Chapter 261: Gimmicks

After leaving the Ace Hotel, Arthur drove to the USC School of Cinematic Arts and called Yu Feihong.

Yu Feihong soon came out of the dormitory, "Aren't you planning to go out and have some fun this weekend?"

Yu Feihong shook her head, "I just came back a few days ago. I'll be going to New York during spring break to guest star in a TV show, the one I invested $600,000 in has started shooting!"

"Be careful and if there is any discrimination, call me!"

Originally, Jewish people were also a heavily discriminated group, but in recent years, they've developed positively in politics and business, enacting many policies beneficial to them.

With the help of Jewish gangs acting as enforcers and their control over significant media power, Jews today are not the same as they used to be.

Even though there's a lot of anti-Semitic sentiment, there's not much that can be done about it!

This time, TPG's participation in the Los Angeles reconstruction project couldn't have happened without Jewish capital.

The movie Schindler's List definitely earned Jews a lot of sympathy, leading to numerous Holocaust memorial events popping up like mushrooms after rain.

"I'm very low-key at school, there's nothing to worry about," Yu Feihong mainly frequented her dorm, classroom, and library. Occasionally, she would return to Culver City for a simple, mundane life.

Of course, sometimes on weekends, she'd visit sights around Los Angeles for sketching or venture to more distant spots if she had more time!

"You don't have to be too low-key; it's the weekend, so go out and have fun. Money's not an issue, just avoid unsafe places," Arthur smiled. "Let's go to Malibu; consider it your weekend getaway."

Arthur had bought several villas in Los Angeles before; this one was near Zuma Beach at Point Dume in Malibu.

It was further than the first villa Arthur purchased at Malibu's Big Rock Beach, where Jennifer Connelly spent most of her time when she was in Los Angeles.

"Okay, I'll listen to you," Yu Feihong had no objections.

When they arrived at the Malibu villa, Arthur held Yu Feihong's hand as they entered, "If you want to vacation by the sea in the future, you can stay here anytime. I have quite a few villas like this."

Yu Feihong shook her head, "I think the Culver City house is nice; it's much closer to school. You know, I mainly stay at school most of the time and don't go out much!"

Arthur, feeling helpless, handed Yu Feihong a Ritz-Carlton VIP gold card. "I acquired a hotel group last year, now managing about 23 chain hotels. Whenever you travel, stay at a Ritz-Carlton; it's a high-end luxury brand!"

"Hmm," before Yu Feihong could respond, Arthur kissed her, unbuttoning her shirt...

That night, on the bedroom bed, Arthur lay on top of the lingerie-clad Yu Feihong, appreciating the softness of her body while praising, "Your lingerie is really pretty!"

"It's from Victoria's Secret, right? Didn't you ask me to wear it before?" Yu Feihong, holding Arthur's neck, responded.

"Ah, I see," Arthur smiled, kissing her again while unhooking her bra and tossing it aside.

Was it the lingerie that was beautiful? Clearly, it was the body it encased!

...

Meanwhile, David Bondman arrived at Robert Bass's Pacific Palisades beachfront villa after attending a business reception.

"David, how's your risk assessment of the Irvine Company?" Robert Bass inquired.

"The prospects are excellent. The Irvine Company has massive land resources, and urban development absolutely depends on that land, especially now that Arthur Smith has substantial allies among the new politicians!"

"Indeed," Robert Bass smiled, "But this kid wants us to deal with Donald Bren and his partners so that TPG and the Irvine family can take control of the Irvine Company..."

...

In February, as another indicator of the Oscars, the BAFTA Awards were held. Schindler's List dominated and won Best Film and Best Director, among other awards.

The Crying Game also bagged the Best British Film award!

At the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel, Arthur attended the Los Angeles tea party hosted by the British Academy of Film. As the annual banquet for British film and television, many movie and TV stars were present.

The editor-in-chief of Mirror Group, owned by Galaxy, Tina Brown, had also specifically come to Los Angeles. Currently, Galaxy Publishing Group not only managed Mirror Group but also acquired the movie entertainment magazine Premiere and launched the tech magazine Wired.

For Tina Brown, her responsibilities increased, especially since Daily Mirror and Premiere were considered flagship publications of Galaxy.

"Last year, the royal scandal exposed by Mirror Group had too much of an impact. Although it boosted circulation, offending the royal family this deeply isn't good in the long run," Tina Brown chatted with Arthur, sitting on the sofa.

Arthur smiled, "Indeed, there were too many royal scandals in the UK last year, and then there was the disastrous Windsor Castle fire at year's end. I heard the Queen opened parts of Buckingham Palace to tourists for extra income?"

Tina Brown shrugged, "With the royal family's lost credibility last year, did they expect taxpayers to pay to repair Windsor Castle? Windsor Castle is the Queen's private property. The government funded the repairs, offsetting the cost with Buckingham Palace's income."

Arthur didn't mind, casually saying, "Isn't the Daily Mirror waving the flag for the Prime Minister? What's the problem?"

Last year's Sterling crisis, due to John Major's mishandling, resulted in severe losses for Britain, eventually leading to its exit from the European Monetary System.

The Daily Mirror pinned all the blame on international speculators like the Quantum Fund, essentially helping out John Major.

Currently, if there was someone the British hated the most, it would definitely be the head of the Quantum Fund!

"There's no big issue, just that the circulation of Mirror is up now," Tina Brown, good at handling this kind of tabloid entertainment news, said.

"What are your thoughts on Premiere magazine?" Arthur asked. "You can create some gimmicks. That Hollywood Power List isn't bad. Later, you can have a Hollywood Stars Power List, Hollywood Women Power List, World's Greatest Films Ranking, Movie Characters Ranking..."

Listening to Arthur's explanation, Tina Brown was stunned by such gimmicks. "If you weren't in the film industry, you would definitely succeed in newspapers and magazines!"

Arthur smiled without speaking. After all, these were lists created by various magazines in later generations.

Just like Forbes, originally an economic magazine, which became famous in the 80s with the American Forbes 400 list of the richest people, alongside Fortune and Businessweek, known as the three major business magazines.

In the future, global rich lists, celebrity lists, and the most influential women lists will all emerge - aren't they all gimmicks?

Tina Brown, looking at Arthur's back, couldn't help but murmur to herself, "Truly a person full of ideas. It seems that not accepting the editor-in-chief position of Conde Nast's The New Yorker was the right choice!"

On the other side, Arthur and his long-unseen friend, Catherine Zeta-Jones, went to a guest room. As soon as they entered, they embraced and kissed passionately.

"How about it, did you miss me?" Catherine Zeta-Jones asked, holding Arthur while sitting on the bed.

"What do you think?" Arthur brushed his lips over her face. "Four Weddings and a Funeral has finished filming. You should still be filming Mayflower Season 3, right?"

"Yeah," Catherine Zeta-Jones moved directly onto Arthur's lap. "So, I can't stay in America for long. I need to get back to filming soon, and I also promised to do a photoshoot for your Premiere magazine!"

"So, you're very busy?" Arthur said, kissing Catherine Zeta-Jones on the face, lowering the shoulder strap of her gown. "Four Weddings and a Funeral will be released in July. Let's see how it goes then. Maybe, by then, you'll get some important movie roles. You know, competition in movies is fierce nowadays!"

"I understand," Catherine Zeta-Jones said, kissing Arthur passionately while removing her pasties and placing Arthur's hand on her softness.

An hour later, Arthur left the Hilton Hotel with a flushed Catherine Zeta-Jones, preparing to return to his Bel Air estate.

In the car, Arthur placed his hand on Catherine Zeta-Jones' thigh. "My dear, you looked stunning in The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones!"

"Did you watch that series too?" Catherine smiled.

"I just watched it casually. After all, it's a big IP, a spin-off of Raiders of the Lost Ark," Arthur was always interested in hit series IPs like this.

"Right now, most of my projects are television films, and The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones seems to have an average viewership rate."

The films Catherine Zeta-Jones was involved in were Christopher Columbus: The Discovery and the supporting role in Four Weddings and a Funeral.

The rest were series or TV movies; she hadn't landed any major film roles yet.

Arthur smiled, "Don't worry, at least you have roles now where you can hone your skills. Opportunities will come!"

Arthur didn't forget the movie that would make Catherine Zeta-Jones famous in the future, The Mask of Zorro.

Though Sony's Tristar announced they would co-develop a movie about Zorro with Steven Spielberg, based on the novel Zorro by Johnston McCulley, Arthur knew that The Mask of Zorro only borrowed characters from the novel with a completely different story.

With Tristar's slow preparation, Arthur could wait for the right moment.

"Arthur," Catherine Zeta-Jones suddenly looked at Arthur, eyes full of seduction, "I'm hungry!"

"Didn't you just have enough in the hotel?" Arthur raised an eyebrow.

Catherine Zeta-Jones shook her head, then unbuckled Arthur's belt, her lips curling, "Do you still have energy?"

Arthur blinked, "What do you think?"

Then Catherine Zeta-Jones bent down, and with Arthur's hand on the wheel, he slowed the car, placing one hand on her hair, enjoying her service...

*****

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