Chapter 250: Premium Assets

In New York, at the Plaza Hotel, Arthur unexpectedly ran into William Randolph Hearst III.

"Good evening, Mr. Hearst," Arthur greeted him with a smile. ESPN was a commercial competitor; Hearst, as a media conglomerate, needed premium Hollywood clients like Galaxy.

"Arthur, congratulations. Galaxy has dominated the Big Six in Hollywood this year," William Randolph Hearst III clinked glasses with Arthur. "Releasing a series of quality films, Galaxy is quite remarkable. Does Galaxy have plans to go public?"

"Go public?" Arthur nodded. "Going public is definitely on the agenda, but it's still early."

At the moment, Arthur was most interested in a cable TV network. Galaxy wasn't short on cash and could completely finance the acquisition of its own cable network.

After chatting with William Randolph Hearst III, Arthur returned to the lounge area and sat on a sofa where he met Castle Rock Entertainment's CEO, Alan Horn, and veteran cowboy Clint Eastwood.

"Long time no see, Alan," Arthur said, knowing that Castle Rock had collaborated with Clint Eastwood on an action film, In the Line of Fire, set for release next year. In the Line of Fire is another piece about the Kennedy assassination.

"Mr. Eastwood's self-directed and self-acted film Unforgiven was a huge success both critically and at the box office!"

Arthur had great respect for Clint Eastwood but noted that he always collaborated with Warner Bros. on his films. While Eastwood sometimes acted in other companies' films, his directorial works were all with Warner Bros.

Clint Eastwood smiled. "Arthur, you're too modest. Unforgiven, no matter how good it is, can't compare to Galaxy's A Few Good Men and Schindler's List."

Unforgiven was Eastwood's forte, a western that grossed hundreds of millions worldwide. Despite being 62, Eastwood remained one of Hollywood's leading tough guys.

Alan Horn chimed in, "Unfortunately, Mr. Eastwood has a contract with Warner Bros.; otherwise, many companies would love to support him."

Clint Eastwood was popular with film companies for always completing projects on time and within budget. Although his fees were high, his films were always commercially successful.

"I'm mainly focused on directing now, and the roles I play are in my own directed works," Eastwood said, shaking his head. "I don't like being influenced while filming; I prefer to shoot according to my own wishes."

Arthur remained noncommittal. This year's Unforgiven had excellent reviews, and if not for Galaxy's Schindler's List, it would have been tough to beat.

A Few Good Men was good but dealt with military scandals, while The Crying Game addressed gender issues, making neither a likely contender for Best Picture at the Oscars, though nominations were possible. Scent of a Woman was nice but lacked profound depth. Only Schindler's List was a knockout film that would overshadow any competitor this year.

Later, Arthur and Jennifer Aniston headed to the Oak Bar, a historic bar in the Plaza Hotel like the Palm Court. The Oak Bar featured a tall Christmas tree, clearly preparing for Christmas celebrations.

"Arthur, what are you looking at?" Jennifer Aniston asked, leaning on Arthur's chest on the sofa, noticing him staring at two people chatting at the bar.

Arthur looked down, kissed Jennifer Aniston, stroked her leg, and whispered in her ear, "Do you know who those two are?"

"Who are they?"

"One is Martin Davis, Chairman of Paramount Communications, and the other is Sumner Redstone, Chairman of Viacom," Arthur said flatly. "Hollywood is about to see some changes. Viacom has been preparing to enter the Hollywood content field for a long time, and they want to acquire Paramount Communications."

Jennifer Aniston was puzzled. "Um, what does that have to do with you?"

Arthur pinched Jennifer Aniston's face. "The assets of Paramount Communications are all premium assets, and I'm quite interested. But this level of acquisition is beyond my reach right now."

"Galaxy has been around for too short a time, so there's no need to rush," Jennifer Aniston reminded him with a smile.

"Yeah, maybe I'm a bit eager," Arthur admitted, feeling a bit envious. Paramount Communications had assets like Paramount Pictures, Madison Square Garden, 50% of the USA Network, and Simon & Schuster Publishing Group. All were promising industries!

"Let's go back," Arthur said, no longer wanting to stay at the Plaza Hotel.

Back at the Upper East Side mansion, an aroused Arthur grabbed Aniston and started kissing her passionately.

"Mmm," Jennifer Aniston responded while helping remove their clothes from the living room to the bedroom.

Lying on the bed, Arthur felt Jennifer Aniston's warm, soft body moving on top of him. However, his thoughts wandered. He couldn't handle acquiring Paramount Pictures. Simon & Schuster and Madison Square Garden were also out of reach, being worth billions.

Arthur knew the MSG group had the New York Knicks, New York Rangers, Madison Square Garden Arena, Roosevelt Raceway in Long Island, and the MSG network. The price wouldn't be below $1 billion. Simon & Schuster was one of the Big Five publishing houses in America, the top publisher in the 1980s.

"Ah," Arthur suddenly exhaled, stroking Jennifer Aniston's hair and staring at the ceiling.

The remaining option was the USA Network, the least valuable asset of Paramount Communications, a joint venture between Paramount and Universal, with each owning 50%. Paramount managed it, but its performance had been mediocre, focusing on movies and variety shows.

Perhaps Galaxy could acquire the USA Network from Paramount and Universal.

Arthur got excited at the thought. If Galaxy had its own cable network and could broadcast popular TV shows from his memory...

"Hmm," Arthur, filled with excitement, lifted Jennifer Aniston onto his body, enjoying the sight of her hair flying.

*****

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