Chapter 144144. Lao Bi, is that you?

The meal took more than two hours, but eating was only secondary. Half of the food was still left on Theron and Eric's plates.

Two more glasses of wine were ordered.

The two spent most of the time chatting, starting with "Inception", with Eric explaining the world setting and plot to Theron in detail.

But Theron said she still didn't fully understand it and needed to see the complete script.

Later, the topic spread to other areas. The two talked about their views on movies, such as which commercial film director they admired the most and which art film director they admired the most.

What is your favorite movie? Who is your favorite actor? Then they talked about their views on the film industry. Theron was surprised and incredible when Eric talked about the filming techniques and concepts, as well as the future development trends of the film and television industry.

For example, comic book-adapted movies, Eric said, will be very popular in the future.

Charlize Theron said she couldn't understand why the success of Spider-Man didn't mean anything, as there was the glory and decline of Batman in the 1990s, and the same was true for the Superman series before that.

There are also a bunch of other miscellaneous superhero comic-adapted movies in between, most of which end with violent deaths, and don't look like they'll rise in any way.

Eric also suggested that if she had money, she should buy some Apple, Microsoft, and Amazon stocks and hold them for the long term. These are blue chip stocks and are sure to make money.

The host and the guests had a great meal and the two exchanged their views.

After leaving Leonard's restaurant, Eric walked Theron to her car, a white Land Rover.

The tall model really suits her temperament as a strong queen.

He helped her open the car door. Over the past ten days, the two of them had become much more familiar with each other. Tonight's negotiation further deepened their understanding of each other. The two of them gave each other a light hug.

"Eric, I am amazed by your knowledge. I am curious, have you really never studied film knowledge before?"

"No, I just got in touch with it recently."

"Maybe this is genius, what an amazing talent." Charlize Theron sighed like all the other people who couldn't believe it.

"Haha. Just like your beauty, some things are destined by God."

Eric said something that sounded like a compliment and teasing, and Charlize Theron smiled.

"By the way, I need to confirm again. Are you sure the wine is okay? I don't want to be on the news for drunk driving and then have a criminal record and have to work as a social worker."

"Don't worry, it's just a little wine, the alcohol content is not that high. If you are worried, I can take you home."

"Forget it, you drank too. Since you're fine, I'll leave."

Rejecting Eric's request, Theron drove away alone. Eric had no choice but to get into his car, stepped on the accelerator and drove away.

Looking at the high-rise buildings passing by quickly outside, for a moment it seemed like a scene from "Inception".

This movie will definitely be shot next year. Eric had planned it long ago. This is what he said to Heath Ledger when he was interviewing for the leading role in "Transformers".

The reason why it is not launched this year is mainly because the investment in "Inception" is a bit high.

Eric has estimated that if he directs the film himself, he doesn't need to take a penny of remuneration, including the salary and commissions for screenwriters and directors. This applies to all the films he has participated in.

Anyway, the company is yours, but after it goes public, you will need to pay yourself a salary because it involves accounting, and at that time the company's money will not belong to you alone.

If it wasn't Eric who took the lead, but Nolan, the dividends plus the film salary would have been more than 20 million US dollars.

The actors can also be saved a little, and I am not a real-life shooting fanatic like Nolan, so there is no need to actually build an ice tower.

After taking all the various calculations, they should be able to save about 40 to 50 million U.S. dollars. However, even so, it would still take at least 80 million U.S. dollars to make "Inception", and 90 million would be more reasonable.

The actor was decided according to what was discussed during the meal. Christian Bale was much more cost-effective than Leo. Eric felt that Bale was not only cheap, but also had better acting skills.

Moreover, Leo is only 180cm tall. Standing next to the 177cm Sergio Alonso and the 180cm Neeko, he is obviously not as suitable as Bale.

In the original version of "Inception", the Phantom Mel was played by Maria Cotillard, whose Chinese nickname was Ma Liang.

This person is also an old acquaintance that Eric doesn't know.

"La Vie en Rose" was supposed to be her crowning masterpiece, but now it has been given to Neeko.

"Inception" is also her representative work, and it was booked for Theron.

Poor Ma Liang. I don't know if he will win an Oscar in the future. After all, good works only come once every ten years. Maybe his luck in this life has been taken away.

There's nothing I can do. Since you are not my woman, you have obtained so many high-quality resources.

If I'm reborn again in the next life, we'll meet earlier and compensate you.

The character with the biggest adaptation is the dream builder Aridni, played by Ellen Page, or the transgender Elliot Page.

Nolan set this character as a very talented young girl, but she has no experience and needs some time to learn before she can integrate into the team.

But since Neeko was cast in the role, Eric decided to change the character into a dream builder who is no less capable than the male protagonist Cobb.

She doesn't need to learn and can provide more help to the team.

In Nolan's version, Ellen Page is very strong in the setting, but in actual action, her effect is not obvious.

After Eric revised the script, the battles in the dream will be more intense and Neeko's abilities will be more prominent.

Then set up a scene of direct competition between Neeko and Charlize Theron. These two beauties have never appeared on the same screen together. This is bound to be a good gimmick and more commercially attractive.

Before traveling through time, the two had collaborated on a work called "Sexy Bomb", but the script was a bit weak and the final box office was only over 80 million US dollars, which failed to live up to the acting skills of the two film queens.

Back home, Eric sent Theron a text message, asking if she got home safely and if she had been confronted by the police.

The other party replied that he had arrived home with a smiling face behind it.

After taking off his coat, the house seemed a lot quieter without Joshua's shouting.

This guy returned to the San Francisco team a few days ago. It seems that he went back because his mysterious girlfriend broke up with him and he was discouraged.

Eric still doesn't know who his girlfriend of half a month is.

But it’s good to go back and study management well to prepare for the future.

"Eric, Billy is here and is waiting for you on the second floor." Mom said as she took the coat.

"Yeah, I know. I asked him to come over. Did he arrive long?"

"Not too long, about ten minutes."

"Okay, I understand."

Taking two bottles of beer from the refrigerator, Eric went up to the room on the second floor.

The door was open, and in sight was Billy sitting on a chair with a photo album in his hand.

Hearing footsteps, he turned around and said, "Eric, you're back."

Eric handed Billy his beer and they clinked their glasses and took a sip.

"Just got home, what are you watching?"

Billy raised the photo album in his hand: "Our college photos. Warren was still very thin at that time."

"What a shame, he was 200 pounds in college!" Eric took one look and complained.

"I mean, compared to now, look at him. Ever since he started helping you run the company, his belly has gotten bigger than a pregnant woman about to give birth."

"Haha. This proves that he is living a happy life. I sent Pemahadi to take charge of the situation. I originally wanted him to learn and then take the position. I didn't expect that the two of them would end up together."

"What!" Billy's eyes widened in surprise.

"I've seen that woman, and she looks great, I mean in terms of body and looks, and it's incredible that Warren was able to get her."

"Yes, I think so too. This fat guy is really lucky."

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Billy sighed, "Warren actually has a girlfriend. Now among the five of us, I am the only one who is still single."

"What are you talking about? Me too." Eric pointed at himself.

Billy sneered, "Come on, are you single? Nicole Kidman and Gal Gadot, which one isn't top notch? There are a few others besides these, and only you know."

"I fly everywhere every day. I don't even have time to date a girlfriend. Sigh!"

Eric laughed: "If you don't want to fly anymore, I'll change your position."

"Goodbye, flying actually has its advantages. Although I don't have time to fall in love, I feel very comfortable eating takeout. You should change my position when I get tired of it."

After a brief chat, Billy walked over and closed the door. Although the villa was very safe, he felt more comfortable with the door closed when talking about serious matters.

Eric crossed his legs and said, "Tell me, how was your trip to London?"

Billy pulled a USB drive from his pocket: "Here's what you want."

Eric took the USB drive, opened his laptop and plugged it in. After opening it, he saw a video lying quietly inside.

Click, click!

After clicking the mouse, the video will play.

The picture is not very clear and the shooting angle is also problematic. It is obviously a candid shot.

The voice was a little hoarse, but I could still hear what was said.

In the center of the camera was that bastard BBC reporter Martin Bashir, and besides him, the arms of two other people were in the shot.

Several people were sitting around the dining table, most likely having dinner at someone's home.

The previous paragraph was all meaningless conversation, with a few people chatting and bragging. Billy dragged the progress bar and an interesting conversation appeared.

"Martin, you are very popular now. The interview with Michael Jackson was really great. The whole world's attention was attracted to you. It was no less than the interview with Princess Diana."

At this time, several people had already drunk a lot of wine and were in high spirits.

In addition, it was a private gathering and everyone was good friends, so naturally they started to speak without restraint, saying things they should and shouldn't say, and they became much more lax in their words.

In the video, Martin Bashir laughed out loud: "This is my career masterpiece, Princess Diana, that was my first good fight."

"In order to obtain Diana's interview rights, I forged a lot of documents and deceived her and her stupid brother."

"Hahahaha. That stupid woman actually believed it. Can you believe it? She just believed me like that."

"I showed her a bank statement and told her that the people around her had been bribed by Murdoch Media Group to become informants to monitor her, but the statement was actually computer-generated."

"Diana didn't understand any of this technology, and she let me do whatever I wanted, which was a really fun memory."

Next to him, a friend whose face was not shown immediately smiled and complimented Martin Basher, praising him continuously.

"Martin, what about Michael Jackson this time? You must have used a lot of tricks again."

Martin Basher continued to laugh wildly: "Of course, it took me a lot of time to get Jackson."

"For a whole year, I even said that I knew UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and could arrange a charity event for him to go to Africa for children."

"Finally, Jackson agreed to my follow-up filming and interview. It was a long process, but fortunately the result was good and my efforts were not in vain."

Several friends also laughed: "Yes, after the documentary was broadcast, Michael Jackson was ruined by you."

"What King of Pop, what greatest artist in the world? We journalists are the uncrowned kings. In your hands, Martin, he is just a pawn being manipulated and used."

Martin Bashir swallowed a big mouthful of wine and said with more and more excitement: "That's right. I just can't stand that guy. He is obviously black, but he disguises himself as white. Does he think that he can change his skin color and class in this way?"

"I just want to destroy him. Even if he has never done anything to molest a child, I can make him look like this through editing and camera."

"No matter how hard he tries to defend himself, it's useless. When the documentary is released, there will be a lot of fools who will believe that Michael Jackson is just a stupid person like Diana."

"Martin, so you chose Michael Jackson as your target because you hated his skin color?" the friend continued to try to ask deeper questions.

But this time Martin Basher did not continue speaking. Instead, he smiled and said nothing, lowered his head and started eating.

Seeing that he didn't say anything, the other party simply tried to seduce him: "No, no, no, we are all reporters. There are many people who have a greater influence than Jackson. It doesn't have to be him."

"Let me guess. I've heard rumors that there is a deep conflict between him and Sony Music, and it seems to be because of copyright issues."

"Sony Music wanted to buy out Jackson's copyright, but Jackson never agreed. Last year, he had a public argument with Sony Music."

"Martin, Sony didn't hire you to do this, did it?"

In the video, Martin Balshe showed a playful smile and said meaningfully: "Guess, maybe this secret will not be revealed until everyone involved dies."

After the video, there is no relevant content, and everything returns to chatting and bragging, which is meaningless.

Although the last question is not clear, this video is enough to prove a lot of things.

Eric patted Billy's shoulder with relief: "Thank you for your hard work!"

Billy smiled and said, "Why are you being so polite to me?"

Thanks to Luciferhx for the 100-coin reward, thank you!

(End of this chapter)