"Hey, Mary, do you think you can stop me with open hands?" Wang Yang slapped the basketball in his hand, looked at Jessica who was wearing a set of Lakers jerseys and pants in front of him, his steps accelerated suddenly, and he smiled: "Look how I beat you!" Jessica, who was open-handed, hurriedly blocked his breakthrough route, and said with a crisp smile: "Come on, let me see your ability!"

The green plastic basketball court has only one ball stand, and is surrounded by green grass, and there are many plants in the back garden, including a small flower bed full of all kinds of beautiful flowers, and a transplanted huge plane tree. This was their new home, and unlike the palace-like mansions of the Smiths, the idyllic main house was only two stories high, not small, but not too large, and the back garden had only a basketball court and a plunge pool, but they both felt it was enough.

As early as the end of August, after the two decided on the idea of living together, they began to look for a suitable ready-made house, and it would be too slow to buy land and start construction on a new land. Under the recommendation of the real estate agent, Wang Yang took time out of his time to choose with Jessica, and more than a month later, he bought the house for 6 million, and the two became residents of Beverly Hills.

Beverly Hills is a great place to stay with a beautiful location, complete shopping, dining, entertainment and other facilities, and is very close to Hollywood, with convenient transportation, but there is no beach. Wang Yang plans to buy a piece of land in Santa Monica or Malibu in the future, and design and build a house as a villa for vacation.

It has been more than half a month since the two moved into a new home, and living together can allow each other to better understand each other more, especially the side of ordinary life, any habits and attitudes will be exposed to each other, which may promote affection, and may also make one party feel disgusted and bored. Fortunately, the two of them are very compatible with their life philosophy, there is nothing annoying, let alone intolerable habits, after living together, they both find that they seem to be inseparable from each other, and they can see each other's faces at the first glance when they wake up every day, which is really a beautiful taste.

And every evening, they play when they have time. The sound of "bang" slapping the ball kept ringing, the shoes of the two rubbed against the ground constantly, Wang Yang bent forward with the ball, and laughed: "Don't you know my ability? Well......" Jessica gasped slightly, and said with a smile: "Yang, you!" While she was not paying attention, Wang Yang suddenly retracted his body and took a step back, aimed at the basket and raised the ball to throw, the basketball crossed a graceful arc in the air, and with a bang, it was hollow into the basket.

Jessica looked back at the basketball playing on the ground, propped up her waist and pretended to be angry: "You always disturb my attention! This doesn't count!" Wang Yang walked over to pick up the ball, and said with a smile: "Reggie Miller will say 'Michael, you always talk trash, doesn't it count'?" Jesse, whether you recognize it or not, the current score is 10:3, and I will win with one more goal!" Jessica gritted her teeth unconvinced and smiled: "Young, never underestimate the heart of a champion!"

"Oh, yes, but that sentence is based on the same level, if not, then like this season's Warriors can't beat the Lakers, you can't beat me. Wang Yang slapped the ball and walked back to the top arc outside the three-point line, pulled the collar of the Warriors jersey on his body, and said with a smile: "Don't you know? ”

Jessica rolled her eyes with a smile, stepped forward to defend him, and said, "So what, I won't lose!" Wang Yang came to a crotch dribble, and said with a smile: "Show me!" Jessica suddenly stepped forward to hug him, snatched the ball away roughly, turned around and walked quickly to the basket, snort, she looked at the stunned Wang Yang and smiled: "10:4!" Wang Yang wiped the sweat on his forehead, and said helplessly: "Hey, beauty, you are a foul!"

"Ha, do I have it?" Jessica walked back leisurely with the ball, and said with a sweet smile: "Young, this is not the NBA, this is a boyfriend and girlfriend game, the rules are set by me, I said I didn't foul just now." Wang Yang nodded suddenly and said, "What a little Laipi with the heart of a champion!ok, then I'm not welcome!" Jessica clutched the ball tightly in her arms, dodging his snatch, laughing and shouting, "Get out of here......!"

After laughing for a while, in the end, under Jessica's laipi, Wang Yang lost the game 10:11. The two came to the wooden table and chairs in the garden, Jessica unscrewed a bottle of Gatorade and handed it to Wang Yang with a smile, he took a few sips, wiped the sweat on his forehead with a towel, picked up the mobile phone on the table and looked at the time, and said, "Jessica, let's go and start preparing, the guests are coming soon." Jessica put down the drink in her hand and nodded, "Hmm." ”

Their guests are Christopher Nolan and Emma Thomas, and in a few days there will be the release date of "Memory Fragments" on October 27, which will have 521 theaters in its first week. In a phone call a few days ago, Emma Thomas mentioned that Nolan wanted to shoot a new work, so Wang Yang simply invited Nolan and his wife to come as guests, on the one hand, to increase the friendship between friends, and on the other hand, to talk about Nolan's new work in detail.

Although it was a dinner-style guest, Wang Yang said on the phone that he "didn't need to wear formal clothes", so he and Jessica both wore ordinary and decent clothes. Emma Thomas was also dressed in ordinary clothes, while Nolan was dressed in a formal suit, or his "ordinary clothes" were like this, black suit trousers, plus a white shirt, but no tie.

In all the times Wang Yang and Nolan met, Nolan was dressed like this, and there was no time that he was not, and he really doubted that Nolan's wardrobe was all hung with a set of shirts and suits, but the color was slightly different.

The living room of the new home is very spacious, Jessica is very simple and elegantly furnished, and it is full of warm and comfortable feeling, Wang Yang has to admit defeat in this regard, and it is not surprising that she reads magazines on home, cooking, and parenting all day long. Dinner hadn't started yet, on the light brown fabric sofa, Wang Yang and Nolan were talking, while Jessica was cooking in the kitchen, preparing a sumptuous dinner.

"So, Chris, what are your plans for your new work?" Wang Yang looked at Nolan next to him and asked, "Is it still the same one I said last time?" Howard Hughes's biopic?"

Nolan nodded, handed the thick script that had been prepared to Wang Yang, and said in a calm voice: "Howard Hughes is a legend, he is very charismatic, and his story is interesting. This first draft of the screenplay was co-written by me with my brother Jonathan Nolan and is mostly adapted from two books, Howard Hughes: The Secret Life and Citizen Hughes: Power, Money, and Madness. My plan was to shoot in two parts, one for the first half of Howard's life, and the story for "The Secret Life", and for the second half of his life, for "Citizen Hughes". ”

Emma Thomas, who was sitting next to Nolan, added: "Young, I have contacted the authors of those two books, Mr. Charles Hayam and Mr. Michael Dosning, and their film adaptations are still in hand. She smiled and said, "If someone adapts a movie, they're happy to sell the rights." ”

"Well, that's good news. Wang Yang took the script and read it carefully, this script is only the first draft, and most of it is the story of the first half of his life. He doesn't have this movie in his head, and there is a movie "The Aviator" that is also adapted from "Howard Hughes: The Secret Life", according to that little bit of information, when Nolan wanted to shoot, he didn't get investment, and the script hadn't been written, but "The Aviator" had already been announced, which also made Nolan lose the opportunity to adapt.

If Nolan successfully shoots this Howard Hughes biographical film, what kind of work will it be? Wang Yang frowned, from the audience's point of view, he is very happy to see this movie; from the company's business point of view, this is not an independent film with millions of investments, it may be tens of millions, can the cost be recovered? He looked at the script in his hand and suddenly smiled, what is there to consider, the money comes from the movie, and it must be returned to the movie. Besides, he believes in Nolan's ability and talent, this biographical film will be a masterpiece, and as long as it is properly promoted, the box office plus the peripherals should be able to pay for itself.

"Chris. Wang Yang looked up at Nolan and asked with a smile: "I'm very interested in investment, if I shoot the upper part first, how much production cost will it cost?" At this time, Jessica walked into the living room with a high voice, wanting to beckon them to the dining room, but she saw that their conversation seemed to be about the key point, so she sat down next to Wang Yang without speaking.

Hearing Wang Yang ask this, Emma Thomas and Nolan were already stunned, why did they get to this all of a sudden? Before leaving, they had discussed and discussed, and felt that Wang Yang would raise his own questions about the script and need to consider it in detail, and Emma Thomas also prepared a set of lobbying words, but despite this, they all thought that the fire movie would wait until after the release of "Memory Fragments", and then make a decision depending on the results. So this time as guests, they were just thinking about registering an account, and they didn't think that it would be like this, and the young director would say "I'm interested in investing".

"This ......" Emma Thomas smiled in disbelief and surprise, a little speechless, Nolan felt his heart twitch and beat rapidly, he thought about it, calmed down, and said quietly: "50 million." ”

Emma Thomas shouted "Oh my God" in her heart, she secretly put her fist on her husband's back, pulling funds requires skill and coaxing! What you want is 50 million, but you have to say 30 million at the beginning, and then increase step by step; if some of the scoundrels do it, or even wait for the start of filming, the middle says "the money is not enough", and asks for additional investment, when the investor is difficult to ride, they will generally attract other companies to partner, so that the probability of success will be high. Of course, in doing so, the reputation of the producer will also be ruined, unless the film is a big hit later, the investor will be happy to care.

Wang Yang quickly thought about the company's finances, the global box office of "When Happiness Knocks on the Door" was fixed at 385 million, and after deducting taxes, the company got more than 140 million funds; the North American box office of "Song and Dance Youth 2" finally barely exceeded 100 million, stopping at 101 million, and the overseas box office was higher than that of North America as expected, receiving 120 million, a global box office of 221 million US dollars, and also brought more than 83.51 million after-tax income to the company's account.

These do not count the peripheral income of the two films, there are too many types of peripheral income, and he can't remember the specific situation for a while, but the box office income alone, the company has 223.5 million. He took out 20 million, 5 million to sponsor Robert Zemeckis's training academy, 6 million to buy a house, decoration, and of course, living expenses, pay personal taxes, etc. Anyway, the Flame Company now has at least more than 200 million available funds.

It's enough to make and launch this "Mr. Hughes". Thinking of this, Wang Yang nodded and smiled at Nolan: "Chris, Flame Film has invested 65 million, and if it is not enough, it will be added." Jessica couldn't help but glance at him, a big production of 65 million, and his own biggest production cost was only 32 million.

Nolan and his wife froze again, seeing Wang Yang thinking about it, they thought he thought that 50 million was too much, and now he said 65 million? Emma Thomas blinked, and only one voice sounded in his heart, "His courage really deserves his name!" Even Nolan was a little out of shape at this time, he couldn't control his joy and surprise, and blurted out: "Yang, is this true?"

"Of course, Emma is the producer, and Chris, you have absolute autonomy, what actors to find, how to shoot and how to cut...... It's all according to your will. Wang Yang looked at the surprised look of Nolan and his wife, spread his hands and smiled: "Please, what's wrong? Chris, I know your ability and talent, let it go! I believe that the flame will get a good movie." ”

Emma Thomas looked at her husband happily, Nolan took a few slow and long breaths, and the gentlemanly demeanor seemed to be back again, he looked at Wang Yang, and said in a calm but strong voice: "Thank you!"

"Hey, dinner is ready. Jessica said at the right time, Wang Yang dragged her hand and stood up, and smiled at Nolan and his wife: "We'll talk about it at dinner, but I think we'll be fascinated by the food, my girlfriend's craftsmanship is amazing." Jessica smiled and whispered, "Young is the great chef, his Chinese food is so good, he should be in charge of dinner." ”

Mr. and Mrs. Nolan smiled and stood up and followed them to the dining room. Nolan looked at Wang Yang, who was laughing and talking all the way, and his heart was still a little incredible, is this okay?65 million investment?his movie?His eyes narrowed slightly, Amazing Yang, this guy who is ten years younger than him...... Thank you!

In order to add publicity to "Memory Fragments", Flame Films announced this latest plan as soon as possible, which will produce a biographical film of Howard Hughes, with an investment of more than 60 million, the director and screenwriter are Christopher Nolan, and the film is tentatively named "Mr. Hughes", which is scheduled to be released in 2002.

Once again, the film industry, movie fans, and the media opened their mouths in surprise, if the director was Wang Yang, no one would be surprised, at most they would say "Oh, that's fast, Amazing Yang is coming again", but the director is Christopher Nolan, who is he? The director of "Memory Fragments"? That movie hasn't been released yet! Flame Movies has already rushed to hand over 60 million to Nolan? Is this Amazing Young going crazy intermittently? Or is this just a hype?

After the screening of "Fragments of Memory", the "Mr. Hughes" project will be postponed indefinitely? Film companies and media are inclined to this, and although most fans feel the same way, if this is really a hype, they will inevitably fall for it and feel more curious about the upcoming "Fragments of Memory".

As early as after Flame Films bought "Memory Fragments" for 8 million at the Sundance Film Festival, the publicity plan has begun, and its publicity budget is only 5 million, except for some posters, this money is mainly used for viral marketing on the Internet, "high-IQ movies", "new genres of suspense logic films", "smart people can understand", etc., all by some "watched this movie at the Sundance Film Festival" and "participated in the secret test screening arranged by Flame Films" The fans and viewers are scattered everywhere, and of course they are the staff of the Flame Films.

Memory Fragments' official website also features a variety of jigsaw puzzles and logic quizzes with the slogan "Exercise your thinking skills and meet the challenges of this movie!"

The word challenge is the core of official propaganda, audiences who like to watch suspense and logic movies like to use their brains, and everyone thinks they are very smart, especially this kind of audience, who are very competitive and curious, as long as they are interested, and have a "see if you are so good" mentality, they will go into the cinema and challenge "Memory Fragments". Then the whole propaganda plan was successful.

On October 27th, "Memory Fragments" landed in 521 theaters in North America, and a new game was also opened on the official website, listing the serial number and content of each black-and-white color plot of "Memory Fragments", which can be freely combined and sorted by fans, edited out what they think is the real story, and communicated and discussed with other fans. The time to test the publicity effect came, and in the three-day weekend box office from the 27th to the 29th, "Memory Fragments" received 6.872 million box office, ranking fourth in the weekend box office list this week, and whether it is the top three or the last three, the number of theaters is more than 2,000 or 3,000.

Although this dark horse is not a miracle, it has surprised and regretted many film companies, they all thought that the box office of 5 million was the limit of "Memory Fragments", but now it has received nearly 7 million in a weekend! What makes people shout "What are you kidding" is that fans of suspense films are crazy, they are completely fascinated by this movie that makes people's heads dizzy, in order to figure out what is going on, they even watched a few shows, and the score of "Memory Fragments" on IMDB is as high as 8.6 points!

The Los Angeles Times review said, "It's a very complex, very thoughtful film, and it's undoubtedly a masterpiece." Yahoo Entertainment reported with the title of "Miracle Young's Gold Rush Success!": "This independent film that no one cares about in Sundance was caught by the Flame Company at a glance, don't tell me it's not Wonder Young's idea behind it, this magical director's vision is just as magical, we have reason to believe that "Mr. Hughes" is not a hype." ”

After six days of conquest, "Memory Fragments" received 9.847 million box office, and the time also came to November 1, Halloween.

On the occasion of the holiday, Wang Yang and Jessica held a makeup party at their home, inviting a group of friends to join in, Michael Pitt, Harry George, Zachary, Rachel...... Also invited were Nolan and his wife, when Wang Yang, who was dressed as a zombie, saw Nolan in a suit and trousers and a white shirt, he couldn't help laughing: "Chris, what are you pretending to be!?" Nolan just smiled slightly and said, "Christopher Nolan." ”

(To be continued)