Chapter 451: One has to Push a Little

[Chapter 513: One has to push a little.]

The Autonomous Park community, located beneath the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, was the largest Jewish community in New York.

At night, Arthur sat on a sofa in an underground club on 13th Avenue and 45th Street, enjoying a sultry striptease performance with New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani.

"Arthur, are you in some kind of trouble?" Rudy Giuliani asked with a smile.

Arthur didn't hide much. "The Jewish influence at CBS wants to keep controlling the network; Loews is still searching for Jewish capital!"

"Disney has acquired Capital Cities/ABC, and the Jewish news channels have only been strengthened," Arthur continued.

"The Tisch family should be a minor player for you, right?" Rudy Giuliani said, somewhat puzzled.

Arthur's expression remained unchanged. "It's the Graham family in Washington causing trouble; you know Catherine Graham's connection to Alan Greenspan!"

Alan Greenspan had been chairing the Federal Reserve since 1987 and was basically the Jewish leader in America.

"Business is business, but Loews isn't in great shape right now. If it weren't for Galaxy suddenly entering the scene, when Disney abandoned CBS, Westinghouse would have acquired CBS!" Rudy Giuliani noted.

He thought for a moment and reminded Arthur, "Loews' main asset at this point is its shares in CNA Financial Insurance. And CNA Financial Insurance was once a major part of the Chicago syndicate, you know!"

The Chicago syndicate initially consisted of banks such as Continental Illinois National Bank, First Chicago, Harris Bank, and Northern Trust but later suffered pressure from Wall Street. Continental Illinois was infiltrated by the Morgan group, while First Chicago fell under Rockefeller's control.

"It's really a mess," Arthur shook his head, "Loews has a deep connection with Wall Street. CNA Insurance? They're still not qualified to get in."

He glanced at Rudy Giuliani. "I don't want them to easily get tax exempt status for their New York real estate business. You know, sometimes you just have to push a little!"

The two Manhattan district council members, Ethan Thomas and Joseph Brown, who came with Arthur, also reached a mutual understanding with him.

Rudy Giuliani nodded, "We'll need your support for the next mayoral election!"

"Ha ha, of course," Arthur clinked his glass with Rudy's.

...

With the disastrous failure of Carolco's latest film, Showgirls, Mario Kassar failed to find new funding sources.

Once a powerhouse, Carolco officially announced bankruptcy, and all its assets were taken over by the bank.

Film companies immediately turned their eyes to the rights of Terminator 3, but since it was part of James Cameron's series, 20th Century Fox, which had a partnership with him, was undoubtedly in the lead.

However, James Cameron was tied up with the production of Titanic, leaving him no time to deal with Terminator 3.

At MGM in Manhattan, Arthur sat in a chair. "The bank isn't willing to break up Carolco?"

Tom Rothman, seated across from Arthur, nodded helplessly. "The bank thinks Carolco is insolvent right now. Selling off such quality assets would make it harder to attract investors."

Arthur didn't care much. "The series can't thrive without James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger. How's 20th Century Fox's Titanic coming along?"

Tom Rothman chuckled, "I heard James is using $60 million from 20th Century Fox to get a replica of that ship. But it scared Bill Mechanic half to death."

Bill Mechanic was the film president who joined 20th Century Fox last year.

"Peter Chernin would definitely not approve," Arthur said with a smirk. Peter Chernin was the CEO of 20th Century Fox.

"If he doesn't approve, James Cameron is only going to build half of the ship for filming; it's already in production at the shipyard. Besides, James Cameron is a detail-oriented director; even half of that ship's construction won't come cheap!"

Arthur understood what Tom Rothman meant; that $60 million probably wouldn't cover James Cameron's initial expenses.

"Another water film," Arthur sighed.

"The failure of Waterworld is painfully evident," he added.

"As for the other film, Cutthroat Island, Carolco has gone bankrupt. This movie has been surrounded by scandal even before filming began."

He waited.

"By the way, what's the deal with DreamWorks right now?"

Arthur hadn't forgotten about that company, especially since all three founders were big names.

"DreamWorks is preparing projects, and Jeffrey Katzenberg is in a big dispute with Disney over salary," Tom Rothman was naturally keeping an eye on DreamWorks SKG. "Jeffrey Katzenberg has the most management experience, and he was mainly responsible for the formation of DreamWorks. DreamWorks Animation's first feature, along with contracts for film distribution with various theaters, their television department, and music division, it's quite a lot!"

Arthur laughed, "Hollywood's big seven studios are already crowded. Adding another strong film group isn't a good thing."

Tom Rothman nodded, "Disney's pressure on DreamWorks is very direct; Michael Eisner won't let Jeffrey Katzenberg succeed. I wonder when DreamWorks' first project will meet the audience?"

"Well, on that point, I completely support Michael Eisner," Arthur stood up. "At the MPAA meeting, I just need to align with Disney. Also, Galaxy and Carmike Theatres can squeeze DreamWorks' distribution space!"

Galaxy had been through the wringer; now that they were the rule-makers, they obviously needed DreamWorks SKG to feel the heat too.

Warner Bros., Paramount, Columbia, MGM, and Universal all had their own owned theaters and stakes in them!

Arthur felt it was his duty to let Jeffrey Katzenberg, Steven Spielberg, and David Geffen know how cutthroat the Hollywood competition could be.

After Tom Rothman left, Arthur's assistant Anna Walker came in to report that it was time for him to meet with Edward Johnson III, the chairman of Fidelity Investments.

"Let's go to the meeting restaurant," Arthur had quite a bit of collaboration with Fidelity Investments.

*****

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