Chapter 226: The Message' released

"Fuck, fuck! Did they really say that?"

"Yes, yes, Luo Bo, just three minutes ago, his agent Chris called me. Jesus Christ, I just can't believe it. I think their intention is really strong, otherwise they definitely wouldn't have asked who the decided heroine is."

"Shit, shit, why? Why??"

"Hmm, Luo Bo, I mean, could it be, hmm, that my sincerity moved him?"

"Fart!" Summit Entertainment CEO Luo Bo Friedman laughed and cursed, then covered the microphone and said: "So he invited you to Japan?"

"That's right. I'm preparing to book a flight tomorrow morning."

Luo Bo Friedman thought for a while and said: "You help me buy one too, I'll go with you."

After hanging up the phone, his wife turned on the bedside lamp and asked: "Where are you going? Japan."

"Yes." Luo Bo Friedman checked the time; it was 3 AM. Although he had been sleeping soundly just now when he was woken up by the sudden phone call, he was still in a good mood now.

"Honey, I'm really sorry for waking you up. Alright, it's fine now, go to sleep."

Not only did the woman not lie down, but she sat up instead, looking helpless: "Honey, don't you think you should explain why you suddenly want to run to the other side of the world?"

Luo Bo Friedman laughed: "Susan, don't say that. It's just across a Pacific Ocean... Fine, fine, in fact, I just got news that it's very likely that an important person has agreed to appear in our movie. And my going to Japan is to finalize this matter."

As he spoke, he sat on the edge of the bed, made a cross on his chest, and finally kissed his fingers: "Thank God, Amen."

His wife Susan asked in surprise: "My God, Luo Bo, who is it, who makes you so excited? Could it be Tom Cruise? Or is it Brad Pitt? Is it that the male lead of 'Interview with the Vampire' you've been thinking about has finally agreed to lower his salary and put on heavy makeup to play a 20-year-old vase male in your youth vampire romance movie?"

Luo Bo Friedman said helplessly: "Susan, at a time like this, I wish you didn't have this sense of humor that I'm obsessed with."

Susan laughed: "Sorry, honey, it's just that I'm really curious, which actor would make you, a guy who doesn't even accompany me to church for Sunday services, suddenly call out the Holy Name in the middle of the night."

Luo Bo Friedman laughed and said: "Ooh, dear Susan, although I don't love going to church, it doesn't mean I'm not a devout Catholic, right? Look, God believes this too; it finally showed me a smile."

Susan looked at her husband's excited appearance and really began to get curious, asking again: "So, who is it?"

Luo Bo Friedman said mysteriously: "Susan, you know him."

Susan said helplessly: "I know at least 2,000 Hollywood stars; what kind of hint is that?"

"No, no, no, I mean, you know many things about him, not just his name. Think about it, where am I going? East, Japan, very close to a country..."

Before Luo Bo Friedman finished speaking, Susan suddenly covered her mouth in disbelief, "Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh, no, no, no, no, no, no, Luo Bo, you're joking with me, right?"

Luo Bo Friedman showed an extremely proud smile, squeezing out wrinkles all over his face, "No, Susan, I'm not. It's exactly the person you're thinking of right now."

"You actually managed to get Chen!!!" Susan's voice suddenly became louder. Then she quickly covered her mouth, because their youngest daughter, eighth-grader Jessica, was sleeping next door.

"Yes, that's right. It's Chen. The 80th Oscar Best Supporting Actor, the world-famous Mr. Joker, your Asian sweetheart. Hahahaha." Luo Bo Friedman lifted his feet and climbed back onto the bed.

Susan looked at him blankly, "You actually managed to get Chen to act in your retarded movie? Why?"

Luo Bo Friedman frowned: "Hey, watch your words, Susan, that's not a retarded movie, it just happens that the people who like it are a bunch of brainless teenage girls."

"So, what did you use to move him? Money? Impossible, with the budget your company has, how much can you take out? Two million, or three million? But I can guarantee that there is definitely more than just you looking for him, and the salary is definitely not just this little. Really, Luo Bo, I can't figure it out, what right do you have to get Chen into your kind of movie?"

Luo Bo Friedman smiled and said: "Hey, Susan, I know you are his super fan now, but you can't say that about your husband's painstaking work that is currently being prepared. Although I must admit, I don't know either. So I'm preparing to go to Japan to find out in person."

Susan also laughed and said: "Now I understand why you want to thank God, Luo Bo. If you really can get Chen to appear in your movie, I can guarantee that the effect will definitely exceed your imagination."

"By then, it won't just be middle school students who like that retarded novel who walk into the cinema, but also many truly independent women who might not mind walking into the cinema at that time to feel the feeling of returning to youth. Do you understand what I mean, Luo Bo?"

Luo Bo Friedman said: "I understand, but I solemnly warn you, Ms. Susan, your husband is already about to be jealous of that Chinese boy. He just expressed how great women are on the Oscar red carpet, right? Actually, I can too, really."

Susan smiled and shook her head: "No, no, no, you can't. Luo Bo, although I love you very much, I understand you, and I also understand every man around me. In that kind of situation, you would only think of ways to highlight your masculinity, or show your gentlemanly demeanor."

"You would want to make people feel how much you respect women, so every one of you would choose to give up that golden trophy. By then, that idiot host would just be happy with you, feeling that men have saved women once again."

"But in reality, you wouldn't lose anything; on the contrary, you did a small show in front of ten billion viewers on TV, showing your image as a savior of women."

"But..."

Luo Bo Friedman sighed and took over the conversation: "But Chen is different. He doesn't consider himself a savior of women; he uses a humble self-mockery to make the female companion beside him truly respected, and even gives countless women in front of the TV the courage to work hard to live. Susan, what you want to say, I can already recite it. I only have one question, why hasn't your Harry Winston gone to find him to be a global spokesperson yet?"

Ms. Susan Friedman, Vice Director of the Brand Management Department of the US headquarters of Harry Winston, the world's number one luxury jewelry brand founded in 1923, which has the reputation of King of Diamonds, showed a mysterious smile upon hearing this: "Luo Bo, how do you know we won't?"

Luo Bo Friedman was stunned, "Holy shit, you must be joking with me, right? You really are preparing to ask an Asian man to be your global spokesperson? Wait, have you ever had a spokesperson before?"

"No, never. Never before." Susan laughed, "Because we don't need to, because all the female stars in Hollywood are our spokespeople, even including the Queen of England and the former Diana, who often wear our jewelry to attend various occasions."

"However, now, we have decided to establish one to recognize his noble character of speaking out for women all over the world. We feel that women all over the world will be willing to wear the jewelry he endorses, regardless of nationality or skin color."

Luo Bo Friedman was stunned, "My God, that woman Rebecca Winston is really crazy. Will your board of directors, full of old fogies, agree?"

Susan smiled and said: "In fact, the proposal to invite Chen as the first spokesperson in Harry Winston's nearly century-long history was submitted by me. Rebecca was still hesitating until the day before yesterday. And she only made up her mind yesterday. Now we are formulating a plan, preparing to offer him a suitable price. Do you know why?"

Luo Bo Friedman said blankly: "Why?"

Susan said proudly: "Because according to the news we understand, that boy refused those profiteers who used crocodile skin and broken diamonds to sew some weird styles of bags and dared to sell them at ten or a hundred times the high price."

Luo Bo Friedman's expression moved slightly, "You mean?"

Susan nodded affirmatively: "That's right, I'm talking about Chanel, Gucci, Prada and those people. Haha, Luo Bo, do you think this is satisfying?" Luo Bo Friedman shook his head in disbelief: "I think he's crazy."

Susan said: "No, I believe he should be like us, knowing what is truly valuable."

March 14, 2008, 5 PM, Tokyo.

Luo Bo Friedman and his party of five walked out of Tokyo Narita Airport. Besides him, the boss, the entourage included company vice president Will Richardson, the film's signed director Catherine Hardwicke, and two company assistants.

"Damn jet lag." Luo Bo Friedman had clearly dozed off for a few hours on the plane, but after getting off the plane, he was still exhausted, "Will, when did you make the appointment with them?"

Will Richardson said: "It should be tomorrow morning..."

Luo Bo Friedman sighed and said: "Alright, let's find a place to rest first. Have a good sleep and adjust the jet lag; I don't want to see Chen in this state."

Several people didn't go far, just found a hotel near the airport. To adjust the jet lag, the whole party didn't sleep, but chatted while eating sushi in a sushi restaurant under the hotel.

Catherine Hardwicke said indignantly: "I don't understand, I really don't understand why we suddenly have to change the male lead. Will a man named Edward Cullen be a Chinese person? Will he?"

Will smiled: "Catherine, you have to know, it's not that we want to replace your beloved Luo Bote Pattinson, but Meyer. Meyer created this book, she has the right to make any interpretation, and she said that in the next version of the book, she is preparing to change Edward Cullen into an oriental-faced vampire to match our movie release."

Catherine Hardwicke held her forehead and cursed "crazy," but she hadn't had time to say anything,

Luo Bo Friedman said understandingly: "Catherine, I know how you feel. Believe me, I also have a wife at home who is obsessed with Chen."

"I think among American housewives, Chen's popularity recently might be even stronger than Brad Pitt's. Because he is younger and more handsome, especially his black eyes, which add a lot of mysterious oriental charm, isn't that right?"

Catherine Hardwicke said coldly: "Sorry, Luo Bo, did you forget that I am a lesbian, I like women."

"And, Will, Luo Bote Pattinson is not anyone I love. The reason I'm angry is that you are preparing to cut my shooting expenses to fill in the extra salary for him. This makes me simply unable to accept it."

Luo Bo Friedman said: "I know how you feel, but there's no way, the funds we raised are only this much. However, I believe that if Chen joins, it will definitely make up for the film quality problems caused by those few million dollars."

"Think about it, Catherine, the newly promoted Oscar winner, I don't believe you haven't seen the Joker he played. My God, when I was in the cinema, I was thinking in my heart that this man must be able to win an Oscar."

"And in the end, I proved my vision. So, I also believe that this time, he will definitely be able to bring some true meaning of change to our movie."

Will Richardson also said: "Yeah, why can't Edward be an Asian face? Catherine, think about it, before him, how many people could have thought that an Asian could play the nightmare of our childhood, the Joker? Motherfucker, before this, who would have thought that the Joker could fucking be a Chinese person?"

Everyone at the table laughed, and an assistant who was drinking water was choked, coughing while laughing and unable to catch his breath.

Another pimply fat white assistant laughed: "I swear to God, when Warner said they were preparing to let him play the Joker, I didn't even eat a burger that noon. I felt that those people at Warner were simply crazy, destroying my childhood, and I just wanted to burn all the DC Universe comics I collected."

Will smiled: "And then?"

The fat assistant shrugged and said: "Later... when the IMDb 250 rating system surpassed 'The Godfather', I went to the cinema to watch it. Then I felt that maybe I didn't read the comics carefully when I was young and misunderstood. The Joker fucking should be a Chinese person, and then fell into a chemical pool and transformed."

"Hahahahaha..." A table of Americans, except for Catherine, all laughed.

Another assistant also said: "Mike, at that time on YouTube, there were many video accounts just like you. But to be honest, his Joker might not be as hot as his words on the Oscar red carpet during this period, right?"

"Now even my mom has heard that there is a handsome Chinese actor who slapped the host in the face at the Oscars and said a few words for women. That video on YouTube has broken millions of views."

The fat assistant interjected: "It broke ten million yesterday."

Luo Bo Friedman ate a piece of sushi and said: "To be honest, I've been in the film industry for almost 30 years and have never seen a guy like this. It seems that wherever he goes, he always subverts other people's cognition. Catherine, when Meyer called me, believe me, I was even angrier than you."

"You have to know, when everything is ready and about to start shooting, no one hates any changes more than a producer. Especially the kind of changes that are very likely to increase the budget of the whole film."

"However, there's no way, this is her right. Because we want the copyright of the second, third, and even fourth parts in her hands. So we have to submit. Hmm, I mean, if this one makes money."

Catherine Hardwicke sneered: "Really? But I heard that some people say they don't know if this movie will sell more than 'The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'. Isn't that person you? Luo Bo. You said that book was hotter than 'Twilight' back then, but the final box office was 39 million, making the film company that produced it almost go bankrupt. I hope this novel won't lead your Summit Entertainment to the same path."

Luo Bo Friedman's face turned red all of a sudden, and it looked like it was developing towards being angry from embarrassment, but Catherine Hardwicke continued: "But I understand, really, Luo Bo. I am even deeply grateful for this. I know that if you thought this movie would sell well, you definitely wouldn't let me be the director. In fact, no female director in Hollywood has ever done a big production, right?"

"What I want to say is, I am very clear that I am a lucky one. I will work hard."

Catherine Hardwicke sighed heavily and said: "I will readjust the script lines to make Edward look more like an Asian vampire. If Chen is willing to join this movie, I will definitely make him feel like home. So, don't replace me, okay?"

Luo Bo Friedman's face became very awkward all of a sudden. If it weren't for the fact that a Japanese father and daughter at the neighboring table suddenly started arguing loudly at this time, he and Will Richardson really wouldn't have known how to ease the atmosphere.

That pair of father and daughter were arguing very fiercely, which made these Americans feel very surprised, because in their eyes, the Japanese have always been friendly and humble, and their speech has always been soft and gentle.

The fat assistant named Mike likes Batman and also likes Japanese comics, so he has self-taught Japanese and has been to Japan several times, helping many Japanese high school girls who were almost out of school, so he understands some. This is also the reason why Luo Bo Friedman asked him to accompany him to Japan this time.

After the shopkeeper invited that pair of father and daughter out of the sushi restaurant, Mike explained: "The reason for their argument seems to be a movie."

"Movie?"

This answer undoubtedly came out of the expectations of several Americans, "Why?"

Mike shrugged and said: "I don't know either. I only heard the name of the movie, called 'Sound of the Wind'. It seems that the girl wanted to watch this movie, but her father didn't allow it."

Will said incredibly: "Could it be... My God, I understand."

"'Sound of the Wind', good name."

"Those guys in the San Fernando Valley should really learn from their oriental counterparts how to take a name that is poetic and picturesque, and also makes people think about it."

Note: San Fernando Valley: Hollywood of the American porn industry.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 227 =====