My teacher is Bruce Lee, who dominated Hollywood.

Chapter 188 Let's Do a Big Heist

In July, the heatwave in Los Angeles seems to be rising directly from beneath the asphalt roads.

The blinding sunlight shone on the giant water tower at Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, refracting a dazzling white light.

Upon returning from Hawaii, Qin Han drove straight here.

In Editing Room No. 3, post-production on "Rocky" was in progress. In the dimly lit room, several large Steinbeck editing machines emitted a monotonous "click-clack" sound. Several editors stared at the screen showing Stallone running wildly through the streets of Philadelphia, their eyes bloodshot.

Fred Weintraub was slumped on a worn-out sofa in the corner, holding a cup of black coffee in his hand, looking somewhat tired.

"Fred." Qin Han walked to the sofa, his voice drowning out the noise of the editing machine: "Notify everyone to cancel all upcoming weekends off. Double their pay and have them work in shifts, non-stop. The final cut of Rocky must be in my hands by the first week of September."

"What?" Fred's coffee wobbled in his hand. He rubbed his sore, swollen eyes and stared at Qin Han like he was an alien. "Dude, did you get sunburned in Hawaii? In September?"

He slammed his coffee cup on the coffee table, stood up, and protested loudly, "We clearly finalized a strategic plan! Rocky is going to explode next fall! This is the route you personally designed!"

Faced with Fred's questioning, Qin Han did not refute it, but felt a sense of helplessness.

According to his memory, Richard Nixon should have struggled through a long and painful legal battle until August 1974, when he was finally driven to desperation and delivered his famous resignation speech.

Releasing "Rocky" next fall coincides with the lowest point in the American public's faith collapse and darkest hour. At that time, the film's box office and critical acclaim will undoubtedly reach unparalleled heights.

Little did he expect that he would trigger a series of uncontrollable butterfly effects, causing Nixon to realize his predicament in advance and make a decisive deal with his political enemies, thus stepping down from the throne prematurely in 1973.

Fortunately, Rocky used the same guerrilla filming technique as before, allowing all the pre-production footage to be shot. As long as the post-production team is pushed to work quickly, they can definitely catch up with this emotional storm that arrived ahead of schedule.

More importantly, there are less than three months left before the fourth Middle East war, which is set to break out in October.

He needed to assemble a massive "shadow fleet" to go on a shopping spree in the Middle East, and purchasing those supertankers that could cut through the ocean required not only the Greeks' secret shipping routes, but also a huge cash flow like a mountain of gold.

While the profits from "Enter the Dragon" were substantial, they were far from enough. He had to immediately launch "Rocky" to the market, along with Lucas's upcoming "American Graffiti." These two insane money-printing machines would become his biggest bargaining chips in his quest for global hegemony.

"Plans can't keep up with changes, Fred." Qin Han walked to the water dispenser in the corner, poured himself a glass of ice water, and gulped down half of it in one go, trying to extinguish the heat in his chest.

He turned around, his gaze piercing as he stared at Fred: "The president is out of here. Now, immediately, right now, they..."

They need a bastard who can get up from the mud, get beaten black and blue but still refuse to fall, to tell them that life can go on!

Fred's lips moved slightly. His intuition told him that Qin Han had always been extremely accurate in capturing public sentiment, but he was still worried about the scheduling: "But scheduling, publicity, materials—all of these require time to coordinate with theaters."

"Then let's coordinate it." Qin Han crumpled the disposable paper cup into a ball, casually threw it into the trash can, walked to the sofa, leaned down, and lowered his voice: "Yesterday evening, I sat face-to-face with Richard Nixon in Hawaii for half an hour. We talked about the weather conditions in Washington for the next few years."

Fred was about to reach for the cigar in his pocket when he heard this. His fingers froze as if he had been electrocuted, his mouth opened slightly, and his eyes were fixed on Qin Han.

"Who—who did you see?"

"The former president, who just delivered his resignation speech, told me that with his departure, the entire cabinet and both houses of Congress will undergo an unprecedented power reshuffle."

"This isn't about how much money a movie makes anymore, Fred. Rocky hitting the market at this crucial moment is about securing the best possible position for us in the upcoming political earthquake in Washington."

Fred could no longer sit still; he felt his heart pounding wildly in his chest like a war drum.

A secret meeting with a former president? Involvement in the power reshuffling in Washington? This young Chinese-American's ambitions are too great!

"Good heavens—" He grabbed his suit jacket from the back of the sofa. "Let's go! We're going to the top floor right now to find Ted! You have to tell him these things yourself!"

Five minutes later, the two pushed open the door to Warner Bros. President Ted Ashley's office.

The air conditioning was blasting, and Ted, wearing his reading glasses, was looking down at a financial statement regarding the overseas pre-sale rights for "Enter the Dragon".

Seeing Fred rush in looking like he was in a real panic, he took off his glasses and pinched his temples: "If you've come to tell me that the film reels of Rocky have been burned, I promise I'll throw you both out the window."

Fred didn't speak, but instead turned his gaze directly to Qin Han beside him.

Qin Han pulled out the leather chair opposite the president's desk, sat down without any ceremony, and used concise language to repeat what he had just said to this top decision-maker of Warner.

As Qin Han narrated, Ted's initially tired eyes gradually sharpened.

"This is a high-stakes gamble," Qin Han concluded. "If we win, the future benefits will be immeasurable."

The only sound in the office was the whooshing of the air conditioner.

A full minute passed before Ted picked up the phone on his desk: "Jane, connect me to the head of distribution and the director of production. Tell them to halt all other projects except..."

For the upcoming release of *Enter the Dragon*, the entire company's resources, including theater scheduling and advertising budget, are being directed towards *Rocky*.

tilt!"

A flustered response came from the other end of the walkie-talkie.

Ted hung up the phone, looked at Qin Han, and a hint of fanaticism flashed in his eyes: "We'll do it your way. Rocky will appear on at least a thousand big screens across America on the first weekend of September!"

With the life-or-death race of Rocky settled, the previously extremely tense atmosphere in the office finally eased somewhat.

Ted stood up, walked to the liquor cabinet, took out two bottles of soda and handed them to the two men.

"Qin, Warner Bros. has treated you very well. We gave you unprecedented power and profit sharing for 'Enter the Dragon'; I also went all out with you on 'Rocky,' a low-level boxing film, and now we've even adjusted the entire company's operating cycle for it."

Ted looked at Qin Han with a half-smile: "However, as Han's Film Industry's closest ally, I've recently heard some unpleasant rumors."

"At Universal Pictures, I heard that Sidney is driving his staff crazy trying to accommodate the schedules of Bruce Lee and that basketball superstar. They've made that movie, 'Game of Death,' their flagship film for next year."

"And Paramount. That stubborn guy Frank actually tolerated Francis Ford Coppola delaying the progress of 'The Godfather Part II' while he went off to work on some Los Angeles private detective story. I heard you personally handed the script to his desk?"

"Universal has landed a new project, even Paramount, with whom they've never worked before, has gotten 'Chinatown.' We at Warner Bros. haven't seen anything new come out of your briefcase for a while now."

Seeing Ted's seemingly feigned resentment, Qin Han couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He knew these Hollywood moguls all too well. On the surface, they competed and schemed against each other, but behind the scenes, there were absolutely no secrets between them.

"That's the second reason I came to Burbank today, Ted." He downed his soda in one gulp, meeting Ted's scrutinizing gaze. "I have a whole new story to share with you."

Upon hearing this, Fred immediately sat up straight, his ears perked up like antennas.

Its name is "The Eleven Arhats".

"It's not a remake of that boring old movie, but a completely new story."

"Our protagonist, Danny Ocean, is a shrewd thief who has just been released from prison. Instead of seeking a stable life, he begins planning the most daring and insane heist in history from the very first second he steps out of the prison gates."

Ted's eyes lit up little by little, his sense of what blockbuster movies was instantly activated.

"Who is his target? A bank? An armored truck?" Fred couldn't help but interject.

"Ten thousand times more exciting than that." Qin Han's lips curled into a smile. "It's the underground vault of the three largest and most heavily guarded casinos in Las Vegas: the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand. There's $150 million stored in that vault."

US dollars in cash.

"Good heavens—" Fred exclaimed softly.

"To accomplish this impossible mission, Danny needs a team." Qin Han continued to describe it vividly, "Eleven suit-clad thugs, each with their own unique skills. This isn't some crude street gang fight; the film is all about ultimate elegance."

"A splendid scheme, exploiting human weaknesses and meticulous calculations, manipulated those arrogant casino owners with ease."

Qin Han leaned back in his chair and gave his final summary: "A star-studded cast, the luxurious scenery of Las Vegas, and a puzzle-solving process that gets your adrenaline pumping."

"This is a pure commercial blockbuster, a money-printing machine that can empty the pockets of audiences during Thanksgiving or Christmas season."

Ted knew all too well the power of this kind of subject matter in theaters: dazzling visuals, a tight pace, and the charisma of superstars—it was practically a perfect product tailor-made for the box office charts.

"Incredible concept, Qin. Your mind is a treasure trove!" Ted clapped excitedly. "But to film on location in Las Vegas, we'd need to hire over a dozen well-known celebrities to set up those complex vault sets and security systems—"

"A-list productions of this caliber will have budgets of no less than eight million US dollars, and may even reach the ten million dollar mark."

"However, Warner Bros. is willing to take on this huge investment for the film. We can immediately draft a co-production contract."

Seeing Ted's eager expression, as if he was afraid the fat would slip away from his mouth, Qin Han raised his index finger and gently shook it twice.

"No, Ted. You've got it wrong. This huge production cost won't cost Warner Bros. a single cent."

Ted was completely stunned, his hand hovering in mid-air as he reached for the bottle: "What do you mean? Han's Film Studio is going to fully fund the production? Qin, your finances probably can't support such a large-scale expenditure right now, can they?"

"Han's doesn't need to pay anything either."

Qin Han smiled and said, "Those Italian families who control the casinos in Las Vegas, those old godfathers behind Caesars Palace..."

"They wanted the film to portray Las Vegas as a glamorous and intellectually stimulating resort paradise, rather than a sin city rife with bloodshed and gangland feuds. So they were more than happy to be the full financier of the film and provide all the filming locations unconditionally."

Ted was truly shocked this time.

Production companies don't need to pay exorbitant costs upfront, nor do they bear any risk of box office failure. Warner Bros. simply needs to use its own label and existing theatrical networks for distribution to comfortably collect hefty distribution fees and participate in the profit sharing.

This is like a windfall for any film studio!

"God bless you, Qin! You're Warner's lucky star!" Ted walked around the large desk and gave Qin Han a very tight hug.

"Go write the script! As soon as the outline is done, there's no need for a meeting; I'll use my CEO privilege to approve it directly!"

Having secured the rights to Warner Bros.' new film, Qin Han drove his car onto the highway back to Sunset Boulevard.

As he parked his car in the underground garage of the Sunset Tower headquarters, the West Coast sun was already beginning to sink below the horizon.

Back in the office, the lights were still on, and Michael was buried in a pile of documents, typing away on the typewriter.

Seeing Qin Han return, he quickly brought over a report: "Boss, another box office payment for 'Enter the Dragon' has been settled. Should we transfer it to your financial account and the University of Utah's account, just like before?"

"No rush, keep this money for now. Call Rona and ask her to come over."

Less than twenty minutes later, Rona, dressed in a light summer outfit, pushed open the door of Han's Film Studio: "Busy man, there are fewer and fewer times I can see you these days."

"Lorna, there's just too much going on lately—" Qin Han spread out a map of Europe on his desk and pinned the number he got from Marlon Brando to the location of Greece.

"Put aside all that stuff about movie schedules and media gossip for now. Next, we're going on a trip to Europe."

Continent.

"We're going to pull off something big."