America's Top Player

Chapter 88 Supermodel
Perhaps for some special reasons, Leon and James Wan seem to have endless topics to talk about.

The two talked about film history and their views on the future film market.

Li Ang unexpectedly discovered that James Wan not only made great contributions to horror films, but also had his own unique insights into other types of films.

"The era of traditional action blockbusters is over. The future belongs to superhero movies~"

"Compared to Jackie Chan and Tom Cruise's action movies, today's audiences are more willing to appreciate those omnipotent superheroes!"

"Action stars used to perform moves that required breaking bones, but the shock they brought to the audience was far less than that of CG special effects."

Li Ang agreed with these words.

In the early 20th century, Paramount Pictures was in deep financial crisis, and Hollywood generally believed that it would be another giant eliminated by the tide of the times.

Until the release of Iron Man in 2008, when everyone thought that superhero movies had died down in the 90s with the end of the Batman series.
The strong box office performance of $5.85 million helped Paramount Pictures survive.

Having tasted the sweetness, Paramount immediately began production on another superhero comic-based movie, "Captain America."

The astonishing benefits have made industry giants realize the horror potential of comic-based movies, and they have all rushed to compete for this big cake.

This includes the "industry mafia" Walt Disney Company.

At the end of 2009, the wealthy Disney Company acquired Marvel Comics, one of the American comic giants, for US$42.4 billion and obtained ownership of most of its comic characters!

Since Paramount has already released the screen images of Iron Man and Captain America, facing the "Marvel Universe Project" that Disney is launching, the two sides have been arguing over the ownership of the screen images.

Speaking of this, it was not difficult for Li Ang to notice the light in James Wan's eyes.

He also longs to stand on a big platform and prove himself with a string of gorgeous box office numbers.

Li Ang said, "Your talent isn't limited to horror films. Those studio executives are a bunch of blind idiots."

James Wan shook his head and smiled bitterly, "You know how hard it is for me, a Chinese kid from Australia, to get the opportunity to take over a big production."

Robbie patted his shoulder and said comfortingly, "James (James Wan's English name), you are still young. Your time will definitely come."

At this moment, Li Ang's mind was full of Dao Le.

James Wan's debut work "Saw" created a myth of box office returns.

Including publicity and theater revenue sharing, the break-even point for a film in the North American market is approximately 2.5 times the investment cost.

This work earned over $120 million at the box office with a total investment of $ million!

That's a higher return than the Mexican cartels make importing cocaine into the United States.

Li Ang happened to have more than 300 million US dollars in his hands. If he planned to enter the film industry in the future, testing the waters with a horror film would be the best choice.

Just when the three of them were chatting enthusiastically, an obscene laugh was heard.

A fat Asian man wearing glasses walked over with a glass of wine.

The dirty hand naturally fell on Robbie's shoulder, "LI Barbie (little Barbie) ~ James, what are you talking about?"

"Your movie is really good, but I have to say it doesn't meet my investment standards!"

"There's a lack of adult elements here. Movies without adult elements are for kids!"

Li Ang frowned at the guy in a suit and tie: Then why the hell don’t you just go watch the short film at the Batzers Factory?

While being harassed by the pervert, Robbie instinctively showed an expression of disgust.

According to Li Ang's guess, with her "little pepper" temper, she would probably scold this greasy guy.

But she didn't.

Robbie tried to force an awkward yet polite smile and pushed the dirty hands away.

"I'm glad to see you, Liu."

"This is my boyfriend, Li Ang."

After hearing Li Ang's name, Liu's smile froze instantly and his hand movements became regular.

Apparently, he'd also heard the story of the "Video Store Shooting" where Leon led a group of Mexican outlaws to shoot right in front of Dee Dee.

Leon whispered in Robbie's ear: "Who is this annoying guy?"

"Jho Low, the biggest investor in the movie I'm filming, 'The Wolf of Wall Street.'"

He instantly had some impression of the name.

According to Robbie's previous description, Jho Low is a wealthy Malaysian businessman and no one knows how much money he has.

He and Leonardo Dicaprio are close friends, and it is said that he invested in "The Wolf of Wall Street" simply because he wanted to help Leonardo make up for the lack of an Oscar.

At the same time, Liu Tezuo is also a party animal who is keen on hosting silver parties and has been rumored to have ambiguous relationships with many female stars.

Jho Low stared at Li Ang, and after a moment of silence, he made a gesture to shake hands.

"Hello Mr. Leon, you probably haven't heard of me, but that's normal."

"The only people who can squeeze into my social circle are usually those who are well-known celebrities in the United States."

“Hhahaha~”

Li Ang remained calm on the surface, but deep down he was disgusted with Jho Low.

Even those low-level rappers who got rich overnight didn't have half the arrogance he did.

Jho Low pushed his glasses up, raised his eyebrows and said, "I am the boss of a company with nearly 3000 million employees."

Upon hearing this, Li Ang's first reaction was whether this guy was high.

Walmart, the global retail giant, has only 200 million employees, and 3000 million is the size of a medium-sized country!

Under the questioning gazes of Leon and James Wan, Jho Low smiled and said, "3000 million people in Malaysia work for me."

Everyone was stunned and agreed that this guy must have been high.

Robbie had said before that Jho Low was a drug addict who could eat ice cubes as if they were toffee.

"Hahaha, I'm kidding guys! We're a democracy!"

No one appreciated Low's sense of humor, and the atmosphere suddenly became awkward.

At this moment, he suddenly shouted in one direction: "Miranda, Miranda, come here quickly! Robbie and her boyfriend are here!"

Following the sound, a slender white figure suddenly appeared.

She was wearing a red fluffy long dress, and her angelic face was very consistent with the aesthetic of Oriental people, exquisite and elegant.

Her height of over 1.85 meters, set off by high heels, made her stand out in the crowd. Li Ang recognized her at a glance as the popular supermodel Miranda Kerr.

In this situation, Miranda still ran over in high heels, ignored Jho Low's request for a hug and hugged Robbie.

"Miranda! Honey!"

"Sorry Robbie~ My flight is delayed!"

Miranda let go of Robbie and turned to hug James Wan.

The two of them standing together looked like Snow White and the dwarfs had walked into reality.

"I'm so sorry James, blame it on the Florida weather. I missed out on a genius movie!"

"It's okay, Miranda~ Remember to book a theater for me after the show~"

"no problem!"

Jho Low smiled and took Miranda's hand, "One show isn't enough! Let's cover ten!"

"Shxt, I can book all the movie theaters in Los Angeles if Miranda wants!" Jho Low can be called an atmosphere terminator, and his nouveau riche remarks once again made everyone fall silent.

Li Ang held a glass of wine and whispered to Robbie.

"WTF?! Miss Miranda dated that ugly guy?!"

Although it is common practice for goddesses to be supported by money in Hollywood, the sharp contrast between the two standing together is still very visually impactful.

Miranda and Jho Low being together is like Gollum in "The Lord of the Rings" forcing himself on the elf queen Galadriel.

Looking at Miranda's angelic face, Li Ang couldn't help but admire her. She is indeed a supermodel.

Even though she married Orlando Bloom last year, there were constant media reports that she was pregnant.

But this woman still creates an emotional crisis every now and then.

Fishing for Leonardo with the left hand and fishing for the financial sponsor with the right hand.

Rich guys and handsome guys are grabbed with both hands, and both hands are very hard.

Robbie spread his hands and said, "Although Liu is annoying, he is really rich. Even if they are extras on the set, as long as they are young girls, he will not let them go."

"He had been pursuing Kerr for a month before he gave her jewelry worth $1000 million."

"It is said that he burned US dollars in the fireplace at Christmas."

One of the things men hate most is their girlfriends constantly talking about other men's wealth, and Li Ang is no exception.

He curled his lips and said, "It's true that I'm just a poor boy from Brownsville."

Robbie seemed to see through Leon's thoughts, and stood on tiptoe to give him a big kiss on the face.

"You don't have to prove anything to anyone. Look how you've taken the music world by storm in just a few months."

"Besides, you have an advantage that Liu can't buy no matter how much money he spends."

Looking at Robbie's smirk, Leon asked in confusion, "What advantage?"

The next second he almost yelled out: "Shxt!"

Robbie quietly grabbed his dangerous triangle in public, "Of course it's this~"

"Stop it Robbie!"

Leon looked around in panic, and it seemed that no one noticed this except Miranda Kerr.

She winked at Leon with her big eyes, and no one knew what her intention was.

The cocktail party after the premiere lasted for more than two hours. Li Ang, who has always been very restrained in drinking, drank 500ml of whiskey this time, as well as various champagnes and beverages.

This is mainly because he wants to get closer to James Wan and get the opportunity to invest in his next movie.

If you want to quickly build a closer relationship with a stranger, there is no more effective weapon than alcohol.

After drinking three glasses of whiskey, James Wan fell unconscious on the sofa. The drunkard Robbie had already fallen asleep in Leon's arms.

In the entire booth, the only ones with their eyes open were Leon and Miranda.

The woman never drank a drop of alcohol.

Li Ang watched her performance throughout the entire cocktail party. This woman's level of green tea is astonishingly high.

No matter what means Jho Low used to take advantage of her, she could always easily resolve it.

This is what high-level green tea girls are like. They will whet men's appetites and then slowly exploit their value.

Once they really devote themselves, men's interest in them will be greatly reduced.

Li Ang even doubted whether Jho Low had succeeded in getting the ball after spending 1000 million US dollars on Miranda.

He patted Robbie, who was sleeping soundly on his lap, and said, "Wake up, baby, we should go home."

Robbie didn't even bother opening his eyes. He just muttered to himself in his sleep, "Go away, bitches. Stay away from my boyfriend."

The embarrassing thing is that Miranda heard these words clearly.

She swung her red high heels and stared at Li Ang with a smirk on her face.

Leon spread his hands to express his helplessness, and left with Robbie's arm.

Because Robbie was drunk that night, the two of them did not have a "jiu-jitsu" competition for the first time.

The next morning, Li Ang suddenly felt full of energy, as if every cell in his body was brimming with vitality.

Eight hours later, he was back in New York.

Inside ROC, Lenny threw a thick sheet of printed paper in front of Leon. "This is your promotional tour plan for the next month."

"What?" Just looking at the densely packed city names on the list, Li Ang felt a headache.

In the next month, he will visit more than 20 cities, covering almost all the first-tier cities in the United States.

Lenny explained with a smile, "The company has high hopes for your debut album. JAY-Z has set a sales target of one million copies for this album within six months. If you can achieve that, you'll get a large signing bonus when you renew your contract next year!"

Li Ang snorted in his heart. With the physical record market becoming increasingly sluggish today, how could it be so easy to achieve the goal of selling 100 million records?
Phil cheered from the side, "Come on, kid! Your competitor, Adele, Sony Columbia has already offered a whopping $2000 million signing fee to get her full contract."

"Just think about it, you can get so much money just by moving your fingers!"

"JAY-Z won't be stingy with you either!"

Lenny agreed, "That's right, but only if you prove you're worth it. We'll know once Demons is released."

"I hope you will be the company's biggest lottery ticket this year."

Li Ang dealt with it with a smile on the surface, but in his heart he was thinking about waiting for the one-year contract to expire, and whether to renew it or not was still uncertain.

Judging from JAY-Z's current short-sightedness, he will definitely not be willing to renew his contract.

Two days later, the first album of "Demons" was officially released. Before that, ROC company had already warmed up in advance and used various promotional methods.

Rent the most conspicuous big screen in Times Square;
"Demons" was played on repeat on major radio stations such as Z100 Radio and KLOS Radio.

Even CNN, FOX and other TV stations known for their seriousness inserted advertisements for the album sale.

In addition, Li Ang's own community radio network provides uninterrupted broadcasting.

The energy of the propaganda reached every class, from the Manhattan elite to the Brownsville underclass.

Long lines formed at major video stores in New York City.

At this time, Leon's figure had appeared in Detroit, thousands of miles away. This was the first stop of his publicity tour.

The "Auto City", once the pearl of American industry, has now fallen into decline.

In the face of industrial decline, the people of this city have taken a different approach, breaking away from traditional thinking and planning "new retail" - the number of "zero-dollar purchases" here ranks first in the United States.

The streets are full of homeless people and drug addicts who look like zombies.
Unlike other big cities where homeless people are everywhere, this place is filled with an atmosphere of despair.

There are many reasons for becoming homeless in New York, such as divorce, alcoholism, and drug abuse.
But as long as you are willing to pick yourself up, you can always find a way to survive.

Detroit is completely different. The city has rotted from top to bottom. The former industrial pearl has become the largest rust spot in the Rust Belt.

The drug addict was injecting himself on the street without paying any attention to anyone:

Sex workers no longer stay in dark corners, but have sex openly in front of passers-by.

There were even homeless people performing on the streets what "brotherly love" is.

Even Li Ang, who was used to the shameless life in the lower-class communities, couldn't help but admire these magical scenes:
“This is too free.”

(End of this chapter)