Imperial Elite

Chapter 120 Hollywood Contracts
Although Joe had a high reputation, everyone knew that he was a greedy and lustful man who embraced low-class tastes.

For Hollywood bigwigs who want a relationship with Jorah, there are only two things to do: either give her money or offer her a marriage proposal.

If it's about money, Joe certainly doesn't lack it. Not to mention how much money Old Joe made from those three movies, just the amount of money others got from Wagner's gold alone.
If you give Old Joe money but not enough, he definitely won't be satisfied. It's like giving a beggar a pound versus giving a millionaire a pound; the results will definitely be different.

So since we can't give money, we can only give a token of good fortune in marriage.

Hollywood studios are confident in their ability to provide matchmaking services.

Although a long time had passed since the abolition of slavery in the United States, it was no big deal for Hollywood studios.

For Hollywood studios at this time, what kind of stars are they? Aren't they all urbanites who actively offer themselves up for service?

Let alone the idea of ​​dedicating yourself to art during auditions, even if you want to make a movie, you have to listen to the studio completely.

The phrase "completely at the behest of the production company" means that even a minor would have to work at least eighteen hours a day to make a movie, as children simply cannot endure such conditions.

Don't we still have cigarettes and coffee? If all else fails, we can praise technological advancements and say we have stimulants to keep us alert.

If children are like this, then adults must be even more strict in controlling them.

Besides being strictly restricted in their working hours, diet, and daily activities, actors are also subject to the control of the production studios regarding who they date and marry.

What? You're saying this goes against the spirit of freedom that founded the United States?

The gate is right there. If you want freedom, then go!

Of course, although the whole world knows that Joe has a quirk, no one knows which type of woman he prefers.

If Old Joe prefers big ones, it's obviously inappropriate to give someone a small one, right?

However, this is not a problem for Hollywood studios.

For filming movies, Hollywood doesn't discriminate based on size or style; it's all about having a great figure, from large breasts to long legs, even being called "leg goddesses," specializing in shooting stockings, and having insured their legs for $100,000.

How could Old Joe not be satisfied after seeing this?
As for whether the female celebrities are satisfied... sigh, in this day and age, who cares about that if they can make movies...

With utmost sincerity in their cooperation, the Hollywood bigwigs, along with a group of New World beauties, went to meet Old Joe.

Then, upon seeing this group of lovebirds, Qiao's face turned green on the spot.

Damn it, do you guys want me to die fast enough?

While some of them are indeed quite good-looking, do you think I'm not having enough trouble right now?

Get out! All of you, get out! Don't let me see you, you're so depressing!
After driving away the Hollywood studios, Old Joe became increasingly angry.

Damn it, I came here with sincerity to discuss cooperation and promote friendship, but you guys want to ruin me!

Damn it! I can't stay here anymore, I'm leaving!
Realizing that he had flattered Joe buttocks in the face, he quickly reflected on his actions. When the Hollywood studio heard that Joe was leaving, they hurriedly asked someone to see him again, and then went to see Joe with a box of gold.

He then said that they were wrong before, that their thinking was vulgar and their character was inferior, and that this was just a small gift, hoping that Old Joe wouldn't take it personally.

We're genuinely here with the intention of cooperating. Your films are truly excellent, but the output is relatively low. So, could we perhaps collaborate a little? We'll provide the funding, and you'll contribute your face. There's no risk involved.

Although he had no shortage of gold, Joe's anger subsided when he saw the suitcase full of it.

Joe smiled as he faced the obsequious Hollywood studio.

Hey, you know what's going on here? It's just making a movie, no problem!
But I have conditions for making movies.

Upon hearing that Old Joe was willing to cooperate, the studio immediately nodded and mentioned MRI.

Please tell us your requirements. We will do our best to meet them if we can, and we will also try our best to meet them if we cannot.

Seeing the studio's sincerity, Joe said, "First of all, I'm quite busy, and I've always been in the Old World, so filming will definitely be done in the Old World. You can bring the production team and actors, but I won't be coming to the New World."

Upon hearing Joe's words, the studio quickly nodded, "We understand, we understand. General Joe has many things to do, and making movies is just something he does in his spare time. We completely understand."

Then Joe said that making movies always involves investment, and he likes to use his resources wisely, so he only takes a percentage of the profits, not a salary. As for the percentage of profits...

The production company immediately nodded, "Understood, understood. This way we can control production costs, but considering distribution costs and other expenses, how about a 30/70 split? You get 30%..."

"Ok?"

"40/60! Let's just consider this a friendly match!"

Thanks to the Hollywood studio's accommodating nature, Joe quickly signed a three-year, ten-film contract with the studio.

This contract quickly shocked the entire Hollywood.

The reason for the shock was not that Hollywood Studios offered Joe a very lenient deal, but that Joe didn't take a salary in the early stages and only took commissions.

They could understand that Joe was doing this because he had plenty of confidence that every film he made would be a hit. However, the fact that Joe didn't take a salary but only a share of the profits made it difficult for directors and studios to negotiate their compensation.

They can already imagine how the studios will try to lower their prices when they negotiate their fees in the future, since no matter how big your star is, can you still be bigger than Old Joe now?

While directors are worrying about their future financial prospects, Hollywood actors have already begun to take action.

What should an actor do to become a great actor?
Of course, it's about starring in a wildly popular show and making sure the audience remembers you.

Who directed the most popular work right now? Old Joe.

So what are we waiting for?! If we don't act now, we'll miss our chance!
So Joe had just signed a contract with the studio and hadn't even decided what movies he would be making next when these actors' resumes started flying into the studio like snowflakes.

Of course, there are also some clever people who managed to slip their resumes into Joe's hotel room.

Because of Joe's reputation, these resumes included some small photos that even the battle-hardened Joe couldn't resist seeing.

However, besides the adorable photos, there were also some truly cringe-worthy images.

Perhaps it was because he felt that the tastes of wealthy people were hard to guess, and also because Old Joe was a Buntanian.

So among those awesome little photos, there were also quite a few cringe-worthy ones.

After being disgusted by those photos, Joe refused to look at the resumes that were shoved into her hotel room.

Aside from a minor hiccup, Joe was generally satisfied with her trip to Citibank.

Joe finalized the location for Rolls-Royce's new factory. Since it was an assembly plant, Rolls-Royce's branch was not located in Detroit, where cars are concentrated, but in New York.

At the same time, the local councilor also gave Rolls-Royce a lot of tax breaks, which made Old Joe very happy.

And the reunion with old acquaintances from the former US Expeditionary Forces made Old Joe reminisce about the glorious years of the past.

Overall, aside from a minor mishap, Joe was very satisfied with the trip. After saying goodbye to his friends at Citibank, Joe embarked on his journey back to Brittany.

However, what Joe didn't know was that while he was happily having fun at Citibank, a little incident was also happening in Cambridge.

As Joe's younger brother, James, who successfully enrolled in Cambridge, quickly became a prominent figure on campus.

Because of his unusual upbringing, James, who was admitted to Cambridge, can be described as physically healthy, athletic, academically excellent, and highly motivated.

Compared to the other students, James, who had not only received rigorous military training but had even established the best party in Britannia during high school, stood out like a firefly in the night.

James, who had been suppressed by Joe for more than a year and unable to cause trouble, was like a tiger returning to the mountains after entering Cambridge, and no one dared to interfere.

In particular, some of James's former underlings were now entering Cambridge University.

The Bonitania Best Party has re-emerged at Cambridge University.

However, this time James didn't rush to start causing trouble. Instead, while learning Lucia, he joined a left-wing club that had been formed at the university after the establishment of the Bonitania Left Party.

It wasn't that James wanted to join the Revolutionary Alliance, but rather because of the little shock Joe had given James back then.

James believes that a real man should learn Lucia!

The reason for joining the left-wing group was simple: in the Lucia language class, there was a pretty girl, and Jaime wanted to have a relationship with her that went beyond friendship.

So how can I develop a relationship with this girl that goes beyond friendship?
Join a left-wing group like her.

At this time, due to the establishment of the People's Revolutionary Alliance and the shock of the Great War, many people began to take an interest in left-wing ideology.

Cambridge University is known for its tolerance; after all, not long ago, Cambridge students not only played pranks on university leaders, but also mocked the HMS Dreadnought, the pride of the Britannian Navy.

He wasn't expelled for this, and he was just spreading some leftist ideas at school, which wasn't really a big deal.

However, after joining the left-wing group, James, who originally joined just for the girls, found the left-wing ideology quite interesting.

If things had been like this back then, our childhood wouldn't have been so tough. Sigh, life was hard for factory workers...

Then James's interest quickly shifted from the young woman to his research on left-wing ideology. Even after discovering that James was not only multi-talented but also incredibly wealthy, the young woman wanted to invite him out to a movie. James declined, saying he was busy studying left-wing theory at the library.

Logically speaking, if this continues, James will soon become a member of the left.

But that's not the case.

During his training at Emerald Isle, James noticed a small change taking place there.

So soon, James left that left-wing group, saying that they were all too extreme, that he now fully understood everything, and that it was time to get back to the Bonitania Best Party!
Left-wing groups couldn't tolerate James's behavior.

You say you're leaving the club, but you're starting your own organization. What are you trying to do?
Especially the ideas you're promoting now—aren't they just random alterations to our platform?! James Harrison! You're a heretic!

Since they've already been labeled as heretics, the rest of the script naturally involves mutual criticism.

Fortunately, the students at Bridge University were relatively civilized; they only used criticism as a weapon, rather than using weapons in their criticism.

There was no physical conflict, and ideological clashes are really not a big deal for a place like Bridge University.

After all, a few years earlier, some senior students even wanted to establish a state directly on campus and separate Cambridge University from Bonitania.

It's just leftists arguing with people who have leftist leanings; it's really not a big deal.

Even this argument didn't last long, because it was Christmas time and the school was on holiday.

However, this Christmas, compared to previous Christmases, was peaceful, and many friends sent Joe gifts.

But Joe didn't have a happy Christmas.

On the one hand, Joe has finally realized that he brought this trouble upon himself by building such a large family.

Although it was a happy time at the time, once the happiness has passed and it's time to take responsibility, the more happy you were then, the more trouble you'll face now.

On the other hand, although Joe was the armored director of Britannia, he had a lot of things to do at this time and could no longer draw up blueprints himself and let others implement them as he used to.

Even if Joe had the time, it wouldn't be possible.

Back then, it was wartime, so we handled it as a special case.

But now that we are in peacetime, we must follow the correct procedures to send out your design requirements and let the major manufacturers provide solutions.

Therefore, Qiao put forward his tender requirements in detail, stipulating that diesel engines must be used and the combat weight must not exceed 30 tons.

Compact design, approximately 5.5-6 meters long, 2.5-2.7 meters wide, and no more than 2.8 meters high.

至少2挺7.62mm机枪，装甲正面正面约50mm，侧面约30-40mm。

Highway travel speed: approximately 35-40 km/h; off-road travel speed: approximately 20-25 km/h; travel distance: approximately 300 km on highways; off-road travel distance: approximately 150-200 km.

At the same time, space should be reserved for the installation of a radio communication system, and the vehicle should have a mature in-vehicle communication system.

While adopting a three-inch cannon, the turret must be designed to allow for future upgrades to larger caliber cannons.

In general, although this requirement is quite demanding, there are currently no mature systems for many of its components.

Take radio communication systems, for example. This thing is still in the laboratory prototype stage. It is quite difficult to reserve space for it and make adaptations.

Meanwhile, the small diesel engine, which began development during the war, is also facing numerous problems, and there is still much room for improvement in terms of reliability and quietness.

Furthermore, despite the experience with tanks like the Hound and Royal Fist, there is still no particularly suitable case study regarding tank suspension.

Therefore, Joe did not have high hopes for this new tank, the first one after the war, intended to replace the Hound and Royal Fist tanks.

I just hope it's an ordinary, unremarkable vehicle that can be used as a temporary replacement for the troops.

However, even this small wish was not fulfilled.

The design proposals submitted by four manufacturers, including Rolls-Royce, were so appalling to Joe that he found them extremely offensive.

Rolls-Royce's proposal was relatively normal; it simply involved enlarging the Hound tank, replacing the cannon and engine, and stating that they were preparing to replace the suspension system, though they were still researching what specific suspension system would be used.

In short, this upgraded version of the Hound tank is basically just relying on its old design with no innovation whatsoever, and even after being enlarged, the Hound tank, originally a light tank, doesn't have much room for further upgrades.

It can barely be considered a usable medium tank.

However, the tank design proposals submitted by the other four companies were simply appalling.

Perhaps it was because Royal Fist was too awe-inspiring, or perhaps it was because tank design was still in the exploratory stage at that time, these designers did not have a good understanding of what constituted a good and usable medium tank.

In short, what Joe saw next was the Britannia version of the Seven Brothers Iron Coffin, which looked very much like the M3. This vehicle also thoughtfully had two more machine guns added to the left and right sides to enhance its firepower.

Like a Churchill tank and TOOOOOG having drunk too much one night, it's a multi-turret tank with a long body and two rather cute-looking turrets at the front and back.

In short, after reviewing the designs of these tanks, Joe had to call the design teams from these manufacturers together for a meeting.

During the meeting, Joe tapped on the blackboard to explain what he wanted, and even drew a square box (number three) and a large steamed bun like Sherman, so that the designers could take a good look and learn what he wanted.

Of course, to prevent these designers from having any more wild ideas and creating something too tall and imposing, something that would be as conspicuous as a Ferris wheel on the battlefield.

Joe also drew three-view diagrams of a battlefield cockroach, similar to the T-34, which was not so tall and imposing, but could nimbly crawl all over the ground, for the designers to reference.

In short, I don't care what kind of ideas you come up with, I just want a five-man vehicle with a radio, a diesel engine, and the ability to roam freely on the battlefield!

The designers nodded in agreement with the roaring Steve Jobs, saying, "I understand, I completely get it."

So that's what you wanted! You should have said so earlier!
Arrangements will be made!
Besides the setbacks in tank design, research on helicopters also encountered difficulties.

With some technical assistance from Rolls-Royce, the helicopter research finally overcame its first hurdle.

Now, that rudimentary prototype, which looked like it was pieced together from steel pipes, is finally able to take off with a sliver of its own.

However, once the prototype took off, another problem arose: how to adjust its flight direction.

In other words, the pilot in charge of the test flight was also the designer of the aircraft. After discovering that the aircraft was very unstable after taking off, he was able to land the aircraft safely thanks to his understanding of the principles.

Otherwise, Joe would not only have lost the helicopter prototype that day, but also an experienced engineer.

These two blows left Joe somewhat depressed during Christmas, so much so that by the time 1922 arrived, Joe was simply exhausted and resigned to his fate.

When many studies were thwarted, the only thing that could offer Joe some comfort was Wagner's airborne troops, which had achieved good results in their training.

Although limited by airborne capabilities, airborne troops still need to disperse and airdrop some weapons and paratroopers.

However, paratroopers are now able to use improved parachutes to land densely in the same area after parachuting from airships, and quickly form combat capability based on airdropped supplies.

In Wagner's internal exercises, as long as these paratroopers don't jump into the faces of armored units, they are able to achieve good results behind enemy lines.

However, during Wagner's exercise, Joe also discovered a small problem: the rocket development work was also encountering difficulties at this time.

Therefore, paratroopers lack the ability to deal with armored forces, and even light armored vehicles can easily chase them away.

So after much painful reflection, Joe decided to ignore everything else and focus on researching rocket launchers and developing anti-tank rifles, so that things could be considered complete.

After all, although anti-tank rifles are nominally used for anti-tank purposes, it doesn't mean they can't be used to attack other targets.

Used to deal with enemy light armored units and infantry units, this thing can make the enemy's cover fly along with the enemy.

As time moved into 1922, Rolls-Royce finally brought good news: although the device was originally developed for the war, the war had now ended several years ago.

But through our continuous efforts, we finally got the eight-wheeled heavy-duty off-road truck sorted out!

Now these big gadgets can finally be mass-produced!

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How to piss off the Citibank Army in one word: 'Conqueror 8-wheel heavy off-road truck'.

If you had to make the Citibank Army smile in one word, it would be 'Conqueror 8-wheel heavy-duty off-road truck'.

Of all the projects Joe pushed forward, none were as much of a love-hate relationship for the Citigroup Army as the Conqueror 8-wheel heavy-duty off-road truck.

For infantry and logistics, this eight-wheeled heavy-duty off-road truck is one of the greatest inventions in the world, always able to deliver what is needed to where it is needed, or to pull troops back from the front lines amidst artillery fire.

With just a little training, even a monkey could learn how to operate this heavy vehicle in a short time.

But for other units, this vehicle was a nightmare.

——————A History of 20th Century Warfare

(End of this chapter)