Hollywood Director 1992.

Chapter 34 Sign a contract

"Link, are you free this afternoon?"

"What's up?"

"I know there's a great restaurant nearby, how about we go try it together?"

"Let's go, it's time to eat, it's my treat!"

Link took Monica Bellucci out of the company and drove to the Bouchon French restaurant recommended by Monica for dinner.

Bouchon French Restaurant is located on Santa Monica Boulevard and is part of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group. Because it is not far from Beverly Hills and the chef is a famous chef who has been listed in the Michelin Guide, the consumption level here is relatively high.

Link didn't know much about French food, so he only ordered the dishes recommended by the chef on the menu: a bottle of 88 Bordeaux red wine, French-style grilled steak, a truffle soup, and a French sandwich.

Monica wanted to lose weight for her role as the heroine, so she only ordered a vegetable salad and a sandwich.

"Link, can I ask you a question?"

"what?"

Link put down his fork and wiped the corners of his mouth with his napkin.

"How could someone like you end up in a youth hostel?"

Monica Bellucci blinked her curved eyelashes, her brown pupils shone brightly and beautifully under the light of the restaurant, paired with her rosy lips and faintly revealed pink cheeks, which were more tempting than the food on the table.

"I'm a poor person who dreams of becoming a star. Isn't it appropriate for me to live in a youth hostel?"

“No, I don’t think so.

Although I have only met you a few times, I can see that you are very different from the people in the youth apartment. They are lazy and have dreams of becoming a star, but they don't know how to struggle.

You have goals and pursuits, and you work hard every day. You never hang out with them. Do you know what impressed me most about you after meeting you? "

Monica held the goblet between her fingers and looked at him quietly.

"My handsome looks?"

Link joked, holding his chin.

Monica chuckled in cooperation and said, "Link, what I'm going to say next may not be polite, but I still want to say that in my eyes, a man with only a handsome face is nothing. Compared to his appearance, I appreciate a man's spirit, connotation, and reputation more.

Before you became a famous director, what impressed me most about you was your eyes. They were bright, like flames, giving people the feeling of being positive, optimistic, ambitious and full of fighting spirit.

A man like you either goes crazy or succeeds, and you succeeded sooner than I expected."

"You have a very sharp vision. When I lived in the youth hostel, I tried my best to hide my edge and get along with everyone as an ordinary person. I didn't expect that you could see through me. Well, I won't pretend anymore. I am indeed a man from Mars, with fire in my eyes."

"Hmm, are you serious?"

Monica asked, biting her lower lip and trying not to laugh.

"You can take it as a joke."

"You're really funny, much more interesting than when you're working."

"I thought women would appreciate men who work hard more."

"You were indeed very charming when you were talking about the script or the play, but your face was cold, with a vertical wrinkle here, which made you look very cold. At that time, I was only thinking about how to satisfy you, and I had no time to appreciate you at all."

Monica pointed to her forehead and combed her cascading hair back.

"It's my fault, but I won't correct it. I take my work seriously and treat actors harshly. This is the attitude I insist on when filming. So before the official filming starts, you need to be mentally prepared in advance and don't back down because I'm too harsh."

"Thank you for the reminder. I already feel a great pressure from your words."

Monica Bellucci propped up her cheek and smiled, "That's why I said people like you shouldn't appear in a youth hostel.

You are more mature and stable than your peers, have insights and talents different from ordinary people, have a humorous way of speaking, good social etiquette, and your skilled working state does not make you look like a new director at all.

The more I interact with you, the more I feel that you are a very powerful guy. If you claimed to be from a noble family in China instead of coming to Mars, I would definitely believe you. "

Link smiled softly and raised his glass to clink with Monica.

He didn't mind Monica's words, whether they were sincere compliments or purposeful flattery.

When dealing with women, the most important thing is to be clear-headed, know what they want, know what you have, know what they still want, and what you still have, so that you can firmly grasp the initiative.

After finishing their meal, Link and Monica left Bouchon restaurant and strolled and chatted on Santa Monica Boulevard in the afterglow of the Los Angeles sun.

Doing this is not a waste of time, but a way to deepen mutual understanding, create a harmonious working relationship, and prepare for the next shoot.

Next, the two of them will play husband and wife, and having a more harmonious and intimate relationship will make it easier for them to get into the role during filming.

-

While exercising at the fitness center in the morning, I met Jim Carrey again. We worked out together and played a game of tennis.

While having breakfast, Link received a call from Old Mason, saying that Turner Network Movie Channel wanted to invite him to do an exclusive interview to talk about the movie "Buried".

Turner TV didn't have his contact information, so they called the Union Theater. "Okay, William, I'll arrange for someone to contact Turner TV later."

"Link, don't you have an agent? You are a star director now, you need a full-time agent."

"If you hadn't told me, I would have almost forgotten that I should have called the agency back today."

After arriving at Guess Pictures, Link called Sam Haskell to thank him for his sincere invitation. He said WMA was a promising agency and he was willing to work with WMA.

Sam Haskell said he was very happy to receive his call and asked him when he would be free to sign the agency contract. WMA Agency would then be the sole agent for his agency affairs.

Sam Haskell also expressed his pleasure to be his agent.

Link told him the address of Guess What Pictures and made an appointment to meet in the afternoon.

At around nine o'clock, Liu Xiaoli came to Guess the Movies and brought him a bowl of yam stewed with chicken soup, saying that he was busy with work and wanted to give him some nourishment.

While eating his soup, Link called the real estate agent Ellen Herbert to ask if she had found a suitable house.

After getting a positive answer, Link drove Liu Xiaoli and followed Ellen Herbert to visit several surrounding apartments.

Finally, we helped Liu Xiaoli rent a mid-range apartment in the Rex Apartment Building, about three kilometers away from the company. The apartment had two bedrooms, two bathrooms and a living room, and was fully furnished and equipped with appliances.

The security situation is good. There are private kindergartens and Archer Girls' School nearby. Liu Xixi can go to school nearby when she grows up.

Since the apartment rent was expensive, Link helped her pay the rent for two years in the name of an advance on her salary.

"Okay, Sister Xiaoli, the house has been booked. In the next few days, you can get familiar with the surrounding area and buy daily necessities. If you need a car, you can call me or Chris Bauer. You are welcome. You don't have to worry about the company's affairs for the time being. I will arrange it for you when you are done."

"it is good!"

Liu Xiaoli looked at the beautifully decorated apartment with a satisfied look in her eyes. She turned around and looked at him, smiling, "Link, I owe you more and more debts, and it seems that I can't pay it back."

"The road ahead is long, don't rush, take your time."

Back at Guess What, Link called Turner TV and talked to interview host Billy Crystal about the content of the interview, which he needed to prepare in advance.

Just after I hung up the phone, Sam Haskell knocked on the door and came in, wearing a more formal suit and tie, holding a work bag in his hand.

His hair was combed meticulously, and under his neat and thick sword-like eyebrows, his brown-black pupils smiled earlier than his mouth when he saw Link.

"Haha, Link, you finally called. I didn't sleep well for two days waiting for your call."

"After signing the contract, you can go back to bed early."

Link took the agency contract issued by WMA and looked through it.

Most of the content is a template of the brokerage contract, with only a few clauses deleted or modified.

The contract stipulates that his personal projects will not be interfered with, his project remuneration will not be deducted, etc., and the penalty for breach of contract is only a symbolic $5.

It is a form of cooperation based on trust and has relatively loose constraints on both parties.

After the lawyers from both parties arrived, Link and the representative of WMA William Morris Agency signed the agency contract, and Link officially became a client of WMA Agency.

The reason why I chose WMA agency instead of the most powerful CAA.

This is because among the four major film agencies, WMA has more directors among its clients, including James Cameron, Clint Eastwood, David Lynch, etc.

After joining WMA, it is also convenient for internal communication and to learn from the experiences of several veteran directors.

In the past few days, CAA also sent people to contact him. Although the conditions offered were not as sincere as those of WMA, they were good overall.

The reason he didn't choose CAA is that CAA has expanded too fast in the past few years.

Its customer base includes almost half of Hollywood's first- and second-tier stars.

Including Steven Spielberg, Sylvester Stallone, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Robert Downey Jr., Nicolas Cage, Julia Roberts and others.

CAA founder and president Michael Ovitz has also been named the most powerful person in Hollywood by Premiere magazine for three consecutive years.

CAA has too many big-name clients and there is serious internal strife. As a newcomer, he can't get any resources.

Secondly, he remembered that two years later, the two founders of CAA, Michael Ovitz and Ron Mayer, successively jumped to Walt Disney and Universal Pictures, which led to serious chaos within CAA and many scandals.

Many celebrity clients also left CAA at that time and went to WMA, ICM International Innovation Management, UTA United Elite Agency, etc.

Since he knew in advance that CAA would decline, he didn't need to join in the fun.

It is more appropriate to join WMA, which has a more stable internal environment.

"Haha, Link, welcome to join WMA. I hope our cooperation will go smoothly and become more and more successful."

“That’s what I want to see too!”

The two shook hands in the conference room.

The people brought by Sam Haskell took pictures of the two with cameras.

(End of this chapter)