Huayu98: Starting with mentoring pop divas

After finishing his ridiculously expensive steak dinner with Evan Carter, Li Shuo chatted with him about the things he needed to handle in the next few days, and then returned to his hotel alone.

He arrived at the editing room provided by Warner Bros. on time the next day.

Pushing open the door, I found the "runaway assistant" was there? And already working!?

"...Here, the second take of B16 connects emotionally."

Natalie pointed to the timeline.

The hired editor nodded.

Li Shuo was stunned for a moment, then realized that she had already gone through the materials in the order of the script.

"When did you arrive?" he asked as he walked over.

The other party did not answer the question, maintaining a businesslike tone befitting an "assistant and producer":

"I've assembled the footage from 'The Blair Witch Project' for you into a rough cut."

Li Shuo pursed his lips and sat down to start working.

However, the pace of what followed was so fast that it made the editor question his life choices.

Where's the promised rough cut?!

Li Shuo made his judgment on the material almost without hesitation.

It felt like pouring finished products out of your brain.

The editor followed the instructions somewhat numbly for a while, but finally couldn't hold back anymore.

"Li... how about I get you a cup of coffee? I'd like to have one myself too."

Natalie, who was already used to Li Shuo's amazing performance, looked down at the script and tried to suppress the smile on her lips.

Sigh... She has decided to maintain this "professional" attitude in front of him from now on.

That day, Li Shuo found out and questioned me so directly…

The awkwardness of having to share a hotel room with him when my home is actually in New York.

It was like a bagel she hadn't swallowed, stuck in her throat.

And it was that "California Avocado" who gave out his contact information without hesitation!

Does he prefer that type? She's just a little bigger than her… anyone can squeeze in… besides, countless people adore me, the "Lolita"!

Deeply affected by the "viral Lolita" image from "Léon: The Professional," and having been harassed by some perverts and strongly repulsed by this label, she's now experiencing strange psychological changes because of Li Shuo!

To be honest, my growing fondness for this guy... isn't just because of his looks.

There are so many great movies in Hollywood.

She has always enjoyed being around intelligent people because she feels that she is also intelligent and capable enough.

But after taking on this "temporary" job with Li Shuo, she began to doubt herself, yet became increasingly attracted to him.

But she also discovered that this had disrupted her future plans!

After reflecting rationally for the past two days, I'll try to be patient and control myself.

Anyway, this guy will be going back to China soon, and by then my "psychological problems" should be fine.

She needs to make the most of the time she's had freed up by sacrificing many film offers to study psychology at Harvard...

Let's finish this agreed-upon project quickly, get the final payment, and then end this overly intense encounter!

Without saying anything more, I lowered my head and made a note in my notebook, and the tangled mess in my mind seemed to loosen up a bit.

For the next two days, she only fulfilled her duties as an "assistant," escorting Li Shuo back to his hotel and stopping at the entrance without going up.

On the morning of the third day, the final cut of the film only needed a little final touch-up.

Li Shuo stood at the entrance of the Peninsula Hotel, dragging a small black suitcase.

Natalie's car stopped on the side of the road right on time. She paused for a moment when she saw him carrying a suitcase over.

Li Shuo put the suitcase in the back seat and got into the passenger seat: "Take me somewhere."

"where?"

"Writers Guild of America, New York office."

Natalie didn't ask any more questions and started the car.

The car was parked in front of an inconspicuous building in Midtown.

Evan Carter is already waiting.

We took the elevator upstairs and entered a small conference room with a long table.

Li Shuo opened his suitcase, inside which were neatly stacked more than a dozen brown paper document bags.

Evan raised an eyebrow: "So many?"

Natalie was also stunned. She watched as Li Shuo laid out the file folders one by one on the table, each folder with an English title written on its spine in marker.

"...Is this the script?" she asked tentatively.

Li Shuo tilted his chin towards the table: "Look around as you like."

Natalie picked up the one closest to her.

The cover reads: Final Destination

She curiously turned to the first page.

A high school student, sensing a crash, screams as he is forced off the plane during a flight about to take off.

Then, the plane really exploded right in front of him.

She didn't stop, turning the pages one by one.

Twenty minutes later, she looked up at Li Shuo, who was patiently waiting to the side.

Those blue eyes held a complexity that had been overturned once again.

"...Did you write all of these?" Her voice was a little hoarse.

"Some are complete scripts, some are outlines, but they all meet the requirements for copyright registration."

After saying that, Li Shuo took out three more copies and handed them to Evan.

"These are for the Warner Bros. screening tomorrow."

Evan took it and discreetly put it into his briefcase.

Natalie looked down and flipped through another document.

Another one.

One more.

The following day, Warner Bros. Pictures New York screening room.

Terry Semel sat in the center of the screening room, his legs crossed, his right hand tapping the armrest with two fingers.

As co-chairman and co-CEO of Warner Bros. over the past few years, he has seen far too many test films in this room.

I'm here today purely to give face to this Chinese kid's "backer," Vista.

Let's just go through the motions...

Ninety minutes later, the lights came on.

Semel's expression remained unchanged, but his fingers on the armrest stopped.

"...The idea is good. The mockumentary style is quite fresh, but frankly, Warner Bros.' internal assessment of the film's release prospects will be very conservative."

That's a somewhat euphemistic way of putting it.

Li Shuo didn't reply, but simply took a document from Evan and pushed it in front of Semel.

"This is the marketing plan for 'The Witch in the Woods'."

Semel turned to the first page.

Five minutes later, he looked up, a hint of "amusement" in his eyes.

After flipping through the pages for a while, he suddenly asked, "When do you plan to launch this 'missing persons website' project?"

"It's already launched. We've made some adjustments recently; scroll down to see the website layout and feature pages."

Li Shuo thought to himself, "PPT is still a big problem. If the technology were more advanced, this plan would be just as persuasive as when Indians try to fool those big American companies."

Semmel didn't say anything and continued scrolling down.

I watched for a while longer.

He closed the plan, put it on the table, and began to look the young man in the eye.

"The distribution department believes that this 'real video' marketing concept is risky for Warner's brand image."

"However, I can hear your terms."

Li Shuo's tone afterwards sounded like he was ordering food.

"Warner will cover the marketing and distribution costs, and I will bear the tiered risk."

He pushed another piece of paper over.

Lee Studios' global box office revenue sharing risk tiers for "The Blair Witch Project" (The Witch in the Woods).

0-3000 million 0% (Warner Bros. will prioritize recovering the publicity and distribution costs, and "Li Studio" will then make up the difference.)

3000-5000 million RMB, "Li Studio" to receive 15%

5000-8000 million RMB, "Li Studio" to receive 25%

8000 million – 1.2 million RMB, "Li Studio" to receive 30%

1.2 million+ RMB, "Li Studio" to receive 35-40% (with priority for sequel).

Semel thought about it for a while after reading it.

The revenue sharing plan was so simple that he couldn't find any factors that would be detrimental to Warner.

Is this young man using his own money to bail out Warner Bros.?

But thinking about the box office figures in the next few columns... he was both amused and exasperated.

"...You're very confident." Semel's voice rose at the end.

Money is not a problem for me.

After saying this, Li Shuo looked directly at the other person, but felt helpless inside...

Until his abilities prove convincing, he'll have to keep up this rich playboy persona.

Just as Semel was about to speak, Li Shuo didn't give him the chance.

"Also, Mr. Semel," he gestured to the side.

Evan Carter pulled three brown paper document bags from his briefcase and placed them on the table.

Li Shuo pushed one of the copies over.

"These are some projects that I plan to launch after my studio is affiliated with Warner Music."

Semel flipped through it casually.

Final Destination?

I plan to quickly flip through two pages, give a "okay" emoji, and end this farcical predicament.

But as he looked at it... his page-turning became slower and slower.

Time passed a little while,

He suddenly realized that he had been staring for too long, which was a bit impolite, so he quickly looked up at Li Shuo and gave him a social smile.

Then put down the one you're holding and pick up the second one.

I glanced at the title.

Saw?

Then he picked up the third one.

"spiritualism"

The only sound in the meeting room was the rustling of papers turning.

Finally, Semel raised his head and turned to Li Shuo.

"Has anyone else seen these?"

"You, me, my lawyer." Li Shuo paused, glancing at the corner of his eye, "and my assistant."

Natalie sat there, maintaining a proper assistant's posture, sitting very upright.

Semel looked over and realized that the young female assistant he hadn't paid attention to at first was actually her? Natalie Portman!

Li Shuo suddenly seemed to remember something.

"Oh, right... I also checked the Writers Guild of America registration system. These are three of the horror/thriller scripts I registered."

Semel remained silent for a few seconds.

He looked at the Warner department heads who had brought him along.

"You guys, go out first."