James Packer learnt Hollywood boys club lesson the hard way
James Packer may have failed to understand the rules of engagement in the Hollywood boys club, writes Annette Sharp.
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There are boys clubs — and there are boys clubs.
And as we saw last week, the rules that apply to Australian private school boys clubs do not necessarily apply to Hollywood film mogul boys clubs.
Not by a loooooong shot as James Packer has learnt the hard way.
The rules in an Australian boys club are crystal clear, particularly concerning the four great pillars of the Aussie boys club — Sport, Cars, Party and that new pillar, Property — which replaces that old pillar, Women.
Women, tricky as they are — particularly in these changing times — are now in a separate sub category, Family.
This leaves “Girls” — as differentiated from Women/Family — to be reallocated to the Sport category.
Within Sport falls a great many boys club traditions — some proud and celebrated, some not so proud and celebrated.
Among the not so proud and celebrated there is the tradition of dating the same women — something that occasionally tests a friendship, as former Australian cricketers Michael Clarke and Andrew Symonds, both once suitors of Lara Bingle, could no doubt tell you over a few beers.
When it comes to sport, Australian men traditionally worship ball sports.
Rugby union, rugby league, cricket, golf — and belatedly AFL — these are the sporting codes beloved by men in Australian boys clubs.
To establish whether you are a member of a truly elite boys club, or have the potential to one day be, take a look in your wardrobe drawers. If your Wallabies jersey is competing for space with your Sydney Roosters league jersey — maybe there is an old treasured Newtown Jets or Carlton one at the bottom of the drawer — you could be on your way to being part of one of Sydney’s oldest and most exclusive boys clubs. You may also have an ATC (Australian Turf Club) membership badge pinned to a navy or beige blazer.
It’s simpler still with cars.
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In the old days, as long as it wasn’t Japanese, your car was probably acceptable. Today it’s a gutsy European import that defines boys club members. Jags have given way to Bentleys, Ferraris, Porsches, McLarens, and yes, even the large SUV Range Rover to afford a comfortable ride to the country or beachside retreat. A Mercedes-Benz is a given as the second car.
Property is similarly straight forward — it must be luxurious, expensive and handy — ensuring the boys can drop by.
Party too is a fairly easy area to navigate.
A gathering of the tribe at a local — Paddington’s Centennial, Woollahra’s Lord Dudley, Double Bay’s Golden Sheaf, the Watsons Bay pub — is old school. A weekend at Melbourne’s Crown Casino is new school. A trip away with the boys to Vegas, the Mediterranean, Ibiza, is for the upwardly mobile but may back fire if you haven’t got a “connection” lined up when you arrive to ensure the trip gets started quickly and raucously.
The business of Girls, locally, has historically been a relatively simple business. This is because, frankly, there have always been plenty of good Aussie girls who aren’t terribly greedy and are happy with very little — perhaps a set of fake boobs, maybe a cute Fiat — in exchange for their time, affection and silence. Sometimes they want a baby and 20-years of child support which can make things trickier, but happily they usually don’t.
Some of these Aussie girls — ambitious in their own quiet husband-and-job-hunting way — might be agreeable to being “recommended” both up and down the chain of lads, though, by and large, they are a sadder lot by the time they hit 40 if they remain single.
Some we have buried too soon.
In the US, women want more and demand more — as they should and as Australian women should.
We saw this first hand this week when the story of actor Charlotte Kirk hit newsstands.
Kirk knew what she wanted and demanded it when her liaison amoureuse with Australian billionaire Packer ended and she moved on, albeit briefly, with Packer’s new friend, Kevin Tsujihara, Warner Bros chairman and CEO.
There was the promise of a film role — and when the alleged phone texts with Tsujihara began to peter out, her texted plea: “Are u going to help me like u said u would?”
The answer was no — and Kirk was soon given the cold shoulder — as, soon after, was Packer, a rank outsider who may have failed to understand the rules of engagement in the Hollywood boys club during his joint venture with Brett Ratner, Ratpac.
The four pillars of the boys club in Hollywood are Power, Wealth, Politics and, above all, Discretion.
Though Packer may have aimed for discretion as texts now circulating around the world show, Kirk, the woman he briefly called girlfriend before pointing in Tsujihara’s direction, did not.
A lesson Packer has now learnt.
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