Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 583 Super Idol?

This is a thirteen-story building located on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Century City, Los Angeles. It has an elegant curved shape and a facade composed of light gray granite and a full glass curtain wall. Under the sunlight, it looks like a silver giant ship docked in the center of the city.

At the door, the doorman opened the car door, and Allison got out of a brand-new silver BMW, handing the keys to the doorman.

"Good afternoon, ma'am," the tall, handsome young doorman said with a fawning smile, his gaze lingering for a moment on the access card with the CAA logo that the woman took out of her bag.

To a seasoned doorman, the silver lettering printed on the card, "Publicity Director – Film Division," was nothing special.

Although this position, second only to the department head and possessing its own office, budget, and team, could be considered part of CAA's management, he received and saw off many people there every day. Not only the Director of Communications, but even CAA President Richard Lovett knew his name.

However, the card is actually gold in color.

This is quite rare.

There is only one situation in which the access cards of all 1500 CAA employees will have a gold priority mark: that is, the client they are responsible for is on CAA's crown list.

CAA, as the top of the three major Hollywood talent agencies alongside WME and UTA, does not have a static list; rather, it re-ranks its list every year, selecting the five celebrities who bring the company the most revenue that year.

As the doorman knew,
The five newly awarded crowns for 2012 belong to—

First place goes to James Cameron. This highest-grossing director in the world remains number one due to the long-term revenue from the technical licensing of *Avatar* and the global 3D film industry.

Second place goes to Tom Cruise. This movie star has always been CAA's most stable cash flow. The release of "Mission: Impossible 4" in 2011 also brought CAA a fortune in box office revenue sharing and brand contracts in 2012.

Third place goes to Steven Spielberg, one of Hollywood's most renowned directors. Although he founded DreamWorks long ago, he still maintains a deep partnership with CAA. CAA facilitated the distribution negotiations for "Lincoln" and the long-term agreement between DreamWorks and Disney, allowing the company to still reap considerable profits in the art film sector.

Fourth on the list is Beyoncé, who launched her global "Mrs. Carter Show" tour last year, sparking a global pop craze. Concerts, advertisements, and brand collaborations nearly doubled CAA's annual revenue.

Fifth place belongs to Peyton Manning, the legendary quarterback who returned to the NFL and landed a plethora of endorsement deals.

And which of these five is this unfamiliar woman the new publicity director?
……

Alison didn't notice the doorman's curious gaze, nor did she know that the gold card in her hand not only allowed her direct access to the top-floor conference room, but also enabled her to access any resources or available personnel in the building to help her with her tasks in an emergency.

She came here the day after the Oscars ceremony, not because she had any urgent business, but simply because someone was looking for her.

As you enter George Walker's office on the second-to-last floor, the man stands up from the back of the office with a beaming smile.

After the two shook hands, Allison sat down in the guest chair and asked, "Is there anything I can help you with, George?"

George Walker chuckled, “I heard you haven’t been to our CAA office yet?”

Allison said, "Yes, the team here is still being assembled, and I don't think it's my turn to work yet. Is that a problem?"

“No, no, no, there’s no problem,” George Walker shook his head. “It’s just that, although I’m the one helping you build this team, and I can guarantee that everyone on this team will be one of CAA’s top elites in the future, I still hope you’ll be involved. After all, you’ll be the one directly leading them in the future, not me. What do you say?”

After listening, Allison smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "Okay, I understand. I'll come to work tomorrow. Is there anything else?"

Upon hearing her agree, George Walker immediately smiled, handed her a newspaper from the table, and said, "There's one more small matter. Take a look at this first."

Allison took it and saw it was a copy of the Los Angeles Times. On page three, there was a large headline: "The Absent Protagonist: Chen Nuo Received Applause Even Without the Oscars."

Look down—

The woman was somewhat surprised to find that it was actually a full-page article!

Keep in mind, this is the day after the Oscars! Publishing such a lengthy, boastful article in the Los Angeles Times during this sensitive time requires more than just money!

She couldn't help but look up at George Walker.

George Walker smiled with a hint of smugness and said, "Allison, please read this first. I have a lot of suggestions to offer."

"Then I'm starting to look forward to it."

Allison smiled and continued watching.

The article reads:

"Last night, the 85th Academy Awards were held at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles."

This year's Oscars were fiercely competitive: Daniel Day-Lewis won his third Best Actor award for "Lincoln," while Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress at the age of 22, becoming one of the youngest Best Actress winners in Oscar history.

Ang Lee won Best Director again after "Brokeback Mountain", while Ben Affleck won Best Picture with "Argo".

James Pritzker's "The Drop" received five nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. Ultimately, only cinematographer Darius Congee won the Best Cinematography award.

However, Chen Nuo, the male lead who was unable to attend, became one of the most memorable names of the night despite missing out on the award.

In previous years, this focus would have been on Harvey Weinstein.

This year, however, "The Master," spearheaded by this veteran Oscar promoter, went home empty-handed, only managing to salvage some pride for Jennifer Lawrence, who won Best Actress for "Silver Linings Playbook."

Interestingly, "Silver Linings Playbook" premiered and won an award at the Shanghai International Film Festival, where Jennifer Lawrence won Best Actress for her performance. The jury president at the time was Chen Nuo.

At the time, many film critics questioned this result.

However, a year later, an Oscar vindicated her—and indirectly vindicated Chen Nuo as well. Those who had questioned his 'lack of professionalism' now seemed utterly ridiculous.

Seeing this, Allison couldn't help but smile.

They're really skilled; they investigated very thoroughly, probably going through a lot of newspapers from June of last year. But it's not just the United States, is it?

Last night, she and Gulnazar watched the Oscars live in their big house in Beverly Hills. The girl also went on Chinese social media to keep track of the public opinion there and learned about the situation in China.

As far as she knows, the person who most criticized Chen Nuo for giving the Best Actress award to Jennifer Lawrence was not an American.

She was actually quite nervous about this.

As a former campaign expert, she has a deep understanding of populism and bureaucracy.

In her view, Chen Nuo's actions were like dancing on a knife's edge, a single misstep could have brought him trouble. And all for a Weinstein Company film, it was utterly unnecessary.

If she were a PR manager in China, she would absolutely not allow her young boss to do that.

So what if Jennifer Lawrence acts like an Oscar-winning actress?!
Unexpectedly, she actually won the Oscar for Best Actress!
Ok.

This made her unable to help but start reflecting.

Is it unnecessary for her to use her dirty tricks from the political arena here? Perhaps the simplest and purest way of dealing with someone is the best approach?

As a result, not only was public opinion overjoyed, but her biggest fears also vanished.

This morning, even people from China Huanxin Company called Nazha's cell phone, saying that a leader in Shanghai wanted to speak with their boss!

This shows that the impact of this event in China is not simply about a foreign actress winning an Oscar.

However, it's perfectly normal for CAA not to know these things.

"Alison, cough, I know it's a bit long, but... please bear with me and read it to the end."

George Walker's voice rang out beside her. He probably noticed her lost in thought and couldn't help but remind her. Allison smiled, nodded, and looked down at her again.

That night, not only did Darius Congee, the cinematographer of "Water Drop" who won Best Cinematography, shed tears on the stage and praise Chen highly, but Jennifer Lawrence, who won Best Actress, also mentioned Chen's influence on her acting career.

That night, Oscar host Seth McFarlane mentioned his name several times during the event.

This is clearly not a coincidence.

do you remember?

The cry of "no Chen, no OSCAR" was all the rage on social media just a month ago.

From the Academy's perspective, it's not surprising that this Asian actor, who once successfully hosted the Oscars, is now a key figure in attracting younger audiences and emerging markets to the Oscars.

After all, behind Chen, a business empire centered around him has quietly taken shape.

Aside from his well-known connection with Facebook—

To this day, no matter which Wall Street magazine you open, Chen is an unavoidable name when discussing how Facebook got to where it is today. His laughing profile picture on the friends list has become a precious memory for countless early Facebook users.

Other than that,

Mattel's "Chen Doll" series, launched for him, has become a new pillar of the company's annual profits. According to Mattel's 2012 financial report, global sales of Chen Dolls exceeded 1.3 million units last year, a 34% increase over the previous year, marking the fifth consecutive year of double-digit growth.

After he became Rolex's brand ambassador, the century-old Swiss watch brand saw its global advertising clicks and search index increase by nearly 70% compared to three years ago.

Porsche, which recently renewed its contract with him, also announced earlier this year that it will launch a limited-edition sports car in the middle of next year to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his film career.

Behind this decision lies Porsche's burning ambition following its acquisition by Volkswagen in 2012. It's worth noting that this luxury brand has maintained double-digit sales growth in the Asian market for three consecutive years. Growth in China and Japan has been particularly outstanding, and Chen Nuo's brand influence in these two countries is considered a key driving force. This has forced the conservative Germans to start considering how to leverage Chen's star power to extract more profits.

In addition, he just signed on last year to become the global ambassador for the Italian high-end leather shoe brand Graffiti – the brand plans to launch a men's shoe collection inspired by him, which will officially debut at Milan Fashion Week.

Don't forget Harry Winston, the king of diamonds, whose collaborative jewelry collection with Chen Nuo has also been a bestseller for the past two years.

Thanks to Chen's frequent appearances on the red carpet, Harry Winston surpassed Van Cleef & Arpels and Cartier in market share for the first time last year, becoming the iconic red carpet jewelry brand of choice. In the 2012 Christmas season, the brand achieved its highest single-season sales record since its inception.

China should not be overlooked either.
His nearly 10-year partnership with a baby product brand company has enabled the company to flourish and is now the top-selling baby and toddler product company in China.

If you understand all of the above, then you won't be surprised that Seth McFarlane called his name 10 times during his hosting duties on Oscar night...

By the time Allison had finished reading the entire article, ten minutes had passed.

When she looked up, she already had a general idea of ​​what CAA wanted to do.

At this point, George Walker smiled slightly and said, "Similar articles are not only published in the Los Angeles Times today, but also featured in Variety and The Hollywood Reporter. This will not only help the public quickly forget his disappointment at missing the Oscar, but also refocus their attention on his career achievements, thus getting rid of those negative voices."

Allison was silent for a moment, then looked up at him and slowly said:

"George, I get the feeling that you guys seem to have a complete plan already?"

George Walker paused for a moment, then laughed.

"I haven't hidden it from you, yes, that's right. We've come up with a general operational plan these past few days. The goal is to truly turn the saying circulating in Hollywood—'Chen, the Ever-Victorious'—into a brand."

Simply put, the goal is to associate him with symbols of 'perfection' and 'flawlessness,' making him an invincible superstar in film, life, and business.

This would not only maximize Chen's commercial value but also greatly help his future award competition. Of course, this is just a preliminary discussion and not yet fully finalized. We invited you here today to hear your opinion.”

Allison smiled slightly and said, "My opinion is—it sounds great."

George Walker visibly relaxed after hearing this and smiled:

"I'm relieved to hear you say that. Actually, I've been worried about whether Chen would agree. If it were anyone else, I wouldn't have thought much about it. But Chen... I really wasn't sure."

Hearing you say that now puts my mind at ease. After all, you certainly know him better than we do.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Allison immediately looked surprised and asked, "What did I say?"

George Walker's relaxed expression froze instantly, and the smile on his lips vanished.

Allison laughed and said, "George, relax. Just kidding."

George Walker forced a smile back, though somewhat awkwardly, and asked, "So, Allison, what are you really thinking?"

Allison laughed and said, "Literally. George, you actually have a good eye for people. I think you should trust your judgment."

George Walker frowned, still forcing a smile: "You mean?"

Allison smiled faintly, her tone becoming more formal:

“George, I think your ‘Super Idol’ plan has a lot of potential, but I suggest using it on Justin Bieber. I heard he’s about to sign with CAA, right?”
As for Chen… based on what I know of him, if you use words like 'super idol' or 'eternal victory' to talk to him, he'll probably hang up immediately.”

George Walker's smile vanished completely as he stared at her and asked, "Are you serious?"

“Of course.” Allison stood up, picked up her bag, and looked relaxed. “You can try it if you don’t believe me. I think, according to their schedule, they should be almost at the next town by now. Well, George, that’s all for now. I think I should go check on my office.”

……

……

"So you asked him to call me?"

"Yes, he did a lot of things behind my back, and it felt like he didn't take me seriously. Of course, I had to teach him a lesson. I don't want to lose a high-paying job because of bringing in CAA. I just used the Oscar nomination bonus you gave me to buy a BMW, and I'm planning to buy a vacation home in Vancouver. The monthly mortgage payment won't be low... Uh, sorry, was I too direct?"

“No, I appreciate your directness, Alison. But how did you know I would reject him?”

"Hahahaha, omg, Chen, if I can't even see this, I might as well retire. I bet you hung up the phone less than ten seconds after he started talking. Right?"

"wrong."

"Oh?"

"He mentioned an idol, and I hung up. Then I sent him a text message, telling him to discuss things with me if needed."

"Hahahaha... Now he should know what kind of temper you have."

"Alright, that's enough, Alison. Keep an eye on CAA for me and make sure they do less pointless things."

"Okay, I know."

"That's settled then, I have something to do, I'll hang up now."

"Bye-Bye."

"bye."

Chen Nuo hung up the phone, then frowned and said disapprovingly to a woman holding a camera in front of him, "Vivian, have you forgotten what I said? Hold the camera lower, and aim the bottom edge of your viewfinder at Dora's feet. That's how you make her legs look longer. Understand?"

(End of this chapter)