In the afternoon, Hugo and Cameron came to the furniture store again, today they came specially to buy a lamp, which was not taken into account before, but in the past two days Hugo found that a lamp was missing from the desk in the study, and the lamp on the bedside table in the bedroom was also broken by two, and needed to be replenished.

Cameron was playing tricks on Hugo with a teddy bear lamp, "Put this on your desk, it will definitely work." "Hugo's study is full of strong bookish atmosphere, and the overall design is also very quaint, obviously the table lamp in front of me is too cute, and the design of the study is completely different.

But Hugo shrugged his shoulders and said with a serious face, "I think so, too, and it is fitting to imagine Leo huddled in the light of a lamp reading a book." This made Cameron laugh very hard, and Hugo looked Cameron up and down, and then said, "Actually, it is also very suitable for you, or it can be regarded as your exclusive desk lamp when you are studying in the study...... Oh, I forgot about it, you don't read. ”

"Hey, Hugo!" Cameron stomped his foot in annoyance, looked down at the lamp in his hand again, and then looked at the serious expression on Hugo's face, which made her angry, "Don't think I don't dare, I really bought it!" ”

Hugo tried to hold back a smile, raised his eyebrows, and looked like "listen to everything", which made Cameron depressed. At this moment, a voice came from the side to relieve Cameron, "If it's a young lady, this lamp is very suitable, but if it is paired with Mr., it looks a little ......" and then the latter words were deliberately hidden, with a mocking expression.

Looking back at the voice, it was a completely unfamiliar face, Hugo couldn't help but be stunned, the other party seemed to have expected Hugo's reaction, met Hugo's gaze, and took the initiative to stretch out his right hand, "Good afternoon, Mr. Lancaster, Miss Diaz, I'm Mike Figgis." After shaking hands with the two of them, he also raised his hands to show his innocence, "Don't worry, I don't have any connection with the paparazzi." ”

Mike Figgis, director and writer of "Away from Las Vegas."

Hugo's eyes widened a little before he reacted, "Hey, Mike, nice to meet you." Hugo looked around, it was still a slightly quiet furniture store, and the clerk didn't even notice that the famous Hugo was in the store, and there was no commotion, "So, you're here for ......?" ”

It's obviously not a casual place to meet Hollywood colleagues, and it's Mike, who first met a few days ago, and then Mike's "away from the casino" appeared on Hugo's desk. The two had never met before, and they met again in such a short period of time, which made people feel that it was too much of a coincidence.

"Mattresses, I'm here to buy a mattress." Mike seemed to sense Hugo's suspicions and explained in a loud voice.

Hugo was still a little confused, but he didn't think much about it, "This is a big project, and if you have a partner, then it's even more important." "In general, when buying a mattress, women are always more sensitive and demanding. Of course, this is just a general situation.

Mike understood the meaning of Hugo's words, smiled and nodded, "I'm just the vanguard, and the follow-up work will still be handed over to my wife." After saying that, Mike also turned his gaze to Cameron, as if to imply that Cameron was Hugo's companion, which caused both Cameron and Hugo to laugh a little confused.

Mike didn't dwell on the topic, but continued, "Did I tell you that I really liked 'Before Sunrise'?" Although I know you've surely heard many of the same words......"

"No, no, there's not many people mentioned 'before sunrise.'" Hugo waved his hand again and again, smiled and said, "You know, this movie is not my best work at the box office. The words made Mike laugh, and the laughter directly broke the silence in the furniture store, and the scattered customers around cast dissatisfied eyes, and Mike put away his smile a little embarrassed.

"I love 'Before Sunrise,' in fact, I watched it four times and was very impressed with the lines. Being able to weave the plot through the lines and create the characters is amazing for a long, long time since Hollywood has seen such a great work. Mike didn't hesitate to praise himself, but it made Hugo a little uncomfortable.

After some politeness, Mike glanced at Cameron standing next to him, "Sorry, I'm interrupting your time, I think I'd better leave space for the two of you." And, I'm on a mission today, too, aren't I? Then, Mike added, "We'll talk more about it next time we meet, and I hope you all have a good day." Then he took his leave.

Hugo thought it was a little strange, could it be that Mike came up to greet him just to praise "before sunrise"? But Cameron obviously felt that Hugo was thinking too much, "Maybe he just saw you and came over to be polite." Otherwise, you notice him, only to find that he didn't come to say hello, which is rude. ”

After Hugo and Cameron returned to the villa, Joseph, who was on the phone, beckoned Hugo to hurry up and said into the receiver, "Talk to Hugo yourself." Then he handed the phone to Hugo, and he himself shouted to Samora, who was in the kitchen, "Don't prepare afternoon tea, you know I'm controlling my weight!" ”

"Then you don't want to eat it." Hugo smiled at Joseph and said, which provoked Joseph's angry and tangled expression, which made Hugo laugh, and he took the phone, "Rick, what's wrong?" ”

"It's okay, it's a little thing, you just came back, I'll tell you directly." Rick's voice was relaxed, "Die Hard 3 is holding a small celebration party and invites you to attend. ”

"What?" Hugo looked surprised, "Why did you invite me?" He has nothing to do with the crew of "Die Hard 3".

Rick's chuckle came over, "Isn't it obvious that I want to get closer to you." Rick explained simply, "'Die Hard 3' has not reached the North American box office of 70 million now, and it is estimated that it will be very difficult for the North American box office to break 100 million in the end, and their investment in this work is 90 million, so they can only hope that the overseas market will recover the cost, how can they have a celebration banquet now." In fact, it is a publicity occasion, inviting some media, creating some gimmicks, hoping that at least the North American box office can rush again. ”

The final direction of a film's box office is not so simple, which is an important reason why independent films have never been able to compete with major studios.

"They're just trying to let reporters know that there's nothing wrong with you and Twentieth Century Fox." Rick's words are very vague, but Hugo reacts, Tracy Jacobs, the original maker of "Die Hard 3". "And they're actually trying to test your mind and see what your attitude is towards 'staying away from the casino.'"

"This film deserves so much attention from Twentieth Century Fox?" Hugo raised his eyebrows slightly, obviously not convinced.

Instead of answering directly, Rick asked rhetorically, "Do you know how long it has been since Twentieth Century Fox won the Oscars in the main division?" Hugo really didn't know this, "Since 1987's 'Wall Street' won the best actor, they haven't touched the major departmental awards, not even a nomination, the last time they got the main nomination was 1988's 'Flying Forward', Tom's Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay." ”

Hugo's eyes widened in surprise, he had no idea that Twentieth Century Fox could be so pitiful. In the past two years, works such as "Speed of Life and Death", "True Lies", and "My Fair Daddy" released by 20th Century Fox have achieved brilliant box office results, which can be described as booming. But behind this brilliance, they were completely ignored by the academy.

"Kevin Pence is quite focused on 'staying away from the casino' this time, because in his next blueprint, Twentieth Century Fox must not only maintain a stable box office, but also make a breakthrough in terms of awards. So, he showed up in person on the day you moved, and the reasons are complicated, but the main thing is to see how you react to the script. Hugo was relieved by Rick's explanation, and he had wondered how it was unreasonable for a small script to attract the attention of the CEO of Twentieth Century Fox.

But now it seems that "staying away from the casino" is only part of a huge plan, and a big man of Kevin Pence's level naturally has a different vision.

"I met Mike Figes when I was in the furniture store just now, and he said he was going to buy a mattress......" Hugo remembered what had just happened, and said in passing.

Rick's laughter came clearly through the earpiece, "Hugo, Figes is British, he lives in London, he has no fixed assets in Los Angeles. ”

It dawned on Hugo that it seemed that Mike Figgis was also targeting him, and buying a mattress was just an excuse. These people really took great pains to "stay away from the casino" project.

"And, I suspect Kevin has other plans." Rick added, "I think 'stay away from the casinos' is just an add-on, his real plan should be a big guy, I found out that Twentieth Century Fox now has a project with a budget of over $70 million, but they haven't leaked much information internally." I think he went to great lengths to invite you to attend, perhaps with a long-term plan. ”

Hugo didn't care about what Rick said later, because the matter didn't have a clear context, and he naturally couldn't make a judgment, so he still focused on the choice of "staying away from the casino" and "walking on death row" in front of him.

"Away from the casino" is a good shade under the big tree, relying on the frequent activities of Twentieth Century Fox's connections; So is the helpless "death row prisoner strolling" going to sit still? Obviously, Tim Robbins has no intention of doing so.