Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 1054 Just in Time
When December 8th arrived, Hideki Hanyu bid farewell to Jennifer Connelly and left the house in Humboldt.

To be precise, this house now belongs to Jennifer Connelly.

After all, when it comes to material things, a scumbag never goes back on his word.

Even if this house were priced as much as Jennifer's earnings from several movies, it would still be worth more.

Even so, Jennifer Connelly was still not satisfied.

This doesn't refer to material aspects, but rather to a desire to make further progress in other areas.

For example, at the Maple Manor party that Hideki Hanyu is hosting tonight, Jennifer Connelly is pestering Hideki Hanyu to attend as his date.

Then, unsurprisingly, he was rejected by Hideki Hanyu.

Sometimes, he prefers women to be more direct.

But sometimes, he felt that it was better for women to know their limits.

……

At night, at the Red Maple Manor, Hideki Hanyu's party officially began.

As the saying goes, "He converses with learned scholars and has no uncultured people among his acquaintances."

Nowadays, guests eligible to attend Hideki Hanyu's parties are no longer ordinary people.

The entire Red Maple Manor was filled with celebrities and dignitaries from Los Angeles, and even guests who had traveled from other places.

Ordinary celebrities are merely embellishments at this party.

However, such parties are nothing new to Hideki Hanyu. The reason he holds them every time he comes to Los Angeles is simply to maintain his social connections.

After all, while he wants to make friends with others, he also wants to give others the opportunity to make friends with him.

Moreover, you might receive an unexpected surprise in such a setting.

However, to Hideki Hanyu's disappointment, the party did not bring him any surprises.

With the party over, Hideki Hanyu's time in Los Angeles is now counting down.

December 9th, Sunday.

Hideki Hanyu went to Universal Pictures to discuss work with Alan Horn and also to check on the box office performance of "Home Alone".

Today is the last day of the opening weekend for "Home Alone." Hollywood box office figures aren't as fast-paced as they are in later years.

However, as the distribution company, Universal Pictures is still the first to receive approximate box office figures.

Alan Horn picked up a summary report and handed it to Hideki Hanyu, saying, "According to the rough estimate, the combined box office for Friday and Saturday has probably exceeded seventeen million dollars."

Based on this trend, our opening weekend box office could very well exceed $20 million.

“Very beautiful numbers,” Hideki Hanyu praised.

"It's fantastic. Whether it's box office revenue or occupancy rate, we've achieved the highest number in the same time slot."

The boss's fans are incredibly enthusiastic. According to the distribution department's survey, the number of moviegoers driven by the fans accounts for almost 80% of the total audience.

Driven by book fans, the film has sparked an unprecedented craze.

If this initial box office projection holds true, Home Alone's total North American box office could very well exceed $300 million.

Even if the box office is slightly lower, we can still be certain of winning this year's box office champion.

Alan Horn's tone was quite proud.

After all, he should be proud of the achievements he made in his first year as CEO of a major studio.

Hideki Hanyu, however, poured some cold water on the idea, saying, "It won't be so easy next year. Other studios won't just watch us succeed one after another."

Although many industry insiders believe that Hollywood in the 1990s was not as good as Hollywood during the so-called golden age of the 1920s to 1960s.

But in retrospect, the 1990s were actually the beginning of Hollywood's peak.

With the fall of its big brother, America's power has soared to become the world's number one power, and Hollywood, as one of its cultural icons, has been exported to the world along with the country's growing strength.

Ironically, it was during this period that Hollywood independent films flourished and special effects in large-scale industrial films matured, helping Hollywood films, from art films to commercial films, to enter a period of great development.

The film industry saw a flourishing of creative genres, with many classic works familiar to overseas film fans originating from the 1990s.

During this period, the major Hollywood studios were relatively evenly matched, making it difficult to say who was the absolute number one.

Universal Pictures, relying on the films that Hideki Hanyu had built up for Cloud Pictures, caught its Hollywood counterparts off guard. But once everyone realized what was happening, they would inevitably have to secretly join forces to fight against Universal Pictures.

Even Hideki Hanyu would find this situation troublesome.

Therefore, Universal Pictures' situation outside of film production will definitely not be as good as it was this year next year.

Therefore, Hideki Hanyu had to prepare Alan Horn in advance to prevent his CEO from being negligent and being targeted by competitors.

"Don't worry, boss, I'm not a newbie who just entered Hollywood."

Alan Horn clearly took Hideki Hanyu's words to heart.

Hideki Hanyu was relieved after hearing this.

After all, the person in front of us is someone who has proven his abilities in history, and his abilities are absolutely worthy of recognition.

After discussing box office figures, Hideki Hanyu immediately moved on to other topics.

The content doesn't need to be detailed; it's nothing more than some future plans for Global and assessments of certain projects.

Having traveled to the present day, Hideki Yuzuru has come to understand a principle: as the company grows larger, it is less likely that he can rely on his advantages as a transmigrator to arbitrarily command the company.

Because a large company can grow and operate stably, it naturally has an internal logic that supports it.

Trying to distort this logic recklessly will often backfire.

Therefore, Hideki Hanyu rarely interferes with the operations of his large subsidiaries unless the decision is significant enough to influence the future development path.

The two chatted for a long time, and even ate lunch in the office.

When the afternoon came, Hideki Hanyu, who had spent the day "answering questions" for Alan Horn, bid farewell and left.

However, just as Alan Horn dropped him off at the parking lot, he ran into Fred Webber, who was getting out of his car.

"Boss, it's so great to meet you here. It saves me the trouble of going to Red Maple Manor myself."

Fred Weber approached Hideki Hanyu as he spoke, and then greeted Alan Horn.

Hideki Hanyu asked curiously, "What are you doing at Red Maple Manor looking for me?"

Fred Webber replied, "Didn't the boss bring those two neon actresses with him?"

Upon hearing this, Hideki Hanyu knew exactly what Fred Webber was talking about.

"Did you find suitable roles for them?"

"Yes, I thought about it for a long time and felt that instead of looking for scripts, it would be better to create a role for them, so after careful consideration..."

Seeing that Fred Weber was about to give a detailed answer, Hideki Hanyu quickly raised his hand to interrupt him.

“This isn’t the place to talk, and you might as well talk to them directly instead of me. How about this, let’s find a place to have a drink and then have a serious chat, since it seems like the three of us haven’t gotten together privately in a long time.”

After Hideki Hanyu finished speaking, Alan Horn said, "Boss, I still have some work to do..."

But before Hideki Hanyu could refuse, he preemptively said, "Allen, never use work as an excuse. Work can be done anytime, but I'm not in Los Angeles every day."

Upon hearing this, Alan Horn could only helplessly shrug and say, "Alright, whatever you say."

Hideki Hanyu then looked at Fred Webber.

Fred Weber immediately replied, "I have no problem with that."

"Then let's set off. You can decide the destination, since I'm not familiar with this area."

At Hideki Hanyu's command, the three of them got into his car and then found a quiet restaurant.

On the way, Hideki Hanyu didn't forget to call Kanako Higuchi and Chikako Aoyama, asking them to come directly to the restaurant to meet them.

Today, the two women met with an agent provided by New Century Agency, arranged by their company. Then, the agent led them to the film set for a visit and learning experience, all in order to integrate into the Hollywood filming environment as quickly as possible.

Upon hearing from Hideki Hanyu that Fred Webber had already found roles for them, the two women naturally rushed over from the film set.

Just as Hideki Hanyu and his two companions were having a pleasant conversation, Kanako Higuchi and Chikako Aoyama appeared, accompanied by the manager from New Century Entertainment.

He was a middle-aged man in his forties, who looked quite capable.

Upon entering the restaurant, the first thing the other party did was greet Hideki Hanyu and his companions, and then introduce themselves.

According to the other party, he had previously served as Sheryl Finn's agent.

Hideki Hanyu didn't care about this, he just told them to take good care of Kanako Higuchi and Chikako Aoyama.

After Fred Webber invited the two women to sit down, he began to explain the role assignments to them.

Fred Weber first pushed a document in front of Kanako Higuchi and asked her questions.

Have you ever watched Anne & Alina?

Kanako Higuchi quickly replied, "I've seen it."

Kanako Higuchi wanted to test the waters in Hollywood, so she would naturally learn about the situation there in advance. As a commercial film produced by Universal Pictures that grossed over $100 million at the North American box office this year, she must have heard of "Anne & Alina".

"Good to know. The sequel to Anne & Alina is now in the works. I contacted director Peter Jackson today and convinced him that if your performance meets the requirements, he can make a special change for a supporting character in the story."

If you have no objections, I need you to meet with director Peter Jackson tomorrow and get his approval.

"I have no problem."

Higuchi Kanako answered somewhat impatiently.

She would have to be crazy to refuse a sequel to a commercially successful film that grossed over 100 million yuan.

Fred Webber looked at his agent beside him, “You help her contact director Peter Jackson. He should be quite familiar with New Century.”

The agent replied, "Yes, Mr. Fred."

Next, Fred Weber pushed another document in front of Chikako Aoyama.

Do you need me to introduce Need for Speed ​​to you?

Chikako Aoyama replied, "I don't need you, sir. I've seen this movie in Japan."

"Great, I've assigned you a role in Need for Speed."

Director Michael Bay doesn't require an audition; he'll directly agree to let you join the cast.

But since filming has already begun, you need to go to Europe immediately.

Moreover, since it's a temporary role, the screen time is limited, and there's no guarantee how much will remain after the film's release. But at least it will allow you to get used to working on a Hollywood set, making it easier for me to make other arrangements later.

Fred Weber's words surprised Hideki Hanyu, who was standing next to him.

It is clear that Fred Webber's arrangement for Chikako Aoyama was better than that for Kanako Higuchi.

It seems like nothing is guaranteed, but there's no need for an audition, and there are subsequent guarantees.

As for why Fred Webber did this, Hideki Hanyu can probably guess the reason.

These Asian actresses need to have something to offer that makes them stand out in Hollywood.

Kanako Higuchi's acting skills seem better than Chikako Aoyama's, but that's exactly what Hollywood needs last.

Looking at Aoyama Chikako's strengths, Hideki Habu's gaze couldn't help but fall on her most formidable feature.

This advantage is certainly enough; no wonder Michael Bay didn't even need an audition before agreeing to let Chikako Aoyama join the cast.

Fred Webber quickly explained the roles to the two women.

One of the women needed to prepare for an audition, and the other needed to book the fastest flight to Europe, so they both said goodbye to Hideki Hanyu and left with their managers.

Hideki Hanyu didn't care at all about this.

After all, he's a fickle and unfaithful man. Even if the two women were fun with him for a few days, he got tired of them eventually.

Now that I'm in Hollywood, I naturally want to try something new.

So after his get-together with Fred Webber and Alan Horn, the scumbag drove straight to Sheryl Finn.

This beauty, who has the face of a Hollywood Golden Age actress, doesn't have a very long blooming period. Hideki Hanyu naturally wants to enjoy her while she's still beautiful.

Silent all night.

The date has arrived: December 10th.

This was also Hideki Hanyu's last day in Los Angeles.

After attending the premiere, engaging in social activities, and discussing work with Alan Horn, plus Fred Webber helping Chikako Aoyama and Kanako Higuchi secure their roles.

Hideki Hanyu really had nothing to do in Los Angeles.

In addition, he had a lot of things to deal with in Japan, so his trip to America was naturally better done as quickly as possible.

So at noon that day, he boarded the Cloud Flight and flew directly to the east coast of America, arriving in New York in the evening.

Over the next two days, Hideki Hanyu, with the help of an academic publisher, held the global launch ceremony for the picture book "Home Alone 2: Merry Christmas" in New York.

Hideki Hanyu didn't have time to care about the enthusiastic feedback from fans or the subsequent sales statistics, because he immediately went to Washington, D.C., to attend an event hosted by the American Library Association.

After a busy two-day trip to the East Coast, Hideki Hanyu met briefly with Karl Mapu before embarking on his journey back to Japan.

The morning of December 15th, Japanese time.

The "Cloud Flight" landed at Haneda International Airport, and Hideki Hanyu, having concluded his brief trip to America, returned to Tokyo.

As soon as he stepped out of the airport and got into the car, his assistant, Akemi Yasukawa, who had picked him up, reported to Hideki Hanyu.

"Mr. Yuzuru, Itochu Corporation is currently holding a board meeting, where they will decide on the new chairman."

"Great, it seems I've come back just in time."

(End of this chapter)