A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 244 Sophie Marceau
Take the stage.

Once again, it shone brightly.

To be honest, a person's state of mind is a strange thing. It's only been a few months since he last performed on stage. Even before that, whether it was the Super Bowl halftime show, such a magnificent stage, or the Spring Festival Gala, or even further back, ever since Lin Jianlu started actively running around Southeast Asia, Japan, Korea and other places to accept commercial performances, he has gradually become numb and can no longer say that he enjoys the stage or the cheers of the audience.

He basically only had one thought in mind: to make money!

All that talk about this and that is fake, all of it is false. The Southeast Asian financial crisis is coming soon, the US stock market's internet bubble is coming soon, and China's thirty years of high-speed development has already begun—you have to keep up, you can't miss these once-in-a-lifetime opportunities, Lin Jianlu!

So, make money, make money, and make money some more!

It was as if a whip was urging him forward, or perhaps it was because he had given up on the idea of ​​retiring after earning ten million, that he suddenly felt a great deal of urgency. In short, for at least the past year or two, ever since he became famous, his biggest concern had been making money.

Don't be fooled by his constant boasting about chasing girls. In reality, chasing girls is at most second in his mind, and in the last year or so, it might even be third. Besides money, constantly adding "united front value" to himself has surpassed chasing girls in his view.

Not to mention art, music, or enjoying the stage.

nonexistent!

But this time, from Korea to Japan, strangely enough, he suddenly began to rediscover that feeling of standing in the center of the stage, under the spotlight, and enjoying the cheers of the crowd.

Perhaps... well, perhaps after finishing this round of bottom-fishing, his mindset suddenly relaxed again! As far as he was concerned, whether it was Yahoo, Amazon, or eBay which he might subscribe to in advance, or ATV, Media Asia, China.com, Hang Seng Bank, or Hong Kong City Telecom, he had already laid a good foundation for the future in both the East and the West, within the scope of his ordinary family background.

The US internet bubble can be profited from, and Hong Kong's internet bubble can also be partially benefited from. Internet companies rooted in the East have already laid the foundation, and their bank accounts, properties, and real estate holdings have already secured them a share of the profits from the next two decades of rapid growth in mainland China and Hong Kong. For someone from an ordinary family to have reached this point, with so much groundwork laid, is enough! More than enough!
Going further ahead, for example, if you go to America to acquire some amazing company, then sorry, there's a high probability that either the company will be killed off or forcibly acquired, or you yourself will be killed off!

Yes, my mindset immediately relaxed and I felt content.

Then it suddenly dawned on me, wow, when I go on stage to sing, I can just casually hit a high note and the audience goes wild with excitement; when I casually show off a dance, the audience is so excited they're almost fainting...

Yeah, I'm really enjoying it!

It's no less damaging than driving a woman to the brink of collapse and having seizures!

So after stepping off the stage, Lin Jianlu handed over the microphone, removed his in-ear monitors and other equipment, and turned to Zhang Aijia, saying, "Let's prepare for a global tour concert. I've been wanting to sing more and more lately!"

Zhang Aijia immediately turned to look at him, her face full of surprise.

What singer doesn't love holding concerts? Especially someone like Lin Jianlu, an absolute king in the Chinese music scene and at least one of the two kings in the English music scene, and who might still be the king now, yet he has never seriously considered holding a concert in more than two years since his debut!

He basically rejected every time this kind of plan was brought up.

But in fact, he has already released three albums, and if you include the songs he has written for others, he has already produced seventy or eighty songs. Perhaps he will need to obtain authorization for ten or eight other singers' works to hold an English concert, but at least he can easily support a concert of Mandarin songs!

It could have been done a long time ago!

It's not just about making money; holding a global tour is the best stage to fully showcase a singer's achievements and box office appeal!

"it is good!"

Not content with just one sentence, Sylvia Chang added, "You're finally going to hold a concert!"

When Lin Jianlu turned her head, she saw that her eyes were suddenly a little misty for some reason. She couldn't help but laugh, put her arm around her shoulder, and kissed her on the forehead. "Okay! I'll focus on music in the second half of the year! Recording new songs and holding concerts!"

Zhang Aijia was overjoyed and exclaimed, "Great!"

Well, even now, Lin Jianlu doesn't know how to put it. Zhang Aijia has her literary and artistic side, as well as her domineering and capable side as a member of a wealthy family. But in the end, she is actually very emotional. And it is becoming more and more apparent that her love and admiration for him are completely genuine. In fact, she seems to have humbled herself to the point of being in the dirt in order to stay by his side!

With more and more women around him, Lin Jianlu, though still lustful, was starting to realize that having too many women was a burden. So, he had been gradually slowing down lately, choosing not to touch many of the girls who had caught his eye. But for some reason, it seemed like the three songs he sang tonight had made him happy and excited, or perhaps the business battles and hardships of the past six months had almost worn down his rational thinking. In any case, Lin Jianlu suddenly felt a spark of emotion rekindle within him!

Ah, I suddenly want to fall in love again!
I'm tired, and I've almost finished all the work. Time to rest!
After working hard for more than half a year and building so much foundation, can't people even relax and enjoy themselves?

…………

"Hey Joe! Larry! Andy!"

The plane first landed in Los Angeles. After several months apart, with the filming of "The Matrix" about to begin, Lin Jianlu, despite having to make a trip to New York to sign a few more endorsement deals, chose to go to Warner Bros. first to meet with "The Matrix" producer Joe Silver and directors the Wachowski brothers to get some buzz ahead of time.

When everyone met, they hugged, bumped fists, and chatted.

The Matrix had a large budget, but about half of it went into special effects. A significant portion also went into the salaries of Lin Jianlu and the Wachowski brothers. So, in order to save as much money as possible on special effects, Warner Bros. spent several months in the studio building many full-scale sets.

Yes, go see it for yourself. Even though the scenes are all fragmented, it still feels very sci-fi.

There are also many city scenes to be filmed in these sets, and the crew will probably be set up here for at least three months. "Wow, big budget! You know what, Joe, I really admire Hollywood's ability in this area! Professional, just fucking professional!"

Well, besides my expertise, there's one more thing, but it's not worth mentioning: it's about making money.

Because the market is big enough, even if the product you make with your money is ruined after one use and becomes garbage, you can still make back your investment and profits after it is released. As long as you can make back your investment, not to mention Hollywood, even Hong Kong and mainland China would not hesitate to spend hundreds of millions to make a movie!
The main problem is that your market isn't big enough; you simply can't make enough money to keep it going, and then you can't keep playing the game!

As for professionalism... just throw money at it, and you can quickly build a sufficiently professional team!

“Wow, hey, Mr. Wachowski… Wow, oh… Shit! Lin? Oh, it’s Lin!”

After the tour, everyone left the studio and was walking out together when they suddenly encountered two people on the way. At first, no one paid any attention to each other, but the other person quickly noticed Larry Wachowski with a big beard. However, after exchanging greetings, they immediately spotted Lin Jianlu.

Clearly, for the other party, "Lin" was more attractive and more shocking than the Wachowski brothers, who had risen to fame in Hollywood in the last two years. So the man who had greeted them quickly came over and extended his hand from a distance, "Hey, everyone!"

Lin Jianlu was chatting with Andy Wachowski when he looked up and first saw the middle-aged man, but then his gaze was immediately drawn to him—Holy crap? This…is Sophie Marceau?
Their eyes met, and Sophie Marceau seemed surprised as well. She paused for a moment, but quickly walked over. The middle-aged man was still shaking hands with them, introducing himself as Sophie Marceau's agent, accompanying her to an audition for a Warner Bros. project. Sophie Marceau herself had already walked over and went straight to Lin Jianlu. "Hey, Lin! It's great to meet you. I'm Sophie, Sophie Marceau. I don't know if you've seen my work. I'm an actress from France! Wow, it's so great to meet you! I'm a fan of yours! A loyal fan!"

So they shook hands, "Hello, Miss Marceau!"

She was definitely over 1.7 meters tall, wearing high heels, with an excellent figure. Lin Jianlu didn't know her age, but she looked very young. Based on this, Lin Jianlu estimated that she was probably under thirty, because according to Lin Jianlu's knowledge, European and American women age very quickly once they are over thirty.

Honestly, this face is so exquisitely beautiful that it's almost perfect.

Beautiful and pure.

Moreover, it perfectly aligns with Eastern aesthetics.

No wonder that even 20 or 30 years later, she is still hailed as one of the ten most beautiful faces of the 20th century on short video platforms in mainland China. Even though Lin Jianlu doesn't remember seeing any of her movies, she still feels very familiar with her face. In terms of influence in mainland China, she seems to be on par with the so-called "world's most beautiful woman," Monica Bellucci. Oh, right, she seems to have appeared on the Spring Festival Gala in mainland China!

At this moment, Sylvia Chang leaned over and whispered in Mandarin, reminding him, "Braveheart, Anna Karenina."

"Oh……"

Well, I couldn't recall it; I really don't remember watching it.

Sophie Marceau seemed to sense something, shrugged slightly awkwardly, then suddenly raised her hands, as if imitating a hanging posture, and then shouted in a strained voice, "Freedom!"

"Oh, wow... hahaha, I remember now! Braveheart!"

"yeah!"

I probably haven't seen the movie yet, because I have absolutely no recollection of it. But during my time in New York last year, I forgot who I was with or where, but someone had learned this gesture. I couldn't quite grasp it, so they specifically explained that it came from the movie "Braveheart," starring Mel Gibson and Sophie Marceau. Suddenly, it all clicked, and I remembered.

Sophie Marceau should be quite famous by now, right?
Braveheart is supposed to be an American film, and it did quite well at the box office.
Lin Jianlu raised her hand, mimicking her earlier gesture, "You're so cute!"

She was overjoyed, her face beaming, "Thank you!"

After thanking them, her agent gently nudged her, which brought her back to her senses. She then took the initiative to greet Warner Bros.' big producer Joe Silver and the Wachowski brothers. Finally, she even recognized Sylvia Chang and specifically said, "I saw you from afar at a fashion show in New York before. I heard you were Lin's agent. I really wanted to say hello, but I was called away and haven't seen you since!"

Sylvia Chang shook hands with her gracefully.

After finishing her social engagements, she immediately turned back, her eyes still sparkling with admiration. "Wow, I've never seen such a handsome Asian man before! ...Excuse me, I didn't mean anything by it, I just mean, Lin, you're so much more handsome than you appear on TV!"

"Thank you!"

They came to audition, but it seems the audition is over, though the result is still unknown. However, judging from Sophie Marceau's performance, the surprise she received from meeting Lin Jianlu seems to have overshadowed her anxiety about the audition result—yes, the charm of the global pop king is as great as ever.

"I absolutely love every song you sang in '21'! Wow, you're a true all-rounder! All kinds of styles, so magnificent and gorgeous, wow..."

Lin Jianlu smiled and waited for her to finish her long speech. After a moment of awkward silence, she suddenly said, "I really remembered what you looked like in 'Braveheart'."

"Hahahaha!"

One sentence made Joe Silver and the Wachowski brothers laugh along, and Sophie Marceau burst into laughter at Lin Jianlu's British-style dry humor.

"Wow, you're so funny!"

However, Lin Jianlu had his own plans, and the Wachowski brothers certainly had other things to do as well. So, Lin Jianlu raised his wrist to check the time, "So... um, shall we exchange contact information?"

“Oh, yes, I’m so sorry to bother you!” So ​​she quickly opened her bag, took out a business card and handed it to Lin Jianlu. Zhang Aijia had also taken out Lin Jianlu’s business card from Hollywood and handed it to Sophie Marceau.

Everyone shook hands to say goodbye, but just as they were about to get on the bus, Lin Jianlu turned around and saw that she was also standing by the bus looking over. When their eyes met, she suddenly smiled brightly, raised her hand, and made a gesture as if she were making a phone call.

Lin Jianlu smiled, nodded to her, and got into the car.

Zhang Aijia quickly turned around from the front row, "She's been quite popular these past two years, but actually, Americans don't really like her French identity. Besides, this woman is very willful and not as smart as your Yu Feihong. Be careful, don't sleep around too much, or there will likely be trouble later!"

"Depend on!"

Lin Jianlu was speechless at first, then chuckled, "Do you think I would sleep with any pretty woman?"

Sylvia Chang laughed, thought for a moment, turned around, and said, "But she's definitely no less attractive than your two foreign beauties!" She paused, then added, "And she clearly likes you a lot! I don't believe you wouldn't be tempted!"

Lin Jianlu burst into laughter.

…………

While still on the plane to New York, Sophie Marceau called.

Lin Jianlu was looking at a summary document faxed from Hong Kong. She answered the phone casually, but to her surprise, a cheerful voice greeted her as soon as the call connected, "Hey, Lin, I didn't expect you to actually answer my call!"

"Oh, haha, Miss Marceau!"

Please call me Sophie!

Well, chatting casually while looking at documents, occasionally paying a little attention, and giving a clever reply to a certain sentence to show your "humor" is probably enough.

Because she was talking, talking, talking almost constantly.

She talked about how much she loved "21", how much she was captivated by a certain song, how amazed she was by the music video, how impressed she was by the performance at the Super Bowl halftime show, and so on. Well, in fact, over the past two years, Lin Jianlu has already developed the ability to multitask by dealing with so many girlfriends and lovers at the same time.

Even when Lin Jianlu was chatting with the other person while multitasking, she could clearly sense the other person's attraction. Well, it was the kind of attraction that, if she were willing, there was a very high probability that she could get together with the other person tonight. But, damn it, that wouldn't work. This was probably at the level of a second-tier celebrity in Europe and America. The other person genuinely admired her, and was even likely to be madly in love with her. But even so, the other person would most likely be looking for a romantic relationship. If she messed around, there was a certain probability that her reputation would start to crumble.

After hanging up the phone, still troubled, he stopped looking at the documents and looked up to ask Zhang Aijia, who was sitting across from him at the desk on the plane and reading a magazine, "Hey, Lao Zhang, tell me, how can you sleep with a female celebrity who already has fame and status, and then get rid of her smoothly without any aftereffects?"

Zhang Aijia looked up in disbelief, stunned for several seconds. "You're asking me? You're asking me about your skills in picking up girls?"

Lin Jianlu shrugged. "I've said it before, I don't actually have much experience picking up girls. I'm always the one being picked up. And if you're asking me to get a woman into bed, I have experience. If you're talking about seducing a woman and getting her to sneak into my bed in the middle of the night, I've had that experience too..."

Sylvia Chang laughed heartily.

Lin Jianlu also laughed, "But I really have no experience in how to break up peacefully with a woman."

Zhang Aijia's smile faded. After thinking for a moment, she suddenly said, "Actually... I think you might be mistaken. Do you think that women in Europe and America are all chasing after love? More devoted? More independent than girls in China? Wrong! Utterly wrong!"

"Oh, this is an interesting topic!" Lin Jianlu perked up immediately and gestured for him to continue!

In fact, as he grew to have many women, he gradually admitted that although he had dated a few girlfriends in his previous life, he didn't really understand women that well. As for now, he could say he had a certain level of in-depth understanding of Eastern women, whether from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, or even Korea—because he had indeed delved quite deeply into them—but he still didn't have much contact with Western women, and he felt that he was still viewing them through the strong filter of watching movies and videos from his previous life.

Yes, I would love for Sylvia Chang to analyze me!
Sylvia Chang said: "Based on my experience of traveling around America over the past year, and based on what I've seen and heard, women in Europe and America... well, a few women will do it for love, but the vast majority will do it for money. On the surface, in recent years, there's even been something called the feminist movement that's been rising in Europe and America, but actually... well, you know what Hollywood's red sofa is like."

"Let me tell you this: in my experience, money-loving women in Europe and America are far more likely to submit to power than Chinese women. As long as you have money and power, they will willingly be your dogs and not see it as humiliation; they think it's their due! Look at your Charlize, don't be fooled by her innocence. She's just smarter and knows better how to sell herself for a good price! As for your claim that she's innocent... ha!"

"Of course, some women are very famous, and when they become famous enough, they gain power and influence. Hmm... Let me give you an example, and you can see if what I'm saying makes sense. Female celebrities in Europe and America who have reached a certain level of fame tend to prefer men with bad tempers and a penchant for violence! Oh, right, remember when Madonna was beaten by her boyfriend? They hadn't broken up, and he beat her up like that, but they were still deeply in love..."

"Did someone force her? Who could force her to like that fitness instructor? If she wanted to break up, that man wouldn't even be able to get close to her! But instead, she not only had a child with that man and spent money to support his extravagant lifestyle, she's also infatuated with him. It's said that she's been beaten up more than once, and they always make up. The newspapers here in America even say that she has masochistic tendencies and enjoys the feeling of being beaten up by that man!"

"She's not an isolated case. Women in Europe and America, whether they're daughters of powerful and wealthy families or have worked their way up from the bottom, they're not short of money at all, and some are even super famous and powerful in the entertainment industry, but they still get obsessed with those domineering, irritable, or even violent men!"

"Of course, Sophie Marceau probably isn't that type. I've heard people talk about her; after all, she's quite famous. She seems like the kind of woman who's very sentimental, the kind who chases after love. Well, that goes without saying. If you want to woo her, just write her a song, right? Preferably in French, haha, she'll treat you like royalty. But by then, you probably won't be able to get rid of her even if you try! She, or rather, women like us, when we meet a talented man as handsome as you..."

To be honest, Lin Jianlu was increasingly surprised as he listened, and gradually became lost in thought.

For the past two years, I've been in a constant rush, and I've rarely had such soul-searching conversations with my girlfriends or with Sylvia Chang. It turns out that this is how Sylvia Chang, as a woman, a female literary youth, and a female artist, views women in Europe and America!

But thinking about it again, although it has a blatant sense of contempt, it seems to make a lot of sense.

"Well……"

As Zhang Aijia paused for a moment, he suddenly came to his senses. "Wait a minute! I asked you for advice on how to sleep with someone without getting involved in anything about love. All you gave me was advice on how to conquer them! Why would I conquer them? I don't want them to give me a mixed-race child or anything, and I've never thought about keeping these Western women as lovers!"

Zhang Aijia laughed, "If you don't want any lingering problems, there's only one way: completely conquer them! Once you've completely conquered them, even if you break up, they'll only have good things to say about you, and they'll only miss you. They might even drop everything and come straight to you if you just make one phone call! Just like how I treated you! For you men, isn't that amazing!"

"whispering sound!"

Lin Jianlu waved his hand dismissively, but his mind immediately started working.

Complete conquest?

Pull it down!

In both his past and present lives, and even now, Lin Jianlu has never felt that he has completely conquered any woman!
He felt that if the plane he was on suddenly crashed into the sky today, right now, and he died, not many of his girlfriends could stay single for three years!

Well, those who already have children, or are pregnant, will most likely engage in a fierce battle over the inheritance. As for those who aren't pregnant, well, like his mistress Gao Yuanyuan, whom he's spoiled for so long, or Wang Zuxian, who, though not talkative and rather quiet, is indeed quite infatuated with him, and then there are his thirteenth aunt, Liang Yongqi, Chen Hong, Yu Feihong, Jiang Qinqin, Zuo Xiaoqian, and the others—in short, those who have been with him for a long time—they will most likely be extremely sad, sad for quite some time, but then, it will simply be a fleeting affair. The only exception will probably be Chen Shuhua and Su Huilun, well, two silly women!

Even if I were to die, despite our usual loving and unconcerned relationship, a naive girl like Gao Yuanyuan might be purged immediately. And most likely, it would be Lin Qingxia and Chen Hong, who have power, who would join forces to eliminate this silly girl—forget it, I don't even want to think about it!

Thinking further, it's all about the evil in human nature!
Conquer? You're kidding!

That's human nature. You may have authority, but how could anyone truly be completely conquered by another person?

Sigh, Sophie Marceau, so beautiful, so lovely. It would be so nice to sleep with her, but unfortunately, I'm neither interested in dating nor can I really throw money at her. She's quite famous, and she won't willingly become my mistress just because of a few small favors—oh well! Oh well!

Okay, let's continue reading the documents!
In New York, not only are Yu Feihong and Wang Zuxian waiting for me—it's been so long since I've had a chance to touch them—but thinking about them makes me quite envious! Besides, there's also Diane Kruger… well, she doesn't seem any less attractive than Sophie Marceau! And she's even younger!

If there's anything lacking, it's most likely in terms of reputation and the emotional connection people have with the brand.
Go to the batch of documents!

…………

Hey Tommy, you seem to have it easy!

The plane flew to Washington first, and then came to collect the money—over a hundred million US dollars. I didn't want to waste a single day.

When they entered Tommy Mottola's luxurious CEO office, the guy was practicing golf—apparently, things had been stuck like this for months!

Tommy Mottola has completely lost power and all control over Columbia Records. However, Sony North America is unwilling to fire him because that would mean a compensation of up to 200 million US dollars. Therefore, they want to force Tommy Mottola to resign voluntarily.

In that case, tens of millions would suffice.

As a result, Tommy Motura was left idle, but he was not angry at all, and did not make a fuss. He just came to work every day. He would not go to meetings unless he was called, and he would go to listen in if he was called. He would read books while others were in meetings, but he did not cause any trouble. In his usual time in the office, he would read books, listen to music, and practice indoor golf. For a time, no one could do anything about him.

He's an expert; he only signs documents that are risk-free. If there's any risk, even the slightest, he absolutely refuses to sign, and he'll never take the blame. There's no other way. Now, Columbia Records is facing issues he won't sign, and not wanting to cause delays, they have to bypass him and get it to Howard Stringer, president of Sony North America, for his signature. This is troublesome, increases office costs, and adds a lot more work for Howard Stringer.

In short, everyone from top to bottom is extremely annoyed!
But he just wouldn't resign.

Upon arriving at Columbia Records headquarters, Lin Jianlu met with the same people he usually dealt with. They were all full of grievances and waiting to rise in rank. Howard Stringer was also said to be extremely stressed. But when he pushed open the door, he saw Tommy Mottola looking completely relaxed.

He divorced DIVA, whom he had raised and loved for many years, and was accused of abuse, which greatly damaged his public image. Now he has also lost his career. Normally, he should be dejected. But when you look at him now, he looks rosy-cheeked, full of energy, and even looks younger than last year!
Whether it's the big American companies, Sony, or Columbia Records, we don't know how their employment contracts are signed or what kind of legal protection they are under. In short, it feels pretty messed up!
Such a large company, one of the top three in the industry globally, or even the largest, was somehow hampered by a CEO who didn't care about anything!

"Haha, Lin! My Eastern boy!"

He quickly put down his golf club, strode over, and gave me a big hug. His voice was loud and clear, and he was obviously in a good mood. "Wow, it's been months! You've gotten even more handsome than before! Thank you for coming to see me, boy, thank you for coming to see me!"

Hey! We're friends!

"Yay! Yay! We're friends! Wow... Thank you, Lin, I never thought you'd still consider me your friend! Thank you! You understand the meaning of friendship better than anyone else! Listen, actually, I understand your decision back then. No problem, you're okay, my friend! You were right not to side with me! But look, even though I've lost all my power, I'm still contributing to my beloved Columbia Records. I come to work happily every day. Hey, hey, we're both loyal to our beloved Columbia Records, right? Hahahaha... You're great, my friend! You're great!"

This guy is really... to Lin Jianlu, he seems crazy yet full of heroic spirit!

But if this drags on, Columbia Records will almost certainly be the first to give in. So, theoretically speaking, as long as he can be patient enough, he will definitely be able to get the two or three hundred million US dollars in compensation!
Oh, right, not necessarily.

In the US, there's often a final option for resolving these kinds of issues.

Hmm... Bang!

Although the Americans are quite cautious about using this method and don't use it often, it's hard to say when it involves a huge sum of two or three hundred million US dollars—of course, the probability is not high, because even if they lose money, it's the Japanese who pay. Why would the Americans treat a white person like this for the sake of the Japanese money?

That's not American at all!
(End of this chapter)