my gilded age

Chapter 355 "Trevor" and Universal, a pretentious battle

California, Universal Studios.

The scale of this movie theater is very huge. It is located in the northwest of Los Angeles. To put it simply, it was a suburb back then, but now it is famous.

To be honest, in terms of the size of the place, Hengdian is actually no worse than here, or even much bigger. However, too many classic movies were born here, and the literary and artistic aspects are profound.

To be honest, I mean, rest on your laurels.

Bai Shiqiu is here now. He is not here for fun. Although he wants to have fun, he still restrains himself. He is here with someone else, that old drunkard Keaton.

"Hey! This way."

"You old drunkard, are you reliable?"

"Boss, don't worry, they are such a big company, at least they have strength."

Keaton led the way, as steady as an old dog.

I received a call from Keaton in Hawaii earlier, telling him that there seemed to be movement on the brick.

That's the story about Trevor that Bai Shiqiu told Keaton when they were on vacation last year.

Old Trevor, this guy is really interesting. Keaton, an old guy, was not only very interested after hearing this, but also wanted to get rid of the basic structure of the story. This guy started thinking about it when he went back. He found a guy who was very popular in Hollywood. An ordinary screenwriter named Colin Stewart has some writing skills and a literary heart, but he has never been able to get away with it.

Stewart is good at describing the feelings after taking drugs. He said that he would use poetic words to write about the wonderful feeling. As a result... he was so happy last night that he went out to take drugs again and was sent to the hospital today.

Some things here in the United States are really full of surprises.

But the script was okay. After all, the main story framework was already there, and the character settings were all complete. It was written in an American style. When old Keaton got the script, he was fascinated by it.

Once the script comes out, then according to normal procedures, that is, the general practice in Hollywood in the United States, after the script comes out, it is put up for auction. There is a relatively mature script market here, and there is also a screenwriters union.

Hollywood screenwriters are very interesting, and there are many legends.

Speaking of this matter, it's really a coincidence. Bai Shiqiu also knows something about it, so our country's movies have the "Seven Gentlemen's Letter", and in Hollywood, there was the "Ten Gentlemen Case" back then.

These ten people, it would be very long if they all had their names written down. To put it simply, the United States was engaged in McCarthyism. These ten people and ten screenwriters were accused. They were members of the G Party, and Hollywood was If the Soviet Union is infiltrated, the United States will not be a country.

Don’t doubt it, this is real history. The level of chaos at that time was unimaginable to many people. It was so chaotic that everyone was in danger.And one of them is particularly famous, this man is called Trumbo.

A series of classic movie scripts such as "Roman Holiday" and "Spartacus" were all written by him, but he couldn't use Trumbo's name at the time, so when he accepted the Oscar for Best Screenplay... It's a classic scene.

These are all old stories. Now this trend may or may not have passed, or it may have just changed its direction and pointed it at China, but the Americans still want to make money from China. It can be described as a love-hate relationship. Bar.

In fact, this is the current attitude of Hollywood towards China. On the one hand, it looks down upon us. It is the chain of contempt Bai Shiqiu mentioned at the Academy Awards. On the other hand, it also thinks that the Chinese market is very good and is trying every possible means to exploit it. Open, taste the sweetness.

We have actually won a round at the WTO, and more and more Hollywood movies are being imported into China.

Now, Bai Shiqiu wants to do the opposite, he wants to enter Hollywood.

The story of Old Trevor was written into a script and given a very damn vulgar name, "Trevor."

Stewart, who wrote the script, is definitely a patient with naming disorder, but naming the script after a person's name is in line with the characteristics of a popular Hollywood movie... the biography genre.

Biographical films are relatively easy to win Oscars among films. The name may also be related to Keaton. The old guy may be trying to make a comeback through this script.

It was auctioned in the market, and the response was not very good, but many people still gave it a certain amount of praise after watching it. In addition, this is a movie brought by Keaton, and the old guy has some connections after all.

As a result, this attracted the interest of a large company, especially since this company also heard about the story behind the script.

Universal Pictures is one of the eight major film companies in Hollywood. At this time, the eight major film companies seem to have some problems, and Universal Pictures is no exception.

Last year, many of the company's films were completely lost. The most bizarre Lunar New Year release also cost them a lot of money. The most expensive one was "Fake Gods 2". This film was both box office and word-of-mouth. The movie was so popular that it invested a lot in publicity and distribution. After all, despite the good performance of the first movie, no one expected it to be so miserable.

"Is it because they fell in love with my story?"

"correct."

Bai Shiqiu was surprised to learn that Universal Pictures had chosen "Trevor".

However, since it is a big company with such a rich background, then we men should give it a try and come and meet them.

Keaton was very familiar with Universal Studios. This guy led the way, and the two of them soon arrived at the headquarters of Universal Studios.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"of course."

The girl at the front desk is very iconic, an absolute American girl, and this old guy Keaton is still lustful and flirting with others.

Bai Shiqiu felt a chill. These foreigners were ten times better at messing around with men and women than he was.

Arriving at an office, the two people sat down.

"Please wait here for a moment." The girl returned her wink and left.

Bai Shiqiu looked at Keaton. The old guy was in high spirits at this time, as if he had returned to the rich man Batman was.

Forget it, do as the locals do.

But wait, wait, wait...

"You're not fucking fooling me, are you?"

"Boy White, you have to be patient."

Waiting and waiting again...

"Fake! Damn it! What are you doing!"

"Haha...Old guy, you have to be patient."

This time, Old Keaton couldn't stand it anymore, he had persuaded Bai Shiqiu to come.

"Damn it, I can't bear it anymore! I'm going to kill them!"

"Don't be impatient."

It was Bai Shiqiu's turn to persuade old Keaton, but this time, he felt a little bit wrong...

Fortunately, we didn’t wait too long and someone finally came.

"Hi! I'm Ron, Batman, haha... By the way, you must be White, you are really... you are a bit strong."

The person who came in had a high hairline and a short and chubby figure, but the suit he wore didn't look cheap, and the cuffs were all made of pearl cufflinks.

Keaton's expression immediately changed, he was very enthusiastic, and it was completely impossible to see the angry state of this guy before.

Bai Shiqiu finished talking about Ron, and stretched out his hand to shake him. He had to be polite, but emphasized: "My surname is Bai. You can call me White, but Bai is Bai."

"OK, Mr. 'Bye'..."

Damn, forget it.

"It's still White." Bai Shiqiu had no choice but to accept his English name silently.

Bai, they always pronounce it poorly, or they lengthen it intentionally, or they pronounce it as "Bai En", but in fact they pronounce it as "Bai En".

Although this Ron made Bai Shiqiu and Keaton wait for a long time, he was very cheerful and cheerful when he arrived.

"Let's talk about this "Trevor" thing."

Keaton immediately said with a smile: "Of course, we are here just for her. What we want is..."

Before he could finish speaking, Ron immediately said: "Script, 30 US dollars, and Universal will buy it out. How about that?"

It's really a quick talk.

When Keaton heard this, he looked very unhappy. "Haha..." Bai Shiqiu laughed on the side.

Of course Ron noticed it immediately, "Mr. White, do you think this condition is not good?"

Bai Shiqiu didn't say much. He simply patted Keaton on the shoulder and said, "Old man, let's go."

"..." Keaton was dumbfounded at the time.

Obviously, what are you up to White boy?

I came here today to invest. This kind of thing is the same in China and the United States. In fact, this investment is not just money. If it is money, Baek Shi Qiu is confident that he can make a movie in the United States. He now has the strength .

This investment consists more of other things, such as connections and relationships.

Hollywood is also about relationships, and it's very about relationships. Let alone Baek Shi-qiu, a foreigner, even an American, if he doesn't have some strong relationships, there's no way he can get involved here. Of course, if he doesn't have some, then just build some. , such as in bed, or some PY transactions.

Keaton deeply understands this truth, so he showed off his acting skills and changed his face directly. But why is Bai Shiqiu so impatient?
"Mr. White, if you want to leave, please go ahead." Ron's hairline was shining brightly.

At this time, Bai Shiqiu smiled and said to him: "Brother, do you know? What you are doing now, in Chinese terms, is to show off!"

Pretentious, yes, Bai Shiqiu used these two words in Mandarin.

"..." Ron was naturally confused.

So did Keaton Sr.

When Bai Shiqiu saw it, he knew that he used the word "pretend" well. This foreigner couldn't understand it at all, so that was great. He then said in English: "It's very fake, you know?"

Such directness really shocked Keaton, and Ron's expression changed.

Bai Shiqiu didn't care, "We Chinese pay attention to honesty when we do business, which is sincerity, and we don't like fake things. What you just did was too fake! You made the two of us wait for so long before, you are very busy, it's okay. But what did you just give? Sincerity? Farke!"

This sentence is even more powerful.

Ron was even angry, "Mr. White, you..."

But before he finished speaking, Bai Shiqiu immediately rushed over and said, "You think I don't know what you think? The book "Trevor" is worth 30 dollars? Let me tell you, I am not short of the 30 dollars, you know Who am I? My name is Bai Shiqiu, and I am the most popular star in China today, okay?"

As soon as these words came out, it was really overwhelming.

Keaton is already in a semi-paralyzed state. He used to have a temper back then, but after more than ten years, his vigor has dissipated. Yes, if there is a chance to lick the shoes of a big Hollywood boss now, If he can get a role in this way, he will do it.

Even if you want to lick PY... grit your teeth and make it dirty. It must be a male protagonist for such a difficult task, right?

Who would have thought that this guy Bai Shiqiu would have such a bad temper, even more fierce than he did back then.

Ron was a little hesitant. After all, Hollywood didn't know much about China.

Hollywood generally only knows a few names, Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, Wu Yusen, Li An, Gong Li, Zhang Zhiyi, Big Brother Long, Lian Jie, Fa Ge... that's probably them, even Ti Chaowei, they all I can't think of who it is.

However, just because we don’t know, there is a sense of mystery. Bai Shiqiu said that he is the most popular star in China. This matter...

"Do you know "City of Golden Armor"?" Bai Shiqiu saw that Ron was confused by her comments, so of course he chased and beat her. "You open the website and check it out. Now you can check out the movies that are released in China. ..."

"Well, I don't know which website address." Ron said this naturally, but his momentum weakened.

"Do you have a computer?"

Bai Shiqiu knew that he had begun to take control of the situation.

I quickly called up some information. Bai Shiqiu is in the Lunar New Year movie, and has three movies, "The Third Man", "Tough Guys" and "Assembly", and that's all.

There is also translation software in the United States, but you have to pay, and Baek Shi-qiu is on the movie poster. What else is there to say?

"Wow...that's great...unexpectedly..." Ron was amazed, even shocked, and finally apologized quickly, "I'm really sorry, I was the one who neglected Mr. White."

The attitude changed immediately... Hollywood values ​​​​money, and now Hollywood is trying every means to develop in China. For a big star like Bai Shiqiu, it's strange that Ron doesn't look up to him.

However, this guy Ron didn't give it in vain, "Mr. White, now I can confirm that you are a big star in China, but this is Hollywood, and this is North America. What about your box office appeal? Besides, this is not the case with us. How much does it matter what we're talking about about Trevor?"

This guy is difficult to deal with...Bai Shiqiu already knew it in his heart.

Keaton also felt worried, Ron was very clear-minded.

But Bai Shiqiu was very calm and laughed, "Why doesn't it matter? When "Trevor" is made into a film, it will be released in mainland China. Don't you guys at Universal want that?"

When Keaton heard this, his eyes lit up, "Yes! White has such appeal in China, and his participation in this film will help Universal open the Chinese market."

When Ron heard this, it seemed to make sense, so he nodded and then asked: "So, Mr. White, what are your conditions?"

"Blockbuster! I want the budget of a blockbuster, and I want to be involved in it. Of course, I can bring my own team over, and I want to be the director."

To be a director?
"This request is too much..." Ron seemed to want to refuse.

But Bai Shiqiu didn't say anything, and just pulled old Keaton away.

"Wait a minute!" Ron couldn't help it, "Let me make a call. Sorry, I'm going out for a while."

I made a phone call and actually wanted to go out.

"This Ron's level is not low, I didn't lie to you." Keaton only said this.

Bai Shiqiu nodded. In fact, he had done his homework before and knew that Ron was the production manager of Universal. He didn't sound like a big official, but he was actually very powerful.

Why would a guy like this go out and make phone calls?
After waiting for a while, Keaton was a little anxious again, "White, tell me, will the result be..."

"Hey, old guy, you are really old." Bai Shiqiu smiled and said this ambiguously.

After a long time, that Ron finally came back.

"Mr. White, let me ask again, regarding funds..."

Bai Shiqiu took over and said: "I don't need the North American box office. I don't need any salary from my entire team. We only want the box office from the mainland in the future. How about it?"

Bai Shiqiu's statement is similar to technology investment, but directly asking for the mainland box office, this appetite is indeed not small.

It should be said that the inspiration came from the past events between Huayi and Columbia.

But Keaton's palms were sweating at this request.

But Ron made a request at this time, "Mr. White, we saw an interesting thing on the Chinese box office list. The box office of "Assembly" has soared, and it seems that it may challenge the previous high, so... "

Bai Shiqiu laughed and said: "You mean, if our "Assembly" sets a new box office record for Chinese movies, then we can cooperate?"

"Mr. White is a smart man and should understand that we are talking about a big production now."

"Okay, that's it!"

Bai Shiqiu stretched out his hand, and Ron immediately took it.

……

When Bai Shiqiu and Keaton came out of Universal, Keaton was so excited.

"Boy White, why are you so powerful?"

Bai Shiqiu replied very calmly, "That Ron, he uses all the tricks I have played before."

Keaton didn't understand. Of course he didn't know that when it came to showing off, he had never lost to anyone.

　Thank you all, thank you.

　　This chapter is a bit long, so it's too late. This... Hei Che will code the words right now. Don't worry, everyone.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)