Extracting skills from movies

On the other side, Emory walked over and shook hands with Du Sheng:
"I heard your move yesterday was quite impressive, even more so than the rumors suggested."

Du Sheng smiled faintly:
"If we had been any slower, Jessica and I might be in the hospital right now."

He walked into the adjacent conference room and continued:

"Luckily, my bodyguard was alert and I reacted quickly, otherwise we wouldn't be able to sit down and talk today."

Haders, who followed him in, closed the door behind him, his tone rather impolite:

"We never contacted any reporters, thinking that since we were all in the same circle, we could resolve it internally."

And yet you two, through Warner Bros., are trying to force us to compromise?"

Amory felt helpless; his smile was more like a grimace.

"This matter has caused a huge uproar, and everyone in our company is in a state of chaos..."

"So it's all my fault now?"

Du Sheng slammed his coffee cup down on the table and let out a cold laugh:

"Could it be that I forced Lear to take the medicine by holding his head down?"
Or should I grab the steering wheel and let him drive recklessly on the road?
Or am I just bored and selling this material to paparazzi?

Emory, naturally not wanting to escalate the situation, quickly waved his hand:

"Du, don't misunderstand!"

How could I dare to think that?

It's obvious that Lear messed things up himself, squandering a winning hand!

He quickly put on a smile and moved closer:

"I came here today to have a proper discussion with you about how to clean up this mess."

Du Sheng knew perfectly well that the person in front of him was no pushover.

As the mouthpiece for Weinstein and Republic Records, he was involved in everything behind the scenes of movies and albums.

Du Sheng leaned back, his tone softening slightly:

"I'm not one to take things too seriously. We're all in the entertainment industry, and we'll run into each other all the time."

Upon hearing this, Emory's tense shoulders instantly relaxed, and he wiped the sweat from his forehead.

Just as I was feeling relieved, the Buddha statue finally calmed down temporarily.

Du Sheng had no intention of moving on, and said expressionlessly:
"Yesterday, that son of a bitch Lear Wayne did more than just curse.

He even said he would break my arms and legs in front of a hundred or so reporters.

This matter won't be over until a full-page apology is published on the front page of the *Century Daily*!

Emory glanced at this morning's tabloids; photos of Lil Wayne's torture device filled the entire page.

He adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses:

"It's easy to get it published in the newspaper, but what about WME..."

"easy?"

Du Sheng chuckled, the chair legs scraping against the tiles with a screeching sound.
"I was terrified yesterday, and I'm still so unsettled that I can't work properly at all."

How much did the Inception crew burn in a day when filming was suspended?
This psychological trauma must be worth at least a million or two...

He suddenly turned to Haders:

“You can discuss the specific amount with Emory.”

Hades' ears perked up instantly.

He'll take a 1% commission from the compensation!

Ignoring the coffee stains on his suit sleeves, he smiled and leaned forward:
"Don't worry, wrap it on me!"

Du Sheng grabbed the car keys and walked out, saying:
"I feel nauseous whenever I see someone in a suit right now, so I'm leaving."

Emory stared at the swaying doorknob, gritting his teeth.

This guy makes more excuses for extorting money than a woman changes her handbag.

Last night she said her hands were shaking, today she said she felt nauseous, will she have to use a wheelchair tomorrow?
In the next conference room, Aubry wiped the sweat from his Mediterranean-style hair, and the goji berry tea in his thermos rippled.

“Jessica, we’ve known each other for ten years, haven’t we?”

He tried to use faded old photos to build rapport:

"I remember when you auditioned for 'Dark Angel,' it was me..."

"Speak the key."

Jessica Alba tapped her fingertips on the marble tabletop, her Swarovski manicure reflecting a cool light.

Aubry chuckled and pulled out a Grammy Award trophy model:
"Right now is the crucial period for the judges' voting, and you know how opportunistic this industry is."

If this Lear incident blows up...

His voice suddenly rose:
"How much real money has the company spent on the Grammys? If he fails, we'll all starve!"

Jessica picked up her coffee and took a sip; the bitterness spread across her tongue.

Everyone in the industry knows that taking drugs is nothing in the North American community.

But when Lear went berserk at the studio and nearly bumped into her and Du Sheng, the nature of the matter changed.

The judges are now whispering among themselves, wondering if they might bump into them today, but will they bump into me tomorrow?

"so what?"

She slammed the porcelain cup down.

Aubrey's voice suddenly softened, like a rooster being choked:
"How about... having Lear apologize to you privately? Or cut off another piece of flesh?"
"You and Du Sheng issue a joint statement, saying... saying it's a misunderstanding?"

He hurriedly pulled out his checkbook:

"Your compensation will absolutely satisfy you, and I'll personally put a Vanity Fair cover on your cover for the next six months!"

Jessica turned to look at her agent, Canals, who immediately bristled:
"Aubrey, is this your personal opinion or the company bylaws?"

Jessica is the victim, why should she have to keep quiet?

"No, no, no, I just wanted to make a suggestion."

Aubrey, not daring to cause a scene and force the man away, said:
"Look at the mess this has made..."

Jessica told Canals to leave:
"No negotiation!"

"and many more!"

Aubry stared at Canals, who was trying to stand up, the Mediterranean Sea reflecting a cold light:

Don't forget who pays your salary!

Canals turned and sneered:

"The customer is king; you're the one who taught me that rule."

"Even God has to listen to WME!"

As a senior partner, Aubry finally tore off his mask of hypocrisy:
"Would Jessica be where she is today without the company's strong support?"

Jessica suddenly chuckled, her manicured nails brushing against the checkbook cover:
"Ever since Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer flopped at the box office, WME has changed its attitude towards me."

I used to always keep decaffeinated coffee in my dressing room, but what about now?

She glanced at the lipstick stain on the rim of Aubrey's cup:
They can't even bear to replace disposable paper cups.

After saying that, he walked straight out of the conference room.

In the underground parking garage, Du Sheng had just touched the car door handle when Harvey Weinstein blocked his way.

This old fox, wrapped in a mink coat, looked just like a bloated polar bear.

Harvey grinned, his face crinkling with laughter, and said:

"What a coincidence, Mr. Du."

Du Sheng smiled and got straight to the point:

"Here to clean up Lear Wayne's mess?"

"Look what you said."

Harvey pulled the contract out of his crocodile-skin bag:

“I signed a global distribution agreement for ‘Hurricane Season’ as soon as it was greenlit, and I also invested in it through seven studios. He was just making a cameo appearance.”

Du Sheng suddenly chuckled, cigar ash falling softly:

"No wonder, I was wondering when Hollywood switched to doing charity."

He caught a glimpse of the lipstick stain on Harvey's cuff:

"But your investment approach... is quite unique, isn't it?"

Harvey's expression changed slightly, but he quickly returned to normal.
"Mr. Du is a sensible man, and we honest people don't beat around the bush."

"We can't let a $20 million investment go down the drain because of that mess yesterday, can we?"

Du Sheng remained calm:
“I have no intention of doing anything to Lil Wayne. As long as he publishes an apology and pays me some money, this matter will be over.”

Harvey raised an eyebrow, as if talking to himself: "Do you know why I chose Lil Wayne for the cameo?"

Seeing that Du Sheng didn't respond, he gave his answer directly:
"Based on my years of experience in the entertainment industry, this guy has a pretty good chance of winning a Grammy Award for rap, and he might even become a global sensation."

He shook his head, looking regretful.
"And what happened? The flames had barely flared up when they were about to go cold."

Du Sheng directly quoted Lauren Nivea:

"I can only say that the pressure of becoming a new father is too great."

Harvey suddenly changed the subject:
"Actually, I have high hopes for you. Your acting skills are good, and the Grammys and Oscars should pay attention to you."

Du Sheng smiled:
"Thanks for the compliment."

He paused:

"This year, my album received a Grammy nomination, and 'Taken' also came up in the Oscars' radar."

Harvey saw that he was unyielding and stopped trying to persuade him.

Du Sheng finished his casual conversation and got into the car.

As Ma Yaowei drove, he said:

"Didn't you enjoy the conversation?"

Du Sheng shrugged:

"It's definitely not easy to stop others from getting rich."

Ma Yaowei thought for a moment and suggested:

"Should we involve Li Yixin's PR team?"

Du Sheng shook his head:

"This is Los Angeles, the home of The Weinstein Company, not New York."

Undeterred, Ma Yaowei asked again:
"Shall we try a different approach?"

Du Sheng sneered:
"Harvey, that fat guy, is indeed quite skilled at winning awards, but it's not like we can't do without him!"
Besides, he asked me to go and sexually assault actresses; how could I possibly do that?

Ma Yaowei sighed:
"That just proves you're not as shameless as that fat guy!"

Inside the RV outside the photography studio, Jessica Alba sat on the sofa and told Du Sheng about recent events:

“This matter concerns not only you, but also me.”

Du Sheng patted her shoulder and smiled:
"Don't make things too awkward with WME. Just say that I'm not cooperating."

I have no connection with WME, so it's no big deal if we fall out.

These words warmed Jessica's heart, and she shook her head:
"fine……"

As she was talking, her phone suddenly rang.

Jessica answered the phone, her expression growing increasingly grim, before she hung up abruptly a moment later.

Du Sheng raised an eyebrow:

"Is someone trying to intimidate me?"

“Ari Emmanuel, WME’s largest partner.”

Jessica briefly explained:
"He called and said that WME had secured two big-budget movie roles, and the female characters were particularly suitable for Oscar consideration."

Du Sheng immediately sensed something was wrong, but it's easier to dodge a spear in the open than to guard against a hidden arrow.

Moreover, Jessica's path to an Oscar is even more arduous than Leonardo DiCaprio's.

Jessica could see it clearly:
"Ali wants me to 'consider the bigger picture' in the Lear case."

Du Sheng asked:
What are they after?

"I signed a revenue-sharing agreement for 'Fantastic Four' not only with the film studio, but also with WME. They can only take a 1.3% commission."

Jessica sighed:
“After Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, my film career didn’t go smoothly, and with my age increasing, my value in WME’s eyes decreased.”

She gave a wry smile:
"Maybe I overestimated my position at WME before, or maybe those senior partners treated me like a star boss. Aubrey has said this more than once."

Du Sheng nodded. Jessica and WME used to be inseparable, but now that their relationship has lost its appeal, all that's left is a mess.

Of her annual offline income of tens of millions, WME can only take a little over two hundred thousand.

"They're playing the long game."

Du Sheng directly reminded him:

"Once you take the bait, who knows what other tricks they have up their sleeves."

Aren't there countless instances of entertainment agencies sabotaging their own artists?

"fine."

Jessica waved her hand, somewhat helplessly:
"If it really doesn't work out, then let's part ways."

Just as he was talking, someone knocked on the door.

When Du Sheng opened the door, he saw Jessica's agent, Kanals.

Canals asked with a smile:
"Did Alibaba call you?"
Jessica, if the company's resources were tilted towards you, you'd win Best Actress...

Seeing Jessica's gaze change, Canals quickly changed his tune:
"Don't misunderstand, we've been working together for so many years, it's impossible for me to betray you."

Du Sheng consciously stepped aside:
"You two can talk slowly."

After Kanals got into Jessica's RV, he closed the door behind him and turned to walk into a secluded corner.

As she walked, she kept thinking about what Jessica had just said, and then she took out her phone and called Haders.

Hades arrived shortly afterward.

Du Sheng went straight to the point:
"What's the situation at the negotiating table over there now?"

Haders, like a thief, crouched down and drew the office blinds shut before leaning closer and speaking in a low voice:

"The other terms can be negotiated, but those foxes in suits at WME are too cunning. They talk like they're spinning a ball of yarn and won't budge an inch."

Du Sheng said calmly:
"Why waste your breath on them?"

"Just have Attorney Ward lead a team to the Los Angeles bureau, then spread the word that we're going to hold a global press conference!"

Hades was stunned by this move and nodded hastily:
"I'll make arrangements right away."

Just as he was about to turn around, Du Sheng suddenly threw out a question:
"Does CAA have any interest in Jessica Alba?"

Haders slipped and nearly crashed into the door frame, turning around with his eyes wide open:

"You're trying to... poach WME's pillar."

Du Sheng glanced at him sideways, her gaze as if she were looking at a country bumpkin who had just arrived in the city:
"What, you want to be her agent?"

"I'd like to, but it's unlikely."

Haders waved his hand and said:

“Jessica has been tied to Canals ever since she entered the industry, and it’s hard to break free.”

Du Sheng strolled to the French windows, then suddenly turned and grinned:
"If any company tries to poach me and kicks you out of the team, I'll spit all over their face!"

Hades suddenly felt a warm glow inside, like he had drunk a large bowl of hot ginger soup.

He knew Du Sheng's temperament all too well; this man meant what he said.

"So how do we proceed now?"

Hades rubbed his hands together and pressed for more information.

"The two of us aren't enough to make a difference."

Du Sheng took out his phone and swiped on the screen:

"We need Richard Lovett to handle this personally."

Upon hearing the name, Hudson immediately understood.

This reclusive leader of CAA will be taking the co-chairmanship in two years, and you have to book a meeting with him three months in advance.

But Du Sheng is now a key Asian face being cultivated by CAA. She was featured on the cover of Time magazine last year. How could the company not protect her?

"I'm ready at any time!"

Haders straightened his back, then suddenly remembered something:
"But why are you being so proactive today?"

Du Sheng smiled faintly:
"With the Oscars and Grammys both on the horizon at the end of the year, the company has to invest more resources."
But I have an Eastern face…

He didn't finish his sentence, but Hades understood instantly.

Before he could finish speaking, Du Sheng had already pressed the call button.

Thirty seconds later, Richard, who was gesturing with a golf club, almost threw the club away when he heard the phone conversation:

"Book me the fastest Gulfstream G650 to Los Angeles! It must take off within thirty minutes!"

Furthermore, the itinerary's confidentiality level has been raised to the highest level!

…(End of this chapter)