America's Top Player

Chapter 127: Blackening to Death

"Are the executives at Sony Pictures all fools? Why do they let this bastard do whatever he wants?" Leon asked.

"The previous film directed by Marc Forster, Quantum of Solace, was a huge flop at the box office," Robbie sighed. "The executives at Sony and Columbia felt that perhaps it was time for some changes to this classic film series spanning 50 years."

"I think this Left Stick is probably suffering from his hipster syndrome." Li Ang snorted coldly.

For half a century, 007 has been regarded as a spy war movie.

Just like Tom Cruise's Mission Impossible series and superhero movies.

It doesn't require any deep thinking.

The way this type of movie provides emotional value is to release repressed emotions through a shocking audio-visual experience in the cinema.

Or just sit on the sofa at home and watch a movie while drinking a few cans of cold beer.

"Literary Youth" has been Sam's label since his debut.

Whether it is a drama, a war film or a purely commercial film like 007, he always likes to convey his own values to the audience.

He turned the war film "Jarhead" into a pure anti-war film, and the whole film was full of poor imitations of "Full Metal Jacket".

Li Ang has always had a "prejudice": the American people are not against war, they are against a war that cannot be won.

Robbie consoled him, saying, "Maybe this movie will be a big hit. The new Batman series is an anti-traditional superhero movie."

"Big explosion?" Li Ang shook his head.

Sam Mendes is not comparable to Christopher Nolan in terms of ability.

A good director does not need to convey his thoughts to the audience through long and obscure lines; every shot speaks for itself.

Li Ang continued, "Come to think of it. I wouldn't be surprised even if it sold for 1 billion. This country has been controlled by those white leftists. But that has nothing to do with me..."

"What I want is for you to become famous with this movie! Not to be a vase hiding behind a damn old woman!"

Hearing this, Robbie felt warm in his heart.

She fell into his arms, "You are so considerate, Honey~"

Frankly speaking, Leon doesn't care that much about Robbie's acting career; he cares about his own interests.

Although the recording of "We don't talk anymore" has been suspended, it will be released sooner or later.

Max Martin spoke highly of this work and asserted that the song would be a big hit based on his years of industry experience.

And if Robbie could become an overnight sensation in the film and television industry through the role of "Bond Girl", just like Angelina Jolie became a world-famous star with "Tomb Raider".

It will help the subsequent album sales more than spending any amount of money on publicity.

Li Ang gritted his teeth and said, "Damn the British."

Sam Mendes has never had an amazing box office performance, but he has gained the trust of Sony Pictures executives who are willing to change the tone of the 007 series of films for half a century.

Li Ang could only think of one reason - nepotism.

The 007 series is adapted from a novel written by a British person, and its reliance on British actors has reached an outrageous level.

Due to the British identity of Howard Junger, CEO of Sony Entertainment (SPE), the protagonists of this series are almost all actors from the British Isles.

They even made a decision that went against their ancestors and changed the popular black-haired Bond image to the blond and blue-eyed British actor Daniel Craig.

Sam Mendes is British and has some connections with Junger.

The British gang can do whatever they want by relying on their dominance at Sony Columbia Pictures.

Robbie lowered his head and remained silent. All Australians think they are no different from the British.

In fact, there is no distinction between Australian gangs and British gangs in Hollywood. They can all be called "British United Gangs".

"Maybe I need to talk to the executives at Sony." Leon muttered to himself.

Robbie, upon catching this, perked up immediately. "Honey! You know the executives at Sony Pictures, right? I should have thought of that earlier."

In her mind, Leon seemed to be omnipotent.

She wouldn't be surprised at all even if the other party was a good friend of Sony's top boss Shi Junge.

"I don't know him," Li Ang shook his head, "but Sony has been looking for opportunities to contact me."

Warner Music is not the only giant that covets Li Ang and Apocalypse Music.

Sony Music Group is also seeking to sign Li Ang after his contract with ROC expires.

To this end, Sony Music's Chief Creative Officer, Clive Davis, who is also from Brooklyn, has always maintained close contact with Phil.

Sony is a giant multinational conglomerate, and the transfer of executives from each of its subsidiaries is interconnected.

Especially the three sectors of games, film and television entertainment, and music.

If Leon wanted to get in touch with the top management of Sony Pictures, it would be very easy, and now is the best time.

He could just use himself as bait to deceive the other party and achieve his own goal.

Robbie stared at Leon, his eyes flickering with Minami.

They couldn't help but rub their white feet back and forth on each other's body.

This made Li Ang shudder, "We just finished."

"It's okay, I know you can do it, Honey." Robbie's eyes were about to burst into tears.

"Well, let's talk about something serious. You have to fight for this role!"

"I certainly will!"

Li Ang stayed in Los Angeles for the next three days.

In addition to having a performance in Los Angeles, he was mainly waiting for news from Robinson.

And take the opportunity to find out the real bottom line of Sony Pictures executives on "Skyfall".

Sony Pictures' North American headquarters is located in Culver City, Los Angeles.

Since the 1920s, film and television studios have gathered here.

The headquarters of MGM and Sony Pictures Entertainment are also located here.

It is worth mentioning that the headquarters of Hughes Aircraft Company, the largest enterprise founded by Howard Hughes, a legendary American industrial tycoon known as the real-life Iron Man, is also located here.

Leonardo DiCaprio played Hughes in the 2005 film "The Aviator."

The reason why Hughes chose to set up the company's headquarters in Kafir City was simply to make it more convenient to sleep with female stars.

Leon had already handed over the matter of contacting Sony to Phil over the phone.

Inside a casino in Los Angeles.

Li Ang was sitting at a standard table playing Texas Hold'em.

California has a very strange law regarding gambling. Poker games are usually legal and often even covered in the guise of charity.

However, sports lottery and any type of machine are all regulated and are only legal in hotels run by Indian tribes.

Now, Los Angeles has long surpassed Atlantic City to become the poker mecca second only to Las Vegas.

Unlike Michael Jordan and Mars, Leon does not have an obsession with gambling.

Texas Hold'em is one of the few games that balances gambling and luck, and he sees it as a good way to pass the time.

The five cards on the table have been dealt, and the combination of Li Ang's hole card and the face card only has an A.

The pot is $10 and your opponent bets half the pot for $5.

Li Ang didn't think twice and just went all in and pushed the opponent in the face.

Put pressure on the other side.

"WTF!" his opponent panicked. After the dealer counted the chips, Li Ang put out 15.

The opponent threw out a series of time cards, sweat beads on his forehead and stared at the table, not daring to make a decision.

"Hurry up, bastard! Your time is up!" Jorge shouted angrily from behind Leon.

The female dealer turned around and glared at him, but she immediately shrank her head back in fear at the Mexican villain.

Eventually the opponent gave up the pot.

Li Ang took the mountain of chips in front of him into his arms and showed his trump card to his opponent.

An Ace.

The opponent was so angry that his facial features twisted together, and he immediately stood up and left the table.

Jorge, who received the tip from Leon, was in high spirits. He praised Leon repeatedly, saying, "That was a brilliant hand! How did you manage to win three rounds with just an ace? And even go all-in at the end!"

"Why not?" Li Ang said, "I don't have financial pressure, but my opponent does. You can tell from that bastard's expression just now. He's already deeply in debt from his losses. Maybe the first thing he'll do when he leaves the hotel is find a place to jump."

Now his mentality has changed fundamentally, and record sales alone can bring him millions of dollars every month.

In comparison, a profit or loss fluctuation of a few hundred thousand is nothing.

That's how Texas Hold'em is. When the funds are unequal, any strategy and practice becomes ridiculous.

At this point, another opponent at the table also joked: "Jack is already in debt of millions of dollars. He might really want to jump off the building or something."

To this, Li Ang responded: "Then I would advise this bastard to find a higher place to jump. I'm afraid he won't die from the fall."

"Hahaha"

Everyone at the card table burst into laughter.

Drop drop-

At this time, Bonnie called and Li Ang answered the call immediately.

"Boss, when will you return to New York?" Bonnie's tone was a little hurried.

"Maybe it will take a while." Leon said, "What's wrong? Did something happen?"

"Didi recently spoke on a podcast, and during the two-hour show, he spent an hour talking about you!" Bonnie said. "The show's ratings have exploded, and the entertainment media and internet communities are all discussing the content."

"Very good." Li Ang glanced at his two trump cards and raised the corners of his mouth.

Diddy has been quiet for a while since the release of "Billy."

He originally thought that Didi would remain silent and let this beef pass quietly.

Now it seems not, the Godfather of rap who has dominated the East Coast for more than ten years is obviously not going to compromise on this Beef.

But Leon wasn't nervous about it; this was exactly what he wanted to see happen.

As long as Diddy keeps provoking and making small moves.
The more intense the tension between the two sides, the longer the heat will last!
In this case, any tweet from Li Ang can arouse heated interpretations from many parties, thus saving a huge amount of publicity costs.

"Great? Diddy almost pulled a gun on the show. I'll send you the link to the full show later." Bonnie said, "He's even going to sue you!"

"Take it to court? On what grounds?"

It took Bonnie ten minutes of explanation to make things clear.

The main reason that made Diddy stand up angrily this time was not the song "Billy".

Rather, it is Li Ang's outspokenness on many podcasts and social media.

In addition to digging up the story of Tupac's murder in 1997, a lot of negative information about Diddy's parties was also exposed.

Although Li Ang actually participated in it once, most of the content was just spoken casually by him.

He tells whatever stories will attract traffic.

Such behavior undoubtedly touched Didi's bottom line.

The party he has painstakingly organized for many years hides the most evil and vulgar truth in the entire entertainment industry.

With the media taking advantage of the issue, many celebrities who attended the party could not withstand the pressure and asked Didi to come out and "debunk the rumors."

This is why Didi has released various statements during this period.

In fact, if it weren't for JAY-Z's tough protection, Leon would have been shot at least three times.

Due to Li Ang's various actions that crossed the bottom line, the hatred between the two has surpassed the confrontation between Bad Boy Records and Death Row Records in the 90s.

"Don't worry, he won't do that, as long as he's not a fool." Li Ang said with a smile: "Going to court will only make things worse."

"But what about the death threats he made against you? There are a lot of young nerds from the underground rap scene threatening to kill you," Bonnie said. "Everyone is worried about your safety."

"Leave him alone!" Leon turned away from the card table and shouted louder:
"They're just some poor bastards trying to make a name for themselves by making threats! Step up your game and have Marcus' radio station release more explosive material about Diddy!"

After hanging up the phone, Li Ang picked up all the chips in front of him and put them in a box.

"Excuse me, all you losers."

Jorge drove Leon to the set in Compton.

There are still a few final scenes left on "Straight Outta Compton."

It is also the highlight of the script that triggers conflict and thinking.

The first half of the movie is a thrilling story about a lower-class black man making a fortune through rap music, and the second half is about the betrayal of friendship.

Leon was very dissatisfied with the final plot of the original script given by Inspiration Refresh, as it was completely a whitewashing of De Rui.

Dre was portrayed as a loyal and righteous man who passively left NWA.

Both Li Ang and director James Wan felt that this part was seriously distorted.

If Dre had really lived up to what was written in the script, he wouldn't have been able to reach his current position in the music industry.

After some discussion, Li Ang decided to significantly edit the ending and add some scenes about Puff Daddy.

In the film, he did his best to humiliate his opponent.

If the film can be completed in April, it will be able to take advantage of the traffic from the Beef War when it is released.

Li Ang thought it was a genius idea as it not only discredited the opponent but also made money at the box office.

"Will there be any problem with this change? Will Didi cause us trouble?" James Wan asked cautiously.

"You think too much." Li Ang patted the other's shoulder, "That Ni Ge is not as tough as you think."

Since the investor said so, James Wan, as a senior employee, had no choice but to agree.

An hour later Robinson arrived on the set. As another investor, the filming location was on his property.

He comes to the set to inspect almost every day.

When he heard that Li Ang was going to change the script to insult Didi, his face was filled with both laughter and tears.

"Fxxk, it seems like you're a real bastard who can't be messed with. You'll find all sorts of ways to torture your opponents."

Li Ang spread his hands and responded: "Torture Didi is just a side effect. I just chose the script with the most traffic."

"Haha~ you bastard~" Robinson paused and continued, "The investigation you asked me to do has yielded results. I have to say that old man's tastes are a bit perverted."

"Very good, tell me more about it."

"Jones only had contact with one pimp in all of Los Angeles, a very well-known guy named Tom McKenney," Robinson said. "He wasn't active in Los Angeles very often, and his clients were mainly concentrated in New York."

"New York?" Leon searched carefully in his mind to make sure he had never heard of McKennie's name.

Robinson explained: "McKennedy was a high-level pimp who primarily served New York investors and financiers. His biggest client was a New York financial tycoon."

"Jeffrey Burstein."

(End of this chapter)