Hollywood Domination Chapter 283: Proposal
As of this year, Jenny has known Cesare for seven years. She knows when she can challenge Cesare's temper and when she should match his rhythm-no doubt, not now It's a good time to stimulate Cesare, she doesn't want to start a war when the other party's mood is obviously abnormal, so although she really wanted to ask, she suppressed the urge and answered Cesare's question honestly , "I don't know, is there anything noteworthy about this? I guess Bob didn't want to wake me up, or maybe my phone was on silent—speaking of which, did I forget to charge it again? But whatever Say, let me tell you first what is worth minding? You don’t need to have any thoughts on this matter, right?”
"It seems that you are very confident in Bob." A smile escaped from the corner of Cesare's lips. Once he made up his mind, he immediately returned to his usual confident and calm tone, "Or, You've always had faith in humanity and a willingness to look out for the good of people - you flew to New York for this, had a tough dinner with Ron, and ended up not getting a single call from Bob , but you didn't suspect that it was because of my personal relationship with Bob, but you found a good reason for him."
Jenny suspects that Cesare may lose no time in giving her lessons again, and this is indeed a very good time: the filming of "Nine" is almost finished, she has a few days to spare, and the contract with Warner has also come to an end. Signed, she doesn't have to rush back to New York, she can have fun around Europe and wait for this year's awards ceremony: Although this time the Chinese forces took up a seat on the jury, it was Director Du from Hong Kong, China, usually he There is no benefit transfer from director Zhang's faction, so I don't really expect it. It can be said that Jenny's hope of winning the award this year is not so great, but she still decided to show considerable respect and enthusiasm for Venice. After all, she won the best actress last year. As an actor, this favor always has to be repaid.
It is not inconceivable that Cesare chose to start a new course with her this morning, and Jenny is also eager to know what she has not done well, because she is generally satisfied with her performance. But she didn't know why Cesare hesitated so much before speaking—it couldn't be that he was suddenly afraid that pointing out his shortcomings would affect the relationship between the two, right?
"If I say that I am really confident in human nature, I think you will laugh." No matter what Cesare thinks, since entering the mode of self-criticism and heart-to-heart talk, Jenny let go of her doubts and vigilance, and said frankly Said, and as she spoke, she was also thinking about her thoughts at the time, "Yes, I did suffer and suffer for this matter, flying over the United States-but Bob called you, if you are serious If you think about it, this may mean that Bob is still closer to you. After all, you are a friend of his family. After using me, he still wants to return the initiative to you through this phone call.—— Is that what you want to tell me?"
"Let's just take it for granted," Cesare said, "but you don't seem to be resentful."
"I don't know." Jenny frowned and thought for a moment, "Should I be resentful? Maybe, if it wasn't you, but someone else was working with me, and Bob called him, then I might Resentful, but on the other hand, now we're talking about me and you—"
She shrugged, "I think we've moved beyond that stage, haven't we? We've been through this. Here you go, I don't care, if you want me to give a reason , then I also... I don’t know, I just don’t care.”
The smile on Cesare's lips gradually became apparent, and he nodded, "Yes, I can understand how you feel—the funny thing is, in fact, I only discovered this when Bob reminded me :By the way, you did put your phone on silent last night, and the battery was too low, after Bob called you twice, it should have turned itself off. Not very polite, but I explained it to you Passed."
This is indeed Jenny's old problem after the transoceanic flight. In order to adjust the jet lag and get a good sleep, she often misses some calls. She made a note in her heart and made up her mind to pay more attention to this point in the future. , while listening to Cesare go on.
"After discussing this framework agreement, Bob's mood is quite excited," Cesare saw the change in her expression in his eyes, and the smile lines on the corners of his lips deepened for a moment, but then disappeared quickly, "He After knowing that I was with you and couldn't get through to your phone number, he called my cell phone. However, after sharing the good news, Bob's mood dropped, and he immediately realized that something was wrong with the call. Worried that this phone call would plant seeds of discord and create knots between me and you, I apologized and hoped that I would not misunderstand his motives... The strange thing is that I didn't know until he said it. Feeling that there is something wrong with doing this, and you can be sure I've always been a more careful person, it's almost inconceivable for me to miss that - in the end, I've come to the same conclusion as you, I think we We have gone through the stage of mutual suspicion. Such things are no longer enough to create a rift between us, and we don’t even realize that doing so will affect each other. From this perspective, the relationship of trust between me and you It is indeed unbreakable."
Although there are still some doubts about Cesare's motives, because he doesn't seem to want to take the opportunity to give her a lesson, but after hearing his summary, Jenny couldn't help showing a smile, and her shoulders relaxed , "And we didn't just get to where we are today, did we?"
"The past seven years have indeed been uneventful." Cesare admitted, his eyes were covered with a smile, and his tone softened--very rarely, he used a nostalgic tone, "Thinking of us The defensive mentality during the first meeting, thinking of that recording—"
Jenny couldn't help laughing, "Yes, thinking of the scene you asked me to repeat for your recording—"
Among her loud laughter, Cesare was a little embarrassed, but he still admitted positively, "Yes, I was far from mature at that time. In fact, if we say that I have What has changed is that now I know that people will never mature, and that means stagnating.”
Thanks to Cesare's introverted style, his progress may not be obvious to outsiders, but to Jenny, she is the "Prophet of Plumbing Duck in the Spring River". Cesare's cooperation is obviously still stumbling. If one party needs to adapt to the other, then, with her rising status and Cesare's own changes, the cooperation between the two has become more and more tacit and smooth. There have been strong conflicts, and of course there are some normal small differences, but both she and Cesare have a much more mature attitude in dealing with these differences.
——This is just some changes in the management ability. Since the creation of the big dream, Cesare has improved in the management of these matters—Jenny doesn’t know the details, but she thinks he must have accumulated A lot of valuable experience. After all, no one is born with it. Everyone needs to practice. Cesare was a broker before. It is impossible to switch to a company at once. It’s just that she doesn’t know how he adjusted, Self-learning, and this is exactly what she admires Cesare the most. Every progress of her is difficult, struggling, and repeated, intertwined with negative emotions and sad sweat, but Cesare is always so relaxed Just make progress, as if he would have been: If she is a landlubber flopping a little in the water and learning how to swim, then Cesare is a swan on the water, and you will never see it on the water. I don't know how it paddles at the bottom of the water. Only when you get close to Jenny can you get a glimpse of it.
"You should thank me," she told Cesare, "for not giving up on you after being treated the way you were seven years ago—admit it, I made you a better person."
"Then you should also thank me." Cesare said tit-for-tat, "Being treated like you seven years ago, I haven't given up on you - without me, I think your idea can only be realized so far 10%, or even less."
"Okay." Jenny shrugged, and she couldn't help laughing, "We have indeed made each other, if anyone still doesn't understand this, we have seen each other's immature side, step by step It has come to this day—”
Recalling the difficulties she threw to Cesare over the years, she felt a little guilty about what she said. Under the smiling gaze of Cesare who seemed to know it well, she pushed the knife and fork and the dishes aside , admitted, "Well, well, of course, I gave you a lot more hard times than you gave me."
"Yes—yes." Although she was obviously begging for mercy, Cesare immediately took up her words without mercy. Amid Jenny's crazy laughter, he started Counting the crimes she has committed over the years, "Investing in two films at once, with a unique vision for film selection, and immediately going to other places to film after making a decision, all the whims and wonderful ideas must be realized by me, claiming to help me I'm busy, but I can't even read the report on time, and I keep putting work on me. Just after solving a problem, a new round of investment, filming, and a new round of genius ideas—"
Putting the last finger down, the smile lines at the corners of Cesare's eyes gradually deepened, almost forming a dimple, he paused, his tone softened, at this moment, his expression was almost frank undefended, gentle, "However, although you are always away from the company, although you always let me do most of the things, although you always cause difficult troubles, I think that between me and you In the cooperative relationship, you are still the one who contributes more, Jenny, do you know why?"
Jenny shook her head, in front of Cesare's rare frankness, she felt weirdly uncomfortable—for some reason, although Cesare was talking about their official relationship, seeing him being so frank, she Instead, he seemed to feel a little shy for him, "I don't know?"
"Because you are the one who takes the initiative to give trust." Cesare said, "In critical moments, you can always give trust, you will always make choices that only a few people will make, and you are comfortable , never doubted, and the courage and confidence reflected in this impresses me—even shames me.”
Well, her face really burned up this time, and Jenny murmured, "This is actually not..."
"Many people think you trust me too much," Cesare ignored her words, but continued on his own, "Bell, Martin, and of course the managers outside, anyone who heard People who have a little bit of information, they all think that they can provide you with better choices, that you are in my hands, that the huge wealth you have earned is in my pocket, and that you are using your influence to make a fortune for me , these gossips are often heard even by me, and I think it is impossible for you not to have heard them, in fact, I think you may have heard them often, but you never seem to be affected by those remarks.”
Jenny did get some offers, she turned them all down without thinking, of course, she didn't even think it would be a problem, and she didn't think that she and Cesare would talk about it one day - she didn't What are you sacrificing and giving, "I think this is a matter of course, why should you be influenced by others? They don't know the inside story at all, as long as you and I are satisfied with our cooperative relationship—"
She unconsciously puts emphasis on the partnership, "Then it's nobody else's business, is it?"
"It's really simple to say, and it's true in principle, but not everyone can do it as easily as you," said Cesare, who seemed almost nervous again, " In my opinion, this characteristic of yours may sometimes make you take some detours, but more often than not, it will be the key to your success. At the right time, trusting a reliable person is the key to success. One of your most valuable qualities, Jane, and I have to learn from you in this too—although it is not so simple.”
The morning sun passed through the mist and lazily shone on the dining room, making the decorative wall flowers on the walls beautiful and picturesque, but Jenny didn't care to appreciate the scenery of this luxury hotel. She looked at everything in doubt. Sare, I feel that now may be the time to challenge, "Do you want to tell me something? Cesare? Your behavior today...is really abnormal."
"Perhaps it's because it's a moment when sensibility has a slight upper hand," Cesare said, the sunlight masking his face in a golden light, making it difficult for Jeanne to discern the details of his expression, but his tone ——For her, it is indeed quite rare, "I never think that language is worthy of attention in communication, and those who can understand will naturally understand, but I want you to know that I have not given you nothing I feel, and I'm not unappreciative of the opportunity you gave me. You put even unreasonable trust in me when you invited me to join Dameng, and it turned out to be a wise decision, Dameng Changed the lives of the two of us, let us control a certain amount of power and resources at the age of 30, what we can do will make many big producers dumbfounded, and it all comes from you At that time, the trust was brutal and rude... and, although it is difficult for me to do this, I will still accomplish this—"
His tone lowered, "I'll let everyone know that the trust you put in is not blind, it... is totally worth it."
He took a deep breath, took out two documents from the briefcase on the corner of the dining table and pressed them under his palms, stared at Jenny, and said in an informative tone, "I have been thinking about this for several years ——With the vigorous development of the big dream, it became more and more difficult to take care of it. I had to make a choice between the big dream and caa, and it was Bob's phone call that finally prompted me to make up my mind. Bob told me, Disney will definitely launch treasury shares and acquire Marvel through stock swaps, and this is the first time in several years that Disney has conducted a rights issue. He hopes that we can implement our priority rights in this round of rights issues and become shareholders of Disney— —He will give us a favorable offer, allowing us to use the 140 million yuan to get a more allotment than the market price, plus the Marvel shares held by you and me. After the acquisition, you and I will become Disney One of the top individual shareholders, this will also be of great benefit to Robert's right to speak at the shareholder level, which of course is undoubtedly a great piece of good news, whether it is for Robert or for Dameng."
This exciting good news is very useful on too many levels, whether it is the support she received after the big dream, or the increase in the wealth of her and Cesare-of course, more importantly, Cesare This decision was made: Jenny actually realized this a long time ago, at least a year ago, and many times she wanted to have a good talk with Cesare about this matter, and persuade him to join the big dream completely, so that he at least Not prematurely exhausted to death, but in the end she refrained from mentioning it, after all, it should be Cesare's own decision.
"Undoubtedly, this is a very good opportunity, and it also prompted me to finally make up my mind and make this decision: the big dream has reached the stage of full development, and it is time to give up the hematopoietic position of CAA." Cesare's hands They piled up in a tower shape, supporting their chins, "What I can tell you is that a few years ago, I realized that if the big dream can continue to develop healthily, it must be the general trend to choose it. The reason why I retained the position of CAA, but It’s because I still need the generous commissions it brings to save money for the 70 million stock purchases. After receiving the film purchases from Said, I want to go through one or two more dividends. Half of the share is enough, but this also brings some problems that cannot be ignored."
"You're talking about how your identity turned from the dark to the clear." Jenny said immediately, because this was also a question she had been thinking about, "Really? How to get the shares out of that empty shell without leaving any loopholes?" The company is transferred back to your name."
"This is a problem," Cesare nodded, "otherwise we will always face annoying problems in many details, and this will also hinder the company's further development—even the listing plan."
"You have already planned to go public for the big dream!" Jenny said in shock, while Cesare glanced at her with an expression of "isn't it natural?"
"We can talk about these things later, but at present, there is a difficult problem that we must try to solve," he said, "When I invested in Big Dream a few years ago, I used a reliable channel I laundered 5 million overseas shell companies within a year. This amount is not too large, and the family has a good personal relationship. The handling fee I paid for this is not too high, only 500,000 US dollars. But One thing you must know is that money laundering is a business that depends on channels. The larger the amount and the shorter the time, the higher the handling fee you have to pay. Tens of millions of dollars will be laundered within a year? The handling fee may reach 50%, and I am afraid that after paying this amount, the balance will not be enough to buy Disney shares. Furthermore, as long as the shares are still registered under the name of the overseas company, I will also have to go through this process to withdraw dividends, and this The high price is obviously unacceptable to me, and we can't use some expedient measures to bypass it, because as I said, if Dameng still wants to go to the stage of listing, any slack at the moment will be ruined. Come back to bite your **** in the future and make you very uncomfortable."
Although this seems to be Cesare's personal troubles, it was a unanimous decision between the two of them to inject capital through a shell company. Jenny has also considered this issue countless times, and she will not just passively listen to Cesare's discussions This question, "Yes, yes, I have been thinking about how to solve this matter. The most annoying thing is that your private savings and the company's dividends accumulated in the British Virgin Islands are in the tens of millions. Yes, so whether you wash out your savings first, buy Disney’s stock and then transfer it, or wash in dividends so that you can buy the part of the equity that belongs to the shell company in the big dream, it will take a long time and effort. High handling fees, and—"
"And it's not going to stand up to the IRS," Cesare said, "and to the attention of those who care, you and I have enemies, and unfortunately, most of them are pretty smart. Not to mention others , just talk about Eno Martin—I think the old Martin has guessed the truth to some extent. He may have found someone to investigate the equity structure of Dameng, and guessed who the shell company belongs to. Will he take this opportunity to bite? Let me vent the anger accumulated over the years? I don't know, and frankly, I don't have confidence."
"Then what do you mean—" Jenny asked, frowning, and she began to understand a little bit.
"I decided to trust you," Cesare said, his fingers tapped back and forth on the stack of documents, as if he were playing some music-although his tone was calm, this small gesture still made him Jenny saw through a little bit of his inner thinking, "The 40 million cash deposited in the shell company is worth...I don't know, 200 million, 300 million, 400 million? Dream equity worth hundreds of millions, all transferred to your name Next, the change of company registrant in the Virgin Islands is as confidential, I will transfer the company to you, and you will withdraw the cash back to China to buy Disney shares.”
In fact, as long as the source of the money is legal, the handling fee required to withdraw the money back to the country is not high. In fact, doing so would put both him and Dameng at very high legal risk. Of course, this does not violate the criminal law and he will not be locked up, but civil lawsuits are definitely inevitable. No one knows what happened between Dameng and him. How much do I have to pay for this.
And this of course led to another question—Jenny frowned, "Do this, of course—to me, I don't seem to have any reason to object, but after buying Disney shares we What should I do? How can I sell the shares back to you? What method should we find to avoid the supervision of IRS? I suspect that doing so will cause us to get into more embarrassment and trouble-the more the shares of Big Dream increase in value, the more we The greater the movement of doing so, and the economic price we have to pay for this is probably no less than money laundering.”
For the rich in the United States, irs is a sword of Damocles hanging above their heads. Although Jenny is not a tax expert, she also knows that this part of Dameng's equity has been changed to her name through a shell company. Then she sold it to Cesare at an unbelievably low price, which is tantamount to putting the label 'I'm a criminal' on my face, sitting at the door of the irs headquarters and waiting for them to go to work, and if a fair If the price is sold to Cesare, then where did the money come from? How did Jenny evade the supervision of the IRS and return it to Cesare? , she wouldn't be surprised if the final handling fee was as high as 80% - and what they were talking about was not millions, tens of millions, but hundreds of millions! The 80% handling fee is unacceptable to Jenny anyway. She is reluctant to part with both Cesare's money and hers. Qian Group, using an ancient oriental proverb, is authentically "hard to hate the gold thread every year, and make wedding clothes for others".
"That's exactly what I want to say," Cesare's fingers slowly stopped tapping, and he looked poised, dignified, and at ease again—he even opened a A small, half-true joke, "Don't think that my trust in you has reached this point, Jefferson, entrusting hundreds of millions of assets to you for several years without any guarantee... Thankfully, though, the law is never without loopholes, and you and I are both currently single, with no desire for a long-term relationship anytime soon - and of course, most importantly, you and I happen to be It is a man and a woman, which allows us to solve two problems at once through a social behavior.”
He pushed the two documents in his hand forward, let them slide across the long table, and stopped in front of Jenny. Shrouded in this golden light, when Jenny looked at him, the strong reflection of the silver table knife made her almost unable to open her eyes, and could only listen to Cesare's confident voice.
"An equity transfer letter, allowing you to get all the A-class shares of Dameng, a prenuptial agreement, after signing it, I will get half of these shares when we divorce, of course, there is also a pre-nuptial agreement with you In addition, during the marriage, the income of both parties is at their own disposal, and it will not be included in the scope of property division in the event of divorce." Cesare said quickly, he said in this part instead There is no doubt—obviously, as he said, the hardest part of the whole thing is to temporarily give up the ownership of the hundreds of millions of property, "Of course, this prenuptial agreement cannot be exposed, and I suggest that we Divide up a property or two to hide, after all, we have to be very careful about this - although Christopher's contract with "The Fifth Sally" is fair, at present, the actor who is connected with the big dream He is the only one in the show and I am the direct agent, but if CAA intends to cause trouble, they can find a lot of breakthroughs. After all, there are many staff members in our crew who are also brokered by CAA. Once they decide to initiate a lawsuit, no matter whether they win or lose the lawsuit , it will be painful for us, not to mention the heavy loss after losing the lawsuit..."
As if he felt that he was a little too excited, which disturbed Jenny's thinking and reading, Cesare shut his mouth, adjusted his posture, and asked in a joking tone, "Anyway, Miss Jennifer Jefferson—— Even if it's temporary, are you willing to give me the honor to marry me for a period of time?"