America: My Time

Chapter 14 Interaction with Sister Mai
Chapter Fourteen: Interaction with Sister Mai
How to break out of this predicament? Should we retreat from the media and entertainment sector first, or confront it directly and fight against it? The former would be less costly and easier to achieve, while the latter could easily plunge the entire Legendary Entertainment into trouble if not handled carefully!

If retreating could solve the problem, John would naturally make that choice. But that won't work. Facing a giant like Warner, the more they back down, the more arrogant and unscrupulous the other party becomes, and the greater the pressure Legendary Entertainment faces.

In the music industry, Legendary Entertainment is negligible, as is the publishing industry; perhaps their only chance lies in film. Although Warner Bros. is a Hollywood giant and a film industry leader, small productions can still succeed, and I happen to have a script for that! If Warner Bros. really does intervene to suppress Legendary Entertainment, this is my way of retaliating—a direct confrontation with them in the film industry!
Small productions have their own advantages. As long as the plot is good, it's easy to recoup costs. Even if they go head-to-head with blockbusters, they're not afraid of losses. If they succeed in one battle, Legendary Entertainment can gain a foothold in Hollywood! Funding issues are also easy to solve; they can temporarily withdraw funds from Dreamworld as an emergency measure.

John was not a hesitant person. Once he made a decision, he immediately took action. The script for Flashdance and the theme song were ready, and he arranged for someone to contact Adrian Lane, the director of Flashdance. The entire Legendary Pictures was quickly getting into action.

Small companies have their advantages; at least project initiation is less complicated, requiring only a word from the boss. When contacting the director, the company's existing staff had already quickly completed all preparations—filming locations, personnel, etc., were all in place, just waiting for the director and casting!

"Boss, I want to be in Flash Dance!" When Legendary Pictures was making a movie, Madonna was excited and set her sights on the opportunity. Before the single was even finished, she came directly to them.

Although Madonna, who came today, was very beautiful, John wasn't particularly interested. This woman had a huge appetite, a chaotic personal life, and was a true womanizer. Even if she were a symbolic figure of this era, John wouldn't be of much interest!

Madonna represents the lifestyle of this era; with such a chaotic private life, it's lucky she didn't contract an incurable disease. Hollywood, the music industry, and even the entire American entertainment industry are chaotic, with incurable diseases appearing frequently.

"Aren't you still recording? How can you have time to act? Besides, after this single is finished, you'll have to prepare your first album. Your voice is great, it's suitable for singing, but acting is out of the question!"

“Boss, I’ve studied dance and acting, so I’m the perfect candidate. My dance instructor even said I’m really good at acting!” Sister Mai was not giving up at all. She knew how important this opportunity was. As a singer signed with Legend Entertainment, she was well aware of how good the opportunity for Lightning Dance was. Most importantly, she had great ambitions!
John didn't pay much attention to this lame excuse! Well, he could easily imagine the context in which this dance instructor in charge of pioneering the field said those words, and he would be a fool to believe him.

Just as he was internally complaining, Sister Mai took action, bending down and performing a series of swallowing and spitting, making full use of her advantages. She was incredibly skilled at it, and even with his strong willpower, he couldn't help but be drawn in! Looking down at Sister Mai working, a wild sense of conquest surged into his heart. This was the pursuit of countless men.

This is the entertainment industry. If you want to get the resources you need, you have to make sacrifices and 'fight'. Mai Jie is obviously very familiar with the rules of this exchange of interests, and she has relied on it to get on stage all the way!
Originally, the casting decision was to be left to the director, but now that Madonna is so 'savvy', John has no choice but to give up the idea. He can't very well just walk away and do something so tasteless!
"I know what you're thinking, and it is indeed an opportunity, but I still have to advise you: focus on singing. Taking shortcuts won't work. Although this movie, *Flashdance*, could give you a chance to become an overnight sensation, you need to understand your strengths!" It's fortunate that this role doesn't require a very high level of acting skill; otherwise, even with Madonna's 'efforts,' she wouldn't have succeeded! Beauty is alluring, but career is more important. In Hollywood, no one would be foolish enough to jeopardize their career for beauty. Although the rules of exchanging favors are always out in the open, without sufficient ability, no matter how 'hard' you try, it's difficult to get the role you want!
In Hollywood, opportunity is important, but personal ability is equally important! This time, Madonna was just incredibly lucky. The role in Flashdance suited her well; at least she can dance, which saves her a lot of time!
In Hollywood and the television industry, many people get opportunities but ultimately lose everything due to a lack of talent. There are countless examples of this. It's not that the directors and producers are inherently bad or tasteless, exploiting women's bodies; rather, it's that these women lack ambition and fail to see through the cutthroat world of entertainment, choosing only opportunistic exchanges and forgetting their own abilities! In this industry, profit is the foundation of everything; no one will, and dares to, cross the line!

Not everyone is as lucky as Madonna (麦姐) to have a "good" boss, a "sincere" boss, willing to give her this opportunity, and even this advice. Most "bosses" will only give her an audition, not a role; to get the role, she needs to have the ability herself. Does Madonna have the ability? You could only say she's barely passable.

Having arranged everything for the Flash Dance, John stopped paying attention and turned his focus back to the game world. As for Madonna, he didn't care either; it was just a transaction—she gave him her body, and he gave her the opportunity. There were no feelings involved; it was a mutually agreeable exchange of benefits!

Madonna desperately wanted to latch onto the 'boss's' coattails, but John didn't want any further interaction with her. One such transaction was enough; any more would be too dangerous. She was a woman with a chaotic private life, a true playboy! Hollywood was full of beautiful women; there was no need for him to risk getting involved with this dangerous woman!
While John and Madonna were having a deep conversation, Phoenix Comics in Japan finally completed its first edition printing. John had considered going to Japan to further investigate the market, but time didn't allow him to do so! The development of the game world still needed him, and he also had to be vigilant against the machinations from Warner Bros. He simply didn't have the time to keep an eye on things in Japan!

Phoenix Comics doesn't need to worry about its development. With its excellent production quality and its overseas reputation, it will naturally attract the attention of some Japanese people. With attention comes success!

Just as I expected, when Phoenix Comics Weekly was released in Japan, it immediately caused quite a stir. Its reputation, combined with the high quality of its comics, propelled Phoenix Comics to instant fame. Featuring over a dozen comics including Fist of the North Star, Dragon Ball, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Saint Seiya, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, Chibi Maruko-chan, Cardcaptor Sakura, Sailor Moon, City Hunter, Ah! My Goddess, Parasyte, Cowboy Bebop, and The Simpsons, ranging from action and romance to adventure, it catered to a wide range of tastes and quickly gained recognition. Most importantly, Phoenix Comics Weekly was entirely printed in color, making it irresistible to comic book enthusiasts!
The 1980s were the heyday of Japanese comics. Phoenix Comics' first issue sold over a million copies. If the printing plant they acquired hadn't been so small and substandard, that number would have doubled. And this was just the opening issue! The million-copy sales of the opening issue had a huge impact on the entire Japanese comics industry. The newly launched Phoenix Comics Weekly was an instant success, overturning everyone's perceptions and showing the entire Japanese comics world the power of Phoenix Comics.

Before Phoenix Comics Weekly was launched, the cartoonists recruited by the company were somewhat worried, fearing that the dismal market would affect their future. Even though they knew that Phoenix Comics was of excellent quality, they were still uneasy. Now, these people are finally at ease and no longer need to worry about their future!
Although the Japanese are very xenophobic, they also greatly admire the strong. The great success of Phoenix Comics Weekly convinced them that John was a strong person, and the strong naturally gain everyone's recognition and respect!
As Phoenix Comics' sales continue to expand, some talented individuals who initially looked down on the company have joined, enabling this small comics company to grow rapidly, attracting numerous talents and accelerating its own development!
Compared to large companies like Shogakukan and Shueisha, Phoenix Comics is still a junior player, lagging far behind in both scale and size. Fortunately, Phoenix Comics is no longer the weak and insignificant company it once was, with a small number of cartoonists. With the addition of many talented individuals, Phoenix Comics is constantly expanding and improving.

With fame and funding, the company naturally grew rapidly. Phoenix Comics, just like its name suggests, stormed into the Japanese comic book industry, carving out its own niche and accelerating its development in various aspects, such as animation production, fashion magazines, and light novel publishing. Problems that were originally only on paper were all solved!
As long as Phoenix Comics maintains its quality and continues to develop, it won't be long before it overcomes its previous difficulties and stands at the top of the Japanese publishing industry.

(End of this chapter)