The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 17 Money Arrived

In the back row of the Great Salt Lake Cinema, Robert waited for a few minutes.

The assistant rushed over and handed him the form in his hand: "Boss, 65 valid scores were collected, and the average score is three and a half stars."

Robert took a look and said directly, "Go inform Catherine and prepare to discuss the copyright. Tell her that I only have 10 minutes."

The assistant goes to find Katherine and Eric.

A few minutes later, the two parties borrowed the cinema's office and began copyright negotiations for "D.C. Heights."

The distribution company was at the absolute upstream of the entire film industry chain. Catherine and Eric had no right to bargain and soon agreed to transfer all the copyrights of "DC Heights" to Castle Rock Pictures for US$35.

…………

Main street, next to the street lamp.

Hawke received a call from Catherine.

Brand stood in front of the pizza shop window, watching Hawke walking around, touching the wound at the corner of his mouth, feeling extremely complicated.

In just a few days, he suffered a greater blow to his money-making ability than in the past twenty years combined.

Is this a high-end business war? It is completely different from what we imagine and what is described in textbooks.

Brand sighed secretly: "Hawke's style is really simple and unpretentious."

Larson came from behind, glanced at Hawke outside the window, and asked, "Did you learn it?"

Brand endured the pain in the corner of his mouth and said, "I feel like I'm almost done with learning." He said again, "It's so hard to make money quickly."

Larson said with deep emotion: "Except for the tax bureau and capitalists, it is not easy for anyone to take money out of other people's pockets."

The cell phone rang, Brand picked it up, said a few words to Hawke, and after hanging up, he said to Larson: "Hawk and I are going out for a while."

Larson patted him on the shoulder and said, "The film festival has just started. Follow him and learn well. The troupe will depend on you in the future."

Brand followed Hawke to the hotel and into Eric's suite.

Catherine took the newly signed copyright contract and handed it to Hawke: "The copyright transfer fee for "D.C. Heights" is $35."

"Congratulations." Hawke took it and flipped through it quickly.

Catherine didn't waste any words and took out the prepared check: "This is $5000 to be paid later."

Hawke looked at it carefully, then put it away.

Catherine said: "The copyright transfer fee has not yet arrived. I was going to pay you after Castle Rock Pictures transferred the money."

She recalled Eric's description and thought it would be better to settle the account as soon as possible, so as to do him a favor: "George Hansen did a great job. I decided to pay the share in advance."

Hawke said, "You pay, and I do the work, that's what I should do."

Catherine took out her checkbook, filled it out, and said, "Two percent, $7000."

Hawke received the check, stood up and said, "Our contract is complete."

Catherine shook his hand and said, "I hope there will be opportunities for cooperation again."

The sponsor was straightforward, and Hawke was not ambiguous: "You have my phone number."

After they got out the door, Eric walked Hawke all the way to the elevator.

While waiting for the elevator, he said, "There's a bar next to the hotel with a great atmosphere. Let's go out for a drink tonight?"

Hawke had been busy for a few days and needed to relax and rest: "Okay, see you at 7pm."

Eric smiled: "I'll go and wait for you in advance."

The elevator came up at this time, Hawke shook hands with Eric, and went downstairs with Brand.

The two went to a nearby coffee shop.

Brand guessed what would happen next and was somewhat excited. He ignored the pain in his mouth and asked, "How much did we earn in total?" Hawke explained one by one, "After signing the contract, we received $5000. That night, Catherine gave us another $5000. Today's news video sold for $1000. Just now, we received another $5000 and $7000 upstairs."

Brand calculated in his mind and said, "The total income is $2.3."

Hawke nodded and continued, "In terms of expenses, the party cost $1000. The audience fees plus the cost of the amplifier and other equipment is a little over $1000. Let's call it $1000."

Brand added: "There were also lawyer fees, dinners, photocopying, and money for Damian and Lewis, which added up to about $1000."

“After the $3000 fee, we still have $ left,” Hawke said.

"We made $4000 in four days? That's crazy!" Money prompted some changes in Brand, and he spoke more calmly than before: "We agreed that I would get % of it, $."

Hawke knew the temptation of money and said directly: "After drinking coffee, go to the bank to transfer the money."

"Okay." Brand picked up the coffee, put it to his mouth but didn't drink it, obviously thinking about something.

Man's desire for money drives him to change.

Brand finally took a big sip of coffee and asked tentatively, "Will we do similar business in the future?"

Hawke could sense Brand's change to some extent, and said, "The film festival is still more than a week away, and I plan to find a new crew. This way of commercial promotion can help me find clients."

"Next time, I want..." Brand wanted to say 40%, but he was unsure and said, "I want 35%!"

Hawke said, "Thirty percent at most."

Brand nodded: "Okay, 30% then."

Hawke knew very well that if it happened a few more times, Brand would ask for half of it.

Money and people's hearts are always changing.

After drinking coffee, the two went to the bank.

Hawke returned to the Alpine Pizza Restaurant, paid the party bill, declined the bearded man's invitation to a drinking contest, and returned to his residence to rest.

He has been busy these days and even went out for a trip in the early morning, so he is tired.

After waking up from a nap, Hawke found Brand sitting in front of the fireplace in the living room in a daze. He deliberately asked, "Are you thinking about what gift to give to the girl you like?"

"Yes." Brand asked seriously, "Tiffany, Hermes, Chanel... Which brand is the most suitable?"

Hawke poured two glasses of water, handed one to Brand, sat diagonally opposite him, and said, "Neither of them is suitable."

Brand was surprised: "Why?"

Hawke sincerely advises: "Just make money, and when you have enough money, you can have any kind of woman you want."

Brand still believes in love: "I'll wait until I have money. If I meet a girl I like and don't chase her, I will regret it in the future."

Hawke said, "Good luck." He changed the subject: "Is there a gym, a fighting range, and a shooting range in Park City? A three-in-one would be best."

Brand shook his head: "There is a gym, but I don't remember a fighting arena or a shooting range. The most common thing here is the ski resort."

He thought for a moment and then said, “This kind of multifunctional club can only be found in Salt Lake City.”

Hawke made a note of it and planned to look it up on the Internet when he was done in Park City.

With his recent continuous busyness and exercise, his weight has been decreasing and the puffiness on his face has almost disappeared, but his body is far from being in the best condition.

Hawke took the handheld camera and studied it carefully. It worked well and the night vision images were clear.

Brand was tired and sat drowsily by the fireplace.

When it got dark, Hawke woke him up and asked, "Would you like to go out for a drink?"

Brand remembered that Eric had made an appointment with Hawke, and waved his hand at him: "No beauty, no go. I'm going to take a nap, please bring me some midnight snack when you come back."

Hawke complied and walked to the bar.

(End of this chapter)