The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Over the weekend, Eric Eason's new film, "Dark Night Journey," was shown at the New Beverly Cinema.

Hawke and Edward both came to show their support. They were not interested in the red carpet and went straight into the theater through the side door.

Unexpectedly, I met the rogue director Quentin Tarantino at the door of the VIP room.

He was talking to Dwayne Johnson's manager and wife, Dany Garcia.

Seeing Hawke coming, Dany ended her chat with Quentin and came over to greet them.

Quentin is a very interesting person. When he saw two unfamiliar faces, he came over to join in the fun and wanted to get to know them.

Dany Garcia made introductions for both sides.

Quentin was a little surprised: "You are the founder of Twitter? I am a loyal user of yours." He praised sincerely: "The news you produce is very interesting. Even I, an insider, am very interested in it."

"Thanks for supporting Twitter." Hawke was also very polite, and what he said was not false: "I am a fan of your movies. I like Pulp Fiction and From Dusk Till Dawn very much. I have watched them more than once."

Quentin had a different idea: "Twitter is a great platform for promotion. My new film Kill Bill will be released in October. Why don't we work together?"

Hawke thought about it and said, "Okay, the crew can just send someone to Twitter to discuss it."

Quentin exchanged business cards with him and went to the other side.

Hawke glanced at his back and asked Dani, "Eric's connections are expanding."

"That's not the case." Danny explained simply: "Quentin plans to buy this theater. As long as he has time, he will attend every premiere held here."

Edward whispered, "This guy has eaten the feet of Frank's old lover."

While the three were talking, Johnson, who had just finished walking the red carpet, also arrived.

He walked over quickly, hugged Hawke and Edward one after another, and said happily: "I haven't seen you for a long time. When can we get together?"

Hawke asked, "Do you have time recently?"

Johnson shook his head helplessly: "Don't mention it, the filming set, announcements, premieres, I've been busy for more than half a year."

He touched his big head with less and less hair and said, "I suspect if this continues, I will become bald in the future."

Hawke specifically said: "There is a saying in my hometown that when the amount of hair on your head becomes less, it also means that you are getting stronger."

Johnson thought about the smooth development since last year and said, "It makes sense."

Edward subconsciously touched his hair, wondering whether he should go for a bald head?

Johnson looked around to see that there was no one around, and then said, "After a while, I might compete for an A-level production with an investment of about $1.3 million. If it doesn't go well, I'll need your help."

Hawke certainly wouldn't refuse the business that came to him: "Just give me a call if you need anything."

Dani continued, "I'll contact Dawn first to see what the crew thinks. If they're not interested in Johnson, then our efforts will be useless."

Hawke agreed with this and just in time saw a man enter the VIP room and said, "If the competitor is him, I suggest just admit defeat."

Johnson and Danny both followed Hawk's gaze and saw that the new person who came in was Tom Cruise.

This guy had expressed his appreciation for Eric last time, but he unexpectedly came directly to the premiere of his new film.

Johnson and Dani saw someone they knew and went somewhere else.

Hawke is not famous, especially in Hollywood, so it is quiet here.

Edward looked at Tom Cruise who was surrounded by the crowd and suddenly felt a little worried about his old friend. He lowered his voice and said, "Boss, there have been rumors in Hollywood that Tom Cruise might be a very hidden gay. Will he have fantasies about Eric like Miller Collins did?"

Hearing this, Hawke frowned slightly: "This is a problem, but it shouldn't be a big deal. Eric is not gay."

As they were talking, two mixed-race black women suddenly came over.

Among them, the young black woman Alison Faith looked at Hawke with resentment.

Joanna Faith, an older black woman, looked at Edward, the handsome black boy, with a similarly resentful expression.

It was as if Hawke and Edward had done something to the mother and daughter and then abandoned them.

Hawke just greeted them politely. Not to mention the fact that the mother and daughter went to meet male models together, the fact that they appeared together at P. Diddy's party made it impossible for him to have close contact with them.

Business is business after all.

Joanna and Alison, mother and daughter, are known for being slutty and bitchy in the entertainment industry. Many people in the VIP room looked over curiously, as if they were wondering who they were going to find to have sex with tonight.

Edward noticed it. He thought about Lamb Leg's recent behavior. That woman was more capable than him and was even trying to steal his loyal job.

The Savior decided to step forward and said to Joanna and Alison, "Let's go over there and talk."

Joanna had a bright smile on her face: “Okay.”

Edward took her to the other side.

Alison was not willing to let Joanna eat alone, so she followed immediately.

Hawke kept shaking his head. Even for someone like him who had experienced the explosion of Internet information since 2020, he thought that this mother and daughter were perverted.

With Edward's expertise, it was not a problem for him to deal with them.

The premiere guests gradually arrived, including Eric and Catherine.

The two of them came over to say hello to Hawke.

Tom Cruise also came over, shook hands with Hawke, and said, "Are you free tonight? After the premiere, let's talk alone."

Even if he was gay, he was no threat to Hawke.

Hawke responded, "No problem." Everyone walked towards the screening room one after another.

Eric deliberately fell behind a few steps and said to Hawke, "Tommy is very interested in my script, so he accepted the invitation and attended the premiere. If this film performs well, I think he will cooperate with me."

“I have faith in you,” Hawke said.

Entering the screening room, he sat in the third row with Edward.

Hawke sat down and asked Edward, "Get rid of them?"

Edward said confidently: "I am a professional in dealing with them."

The lights went down, the screen lit up, and the movie began.

This is a story about a father who was born into a gang and avenged his daughter who was raped to death by multiple men.

Compared to its feature film debut at the Sundance Film Festival, it reaches a much wider audience.

It also fits the elements of family and kinship that are most widely accepted by movie audiences.

A father who had just been released from prison discovered that his daughter, whom he had visited in prison a month ago, had been murdered.

He called the police but no one took him seriously. After all, they were a gangster family and his daughter was just a street prostitute.

Hawke's old friend Jacqueline played the role of this streetwalker.

Although her performance in literary roles is mediocre, her performance in the two large-scale scenes in the film can be described as stunning.

This movie "Dark Night Journey" is the protagonist's journey of revenge in the darkness.

There is no minority perspective as in the previous film "D.C. Heights", nor are there those humanistic thinking and profound social reflections. In the second half of the plot, the male protagonist uses cruel means to kill the scum who harmed his daughter one by one, and finally disappears into the darkness.

When the film ended, there was applause from the audience, but it lasted less than a minute and then gradually stopped.

This is real applause.

Hawke doesn't understand film production, but he knows that everyone looks at movies and likes different genres differently, and this movie suits his taste.

In his personal opinion, Eric Eason completed a transformation through "Night Journey".

In the film, more commercial elements were introduced.

Edward said, "This movie is obviously better than the last one."

Hawke said, "I think so."

The two of them walked out with the audience, and Edward said again: "I didn't expect Jacqueline to act so well."

He figured out the reason: "This industry involves acting every day, and her main roles are closely related to this industry."

Hawke asked, "Have you been in touch with her recently?"

"I called." Edward waited until the passers-by walked away before saying, "She is still the same, doing business at night and looking for roles during the day."

Hawke knows something about Hollywood: "Unless an actor reaches a certain level, it is difficult for him to support himself through film pay."

Edward didn't think there was anything wrong with it: "Hollywood actresses and Jacqueline's amateur career are actually similar."

This made so much sense that Hawke couldn't refute it.

Before the two of them left the theater, the phone rang and Hawke picked up it.

Jacqueline called: "Boss, I saw you and the Savior. You told me not to greet you in public, so I didn't go over."

Hawke praised: "You did a great job."

This person was one of the first to follow him, and he warned him, "If you encounter a problem that you can't solve, call the Savior."

"Okay." Jacqueline said one more thing: "Director Eric Eason said that he will keep a role for me in the next movie."

Hawke said: "Don't give up on honing your acting skills, this is the foundation."

Jacqueline said: "I signed up for another acting class. This one should be reliable and won't have so many bad things."

Hawke reminded: "Just remember one thing, anyone who actively approaches you to offer a role must have an ulterior motive."

"I'll remember that." Jacqueline said a few more words and hung up the phone.

Hawke came out of the cinema and got into the car but didn't leave immediately, asking Edward to wait for a while.

Not long after, Tom Cruise called and asked Hawke to meet at the Beverly Hills Business Club.

Hawke agreed immediately and asked Edward to drive over.

Ten minutes later, in a reception room of the business club, Hawke saw Tom Cruise who came in a hurry.

He came here alone and glanced at Edward: "Let's talk alone."

Hawke waved his hand and Edward left the reception room.

Tom Cruise has known Bryan for many years, and Bryan once helped him handle a very difficult lawsuit.

Through Brian, he also got to know Hawke and knew his ability in business strategy planning.

Hawke was not in a hurry and waited for Tom Cruise to speak first.

Tom Cruise said: "I have a lot of troubles recently, and I would like to borrow your perspective to help me analyze them." (End of this chapter)