Chapter 99: Descendants of the Dragon

Just as Fang Hong and Yu Xian set foot on United States soil, Hua Guo's entertainment circle was also bustling.

In this era, the film and television industry was in its off-season, and also the time when celebrity scandals erupted most frequently.

Because film and television heavyweights wouldn't promote movies or TV shows during this period, stars chose March or April to announce their big scandals.

This way, they wouldn't interfere with film and television promotions or overshadow their momentum.

First, Yang Mi rose to top-tier fame overnight thanks to Palace, shining brilliantly.

Yet this also marked the beginning of her career of box-office flops in film.

Once famous, one always wants to try breaking into the film industry.

But she found the film industry was completely different from television—she couldn't convert her explosive popularity into box-office success, and felt quite disheartened.

Da S and Xiao Fei had a grand wedding in Sanya, exchanging rings and embracing deeply.

Thinking of what came later, one couldn't help but sigh.

This wedding was lavish and grand, attended by numerous heavyweight stars from Taiwan and mainland China, surely including Huang Jiaozhu—he was everywhere in social circles.

But this wedding also sparked another big scandal: the "secret filming incident."

The cause was that Fox Factory's Zhang Haoren, serving as best man, secretly filmed at the couple's wedding and posted it on Weibo, launching a live broadcast without approval.

In the end, it was just a mess of back-and-forth blame—Fang Hong didn't understand why such a big boss would mix with celebrities. He had zero class.

No wonder nothing he produced ever succeeded—his vision was several levels too low.

Not done yet—another big scandal erupted: Yao Dazui and Ling Xiaoshu's farcical divorce.

This divorce was exposed by the media, yet at the time, the two were still showing affection everywhere, even declaring: "Let the gossip come harder!"

But barely had the big words been spoken when they divorced; both were humiliated and fell silent.

Why pretend? If you're divorcing, just divorce—it's not that shameful.

This pair was hugely famous in this era—Ling Xiaoshu was the actor who said, "You're so sexy!"

The biggest scandal recently was the cross-strait war of words, sparked when Lv Liping and Sun Haiyin, two big mouths, posted pro-LGBTQ+ remarks on Weibo, igniting a massive uproar online.

Then Cai Kangyong came out saying they hated LGBTQ+ people.

After that, the Hong Kong man surnamed Du joined the "pro-Cai" camp; Ning Caishen stepped down to argue with him, and Yao Dazui also joined in to support Ning Caishen.

This one's entry wasn't ordinary—she had 9.3 million Weibo followers known as "Yao's Army," a formidable force; these fans stormed the battlefield and cursed the other side into utter ruin, forcing the man surnamed Du to back down!

From today's perspective, it was dogs biting dogs.

In this era, Yao Dazui was the Weibo celebrity with the most followers—capable of killing gods and Buddhas alike.

The follower count might be fake, but it was undeniably impressive.

This period had too many scandals—Liang Luoshi split from his three sons, Mo Shaochong and Sun Xin were caught using drugs.

Every year during this time, big scandals never ran out.

None of this had anything to do with Fang Hong and his group—they focused on their own affairs and stayed out of it unless provoked.

For East Asians to rise in the United States was extremely difficult.

Because this country was the most discriminatory against East Asians—claiming to be open, claiming to be the beacon of humanity, but that was only for elites; the lower classes had no hope of such illusions.

Otherwise, incidents of discrimination and unrest wouldn't keep happening.

For decades, only Fang Long and Li Lianjie emerged—and even they were brought in by Hollywood to absorb Hong Kong film talent.

Once they'd absorbed their techniques, Hollywood shut the door, pushing all Chinese stars out of the core circle and sending them back home.

This wasn't accidental—you'll notice Fang Long and Li Lianjie both returned to China to shoot Chinese-language films almost simultaneously between 2004 and 2006; before that, they'd both been in Hollywood.

It was simple: Hollywood shut its door on them.

Let me put it this way: Chinese stars had no A-list status in Hollywood—Fang Long was at best a peak B-lister.

People like Guoji Zhang and Gong Huang, famous worldwide, were only B- or C-listers, unable to carry any Hollywood film.

If Guoji Zhang hadn't dated the vice president of Warner, she wouldn't have gotten any resources at all.

This was cultural and regional difference—cultural protectionism.

Liu Tianxian's overseas agency contract was with WMA Agency—after all these years, she'd gotten zero resources; this was the reality.

Imagine how xenophobic the place was.

Fang Hong and Yu Xian walked down the main road, seeing nothing but blond, blue-eyed Caucasians and dark-skinned Black people, English road signs everywhere, and exotic, bustling street scenes.

They instantly felt lost, unsure where they were, like foreigners utterly out of place and uncomfortable.

But no matter how uncomfortable, they had to adapt!

The two flagged down a taxi; Yu Xian knew English—he'd studied it beforehand, since Fang Hong had told him a year ago they'd come to the United States.

After communicating with the white driver, they headed straight for Hollywood's Star Walk of Fame.

No need to adjust time zones—they'd slept through the flight on the cruise ship, and time had already adjusted naturally.

"Old Yu, I think I should get you a tattoo, otherwise I'm afraid you'll lose yourself," Fang Hong said.

The two sat in the back seat of the taxi.

Yu Xian frowned: "What tattoo?"

"Descendant of the Dragon! If you stay here too long and forget where you come from, it'll be trouble," Fang Hong joked.

"Fine, you get one, I get one—but you get 'Loyal and Serve the Nation,'" Yu Xian looked at him.

"Can't you pick something else?" Fang Hong said.

"Okay, you get 'I Love Feifei.'"

"Get lost!"

Yu Xian burst out laughing!

Hollywood lay in the northwestern suburbs of Los Angeles's core area, with the ocean to the south, where Star Beach was located.

It was said that later, Jia returned to China and settled in southern Los Angeles.

There is also a maternity zone in the west for giving birth in the United States, forming a highly developed industry chain—the favorite of domestic billionaires. This place is not only the global center of the film industry but also the origin of global fashion.

Next to Hollywood lies Beverly Hills, where film and television stars, celebrities, and world-famous Producers gather.

The Producer system means Producers hold substantial authority.

Northwest of Los Angeles is another Chinese enclave.

Hollywood is small, yet it hosts over six hundred film and television companies worldwide; every year, the Oscar is held at the Dolby Theatre here.

Oh, by the way, next to the Dolby Theatre is the Chinese Theatre, where many domestic stars and directors have left their footprints.

It's literally "footprints"—your footprints or handprints are imprinted on stone slabs.

Huang Jiaozhu, Yan Zi, Red Pants, Wu Baige, and others all left their imprints here.

Fang Hong and Yu Xian had no interest in viewing those footprints; they went straight to the CAA agency building.

They were here to get things done, not to sightsee.

The United States film industry is highly developed; if you have money, people will naturally organize a team for you.

From behind-the-scenes crew to stars, from script to post-production, all services and personnel are provided by agencies as a complete package.

In short: if you have money, that's all that matters!

CAA is one of the three major agencies; Lang Lang's agency contract is with this company.

Later, the Chairman of Chinese Culture also became a director of this company.

The reason for choosing this agency is that all its information is publicly available: if you want to find an artist, or a cinematographer—

You can learn their professional background and qualifications here.

Moreover, they will assemble the entire team for you—service is remarkably thorough.

You could also approach the Screen Actors Guild, but the Guild doesn't assemble teams for you; it only provides referrals and information—you must negotiate yourself.

Neither of them understood anything, was unfamiliar with anything, and didn't know the local terms, so hiring an agency was the best option.

With an agency, everything can be fully arranged!

Once familiar, you can later use the Guild!

Just this one point is enough for domestic agencies to learn from.

Domestically, it's a mess—no industry standards have formed, only factions and circles: if you don't cooperate with me, I won't cooperate with you.

I blacklist you, you blacklist me!

Fang Hong and Yu Xian were led by a blonde woman in a miniskirt business suit; her high heels clicked loudly on the polished floor.

As she walked, her hips swayed with particular allure.

The two followed behind; Yu Xian stared fixedly at her buttocks, eyes unblinking—Western women had such fiery charm.

Chinese women rarely swayed like that.

Of course, Fang Hong also watched with great interest; he wasn't a saint—he liked looking at beautiful women, especially watching them sway their hips.

If Liu Tianxian swayed like that for him, it would be perfect.

The two were led into a reception room, spacious and bright, appearing luxurious.

The woman said something in English and left.

"What did she say?" Fang Hong asked.

"She said to wait—she said the General Manager will be here soon," Yu Xian replied.

Fang Hong understood; he settled in to wait. He wasn't worried about being ignored, because their current status was customer, was god—not someone begging for favors.

If this one doesn't work, they could always find another!

The two didn't chat, nor did they comment on the woman they'd just met; instead, they quietly observed the surroundings and waited.

Soon, the reception room door opened, and a middle-aged man entered, dressed in a suit, wearing black-rimmed glasses, exuding refined elegance.

"Hello, I'm Richard. I'll be serving you," Richard said, sitting across from them with a file in hand.

He placed the file on the table: "What services do you require?"

"We want to make a movie."

Yu Xian briefly explained the situation, then handed over a production plan.

He added: "We need a complete production crew, plus equipment, props, and actors."

While Richard reviewed the documents, Yu Xian translated the man's identity and situation to Fang Hong.

Fang Hong nodded but said nothing.

Soon, Richard closed the file: "What is your budget for this film?"

"Between six and six point five million dollars!" Yu Xian said.

"No problem, sir. We'll handle everything. But I have one question: are you casting Asian actors or Western actors?"

Richard added: "I'm not being discriminatory—I'm just asking. If you want to make a local film, Western actors will be an advantage during distribution."

That was true—distributors decided whether to release based on the actors; if the lead was East Asian, they'd hesitate.

Because such actors lacked aesthetic appeal.

CAA offers end-to-end services, including helping with distribution—this is part of their consideration.

"Western actors!" Yu Xian said, still somewhat displeased.

Saying "no discrimination," yet still discriminating.

But to make money, you still have to follow their rules—otherwise, how could you earn American dollars so easily?

(End of Chapter)