Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 201 Lu, I want to convert to your religion
Lu Kuan saw his hesitant expression, but he himself was calm and composed. This was the calmness that came from being a cheater.

Later, Miramax's Harvey and Disney broke up the next year.

He was just taking advantage of the situation by tempting this ungrateful Jew.

Boss Lu first threw out the first bait that brought back his sad past.

"Xavi, remember The Lord of the Rings? If you're still hesitant, then Outlander will become the second The Lord of the Rings for you."

Perhaps only Harvey himself understands this sentence.

In 1999, Peter Jackson approached Harvey and said he wanted to make a big-budget fantasy film based on The Lord of the Rings by British writer J.R.R.R. Tolkien.

It has to be said that as an independent filmmaker, Harvey has shown great foresight in both discovering Quentin and this work.

When he brought the film to Disney's CEO Eisner, he was flatly rejected by the CEO, who was known as a tyrant.

He thought the cost of this film was too high, and if they had to make it, Disney could only support them to shoot the first part first to see the effect.

And threatened him and his Miramax to align with Disney.

Harvey had no choice but to talk to Peter Jackson, but the latter flatly refused and spent his own money to recruit actors to shoot the film in New Zealand.

He then found New Line with the same pre-sale promotional video as "Alien Land". The latter was amazed and spent a lot of money to buy the copyright from Harvey.

When the film's box office soared to $30 billion, Harvey really wanted to stuff his penis into Eisner's mouth.

"I admit that your 'Alien Land' is the most astonishing science fiction film I've seen in recent years, but how do you solve your current problem? Your leading lady?"

A shrewd Jewish businessman must thoroughly determine the value of "Foreign Land" and the benefits that the entire plan can bring to him.

As for loyalty to Disney?

To hell with that, it just depends on whether the leverage for betrayal is high enough.

"First, the box office of 'Alien Land' still depends mainly on Leonardo DiCaprio, including Gary Oldman and Travolta."

"Secondly, Zhang Ziyi isn't indispensable..."

Boss Lu's mind raced, thinking about how to give a convincing answer.

"By the way, do you remember the Chinese girl next to me at the promotion meeting?"

Harvey nodded, "Of course, your little girlfriend."

Boss Lu didn't waste any more time explaining.

"She's actually Zhang Ziyi's body double. All the side and rear-angled fighting shots you saw in the fifteen minutes of the pre-release film were her appearances."

Harvey was really surprised this time.

At the promotion meeting, many professional filmmakers including him could see that Zhang Ziyi's kung fu scenes were obviously different from those in "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero".

It lacks the carefree and unrestrained style of parting flowers and brushing willows, but has more sharp, swift and decisive killing.

It turned out to be that little girl...

Thinking of her beautiful face, there is a huge contrast between her martial arts moves.

This is definitely a selling point.

Boss Lu pressed on: "Harvey, don't forget Eisner, the man who disgusts you. Do you want you and Miramax to live in his shadow for the rest of your lives?"

Harvey's mouth twitched. You know everything about me.

This involves the feud between him and Eisner, the tyrannical CEO of Miramax and Disney.

For Disney, which has always pursued healthy and uplifting themes, Harvey is like Li Yunlong.

Putting aside his shameful personal character, Harvey fought beautifully and with remarkable talent.

But at the same time, he was not at all ambiguous when it came to causing trouble, disobeying orders and constantly bringing up Italy to criticize Disney.

Disney's mainstream film style is suitable for all ages and is suitable for the whole family to watch together, which is similar to our mainstream values.

But how did Harvey do it?

In 1994, he introduced the religious-themed erotic movie "The Father" from the UK, which had a double buff of religion and eroticism.

In 1999, he invested in and released Kevin Smith's "The Furious", followed by "Kill Bill" in 2003.

Comprehensive religion, bronze fetish, blood, violence.

What you Disney object to is what I, Harvey, love.

Harvey and Eisner had completely different development ideas. Eisner felt that Harvey's Miramax was becoming too big to be managed, and he had been trying every possible way to cut and limit their investment.

In 2002, Harvey spent $8000 million to invest in "Cold Mountain", which aroused Eisner's dissatisfaction.

That same year, his proposals to acquire Artisan Films and acquire stakes in cable channels Bravo and IFC were also rejected.

Among these events, what hurt Harvey the most was that the tyrant Eisner made him miss out on "The Lord of the Rings", which was a lifelong pain for him.

Harvey was silent for a while. The conflict between him and Eisner was well known to everyone, so it was not surprising that Lu Kuan knew it.

"Lu, you are too weak. If I choose to fight Disney and Eisner with you, we might both be overturned by this giant ship."

Boss Lu shook his finger confidently at him: "Wrong, absolutely wrong!"

"This time, the Disney subsidiary, Bowen, is responsible for the global distribution of 'Alien Land'. Tell me honestly, who does Bowen's Rondo belong to?"

"Eisner."

"That's right! We're against Eisner! We're against him using the embezzlement of projects as an excuse to support his cronies. What does that have to do with opposing Disney?"

"In other words, how much longer can Eisner stay in office? Have you ever thought about this?"

There was a gleam in Harvey's eyes. He had more than just thought about it.
He was even driven crazy to the point of hiring a killer to kill him!

"Lu, please tell me your judgment of Eisner. This will be the most important reason for you to convince me."

The little fairy is online.

"Harvey, last time you didn't believe I could guess your bidding strategy for 'Hero' and thought I was being mysterious."

"This time I believe you will completely submit to our ancient and mysterious Eastern religion."

"You Jews have a book called the Talmud that combines sacrifices and law, right?"

Harvey sneered when he heard him talk about supernatural things again.

Even the president lies when he follows the Bible, and you come to me, a Jew, and you come to me and criticize these religious beliefs.

"Yes, so what?"

"The Talmud contains passages that analyze a person's character and destiny through the shape of their eyes, body, and nose, which is consistent with certain Taoist schools of thought."

"In other words, I can make reasonable inferences and predictions about anyone, not just Eisner, based on their birth date calculated according to the Chinese calendar and their facial features."

Harvey clapped his hands and laughed. "What a funny joke! The weird things you drew last time could only fool Quentin, that China fan."

Boss Lu glanced at him calmly and prepared to increase the intensity.

He stood up, opened the door, looked around, then turned back and locked the door with a serious expression.

"Harvey, your character is known to everyone in Hollywood, but except for those very close to you, it is a secret that only I can see."

"Here's the secret. I've known it since the first time I saw you in person!"

When Harvey saw him pointing his finger at a certain part of his body, his expression suddenly turned cold.

The young director touched upon his deepest scars.

Lu Kuan continued to output regardless of his reaction.

"You are bisexual, almost female." (Note 1)

"Bullshit! That's not happening!"

Harvey slammed the table and stood up. If there was anything that made him more angry than having his wealth taken away, it was undoubtedly his physical defect.

Such private information about the little god must of course have been revealed by later generations.

After the ME Too movement, Harvey was brought to justice.

In court, a female model named Lauren accused him of sexual assault. The description of her in the evidence presented in court was that she looked like she had been cut and stitched.

Another model, Jessica, gave the same testimony to prove that she had also been assaulted.

"It looks deformed, intersex, and appears to have undergone surgery."

The court asked if that was the case, how did Harvey act?
Both of them answered taking medicine.

Because this kind of privacy cannot be known between people who have not had sex, and given Harvey's cruelty and rude nature, no one would dare to disclose it easily.

Therefore, the court found that at least the two models' descriptions of Harvey's body parts were true, indirectly proving that Harvey had sex with them. As to whether it was forced, additional evidence is needed to determine.

The photo of his penis was circulated among the jurors in court and was then made public through the grapevine.

Generally speaking, people with certain physical problems or disabilities will have drastic changes in their temperament. Harvey's later cruelty and debauchery may have originated from the car accident in his childhood.

This is a psychological feedback from inferiority complex.

Lu Kuan didn't want to anger him, this was just to give the white pig a small psychological shock.

"There's an old Chinese saying about avoiding illness and seeking medical advice. Harvey, your troubles can be soothed and resolved through the cultural principles of Eastern mystical religions."

“Even if it can’t make up for your physical regrets, it can still give your mind unprecedented peace.”

I don’t know if he was really shocked by Lu Kuan’s accurate prediction, but at least Harvey just racked his brains and couldn’t find any possibility that anyone would reveal this news.

If it were true, wouldn't the news have spread all over the place if he had so many enemies in Hollywood?

How could a Chinese man who is only 22 years old describe it so clearly?
Yahweh, the true God of the Jews, please guide me on my way forward...

Although he was already 80% convinced in his heart, Harvey still insisted on his doubts. He had to know what Lu Kuan thought about Eisner's future at Disney.

After the accurate prediction on him last time, he even began to look forward to it.

If you, Lu Kuan, really possess this mysterious religious power, then you'd better be able to kill Eisner as well!

After a brief incident, the conversation between the two returned to normal.

"Eisner's term ends in 2005, but you know Disney's current situation better than I do. I think it's very likely he'll leave early."

Harvey's eyes flashed: "The reason."

"First, he has undergone four major surgeries since 1994, and has been forcing himself to work despite his illness for nearly a decade. With so much pressure, his health could be the final straw that breaks the camel's back."

Eisner was an interesting person. He had undergone four life-threatening operations, but he was reluctant to leave and did not select a successor in advance as was customary.

He kept an envelope with his designated successor in his office drawer, and instructed his secretary and vice president to open it only when he was critically ill.

Does it look like Kangxi placed the edict of succession behind the "Zhengda Guangming" plaque in the Qianqing Palace?

"Secondly, Eisner is stubborn and self-righteous, and his management methods have serious cognitive flaws. Not only you, Harvey, but almost all the senior executives at Disney call him a tyrant. Isn't that right?"

Without waiting for Harvey to respond, Boss Lu continued to incite him, "The most important thing is that his good assistant Wells passed away unexpectedly, completely disrupting the balance of his leadership!"

Harvey stood up suddenly and looked at the young director from China in disbelief!

I just listened to him talk for such a long time. Apart from being a little upset when his physical disability was pointed out, this was the first time he showed such excitement.

"You can actually see so deeply! Lu, you really surprised me this time."

Boss Lu sneered in his heart, thinking that only you foreigners, whose country has only been established for more than 200 years, are surprised by things that are not seen often.

The relationship between Wells and Eisner he described is like the relationship between a monarch and wise ministers in Chinese history.

Eisner was a cranky thug who was extremely demanding of his subordinates, and Wells was the one who put the brakes on him and maintained interpersonal relationships.

To give an inappropriate example, it is a bit like Li Shimin and Wei Zheng in the late Tang Dynasty.

"Finally, I heard that Enzo Disney, son of Disney co-founder Roy Disney and current vice chairman, is preparing to resign."

"If this is true, it will be a major blow to Eisner!"

Harvey had heard of this rumor, as he had worked with Enzo before.

"What if it's not true?"

Boss Lu smiled and said, "Then make it real!"

"Such simple logic! Wouldn't you publish a report in the newspaper under Enzo's name to criticize Eisner?"

"Given Eisner's temperament, he'll definitely launch a fierce counterattack, regardless of whether it's true or not. The worst-case scenario is that both sides will suffer losses."

"And the reputation of your sworn enemy, Eisner, will suffer an unprecedented blow!"

Boss Lu suddenly approached the demagogue and said, "Xavi, tell me! Are you tempted?!"

If there was a camera present to capture this double shot, one would be able to see the handsome profile of the Chinese youth and Harvey's ugly face in the same frame.

What was strange was that the Jews with more ferocious looks seemed to have more fear in their eyes when they looked at the Chinese youths.

A genius, a risk-taker, a devil who plays with people's hearts.

This is Harvey's current stereotype of this young Chinese man.

Harvey sighed deeply, took the cigarette that Lu Kuan had just thrown to him and put it in his mouth.

"If I don't agree to your request now, will you turn around and look for Tom Cruise or Eisner?"

Lu Kuan looked at him with a smile without saying anything. Is it necessary to ask such a thing?
First find the softest persimmon to squeeze, and then find the person with the most loopholes to conquer.

His advantage lies in his foresight about industry trends and various details. Who else has more loopholes than this Jewish white pig?
When it comes to those who know the times, Jews like Harvey are definitely one of the best. He quickly changed his mindset.

"Lu, what do you need me to do?"

"I'll first have the news of Zhang Ziyi's injury and substitution released domestically. You should monitor Bo Wei's pre-sale funds and urge him to release a statement when the opportunity arises."

"What about Tom Cruise?"

Lu Kuan hesitated for a few seconds. When it comes to revenge or grievance, he should be punished anyway.

But after all, he is the producer, and he is needed to come forward to maintain the reputation and word of mouth of "Alien Land", so it is not easy to have a fierce conflict in public.

But you can do it under the table!
The female lead was replaced by Liu Yifei, and her salary budget was set at 1000 to 2000 million US dollars. After the accounts were settled, the money would still belong to her, but Tom Cruise would get less 13% of the total amount.

These are all routine operations of dirty bastards.

"You go and communicate with him. I won't show up. I will reduce the number of times I meet with you these days."

Harvey felt relieved. He went from being arrogant and domineering at the beginning to being struck by lightning in the middle, until he was finally instigated by this young Chinese man who dared to venture into Hollywood to "kill the king".

This is so fucking exciting.

He suddenly thought of something and said carefully: "Lu, actually..."

"Actually, I'm very interested in your religion. I wonder if you could teach me some techniques for cultivation?"

Boss Lu chuckled in his heart, is this bastard trying to learn from the Chakravartin in "Sword Rain" and regenerate his testicles by practicing secret techniques?

"If you're really interested, you can come with me to China next time. I'll introduce you to famous teachers, either from the mainland or Hong Kong."

Harvey said flatteringly, "Great, great! I've always been close to you Chinese people, and you're also very friendly to the Jews. It's like my second home there!"

It cannot be said that this was entirely deliberate flattery.

The Harvey brothers grew up in Flushing, Queens, New York, an important settlement for immigrants from mainland China and the Bay Area. He has been exposed to various East Asian cultures since he was a child.

Like his buddy Quentin, he is interested in Chinese films and culture. For example, he filmed the Tokyo scenes in "Kill Bill" in Beijing and bought the North American rights to "Hero".

In 2007, the second year after he left Disney, Harvey established the Asian Film Fund and invested US$2.85 million.

Among the filming plans proposed that year was a remake of Kurosawa Akira's "Seven Samurai" starring Zhang Ziyi, but the project was later aborted.

As well as "The Forbidden Kingdom" starring Liu Yifei, and even the collaboration between Jet Li and Jackie Chan, it was made possible by the coordination of the Harvey brothers.

By enticing him with huge profits and using the intensity of mysticism, Boss Lu finally won Harvey over to his side.

To get from Los Angeles to Vancouver, you need to take Highway 5, which connects the US-Canada border.

After crossing the border, take Highway 99 north and you will finally arrive.

A Fei parked the car in the underground parking lot. Lu Kuan had already made an appointment with Liu Xiaoli and her daughter to go to the hotel's water bar to discuss things.

He was thinking about the heroine's problem when he was in the country.

For "Alien Land," the first consideration is the familiarity and recognition of North American audiences.

In this regard, there is no one else to think of except Zhang Ziyi, the heroine of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero".

At present, there is indeed no actress in China who is more suitable to be the female lead in a co-production film than her.

Since she is absent, let's just consider her acting skills and the fit with the role.

The actresses who participated in the casting before, Gillian Chung, Alyssa Chia, and Zhao Yanzi did not meet the requirements in all aspects.

Zhang Baizhi is Hua Guoxing's person, and she has been recommended to the crew of "Love Is Not Blind" to play the female lead.

Fan Bingbing is a Huayi employee, and has already received a supporting role with fewer scenes but in which he can show his face;
Zhou Xun’s acting skills are adequate, but all her outstanding roles on the big screen later on were emotional dramas, and her martial arts scenes were too poor.

In this era, when a Chinese actress appears in a Hollywood movie, the audience will only have expectations when they see your face.

How's your fight?
　Note 1: His genitals are deformed, making him look like a hermaphrodite. Evidence presented in court.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)