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Chapter 52 The Racing Saint of Mount Akina

As night falls, Beverly Hills shimmers with neon lights, and the streetlights, like sparkling pearls, are embedded along the streets.

The Hilton Hotel was the venue where MGM held its victory celebration.

By 8 p.m., the area around the hotel was already packed with reporters, who raised their cameras and microphones to photograph every guest who arrived, and the shutter button never stopped clicking.

Stepping through the carved bronze door, crystal chandeliers refracted countless starlight, and the banquet hall was filled with the rich aroma of white truffles and champagne. The ice sculpture bar was piled with various cocktails, and the bartender, inspired by the discussion in the movie "The Man from Earth" about whether immortals need to sleep, created a special drink called the Era of Awake.

MGM spent a fortune on this celebration party; the cost of drinks and bartenders alone exceeded $600,000.

That's six hundred thousand dollars in 1996! Keep in mind that the production cost of this movie was only one million dollars.

But it was all worth it, because right at the time of the celebration, "The Man from Earth" had already grossed over $3.1 million worldwide.

This film will remain in theaters for about ten more days in major overseas markets, and many other countries are still waiting for its release.

Even in the fiercely competitive North American market, there is still room for growth.

Many assessment agencies have raised the film's global box office to over $400 million. For a film with a production cost of only $1 million and a marketing and distribution cost of no more than $15 million, this $400 million box office is pure profit.

Because of its subsequent DVD rental market and film and television copyright licensing, MGM was able to recoup all its initial investments and still have a large surplus of profits.

Hollywood is going crazy over this low-budget film, and the desks of CEOs of major film studios are piled high with scripts on similar themes.

There's no way around it, the profits from this movie are just too tempting. MGM will net at least $2.5 million from it. Who wouldn't be envious? Who wouldn't want to replicate this success?

When Ernst entered, classic movie clips and video blessings from celebrities were playing on the large screen in the banquet hall. Robert Iger was like a busy little bee, running around the room, trying his best to take care of every guest.

"Ernst, shouldn't you be the owner of MGM?"

He started by complaining that as the head of MGM, he arrived later than the guests, and people would have thought he was the big shot who was invited as the final guest.

That night, Aiger was the only one entertaining guests, and you could tell from the smell of alcohol on his breath that he had drunk quite a bit.

"It's good enough that you even came; I don't want to be treated like a monkey all night," Ernst replied irritably.

Look at all those female celebrities and models in the banquet hall. Ever since he came in, their eyes have been glued to him like magnets.

He could barely accept the young and handsome women, but what did it mean when those married, withered women secretly cast seductive glances at him behind their husbands' backs?

Hollywood is like a big dye vat, containing all sorts of colors, but Ernst is not the kind of naked man who would put any kind of cloth on himself.

It's fine if a hundred of you wear it, but could you please have some backup people?

The problem is that these women all have an inflated sense of self-importance; when they greet someone and shake hands, they subtly scratch their palms, which is what Ernst finds most unbearable.

A few days ago, Ernst was invited to a party hosted by Warner, where he was inadvertently groped by a Warner executive in her fifties, almost causing him to vomit on the spot.

Iger clearly knew about Ernst's past, chuckled a couple of times, and sarcastically remarked, "You're now the closest ally of a Hollywood actress."

I don't know who's spreading rumors about Ernst behind his back, saying he's well-endowed, good at talking, and has a great body, making him feel like he's some kind of Hollywood sex toy.

"Stop talking nonsense, their closest allies are sanitary napkins and condoms."

After scanning the area, Ernst asked, "Hasn't Hugh Hefner arrived yet?"

Ernst's important guest was none other than Hugh Hefner, America's ultimate playboy, super aquaman, his ultimate goal, and his spiritual symbol.

When you think of Playboy magazine, most people probably think of it as a magazine full of erotic content, but you'd be wrong.

After the early Playboy magazine became a sensation because of Marilyn Monroe, Hefner no longer limited the magazine to the field of strippers, but began to expand it to include fashion, food, sports, consumer goods, celebrity interviews and current affairs.

Martin Luther King Jr., Steven Hawking, Bill Gates, and Steve Jobs were among the Playboy interviewees. These people were either successful or extremely wealthy. Money, power, and beauty, which are of interest to men, allowed Hefner to accurately pinpoint men's G-spots.

Ernst's recent fire has also caught the attention of this young tycoon, the publication.

Ernst, who received the interview invitation, did not rush to accept it. Instead, he met with the president of Playboy Group and expressed his interest in Playboy Group, the parent company of Playboy magazine.

For Ernst, two companies were of great help in inspiring him to become the racing legend of Mount Akina.

One is Victoria's Secret, and the other is Playboy.

Victoria's Secret goes without saying; the sheer number of models alone could allow Ernst to assemble a reinforced company.

However, this is the most glorious time for Victoria's Secret's second-generation CEO, Wexner. The company he acquired for one million dollars has now reached a market value of nearly two hundred million dollars under his strategic adjustments.

In particular, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, launched in 1995, achieved remarkable marketing results despite having a budget of only $12.

He doesn't even want to contact Ernst. If Wexner wants to take over Victoria's Secret, he'd be doing a disservice to his reputation as a speculator if he didn't rip off his company's market value by double.

In this situation, it would be better to choose Playboy, which has a lower market value. Ernst believes Playboy is more valuable.

First, Playboy expanded into industries such as bags, cosmetics, clothing, and media through its magazine, creating a much wider product portfolio than Victoria's Secret, which now only makes lingerie.

Although sales were mediocre, even dismal, its brand awareness was greater than Victoria's Secret's.

Then there's the Fantasy Bra and angel wings, which are truly known to the world by Victoria's Secret. The former only made its debut this year, and its workmanship is so rough that it looks like a cheap handicraft.

The latter wouldn't appear until 98, giving Ernst enough time to snatch it away.

As for those Victoria's Secret fashion shows, if you haven't seen them, do you even deserve to be called a pervert?

In the battle of the gods, what's on stage is always for outsiders to see, but what Ernst wants is a behind-the-scenes life to enjoy all to himself.

Could Playboy become this platform? If Ernst takes over, could Victoria's Secret also become a Playboy attraction?

Of course, the most important point is Hugh Hefner, the founder of Playboy.

This retired man has stepped up several times to save the Playboy Group from collapse due to his children's lack of support.

He was very aware of his children's business acumen, so when Ernst offered a highly tempting offer, the old man replied.