Chapter 80: Beginning to Become a Star
Not to mention what Milo didn't know yet, the situation of Yu Katona and others on Morgan's side who were targeting him.
At Paladin Investment, Milo stayed in the company until the afternoon.
He watched Nelson direct the traders and start to grab military stocks in the U.S. stock market.
At four o'clock in the afternoon, after making sure that I had nothing to do.
Milo is ready to leave the company.
But before he went downstairs, Kenny reminded him, "Boss, something happened downstairs."
"Um?"
"There are a lot of reporters gathered near the building exit. I asked someone to ask, they are here for you."
"Reporters?" Milo was surprised and looked at his security chief. "Why are they coming for me?"
Kenny looked at David next to him, and they both smiled bitterly, "It should be related to the reports in those newspapers this morning. There is no doubt that you are now a celebrity. And you rarely accept interviews from reporters and the media, so many people want to interview you."
Milo then nodded.
He also remembered that in the morning, six out of ten newspapers had entertainment headlines reporting on his and Angels & Demons' profits.
And all along, he has kept a low profile in front of the media.
Except for an exclusive interview with The New York Times.
Milo has rarely given interviews to other media and reporters.
This situation is a bit like hunger marketing.
After marketing for so long, this kind of news has now come out.
Of course, reporters were eager to interview him and get first-hand news from him.
But in this case, when he talked to Wendy on the phone in the morning.
Wendy has put forward relevant suggestions to a temporary advisory group in response to Milo's current situation.
They advised Milo that he should try to start adapting to life under the spotlight.
Because in the United States, anyone can become a star.
From singers to actors, to businessmen to philanthropists and even politics, every industry can produce stars.
This is a country where entertainment is everything and nipple pleasure is supreme.
As long as the packaging is good and the curiosity of ordinary people is satisfied, the favor of the people can be won.
For example, the one who lives in the white house now.
He is the most successfully packaged and most star-like American president in history.
This makes La Zipperton's re-election victory beyond doubt.
The advisors believe that if Milo wants to pursue the star halo route, he must start to adapt to this situation.
Milo had to take the advice of this advisory group seriously.
As far as he knew, this was a temporary advisory group.
There were even two people who were his uncle and grandfather’s image consultant and public relations consultant.
That’s what true professionals say, so Milo naturally accepted the advice.
Thinking of this, Milo nodded and said, "Just follow the plan and do a good job of security."
David and Kenny nodded in agreement. Security Director Kenny picked up the wireless communication device and informed the people below to get ready.
So a few minutes later.
When Milo appeared at the entrance of the building, even though his bodyguards reacted quickly, he was surrounded by reporters who rushed over.
"Mr. Blackburn, I'm a reporter from the New York Post. What do you think of the media reports that you made $500 million from a single movie? Is this true?"
"I'm a reporter for the New York Times..."
"Hello Mr. Blackburn, I am..."
…
Milo looked at the chaotic scene in front of him with a calm expression, and slowly moved forward despite the strong push from the bodyguards.
After stopping in front of his car, he watched Kenny nod.
Milo stopped, raised his left hand, and shouted, "I will only answer three questions..."
There was another round of chaotic questions. Milo looked around and said coldly, "Just the question from the New York Post. I only heard this one question clearly."
The noisy scene suddenly became quiet, and various voice recorders, tape recorders and microphones were used by their respective owners to try their best to get through the bodyguards and get close to Milo's mouth.
"It's true that the success of Angels and Demons did bring me hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. However, the money did not come to me immediately. It took me ten years to get so much money."
These are all public. Not to mention those who are interested, ordinary people can easily find them if they want to.
Including the IRS, the Internal Revenue Service.
But the IRS has its own methods.
Rich people have their own ways. There are many ways to bypass the IRS and pay less tax.
The prerequisite is that you are a truly wealthy person and have enough connections.
As Milo finished speaking, a reporter shouted in a very loud voice, "There is news that your second novel, Mr. Blackburn, will be published soon. It is said to be about wizards. Is this true?"
Milo glanced at the reporter who had asked the question first and recognized him as the reporter who had just said he was from the New York Times.
The latest novel is published first on Liu9shuba!
As expected, he is one of us, and he did a very good job. He curled his lips slightly, "Yes, it's true. I have already written my second novel. The style of this novel is very different from The Da Vinci Code. It is based on a dream I had when I was a child traveling with my parents on a tourist train outside London. It will be on sale next month."
As soon as he finished speaking, another smart person asked loudly:
"Mr. Blackburn, what do you think of the claim by Archbishop Theodore McCrick of Washington, D.C. that your work is discrediting the Holy See?"
This question is a bit sharp.
It’s true that “The Da Vinci Code” sold very well, and it’s true that “Angels & Demons” also had a very hot box office.
However, the descriptions of the Vatican in these two works are somewhat exaggerated.
Even if his works were not first released in the Puritan country of the United States.
But if it is launched in Europe first, it will probably be resisted.
But fortunately, this is America, and even the Catholicism here is much more flexible than in Europe.
Not to mention the stubborn Puritans here who take pride in confronting the Vatican...
Thinking of this, Milo said loudly:
"On September 16, 1620, in Plymouth Harbor, England. My ancestor was also slandered in this way and was persecuted because of it. He had to leave his beloved homeland and take great risks to come to the North American continent to spread the faith for the Lord."
"I was born into a religious family. I have been a devout Christian since I was a child, and even studied theology in college. In addition, my family members are all devout Christians. My great-grandfather, great-uncle, and grandfather have all been pastors or are currently pastors."
"Mr. reporters, do you think that I would be disrespectful to the Lord?"
His voice silenced the reporters present.
For a moment, no reporter dared to answer his question.
If Milo did not answer this question properly, he would easily be violently attacked by religious people.
If you lean towards Catholicism, you will be attacked by Protestantism. And if you lean towards Protestantism, you will be attacked by Catholicism in turn...
Even though Milo was clearly trying to change the subject.
Change the reporter's statement of "slandering the Vatican" to "disrespecting the Lord".
So it ended up in nothing.
Milo did not give the reporters any more chances after answering three questions.
Under the protection of his bodyguards, he got into the car, closed the door, and looked at the reporters outside who were becoming even more frantic and knocking on the car windows.
"call……"
He let out a breath and looked out the window at the reporters who were as crazy as zombies.
Milo smiled bitterly and said, "Hey, it looks like I'm going to live the life of a Hollywood star from now on."
Unfortunately, no one responded. David was driving carefully to avoid knocking down the reporters outside and rolling them under the car, which would cause a tragedy.
Kenny was keeping a close eye on the situation outside. With so many people around, it would be easy for something to go wrong.
Fortunately, nothing happened in the end. The motorcade slowly drove out of the reporters' encirclement and successfully left Wall Street.
(End of this chapter)