[Chapter 480: William Was Busy]
After a long day of shooting, William White felt a bit down. Why did he have to work so hard? At this time, he could have been enjoying a cigar while admiring beautiful women. Instead, he found himself buried in work.
When Nastassja heard his complaints, she just giggled.
"Spending all day in the office, how would you find any fun? As for beautiful women, when have you ever lacked those?"
"Ahem, I can't keep this up. From now on, let someone else handle the regular movies; we have plenty of directors in the company. By the way, what's Cameron busy with?"
"I heard he's working on the Terminator script. That guy really has some personality."
"That guy, I'll get you a script later, and you can be the producer. Don't let him twiddle his thumbs all day."
"Sure thing, boss. Do you need any more services?"
"Services? That's a good word, I like it. This -- this is a new pair of pants."
His luxurious SUV had no shortage of space, and the suspension was top-notch, too.
...
Back in the office, William faced a mountain of briefings that made his head spin. To think this was all filtered by Suzuki; if everything had landed on his desk, there would be no chance for a happy life for him.
"Suzuki, you've got too much work on your plate. Go find two secretaries. This isn't sustainable; you need more time for the kid."
"Yeah, I know. It's not too bad, really."
"Don't lie; being too busy makes you age. I'm the one supporting the family; you just focus on being easy on the eyes."
Suzuki shot a glare at him. Beautiful or not, he was still hardly home.
William White should count his blessings; if it weren't for the White Center, he'd be even busier. At least now he didn't have to run around like a headless chicken.
Those who felt overly busy were mostly not doing anything productive. It couldn't be helped; he attracted too many women and had to flit around like a diligent little bee.
...
"Lucas, why are you free today? Let me guess, you're regretting not buying MGM, right?"
George Lucas looked troubled. He felt a bit envious and resentful. He couldn't understand why Columbia was valued at four billion; compared to that, MGM's valuation seemed too low. If he had made that acquisition back then, he'd be on cloud nine now.
"Don't get too cocky; the Japanese are here now, and they're not short on cash. With the impending merger of Warner, your days of operating solo are about to come to an end."
"Ha! You're joking. I'm William White, you know. Honestly, if the competition weren't so weak, I'd have made my move long ago. You know, Lucas, being a top player can be pretty lonely."
Lucas didn't care much for White's bragging. He knew that what he said was probably true. Of course, he was also worried about the DOJ giving him a hard time.
"Alright, alright. It seems Hollywood is banding together now. That leaves little space for smaller companies like ours to thrive." Lucas's worries made sense; the troubles DreamWorks encountered later proved that point.
Without his own distribution channels, it was a significant risk. Not everyone had the clout of White Films. Making distribution channels sound easy was one thing, but without enough cash to spread around, it was practically impossible. As for White Films, it was just a rare exception. If their movies weren't doing well, they likely would have been crushed by the big sharks long ago.
Worried, Lucas left, and William White couldn't give him any advice. Business was business; if DreamWorks needed White Films to help with distribution, it would come at a high price.
As a little fish, William White despised the market monopoly. Now that he was a big player, he found himself enjoying that very monopoly.
It's often said that your position shapes your thoughts, and that saying held true. The titans of Hollywood survived because they all had their own distribution channels.
...
"Sir, we've completed all the deals for the properties in Japan, and we should wrap up the transaction by the end of the year."
"Nice. Well, property deals are more complicated than stocks," he replied with a grin.
"Sure, if the real estate market hadn't been so hot, selling so many properties wouldn't have been so easy."
"Is it still that hot?"
Filson shook his head with a bitter smile. "Our think tank ran some simple calculations; the prices for land in Tokyo could buy the entire United States."
"Geez! Aren't they saying something about global warming? If Japan get flooded, won't these speculators be crying their eyes out?"
Filson couldn't even begin to lament. If that day ever came, they wouldn't need to queue to jump into the sea; they could just walk in, nice and easy.
"Sir, we still have 40% of our securities; the Japanese stock market is still strong. Should we slow down our selling pace?"
"No need. We only make money we can understand. The next piece is full of unknowns; let them figure it out themselves."
Filson hadn't expected William White to be so cautious. However, they entered the market early and wouldn't have made fewer profits than the big conglomerates. No conglomerate, in their right mind, would expect to sell at the peak.
...
"Oil company? You sure about that?"
"Yes, sir. The oil companies are having a tough time. If they keep the prices low, many of them will struggle."
"Ha! Rockefeller, if they think they can pick up bargains now, they might just meet their match."
"Sir, they're in such dire straits they're actually thinking of selling Rockefeller Center, and they still want to expand? That's extremely crazy!"
Facing this clueless subordinate, the old man was left speechless. Is this guy really the future of Morgan Stanley? If things got too far, might as well give Morgan Stanley back to the Morgan family.
"Crazy? How did this downturn happen? It was a supply and demand issue, wasn't it?"
"It was."
"Do you think we can keep pressuring the desert rich guys to increase output forever?"
The old man's anger didn't really have a solid basis; it stemmed from information asymmetry. Had he not been privy to the insiders, he might have made the same judgment himself.
*****
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