"Boy, take out the money."

"And this girl, hand her over to us brothers, otherwise you won't be able to leave the downtown area alive today, hehehe."

A gangster pulled out a knife from his pocket and played with it in his hand.

Taylor was frightened by the sudden appearance of several gangsters and quickly moved closer to Hardy. Hardy was afraid that the girl would be hurt by these gangsters, so he put his arm around her shoulders.

"Hand over all the money you have..."

“Bang~!”

The thug with the dagger had just said half a sentence when a gunshot was suddenly heard from the side. The thug with the dagger was shot in the chest and fell to the ground.

Blood gushed out of his chest.

“Ah~~!”

Taylor was frightened. She screamed, turned around and crawled into Hardy's arms, hiding her face deep in Hardy's chest.

Soon after, Big Ivan came running over with several of his men. Now it was the thugs' turn to be scared. They knew Big Ivan. The Russian gang was the biggest force in this area and no one dared to provoke them. The guys were all scared and knelt on the ground.

"Don't kill us, don't kill us."

Several thugs knelt on the ground and begged.

Big Ivan didn't have time to pay attention to these guys. He looked at Hardy nervously and said carefully: "Boss, I'm sorry that I made you scared due to my negligence."

Hardy shook his head helplessly.

This was indeed an accident.

He originally wanted to take Taylor to experience the appearance and life in the slums, but he didn't expect that a few thugs would come out and want to rob them.

Looking down at Taylor in his arms, he was scared like a little quail, hugging Hardy's waist tightly, with his eyes closed and pressed against his chest.

"Ivan, take care of things here. I'll take Taylor away." After saying that, he took Taylor's arm and walked back.

Big Ivan quickly sent two of his men to follow and escort him.

After Hardy disappeared, Big Ivan turned around and looked at the thugs kneeling on the ground, his face turned ferocious.

Damn,

The boss finally asked me to do this, and I originally wanted to show my appreciation.

You bastards screwed this up.

"Lift up the bodies and take them all away." Big Ivan said coldly, gritting his teeth.

......

Back in the car,

Hardy put the girl in the back seat.

Drive out of the ghetto.

The girl curled up in her seat all the way. Hardy knew that Taylor was frightened. She had been carefully cared for since she was a child and had never been exposed to such bloody things.

Seeing a person being beaten to death in front of you is truly a huge shock to a person.

He thought about it.

Park the car in a small park parking lot.

Get out of the car and get in the back seat.

The girl cried, her eyes full of tears.

Hardy took the girl into his arms.

"Is this the first time you've seen this?"

"Um."

The girl nodded and shed tears.

"Remember what I told you, when Matilda came back from shopping, she looked through the door and saw her whole family had been killed. Can you imagine how she felt at that time?"

"Sad and terrified, but in order to survive, she had to grit her teeth and walk to the side, knocking on Leon's door, begging Leon to open the door, so that she would have a chance to survive. Facing the threat of death, can you imagine how scared she was at that time?"

"Do you understand Matilda's strength now?"

Taylor lay in Hardy's arms, and his tears slowly stopped.

"My previous understanding of Matilda was still too superficial, Mr. Hardy. Can you tell me the story in more detail? I want to understand it again?" Taylor said.

"no problem."

Hardy told the story of Matilda again, this time in much more detail than he had told that night in Meyer Park.

Taylor lay in Hardy's arms and listened very attentively.

She found that everything she had learned in the past two days could be applied to the characters in the movie. Mr. Hardy really wanted to cultivate her by bringing her out.

The girl looked up at the man.

His eyes didn't move away for a long time.

It was not until the evening that Hardy sent Taylor home. Taylor got out of the car, waved goodbye, opened the door and walked into the villa. Sarah saw Taylor and found that she was in a bad mood. Yesterday when her daughter came back, she was full of energy and acted particularly naughty. What happened today?

Sarah was a little worried.

"Isa, what's wrong with you?" Sarah asked.

"Mr. Hardy took me to the slums today, where I saw many children living in poverty. Some of them even fought over a piece of bread. It turns out that it's true that Matilda was often hungry in the movie," said Taylor.

Sarah breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her daughter say this.

She thought Mr. Hardy had done something to his daughter, but it turned out that he had just taken her to the ghetto.

Sarah patted her daughter on the head and consoled her: "There are always misfortunes in life, so we have to work hard, right, Issa."

"I'm going upstairs to take a shower."

"Go ahead."

After taking a shower, Taylor put on her pajamas and snuggled in the quilt. In fact, she didn't tell her mother the real reason for her low mood. She was scared by the gangster who was beaten to death.

This was the first time in her life that she saw someone being beaten to death. Mr. Hardy said he had killed more than 30 people. Just thinking about it made her feel that Mr. Hardy was very brave.

and.

Lying in Mr. Hardy's arms, I feel so safe.

Thinking that Mr. Hardy would not be able to come to see her tomorrow, she made an appointment with the great director Hitchcock and MGM boss Mayer to review the script and confirm the filming situation.

She felt a little lost.

There is still a lot to look forward to.

I don’t know if I can get the role of Matilda.

......

The next day.

Hardy came to the movie company.

The two screenwriters had already arrived and immediately handed over the script when they saw Hardy.

"Mr. Hardy, the more I write, the more I feel that this story is great. I believe it will be a big hit when it is made into a film," said a screenwriter.

"This movie will definitely win an Oscar," said another minor screenwriter who is not worthy of a name.

After reading the script, Hardy felt that it was similar to his impression, mainly because his outline was too detailed, and these two guys basically just perfected it.

"Not bad, get me five sets," said Hardy.

The two screenwriters took the script out to find someone to transcribe it, and Hardy picked up the phone to contact MGM boss Mayer.

"Hardy, come to my estate for dinner tonight. I'll call Hitchcock and the production manager to study your script together."

"Yes Mr. Meyer."

In the evening, Hardy came to Mayer's villa again. This time there were no guests filling the yard, and the huge manor seemed very quiet.

Hitchcock and Hans, the head of MGM's production department, were both there. It was not yet time for dinner, so the three of them started reading the script together. The only sound in the room was the turning of pages.

Meyer put down the script first. As the big boss, he only needed to know the general idea and see if the plot was exciting.

Hans was put down second.

The film I watched the longest was Hitchcock.

Meyer looked at the two of them and asked, "What do you think of this script?"

Hitchcock spoke first, "I've heard the story before, but now that I've read the script, I find it even more interesting. The love between the girl and the uncle, the revenge for their parents, the lone killer who detonated the bomb because of the girl herself."

"The content is rich, the story and impact are also very good. It is definitely one of the best scripts I have seen in recent years. I think the audience will definitely buy it, and it has the potential to impact the Oscars."

Meyer looked at production executive Hans.

"Hans, tell me what's going on."

"This is an urban film, so there is no need to build a set. All we need to do is find a suitable location in the slums. I estimated that excluding the actors' salaries, the cost should be less than 1.7 million."

Meyer looked at Hitchcock and Hardy and asked, "Who do you think is more suitable for this movie?"

Because the actors determine the level of pay and the film's appeal. Big stars bring their own traffic, so using them to promote a film will naturally attract many people to watch it.

Hitchcock looked at Hardy first, "You came up with this script. Who was your favorite?"

Hardy was not polite.

"I think Elizabeth Taylor is good for little girls."

Hitchcock frowned.

"I know that girl, but I think her temperament is very different from Matilda. I am worried about whether she can play this role well. You know, Matilda is the real number one in the whole movie."

Hardy smiled.

"I'm training Taylor these days. I know what kind of person Matilda is, and I believe I can make Taylor like Matilda."

The other three people in the room understood everything after hearing it.

Hardy went here specifically for Taylor and has already started training with him.

"Who do you think is suitable as the actor?" Mayer asked.

Hardy smiled and said, "Why don't you let Mr. Mayer and Director Hitchcock choose? I think you can find the most suitable candidate."

The world of martial arts is not about fighting and killing, but about the ways of the world.

You can't have your cake and eat it alone.

As long as Taylor was the heroine, his goal would be achieved.

What if the other party disagrees with Taylor?

Depend on,

Why not just invest on his own? He has money anyway. Investing in movies can avoid taxes and launder money, so he can make a lot of money.

Movies that make money at the box office.

That was definitely the work of an artistic director, not a businessman.

"Gary Grant, John Wayne, Gary Cooper, James Stewart, Henry Fonda, Montgomery Clift, Errol Furter, Lon Powaring, William Holden..."

Several people mentioned a bunch of male stars' names and compared them one by one to see if they were suitable. Among these people, the most famous one now should be Gary Grant, who has the strongest box office appeal.

Gary Grant is 41 years old this year, which also meets the standard of a forty-year-old uncle, but his salary is also the highest, almost 300,000 US dollars per film.

"Hardy, what do you think of Gary playing Leon?" Meyer asked.

If Gary Grant is chosen, MGM will benefit the most because Gary Grant is their contracted actor and MGM can also take one-third of his salary.

In fact, Elizabeth Taylor was also a contracted actress of MGM, but her salary was too low, estimated to be only 10,000 or 20,000.

Hardy thought about it. Gary Grant was rated the second greatest actor of the century. He had acted in both comedies and dramas and was adept at all kinds of roles. He was 1.87 meters tall and 40 years old, which was exactly what Leon was for.

"I think Mr. Grant should be able to play the role of Leon."

Next was the director, naturally Hitchcock, with a salary of $200,000. For the supporting role of the villainous policeman, a familiar-looking actor would do, and the estimated cost would be $50,000.

We also discussed Elizabeth Taylor's pay. The pay of a leading actress was placed behind that of a supporting actress, which shows the importance of fame.

At first, Mayer was prepared to pay 30,000, but Hardy mentioned 50,000. Mayer smiled and finally agreed. Taylor's contract was a 40% to 60% split, with MGM getting 60%. Since Taylor's salary was higher, MGM earned more.

There are dozens of other supporting roles and extras in the play, and the total actor fee is 900,000, so the total price is about 2.6 million.

"Hardy, let's assume it's $2.6 million. How much do you plan to invest?" Mayer asked.

The more you invest, the more shares you will own.

"How much do you plan to keep?" Hardy asked.

Mayer was still confident about the film and said, "How about this? MGM pays $1.6 million for the production and you pay $1 million. We can discuss the cost of screening and promotion later."

"Can."

Hardy agreed readily.

Mayer was very satisfied with this cooperation.

Hardy wrote the script and only wanted the right to choose the female lead, leaving almost all the rest to MGM.

MGM's actors, MGM's directors, MGM's filming and production team, MGM's studios, and they are also responsible for production and distribution in the later stages.

The film hasn't even started shooting yet, but MGM has already made a lot of money.