Entertainment 2000: Supporting female stars will bring you a hundredfold return

Chapter 408 Preparing to Slaughter People, Tang Wen: This is Tempting Me to Fall!

Zhao Cheng opened his laptop and showed Tang Wen the video.

In the video, a professional Spider-Man is inspecting the exterior walls of a hotel...

Tang Wen frowned to himself after reading it: The simpler the method, the harder it is to detect!

These British tabloid journalists, with that kind of spirit, could do something better.
Why would someone choose to do surreptitious filming?

This industry is so lucrative, they've even developed military-grade listening devices?

He remained calm and unconcerned.

Because he doesn't make much noise at night, and besides, there are jamming devices in the room. Even if they don't work completely, how clear can they be recorded through the wall?

If that's the case, it's been two days already.

Why doesn't the Daily Mail release the recording?
Compared to this, Tang Wen was more concerned about the security equipment: "Are these tabloids' listening devices really that effective?"

After 2000, technological development was rapid, and the upgrading of weapons and equipment was also extremely fast.

Zhao Cheng hadn't expected his boss to be concerned about this, and shook his head slightly: "The listening devices they used are effective, but our people specifically conducted a recording test before they came back."

The jammer installed inside the house was still working.

At this point, Old Zhao paused and lowered his voice: "As long as the sound is not higher than 90 decibels, it won't be recorded clearly."

Tang Wen's lips twitched: "How high a decibel is a woman's scream?"

“Uh,” Zhao Cheng said, having already mentioned this knowledge, he must have checked it out, so he lowered his voice even further: “Generally speaking, 80 to 100 decibels.”

Good news, Tang Wen's voice won't be too loud.

He couldn't possibly shout at the top of his lungs!
Therefore, it is almost impossible for his voice to appear in the recording.

But both women screamed at the top of their lungs, so it's highly likely they were recorded.

Ironically, both Scarlett Johansson and Angelina Jolie have highly distinctive voices.

Screams can be distorted, so they shouldn't be immediately recognizable, right?
Tang Wen ignored it, but picked up Julie's phone and called her assistant. After her assistant arrived, he had Zhao Cheng repeat what Julie had said to her.

Now they know the Daily Mail's trump card: a few "uh," or a series of brilliant screams.

There are many ways to muddy water.

For example, find a few people with voices similar to the two women, imitate their calls a few times, and upload the recordings online beforehand.

When the Daily Mail released the recording again, its credibility was naturally greatly reduced.

The effect will also be greatly reduced.

However, Tang Wen felt that Julie and Scarlett's teams might not take this approach.

to be honest.

Even for Hollywood actresses, it's not easy to make a name for themselves in Europe and create such a stir.

From this perspective, it's more likely that the two women's teams will add fuel to the fire and increase the news's popularity.

as predicted.

That evening, in front of Tang Wen.

The team and Paramount didn't dare to bother Jolie; they simply prepared the necessary contingency plans.

The next day, when Julie was having breakfast, she was faced with two choices. She glanced at Tang Wen and, seeing that he had no objection, decisively chose to let the Daily Mail publish the recording!
And we need to find ways to make the news more sensational.

"What about Scarlett?"

"I think it'll be fine. I told her yesterday, and she doesn't care. She'll listen to you." Tang Wen took a sip of millet porridge.

The presidential suite has a kitchen.

The porridge was cooked by a female bodyguard who was skilled in cooking.

Julie looked at the bright yellow color with curiosity, and took a sip, unsure whether she thought it tasted good or was just really hungry.

He drank half a bowl in one gulp before saying, "I'll call Scarlett."

After saying that, neither of them hesitated and immediately took out their phones.

Julie and Scarlett Johansson have worked together for more than one night and they get along quite well.

Julie called, offering Scarlett a favor in return, and also needing Scarlett's cooperation in creating some hype.

"How?"

"Let's speak out together and accuse the Daily Mail of fabricating news and infringing on privacy, and hold them accountable!"

Scarlett's mother, who is also her agent, was right there.

Having spent half her life in the entertainment industry, she was used to this kind of thing.

He even gave his daughter a few pointers while listening to her on the phone.

Scarlett understood and replied, "Julie, I'm fine with it. You want to work 'in sync' with the Daily Mail?"

“That’s right.” Julie chuckled and thanked her again.

Scarlett was at the age where she loved to play, and Tang Wen was good to her enough that without thinking, she casually said, "You'll serve me next time." The two agreed on a time to talk and then hung up the phone.

Just as Tang Wen had predicted.

The two women spoke to reporters one after another, criticizing the Daily Mail and threatening to sue it.

The Daily Mail was overjoyed when the news broke.

They profit from reporting negative news about celebrities, and what they fear most is that after the news comes out, the celebrity will pretend to be dead and hide away without responding.

They are least afraid of celebrities threatening to sue; in fact, they would prefer that such a lawsuit actually be filed.

Regardless of right or wrong, their legal team is confident that they can drag the case out again and again.

It can take anywhere from a few months to half a year or a year, or even three to five years.

During this period, no matter what the slightest thing happened, no matter what the celebrity did, the Daily Mail would bring it up again and report on it again...

Anyway, their newspaper sales went up, they made money, and the news could be reused repeatedly to make money again and again.

Even if we assume they lose the case in the end...

With the power of the group behind them, how much money can they possibly lose?

This is practically a sure thing, you can't lose money.

To add to that, this is actually the reason why paparazzi are now appearing in large numbers in various places.

Paparazzi use all sorts of methods; as long as they can take photos, they can immediately exchange them for money once they're sent to gossip magazines and tabloids.

The amount is quite considerable.

It's definitely much more than earning a regular salary.

Why are there not many "explosive entertainment news" in later generations?
Have all these celebrities become vegetarians?
Of course not. The chain of events is: paparazzi → gossip magazine reports → sales surge.

The magazine's popularity is declining.

There were no sales.

If you go through all the trouble of filming something but don't get paid, who would bother?

If someone insists on exposing the footage on a media account after it's been filmed, then the platform benefits.

Personal accounts will be banned, and the person who posted or took the photos will be sued by the celebrity.

This is absolutely an invasion of privacy!

Every lawsuit they file is successful.

Therefore, the magazines that survived 20 years later were basically fashion magazines.

Ordinary people no longer look at them or buy them.

The magazine can only survive by publishing "fashion spreads" featuring celebrities and selling the magazine to their fans.

Where would anyone dare to dig up dirt on a celebrity?
However, that's a matter for the future.

The Daily Mail is currently at its peak, and with its home turf, it fears no one.

The next day, I decisively accepted the challenge.

Not wanting to miss out on making things worse, they republished the rumors about the three of them, complete with new pictures!
This subtly proves that the incident did indeed occur, and they are not afraid of being sued at all.

Tang Wen and Julie had calculated that they would take the bait.

The conflict between the two sides has become a hot topic.

The onlookers were filled with anticipation, hoping that the Daily Mail would release the recording as soon as possible.

I don't mean anything by it, I just want to hear just how amazing those two hours and seventeen minutes were.

Just how brave is Director Tang!
What kind of performance will these two hot female celebrities give?
Some readers even launched an online appeal, hoping that the Daily Mail would release the recording so that everyone could enjoy and critique it.

The Daily Mail must be crazy to listen to them.

The news is currently trending.

There's absolutely no need to use your trump card.

Simply post text and photos to supplement details and increase the credibility of the report!

Julie continued her verbal sparring with them, while Tang Wen began promoting the film offline.

Wherever he went, he attracted crowds of onlookers, and numerous reporters vied to interview him.

The popularity of "Tomb Raider 2" has surged as a result. Regions where it is being shown have all seen an increase in the number of films released.

In the hotel, seeing the results and the success, Julie excitedly put down her phone and jumped on Tang Wen to celebrate.

Her eyes looked like those of a mother wolf who hadn't eaten meat in a long time.

Full, red lips rained down on Tang Wen's head and face...

Hollywood.

Industry insiders see this as a publicity stunt orchestrated by Paramount and Tang Wen.

To be honest, I'm not optimistic.

The film's performance in North America is clearly declining, and it's definitely impossible to recoup its costs through box office revenue.

Do you really think that by just hyping up vulgar scandals, you can get European audiences to open their wallets?

How can it be?

Three professional Hollywood box office prediction agencies have also pronounced its death sentence.

The three estimates put the final box office gross between $1.45 million and $1.7 million.

Numerically speaking, it is quite a lot.

But Paramount has a big appetite for this second Tomb Raider movie.

Excluding marketing and distribution costs, the production costs alone amounted to nearly 1 million US dollars.

Based on the principle of 2.5 times break-even.

To break even, Tomb Raider 2 needs to gross at least $2.5 million.

The shortfall is a staggering $1 million.

By any measure, it's a sure thing to lose money.

"Paramount's film series still can't get off the ground!"

"The Tomb Raider series ended with the second installment; it's a shame about the franchise."

"The shortfall is too big, and the marketing costs must be considerable, right? Shirley Lansing is in for a rough time."

"..."

Shirley Lansing was known for her difficult and tough style, which earned her many enemies in Hollywood.

Plus, I'm getting old.

Many people are waiting to see her make a fool of herself.

This production has suffered such a huge loss; as the president, she has to take responsibility.

Moreover, if the series were to turn out like this after the success of the first film, it would lower the board's and Paramount's parent company's opinion of her.

Shirley Lansing is indeed worried about this.

Online reviews, the film's reputation, and negative feedback from gamers are all detrimental to the movie.
"The plot is too chaotic; it feels like there are plot twists just for the sake of plot twists."

"Why are there so many explosions and car chases? I want to see Lara solve puzzles and go on adventures. Does the director even know what puzzle-solving is?"

"Very disappointed..."

Shirley Lansing's brow furrowed deeper the more she looked.

It was late at night, and she still hadn't gone home.

Suddenly, the secretary knocked on the door and rushed in, her face beaming: "President, we won the bet!"

"what?"

What were we betting on?

"Box office figures for the UK, Spain, Italy, and several other countries are out, and they are all rising."

Shirley Lansing took the documents and looked through them carefully.

As the secretary said, Tomb Raider 2's box office in Europe is recovering, rising against the trend after a poor opening week.

What about North America?

"Hmm, no news."

"Contact the cinemas, contact their managers overnight! Ask the team if Julie can bring Tang Wen to North America and Japan for promotional activities! We can discuss the terms!"

Shirley Lansing shook off her weariness and transformed back into the familiar strong woman she once was.

It won't be easy to persuade Tang Wen to come.

But the resources, funds, and costs are borne by the company.

The honor and achievements should be attributed to Shirley Lansing.

She knows exactly what she's doing.

If this really happens, let's see who dares to say Paramount doesn't have a film series.

The next day, the news reached Europe, and Director Tang, who was enjoying himself, had no objections.

As long as Paramount offers a reasonable price, I'd go to Japan, back to the US, or even India... well, never mind.

“Paramount’s belly is now exposed, ready for you to do whatever you want with it.” Julie looked up with a fascinated gaze.

When enjoying food, looking at it with your eyes is a sign of respect.

She now genuinely respects Tang Wen.

Tang Wen smiled and, with an outrageous, no, more like a python swallowing the sky, said, "I've heard that Paramount has a mega-project called 'War of the Worlds'?"

This film was released in 2005 and was a big-budget production.

Spielberg teamed up with Tom Cruise, and the box office exploded, generating huge profits.

Judging by the timeline, it's time to initiate the project.

Julie pondered for a while, then shook her head: "Never heard of it. The project is probably in a highly confidential stage."

“It’s okay, I’ll ask Spielberg.”

Julie exclaimed in surprise, "Spielberg is going to collaborate with Paramount?"

"Maybe."

"If that's the case, then it will be very difficult for you to get involved."

Spielberg's project has no shortage of money and has a very high probability of being profitable.

Paramount would never share something with someone else.

"fine."

Tang Wen didn't expect Paramount to give up a large slice of the pie.

However, as Lu Xun said, people like to compromise.

If you want someone else's cake, you might as well suggest taking half of their cake shop first!

Asking for cake again after being refused makes you seem very sensible.

The other party is also more likely to compromise.

Without delay, Tang Wen checked the time and called Spielberg.

The two had a good relationship.

When the call connected, the person on the other end joked, "Tang, your news has spread all over the world."

Let's exchange a few jokes.

Tang Wen tentatively asked him what he had been busy with lately and whether he had prepared any big projects.

Spielberg calmly retorted, "A live-action movie?"

"Hmm, like 'The War of the Worlds'?"

"Where did you get this information from?" Spielberg asked seriously, his voice filled with surprise.

"Haha, nothing stays hidden forever," Tang Wen said with a slightly reassuring tone. "I'm making a deal with Paramount, planning to rip them off!"

Spielberg nodded. From a profit perspective, he didn't want Tang Wenlai to take a share of the pie.

“If you promise not to get involved, I can cooperate with you, Tang.”

He's been unhappy with Shirley Lansing for a long time.

"Of course I can guarantee that..."

Spielberg's projects are beyond his control; no one in Hollywood can interfere without his consent.

That wasn't Tang Wen's goal at all.

Julie asked, "Is there really a project? Spielberg is going to direct it himself?"

Tang Wen pinched Xuezi's cheek and smiled, "Invest at least 100 million US dollars. If you perform well, I'll recommend you for an audition later."

Sometimes, information is more valuable than gold.

Julie knew about the project in advance, which meant she was ahead of all the other celebrities. Her eyes were full of gratitude. She licked her lips and said with gentle eyes, "Speaking of which, Director, you drank quite a bit today, didn't you? Don't you want to go to the restroom?"

"Fairy!"

Tang Wen closed his eyes: You are tempting me to fall into depravity!
(End of this chapter)