Hollywood Domination: 334, One Thousand and One Nights (Part 1)

"Where do I start? Your request is too general, my family life - I need to know what you want to know, so I can understand what to say to you, just casual talk - law It says that we will become independent and form a family, but I don't think there is anything to talk about in my current life."

"Sounds like an excuse,"

"I just want you to define your question precisely, what do you want to know about my family, are you curious about my family life because my mother parked the car at the gate, or is it based on some Other motives, want to talk about something else, like seating arrangements at the reception, stuff like that.”

"I feel that you are a little uncomfortable-you are talking more and more, are you uncomfortable? Cesare?"

"...No, I just want to know what we're talking about."

"(Several chuckles) You are really uncomfortable."

"I really didn't—well, so I'll start with what you think I'm trying to avoid: My mother came to me today to ask for forgiveness, and she wanted a chance to whitewash, of course Well, she'll call it an explanation, but we both know she won't tell the truth, and she wants me to keep quiet about it, accept the explanation, turn the page - and I guess she's got a lot to say , wanting to remind me of how she helped me."

"It sounds like you know your [one] [Ben Du] novel xstxt mother quite well."

"She is an important contact of mine, and it links my blood relationship with the matriarchal family. Of course, it is very necessary to study her."

"...I think your tone of talking about her seems a little ruthless. What do you think, Cesare, don't you think you are a little too businesslike?"

Observing Cesare's expression, Jenny decided not to continue digging on this point. If she had to say it, Cesare is indeed still angry, although his performance is not too obvious, to ordinary people Speaking of him, he is completely business-like and polite now, without any emotional abnormality, but no matter from his abnormally clear-cut attitude and his performance of turning off his mobile phone while watching a movie, he must still be Not completely relieved.

"So, you have fully guessed why she did this?" She changed the subject, "Since you know her so well."

"It should still have something to do with our different plans for my career," Cesare twisted his lips, put the pasta into his mouth, and said after chewing a few mouthfuls, "Entering the big dream full-time is not what she expected Among them, in fact, before this, she was also dissatisfied with my involvement in the big dream affairs, she thought it would create unnecessary risks legally, and it didn't help my career in caa too much , Of course, later she also admitted that it would help more or less financially, but this is not the point, after all, economic issues have never been the point for us.”

"Career planning," Jenny said thoughtfully, "So, although your mother is not that close to you emotionally, she still has certain promises about your career——"

"We are indeed mother and son in name, and I am also in the film and television industry, just like my grandfather passed on the career to several children, of course she also wants to pass on the career to future generations, this is a kind of Mutually beneficial cooperation, because I can bring her the help of my father's family. Of course, this may not be obvious during the initial investment period, but according to her original plan, I should be able to become a caa before the age of 40 The CEO, after five to ten years of tenure, I can enter Disney - you can calculate that at that time, with the convenient door of CAA, she can easily accumulate merit and have a great hope of being promoted First level, maybe it won't be the CEO of the group, but the CEO of the film department should be very promising-in this way, she can hand over her original position to me, and with the artist contacts accumulated during the caa period, I can help her sit Stabilize this position and continue to launch profitable films for Disney. After that, it may be a direct inheritance, or it may be to formulate a generational replacement plan." Cesare paused and took a sip of water, "Or I will go to Disney from Disney. Go to Legend, Lions Gate, or Warner, and be the head of a subsidiary company, and then a few years later, when she announces her retirement, I can climb to the step of the CEO of the film department, at least I have the confidence to attack this platform. ——As I said, a fair, reasonable and mutually beneficial cooperation plan.”

Jenny was silent for a while. She chewed on this plan over and over again, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized its rationality: Virginia could rely on this plan to get her son's most powerful resources, so that she could rise up step by step (plus of course own efforts), and Cesare can also see his own long-term interests in this plan and find his own way out: Generally speaking, when the mother is an executive or CEO, the son is unlikely to be in the same system As an executive, or as a decision-maker of a competitor, this plan avoids conflicts to the greatest extent and satisfies both of them. Virgilia and Cesare's sacrifices and gains are almost equal, and no one is making sacrifices, which is rare in family business-many times, children who are in a similar situation as Cesare need Only by proving yourself desperately can you get rewarding support from your parents, and you may even be deliberately hit and sharpened. Of course, the parents must still be wholeheartedly for the good of the children. This seemingly unreasonable plan is actually full of painstaking efforts. Compared with this type of succession plan, the tacit understanding between Cesare and his mother is more like a contract between two strangers. Fairness is fair, but in terms of mentality, it is indeed a bit alienated and defensive.

"I never knew that you and your mother had planned your entire career." She said, "Of course, at least at the time, you were in favor of this plan, right?"

"I can get a lot of benefits and support from this plan, and our interests don't conflict, so why say no?" Cesare shrugged, "But of course, after that, things changed— —”

"You've never told me before," Jenny said with some shock, "I don't have a clue at all—how much pressure is on you to join the big dream, how many sequelae need to be dealt with, and that kind of thing. "

"This is a normal job decision." Cesare pursed his lips and pushed the dinner plate aside. "Joining the Big Dream is a choice I made after thinking about it. I didn't say it was very simple."

Depart from a highly feasible path that has been determined and implemented for several years, and choose a path full of risks. He has probably guessed that it is far from being as beautiful as outsiders imagined, and it is actually still fraught with danger. Although this seems to be a fast track, Jenny can still imagine the courage it takes. She reviewed the details of the five years since Cesare agreed to join the big dream, and endured it. Can't help shaking his head.

"Wow," she said with emotion, "You can join the big dream, it's completely——this must be God's arrangement, otherwise I really don't know what point in me back then is worthy of your decision."

Cesare pursed his lips, and seemed to have no intention of answering. Under Jenny's interested and prodding eyes, he said reluctantly after a while, "You also have your characteristics, Jefferson, you You can always create miracles, this is your advantage—"

When Jenny's smile gradually changed from small to large, he continued, "Of course, you can imagine that my decision to join Dameng as CEO must have annoyed her very much. This is not just a kind of control The unhappiness of being violated and interrupted, and more realistically, Virginia’s career has also been greatly affected, I think this is the root cause of her doing this.”

"Indeed, I have already understood... the moment you become the CEO of Dameng, Virginia's upward path in Disney has been cut off, and you have formed a competitive relationship, unless Virginia is willing to come to Dameng... …No, this is not realistic, unless Virginia is willing to go to the TV department, it is already impossible for her to be promoted to a ceo or coo level executive." Jenny mused, "From this perspective Look, you have become the biggest opponent she has to get rid of—yes, looking at it this way, the matter is completely clear."

For large companies, it is a big taboo for blood relatives to hold important positions, unless the company is originally a family business, especially for the relationship between Disney Group and Dameng, where the blood relatives of the CEO of Dameng Being the top leader of a certain department of the group may be a hotbed of malfeasance, but based on risk control considerations, neither Virginia nor Cesare can rise at the same time, and Cesare has already been stuck in the position of 'small production company CEO' Under such circumstances, Virginia's career path is indeed painful. After thinking about the whole thing, she couldn't help but say, "I think you must have inherited her foresight. I never thought about it before. However, because it is hard to say whether Dick will be able to successfully succeed to the throne, it is really hard for ordinary people to think of the position after Dick—”

"Calculating the changes of the next three or even four moves before taking a move is the quality that a qualified chess player should have," Cesare said objectively, "I am also not good at this point, I should Realizing this earlier and being more vigilant to her, it was my rash negligence that gave her the opportunity to retaliate—"

He actually raised the corners of his lips slightly teasingly, "I didn't inherit this point—her love of revenge, maybe this is a common problem of women."

"Sex Discrimination Alert: Beep." Jenny said absently, she was still thinking about Virginia's plan, indeed, if it was as Cesare guessed, Virginia was deliberately doing it so obvious to make people If it can be easily discovered, then everything can be explained clearly, "Now that I think about it, she is really... clever, if our trust is not as strong as it is now - as long as my friendship with you is a little shallower , basically you are unlikely to be still in the position of CEO, at least not so stable, and the hidden danger of Virginia's promotion is of course ruled out, and more importantly, she also taught you a lesson, let You understand that you have to be a good son to have candy—"

She stuck out her tongue, "Then I think she must have exploded with anger now, and I actually knocked off her rearview mirror——Cesare, deep down, you still lean towards your mother after all Really? You really managed to make me feel guilty just now—"

Cesare stared at her speechlessly, this is his usual reaction when she is playing tricks, his expression usually makes Jenny laugh harder, but today his expression is still a little different from the past after all, maybe it is The faint humor in his eyes no longer flashed, and perhaps his silence seemed a bit forced—she quickly dropped the joke and said solemnly, "But seriously, don't be depressed about this anymore, I know that saying this may be to excuse her, don't doubt, I am also very angry when she does this, but to be honest, she also has a little bit of an angry position in this matter, after all, you are the one who took the initiative to squeeze her space , to be fair, you should have some communication on this matter when you decide to join the big dream."

"This is indeed where I made a mistake," Cesare nodded, "However, if you want to comfort me by finding reasons for her, let me think that her previous behavior was driven by anger , in fact, if there is still affection between us, then, kindly accept it."

The topics they were talking about were not very pleasant, so it wasn't like when the two of them occasionally talked about some private topics together, Cesare didn't put on his usual relaxed and faintly smiling expression, But he didn't look confused, angry or sad either. He propped his face on one hand, his slender fingers hung on his cheekbones, and there was even a slight absent-minded smile on his mouth. If Jenny had to describe it, maybe he His expression will be closer to - melancholy, this may not be the first time he admits this, nor is it the first time he discusses this with others, so there is no pain or frustration, it can be seen that he has accepted this fact: He and his mother did not have a deep relationship, or, in other words, his mother did not have a deep relationship with him.

"I don't know whether to praise your freedom or feel sorry for your freedom." Jenny also propped her chin and said, looking at Cesare.

Cesare lowered his head and laughed, picked up the plate and walked towards the sink, Jenny reminded, "Uh, remember, the food waste disposal machine is broken, so if you want to use the dishwasher—"

"The dishwasher is also broken. It should be a problem with the overall power supply," Cesare said. He rolled up his sleeves and turned on the faucet. Jenny put the salad box in the sink and stood beside him and folded her hands. , looking curiously at Cesare washing the dishes—his seriousness is indeed worthy of the name of cleanliness.

"So, it's completely businesslike not letting her in?" she asked, "Not that you don't want to see her? Actually, it's not ashamed to admit that you're still a little disappointed in her—"

She thought for a while, then shook her head with a smile and stopped herself, "Maybe when many people encounter family disputes, the first reaction is to mediate, even if the parties may not accept this idea at all, I used to think I would It’s an exception, I didn’t expect that it’s still inevitable.”

"Why do you think you will be an exception?" Cesare wiped the detergent foam on his hands and turned on the tap again. Amidst the sound of water, he glanced at Jenny curiously, "Because you also treat you Families are disappointed and don't want others to comment on that?"

"...It's almost like this." Jenny hesitated, and she felt the familiar tension again, just like every time she confessed more of her secrets, even though Cesare's loyalty had been proven, But this kind of emotional resistance still exists, but the degree is different, "I guess you were quite distant from your parents when you were young, and in this regard, I am the same."

"Alienation is a somewhat negative word." Cesare put the dishes in the drainer and picked up a kitchen towel to wipe his hands. "I wouldn't use it to describe the relationship I had with my parents when I was a child—listen It sounds like you are a little curious about these things."

"It's really hard for me to imagine your childlike voice." Jenny said with a smile, "So I'm really curious—didn't I just ask? I want to hear you talk about your childhood life."

"I'm not trying to evade this question on purpose, but, in my conception, there's nothing to say." Cesare also crossed his hands, looking at Jenny with a knowing expression, " Like all my cousins, and my childhood friends, we were almost all raised by nanny, and unless the mother didn't work, it was objectively difficult for them to take care of the children, but in my family The average woman here has the habit of keeping a job, and they are also much busier than the average person. Since almost everyone is like this, and there is only a slight difference from your life, then you will not feel that there is anything wrong with it. Of course, They're divorced, but that's really normal, almost all of my friends live in broken homes, a lot of them live with my grandparents like me, and maybe my grandparents have their own busy social lives, but it's Nothing wrong with them because they always made sure I was under the right people's guardianship - as opposed to someone who inherits a lot of money but one parent is dead, or is just like a migratory bird, flying back and forth between father and mother cities For my peers, I sometimes even feel lucky to be able to stay in New York.”

Among all my friends, the only exception is Lilian. Lilian is actually the only one among all my friends who is not directly engaged in the film and television industry. Her parents are both engaged in legal work, so her whereabouts are relatively fixed. And at the same time, most of the fathers are photographers, directors and producers, even if their parents are still the parents who gave birth to them-this is really rare in our industry, it is almost commonplace to separate and combine- But parents also often need to leave home because of work. In my memory, there is no complete family in my world. The children whose father comes home for dinner every day, except for Lilian.

"It's really rare that you didn't hate Lilian because of it at that time," Jenny couldn't help laughing when she thought of the small, happy, sweet Lilian, "Children always like to exclude people who are different. Partner."

"I don't hate Lilian because of this, but I really don't like her." A smile appeared on the corner of Cesare's lips, "You can't imagine how spoiled she was when she was a child, she was completely spoiled." My little princess, I can't understand why someone doesn't know which country her parents are in now, she will keep asking 'but when will they pick you up?', and you just pull her braid a little, and she will start Cry—"

Jenny laughed, and she could feel the happy atmosphere emanating from Cesare, "So it's not normal for you to feel like she's alive."

"Yes, it's abnormal—look, how weird and inappropriate she is." Cesare said, "She can't even learn to read the expressions of adults, she can't learn to read the occasion." Talk—"

His tone was self-deprecating, as if he was reviewing his past self, and Jenny was still smiling—she felt that laughing was a more appropriate expression at this time.

"But I remember you went to boarding school afterwards," she said, "and you lived there for a long time—"

He leaned against the edge of the counter with Jenny, crossed their long legs, and said in a somewhat nostalgic tone, "This kind of life lasted until my third grade, and after that, because my grandmother got cancer, and they thought 'Can't do good guardianship in these circumstances' so my mother had to take custody of me - it was a bit complicated, she did get custody in the first divorce but soon found she couldn't Fulfillment, so left me to my grandparents, who pay my monthly living expenses, however, 'to make myself worth every penny', she kept changing my last name, before she met Mr Vijayri , I've changed about 4 surnames - so you can pretty much tell how many times she's been married."

"And then you went to your mother's side and left New York? But you still go back to vacation occasionally, I guess-otherwise it would be difficult for you to keep in touch with Lillian." Jenny tried to paint the picture: A young boy naturally walks alone in a mansion, maintaining professional connections with everyone, without the slightest awareness of what is abnormal, or even what he is missing——her voice choked. Continued, "It feels like you are quite familiar with each other since childhood."

"Well, childhood is probably over by this time, but you're right, I still go back for winter and summer vacations, and basically neither my parents nor I live together-shortly after I arrived in Virginia , she thinks there are too many children in the house, because my stepfather also has his own children, which makes the atmosphere in the house a bit awkward, because we are not familiar with each other." Cesare smiled, "Although Will is very objected, but she sent me to boarding school very quickly anyway, I didn't finish my first term at school, my grandmother passed away, and my grandfather realized he needed the company of his grandchildren, so I decided to always Going back to New York for winter and summer vacations, and only occasionally staying in Los Angeles for a few token days-so, if you think I had a very unhappy childhood full of longing for family affection, but repeated disappointments, it is not, because you need Cultivated to desire, you need to recognize that this kind of thing is a necessary existence in order to desire it.”

He shrugged, "I realized that for the average person, family represents a time when warmth, tolerance, and caring are difficult. There seems to be something missing in the process of growing up - for me, the realization of this is during my boarding school period, you grow up, you meet more people, your eyes open, you start When you see the world, you won’t understand until then that everything you got is missing, but because you were doing well before, because materially—”

"Of course it's very abundant," Jenny nodded and said in agreement, "so although you will be disappointed by this, you won't have very intense emotions, even your parents, because they didn't expect much, so they don't have strong emotions. hatred, is it?"

"That's about it." Cesare thought for a while, then nodded, he picked up an apple and threw it up and down in mid-air, "Actually, on this point, I still agree with you— —Virgilia may not have too much malice subjectively, she doesn’t want to hurt me, otherwise she has too many other ways, she just—”

He shrugged, "She just doesn't care that much, it's just the way she was born, you can't expect her to suddenly change just because she's a mother, can you? For her, she's already doing She is a very good mother. She provides me with living expenses, regularly checks my academic performance, and cares about my career planning. From her own understanding, she has done her duty-as for after she gave birth to Aiden Most of the changes that happened are due to Will, for her, she didn't deliberately treat me harshly...and I shouldn't be too rude today."

He walked towards the video intercom next to the kitchen, and pressed the look-up button—Jenny was a little surprised when she saw that the white BMW was still there: almost an hour and a half had passed , It was getting dark, she didn't expect Virginia to still be there.

"You should go home, Virginia." Cesare pressed the intercom button, "If you want to ask me if I said anything to Bob: No, we didn't say anything. You don't You need to worry about what revenge will come after this—"

He glanced at Jenny questioningly, Jenny nodded, and Cesare continued, "This contest is over, maybe there will be a chance to cooperate next time, let's go home now, there is no need to meet. "

Jenny said softly, "If you don't mind—she promises to be good, she can come to the reception too."

"If you want, you can also come to the reception." Cesare added, "Of course, the premise is that your performance is friendly enough."

On the somewhat blurry small screen, Virgilia made a gesture of spreading his hands helplessly towards the camera, as if expressing his dissatisfaction with Cesare, and Cesare unmoved released the intercom button , but did not end the inspection, still observing the main entrance.

Virgilia was obviously a little irritable. She got out of the car and walked towards the iron gate, slapping and shaking it silently in the picture. However, the security measures of this manor are quite perfect. Except for the iron gate, there are There is a high-voltage power grid, so it seems unlikely that she will break into it.

——The security guard who stayed behind remained silent. Virgilia tried alone for five minutes in the silent twilight, but finally she could only choose to give up. After she got into the car, she sat for a while, lowered her head and resumed After using the phone for a while, he finally started the car, which was missing a rearview mirror, turned the corner, and quickly disappeared from the surveillance camera's field of view.

"whatashow." Cesare let go of the button and said dryly.

"In any case, she also achieved her goal. She was still a member of the Vijay family at the reception—at least she maintained her own face." Jenny commented from a pragmatic point of view—as for career Well, if Virginia wants to go further, she should think about switching to the TV department. This big dream has not been involved yet, and this is also the best choice for her after trying to move Cesare but failed.

"Yeah, the problem is solved, basically you already know everything about my impoverished childhood," Cesare said, he put the apple back in the fruit basket, walked to the door first, and said in a chatty tone, " ——So, when are you going to talk about your childhood and your family—that sort of thing?”

Jenny froze for a moment, not because Cesare asked this question, of course, after he said this, it was natural to ask this question—and at that time, his tone was not surprised at all, as if he had expected it ——

"I'm also Maggie's client," Cesare said, for the first time tonight, his blue eyes flashed that familiar pleasant light, "come to think of it, this is not a difficult math problem , isn't it? Lately you've been hesitating about Salvi's new movie, you went to Maggie's, and suddenly you're curious about my childhood—sometimes you often do, when you're forced to do something Sometimes, you like to make yourself behave differently, how should I describe—"

"...at a loss," Jenny said morosely, "well, you're making me look stupid now—but Maggie didn't tell me you were her client, too, so that's not my stupidity. "

"If I haven't consulted with her, how can I safely recommend her to you?" Cesare asked back, "Of course, if you mind this—"

"Logically speaking, I can't do anything," Jenny shook her head, "Of course I don't mind, Maggie has already proved herself, and it doesn't mean that she knows more than you—I used to Guess it might not be the first time you talked about your childhood, there is too little time to think and remember, is it with Maggie?"

"Maggie likes to associate emotional distress with elements of her original family," Cesare did not deny, "so we have been going back to this point for a while, but her theory does make sense, If you don't grow up with this feeling-feedback mechanism for love, it's typical that when you grow up, no matter how hard you try, you still won't feel as comfortable entering a relationship as other people Classical psychological theory."

As they talked and walked, Cesare led Jenny to the sun room. Of course, what you can see here is only a piece of night sky - this is Jenny's favorite leisure place, where you can enjoy the sea view, but there is no objection. The nasty sea breeze.

"But you can still find your problems from these experiences. Even if you can't cure it, you will still lose a little more clearly--lose more willingly," Jenny said, and smiled at Cesare-- This is what Maggie said, "This is what I like about her. She won't tell you that you can be cured, but you will believe that if you follow her words, things will indeed improve."

She did not ask Cesare why she was sure she would not tell Maggie directly about her childhood, and why she knew that Maggie encouraged clients to confide and communicate with friends-this would make her think, Cesare expressed resistance at the time (This is normal, although it was not the first time he told it just now, so he may have made a necessary emotional disguise, but Jenny still felt that Cesare was not as calm as he showed), and After Maggie gave the option, he finally chose to confide in Maggie. Does this mean that Cesare at the time—the Cesare after breaking up with Lilian was the same as her, and he couldn’t find anyone who could fully open A person with a heart.

No, Jenny didn't ask, she just took a deep breath and prepared herself, she hasn't looked back in many, many years, and bringing this up is a step in itself, which is really not easy , even if the person sitting next to her is the person who understands her best in this world.

"Okay," she took a deep breath after a moment of silence, "you're right, tonight is sharing time, and since I've heard your sad story, I should tell one too Giving something in return - trust me, it is, because after listening to this... hypothetical story, you're actually lucky enough, really, that you should feel better than the girl in the... Happiness."

Cesare's fingers began to slide back and forth on his chin again, just like every time when Jenny shakes his world view, his attitude is a little uncertain, and because of this, he becomes more silent—for those who are not sure He always likes to listen more and talk less, and it's the same this time. He nodded and said noncommittally, "And I'm listening."

Jenny took a breath and tried to compress the information as concisely as possible, "Like you, the girl in the story, of course, doesn't have a good relationship with her parents. Son, of course, because of the different backgrounds, the unfolding of the story is also different. First of all, you have to know that her parents are both from traditional East Asian peasant families, so they have always wanted a son very much..."

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huijiajian!!!!!!!!!