Capítulo 414: Chapter 414: Eyes Wide Shut
In Glendale, several buildings centered around the MGM tower were completed, making the Galaxy headquarters even more magnificent. The campus had a garden, artificial lake, parking lot, theater, and a cafe, along with surrounding sound stages and location facilities.
Arthur stood by the window in his office, looking at the construction site near the artificial lake, which was the future site of Galaxy Interactive Entertainment and the Pixar buildings. Previously, Galaxy had acquired over 50 acres of land in Glendale, which was more than sufficient, along with the new television broadcast center in Newport, Irvine, diversifying Galaxy's operations.
Anna Walker soon entered Arthur's office, and Arthur sat down in his chair, "Has DreamWorks also gone to Pixar to recruit new employees?"
Anna Walker nodded, "Yes, but Pixar is busy wrapping up Toy Story, and we don't have many employees. DreamWorks is mainly poaching from Disney. I heard Jeffrey Katzenberg offered many Disney animators double salaries, and currently, Disney is negotiating new contracts with some employees. In fact, DreamWorks is now forming its own animation team and reaching out to many animation effects engineers."
Arthur didn't want to see Jeffrey Katzenberg easily completing the formation of DreamWorks' animation department.
"Once Toy Story is released, immediately expand the studio size," Arthur planned not only to step over Disney Animation but also to spare no effort in undermining other 3D animation companies.
Companies like PDI, Blue Sky, and Rhythm & Hues were all targets for suppression, either through acquisitions or poaching.
...
In the evening, Arthur met with Archbishop Roger Mahony of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles near the Cathedral of Saint Vibiana in downtown Los Angeles.
The Archdiocese of Los Angeles is a metropolitan see of the Roman Catholic Church centered in Southern California and is one of thirty-two archdioceses in the United States. It oversees five dioceses, managing a vast area of over 4 million Catholics in Southern California, including Ventura County, Santa Barbara County, Los Angeles County, and Orange County. It's also the largest archdiocese in the United States!
The Cathedral of Saint Vibiana had been severely damaged in last year's Los Angeles earthquake.
"The church's intention is to demolish Saint Vibiana to build a new Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels as the archdiocese's main cathedral," Archbishop Roger Mahony said, glancing at Arthur. "However, because Saint Vibiana was built in the 1870s, many antiquities enthusiasts won't allow us to demolish it. Everything has to wait for the court's decision before construction can begin."
Arthur shook his head, "It's tough. It's rare for Los Angeles to have such 19th-century buildings. The church can't win that lawsuit. It's better to buy new land nearby to build the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels!"
The church certainly wasn't short on money. Particularly, the Archdiocese of Los Angeles was incredibly wealthy, with the previous rebuilding of South Central Los Angeles and Korea Town involving a lot of church funds. Additionally, the Irvine Company's urban projects included investments from the Los Angeles church, along with the California Public Employees' Retirement Fund.
Roger Mahony looked at the closed Cathedral of Saint Vibiana announced last month, "It can no longer accommodate Los Angeles's current population, and too many areas need repair."
Arthur chuckled, "Don't worry. If it really can't be demolished by then, I'll handle the restoration and turn it into a historical landmark for tourists to admire!"
Roger Mahony crossed himself in prayer, "May God bless you."
Arthur blinked, thinking about what kind of characters these priests and bishops were, wasn't he already clear? Monasteries, churches, church schools, orphanages -- they weren't exactly clean. The church had a particularly bad record for child abuse.
"Bishop, there are more and more synagogues in Los Angeles these days; that's not good. Catholicism and Protestantism are at least both Christian and have over 150 million followers combined. The entire U.S. only has about 6 million Jews!"
Arthur hinted, "The influence of Jews in Los Angeles is not to be underestimated."
Apart from his ties with the political circle, Arthur also had deep connections with the religious community, never underestimating the power of the church. The Archdiocese of Los Angeles intended to dispose of Saint Vibiana, as the repair would cost several million dollars at the very least.
"The Pope has forgiven the Jews. The Vatican pardoned the Jews in the '60s; you know that!"
Roger Mahony understood what Arthur was getting at. Jewish businessmen had an increasing presence in Los Angeles, and competition inevitably led to conflict.
"Forgive the ones responsible for Jesus's death?" Arthur shook his head, noting the excessive influence of Jews in the American upper echelons.
"By the way, does the church have funds invested in the Mexican market?"
"We're planning on it; the International Monetary Fund injected $50 billion to help Mexico recover economically. The Mexican stock market is bound to rebound!"
Arthur looked at him, "Is the church getting into hedge fund arbitrage? Forget it, Mexico is different."
Roger Mahony was stunned for a moment. "Not much capital is involved; it's Tiger Fund doing the operations."
Tiger Fund was as famous as the Quantum Fund in international hedge funds.
"That's fine; the church has major advantages in real estate. Focusing on that, as well as managing and operating local churches, monasteries, welfare homes, and church schools, is already quite a bit," Arthur's collaborations with the church weren't numerous, but they were sufficient.
"Let's go have a drink," Roger Mahony said, leading Arthur to a secret church club.
Upon entering, they donned masks and were greeted by a group of seductive young nuns.
"What a place," Arthur thought to himself, surprised that this was a spot for church personnel to unwind.
Roger Mahony chuckled, quietly explaining to Arthur, "Don't worry; it's very secure here. There are many other big shots inside."
At this moment, Arthur couldn't help but think about Stanley Kubrick's future film Eyes Wide Shut!
*****
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