Leaving the marina area, Duke drove the sports car towards Beverly Hills, this Maserati sports car he just bought some time ago, sports cars do not meet his aesthetics and needs, but according to Pani? Kelis's plan, throughout the promotional period of Chicago, he and Catherine? Zeta? Jones has to keep a relatively high profile.

For the huge investment of $25 million, and in order to ensure that the commercial performance of "Chicago" is not too bad, Duke once again stepped forward to act as one of the publicity points, as he did on "Independence Day".

Zeta on the co-pilot? Jones was still thinking about the yacht, "When I first came out, I heard that Cruise initialed an agreement with Saintsk, and you don't plan to talk to the princess company personally?" ”

"Don't be in a hurry, dear." Duke hit the brakes and the car stopped at a red light, "Even if the contract is signed now, it will be a long time before the yacht is in place." ”

He didn't plan to talk about it in person, but wanted to let Tina later? Faye or Nancy? Josephson's men went to contact each other, the yacht was worth a lot of money, and the two sides had room for bargaining.

Duke is not one of those big-handed and unrestrained Hollywood stars, he comes from a standard business family and will not sacrifice practical interests for the sake of so-called face.

The car is back in motion, Zeta? Jones looked at the time and said, "The auction is going to be in the evening, shall we go to dinner first?" ”

"Yes." Duke has no objection to this.

{

In the evening, there was a large auction in Beverly Hills, aimed at Hollywood celebrities, and a red carpet was set up in front of the Hilton Hotel, which was the focus of entertainment media attention. Kelis's Built, Duke and Zeta? Jones is also going to be there, at least by showing up on the red carpet or buying a lot.

Maserati enters the range of Beverly Hills. Duke went straight to Mr. Chow's restaurant, which, like Planet Hollywood, is a frequented spot for Hollywood stars, and there's no shortage of paparazzi and entertainment reporters. Jones parked the car not far into the door, and the flash flashed at least a dozen times.

Build momentum for the film. It is a heavy and systematic work, and it is also a necessary work, and if there is no publicity or the publicity period is too short, the possibility of selling well is infinitely low.

Mr. Zhou's restaurant can be bigger and popular with Westerners, and it is conceivable that its dishes from the selection of ingredients to cooking to the distribution of meals are actually just Chinese and Western dishes with a little oriental style, let alone the current era, even if it is another 20 years. Without Westernized foreign catering, it is difficult to grow in this country.

In fact, this is also a common practice in the East and the West, whether it is Chinese food or Western food, except for a very small number of people, the original food flows into the other country, and the vast majority of people still think it is a delicacy after eating it.

As always, Duke and Zeta? Jones only ate a small amount of dinner and quickly walked out of Mr. Zhou's restaurant. In the flashing lights of the paparazzi, I drove towards the Hilton Hotel.

The two did not go to the red carpet in front of the main entrance of the hotel. The current outfit is completely unsuitable for that occasion, but enter the hotel through the side door, come to the pre-booked room on the 11th floor, and change into Tina? Fei sent the dress in the morning, and went downstairs to the front of the hotel and walked on the red carpet of the auction.

There are quite a few celebrities attending this auction. Just from the huge number of hundreds of reporters and paparazzi on both sides of the red carpet, it can be seen that Duke is holding Catherine? Zeta? Jones, walking the red carpet in the flash, also gave special interviews to several reporters, and avoided answering questions about their relationship. Constantly mentioning the collaborative work "Chicago", and doing everything possible to promote the new film.

"These guys are really hard to deal with."

Entering the lobby of the Hilton Hotel, Duke let out a sigh of relief, "I'll go crazy if I happen a few more times like this." ”

Zeta? Jones immediately had a little grumbling on his face, "Is it unbearable to be with me?" ”

"How so, dear." Duke took her by his arm and walked towards the auction room, "You know how much I like you. ”

"yes, I know." Zeta? Jones followed Duke's footsteps and deliberately increased his strength by holding his hand, "You love me as much as I love you, right?" ”

Duke smiled noncommittally and led her into the auction room.

The auction took place in the form of a dinner party, dozens of tables were arranged in a staggered manner in the large banquet hall, and as Duke walked along the wide passage between the tables, he suddenly found a familiar person and simply walked straight over.

"Hi, Leo."

He turned to the other party's front and took the initiative to say hello, "When are you back in Los Angeles?" ”

"Hello, Duke."

Leonardo? When DiCaprio saw that it was Duke, he immediately stood up and said hello, Duke for him and Catherine? Zeta? Jones made an introduction, and Leonardo couldn't help but squeeze his eyes at him, leaned over and whispered, "Another one?" ”

"Where's your girlfriend?" Duke directly changed the subject, "Did you come by yourself?" ”

"With someone else, but not a woman." As soon as Leonardo's words fell, a middle-aged Jewish man walked from behind Duke's side, "Duke, I didn't expect to meet you here." ”

"Hello, Ino."

The person who greeted was Ino, one of the CAA giants? Martin, Duke saw him and became interested, pointing to the two empty seats at this table, "Is there anyone here?" ”

"That's up to the organizers." Leonardo shrugged.

Zeta? Jones immediately beckoned to the staff, and after a brief coordination, she and Duke switched seats and sat on the side.

"Leao has terminated his contract with William Morris."

After sitting down, Ino? Martin took the initiative and said, "Now he has signed with me. ”

"Congratulations, Eno, on signing a Berlinale actor." Duke turned his head, "Do you need me to congratulate you on signing with CAA?" ”

"Duke, you know." Leonardo smiled and said, "I'm on your side." ”

Ino? Martin laughed too, "We're all on one side, aren't we?" ”

Their common interests and common enemies also contributed to their temporary front alliance.

While waiting for the auction to begin, Duke asked about Leonardo's new job, "Have you been to Baja California lately?" How's the progress over there? When will you join the crew? ”

"It's been very slow." Leonardo clasped his hands to his chest, seemingly helpless. "I just went there half a month ago, and I talked to director Cameron and the producer, and the specific start time of the film has not yet been decided."

"Still undecided?" Duke asked curiously, "It's been almost two years of preparation, right?" ”

"Don't you know?"

Eno who opened his mouth this time? Martin, he said, "It's all around the world right now." Twentieth Century Fox and Paramount Pictures have invested more than $100 million in Cameron's project, but he is still chasing Fox to ask for more investment, Fox has just invested heavily in the sequel to "Life and Death", and it seems that the funding is very difficult, and Paramount Pictures no longer trusts Cameron. ”

Duke nodded, "I see." ”

Twentieth Century Fox is having funding difficulties? They haven't paid him a share of "Saving Private Ryan" yet, and the deadline for the contract is the end of June, so it seems like there's a chance to intervene?

Two years have passed since the film was prepared, and the payback period has been much shorter. The most important thing is that he now has enough money on hand, and that money is in Fox's hands for the time being.

Now is not the time to think about these issues, the thought crossed Duke's mind, and he returned to the auction.

The auction soon began, focusing on art and luxury brand jewelry, obviously for Hollywood's wealthy and elegant stars, and at the front, the most hyped paintings.

"$500,000!"

"$700,000!"

"$1.5 million!"

It's an oil painting that Duke hasn't even heard of by the author. After the efforts of the organizers, the new upstart Will? Smith pocketed for $1.5 million.

A few famous paintings followed. Both fetched a lot of money, but Duke and Eno? Martin didn't have any intention of making a move.

The origins of the two determine that they can see many things that Hollywood people can't see, such as behind art auctions, especially behind those so-called famous paintings.

Auction houses, collectors and some companies have joined forces to speculate on the market, selling up the works of painters who have little real value. Attract the up-and-coming nouveau riche to the industry and harvest the wool......

And the Hollywood stars who are stupid and like to use foreign objects to improve their style are their favorite customers, once they get into the habit of collecting famous paintings, it is even more terrifying than being infected with gambling addiction. The lot of money will soon be lost, and when they want to realize the famous paintings in their hands and find another pick-up man, they will find out how high the actual value of these paintings is.

Of course, the Western collectors and auction houses like to pit the richest in the newly rising countries.

Duke heard his mother mention that in the 80s, when the land price in Tokyo could buy the whole of the United States, Japanese companies continued to buy a large number of artworks hyped by Europe and the United States at sky-high prices.

In fact, like the mentality of the Japanese, most Hollywood stars get up from the bottom, and when they have money, they often get carried away, and they especially like to pretend to be somewhere, and the consequence of pretending too much is to be slaughtered as a fat sheep.

There are also sky-high jewelry prices of luxury brands, which often unite with celebrities to make a fortune, and there is no less greasy in them than in Hollywood.

But this kind of thing is willing to fight and suffer, and no one else can say anything.

The auction is over, walk out of the auction hall, Duke and Zeta? Jones had no intention of leaving, and took the elevator to the upstairs room, and it was not the first time that the two had ever had a relationship, and this temporary relationship would sometimes have more in-depth exchanges.

Zeta? Jones's figure is not out of shape, it is the most glamorous and sexy time, and she always changes her tricks to please Duke, and sometimes uses some incredible means and postures, showing good dancing skills, many times can make people want to stop.

After relaxing, he thought about the auction again and decided to give it a try. (To be continued......) R1292