Hollywood Domination Chapter 56: Cesare’s poker game

"Oh, Shoot." It didn't take long to be nervous with Jenny, Lilian's pager rang, and she checked the screen, "Honey, I'm sorry, but I have to go to the hospital right away, our hospital A group of gunshot wound patients came, God knows how many of them will survive.”

Los Angeles is not only rich in Hollywood gold powder, but also one of the most gangster-infested areas in the United States. The hospital where Lilian works is close to the slums in the city center. Jenny can often hear that she treats gunshot wounds living near the slums Some of the patients may be the victims of the gun battle, some passed by during the gang fight and were concentrated by stray bullets, and some were unlucky passers-by who lived on the edge of the slums and became the targets of the gangsters to pay the "nomination certificate". Although American hospitals are not like Chinese hospitals most of the time, doctors do not have to be on call after get off work, but when a large number of emergency patients are admitted to the hospital, based on humanitarian considerations, the person in charge of the emergency room will try to call doctors to the hospital Get appropriate treatment as soon as possible. Needless to say, Lilian was the most enthusiastic participant.

"I wish you a smooth operation," Jenny helped Lilian pack a carry-on bag, "Fortunately, we didn't drink tonight."

Lilian cannot perform surgery if she drinks alcohol. She nodded hurriedly to Jenny, pointed to the balcony, then picked up her bag and ran towards the garage. Washington in the backyard was awakened by this action and barked twice in the yard.

The nervousness just now dissipated a lot after some precipitation. Jenny went to the backyard to play with Washington for a while while doing psychological construction. The German Shepherd has a very high IQ, although it has been several months I haven't seen Jenny, but Washington still remembers her. After being intimate with her, he ran to the entrance of the corridor, picked up the dog leash, and looked at Jenny expectantly.

"Oh," Jenny stepped forward and rubbed Washington's ears, "don't do that, Washington, I'm going back—but I'll help you ask your master, he's at home tonight, and you should definitely come back to him in person." Walking you, isn't it, good dog?"

Lilian's house is not very big, with a single floor of over 100 square meters, and there is no swimming pool in the backyard. Most of the area is allocated to Washington as an activity space. Jenny searched a bit before finding Cesare in the small study on the second floor. He didn't turn on the overhead light, so his whereabouts were not conspicuous. Jenny still looked around, only to find that Cesare was sitting in front of the desk with a rare cigar in his hand, and the phone between his head and shoulders. During the phone call, he used his free right hand to draw on a document in his hand.

"OK, I see, you need time..." Cesare glanced at her and looked out the window, Jenny mouthed 'emergency'.

Although she should not stay any longer in terms of social etiquette, Cesare is obviously on the phone about the casting of "Pirate". Jenny really doesn't want to leave. She leans against the door and listens quietly Telephone Journey - While he says he only needs to make a phone call to join the tense trio, it's clear that's just a fake word.

During his call, new calls were obviously still coming in. Cesare patiently kept the calls one by one. Except for explaining to the other party that he had other calls and needed to end this call as soon as possible, most of the calls All the time, he just listened intently to the other party's words in the dim light, and occasionally uttered a few nonsensical words for entertainment.

"So——" Jenny waited for about ten minutes before Cesare ended all the calls, and she walked slowly into the study, "Do you need to charge the phone? You know, do it for the next call. Prepare something."

"There won't be any more phone calls in a short time." Cesare put the cigar to his mouth and lit the match again, "Sit?"

Jenny found a place on the reading sofa behind the desk, "I didn't know you still smoked."

"Generally speaking, I don't smoke cigarettes, nicotine is the road to lung cancer." Cesare threw the match into the ashtray, picked up the cigar and took a look, "But it is difficult for a person who does not smoke at all. Open up the situation in the social field, you know, some habits are not so easy to control."

"Yes," Jenny admitted, "including the habit of grilling you--although I know you don't understand why I have to ask, but I have to say, after I found out you were smoking, I wanted to grill you even more. What phone call did you make, this addiction is no better than smoking addiction.”

"Always full of curiosity about brokerage behavior, aren't you?" Cesare's lips showed a faint smile, and Jenny found that his state tonight was not too ordinary - under normal circumstances, Cesare's emotions Reaction would not be so easy to extract.

"You smoke, it's a sign of nervousness." Jenny shrugged, "You talked and laughed freely at the dinner just now, and didn't make me feel nervous, but after receiving Depp's call Just disappeared, and now smoking a cigar again, I think, while for me the poker game was over after the audition, even after Johnny called, but for you until just now, you You just played the last card, didn't you?"

Cesare did not deny it, but just made a gesture of surrender, and Jenny said, "You know, proper sharing is very helpful in cultivating a sense of trust."

"Well, every actor is eager to know how much he has gone through in the choice of roles." Cesare took the cigar away and put it on the ashtray, letting the ash that was too long fall naturally, "Look You are no exception, but you are more persistent than others."

Jenny smiled triumphantly, "It's worth smoking second-hand smoke if I can get your concession."

Cesare exhaled another breath of smoke at her, "This is the retribution for destroying my cigar time."

Generally speaking, gentlemen and ladies do not talk loudly when enjoying cigars, but are immersed in a tacit silence that is almost pious. The existence of Jeanne obviously made Cesare a lot less interested. However, he didn't mean to get to the bottom of it, and he got straight to the point with a joke, "Actually, I played the last three cards in my hand tonight."

Jenny exclaimed half-flatteringly, "I didn't even know you had three more cards—but if you still have three cards, why did you choose to enter the game from Gore?"

"Gore is the can opener and the most important card. There are actually only two characters who decide the heroine of "Pirates of the Caribbean", Gore and Jerry." Cesare took a sip of his cigar, He took another whiskey glass from the table and took a sip, "Without the support of Gore, you can't get in through Jerry's review."

Jenny suddenly remembered Cesare's comment at the time about abandoning Gore's alternative route: You know that the producer route is not promising.

"Only when you get the support of Gore and successfully enter the game, can I play the follow-up card in my hand," Cesare said, "Johnny is a very good first-line actor with good acting skills. He has a strong style. He doesn’t care much about awards, but he always wants to choose a successful commercial blockbuster. In my opinion, the most valuable thing about Johnny is that he realizes how much special effects will account for in the future film world. He wants to choose a special effects film that will be commercially successful, but he should be inclined to him in terms of plot and character design. I persuaded him to take on "Pirates of the Caribbean". So far he is satisfied with the preparation of the project. Big and small favors. He will give you limited support at the right time, but after all, he is not too heavyweight, lacking box office and award recognition, although Jerry loves him-inviting him to star in "Pirate" is Jerry's proposal, but he doesn't have much say in the overall situation, and he may not be very supportive of you. Johnny can only give you a fixed value of support after affirming your acting skills with his own eyes. My second card, using a poker analogy, Jerry's opinion is a kid, Gore's support score is an A, and Johnny's support score is only a 10."

So far, Cesare has said all the information that Jenny knows, and Jenny waited patiently for him to continue, "But I don't just hold Johnny in my hands, I and the second male Josh .Blanche's manager has a close relationship. Josh will support you more eagerly than Johnny. Although he is only the second male number, you know, he is very hot now, and he is regarded as the next Leonardo. .DiCaprio. In order to invite him to play the second male role, Jerry has also put in a lot of effort. If Johnny and Josh were not aimed at two major age groups of female moviegoers, "Pirate" would be tough again. For masculine subjects, it is impossible for him to choose third- and fourth-tier actresses to save the budget. The support that Josh can provide you can also be recorded as 10 points, but I regard it as a trump card, less than At the last moment, there is no need to owe such a big favor."

Jenny didn't say a word - she has known about the unexpected casting progress of "Pirates" in the past two months, and she was familiar with Orlando Bloom - that is, the charming elf in "Lord of the Rings" Prince, in this world, he did not take over "Pirate", but chose to act in a stage play with a very artistic spirit, and also took over an independent film, announcing to the public that he intends to hone his acting skills. After learning about the change in casting, Jenny curiously asked him about his recent situation. It seemed that he was currently preparing for a wild hiking trip or something, in order to temper his mind.

In Chen Zhen's previous life, Orlando's star journey was not very smooth. Although it has the two most profitable series in the world, and also appeared in "The Hobbit", whether it is pirates or Lord of the Rings , he is not a starring role, so it cannot be said that he provoked a heavy burden at the box office, and it is hard to say how much excellent acting skills he showed in the film, and his one-on-one blockbuster "Kingdom of Heaven" failed at the box office, although the director's cut version saved it. The disadvantage of word of mouth, but as the leading actor, Orlando's acting skills have not been affirmed. Since then, he has never received too good resources. Although he can still appear in blockbuster movies, the chances of starring are not many.

Because "Lord of the Rings" has gained enough popularity and box office for Orlando, and Will Turner's demeanor in the original film is almost completely overshadowed by Captain Jack. Jenny really doesn't know that he chose to give up "Pirates" "Is it right or wrong? If he can still star in "Dynasty of Heaven" like her previous life, and he can really show off his acting skills before, even if "Dynasty of Heaven" fails badly later, but if his acting skills are affirmed, he can still do it. Got a good chance. After all, everyone knows that a large part of the disastrous failure of "Kingdom of Heaven" is due to the very failed editing of the producer. The director's cut version of this film is still listed as a classic.

On the other hand, this may be a good way of saying it. It is entirely possible that Orlando did not compete with Josh Blanche in the casting competition, so he let the air out that he rejected the invitation-this is not surprising. , because Josh Branch is indeed in the limelight in this world. He became famous in "Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones", playing the adult Anakin Skywalker, which made him popular before the show, although The movie hasn't been released yet, but his interaction with Natalie Portman in the trailer has already made him the star that America is talking about. Such a newcomer with excellent appearance, good acting skills, and destined to explode in popularity is comparable to Orlando in terms of box office appeal. The producer may choose Josh instead of Orlando due to various considerations. And Josh's right to speak may not be much lower, after all, he is already destined to be a popular rising star. Although "Pirate" has a large investment, its future is still a bit uncertain.

And the casting principles that Cesare was talking about also opened Jenny's eyes, but she still had some doubts, "Is Josh really so loyal? Just because of his manager and you If you have a close relationship, you will support me so enthusiastically?"

Cesare returned a business smile, and he continued, "But these are not a fatal threat to Jerry, he is a senior producer, you know, he is Xiao Wang, although the score is not as good as this The superposition of three cards is more powerful than a single card. So, I used the last card."

"You didn't find the big ghost to go to Disney, did you?" Jenny asked suspiciously - when the producer is a little ghost, of course the only one who can be a big ghost is the investor. "But you have to have this energy—"

"If I had this energy, I wouldn't need to go the Gore route," Cesare said, "No, I called Enoch Martin."

He raised his phone at Jenny, "The second call just now was for him."

"And Eno Martin?" Jenny asked.

"He is the CEO of CAA." Cesare looked at Jenny with tolerance, "Before he was promoted to CEO, he was Jerry's agent for many years. Disney did not sign a package contract with CAA, but this does not mean that CAA The producer needs to treat all actors equally. Maybe when there are more than a dozen candidates, he will not give special treatment to anyone, but now we are talking about you and Kayla, the director supports you, the first male lead supports You, the second leading actor supports you, and you are the CAA artist of the two. Although Martin may not know who you are, he certainly has something to say about it.”

He took another puff on his cigar, "Of course you know, the agent is more of a service role for a big producer, but in this case, if Jerry wants to support Keira, he will be under pressure I have to think about it carefully."

Jenny was silent for a while, then walked to the edge of the desk, and poured herself a glass of wine very rarely, "Should I cheer for your energy, or should I feel panic? Your efforts for me, let I can't help but feel like I'm an insolvent failed investment. Even if I win this role, how much can I get paid? Three hundred thousand yuan? In the end it can only give you more than a pitiful twenty thousand yuan more."

Although the CAA commission is 15%, the company will definitely draw more. Half of the commission for Cesare is considered too much.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about this matter." Cesare clinked glasses with her, "One? No?—I just chose a little more complicated in this game way of playing, in fact, if I had gone the other way, you'd probably be in a three-way contract by now."

"You mean?" Jenny took a sip of the whiskey, feeling the mellow bitterness burning down her throat.

"Jerry is the producer of CAA after all, and he doesn't want to be at odds with me," Cesare spit out a smoke ring, "What he expects is nothing more than a bow, a show of favor and an apology."

"But you wouldn't give it to him," said Jenny.

"I don't want to give it to him." Cesare agreed, "It can be said that 90% of the most difficult part of this game is made by me. I am playing cards with myself."

"I guess it has something to do with the old score again," Jenny rolled her eyes, "you won't admit you did anything wrong with Bell-Pearl Harbor, will you?"

"I did nothing wrong, no one can deny that," Cesare said, filling his glass. "But what we are fighting for is not simply right and wrong."

Although his lips were wet with wine, his eyes were still sharp, "What we are fighting for is power, Jefferson. In Hollywood, this word has nothing to do with money. It is a fluid carrier. Constantly adding and subtracting in people's minds. Producers, agents, funders, producers, distributors, actors, we are all vying for this ethereal power, Jerry wants me to bow to him, and I want Putting people into his movies when he dislikes me—even if it’s a heroine, I want to prove that I can do it. This matter has nothing to do with "Pearl Harbor", and Jerry doesn't care I object to Bale's participation, but he cares that I can exert all kinds of influence on his film, and he cares about sharing his power with me."

"People say that Hollywood has gone through the age of the studio, the age of the star, and now it is entering the age of the producer," Cesare said, "but I don't believe in the age, I only believe that at any time, a strong person can Achieving power anywhere in Hollywood—as long as you're good enough, it's a challenge for the strong. Without this determination, you'll never sit at the table and become a Player (Player, see note )"

"...Looks like I'm just a **** in your game." Jenny admitted, she walked to the window, pushed the window open to let out the smoke, "I can't care about things that are too high now, In short, you have already played all your cards in the matter of "Pirates."

Cesare nodded. "Now, there is really nothing to do except wait."

"OK," Jenny exhaled, "when will we know the result?"

"It could be minutes, it could be hours, days," Cesare said, turning his chair to face Jenny. This new position made his face hidden in the darkness, but Jenny could feel everything. Sare was observing her, "Everything depends on Jerry's thoughts now."

Jenny nodded wordlessly, took a big sip of wine, then frowned, "What are you looking at?"

"I have to admit I was a little taken aback," Cesare said, still watching her. "You don't look angry."

"Why should I be angry?" Jenny was a little surprised now.

"You see, I just admitted to you that I could have played the game in an easier way." Cesare said enlighteningly, "Remember? You may have signed A three-party contract."

"Are you running around me?" Jenny said, "Or do you think I have a bad memory? When you signed me, I asked you why you signed me—you have so many resources , Knowing so many celebrities, you can completely take over successful people in this industry from others, easily arrange big deals one after another, and draw tens of millions of bonuses."

Thinking of Cesare's answer when signing the contract, she still couldn't help but thank her for her luck, "If it wasn't for your ambition, you wouldn't be able to sign me, and I wouldn't be able to launch an impact on a "Pirate"-level film today. That being the case, why should I be angry about your ambition? Although it makes me wait nervously, it is also because of it that I am qualified to be nervous."

Cesare didn't answer right away, and Jenny seemed to sense his surprise, she knew it was a good time to repair the relationship, "Of course, I understand, I don't always behave very well—sometimes I Not so cooperative, sometimes I have a bad temper and get angry for no reason, but you know us actresses, we always have to fight against the appetite and the erratic MC, but never doubt, Chesa.”

She walked to the desk, and clinked glasses with Cesare.

"I have always stood with you on key issues - never doubt that in my heart I have always had a great deal of gratitude and respect for you."

She said this very sincerely, without extra purpose or entertainment, every word came from the heart.

After a short delay, Cesare also clinked glasses with her, "Thank you, and I also want you to know that you always surprise me—you know I have high standards, Jefferson, but you Never let me down."

"I hope I won't disappoint you this time." Jenny took a sip of her wine.

"This time you have satisfied me very much." Cesare said, "I didn't expect you to win the female lead in an A-level production with one blow. This is too harsh a requirement for everyone."

Jenny smiled silently, "It would be nice if you were more than reasonable after drinking."

She put the wine glass back on the table, "I should go, I don't think Lilian will come back so soon, wait for her to come back and say hello to me, by the way, Washington seemed to want to go for a walk just now—"

Cesare stood up, "I'll take you downstairs - take him for a walk."

When they all reached the door, Cesare turned back to get his cell phone, and the ringtone rang at the same time. Jenny thought that Cesare would come out while answering the phone, so she stood at the stairs and waited for a while, then Turn back again.

"Yeah, I see." Cesare said, "Very good, very good, then contact me tomorrow."

He hung up the phone, and Jenny glanced at him to confirm that Cesare's expression hadn't changed, so she didn't ask about the content of the call—probably the work status of the other customers. "Can I go? If it's inconvenient, I can go down by myself."

"Wait a moment." Cesare said, with the usual tone, motioning for Jenny to enter the door, "Is this your cup?"

Jenny watched him refill their glasses, her heartbeat began to speed up slowly, and when she took the glass, her fingers trembled slightly.

Cesare raised his glass, but he didn't toast. He just raised his head and drank a large glass of whiskey. He picked up his tie and wiped the wine stains from his mouth, and knocked the glass on the solid wood table. , showing a mouthful of white teeth at Jenny—this is a real smile, full of wolfishness (Wolfish), but not greedy, more of a wild complacency.

"Cesare." Jenny urged impatiently.

"Jerry called just now." Cesare poured the wine for himself again. He regained his absolute self-control and indifference, and lightly clinked the glass with Jenny. "Jennifer Jefferson, you are already the heroine of "Pirates of the Caribbean"."

The author has something to say: Note:

1 I forgot to comment yesterday, and my head is dizzy... Jerry is a real person, and he is really the producer of the Caribbean and Pearl Harbor, Khan. The names of the candidates that appeared yesterday are almost all real actresses. In the past, the stars were all similar. Now the difference is very big. If you compare their videos, you can see that the resources are really limited. There really isn't much room for failure.

2 Keira Knightley is really a very artistic and rebellious actress who doesn't like commercialization. My deepest memory is that she said that Oscar is a dogshow, and she seemed to announce that she would never Going to such an award ceremony is judged by others...

3shoot is an elegant name for *. In fact, Jenny's spoken language is still influenced by the original body. If it is thicker, Lilian will call * as shoot.

4 I actually like Orlando very much, but his performances in the Caribbean, Troy and Kingdom of Heaven were not well received, and he didn’t receive any big movies after that. , is evidence of a gradual reduction in resources. If you hone your acting skills, you might be able to take it to the next level!

5 Anakin in the prequels of Star Wars was Hayden in the original world. This dear Star Road is a wonderful thing, and his acting with Natalie is recognized as the most chemically unreactive on-screen couple in history. One of Lucas' worst casting failures. Here Harmony is replaced with the original character Josh Blanche

6 In addition, it is also true that LA gangs are rampant. If you are interested, you can Baidu to find out about the Los Angeles shootout. Many poor people were killed casually.

7 These four phone calls are: the office phone is from CAACEO to Jerry, Jerry's cell phone is from Josh's agent, Gore's cell phone is from Josh himself, and Johnny is from Cesare to ask about the situation.

------------------

I still maintain an update today, and it should be able to resume on-time update tomorrow

I hope the day after tomorrow or the day after tomorrow can start to make up the debt...