Janet's leased Boeing 767 200ER can carry more than 200 passengers.However, the leasing company transformed it into a passenger-cargo aircraft. Except for the luxury cabin that can accommodate about 30 people in the front section of the fuselage, most of the space has been cleared out, which also greatly reduces the basic weight of the aircraft and maximizes energy efficiency. Oil endurance.

In the cabin at this time, in addition to the crew team composed of four pilots and four stewardesses, Simon and his party consisted of nine people, Simon and Janet, Neil Bennett and Ken Dixon, and Daenerys Entertainment including Simon Five employees including personal assistant Jennifer.

In the 80s, there was no direct commercial flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne. Ordinary people who want to make such a journey usually need to make two transfers from Los Angeles via Hawaii and Sydney to arrive in Melbourne. The whole process may take more than 20 hours.

Because there is no need for a stopover, the trip for Simon and his party lasts about 16 hours.

洛杉矶和墨尔本之间拥有18个小时的时差，8月31日早上7点钟出发，预计抵达时，当地时间是9月1日下午5点钟。

Naturally, Simon will not waste up to 16 hours of flying time.

In an office in the cabin.

Simon was about to look through a bunch of materials he planned to read during his trip to Australia, but Jennifer took out a package and said, "It was delivered yesterday afternoon in San Francisco. You had already left early."

Simon took the package and looked at it. It was not a commercial express delivery. The outside of the square box was simply signed with an oil-based pen: Steve Jobs.

Raising his eyebrows unexpectedly, Simon opened the package, which contained a video tape and a note.

Simon handed the videotape to Jennifer, picked up the note by himself, and there was only a short sentence on it: Simon, if you are interested in Pixar, you can call me.

Then there is a string of phone numbers.

Jennifer put the videotape into the VCR in the office, and a 3D animation soon appeared on the TV screen in the corner, titled "Tin Soldier".

After playing for a while, Jennifer turned around and took the initiative to explain: "I checked, this short film was released early last month after Fox's "Dragon Might and Tiger", and the response from the industry was very good. In addition, Steve Jobs' NEXT The computer company's new product launch was delayed again, and Pixar's graphics computer sales were also very poor. He urgently needed to get rid of this burden. Jobs bought Pixar from Lucas for $500 million, and invested another $500 million to keep the studio running , a total of 70% of the shares, and the other 30% of the shares are in the hands of Pixar employees. Considering the graphics software such as the Randerman rendering tool that Pixar has developed in the past two years, its current value should be around 2000 million US dollars.”

Listening to Jennifer's introduction, Simon looked at the very rough baby shape on the screen, and knew that it was very rare for Pixar to be able to achieve this level when it was short of funds.

After the video was played, Simon didn't delay on purpose. He picked up the phone on the desktop and dialed the number on the sticky note.

The call was connected and passed quickly to Jobs.

The two were not familiar with each other, so after a few pleasantries, Simon got right to the point: "Steve, can you give me an offer... $3000 million? It's too high, you and I both know it's impossible... Of course I'm very happy I hope to get Pixar, but you should also know about Daenerys special effects. Frankly speaking, I only fancy Pixar’s Renderman rendering system. If I get this software, Daenerys special effects can save half a year Time, even if you contact me after March next year, I may not need this company anymore... 3 million US dollars, this is the highest offer I have given, and this offer is for the entire Pixar, you need to be responsible for convincing Pixar employees relinquish existing equity."

Simon didn't intend to make too many concessions on the offer, and Jobs was obviously eager to sell Pixar, and he didn't make too much fuss.

The two negotiated over some details on the phone, and the matter was basically finalized.Simon hung up the phone, connected to Jennifer's father again, and asked James Raybould to contact Jobs with a formal offer.After finishing this matter, Simon didn't have much excitement in his heart.

When he decided not to attach his plan to make animated films to Pixar, Simon made up his mind that if he couldn't win the company, he would destroy it as much as possible.

With his current strength, it is not difficult to achieve this.

In my memory, the biggest reason why Pixar was able to successfully produce "Toy Story" until the mid-90s was that the Pixar graphics computer gradually opened up sales, and the biggest sales target happened to be Disney.Therefore, if Simon wants to suppress Pixar, he only needs to reach an agreement with Disney and refuse to purchase graphics computers from Pixar.In comparison, Silicon Graphics, which is heavily owned by Westeros, also produces top-level graphics workstations. Simon doesn't even need to find additional reasons for doing so, it is completely 'legitimate' business competition.

Still, taking Pixar would definitely be a good thing.

Daenerys special effects will therefore not need to spend time developing a rendering system, and Pixar's 3D animation technology can also make a good complement to Daenerys special effects technology.Of course, the most important thing is John Lasseter's team. Simon has also been considering poaching before.

In the past, John Lasseter rejected Disney's solicitation after "The Tin Soldier" won the Oscar. It is rumored that Disney can be said to have looked at the grassroots, because they couldn't get this talent, and finally chose to cooperate in a roundabout way, and finally contributed to the The Birth of Toy Story.

During this process, John Lasseter was loyal to Jobs.

But in reality, things are not so legendary.

"Tin Soldier" was released in 1988, but "Toy Story" was established in 1991, and it was completed after repeated ups and downs in the following years.Obviously, if Disney is really "thirsty for talents", there will not be a three-year window period, and there will be no twists and turns such as project suspension during the production of "Toy Story".

Therefore, with Daenerys Entertainment's current industry status, Simon doesn't even need to offer a special price to attract John Lasseter.Of course, now that the entire Pixar has been won, there is definitely no need to do more now.

Chapter 199 (Revised)

In the spacious Boeing 767 cabin, Simon felt the same as the ground during the long 16-hour journey.

Work, eat, sleep.

When I woke up again, the plane had entered the airspace of southern Australia. Looking down through the porthole, downtown Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay surrounded by the city were clearly visible.

It was winter in Melbourne at the end of August, and the temperature difference between the four seasons in coastal cities is usually not too big, but it is not something that a summer outfit in Los Angeles can resist.

In the cabin bedroom, Janet helped Simon dress up as usual, watched him put on a dark woolen sweater and black slacks, and put a short black trench coat on the man, and finally nodded with satisfaction Said: "This way it looks more mature."

Simon looked at the light pink coat on the woman with a smile, and said, "So, is there anything else to explain, such as some topics that must never be mentioned in front of your family?"

"Tony hates it when people talk about how he was beaten by a girl when he was a child," Janet tilted her head, obviously intending to 'remind', but quickly took out a watch from her satchel and handed it over, saying: "Here , Just take this with you, you don’t mind a little flattering my old man, don’t you? I’ve already adjusted the Melbourne time for you.”

Simon took a look. This was Janet's father's Patek Philippe stainless steel model 20 brought by Janet's brother Anthony Johnston on his 1518th birthday at the beginning of the year. This is Patek Philippe's first perpetual calendar watch.

As a classic luxury watch brand, more than 90.00% of Patek Philippe's watches are made of precious metals, and the stainless steel models whose production quantity is said to be only single digits have become the most precious collections.The most rare thing is that this watch made during the Second World War is still brand new.

He readily took it over and put it on his wrist. Simon smiled and said, "You kept it all the time, and I thought you planned to keep it as a collection."

"Dad likes to collect watches, but I don't like them. Moreover, the collection value of watches is actually very low. No matter how expensive and luxurious watches are, they are mass-produced, and they are very old. Patek Philippe, a brand that is good at making complicated watches, is worth it. Collect it. However, as long as you like it and are rich enough, of course you can collect whatever you want," Janet said, and suddenly laughed again: "The old man likes the gold watch paragraph in "Pulp Fiction", just to save The gold watch method is too vulgar, ha ha."

After talking and laughing, I finally tidied up, and the Boeing 767 roared and landed on the runway of Melbourne Airport.

When Simon got off the plane, he looked at the watch he had just put on. The time was 5:23, because the daytime was shorter in winter, and the sun was already setting here.

When everyone got off the plane, Simon saw Janet's elder brother Anthony Johnston and some other people coming up together, and greeted everyone warmly. Anthony turned to Simon again and said, "Let's go back quickly, everyone It's all waiting for you."

After going through some necessary procedures completely through the motions, everyone left the airport quickly.

Jennifer and several entourages were arranged to go to the hotel in the city center, while Simon and Janet drove to Johnston's house by car.Departing from Melbourne Airport in the western suburbs, after more than half an hour's journey, the car entered a manor surrounded by green trees by the Yarra River in the eastern suburbs.

When the car stopped in front of the main building of the manor, after Simon got out of the car, he couldn't help but stop and look at the building in front of him.This is obviously an English-style castle, with Gothic spires, but without the dense curved colonnades of the Palace of Westminster. It looks square and majestic against the golden sunset.

However, Simon's stop was not because of the style of the building.

Anthony Johnston came over, stood beside him and looked at his mansion side by side, and said with a smile: "I have seen some concept drawings of "Batman" you drew, is this house very suitable for Wayne? Manor? Heh, it’s just that I can’t lend you this, there are still some similar buildings around Melbourne, and you can choose slowly in the next few days.”

Of course, Simon didn't want to use Janet's house as a filming location. Even if Melbourne couldn't find any other suitable castles for Wayne Manor, there were plenty of them in mainland England, and many of them were even abandoned.He just found this coincidence very interesting at this time.

Janet leaned over and took Simon's arm, and said, "Dad, they are out, let's go there."

At this time, a group of people came out of the castle in crowds. Janet had shown Simon the photos of her family, and Simon could roughly identify the identities of some people.

Raymond Johnston, who happens to be 70 years old this year, is tall and thin, with gray hair and sharp eyes. He has a tough temperament of an old western cowboy, and he is obviously not a person who is too easy to get along with.Tracy Johnston is Janet's mother. Compared with her imposing husband, this old woman has a much softer temperament. After everyone approached, Janet threw herself into her mother's arms like a bird.

Introduce each other, in addition to Janet's parents, there are four members of Janet's elder brother Anthony Johnston's family and the second brother Norman Johnston's family of three.

Simon did not see Janet's aunt, Veronica Johnston, or her two other younger brothers, David and Patrick Johnston.He actually knew that Anthony Johnston's eldest son did not appear, which avoided some small embarrassment, because the eldest grandson of Raymond Johnston was Janet's nephew Brandon John Stone is also 20 years old this year, the same age as Simon.

As night fell, the Johnston family had already prepared dinner in advance.

In the castle, after the room was settled, Janet threw Simon directly to her father and brother. Like a little girl, she wrapped herself around her mother and came to the kitchen together. Watching the chef and servants busy with dinner, she ate a piece of dessert regardless of her appearance. Then, she asked her mother, "Mom, even if David and Pat can't come back from England, what about the iceberg? Why isn't she here?"

Trish Johnston no longer expected her daughter to change the name of her sister-in-law, and said helplessly: "Your aunt went to Perth a few days ago, it seems to be a matter of a mine in Western Australia."

Janet was puzzled: "She is in charge of the company's finances. Shouldn't dad and brother come forward for this kind of thing?"

Trish Johnston opened her daughter's little hand and stretched out to a piece of cake, said: "I don't know, but your father and brother have left, who will entertain the guests?"

"Then I'll wait for her to come back. She will definitely come back in the next few days?" Janet said, facing her mother's puzzled eyes, she took the initiative to explain: "She has done a lot for me and Simon, of course thank you She, hee hee, it's really strange to say, she was never so enthusiastic before."

Trish Johnston said in a doting tone: "Your aunt has always been the best for you, what's so strange about it, you girl just don't know how to be content."

"Okay, okay," Janet hugged her mother again, and suddenly said, "Wow, I understand."

Trish Johnston was a little dissatisfied with her daughter's shock, so she straightened her crooked collar and said, "What?"

"I've already brought my boyfriend back," Janet analyzed with a little complacency. "My aunt must not want my father to talk about her again, so I avoided it on purpose."

Trish Johnston also had a little more helplessness on her expression, she pushed her daughter again, and said, "Okay, don't make trouble here, go and accompany the guests."

"Just call him Simon, what 'guest' or 'guest'," Janet smiled, and whispered in her mother's ear: "Mom, what do you think of him?"

Trish Johnston smiled and said, "Your father thinks it's very good, and I can see it too."

Janet was dissatisfied: "It's just good?"

"Daughters really want to face outsiders." Tracy Johnston patted Janet, looked at the chefs and servants around, and said: "Your father said that there is something very satisfying about this child. You are very satisfied with him. Well, he will treat you well."

Janet hummed twice, then asked, "What else?"

Trish Johnston smiled and said: "It's quite profitable, enough to support you, a little prodigal."

Janet pouted dissatisfiedly, and continued to ask: "What else?"

"Who is chasing your mother to praise your boyfriend?" Trish Johnston blamed pretending to be dissatisfied, and then whispered: "When you get along with each other on weekdays, is he okay in that regard?"

Janet pretended to be mistaken, imitating her mother's accent just now with a red face: "How can anyone chase after your daughter to ask his boyfriend about it?" After saying this, seeing her mother glaring over, Janet quickly added: "No problem. He's been fine all along. He should be fully recovered."

"I heard that mental illness is difficult to cure, and it can be inherited." Tracy Johnston was still a little worried: "Will he throw things in private, or hit you?"

Janet shook her head immediately: "Of course not."

The mother and daughter whispered small things, and dinner was prepared unconsciously.

The men who were chatting in the living room turned into the dining room, a large family of eleven people, old and young, young and old, together with the servants and servants around, looked very lively.

In the next few days, Simon also settled in the Johnston family's mansion, and he also learned more about the family.

The Johnston family takes the Johnston Holding Group as the core. 70.00% of the family business is in ore mining and smelting, another 20.00% of the business is transportation, and the last [-]% is some peripheral industries such as animal husbandry.

The 70-year-old Raymond Johnston still serves as the chairman of the family group and is based in Australia.Janet's aunt, Veronica Johnston, is the group's chief financial officer.Anthony Johnston and Norman Johnston serve as Group CEO and President respectively, with Anthony Johnston mainly in charge of European business and Norman Johnston in charge of Asia and Africa.Johnston Group's business in North America and Latin America is somewhat weak.

In addition to Anthony Johnston and Norman Johnston, Raymond Johnston's other two sons, David Johnston and Patrick Johnston, were not interested in family affairs.Both David Johnston, 25, and Patrick Johnston, 22, are still studying in the UK. In Janet’s words, David Johnston is a standard nerd, and Patrick Johnston is a standard playboy.

At the beginning, Raymond Johnston thought that he would be single-handed like his father and grandfather. After having two sons by accident, he devoted all his energy to training Anthony Johnston and Norman Johnston. The son and the second son are also very good.

Therefore, when it was the turn of the three Janet siblings, Raymond Johnston was no longer so strict with them, nor forced them to inherit the family affairs, so the current result appeared.

As for the main purpose of Simon's trip, "Batman", with the assistance of the Johnston family's strong contacts in Melbourne, it was basically finalized before he arrived.

It is expected that the filming of "Batman" will use helicopters. Helicopters are prohibited from flying over Melbourne, which is similar to the problems encountered in the original space-time "Matrix".However, compared to the "Matrix", which almost stopped filming because of this, before Simon came to Australia, Melbourne had already introduced a new law, which relaxed the restrictions on helicopter no-flying in urban areas.

This time, Simon mainly came here to sort out the selected locations in person. The company sent a special location scout here a few months ago. For several months, Simon has been continuously The remote control is used to view the scene, so this aspect is not a big problem.

In addition, regarding the issue of tax rebates, the Melbourne Film Bureau finally agreed to give 15% of the entire Australian expenditure of "Batman" as a tax rebate.

This ratio is not high compared to Australia's support for local films, but compared to other foreign films shot in Australia, this tax rebate ratio is already very good.

Moreover, the tax rebate agreement signed with Daenerys Entertainment is also very loose, which is what Simon values ​​most.

Because under normal circumstances, if overseas films want to get tax rebates, it is not just as simple as filming in Australia. Daily expenses in Australian cities must be limited to a certain extent, and you must spend a fixed amount of money every day in order to get a tax refund.There are some problems in some of these links, which may lead to the failure or shrinkage of the tax refund.

In comparison, Daenerys Entertainment’s contract only needs to hire 30% of local Australian employees, and does not require Australian funds to participate in the investment. There is no limit to the cost of the crew in Australia. Entertainment only needs to provide a total spending statement to get a pro-rated 15% cash back.

Chapter 200 Hunting (Revised)

For a week in a row, Simon spent in a very fulfilling state.

During the day he is busy with the preparations for "Batman", and at night he has to participate in various parties and receptions specially arranged for him.

In addition to being the world's youngest talented director, Simon's current wealth is enough to attract the attention of the entire Australian upper class.Coupled with the deep connections of the Johnston family, almost all the political and business celebrities in Australia were invited to the grand party held in the mansion on the banks of the Yarra River on Saturday.

Simon also accidentally saw Rupert Murdoch, the head of the Murdoch family who also made his fortune in Melbourne. In order to expand News Corporation's business in the United States, the newspaper tycoon had immigrated to the United States, but in fact, News Corporation's Control remains in the hands of the family's holding company in Australia.

Because there is no industrial competition between them, the Johnston family has a very good relationship with several major media families in Australia.