Fiat-Chrysler Marriage Official
While visiting boy toy Jesus Luz' family, Madonna took time during her vacay to see some of the not so glamorous parts of Brazil.
Touring the lawless city of Dona Marta, her Madgesty insisted on wearing a bullet-proof vest under her leather jacket.
Good call!
Just like in Malawi, M is planning to build a school in the shantytown after raising $10 million dollars from local businessmen.
Dayumm! That's a lot of $$$! But who could say no to Madonna?
[Image via Ramey Pix.]
Welcome to my brand spanking new column. You may be asking yourself, who is Jonathan Fuhrman, why does he have a new column, and why should I care. It’s okay, I ask myself versions of that first and last question all the time (and I still don’t have a good answer). In any event, here I am, with the goal of sharing my take on the business that is show, and basically anything pop-culture related.
What makes me qualified to write such a column? How’s this: I am an entertainment attorney by profession and have been practicing since 2000, and I spent the past 3 years as a VP of Business & Legal Affairs at a movie studio. It is my hope that this column will stand out from the countless others on these Interwebs because I have actually spent the last decade working in this business and have seen Hollywood’s wheelings and dealings THISCLOSEUP. And I lived to tell the tale. But more than that, I think the qualification that matters most is my passion for the entertainment industry and all of the wonderful, not quite so wonderful and downright tacky ideas, fads, and mass-media influenced beliefs that make up that which we call ‘popular culture’.
I’ve had a passion for the business side of the entertainment industry since I was a teenager. In fact, for my 13th birthday I got a subscription to weekly Variety from my grandmother, and I’ve more or less had that same subscription ever since. (I like to say that because not only is it a sweet heartwarming story — straight out of a Hollywood movie no less — but more importantly, it’s basically true – although my subscription may have lapsed once or twice, but those people at Variety are relentless with their offers to re-up so those lapses never lasted long.)
Being that I was a child of the first generation to grow up with cable TV (sprinkle a dash of the magic that is 1980’s MTV over here, and a dash of the unedited, 24-hour pay TV movie heaven that is HBO over there), it’s not a shock that I became a pop culture junkie. Growing up I had a great passion for movies – many of my favorite childhood memories are those moments where I was sitting in a darkened theater with popcorn in hand, watching trailers unspool for movies that I would then become obsessed with and countdown on the calendar until they were released. From the original Star Wars trilogy to E.T., Indiana Jones to Ghostbusters, I marked milestones in my early years by what was dominating the multiplex at the time. And how could I ever have survived high school without the oeuvre of John Hughes (may he rest in peace). Okay lets be honest, I still wouldn’t be able to survive adulthood without the endless re-runs of those classic flicks on cable. Ferris Bueller is still my hero. What a role model.
As for my love of movies, I must credit my amazing mother – as many of my first memories as a filmgoer are of the Saturday afternoons during the summer when she used to take my brother and I to the movies for Saturday afternoon double features of Disney classics. This same wonderful mom who let me stay up to watch the Oscars for the first time the year that Rocky won best picture, and I’ve never missed an Oscars since. The rest I’ll save for Mother’s Day — but if you want an inkling of where my love for movies came from, I highly recommend you put Cinema Paradiso in your Netflix queue (or, gasp, go to Blockbuster and rent it, if anyone out there actually still does that).
Now to the “SMART” aspect of this column title. I realize that “Smart Hollywood” is a punch line waiting to happen (hmm, could I be intending that? Maybe, maybe not), perhaps the oxymoron of all oxymorons coming from an industry that has perfected the art of endless bad remakes of bad 1980s films and Alvin and The Chipmunk sequels (er, I mean Squeakuel – to channel the great Seth Meyers and Amy Poehler, a “SQUEAKUEL”, really – you couldn’t just call it ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks 2’ and let us get on with our lives, really!! — although I think I just proved right here how smart Hollywood is, because of that bizarre/annoying title the marketing wizards dreamed up, I just used more words talking about an Alvin and the Chipmunks movie in a column entitled “Smart Hollywood” than anyone in their right mind should). I may be stating the obvious (and if so please get used to that), but it takes a lot of smarts to survive in Hollywood and to navigate the ups and downs of this business. Though it helps if you are a Scientologist. My hope is that this column will also provide at least a little bit of insight into that world. Hollywood, not Scientology.
But more literally I’m calling this column “Smart Hollywood” because a) I hope my years in this business will yield some useful insights here, and b) I cant help but be a bit of a smart-ass at times (I mean, I am a lawyer) — and that will no doubt be reflected in the column as well.
So if you’re still reading this (power of positivity!), maybe you’re willing to come a little further. You remember the name of the town, don’t you? It’s Hollywood. (Bonus points for those of you who just felt a Shawshank Redemption flashback – I like you already). And after this self-indulgent introductory column, Hollywood, the iconic industry itself, and all of the various product it creates, is what I intend to write about. Pretty much anything and everything that has to do with the entertainment industry and pop culture will be fair game for this space. I would like to regularly answer reader questions on any related topic, so please feel free to email those questions to me at smarthollywood@gmail.com. Readers can also find me on Twitter at @smarthollywood. Yes, I realize I’m taking a bold leap to assume I might have more than one reader (hi, Mom!), but dare to dream. And to those of you who made it to the end of column numero uno, thanks for staying awake. I think this is going to be the start of a beautiful friendship.
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Since 1925, Chrysler has sold the American Dream to the car-buying public. In 2007, Daimler sold 80% of its stake in Chrysler to a private equity firm. Later, Daimler agreed to sell its remaining stake and deposit $600 million into Chrysler's pension fund. At least that was the plan. In April 2009, Chrysler filed for bankruptcy and announced partnership with Fiat. Chrysler also planned to sell assets to the new Chrysler Group LLC. Fiat would hold a 20% stake in the new enterprise.
Several pension funds petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to delay the sale, arguing that the deal favored unsecured creditors. Recent Court action allows the sale to proceed, and U.S. Bankruptcy Court lets the company shed 750+ dealerships.
The 1972 Chrysler Imperial
I'll never forget the day Dad brought home the biggest car we had ever seen. We're not sure why he bought it. Maybe Mom had tired of the old Dodge Coronet, one of several purchased from a family-owned dealership in Lansdale, Pennsylvania? Maybe Mom was due for new car? Who knows? But, there it was in our driveway: this great, big 1972 Chrysler Imperial.
From 1969 to 1973, Chrysler built 77,980 of these monsters. Chrysler ads boasted, “Coming through with the kind of car America wants.” And, it's true: America desired cars just like the Chrysler Imperial.
What a car! White, with black leather, automatic seats, and windows that went up and down on command. The Imperial sported these cool gauges, and had all kinds of bells and whistles. We called it the “White Whale” and it stuck. Our 1972 Chrysler Imperial was smokin' hot and got about 9 MPG, but what did we care? We were young and desperate, gasoline was relatively cheap, and all the cars were big.
In the early 1980s, when Mom could no longer afford to fix the car or keep it running, that great, big Chrysler Imperial followed me home to Washington, D.C. But, things had changed. I rarely drove it. It was far too big and expensive to maintain. Black smoke billowed from its exhaust pipes, and the air conditioning no longer worked. I couldn't even tell you what happened to it.
Isn't it ironic that our 1972 Chrysler Imperial had its final days in the very city where recent legislation was passed to keep automobile manufacturers alive in this country? Isn't it ironic that cars like the 1972 Chrysler Imperial ever found a market?
Today's bailout is going to cost taxpayers $6.6 billion. Hopefully, Chrysler charts a new course, with strong product lines that consider both consumer tastes and energy efficiency. No car or a historic company like Chrysler should be allowed to fade away or spend its last years on the back lot. Especially when Chrysler has given the American public what it wanted and more.
RESOURCES
“GM and Chrysler's bankruptcy cases at a glance,” by Associated Press, 06.09.09, in Forbes.Com
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/06/09/ap6524207.html
“Chrysler Plan is Announced,” by Jim Rutenberg and Bill VlasicPublished: April 30, 2009, New York Times.Com
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/01/business/01auto.html
Old Cars
http://www.oldcars.com
Official Chrysler Site
http://www.chrysler.com
Home Page — United Auto Workers Union
http://www.uaw.org/
Home Page — Daimler
http://www.daimler.com
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