Chapter 329

In the evening, at a nightclub in Midtown Manhattan.

Arthur sat on the couch, cuddling the seductive Nicole Kidman while watching the performance on stage. He said, "You're getting more and more attractive, Nicole!"

Nicole Kidman smiled, "Then how could you go so long without looking for me?"

"Don't worry, I'll be in New York for the next few days, and we can spend some quality time together," Arthur said as he began kissing Nicole Kidman passionately.

Soon, a few Hollywood A-listers Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sylvester Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Demi Moore, and others suddenly arrived at the club, and the atmosphere became lively.

"Hey, when did Stallone and Schwarzenegger became friends?" Arthur was puzzled because everyone knew about the animosity between Stallone and Schwarzenegger.

In the past few years, with Schwarzenegger's meteoric rise and Stallone's decline, Schwarzenegger had become Hollywood's top action star.

The stark contrast was evident with Schwarzenegger consistently releasing box-office hits while Stallone faced continuous flops.

If it weren't for Stallone's film Cliffhanger last year, the gap would be even bigger.

Nicole Kidman snuggled up to Arthur and said, "Didn't you know? Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Bruce Willis, and Demi Moore have invested in a Planet Hollywood restaurant chain, and it's going public soon!"

"Planet Hollywood? I think I've seen it in Los Angeles," Arthur wasn't really interested in these things.

"It's a chain restaurant with locations in New York, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and many other big cities. It's been reported in the news," Nicole Kidman was more in tune with the Hollywood stars' news.

Arthur glanced over at the four stars. Schwarzenegger had a big James Cameron film, True Lies, releasing this year.

Stallone had a movie with Sharon Stone called The Specialist also coming out this year.

Demi Moore would release Disclosure with Michael Douglas this year, while Bruce Willis had Pulp Fiction hitting the theaters.

"Let's go; we should head back," Arthur patted Nicole Kidman in his arms. He needed to prepare for his meeting with New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the next day.

Once they got in the car, the driver headed towards the Upper East Side. Nicole Kidman, lying in Arthur's arms, suddenly asked, "Do you have confidence for the Oscars next month?"

Arthur shook his head, "Who knows? We'll see when the Oscar nominations are announced in a few days. Redemption has great reviews, but its box office performance is not impressive, so its influence is quite limited."

As for the highly anticipated The Piano, because it was directed by a female director, it would undoubtedly get a nomination, but it had no chances of winning.

"Philadelphia did well, with $70 million at the North American box office and good reviews," Nicole Kidman said while caressing little Arthur.

"Ha, who knows? Orion Pictures has won the Oscar for Best Picture three years in a row; we can't be too greedy, right?" Arthur said, slipping his hand into the woman's arms.

"Mm," Nicole Kidman smiled, kissed Arthur on the cheek, and then bent down.

"Ah..." Arthur leaned back in his seat, placed his hand on Nicole Kidman's hair, and enjoyed her service.

With New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani's renovation of Times Square, Arthur's Galaxy Plaza project near Times Square began its demolition phase.

Meanwhile, Viacom, having just acquired Paramount and Blockbuster, decided to ease its debt by selling MSG Inc., which owned the New York Rangers ice hockey team, the New York Knicks basketball team, and their home stadium, Madison Square Garden, as well as Roosevelt Raceway and the MSG Network.

MSG Inc. was purchased for $1.1 billion by Cablevision, led by the Dolan family, and International Telephone Telegraph (ITT). ITT had spun off from AT&T's international services.

"Cablevision and ITT?" Arthur was momentarily stunned upon hearing this because, from his memory, MSG had already belonged to the Dolan family's Cablevision by that time.

The core assets of MSG Inc. were the New York Knicks and Madison Square Garden, priced at $1.1 billion - a substantial amount.

Arthur and investor Thomas H. Lee had been discussing matters concerning Snapple drinks and then shifted to talking about Viacom.

"Sumner Redstone must be under a lot of pressure now," Arthur chuckled. Acquiring Blockbuster and Paramount had added billions of dollars of debt to Viacom.

Thomas H. Lee nodded, "Viacom is not just selling MSG, they're also looking for buyers for the Simon & Schuster publishing group. Viacom plans to sell a majority stake in Simon & Schuster!"

"Heh," Arthur smiled silently. Viacom hoped to increase their bargaining power with Paramount's content?

Without great products, what's the point of bargaining power? Forrest Gump had already been snatched up by him, but Arthur also heard that Paramount and 20th Century Fox had co-invested in Mel Gibson's directorial debut, the Scottish historical epic Braveheart!

"By the way, I heard a food group is interested in Snapple?" Arthur inquired. He and Thomas H. Lee had jointly acquired Snapple two years ago, and its annual sales had increased fivefold from $85 million, and it was projected to grow even more this year. It was normal for large food conglomerates to take an interest in Snapple!

Speaking of Snapple, Thomas H. Lee couldn't hide his glee, "Yes, Quaker Oats is in contact with me; they have high hopes for Snapple's future development. Quaker believes Snapple could become their next Gatorade!"

Arthur nodded, "Alright, I'm willing to sell my shares. Galaxy has important projects this year that require cash."

Arthur wasn't just casually mentioning the acquisition of MGM; it was a predetermined strategy, and his initial investment in Snapple was intended for selling at a high profit. Since Quaker had set its sights on Snapple, and given a reasonable price, Arthur had no reservations!

"Don't worry, Quaker highly values Snapple beverages, and the price won't be low," Thomas H. Lee said, wanting a high selling price just as much as Arthur did.

"That's good," Arthur replied. It was no wonder he needed money - Galaxy had many projects, including the Galaxy Plaza in New York, the Starz pay-TV network in partnership with Liberty Media, and the new Newport USA cable TV center in Irvine...

*****

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