"Hell!"

Jessica Alba threw the newspaper out of her hand, and then she took a few hard breaths, stood up in her nightgown, walked around the soft carpet barefoot, and then jumped to the window and pulled the curtain open......

With a bang, as the curtains opened, the bright sunlight outside shè shè came in and sprinkled on her pretty face.

The depression in Jessica Five Alba's eyes couldn't be concealed, and she couldn't help but glance at the newspaper she threw on the ground again?? Entertainment version.

There is no doubt that the past six months have indeed been a very unlucky stage for her. As the most promising newcomer who has been recognized by all film critics, he is recognized as the "sweetheart" of the new generation of America. She never wanted to be just a vase who only relied on pretentiousness to eat. But ambition also comes with a little luck. And poor Jessica, obviously, lacked a little bit of luck.

"Fantastic Four 2> in the first half of the year is a movie adapted from a comic, and it is also a sequel...... Naturally, there can't be anything inside, it's nothing more than a typical Hollywood commercial special effects blockbuster. Although the box office is not satisfactory, it has been evaluated as rubbish by almost all film critics...... Or close to garbage.

And I originally had great expectations for this movie. turned out to be ridiculed by those critics for acting because of this movie, which is not even a vase......

And then it seems to have been a little less lucky, and the film was awarded the Golden Strawberry Award (a competition that specifically selects bad films for mocking xìng quality). Then his star journey seemed to be a little uncertain, and a new film was delayed again and again because of investment problems. And after experiencing the previous Fantastic Four's super bad reputation, Jessica intends to save her reputation. The requirements for the script of the new film have reached the realm of pickiness......

"I want to be an actress, not a vase!" This phrase used to be Jessica's slogan, but now it has become a super joke.

People magazine hasn't put itself on the cover once this year...... I used to be their darling! Even the ranking of the most beautiful female xìng in this year's selection is twelve places behind last year's ranking!

And now......

Jessica walked over to the mirror. I glanced at my hair, which had just been dyed black a few days ago. Dye your hair black and add a little oriental mystery to yourself, which will undoubtedly make you look more xìng...... It's all the advice of a self-made image consultant, but what......

The newspaper actually rated his new hairstyle as one of the five stars with the worst taste this month!

The acting skills were ridiculed by film critics, and now it seems that he can't even be a vase???

And his agent actually suggested that he go to NBC to make a cameo appearance in a recently popular TV soap opera yesterday?!

Damn it! I'm a movie actor! It's mixed with the big screen!! Do you want to go back and star in those cheap TV dramas??? It's a shame! (In the U.S., the prevailing view is that movies have a much higher status than TV series.) Film practitioners also have a transcendent status in the face of television practitioners. Many stars who are famous on TV refuse to make TV anymore when they get into the film industry. would think that is a kind of regression and depravity. ）

But what if you don't shoot? I haven't had any new material for a few months, and now even those gossip newspapers are reluctant to distribute them to themselves. The agent was a little annoying, but he had to deny it. He's right.

"Exposure! If you want to maintain your popularity, you need to maintain your exposure in front of the public! ”

Maybe what he said was right, but Jessica still felt that as an already famous movie actor, it was a depraved act to run back and act in a TV series again. I didn't see Jennifer Aniston has refused to appear in any TV series since she became popular with "Friends". Even if the movies are worse than the last, I refuse to go back to star in any TV series.

Although, the broker made arrangements. claimed that as long as he was willing to make a cameo appearance in that soap opera, he could arrange himself to appear on the "tonight" show. (A very famous talk show in the United States, which is very good for your own exposure.)

Well, maybe that's all it takes, there is no suitable film to make right now...... I don't even have a film contract in my hand.

Seemingly overnight, the most beautiful doll in Hollywood, the baby who was once the most wanted to hug in Hollywood, and the most beautiful American sweetheart selected by male fans...... Jessica Alba, suddenly no one cares?

Truly. She's a beauty, and she's a big beauty. But a twenty-seven-year-old beauty, once the "most promising newcomer", has not yet been able to mix with the real line at the age of twenty-seven......

Don't forget, this is Hollywood! The most important thing here is the beautiful women and handsome guys!! Tens of thousands of young 18-year-old beauties and handsome guys from all over the world gathered here!!

And myself, I am already twenty-seven years old!!

And just as Jessica sighed, about to pick up the phone and call her agent, saying that she was willing to accept to make a cameo appearance in the low-budget soap opera, she suddenly saw another news from the newspaper scattered on the ground.

"Billy Hill Film Company has a different owner, and the mysterious Oriental injects new capital."

Below is a photo, apparently taken by the reporter at the door of the company, in which a young man with an oriental face shows a handsome and charming smile at the camera, waving his hand very casually. Although he was wearing sunglasses, Jessica could tell at a glance that this man seemed to be the mysterious Oriental man he met at Mr. Sorrin's dinner party in Canada half a year ago, and at that time, seeing that Sorin was very respectful of him, it seemed that this guy was very talented.

Purely instinctively, Jessica roughly glanced at the text below, and the following sentence caught her attention:

The company announced that it may start filming a new film in the near future, and there is no news on script creation at present. However, there are reports that the film may have Collinfe Farrell and Keanu Reeves joined, and it is even reported that John Depp is also on the list of candidates. ”

There is no doubt that these are the names of three A-list male stars who are currently popular in Hollywood, so that three names can immediately attract a lot of attention...... And what caught Jessica's attention was ...... In this news, there is no mention of any information about the actresses of the new film.

"Perhaps......" she thought for a moment, her seductive lips gently pulling in a charming arc......

I think I was really born with a talent for acting...... Or rather, to be a liar.

Becoming the owner of Billy Hill Films was almost unexpectedly smooth...... I even felt that the company's decision-making level almost welcomed me as an outsider. Even though they looked at me and probably took me for an idiot. Now everybody knows that Billy Hill Pictures is rotten, at this time. There are also people who take over this company, either they are super masters who have played the film industry superbly, or they ...... It's an idiot!

And I looked. It's really not like an expert in the film industry.

I didn't disclose any plans for me to inject new money, but I immediately asked for a meeting of the company's board of directors and offered to buy all the shares held by the other directors.

Not some, it's all!

I'm going to take control of this company completely!

And these shareholders, seeing that there is such a "Kaizi wronged leader" as me, are willing to pay money to take over these messes. I can't ask for it.

Everyone knows that these shares in their hands are now only "theoretically" valuable. But once the company goes bankrupt, the shares in their hands are not as good as handwritten paper! And now it seems that the bankruptcy of the company is already a certainty!

The negotiations went very well, and we signed the majority of the shareholders almost instantly, and the price was ridiculously low...... At this time, it is equivalent to a rotten ship that is almost dull, everyone is in a hurry to get out of this rotten ship, where will anyone come to negotiate the price with me?

Six million dollars. I bought all the shares back. In Yang Wei's opinion, this price is still considered to be too high, and she thinks that if I am a little more ruthless, I can completely reduce the cost to less than three million.

After the lawyer had gone through the legal formalities, signed all the contracts, and told the shareholders and directors of the company to get out of the way, I immediately called a meeting of the company's internal management and announced that I would inject $10 million into the company to pay off some of the company's debts.

This announcement is like a stimulant, which makes the company, which is already demoralized and decadent to the extreme, glow with a little vitality at once!

Especially the employees in the company!

You know, in Hollywood, the center of the world's film industry, although it is the world's largest film production base, but also, film practitioners from all over the world are gathered here!! Although walking around Hollywood, the people you meet are probably either actors, screenwriters, photographers, etc...... Anyway, it basically seems that everyone here has something to do with movies......

The competition has reached an almost terrifying point!! A job in the film industry will be grabbed by dozens or even hundreds of people at any time!!

And the company's ability not to go bankrupt also makes these people temporarily save their jobs! Otherwise, once the company goes bankrupt, they will all lose their jobs, and I'm afraid that from tomorrow onwards, they will have to go to the studios of several major companies to find those temporary jobs to eat.

This is what lies under the halo of the super-developed Hollywood film industry, bordering on brutal competition!

Then, Yang Wei and I had a secret meeting with the bank's representatives.

Yang Wei's strategy is simple: "Do as much as possible at the lowest cost!" ”

Originally, in my opinion, since the company has a few pieces of contract, it doesn't matter if I directly pay the company to pay off the loan owed to the bank. The loan owed to the bank is about $20 million. These are all debts that the company has owed over the years.

And Yang Wei refused to pay more.

Negotiations with the banks began, but they reached an impasse. The banks, for their part, insisted that either all debts should be repaid. Or, declare liquidation! The company is declared bankrupt, the bank takes over the company, and then the company is dismantled and sold for cash to offset the debt.

"No, we want to pay back $20 million now...... It was the Arabian Nights. Yang Wei refused very simply.

Just when the bank representative was about to give up, Yang Wei coldly put forward his own offer: "10 million, we will repay 10 million US dollars at most." For the remaining debts, we are willing to propose a reasonable repayment period with the bank...... Everything goes according to the normal loan route. ”

"But you're not without money!" The bank's representative apparently did a full investigation: "According to the information we have, Mr. Chen, and Ms. Yang. The two forces behind them don't care about the mere $10 million! You are well funded. ”

"Then there's no reason to force us to pay it back immediately." Yang Wei did not let go.

"Because the credibility of Billy Hill has been reduced to the lowest level! If it is another customer, we are of course willing to continue the loan. Anyway, there is money to be made, why don't we want to? The bank's representative, apparently also a guy who was also a jīng tong negotiator, shrugged his shoulders and said, "We are happy to continue to give loans to customers...... But now the problem is that our assessment team has made a assessment of Billy Hill that this company is dangerous at the moment!! We don't want to get bogged down! We just want to get out of here as quickly as possible. We can't be blamed for this, but Billy Hill's poor bank credit over the years has caused this! ”,，

"But we only have 10 million now." Yang Wei looked at him. Then he suddenly smiled: "Now all the debts are a total of 20 million dollars...... Sir, we might as well make a very simple comparison...... Or, you accept our 10 million repayment. And the remaining 10 million will be repaid in installments according to the normal loan procedure. Or, you reject us, and two months later, the company goes bankrupt and you sell the company. Her god was very confident: "But you might as well do the math...... If you reject our offer and insist that the company go bankrupt...... So, with the current situation of the Billy Hill Company, even if you take it out and sell it. How much can you sell it for back? ”

......" the bank representative was speechless.

"I can answer you this question, because I've done a lot of calculations and come up with a very reasonable figure, which is about six million dollars." Yang Wei's face was full of confidence, and at this moment she looked at each other like a real strong woman who was strategizing: "Look, either you accept our repayment plan of 10 million US dollars!" Either...... You take the company and then you only get six million. Such a simple math problem can be calculated by elementary school students. ”

…….

Seeing off the bank representative, Yang Wei gave me a triumphant smile.

"We don't lack 10 million." I shrugged my shoulders: "Why don't you just pay off the debt?" Owing money to the bank is not a good thing. ”

Yang looked at me with a slight smile, and then she took the paper cup on the table and brought me the coffee. I saw a faint mockery on her face: "Chen Yang, you are wrong, we are not short of this 10 million...... What we lack is more, what we lack is 100 million, 200 million! ”

I sat in the chair, and she walked around behind me, put her hands lightly on my shoulders, and the person stood behind me, and then she whispered in my ear: "Chen Yang, I know that you have made a lot of money in the past six months. But how many assets do you have now? Counting the cash flow in your company, plus your current fixed assets, plus your current house, that villa, all your assets are only 100 million, right? She seemed to smile: "100 million US dollars, in Hollywood, the production cost of any B-grade movie is far more than that!" You are wrong, we are not short of money...... It's very, very short of money!! ”

She walked up to me, wrenched her fingers, and said with a smile: "You see, we are new people, we want to break into this circle, we have to have relations with the media, we have to do publicity, we have to hold a party." These are going to be thrown out with a lot of dollars! Newspapers, magazines, media, television, radio, and the demanding critics, trade associations...... These are all going to grow up and eat our big budgets!! We are so short of money!! ”

I couldn't help but blush slightly. Indeed, maybe I've been a little carried away lately, right?

With a profit of $100 million in just one year, a self-made guy like me is a legend. But such a huge success also made my head a little hot.

"And, here's the thing, I'm not going to let you put your full worth into this company for the sake of it." Yang Wei's eyes were full of the wisdom and calmness she was used to: "This company will become our money printing machine...... But it's just a money-making tool. Not your real career! Not your true roots! So here, I've calculated that the most reasonable thing you can do is to invest up to $30 million here! That's all there is to it! Your funds should be spent in those more reasonable places. And not here. Thirty million in Hollywood, you can't do much at all, and you may not even be able to make a splash?? If you want to be big here! This little money is not enough. ”

"And what's your plan?" My eyes lit up, and I vaguely understood Yang Wei's intentions.

"Second-rate smart people make money for themselves with their own money...... First-class smart people use other people's money to make money for themselves! Yang smiled pleasantly: "My idea is simple. Can't let the banks run away and continue to tie them to us! I'm just going to pay them back 10 million, and they'll agree. And the benefits of having the bank tied to us. There are two aspects. Yang Wei quickly said her plan: "First of all, we are outsiders, and we have no roots here. After swallowing this company, we only retained all the employees in the middle and lower levels of the company, so as to maintain the company's ability to operate. However, the upper echelons of the company, those shareholders, they are gone. In other words, we have lost our connections and connections in Hollywood! When we are in trouble. No one can help us! When we encounter an opponent with bad intentions...... You know, it's Hollywood! There are countless large and small film companies! At any time, there will be competitors who will put a trap on us or find some trouble...... At times like these, we need someone to help us...... And the bank is the best helper! ”

"Maybe Chen Yang, you, will never understand how powerful the bank is!! But I can tell you that in the capitalist world, banks represent the functioning of capital! All companies have a relationship with the bank, all the companies!! All!! A bank is more than just a financial institution...... In their hands, behind them, and in themselves, they are a huge network of relationships that you can't imagine! And, if nothing else, the banks are always winners! I've heard a saying in the U.S.: If you want to be successful, you just need to keep yourself with the bank forever. Of course, there are also people who say that the banks are a bunch of vampires, but they have to admit that they have a huge amount of energy in their hands. ”

Yang Wei undoubtedly taught me a good lesson! Maybe I thought I was very smart before, and I was very proud that I could close the smuggling business and unify the underworld, but for this kind of orthodox, mainstream, business and political skills, I really have to humbly bow my head in front of Yang Wei and learn.

You see, I offered to give them 10 million, and in fact they got an unexpected harvest. Because if the company goes bankrupt as planned, the bank gets less. These people only know money! In the West, never expect a bank to talk to you about feelings! And the 10 million I threw out was also a bait! Let them taste the sweetness first, and then they will see that our development is gradually on track, and at the same time, they will expect us to repay the remaining 10 million loans...... At this time, if anyone is against us, it is against the bank! If anyone wants to bring us down...... Then the banks will be afraid that once we fall, they will not be able to repay the remaining 10 million loans...... Therefore, when we encounter difficulties, the bank will help us! This help is not just about lending us money! A lot of official, zhèngfǔ, but also institutions, a lot of big companies...... They all have to sell the face of the bank!! ”

I nodded and sighed, "Makes sense!" ”

"That's just the first aspect I'm talking about. What about the second aspect...... As I said, we're still short of money. So, when the company's development is on track. Not only will I not repay the loan from the bank, but I also plan to borrow more from the bank! Further financing! It's like we're in a quagmire, and I'm going to let the banks sink deeper and deeper into our quagmire! The more they lend us money, the more they will value us in the future! Because we fell. Their loans will suffer! So they did their best to protect us...... And at the same time, why not use the bank's local money to make money for us? ”

After saying this, Yang Wei looked at me and smiled slightly: "My dear, this is the rules of the game in the capitalist world, you must learn these as soon as possible...... Then, have a good 'play' of two here! ”

At this moment, the smile on Yang Wei's face was like a demon dragging a small tail behind him.

"So. What's next for us? I asked.

Yang Wei thought for a while: "Almost, although the bank did not reply to us today, they will definitely accept our request." So the bank is closed. For the time being, it's in the past. Next, in the next few days, we need to meet with the big-name celebrity agents we have the film contract in our hands to have a good talk. ”

"Do you really want to make a movie?" I'm a little excited: "Colin Farrell, Keno Reeves...... Oh, and John Depp. He's one of my favorite actors. ”

"But you'd better be prepared, I'll test that the chance that they're willing to admit to making a film for us is only 0.1 percent." Yang smiled and poured a bucket of cold water on me very simply.

"Oh? Don't we have a piece of the contract?"

"Filmmaking is not a panacea." Yang Wei shook his head: "I never expected to really rely on film appointments to let these big names come to make films for us...... If we do. It's equivalent to offending a few powerful enemies!! For two million dollars for John Depp to make a movie? Hell, he's paid at least $20 million plus a share! Even if he wills, his agent still won't! Agents are all based on the income commission of their actors! John Depp's income is less, which is equal to his agent's income is less...... His agent will hate us to death! And in Hollywood, a big-name agent may sign a lot of big-name stars! If we offend a big-name agent, then it means that we will say goodbye to all the big-name actors under this agent forever! Doing this kind of thing is not worth the loss. ”

"And what are you going to do?"

Next. Yang Wei probably explained to me the rules of the film contract. Even if you sign a film contract, you can break the contract, of course, you have to pay a certain amount of default. Generally speaking, the default amount is about ten times the contract amount.

In fact, after some big-name actors become famous, they will pay to buy back the film contracts they signed before they became famous! Rather pay liquidated damages!

"It's simple...... My dear. Yang Wei couldn't help laughing, she smiled a little strangely: "I saw the film contract we had with Colin Farrell, it was clearly written, and it was written that Colin Farrell was even willing to make a 'naked' performance in the movie." She had a strange face: "Look, that was many years ago!" Colin Farrell was a nobody. In order to have a scene to film, this kind of contract will be signed. But now? Do you think he would still be willing to do nude performances in the movies he makes? Unless you open a sky-high price! ”

I nodded.

"So, my plan doesn't really expect the big names to actually fulfill their contracts to make movies for us. It's just that I want to use these as bargaining chips and negotiate with them. They can pay a default amount to buy back their contract. Yang Wei said.

I thought about it for a moment: "In that case...... How much money will we probably get? ”

Yang Wei quickly took out a notebook and opened it, counted it, and said with a smile: "Colin Farrell is the least, when he signed the contract, it was a salary of 150,000 US dollars." And even if it is tenfold, it is only 1.5 million. But the unfortunate ones are John Depp and Keno Reeves. John Depp's contract is two million dollars a play. And he has to pay liquidated damages, which will be tenfold according to the peace agreement. That's $20 million in compensation. And the most unlucky is Keno Reeves...... He signed three films at the time, six million dollars, and if he doubled tenfold......"

She looked at me and smiled slyly.

I whistled: "Sixty million? Oh, my God. I felt like I was blackmailing. ”

But after thinking about it seriously, I sighed and looked at Yang Wei: "Okay, Yang Wei." Don't play with me! I'm not a fool! Such blackmail, in Hollywood? Such blackmail against the biggest stars of the biggest names in the world? Is this possible? They will definitely resist, and the lawsuit will be fought for a long time! Will they obediently pay tens of millions to us? Even if you are a superstar, you will not feel sorry for such a large amount of money. And, what's the difference between that and what you just said about offending them? We can't do that, we certainly can't. ”

Yang Wei looked at me, with a hint of satisfaction in his eyes, and smiled: "It's really good that you can think like this." ”

I couldn't help but be a little frustrated: "That's it. What to do? These few pieces of contract, but the trump card in our hands! If it doesn't work... (…”

"No, exploitation is definitely going to be exploited." Yang smiled: "Just have to be skillful and powerful." We can talk to their agent. In cases where the legitimacy of the contracts cannot be denied, the only recourse for the other party's broker is to negotiate with us to find a way to cancel these contracts. And we can't really ask them for full liquidated damages! My plan is to ask for less. Even according to the exact amount of the contract, not a penny is asked, and the contract is sold to them. In this way, you can at least get some relationship with them and win their favor...... It doesn't hurt to make two more super big friends, just for Hollywood newcomers like us! At the same time, we can make the most of this to ......"

I suddenly smiled, and without waiting for Yang Wei to say it, I said, "Discuss it with them, and everyone cooperate." Stir-fry? Good note, they want to return their film appointment, we want to return the cost, and at the same time get a fried ...... A few super big names have teamed up with us to stir up! ”

"Yes, this company is actually very good, all the departments that operate are complete, although the sparrow is small, all the internal organs are complete. Moreover, in fact, they originally had their own plans to make films, but later the company became more and more miserable, so they had no money to invest in making movies. Even now, the company has a stock of scripts that were bought that year, and a budget team, and so on. As long as we have the funds, we can start making a movie at any time! Yang smiled: "Of course, we don't have to worry about making movies, we just use this film company to make money...... And at the same time ......"

When Yang Wei said this, she looked at me and said quietly: "Gangwu, with your career development, do you want to use our family's casino to launder money all the time?" That would mean you're putting your lifeblood in my uncle's hands! Now you and my uncle are allies, you are a cooperative relationship...... But if things change one day in the future...... What do you do? You need to have new channels for money laundering! And movies are a very good way to do it! You know, there are seven giants in Hollywood, and one of them has the background of the Italian mafia! ”

When Yang Wei's words came out, I couldn't help but feel a little moved in my heart, and I looked at her deeply, and I didn't know what to say.

She really abandoned her own family's position, and was completely thinking about me!

My heart trembled, there was no doubt that I read something from Yang Wei's eyes that made me feel very heavy! I subconsciously sighed, trying to look away. Fortunately, Yang Wei didn't want to embarrass me, and she quickly adjusted her emotions...... This is really a very wise woman, she is extremely intelligent, but she thinks about me and does not embarrass me.

"Okay, let's think of a solution first." Yang smiled: "Now I want to think about what way to make you make headlines in the entertainment media as soon as possible and in the shortest time!" Well, there aren't a lot of gimmicks to hype up in our company right now, but I think the media seems to be very interested in you, a mysterious investor from the East...... Hmm, I need a gimmick...... A gimmick...... Well...... Gimmick ......"

She looked at me as if she was thinking about how to squeeze the value out of me.

I'm used to Yang Wei smiling like this from time to time. Generally speaking, when she laughs like this, someone is going to be calculated by her.

At that moment, my mobile phone, which I kept in my jacket pocket, rang suddenly......

The phone is a string of unfamiliar numbers, but it is obvious that it is a local number.

Well? I don't remember any friends I had there.

After answering, I just said "hello", and then I heard a soft woman's voice from the other party: "Hi-hello, is this Mr. Chen?" Oh, I wonder if you remember me as a friend? I'm Jessica Alba. I didn't know you were in Hollywood until I read the newspaper, and I wonder if you'd be interested in coming out together for a cup of coffee with an old friend? ”

I was stunned for a moment, but after all, the other party is a beautiful woman, and men are born with a deep memory of beautiful women, so it only took me a second to remember who she was.

"Oh, it's you, Jace." I smiled: "Glad to get your call, well, when did you say ...... Now? I looked at my watch, then looked up at Yang Wei, and I covered my phone.

"Who?"

"Jessica Fafi Alba. The Hollywood actress she met at Sorrin's dinner. I shrugged my shoulders: "She invited me for coffee." ”

Yang Wei suddenly squeezed his eyes at me, lowered his voice and smiled: "Look, the 'gimmick' is coming." ”