manynovel Page 101
Page 101
Hawke took a sip of red wine.
“We’re going to acquire Summit Entertainment, right? While learning about Hollywood, I’ve also been thinking about what good project to launch our takeover of Summit Entertainment,” Ivanka said. “I stumbled upon a novel on the bestseller list, and after a quick read, I felt it was perfect for a movie adaptation. I think we could buy the film and television rights to use as a cinematic representation of Summit Entertainment.”
Hawke raised an eyebrow: "What novel?"
Ivanka: "The Hunger Games".
Hawke looked at Ivanka with a strange expression: "You really know how to pick people."
"What, you've taken a liking to it too?"
Ivanka looked at Hawke with surprise.
"Yes, I bought the copyright back a long time ago."
Hawke nodded.
Because of his acquisition of Summit Entertainment and other film companies, Hawke's goal is not only to develop his media empire, but also to promote his women into Hollywood A-listers and world-class stars.
So when he saw works that he recognized from his previous life, he bought them all!
The Hunger Games was a very successful commercial film. Lionsgate was able to escape its debt crisis and become one of the "Big Seven" Hollywood studios thanks to The Hunger Games.
Hawke recalls that The Hunger Games cost $1.52 million to produce, grossed $4.08 million domestically, and $2.86 million internationally, bringing its global total to $6.96 million. According to Hollywood rules, the production and distribution companies take 50% of the domestic box office and 30% of the international box office, resulting in a total gross of $2.9 million. After deducting costs, the profit was $1.4 million. However, box office revenue is only a small part of Hollywood's profits. Due to strict copyright regulations, copyright management is the main source of profit.
For example, it may seem that all of Jet Li's movies in Hollywood lost money, but that's not the case. In addition to box office revenue, Hollywood has another, even larger source of income: DVD sales. The DVD sales of almost every movie starring Jet Li in Hollywood were higher than the box office revenue. This is why Jet Li was able to gain a foothold in Hollywood and later increase his salary to $1000 million.
Besides its commercial success, "The Hunger Games" is also one of the very few Hollywood films with a female lead, where the plot revolves around the female protagonist. Hawke wanted to wait until Cheon Song-yi's "My Love from the Star" ended to see the reaction before casting Cheon Song-yi as the female lead.
"I'm telling you..."
Hawke was talking to Ivanka when his gaze inadvertently fell on a group of people entering the banquet hall. Among them was a graceful and pure-looking girl in a white evening gown, arm in arm with her father.
Mariko Yashida!
Hawke's ex-girlfriend was one of Taylor Swift's ex-girlfriends.
183 Mariko Yashida [Seeking flowers and subscriptions]
Because she couldn't stand Hawke's womanizing ways after they got together, she sadly transferred schools, left America, and returned to Japan.
Mariko keenly noticed Hawke's gaze, met his eyes, and a hint of resentment welled up in her clear, autumn-like eyes, as if they could speak: "Your conscience tells me that you don't love me the most. I returned to Japan on a quiet, windless night..."
Ivanka was chatting with Hawke when she suddenly sensed that Hawke had stopped talking. Following Hawke's sideways gaze, she saw Mariko Yashida staring at Hawke.
Ivanka understood instantly.
Another one of Hawke's romantic entanglements.
"What are you looking at?"
Ivanka bumped into Hawke and said:
"What, you know each other?"
"Ha... I don't know her." Hawke touched his nose and laughed awkwardly, "A few Japanese people just suddenly showed up..." Meeting Ivanka's disdainful gaze, Hawke was too lazy to make up an excuse: "Okay, I do know her, just as you might imagine, she's one of my ex-girlfriends."
Mariko Yashida glanced at Ivanka, who was talking to Hawke, her eyes flickered slightly, and then she lowered her head to accompany her father and talk to the executives of Wells Fargo.
"You've had quite a few ex-girlfriends, haven't you?" Ivanka was too lazy to stay angry anymore. She'd had enough. "Tell me, what's their background? Judging from the way they all look, they must be someone important."
"Mariko is the chairperson of the Yashida Group in Japan, the granddaughter of Ichiro Yashida, and the only direct descendant of the third generation of the Yashida family."
Hawke briefly explained Mariko's background.
"Yashida Group?" Ivanka looked at Mariko in surprise and said, "I've heard of this company. It's one of Japan's zaibatsu, a giant with a market value of over 100 billion US dollars. So, does that mean she's the sole heir to this giant company?"
“I suppose so,” Hawke said. “Actually, when I first contacted Mariko Yashida, I was on a mission, at my father’s request. Ryan also has great ambitions for the Japanese and Asian markets. If the Yashida Group and the Ryan Group could join forces, Ryan could use the Yashida Group’s connections to break into the Japanese and Asian markets in one fell swoop. But I didn’t listen to him. I thought that if we wanted to enter the Asian market, we should start by investing heavily in China. As it turns out, I was right!”
“Indeed…” Ivanka asked curiously, “Then why did you and Mariko Yashida have a falling out?”
“You know me, I don’t have many good points, just one word: kind! I just want to take care of more girls and lighten the burden on society.” Hawke shrugged and said, “So… Mariko couldn’t accept it, she said I hurt her feelings, and after barely maintaining the relationship for a while, the two of us just couldn’t get along, so we broke up…”
Ivanka listened to Hawke's words, and at first glance, they seemed quite logical. However, upon closer examination, Ivanka realized that Hawke's explanation was full of inconsistencies, and she looked at him suspiciously.
Are you making up a lie to fool me?
How could a marriage alliance between two conglomerates end so easily because of something so trivial?
Arranged marriages are inherently political maneuvering. Even if Yashida didn't marry into the Ryan family, he could still have affairs with other women, regardless of which family he married into. It's possible that both the man and woman would be involved in such affairs.
If they can't even stand this, what kind of marriage alliance is this...?
Ultimately, because of her resistance, the marriage alliance between the two families fell through. The whole thing was just too frivolous.
"Why would I lie to you?" Hawke said, half-laughing and half-crying. "I've met a lot of people for arranged marriages, okay? Mariko is just one of them. Even Amanda, one of your best friends, was once my arranged marriage partner. It's not surprising. After getting to know each other, we just couldn't get along, so of course we had to break up."
“And…” Hawke hesitated for a moment, then said, “I have something to tell you, but don’t go around spreading it around.”
"whats the matter?"
Ivanka also showed curiosity.
A love of gossip is part of human nature.
“Yashida Industries has not fared well in recent years and has fallen into a debt crisis to some extent,” Hawke said. “Internal relations have also become very complicated, and my father has gradually become pessimistic about the future of the Yashida Group… In short, Mariko was not a suitable marriage partner in the end.”
"Is that really all there is to it?"
Ivanka felt it made sense, but she still felt that Hawke was hiding something from her.
"Fine, don't believe me if you don't want to."
Hawke rolled his eyes, too lazy to pay any attention to Ivanka.
There are indeed some private matters, but how could I possibly tell you?
Richard Kovacic, CEO of Wells Fargo, met Mariko's father, Shingen Yashida, now CEO of the Yashida Group, in the center of the banquet hall and began to chat amiably.
Afterwards, Richard Kovacic, along with Shingen Yashida, Mariko Yashida, and a man with a sleazy, rat-like demeanor, introduced and interacted with the guests at the banquet.
"It seems that Shingen Yashida must be a major client of Wells Fargo for Richard to be so enthusiastic."
Ivanka looked at Hawke with a half-smile:
"It should be here with you soon..."
"Don't overthink it. I've already told you, Mariko and I broke up a long time ago."
Hawke reiterated this point.
Ivanka sneered inwardly: The more guilty a person is, the more they need to emphasize it.
Sure enough, it was soon Hawke and his group's turn. Richard Kovacevich introduced them with a smile: "Mr. Shingen, this is the eldest son of the Lane family..."
"No need for introductions, Mr. Ryan, I know him."
Shingen Yashida smiled and nodded.
"Yes, Richard, I've known Mr. Yashida for several years."
Hawke smiled as well.
184 Your fiancée's ponytail, Hawke's steering wheel
Although Mariko and Hawke were once engaged in a marriage alliance, Hawke's relationship with Shingen Yashida had always been terrible. Shingen Yashida also strongly opposed the marriage between Mariko and Hawke. Therefore, the end of Hawke and Mariko's relationship was able to proceed so smoothly.
This is actually quite easy to understand. Shingen Yashida is the current CEO of the Yashida Group, and Mariko is the only direct descendant of the third generation of the Yashida family. When Mariko marries into the Ryan family, she will have a very powerful external ally. When Mariko wants to compete with him for the Yashida Group... the problem will become very serious. Marriage can be arranged for Mariko, but it must be a marriage that prevents Mariko from escaping the control of the Yashida Group.
Yes, no one who has ever enjoyed wielding great power is willing to give it up.
Let alone his daughter Mariko, Shingen Yashida was still hoping that his father, Ichiro Yashida, would kick the bucket soon so that he could take over the massive Yashida Industries conglomerate. That way, he could become one of the most powerful figures in all of Japan.
As long as his father is alive, he will only be taking over Yashida Industries in his father's place.
Ichiro Yashida is an old Japanese soldier from World War II. He was saved by Wolverine when the US dropped the nuclear bombs. He's now in his seventies or eighties and could die at any moment.
Of course, even if Hawke and Yashida Shingen didn't like each other, they didn't break off their relationship, which would be too un-Yua-like and not in line with the way of the zaibatsu.
Mariko remained silent.
Hawke exchanged a few pleasantries with Yashida Shingen, then turned his attention to the sleazy-looking young man who resembled a rat, standing alongside Mariko behind Yashida Shingen. He asked with a seemingly friendly smile:
"Mr. Shingen, who is this talented and handsome young man? Could he be your long-lost son?"
“Of course not!” Yashida Shingen’s face was full of affection. He took Mariko’s fair and delicate hand in one hand and the lewd young man’s hand in the other, and then put them together in front of him. He said, “This young man is Mori Noburo, a political officer in the Ministry of Justice of my little empire. He has a bright future and is a strong contender for the position of Minister of Justice. At the same time, he is also Mariko’s fiancé.”
Hawke narrowed his eyes as he looked at Mariko and Mori Nobuo's hands clasped together.
Is that old bastard Shingen Yashida deliberately trying to annoy him by creating this kind of thing?
very good!
It seems this old guy doesn't understand a principle: even a powerful dragon can't suppress a local snake. Besides, the Yashida Group isn't even a powerful dragon; at best, it's just a red-banded snake. Ryan, on the other hand, is indeed a local snake in America, and a king cobra at that.
As Yashida Shingen introduced him, Mori Nobuo gave Hawk a slightly shy smile.
"..."
Not enough words to speculate.
Hawke didn't chat for more than a few words before taking Ivanka away, too lazy to pay attention to Shingen Yashida's arrogant attitude.
After leaving.
Hawke took out his phone and sent a message to Gu Ziyun:
"No matter where you are right now, get me a dump truck right now and drive it to the Wells Fargo banquet tonight. I need it."
"Angry?"
Seeing Hawke's displeased expression, Ivanka asked...
"I'm not angry. What's there to be angry about?"
Hawke said calmly.
Why the hell am I angry at a dead person?
Ivanka, however, did not believe it.
Hawke is very possessive, so it's no wonder he was upset to see his ex-girlfriend Mariko and her fiancé in front of him.
Ivanka's mind was racing, trying to figure out how to take advantage of Hawke's discomfort to further penetrate his heart.