California, this is the land of dreams, with clear sunshine, blue waters, and vast skies. If you see what you're seeing, you'll understand the scene in the song "California-Gurls" and the charm of the land.

Suffice it to say that California is not famous because of Hollywood, but the other way around, Hollywood is thriving because of California.

Gin, orange juice, coconut palms, tall palms, sun, sand, hot pants, wheat skin, wild, passionate, free, wanton revelry. Who can refuse such a paradise?

"Do you see a potential competitor?" Paul shouted into Lan Li's ear, which was just right for the two of them to hear in the hustle and bustle of the surroundings, and everyone else around them was immersed in the world of music.

Lan Li didn't understand the meaning of this sentence, and cast a puzzled look, and Paul went on to explain, "I'm competing with you for the same role." After a pause, Paul continued, "It's the kind of occasion where there are so many actors, from the first line to the third line, it's the best place to confuse journalists, who don't even know what deals and negotiations are happening here, but it's also the best place to audition for the last time." I mean, if they really want to keep it a secret. Of course, it's also possible that it's just because the bigwigs want to drink. ”

What Paul doesn't say is that at the same time it's the best place for unspoken rules. In such a grand party, there were at least three or four hundred people, and two people suddenly disappeared for half an hour, and no one would notice at all. Throughout the villa, there are countless locations suitable for two people to "have a private conversation", including the woods next to it.

However, Paul didn't say it, but Lan Li did.

His eyes swept around, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he landed in a small corner. But it wasn't the man who was glowing, but because there were four or five people gathered around him, chatting in small groups, and the man was wearing beach pants and a T-shirt, and a light brown bowler hat, which stood out in the midst of a bronzed body.

Brad Pitt.

Forty-eight-year-old Brad is in the prime of his career. Starting with "Babel" in 2006, and after that, "Burn After Reading", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "Inglourious Basterds", as well as this year's awards season's "Moneyball" and "Tree of Life", Brad has blossomed in full swing and is sprinting towards the Oscars.

Everyone is lamenting that Leonardo DiCaprio's little gold man chase is touching, and Brad is no less impressive.

Especially the "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" the year before last, which can be called David Fincher's Oscar love letter tailored for Brad, almost the weight of the entire work was pinned on Brad, Brad naturally became the biggest favorite, but was first stolen the limelight by Mickey Locke, who made a comeback with the "Wrestling King" in the early part of the awards season, and then was "Milk" in the sprint stage Sean Penn overtook again and again, and finally fought with Mickey as he watched Sean win the second Oscar.

It is precisely because of his wholehearted competition for the Golden Man that the number of commercial film works in Brad has declined rapidly in recent years.

Although Brad has never been a box office superstar like Tom Cruise and Will Smith, and the only one in his entire career that broke 200 million at the North American box office exceeded 200 million in 2013, and he has also experienced a fiasco like "Troy", but he has participated in a lot of commercial works. This is much better than his good friend George Clooney.

In addition to the "Ocean's Eleven" series, "Operation Smith", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", "Inglourious Basterds" and other works have exceeded 100 million at the North American box office, and they are also a small profit relative to the cost.

Today, Brad is at Ben Affleck's private party, is it just a party, is it just a coincidence, or is it for the audition for Edge of Tomorrow?

Lan Li will not forget that the first choice of Doug Liman, the director of the previous "Edge of Tomorrow", was Brad, and the two had previously collaborated on "Operation Smith"; Could it be that it's all Brad's fault?

Brad only had to show his interest, and Warner Bros. was naturally happy to push the project forward.

"Jesus. Following Lan Li's line of sight, after seeing the target person, Paul couldn't help but shout in a low voice, although the words are few, the meaning is clear, there is a gap in comparison, and the words of Brad Pitt and Vin Diesel are placed together. "Is he your rival, or is he the object of your audition today?"

Brad, like Tom, now works part-time as a producer, and for almost every work they participate in, they have the power to decide every part of the crew. Comparatively speaking, Tom focuses on commercial films, so the whole model follows his convention, while Brad is more inclined to art films, respecting the creative ideas of directors and screenwriters is the most important premise, and there is relatively little interference.

"Phew, if I'm not mistaken, competitor. Before Lan Li finished speaking, he could hear Paul gasp, which made Lan Li chuckle, "Paul, I'm sure this isn't the first time you've seen Brad. "There is no need to make such a fuss.

Paul didn't mind either, and chuckled twice, "I just sigh that when those super big projects think about actors, they always choose Brad." Today's audition is definitely an uphill battle. ”

Paul's tone was not questioning, just worried, and the confidence hidden behind it still revealed a hint of edge, which made Lan Li's eyebrows raise slightly, "Listening to your tone, it doesn't seem that I will lose?" Not only was there no nervousness, but there was also leisure, chatting slowly here.

Paul didn't notice Lan Li's complacency, but shook his head firmly, "No, if it were me who made the decision, I would definitely choose you." He shrugged his shoulders and rightfully said, "You're a much better actor than Brad." What's more, the current film market needs more fresh blood. ”

Lan Li chuckled and said teasingly, "Then I'll wait for the day when you will take power." The joke immediately caused Paul to burst out laughing.

Without saying anything more, Lan Li took a step ahead, Paul hesitated, not sure if he should follow, but before he could come up with a reason, his body had already made a move, and his footsteps followed, walking side by side with Lan Li, "Are we going to talk to Brad now?" Could this be the rhythm of the king seeing the king?

"No, we went over and talked to the guy standing next to Brad. Lan Li gestured with his chin, the bald head standing next to Brad was also the most important reason why Lan Li thought Brad was a competitor.

Jeff-Robinov, a big bald head with a kind smile, has a burly figure, and has the typical characteristics of Eastern Europeans, but the whole posture and demeanor are a little out of place, as if the suit on his body makes him feel uncomfortable. Judging purely from his appearance, he is like an uncle in a private supermarket on the street corner, even if he is smiling, he still brings a sense of visual oppression, as if he is a character whose physical strength exceeds the wisdom of his brain.

But in fact, he is the real power figure of Warner Bros., the top executive of the film division, and above him is CEO Barry Meyer. Contrary to the style of appearance, Jeff is an academic school with a complete film background, he is not a producer, nor a director, he is an economics and finance background, but he is an avid film lover, which has become a bridge between him and film practitioners.

Ben Affleck's career as an actor is in shambles, but as a director, he is thriving. The hero behind it is Jeff.

At the beginning, Jeff overrode public opinion and supported Ben's filming of "Thieves in the City", but later the budget was overrun, Warner Bros. refused to continue to increase the cost, or Jeff gave Ben a million dollars to save his life, which opened Ben's path to directing; Thus, this made the Oscar for Best Picture of "Escape from Tehran".

If Jeff has been in the industry for more than ten years before he supported Ben, then the rise of Christopher Nolan is definitely Jeff's credit.

After filming "Memory Fragments", Christopher received a lot of praise in the industry, but after all, he was just a small director who shot two works, with no qualifications, no connections, and no more self-proof.

But Jeff withstood great pressure, not only handed over the "Batman Story" trilogy to Christopher, who was unknown at the time, but also gave Christopher the agreement of five works, agreeing that in addition to the "Batman Story" trilogy, the other two works were completely free for Christopher to create the scripts and projects he wanted to shoot, no matter how ridiculous and incredible the project was, Jeff would let Christopher decide and control the work-

Jeff kept his promise. Thus, "Deadly Magic" and "Inception" were born.

By the way, when Lee/Ann was still an unknown young director, Jeff was optimistic about his prospects, and several proposals were hoped to be handed over to Lee/Ang, but unfortunately Warner Bros.'s rejection of Chinese directors was still very serious at that time, so that they missed "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi".

It is no exaggeration to say that Jeff's unique vision and keen sense of smell were the key to Warner Bros. becoming a family leader in the post-millennium.

Perhaps, Brad and Jeff are standing together, just small talk, and have nothing to do with "Edge of Tomorrow" at all. But what is certain is that Jeff held a party in Ben's villa today, and made a special trip to call Lan Li over, obviously not only the lack of party guests, but also the hope that Lan Li would come over to join in the fun.

Lan Li didn't know if today's audition was the last, or if there were more auditions waiting in the future, but it was certain that today's audition was definitely not that simple.