America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 781 - 774: Political Correctness in Hollywood

In the midst of the torrent of criticism against Johnny Depp, one piece of news in the media didn't attract much attention.

Anna Purna Pictures, less than three years after its establishment, declared bankruptcy.

Owing to overdue bank loans, the company's assets were seized by Bank of America, among which the most valuable were the rights to several films.

There were three completed films, including the released "Lone Ranger", "Transcendence," and "The Seventh Son", which couldn't find a proper distributor.

The one undergoing post-production was "Zero Dark Thirty," directed by Catherinen Bigelow.

In addition, the part of the bank loan involving Megan Ellison herself amounted to 250 million US Dollars.

For ordinary people, even for general multimillionaires, it would be exceedingly difficult to repay this amount.

Megan Ellison had no such capability either.

In such times, the advantage of having a wealthy father came to light as Larry Ellison personally took care of Megan Ellison's debt.

But the condition was that Megan Ellison had to leave Hollywood and return to San Francisco.

Billionaires can't keep up with daughters whose ambitions dig abysses; they might fill it once, but a second time would make them spit blood.

It also confirmed the saying that what super-rich fear isn't their children's indulgence in food, drink, and pleasure, but their pursuit of business ventures.

In another world experienced by Martin, Megan Ellison's Anna Purna Pictures took the Oscar-baiting route and became the most successful awards season company after Weinstein Films, securing a total of 52 Oscar nominations.

But the Oscars were no longer the awards of the eighties and nineties; catering just to the taste of old white men was no longer sufficient for winning, and in an era where political correctness evolved to LGBTQ, the films appreciated by the Oscars had completely disconnected from the majority audience and basic market norms.

Behind Anna Purna Pictures' sweeping victories at the Oscars was a commercial fiasco.

An awards-contender film could easily consume tens of millions of US Dollars, and even with multiple Oscar nominations, box office revenues could only amount to a few million US Dollars.

Art awards cannot keep a film studio company afloat.

This world's Anna Purna Pictures chose the commercial path, yet fell into the enormous pit that was Johnny Depp.

Coming out of the office building's lobby, Megan Ellison got into a car which didn't go far before she said, "Stop for a moment."

The driver, Drett, pulled over.

Megan Ellison rolled down the window, looking across at Anna Purna Pictures' office building, knowing she might never have a chance to return after today.

Suddenly several vans stopped in front of the building, and a group led by Judith disembarked, taking over the small building.

Megan Ellison forcibly turned her head back and said, "Let's go."

The car headed for the airport. Larry Ellison had sent a private plane to Los Angeles to collect Megan Ellison and take her back to San Francisco.

Approaching the airport, Megan Ellison received a message regarding the banks.

After taking over the remaining few assets of Anna Purna Pictures, the banks had announced they were prepared to sell the rights to "The Seventh Son" and "Zero Dark Thirty."

For the banks, film rights were meaningless unless converted into cash.

......

Burbank, Davis Studio.

Harris Carter had just returned to Los Angeles from New York and immediately came to see Martin.

A few months of acquisition and sales journeys had been quite fruitful.

"Hi, Old Cloth." Harris first greeted Bruce, then pulled out a chair, sat across from Martin, and took a document from his briefcase, handing it over to Martin: "All the details and receipts are in here."

Martin opened it and quickly flipped through.

Harris briefly introduced, "During this time, I've used various shell companies to acquire Depp's various assets at low prices, including Depp's Malibu ocean-view villa, the super-apartment occupying the entire top floor of Columbia Tower, the duplex apartment on the Upper East Side of New York, the villa in the 16th arrondissement of Paris, the Bordeaux winery, and that antique-looking schooner yacht."

Martin nodded slowly, acknowledging the high value of these assets.

Harris continued, "It's not just us eyeing Depp's assets. Some businessmen succeeded in getting Depp's Beverly Hills hillside villa, London castle, Kentucky farm, along with his collection of fine wines, as well as many art pieces and vintage cars."

Martin replied, "Securing these is already very good."

Harris smiled and said, "We got the news first and had Depp's asset details. We've kept an eye on them all along, so we had some edge."

Bruce, who also participated in this acquisition investment, couldn't help but be curious and asked, "Which have we sold by now?"

Harris explained, "The schooner yacht was sold to J.K. Rowling, the villa in the 16th arrondissement of Paris to French actress Lea Seydoux, the Bordeaux winery to a Chinese celebrity, the top-floor apartment at Columbia Tower to Sandra Bullock, with a total profit of 25.77 million US Dollars."

He paused briefly and added, "Regarding the duplex apartment on the Upper East Side, we're currently discussing a deal with Trump's eldest son Eric; several wealthy individuals from India and South Korea are interested in buying the Malibu ocean-view villa, details are still being negotiated."

Martin nodded, "That was quick, thank you for your efforts."

As the actual agent in charge, Harris received additional compensation on top of his shareholding profits.

As the two were chatting, Bruce's cell phone rang. He took it out, glanced at it, and interjected, "Latest news, Bank of America has completely taken over Anna Purna Pictures and is preparing to liquidate its assets."

He looked at Martin, "This includes 'The Seventh Son' as well as Catherine Bigelow's 'Zero Dark Thirty,' which is currently in post-production."

Martin spoke directly to Harris, "Contact Bank of America and try to buy these two films. For 'The Seventh Son,' offer no more than 30 million US dollars, and back out if the price goes beyond that."

Burdened by 'Lone Ranger' and 'Transcendental Hacker,' 'The Seventh Son' found it difficult to attract distributors for a wide theatrical release, casting a less than optimistic outlook on its profitability.

Even if a distributor was found, they were unlikely to invest much in it.

Martin was aiming for Netflix. He was confident he could sell it for 40 million US Dollars.

Harris took note of this.

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Remembering 'Zero Dark Thirty,' Martin recalled that in his previous life the film's lead actress was Jessica Chastain, who turned down Megan Ellison's invitation due to his meddling, and did not take on the role.

As the director, Catherine Bigelow, James Cameron's ex-wife, Martin couldn't remember any other works she directed after 'Zero Dark Thirty.'

From this perspective, the film's profit potential did not look good.

Martin called Jessica to check, and learned 'Zero Dark Thirty's production cost was 40 million US Dollars. He said to Harris, "For the other one, the highest offer should not exceed 20 million US Dollars."

Harris said, "For such nonperforming assets, banks generally sell below cost. I'll stay in Los Angeles for a while, specifically to deal with these Los Angeles businesses."

Martin was straightforward with him, "Alright, get moving on it."

Harris didn't linger, and left the studio to instruct his subordinates to make preparations.

Martin then left the office, crossed the sky bridge spanning ABC Television Network and Disney Studio, and entered Disney Studio, ready to rehearse song and dance numbers for 'La La Land Studio'.

The film would feature a large number of song and dance scenes, requiring rigorous practice beforehand to achieve the desired effect.

Before he entered the piano room, Martin suddenly received a call from overseas.

"Hello, may I speak with Mr. Davis?" the voice on the other end asked cautiously.

Martin responded, "Hello, this is Martin."

The other side hurried to introduce herself, "I'm Clara, Mr. Davis, do you remember me? Last year when you attended the premiere in Seoul, Samsung hosted a grand welcoming party for you and Director Ridley Scott, and I was there too. We exchanged contact details when you left the party."

Martin had almost completely forgotten about the event, but her reminder jogged his memory.

He recalled her Korean name seemed to be Seong-Min Lee, a fluent English speaker who had studied in the United States.

Martin said, "I remember you, a beautiful Korean lady... um, what can I do for you?"

Clara's voice expressed excitement, "My contract with the agency here in South Korea has expired, and I've encountered some difficulties re-signing. I want to try my luck in America, but I don't know anyone else in the entertainment industry there, so I had to give you a call."

Martin understood her meaning immediately; without solid connections, even many international stars struggled to find suitable opportunities in Hollywood, especially someone like Clara, who didn't have much fame.

He considered briefly, then said, "The agency I'm with, WMA, has opened a branch in East Asia. You could join WMA to expand your business beyond South Korea."

Considering the Korean entertainment industry's reputation for being akin to a slave society, Clara was eager to leap at the opportunity to move to the United States without any hesitation, "Martin, I will follow your advice."

Martin gave Clara a contact number, "If you wish to join WMA, get in touch with this person. That's all for now."

The two hung up the phone.

Martin entered the studio and happened to meet Director Damien Chazelle.

The latter greeted Martin, discussed a casting matter, "Some time ago, Catherine Daddario participated in an audition here and passed for the role of Alexis. There are two more supporting roles next to Mia, and I have some thoughts about the actor selection."

Martin nodded, "Go ahead."

Chazelle said, "I think for the other two roles, it would be best to cast one African American actress and one Latina or actress of another ethnicity. This could shield the film from certain criticisms."

Martin clearly understood this to be an increasingly typical Hollywood political correctness requirement.

It didn't matter which ethnicity was chosen for the remaining role, but there had to be one African American actress.

Martin agreed, "That can be done."

Chazelle said, "I will go and inform the casting team."

Martin then went straight to the piano room. After he finished piano and dance practice, he received a call from Alexandrovich.

The man had just rushed back to Los Angeles from Ukraine and had sought him out as soon as possible.