Heads Up Hollywood

Reed Hastings lobbied Blockbuster to buy his company Netflix for $50 million, fizzled!

If you don't look at this negotiation from the perspective of time and space, Reed Hastings' failure is normal.

Now is the period when the technology stock bubble is bursting. It is reasonable for Netflix, a company involved in the Internet, to receive a cold reception.

In the past few months, the number of Internet companies that have gone bankrupt has exceeded three digits.

Taking a step back, even if Netflix's business model is really good, with Blockbuster's strength and connections, with 50 million US dollars, can't you create your own "Netflix"?

Walking out of the Blockbuster headquarters building, Reed Hastings looked back, and then looked down at his watch.

It took less than 20 minutes from the time he entered the building to the time he came out.

The corner of Reed Hastings' mouth twitched slightly.

His assistant, Sean Anderson, sighed bitterly.

The sale of Netflix failed, but now the company's capital chain is about to break. If the company does not want to go bankrupt, there is only one way to go, and that is layoffs!

Sean Anderson's position is very embarrassing. Once Netflix lays off employees, it must retain core business talents. Even if he is Reed Hastings' assistant, he will also face the crisis of being fired.

Sean Anderson raised his head and glanced carefully at Reed Hastings, but was surprised to find that his face did not have the despair and despair after the failure of the negotiation, but a bit of sarcasm and ridicule emerged on his face.

When Reed Hastings looked back at Blockbuster with contemptuous eyes, Sean Anderson's eyeballs almost popped out.

Boss, isn't it?

At this time, are you really fantasizing that Blockbuster will not transform, and then the building will collapse?

Even if it is going to die, with Blockbuster's huge assets and strength, it will not be exhausted in ten years. On the other hand, if Netflix cannot obtain funds in the short term, it will really face the end of bankruptcy.

Reed Hastings saw Sean Anderson's flustered expression and smiled slightly, "By the way, Sean, have you seen a movie? The name is "Wedding Crashers."

"I've seen it. It's a very interesting comedy. It's produced by Tang En Pictures, I know." Sean Anderson nodded mechanically.

Reed Hastings laughed: "And do you know who the heroine of Wedding Crashers is?"

Sean Anderson raised his head and thought for a moment, then shook his head, "I just remember a very sweet girl, a little star."

"Her name is Reese, Reese Witherspoon."

"Oh yes, Witherspoon."

Sean Anderson didn't know if he really remembered it, or if he was pretending to agree. He looked at Reed Hastings curiously, not knowing what he meant.

The two slowly walked away from Blockbuster's headquarters building, and Reed Hastings said slowly: "Speaking of which, Miss Witherspoon and we both have some connections."

Sean Anderson laughed immediately and shook his head frequently, "Reid, you really know how to joke. Although we are doing movie-related business, we are still far from movie stars."

Reed Hastings took a deep look at him, "Sean, I told you a long time ago that paying more attention to alumni circles is good for our career!"

Sean Anderson was at a loss, "Alumni circle? Could it be that Miss Witherspoon also graduated from Stanford University? No way?"

Reed Hastings glanced at him with a half-smile, "Surprised?"

"Huh? Is this true?"

Sean Anderson was a bit surprised.

Reed Hastings narrowed his eyes slightly, looked at the traffic in the distance, and said lightly: "Do you know Google? Currently the most used search engine in the world, the founders are our two alumni, hey, two Junior. When Google raised funds, it left Witherspoon’s relationship and got on the line of Dunn Walker.”

"Twain Walker?" Sean Anderson's eyes lit up, and he was even more surprised, "You mean the Twain from Hollywood?"

"That's right, it's him." Reed Hastings smiled. "You may not know that Miss Witherspoon is Dunn's secretary."

Sean Anderson opened his mouth, his expression a little stiff.

It's a bit embarrassing that he didn't know about such an important thing, and it happened in his alumni circle.

"Reed, I seem to understand what you mean. You want...to contact Dunn Walker through our school girl?"

"I think so too!"

Sean Anderson thought for a moment, then frowned and said, "It's hard! I'm a fan of Twain, and I know about him. I know that half a year ago he made a fortune in the stock market and was even on the rich list. But ...He is an outsider after all."

Some things he didn't say clearly.

Some time ago, Tang En spent a huge amount of money to acquire a large number of Apple stocks and joined Apple's board of directors. In his opinion, this is no different from giving money, it is the most stupid behavior.

Reed Hastings pondered for a long time, did Tang En really not understand investment?

His investment in Apple is indeed incomprehensible. But Google, which he invested in, is developing rapidly, and another Internet company X.com...

"By the way, I heard that X.com has changed its name, have you heard?"

The core business of X.com is online payment, and Netflix also has a corresponding business, so Sean Anderson paid more attention, and immediately said: "Yes, it is a name change. X.com acquired Confinity, and the new merged company The company changed its name to Paypal. Once the company is integrated, Paypal will become the largest online payment platform."

Having said that, the faces of Sean Anderson and Reed Hastings showed a bit of excitement.

It seems that Tang En's investment level is not bad!

Google is already the largest search engine, and Paypal will also become the largest online payment platform.

More importantly, Netflix has an online payment service, and users need to pay online to rent movies.

Netflix and Paypal have a solid foundation for win-win cooperation!

Moreover, Netflix is ​​not an Internet company in the full sense, which is also related to movies. As a big shot in Hollywood, Twain can even invest in Hasbro, not to mention the videotape rental business downstream of movies?

"At the beginning, Ms. Reese Witherspoon was the bridge between Google and X.com's financing. If Tang En is really as miraculous as Wall Street described, he will definitely be able to see the prospects of Netflix!"

Reed Hastings clenched his fists, with firmness on his face.

Blockbuster is his first choice, but it's a pity that Blockbuster has a big business and looks down on Netflix at all.

Now, there is only one opportunity left, and that is Tang En Capital.

Whether in Hollywood, Wall Street, or Silicon Valley, Tang En has a great reputation. If he really lives up to his name, he will definitely take action to save Netflix, right?

This is already the last way out.

Of course, even if Tang En is unwilling to accept Netflix, Reed Hastings will never back down.

He has firm belief in Netflix's business model, even if he can't raise a penny, he will lead Netflix to persevere. In the worst case, pay cuts, layoffs, and out of pocket.

Netflix will definitely have a future!

...

It was another weekend, and for Tang En, there was a lot of good news.

First, Johnny Depp officially signed a five-film long-term contract with Dunn Films, with a capped salary of 20 million U.S. dollars. The first film "Pirate League: The Curse of the Black Pearl" has a salary of 8 million U.S. dollars.

Second, a Hong Kong rich man surnamed Liu paid 3 million US dollars for sponsorship, and wanted his "girlfriend" to appear in a commercial blockbuster produced by Tang En Pictures. Of course such money would be collected, and Bill McNick directly arranged for them to go to France and join the crew of Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Third, after more than two months of release, "Spider-Man" finally ended its summer vacation, and its global box office surpassed "Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace", reaching 1.19 billion US dollars! It has become a legendary masterpiece second only to "Titanic" in the history of film.

Fourth, Dunn's private jet, the Gulfstream V, has finally been renovated and is ready for service!

Because Disney's farce has undergone new changes, and "Spider-Man" broke the box office record of "Star Wars Episode 1", it is a great joy. According to the usual practice, there will be a celebration reception.

Bill McNick invited Dunn to go back to Los Angeles this weekend. Everyone got together and chatted about the "ban order".

Because the private jet was in place, Tang En was very excited. In his past and present lives, this was the first plane he owned!

Twain made an appointment with Natalie, and called the two leading actors of "A Beautiful Mind", Crowe Russell and Nicole Kidman, and took his private jet from the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean to the east coast of the Pacific Ocean. .

This is a Gulfstream V, which can be regarded as the top business jet of this era, but the area is limited, only 6 seats are designed, and the bedroom, bar, and bathroom are not even thought about.

It is a private jet converted from a large airliner such as the Boeing 747, and it does not belong to the Gulfstream series.

The advantages of Gulfstream aircraft are convenience, dexterity, and low cost. The annual cost is only about 3 million U.S. dollars.

Private jets like the Boeing 747 are equipped with 4-5 flight attendants as standard, but for the Gulfstream series, one flight attendant is usually enough.

When mentioning the flight attendant, Tang En's eyes involuntarily fell on the only flight attendant on the plane.

Wearing a red and white uniform, she was in her twenties, sexy and beautiful. She met Tang En's eyes and showed a warm smile.

All flight attendants, including the pilot and stewardess, are affiliated with Gulfstream. If the customer is not satisfied, they can return the goods.

As a flight attendant on a private jet, this is definitely the top flight attendant in the United States.

But Tang En always felt that there was a bit of taste and feeling missing.

Pretty is pretty enough, but it always lacks the softness, gentleness and delicacy of Asian stewardesses.

"Okay, don't stare at them! Be careful to scare them away!" Natalie beside her quietly pinched Tang En's arm.

Tang En slightly lowered his voice, "Don't worry, I'm not interested in her!"

"Virtue!"