Chapter 731 Dilemma
The black Bentley car slowly stopped in a coastal villa area in the west of Long Island. After Duke got off the car, after Tina Fey called to confirm, he entered the nearest villa facing the sea, probably got the inside The two staff members at the door did not stop him.
The villa is not particularly big. After passing through a long corridor behind the gate, Duke heard a familiar voice before walking too far. He followed the sound to find it, and then saw his mother, Scarlett Johansson, and a A real estate agent who specializes in serving the wealthy.
Mother……
After saying hello to his mother, Duke asked again, How are you watching?
Madam Leah smiled and pointed at Scarlett, Scarlett thinks this villa is very good, you can also participate in your opinion.
Duke looked around, took a brief look at the white-walled and red-roofed villa, and asked Scarlett, Honey, just make up your mind.
Having read almost everything, Scarlett nodded to Duke, then turned to the real estate agent, Just this one.
The face of the real estate agent was almost full of smiles. Right now, the real estate market in the United States is extremely sluggish. It is not easy to make such a big business worth millions of dollars.
I'll let someone go through the formalities first.
After saying this, the real estate agent stepped aside and made a call.
Scarlett Johansson and Mrs. Leah accompanied Duke to the private beach equipped with the villa.
We can move here in the summer.
Walking near the beach, Scarlett sat at the table under the sun umbrella and said, The summer in Long Island is much more comfortable than that in Los Angeles.
Tina Fey nodded, That's true.
Scarlett turned to look at Mrs. Leah, We live here in summer. You can also spend more time with your godmother.
Seeing his mother showing a gratified smile and patting Scarlett's hand lightly, Duke said, This is a good idea.
It was originally Scarlett's idea to buy a holiday villa in New York, but now the North American economy is in a recession. Her mother, Melanie Sloan, couldn't find a suitable job in Los Angeles, so she had to return to New York to work as a screenwriter for Broadway. Although she was not very close to her parents these years, Scarlett still paid for her mother and the underage His younger brother's family bought an apartment that was spacious enough and was looking to buy a home for themselves on Long Island.
Of course Duke would not object, after Mrs. Leah learned about it. A real estate agent who specializes in serving the rich was also hired.
The Upper East Side of Manhattan was too crowded, and neither Duke nor Scarlett wanted to live there, and Long Island undoubtedly became the best choice.
Long Island is located in the northern temperate zone, surrounded by the sea on three sides, and the island is covered with forests. The rainfall is abundant and the climate is humid; due to the maritime climate, the summer is not hot, and it is considered to be one of the most habitable areas in the world.
This is also an area where the rich gather. Many millionaires across the United States, including those from overseas. Everyone likes to buy property here.
It's just that the economic crisis last year caused many people to go bankrupt, and many houses in the villa area on the island are listed for sale.
Now the economy in the United States is in a recession...
The topic naturally turned from real estate to economics, Mrs. Leah said to Duke. You should be more cautious about investing.
Mom, you know. Duke said with a reassuring smile, I've always been cautious.
In fact, even with preparations, the economic crisis has had a certain impact on Duke, but the impact is not so great.
Not only him, the Santa Fea company founded by Mrs. Leah has also been affected, and is currently tightening its business.
They didn't stay here too long, Scarlett left her assistant and real estate agent to go through some formalities, and the four returned to Manhattan in Mrs. Leah's RV.
Now that the economic crisis is raging, Manhattan, the world's financial center, is not at peace. On the way back to the Upper East Side, Duke saw some sporadic crowds gathering. Although they were far less exaggerated than Occupy Wall Street in his impression, they also played some similar banners.
These sporadic rallies are bound to turn into a vigorous movement in the end.
It's just that the movement is doomed to fail.
No matter which country or region they are in, power, wealth, and the right to speak are only in the hands of a very few people. In the face of major conflicts of interest, ordinary Americans want to get the federal government and the New York government that are deeply influenced by the power of capital. As well as the sympathy and relatively fair treatment of the media, it is tantamount to nonsense.
The so-called people have the right to hold guns against tyranny, in today's country, it is just talk.
Maybe one day those people will actually take over Wall Street with guns.
Back at home on the Upper East Side, Scarlett deliberately teased after hearing what Duke said, Divide all the wealth of you capitalists.
Take a gun? Duke said after closing the door, took off his coat, and hung it on the hanger. Honey, do you really think that letting them legally own guns is to fight against tyranny?
Scarlett shrugged, What is that for?
Duke raised a finger, Actually, there is only one purpose, to commit suicide when they are desperate!
Hearing this sentence, the corners of Scarlett's mouth trembled, This joke is not funny at all.
After living here for so many years, Duke is very clear that this country is not at all what some people with ulterior motives once advertised on the other side, and the so-called free country is just a superficial appearance.
Duke has temporarily entered a state of vacation, and Leonardo DiCaprio, who is also on vacation, has received a script from Tina Fey to Ino Martin.
The Spanish island of Mallorca is known as the place closest to heaven on earth. There are more than 300 days of sunny weather here every year, and it is also known as the Mediterranean Paradise.
Under a sun umbrella on a golden beach, Eno Martin found Leonardo DiCaprio and his new girlfriend Bar Refaeli.
After receiving Eno Martin's script, Leonardo simply flipped through it and said, I've accepted this role. I've been waiting for the second collaboration with Duke.
Ino Martin sat by Leonardo's beach chair, but did not speak, but looked at Bar Refaeli.
Bar Refali winked a bit, stood up from the chair calmly, took off the outer coverall, and said, I'm going to swim in the sea.
Seeing the back of Bar Refali walking towards the beach, Leonardo took out two cans of beer from the basket behind him and threw one to Ino Martin, Say it, Ino, what's the matter?
He made it clear that he would take over Duke's new project, but Eno Martin didn't say anything, obviously not agreeing.
You misunderstood, Leo.
Even if he is in charge of CAA, Eno Martin will not be so stupid as to treat Leonardo as a pawn that he can manipulate, and quickly said, I have no objection to you taking this project from Duke. On the contrary, I think You should take it. In the past few years, you have been too focused on winning awards and gradually neglecting the commercial aspect. The market appeal of Titanic will run out one day. You need a good enough commercial masterpiece to strengthen your super superstar status.
Leonardo nodded lightly. He is also very clear about this. If there is not enough market appeal, even if he wins the Oscar for Best Actor, he will not be able to become a superstar. The reason why he has not been in a hurry, but rushed patiently Award, because Duke disclosed very early on that he wanted to cooperate with him once.
Leonardo can figure out what kind of cooperation project Duke is talking about with his toes, and it must be a large-scale commercial film.
But hearing what Ino Martin said, Leonardo was puzzled instead, and looked at his manager with doubts, not understanding what he wanted to do.
Leo, you should know that CAA has encountered some difficulties now, right?
Seeing Leonardo nodding, Eno Martin opened the beer can, took a sip, and said, The current six major film companies, including some second-tier companies, have become subsidiaries of certain groups one after another. They are becoming more and more Although the business share of CAA is rising, the packaged service, which accounts for a major share of our profit, is shrinking across the board.”
Leonardo also understands what Eno Martin mentioned. After the era of independent studios in Hollywood is completely over, the six major companies don’t buy much from CAA, especially the large investment and big productions that can bring In high-profit commercial films, CAA's package service has almost no use.
The packaged service that CAA relies on can only survive in the independent film circle, and is even nicknamed one-stop service for independent films.
How profitable can independent films be? CAA's business volume seems to be expanding, but its annual revenue is still hovering at 100 to 200 million US dollars, which does not match the company's reputation at all.
As an industry insider, Leonardo knew very well that those who touted CAA back then, saying that a brokerage company could decide the entertainment industry, either had bad intentions or brain problems.
Eno Martin is of course aware of this point. The entire Hollywood and related industries have a scale of hundreds of billions of dollars. It is really a big joke that a brokerage company with an annual revenue of only a few hundred million dollars can dominate this industry.
Of course, it is one thing that he has a clear understanding of the positioning of the brokerage company, and another is that he wants to expand CAA's business.
One-stop packaging services can bring high profits, especially on those successful commercial giants.
In order to re-extend the tentacles of packaging services into Hollywood's big-budget mainstream films, CAA has to come up with an extremely successful example.
It’s just that such an example is not easy to find, so he thought of Leonardo. Now that Julia Roberts, whom Tom Hanks has worked hard to recruit, has lost his appeal, Leonardo ? DiCaprio can be said to be the trump card of CAA.
Eno Martin looked at Leonardo, and said solemnly, Leo, you can help CAA bring the packaging service to Duke. (to be continued ^)
PS: Ask for monthly tickets and recommended tickets!