A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 190 Are you worthy?
"Come on, let's go around again. Be a good boy!"

"Honey...I don't want to walk anymore, my feet hurt!"

"Listen to me, your husband will go with you. It'll help with a natural birth, okay?"

The rooftop terrace of a huge apartment in New York City, where two pregnant women are awaiting delivery.

Lin Jianlu took one of the two pregnant women by the hand and led them for a walk after dinner. In fact, he looked a little tired. Every time he flew to the Eastern or Western Hemisphere, he always had to adjust to the time difference. But after getting off the plane and returning home, especially after seeing the two pregnant women, his face was full of smiles, and he coaxed and comforted them in various ways.

Before he arrived, Su Huilun was actually fine, just a little anxious about her pregnancy, but she was quite cheerful. Chen Shuhua, on the other hand, was a bit depressed. But as soon as Lin Jianlu arrived, Chen Shuhua immediately improved. Almost from the moment she saw him, she became sunny and optimistic. Her smile never faded, and she didn't need much coaxing. On the contrary, Su Huilun was always being coquettish and throwing little tantrums.

Lin Jianlu doesn't come. Every day, she would call Chen Shuhua to go for a walk on the terrace after dinner and encourage Chen Shuhua. But when Lin Jianlu comes, she doesn't want to leave and has to be coaxed in various ways before she will leave.

Lin Jianlu wasn't annoyed at all and tried her best to coax and persuade her.

Zhang Aijia, with her arms crossed, stood with Lin Xilei at the entrance of the terrace, watching the young couple.

Lin Xilei has become bolder now, especially towards Zhang Aijia, and she's always being sarcastic, saying things like, "He doesn't seem to have gotten over you yet! Do you want to climb again?"

Zhang Aijia gave her a cold glance and said, "Get out!"

Lin Xilei didn't care and continued chewing her gum with a smile.

After walking for about ten more minutes, they finally completed the family doctor's daily exercise requirement. Su Huilun immediately cheered up, grabbed Lin Jianlu's arm, and the three of them went downstairs together. Zhang Aijia and Lin Xilei also went downstairs with them. While Lin Jianlu was not in New York, Zhang Aijia had to devote a considerable amount of energy to handling Lin Jianlu and the publicity for "21," but Lin Xilei was almost completely detached from these matters. Her biggest task every day was to accompany the two pregnant women. Now, the two of them not only eat and live together, but also chat with each other often. They are very familiar with each other.

After eating fruit together after their workout, the two pregnant women watched TV together. Lin Jianlu finally got a break, glanced at Zhang Aijia and Lin Xilei, and then went into the study.

So the two of them quickly followed him into the study.

On the large desk were several stacks of documents—the newest small stack, clearly faxes, was placed closest to the desk's owner. Lin Jianlu sat down, picked one up, glanced at it, and let out a barely audible "tsk," a look of disdain on his face.

Zhang Aijia happened to see this and carefully said, "Don't be so careless! The Lin family has a lot of influence! In my opinion, you shouldn't have provoked that second young master of the Lin family at all!"

Lin Jianlu glanced up at her, remaining noncommittal, and began carefully flipping through the newspaper clippings faxed from Hong Kong—there were articles by Lin Jianyue himself, vehemently denouncing himself as a nouveau riche, a minor one at that, filled with sarcasm, disdain, and boasting about his family's glorious rise to wealth. Many newspaper commentaries also criticized him, arguing that as an artist, despite his achievements and wealth, he shouldn't have so rashly provoked others, even attempting a malicious acquisition of Lai Sun Group's valuable assets, asserting that this would inevitably have a very negative impact on Hong Kong society. And so on and so forth.

In short, it felt like a sore spot had been hit – well, in fact, despite the glamorous image of Hong Kong celebrities, their social status in Hong Kong itself is not high, whether they are singers or actors.

The logic is that simple. Even at its peak, Hong Kong films only generated a small amount of revenue each year. How much profit could they possibly make? How could Hong Kong's tycoons, who are worth billions or tens of billions, possibly even look at you?

Moreover, looking at the entire history of humankind, the social status of artists was suddenly elevated to "people's artists" in China from the time of liberation until the 1980s, which is only about thirty years in total. Before, after, and abroad, they were always just playthings, actors, court painters, court musicians, and church builders.

Hollywood has been talking about the $20 million club lately, but even if you join the $20 million club and become a global superstar, in the eyes of the real old money, the rich club, and the behind-the-scenes families, you are still just an actor.

So, you're an actor who makes some money and gains some fame. You can enjoy your money, buy luxury homes, play around with women, and buy some art to embellish your taste. Then you get cheated, cheated, and cheated again, making all sorts of jokes, until you become poor again and heavily in debt, or you start to fully realize the vast difference between yourself and the rich, and you become humble again, and then you start to grovel before the rich. That's when things gradually become more to your liking.

Who gave you the audacity to provoke the family of a wealthy man who has worked hard in Hong Kong for many years, amassed a fortune of tens of billions, and enjoys a high social reputation?
Acquiring the Furama Hotel in Central? Asking about ATV's offer?

Even if the Lin family wants to sell, are you qualified to ask the price? Are you qualified to buy it?

Your intention to buy is itself a huge provocation to Hong Kong's wealth order and a serious contempt for the Lin family—so Lin Jianyue was so angry that he almost cursed, and the newspapers in Hong Kong, which had been quiet before, started to speak out.

Yes, it feels like a stone thrown into a still pond has caused a great stir.

Ah!
Lin Xilei brought over two cups of coffee, carefully placed them down, and reminded them, "It's a bit hot! If you're going to sleep later, it's best not to drink them."

Lin Jianlu looked up at her, her attitude gentle, and smiled and nodded.

I flipped through it quickly, but there was nothing new. Even the insults were just weak attacks that didn't even make me want to talk back. So I tossed it aside and picked up the second stack, which was full of American newspapers. I turned to the pages I wanted to see and marked them with colored pens.

Well, there are discussions about the music of "21", reports about sales, discussions about Chinese kung fu, etc. Oh, "Once Upon a Time in China II" has been in theaters for almost two weeks, and the total box office has not exceeded one million dollars. The maximum scale of its release is only a little over one hundred theaters, so it should be considered a flop.

According to film reviews in the newspapers, American film critics believe that the film is "filled with stale colors and Oriental delusions and pride. Jet Lee's fight scenes look as gorgeous as a grand but empty space opera, but they lack any sense of power... Columbia Pictures wanted to make a fortune by riding the kung fu craze sparked by Lin, but they really chose the wrong movie. These fight scenes are not even in the same league as the amazing Chinese kung fu that Lin showed in 'Believer'!"

Ah, the essence is that Americans can't understand the heroic core of "Once Upon a Time in China" and even subtly resist this narrative of family and country in an Eastern context. Most ordinary kung fu movie fans are simpler; they may not even understand what the story is about—they can understand love better!
However, Lin Jianlu was still a little surprised that the fight scenes in "Once Upon a Time in China" were ridiculed as being like a gorgeous but empty space opera. Well, one thing is certain: "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero" were definitely popular in America. Aren't the fight scenes in those movies even more ethereal?
It's really a bit puzzling.

I need to have a good talk with Hung Kam-po, Tong Chi-li, and Yuen Ho-ping about this later.

Looking at the next stack, well, this is all information—law firms, accounting firms, etc. in New York. That's how it is in American society. Next, we must follow the American survival rules, bring in these forces, spend some money, and let them protect us from other angles.

I'll be accompanying the two pregnant women until the babies are born, so I have plenty of time to think things through.

The last stack was quite thick. After a quick glance, I saw that the top layer contained commissions from various record companies and price quotes from many performance companies. Below that, surprisingly, was a huge stack of movie scripts—well, that's to be expected.

However, although Lin Jianlu does intend to make movies next, he does not plan to take on Hollywood films like Jack Cheng and Jet Lee. He prefers to stick to his original plan and make "The Myth" as amazing as possible, using an all-Eastern cast and aesthetic to break into the American market. That would be more reliable.

So... I've finished watching it.

Lin Jianlu looked up and asked, "What about finance-related topics? Didn't you collect any?"

Zhang Aijia was taken aback for a moment, "Finance-related content? I...I didn't know what you wanted to read!"

Okay, I'll check the local news tomorrow.

Actually, there's not much to know. During my recent stay in Hong Kong and even in the capital, I've been following the Southeast Asian financial crisis closely. For the time being, there haven't been any major new developments; it's still the same old story involving Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore.

He casually tossed aside the documents in his hand, picked up his coffee cup, took a small sip, and subconsciously picked up a movie script. "Warner Bros.? That's a big Hollywood company, right?" Zhang Aijia casually agreed and explained, "This one is said to have a huge investment, so I put it on top for you, but the story... I didn't quite understand it. It's about the future of the internet world."

Sylvia Chang is a renowned screenwriter and director. While it's hard to say about other things, she's definitely a professional in the film industry. If she says she doesn't understand it, it must be some kind of mind-bending concept. There are many good Hollywood movies, mostly commercial films, but there are also countless similar mind-bending films that are incomprehensible to the audience. However, sorry, Lin Jianlu only wants to make commercial blockbusters right now.

All I want is to make money!

However, upon casually flipping through it and glancing at it, I exclaimed, "Holy crap? This is... The Matrix?"

…………

Go for a run in the morning.

There was a big TV in the gym. Actually, Lin Jianlu didn't like watching TV while running; he preferred listening to the radio. However, he hadn't been living in New York for long and hadn't paid much attention to such things, so he just made do with the TV.

The Thai baht has depreciated by more than 40% compared to before the financial crisis.

Hmm, I saw Andy Lau in Hong Kong a few days ago, and he looked really worried...

But for Lin Jianlu, the tension in her heart was getting tighter and tighter.

Forty percent means that the previous loan of 8600 million US dollars in Thai baht can now earn about 3400 million US dollars. So, should we take out a new loan of 5200 million US dollars to pay off the old one?
I've made quite a bit of money, and it's almost at my breaking point—who knows how much the Thai baht will ultimately fall in this crisis? It's time to take my profits!
In fact, this is only because I am a major client of HSBC and the future prospects are so good. Otherwise, HSBC would probably have withdrawn the loan in advance when the financial crisis just broke out.

It's unclear whether banks themselves will bear the exchange rate losses from such cross-national and cross-currency lending operations, or whether these losses will ultimately be borne by the Central Bank of Thailand. But one thing is easy to understand—if I make money, then someone else must lose money.

And it's a fucking huge loss!
Hmm, let's consider taking out a loan to fill this in!

Yahoo's stock has started to rise, not much, but it has already reached $55 per share. If we start from last winter, the average holding period is about six to eight months. Without considering financial costs, transaction fees, and other costs, each share has earned about $8, which is a profit of more than 10%.

However, even though I don't understand stocks, I'm certain that this is just the beginning.

Therefore, you must hold onto Yahoo and Amazon stocks until 99 before selling them—these stocks are the starting point for your true wealth!
While watching TV, Lin Jianlu heard the door behind her open. At first, she didn't think much of it, but soon she noticed that a treadmill next to her was also turned on. Turning her head, she saw Zhang Aijia standing on it—wearing a pair of black leggings, which were very popular these days, similar to yoga pants, and a tight-fitting T-shirt on top.

Seeing Lin Jianlu looking over, she smiled and said, "You really are up very early."

Lin Jianlu simply grunted in response, then continued running and watching TV, his mind preoccupied with his own affairs—until he had run enough time, he turned off the treadmill, got off, and was about to turn to ask Zhang Aijia if she wanted to continue watching TV when he saw that Zhang Aijia had also suddenly turned off the treadmill. After stopping, she got off, panting, and stood in front of Lin Jianlu.

She pursed her lips, staring intently into his eyes.

Lin Jianlu gave her a deep look and was about to leave when she grabbed her arm. "Jianlu, please, forgive me! I'll never act on my own again! Please! Please!"

Lin Jianlu turned around and looked at her. "That's it? You're done? Is there anything else you want to say?"

Zhang Aijia quickly said, "I was wrong! I really know I was wrong!"

"What's wrong?"

"Two points. First, I shouldn't have... that was my mistake. I can seduce you, but I can't... um... Second, I was still wrong. I made a mistake that made you very angry. How you punish me is your right. I shouldn't have taken it upon myself to decide how to punish myself. That really... lacked sincerity!"

Lin Jianlu pursed her lips and nodded slowly.

"Not bad! Looks like you've been reflecting a lot lately."

"I reflect on this every day, really, Ah Lu, I reflect on this every day! I love you so much, I'm going crazy! Please, please punish me, okay? Just forgive me, don't ignore me like this!"

Lin Jianlu raised her hand to touch her face. It had been a while since she'd seen her; she'd lost weight, and there were even some crow's feet around her eyes, but this added a touch of the delicate vulnerability and mature charm unique to a young, artistic woman. Touching her face now, she could still feel the smoothness of her skin. "Because of your serious mistake, your agency contract is void, and you gave it up voluntarily. From now on, you'll be my assistant, just like Ah Lei! I'll pay you HK$30,000 a month, just like Ah Lei!"

Her mouth opened slightly, and a hint of darkness seemed to flash in her eyes, but in the end, she nodded. "Okay!"

That "okay" meant that her most direct economic loss in the year and a half before her original management contract expired would be at least tens of millions of dollars. This doesn't even include Lin Jianlu's album "21" and "Nocturne," which has already been released in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia, and has also been introduced to Europe and America for simultaneous global release. Both of these albums were produced and released by her as her manager during the contract period. So, in principle, she should also receive a commission as a manager. But if Lin Jianlu doesn't give it to her, she will have no way to get a piece of this big cake unless she is determined to take legal action.

With just one album, "21," she could very well have teamed up with Ge Fuhong to rake in a whopping 20 million US dollars in management royalties. "Nocturne" certainly wouldn't be as high, but this Mandarin album would still likely generate tens of millions of US dollars in sales, and Lin Jianlu could easily earn over 20 million US dollars in royalties. Therefore, at least another million dollars was passed up. Not to mention, Lin Jianlu is about to embark on his most lucrative commercial performance tour as a singer!
But she still nodded, and seemed quite willing to agree.

Clearly, she probably had already anticipated that Lin Jianlu would be "so ruthless."

What a literary youth!
"I'll have someone draft a contract today. Once you've reviewed it and agree with it, I'll sign it! I'm willing to give up everything!... Ah Lu, can you forgive me now?"

Ha, one shot and he can save tens of millions of dollars in agent commission. Not to mention that Lin Jianlu is currently heavily in debt and far from being rich, even if he had billions of dollars in assets, he would be willing to sell himself like this.

"Okay! I forgive you!"

She immediately breathed a sigh of relief, looking happy as if her wish had been fulfilled. But soon, tears slowly welled up in her eyes again, and she looked pitiful. "Ah Lu, I really love you so much! Thank you for allowing me to stay by your side! I really... I really don't want to leave you for even a day! Even just looking at you is enough!"

Lin Jianlu raised his hand again and touched her cheek, but quickly let go. "After you meet those brothers... what's their name again? The Wachowskis, right? After you meet them and talk about this, you should go back and see your son! I'll give you a month's leave so you can spend some time with him."

Sylvia Chang, who was on the verge of tears, was startled by what she heard. "I'll go back and get a divorce! I will fight for custody of the children, but I will definitely get a divorce! I want to settle down in New York with the children."

Those eyes were full of expectation and pleading.

Lin Jianlu frowned. He didn't think Zhang Aijia wasn't charming. A woman in her forties like her had her own charm and allure. Only men who had never seen or experienced this kind of middle-aged charm would simply look down on her based on her age. However, Lin Jianlu did feel somewhat uncomfortable about her identity.

Otherwise, when he was lonely and had no one to keep him company, he wouldn't mind having something happen with Zhang Aijia.

He leaned closer to her and said, "Didn't Lin Xilei tell you that I not only don't touch married women, but I also don't touch my assistants!"

She quickly explained, "I understand! I understand! I promise, there will never be a next time. I just want to stay by your side and protect you! I don't want anything else! I just... love you!"

Ah...artsy youths, what strange creatures they are!

Perhaps we shouldn't simply attribute it to artsy types... Screw it, whatever!

"Keep training, I'm going to box!"

…………

"Hey... Wow, Lin, I'm so glad to finally meet you!"

"Hello, Mr. Wachowski!... Mr. Wachowski!"

"No, no, no, please call me Larry, and call him Andy!"

"OK! Larry, hello; Andy, hello!"

"Yeah!"

Yes, it was still in that townhouse on the Upper East Side, which was a place where Lin Jianlu could be somewhat open to the public. So it was there that he met the Wachowski brothers, who had rushed over from Los Angeles.

They had a very pleasant conversation.

These two brothers are very eloquent and talkative. They talked about their ideas, concepts, and filming concepts. Although I had seen "The Matrix" in my previous life, and more than once, listening to them talk from the perspective of creators still helped me to resolve many doubts from my past life and reminded me of many movie settings that I had long forgotten.

The more we talked, the more I felt that the Matrix was so popular in this era and is still considered a classic by many people twenty years later. There is a lot of support for it. At first glance, it may seem confusing to many people in this era who do not understand the concept of the Internet. But in fact, the setting of the story is very imaginative, while the core is quite exciting and commercial!

With a certain level of spectacle, plus the fact that the final cut of the film seems to have a special shooting technique that was later known as "bullet time," the film's global success was inevitable!
Then it's easy to reach an agreement!
Lin Jianlu fully agrees to star in "The Matrix"!
The two brothers made no attempt to hide their joy and immediately high-fived each other in celebration!
Of course, Lin Jianlu agreeing to star was only the first step. What followed was far more complicated—how much would her salary be? How long would the filming period be? What would her treatment be during filming? Would her salary include a share of the profits? How would it be split? If it were to be split from profits, Hollywood rules dictate that even the biggest hits will likely lose money on paper. Without profit, a profit-sharing agreement is just a formality; you'd actually get nothing. Split directly from box office revenue? Please, what right do you have to share box office revenue? Can I bring my own investment to the project?

And so on.

However, of course, that would require her agent to discuss it with the producers of "The Matrix," and there was absolutely no need for Lin Jianlu to sit down with the two directors and argue over every little detail, which would damage their relationship.

…………

They pulled back and forth.

Lin Jianlu wasn't present at the scene and doesn't know the specifics of how Sylvia Chang negotiated with Warner Bros., but he was well aware that he wanted to get on board with "The Matrix," so the overall tone was definitely one of compromise.

As long as we can save face for the world's top superstars.

Even in Hollywood, there are countless examples of big-name singers making movies, and there are precedents to refer to. However, apart from a very few, most of them are not very successful. But Lin Jianlu seems to be an exception.

He recently rose to fame, but immediately broke Michael Jackson's sales record and became an undisputed global sensation. Moreover, he carries the label and characteristics of "Chinese Kung Fu," which not only fits perfectly with the script of "The Matrix," but also almost guarantees a certain level of box office success.

In addition, he is young and handsome. Although he is Chinese, his Asian face is considered quite handsome and distinctive even in Hollywood. This is very different from singers who are often not good-looking. As an idol, being handsome is still a huge plus.

Then, it must be mentioned that before he went to America and became famous, he was already a super idol and super king who was famous all over Asia!

In other words, he almost naturally carries a strong following in Asia, especially in East and Southeast Asia, which can be interpreted as naturally bringing in box office revenue!

Therefore, the initial salary could not be low.

On the other hand, Lin Jianlu is certain that "The Matrix" will be a hit. Moreover, in his opinion, once "The Matrix" is released, its novel world view and its cool visual style will definitely be a huge boost to him as a singer and idol!
So... in fact, it's a win-win situation!

Of course, during the prior communication, I would remind Zhang Aijia: Don't try to make the negotiations fall apart!
And so it went, round after round.

While Lin Jianlu was in New York with two pregnant women, comforting and soothing them, Zhang Aijia flew to Los Angeles to negotiate with producers at Warner Bros.

Before any agreement was reached, on August 29, 1997, five days after Lin Jianlu flew to New York, Su Huilun went into labor first and gave birth to a daughter three hours later.

Good heavens, this is my first child in both my past and present lives.

When Lin Jianlu took the crumpled little guy from the nurse's hands, heaven knows how nervous he was. He was so nervous that the muscles in both arms bulged, as if he had used all his strength. But when he was holding this 7.83-pound (about 7.1 kilograms) little guy, he was still so nervous that he couldn't breathe.

The nanny I brought from Taiwan will take care of me throughout my postpartum period.

Even after being discharged from the hospital, Lin Jianlu would go to see her daughter almost every day as soon as she opened her eyes. She watched helplessly as her daughter gradually gained weight, became less wrinkled, and her skin became less red and started to become fairer.

However, before he could even fully enjoy his daughter, eleven days later, on September 9th, Chen Shuhua also went into labor. Fortunately, it was a natural birth, and quite smoothly, resulting in her giving birth to a son for Lin Jianlu.

This little guy is big; he weighed a whopping eight pounds and four ounces at birth.

Suddenly they had both a son and a daughter.

The feeling of happiness was so overwhelming that Lin Jianlu himself didn't know how to describe it when he called his parents twice to share the good news—he was essentially the kind of person who longed for a stable and peaceful family life, both in his past life and this one. It was just that as he gradually reached his current position in the entertainment industry, many ambitions that didn't exist before were gradually awakened.

Despite his ambition and fighting spirit, deep down he still longed for a family with both a son and a daughter.

So, they couldn't care about anything else.

Riding the wave of its music video success, "Believer" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for seven consecutive weeks starting July 25th. "Moves-Like-Jagger" then took over, officially reaching number one on the singles chart on September 12th, becoming the fifth number one single from the album "21," successfully tying Michael Jackson's record of five number one singles with "Bad."

Ultimately, Columbia Pictures overruled Mariah Carey's objections and decided to postpone the release of her new album "Honey," which led to the formal breakdown of her marriage with Tommy Mottola and the initiation of divorce proceedings, with their lawyers engaging in a heated verbal battle.

After Columbia Records introduced "Nocturne" to North America and released it globally, the first single in Europe and America, "Nocturne," a Chinese song, made history by entering the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and reaching a peak of number 19. It successfully charted for four consecutive weeks. The album "Nocturne" also made history by entering the Billboard 200 albums chart and even broke into the top ten at one point.

In his fury, Lin Jianyue has recently been mobilizing various people and newspapers and magazines that had previously reached an agreement with Lin Jianlu to publish articles criticizing her.

When Chen Kaige was being interviewed, he was suddenly asked to comment on the music video for "Believer" directed by international superstar Lin Jianlu. Director Chen immediately said, "That was directed by Yi Mou. Lin Jianlu is just a singer. What does she know about film?" After saying that, he turned and left.

Hou Hsiao-hsien ultimately chose to join the newly registered Lai Sun Media, and with a budget of HK$20 million, he began preparing for "Flowers of Shanghai". However, due to Wang Zuxian's refusal to star in the film, he was caught in a dilemma and had to hurriedly ask people all over the world to contact Wang Zuxian and try to persuade her to star in the film.

Regarding "The Matrix," Sylvia Chang ultimately only negotiated a salary of 1500 million US dollars, plus a 5% share of the box office revenue from Hong Kong, Taiwan, mainland China, and Southeast Asia.

The Thai baht continued to fall after dropping below 40%, and soon exceeded 42%.

After entering September, Yahoo's stock suddenly started to surge, as if it had suddenly found a treasure. In just one or two weeks, it had risen to $83 per share, and the momentum showed no signs of slowing down. Many financial experts and stock market experts analyzed that Yahoo would soon rise to over $100 per share and would have a good chance of surpassing Netscape within a month to become the Internet stock with the highest market value!
It doesn't matter anymore.

The only thing that could still disturb Lin Jianlu's mind and draw his attention away from his two children was that Lin Qingxia was about to give birth!

And Jia Jingwen unexpectedly got pregnant—even though it was her safe period, which is why she didn't take any medication, she still managed to get pregnant!

(End of this chapter)