King of Hollywood-Chapter 61 - Fundraising Dinner (Part 2)
Chapter 61: Chapter 61 Fundraising Dinner (Part 2)
“As time progresses, the pace of updating computer technology will only get faster. Think about it, gentlemen, how many methods did we come up with in the ’70s just to squeeze out that little bit more space in computers? But now, running complex operating systems is no trouble at all! If Mr. Clinton’s information superhighway becomes a reality, it will be an unprecedented innovation, so the IT industry is definitely the best investment target for the future!” The middle-aged man spoke with conviction, and from his excited expression, it was clear that if he were speaking in an auditorium, his body language would have been very expressive.
“However, as it stands, aside from a few companies with promising prospects, such as Microsoft, many businesses are facing problems to a lesser or greater extent. Take Apple, for example,” said the man, clearly meaning no good.
“It’s normal, the current CEO of Apple perhaps has a knack for management, but when it comes to technological updates, there’s a lack of concrete planning,” the middle-aged man replied calmly.
“But we all know that after the release of Win3.0, Microsoft has basically established its monopolistic position.” The other party was not willing to let him off the hook, and a voice interjected, “Every company has its own direction. Microsoft has taken the popular mass-market route, so Apple can take the high-end elite route.”
A glint of light flashed in the middle-aged man’s eyes as he immediately turned to look at the person who had spoken. He was a young man in his early twenties, with bright black eyes and slightly curly brown hair. His 6-foot frame gave him a lean and tall stature, which, coupled with a well-fitted suit and a charming smile, made him quite charismatic.
“Hello, Mr. Steve Jobs, I’m Adrian Cowell.” The young man extended his hand to the middle-aged man.
“Hello, Mr. Cowell,” Steve shook his hand, “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
He did not ask about the other’s profession, knowing that attendees of such events were either rich or noble, though his tone inevitably carried a hint of pride. Quite normal, for he wouldn’t be Steve Jobs otherwise.
Yet, what Adrian said next made him frown, “Frankly, I don’t like you, Mr. Jobs.”
This was the truth. In a previous life, he had come to understand some of the darker parts of Jobs’s history with Apple,—the man was known for his eccentric personality, egotistical grandeur, autocracy, and for claiming others’ successes as his own, including denying his own daughter. Particularly his egotistical grandeur and autocratic nature; if he hadn’t alienated every board member back then, who knows whether he would have been kicked out of Apple or not.
Therefore, in a past life, he really didn’t like this person. But now it was different, after being reborn, Adrian found that he shared some similarities with Jobs, inevitably feeling a sort of kindred spirit, “birds of a feather,” so to speak. More importantly, despite his many issues, the man’s business acumen was indeed remarkable. If he hadn’t been pushed out of Apple years ago, the outcome of the war between Apple and Microsoft might still be uncertain.
For Adrian, who knew future events, there was a lot to gain from Jobs. If handled well, the benefits could significantly supplement his plans. Therefore, fostering a good relationship now wasn’t amiss, so…
“However, no one is perfect in this world. Having strengths naturally means having weaknesses. So, dislike aside, the due respect is still warranted,” Adrian continued with a smile.
This backhanded compliment immediately relaxed Jobs’s tensed brow. He nodded and slightly lifted his chin, “Indeed.”
“I’m a director, a rookie director, but I’m also co-running a media company and an investment firm with a friend,” Adrian went on, “The concept of Mr. Clinton’s information superhighway has sparked a lot of new ideas for us. If it can be successfully built, I believe it will open a new door for the media industry. Plus, we are both Stanford graduates with a relatively good understanding of Silicon Valley, so we’re optimistic about investing in the IT industry. I overheard your conversation and came over, hoping I’m not intruding.”
“No, no, of course not,” Jobs’s eyes lit up behind his glasses, “I must say, you and your friend are very forward-thinking, Mr. Cowell. The IT industry’s growth has never been as rapid as it is now…”
What followed was a long monologue. Although he analyzed the current state of the IT industry broadly, he was more interested in promoting his own NeXT Computer company. It was the company he founded after being ousted from Apple, with a focus on developing new computer technologies.
Adrian couldn’t help but feel a mix of amusement and bemusement. He had heard a saying in a past life: Jobs claimed in his autobiography that his success was partly due to seizing every opportunity to promote himself. Now, it seemed there was some truth to that saying. Frankly, if Adrian didn’t know the future, he might actually have been swayed by Jobs, whose eloquence was truly first-rate, even better than Clinton’s during a fundraising dinner speech.
“Thank you for sharing, Steve. My friend and I will consider your advice,” Adrian said quickly, taking the chance to speak after Jobs had finished his lengthy exposition, to avoid letting him continue.
“I’m sure you will make a wise decision, Adrian,” Jobs nodded, not elaborating further.
“Well then…” Adrian looked over at Claude in the distance, “I believe I must be going. We’ll get in touch another time.”
New novel chapters are published on freewёbn૦νeɭ.com.
With that, he took out his business card and handed it to Jobs, who likewise gave Adrian his card, and then they both nodded and went their separate ways.
After talking, there was a small harvest at least, they were both calling each other by first names now. But that was about it for the time being, to further deepen the relationship would take a few more years, when the good stuff in Jobs’s hands would have value. Of course, Adrian wouldn’t say that to Claude.
“He’s a business genius, yes, in the early ’80s he was arrogant, which is normal, very few people become billionaires in their early twenties, and staying sober is not an easy task, so it’s normal for him to face setbacks,” Adrian said on the way back, sitting in the RV, “At least Jobs didn’t fall apart because of that, so I think he’s someone worth paying attention to. Remember, ‘gilding the lily’ is never better than ‘sending charcoal in snowy weather!’”
“Oh, please, don’t speak Chinese to me, okay? Just thinking of those square characters gives me a headache,” Claude exclaimed, “I get your point, let’s leave it at that.”
“Alright, let’s talk about something else,” Adrian changed the subject, “How’s the situation with the foreign trade company? There’s not much time left, the Soviet Union won’t last more than half a year.”
“Really?” Claude raised an eyebrow, “Are you sure?”
“No, it’s just my own prediction.” Adrian knew what he was asking.
“Don’t worry, I’ll make arrangements, Ed.” Claude thought for a moment and then added, “Actually, I’ve already made arrangements, right after our discussion that night I started to do the analysis, and then I put together a plan.”
“A plan? What kind of plan?” Adrian immediately grew interested.
“Well… let’s wait until it’s finished before we talk about it,” Claude thought for a moment and then said, “I was planning to give you a big surprise.”
“A big surprise? Alright, then I’ll wait.” Adrian didn’t ask any further.
A few minutes later, he frowned again, “What are you looking at, Crow?”
“Of course I’m looking at…” Claude, who had been watching him for a while, started laughing, “A month of being a stay-at-home dad in London did it affect you at all—but looking at your performance tonight, you haven’t changed a bit.”
“Shut up, Crow! I told you, if you talk like that again I won’t be polite!” Adrian threatened immediately, annoyed.
“Okay, okay, I didn’t say anything,” Claude laughed heartily, “You really haven’t changed a bit, Ed.”
Rolling his eyes, Adrian turned his gaze to the window of the car. Change? Of course not, although during his time in London, being constantly entangled by Emma, Adrian almost thought he had changed somehow, but back in Los Angeles he knew, he was still himself. He knew what he wanted and how to get it.
Attending the Democratic fundraiser was enough just once, mainly to see if there were any deviations in the highway project Clinton proposed. Adrian had no interest in mixing with politics, he would leave those matters to Claude to handle.
Afterward, Adrian quickly threw himself into the post-production of The Shawshank Redemption. To be honest, the abilities of the studio’s editors were not bad, but none of them understood the film nearly as well as Adrian, and the shooting had been as compressed as possible in terms of time, the shots were few and very chaotic, and almost no one could make sense of the sequence of these shots.
Although Adrian had given instructions via video call while he was in London, it couldn’t replace his hands-on editing of the film, so what he saw when he returned to Los Angeles was a rough product where the basic storyline was clear but the various turning points were very abrupt. Faced with this situation, Adrian had no choice but to take matters into his own hands.
Fortunately, just as he had anticipated before, editing was much easier than creating from scratch. It took about a week to finish the editing of The Shawshank Redemption. Then another week was spent dealing with various fragments of post-production tasks, such as adding the score—Thomas Newman’s score was completely different from what he remembered, but equally brilliant; or contacting the main actors for voice-over work—something Adrian had to supervise himself.
Finally, after two weeks, The Shawshank Redemption was essentially complete, with only the screening, distribution, and promotion left, especially the promotional work, which was very important, because the film had a clear target: the Oscars.
“It will become my ticket to next year’s Oscar award ceremony,” Adrian said to Laverne at that time.
(The book is about to drop off the new book rankings, so I’m asking for some more votes~)
