Chapter 69

Kathryn handed the letters of appointment from both Intel and Apple's CEOs to Sanders, the president of the "future" AMD.

Every time she thought about how AMD's president had become Intel's president, Kathryn found it quite amusing.

Sometimes, Kathryn had a bit of a dark sense of humor, and it was quite interesting.

After Sanders took office, he began a sweeping reform.

First, he drastically reduced the price of personal computers by $300 across the board and launched a "zero profit" advertising campaign.

This news caused a huge stir in the market.

IBM held an emergency meeting, and it seemed that HP was also preparing to make contact.

At this point, Sanders did not stop. He announced that the second generation of Microsoft computers would open up their hardware platform, and part of the software source code would also be made available to facilitate other companies in developing software and games on the DOS platform.

Intel and Apple would be happy to inform interested hardware manufacturers about the development of the next generation application platform in advance.

Sanders also hoped that Blizzard Entertainment would accelerate the development of computer games, as gaming and entertainment were significant reasons for people to buy computers.

In terms of company structure, due to his difficult childhood and respect for the lower ranks, he greatly simplified the company structure, with few middle layers between the top management and ordinary employees.

Historically, Sanders was a very loyal person. He was devoted to Fairchild, but was eventually marginalized and left in anger, founding AMD.

Kathryn understood Sanders, as she had once worked in software and had some knowledge in this area.

Kathryn would never do something as self-destructive as what Fairchild did.

Feeling confident in handing over the electronics industry to Sanders, Kathryn focused her attention on the television and film industry.

ABC would use the classic angel wings as its logo.

Kathryn positioned this TV station for entertainment and film.

Of course, a TV station cannot have just one program.

Kathryn could not be responsible for developing all the programs.

She planned to create a show called "American Idol."

Most of what Kathryn produced had precedents; otherwise, she wouldn't have done it.

For example, GameTV, in Kathryn's time, there were indeed some eccentric foreigners who started from scratch, made their own integrated circuits, wrote their own programs, and created a Tetris game machine with an integrated display. Unlike Kathryn, they used LED lights, while she used a TV screen.

"American Idol" was Kathryn's main product.

The original "American Idol" was a reality show launched by Fox in 2002, based on "Pop Idol," aimed at finding the next American pop music superstar. Contestants first participated in preliminary auditions in designated cities, and those selected by judges and guests (all major figures in the pop music industry) would move on to the next round in Hollywood.

The domestic "Super Girl" can be considered a copy of "American Idol" and "Pop Idol."

Kathryn expanded the scope of popular music, covering a wide range of mainstream music programs, aiming to create a major show.

After the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Kathryn believed that her show would go smoothly.

Preparations needed to be made step by step, and Kathryn needed to recruit heavyweight figures.

She set her sights on Elvis Presley, the King of Rock and Roll.

Unexpectedly, when she sent a letter to Elvis, his agent demanded a million-dollar fee for his participation.

Elvis's agent, named Parker, or nicknamed "Colonel Parker."

"Colonel" Parker, while generally seen as a top-notch agent, was, in Kathryn's view, a bloodsucking monster, a cold-blooded beast.

On May 21, 1977, just before Elvis's death, he was already extremely weak, but Parker was furious.

He even roared, "Listen to me, the only thing that matters is that he performs tonight!"

One could say that Elvis's death was orchestrated by Parker.

Moreover, after Elvis's death, his loyal fans began to pilgrimage to Memphis from all over the world. Parker booked a flight, not to Tennessee, but to New York, where he met with the American Broadcasting Company. Because Elvis had sold more tapes and records than any other artist in history, Parker accurately predicted that every store in the country would sell out of Elvis's recordings within 24 hours. He pressured the American Broadcasting Company to place orders with major record pressing companies, pushing aside less important orders to keep the flow of Elvis's records going. He then met with a businessman to lower the prices of some Elvis merchandise. It wasn't until August 18, the day of Elvis's funeral, that he arrived in Memphis.

Elvis's primary doctor, Dr. Nick, prescribed about 12,000 pills to Elvis over a period of just over 20 months, as Parker demanded, which was one of the main causes of Elvis's death.

Moreover, Parker cruelly tried to seize the rights to Elvis's songs from his 11-year-old daughter.

Parker destroyed Elvis's talent and health.

Since 1961, although Elvis remained popular, his condition had steadily declined. He had tried multiple times to break free from Parker but never had the opportunity.

During a concert tour in 1977, Elvis earned $2.3 million, but in the end, he was so poor that he couldn't afford to see a doctor and had to rely on Parker's arranged doctor. All the funds were siphoned off by Parker...

At this moment, Kathryn's eyes lit up.

Perhaps... she could poach Elvis?

At this time, many singers had a certain attitude toward Parker.

"Despise Parker, but revere him like a savior because the singers can't manage their own lives."

Kathryn directly sent a letter to Elvis, bypassing Parker.

She believed that if she did this, the success rate would be higher. Even if it cost a million dollars to bring Elvis over, it would be worth it...

Although she had done all this, the buzz around "Fallout" was overshadowed.

The $40 million production "Cleopatra" was about to be released, and the massive budget had already attracted most people's attention.

In June of this year, "Cleopatra" would be released, and the other side was clearly hyping it up!

But Kathryn just smiled.

The higher the cost, the more you'll lose!

"Cleopatra" is one of the most expensive and most financially disastrous historical epics in Hollywood history.

Kathryn's film would fully learn from the mistakes of "Cleopatra" and would not repeat them.

The TV station's preparations would continue into next year, and Kathryn couldn't do everything herself. She delegated authority and returned to the set.

Clint Eastwood was waiting for her...

...

Chapter 16 has been revised.

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