I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 533 Lobbyist
After finishing the recording, Liu Jin returned to 9 o'clock.

As soon as I entered the door, Sophia called.

"Where is Amos?"

"Just got back to the hotel."

"Do you have time?"

Liu Jin paused, glanced at the computer that had just been turned on, and then thought for a moment before saying, "Of course!"

"A friend of mine would like to meet you. I'm wondering if it's convenient for you?"

"friend?"

Liu Jin frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then said, "No problem."

"I'll be there in half an hour."

Sofia hung up the phone.

Liu Jin then went to the balcony of the guest room and lit a cigarette.

Liu Jin's feelings towards Sophia were somewhat complicated.

Before he arrived in Los Angeles, Sophia had made it clear to Liu Jin over the phone that she would not participate in any further promotions after the premiere.

The reason is simple: the film "Marie Antoinette," co-invested by Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Classics, is about to be launched.

She has to devote all her energy to the new project.

It is said that the investment in this project is 60 million US dollars, which is about the same as the investment in Liu Jin's "Beautiful Life".

However, the actual investment used for filming "Life Is Beautiful" was less than 30 million.

Marie Antoinette, on the other hand, had a real investment of 60 million US dollars.

Furthermore, Sofia Cotillard's directorial fee reached five million US dollars, compared to only three million for Life Is Beautiful. Cotillard also requested a 10% share of the global box office. Additionally, Columbia Pictures indicated it would accept investment from American Zoetrope. Moreover, Sony Pictures Classics stated its willingness to pay fifty million US dollars for marketing and distribution.

This looks very tempting!

Everyone knows that there are many tricks and a lot of money involved in publicity and promotion.

If Sofia wanted, she could even use the money for Oscar lobbying, and would likely succeed.

Not to mention Sophia, even Liu Jin was a little tempted.

An investment of 110 million US dollars!
If it were Liu Jin, he would have turned against them too.

In any case, Sofia did her best in the early promotion of the film.

Liu Jin was lazy and didn't arrive in America until the 12th.

Before he arrived in Los Angeles, Sofia appeared on at least sixteen variety shows, doing her best to promote "Life Is Beautiful".

So when Sophia frankly said she would no longer participate in promotions, Liu Jin was already mentally prepared.

But who is she going to introduce?
After finishing his cigarette, Liu Jin still couldn't figure out who Sophia was going to bring.

……

Half an hour later, the doorbell rang.

Liu Jin opened the door and saw Sophia standing outside.

She was accompanied by an Asian woman.

"Amos, you've finally arrived."

Sophia acted as if nothing had happened, smiling and hugging Liu Jin. "I've been so tired lately."

(I didn't desert my post; I've done what I was supposed to do.)
Liu Jin laughed and said, "Watch me now."

(I understand, don't overthink it.)
"You know, the investment in 'Marie Antoinette' was quite large; it's the largest investment I've ever received so far."

(Colombia gave us too much!)
“That’s true, the pressure is immense, and without Steven’s help, we’ll have to rely entirely on you this time.”

(Yes, I understand, since Steven isn't there to share the pressure.)
The two spoke with hidden meaning, and their conversation inadvertently became open and honest.

Steven Spielberg did not appear this time, mainly because he had already reached an agreement with Liu Jin on the "Eye of the Beast" project.

DreamWorks is now facing disintegration.

Spielberg didn't bring DreamWorks with him; instead, he brought in investment directly from Universal and partnered with Paramount and New Line Cinema.

Interestingly, "The Eye of the Ferocious Beast" was renamed "Full Metal Jacket".

The investment was $130 million.

This is already an A+ level investment, and with Spielberg's involvement and Liu Jin's reputation, it's classified as an S-level project.

Spielberg is currently focused entirely on this project and has no energy left to take care of Sofia.

Fortunately, Sofia has a father, Francis Coppola.

Metropolis secured an investment share, giving Sophia absolute say in the project.

"Let me introduce you, Peggy Lee Kam-Man, Production Supervisor for Sony Pictures and Columbia Pictures (Asia).

She has produced many excellent works, such as Stephen Chow's *Kung Fu Hustle* and Ang Lee's *Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon*. She is an outstanding filmmaker.

It looks familiar.

Liu Jin was momentarily dazed, but then he remembered who she was.

The producer of "The Captain"!
It seems they also invested in Lu Taro's "Kekexili".

Hmm, it seems so. Lu Taro's "Kekexili" was released last year, and it seems to have been suspected of plagiarism?

Liu Jin smiled and shook hands with Li Jinwen.

This woman...

I can't really explain it; I'm not that familiar with it.

In the future, she will make a living in mainland China, but for now, she is a Colombian.

Liu Jin is having a great time battling with his daily life.

She came to visit him as someone from Columbia and Sony...

A lobbyist?

Two words came to Liu Jin's mind.

"Hi, Peggy!"

"Hello, Amos!"

Liu Jin led them into the guest room and then directly to the terrace.

The view here is expansive, offering a bird's-eye view of Hollywood.

Meanwhile, the weather in Los Angeles has been quite nice since the beginning of August.

A gentle breeze blows, making it especially refreshing.

Liu Jin took a few bottles of fresh orange juice from the refrigerator and handed them to the two of them.

Sofia laughed and said, "Don't you usually drink alcohol?"

"It's the premiere tomorrow, I need to be well-rested."

"Okay, you guys talk."

Sofia took the orange juice and opened the bottle cap herself.

Then he took out a pack of Greenmore cigarettes from his bag and lit one. Li Jinwen coughed and said, "Mr. Amos, it's presumptuous of me to visit you."

Shall we... speak frankly and openly?

She spoke in Mandarin with a Hong Kong accent.

"We can use English."

“I think it would be better to use Chinese…Sophia, you don’t mind, do you?”

Sofia smiled and shook her head, then took her drink and walked to the poolside on the terrace, gazing at the surrounding scenery.

"To be honest, I came here on behalf of Mr. Howard Stringer."

"Who?"

Howard Stringer, the new chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures, was elected by the shareholders' meeting in June of this year and became the new head of Sony Pictures.

Liu Jin frowned.

He really didn't understand the changes in these high-level Hollywood officials.

Of course, he also knew that while he might have a chance to collaborate with Columbia Pictures, he didn't have that opportunity with Sony Pictures...

Moreover, his main partner is Warner.

Unless absolutely necessary, Liu Jin generally does not easily change his partners.

Besides, he's a writer.

I'm not interested in these things...

"I thought Mr. Ganis had sent you on his behalf."

Columbia Pictures is just a subsidiary of Sony Pictures.

Li Jinwen took out cigarettes from her bag. "Is that alright?"

"Haha, I have no taboos here, and I'm a heavy smoker too."

Li Jinwen smiled and lit a cigarette.

"Chairman Stringer means that he greatly admires your talent and looks forward to working with you."

He doesn't care about the grudges between you and your wife.

But this is Hollywood, and this is America. He doesn't want things outside of the film to affect their collaboration.

"Yes, having more friends means having more options."

"so?"

"Therefore, Sony will no longer concern itself with Life Is Beautiful."

However, sales of *The Assassination of the Emperor* must be halted. Mr. Amos, I believe you are well aware that the American people don't care about anything outside of America. And your new book is very disrespectful to the funds behind Sony.”

Liu Jin also lit a cigarette.

"Is it because Sony was an accomplice in the invasion of China?"

"Mr. Amos!"

"Peggy, do you know? From the moment you appeared at my door, I never considered you to be Chinese."

So please forgive my offensive words.

Are you from Hong Kong Island?

"I was born in Shanghai and grew up on Hong Kong Island."

"So, which period of history do you not mind?"

"I……"

"Please reply to Mr. Stringer; I appreciate his kindness."

Of course I know the Americans don't care whether the Emperor lives or dies, and neither do I. But what I care about is that they haven't apologized, haven't acknowledged the crimes they committed… He gets paid by Sony and works for Sony, that's fine. But I have Chinese blood flowing in my veins, grew up eating Chinese food, and I can't forget that.

This is about a Chinese person and their daily life.

Mr. Stringer is American; he has no reason to get involved in our conflict.

Let Sony use whatever methods they have... I don't care! Besides, it's not like I haven't been threatened before.

Li Jinwen fell silent!

Lau Chun's friendships with Leslie Cheung, Anita Mui, and others led Little Life to mistakenly believe that he harbored goodwill towards the people of Hong Kong Island.

So they specifically called Li Jinwen over from Hong Kong Island, hoping to persuade Liu Jin to change his attitude towards a simple life...

But now it seems unlikely.

You've even used death warnings and assassination attempts, but they didn't take it seriously. Why would they easily back down?

Taking a deep breath, Li Jinwen stood up.

She extended her hand and said, "As a Chinese person, I admire everything you have done."

but……

Unfortunately, we did not reach an agreement.

What I want to say is that Sony will not let this go, Mr. Amos, you'd better pray for yourself.

You should know very well that this is not China, but the world of capital. You are at odds with capital…

Liu Jin stood up and shook hands with Li Jinwen.

I know, but...

Have you ever heard the saying, "..."

"What?"

"To struggle with Heaven is endless joy; to struggle with Earth is endless joy; to struggle with Man is endless joy!"

Li Jinwen's expression changed.

She hesitated for a moment, then bowed slightly to Liu Jin.

"Sophia, let's go."

Sofia walked over at that moment and glanced at the two of them.

In my heart, I already knew the answer.

She stepped forward and hugged Liu Jin, whispering, "See you tomorrow, Amos!"

"See you tomorrow!"

Liu Jin smiled slightly, hugged Sophia, and then, with great gentlemanly manners, escorted the two out of the guest room.

"Peggy, I'm going now!"

After leaving, Sofia smiled and said, "There's one last show tomorrow, so I need to go back and prepare. I can't break my promise."

"That's natural!"

Li Jinwen said with a smile.

However, the smile seemed somewhat forced.

……

(End of this chapter)