Traveling Through the Tokyo Bubble Era

Chapter 653 Fred Weber's Sense of Responsibility

"Fly...fly...Dad is a big plane..."

In the courtyard of Hibiscus Garden, on the lawn under the shade of trees, Hideki Hanyu put his baby daughter on his shoulders and ran around pretending to be an airplane.

"Giggle..."

The baby daughter reached out and grabbed Hideki Hanyu's hair, laughing in her clear childish voice.

The father and daughter were playing and having fun, creating a happy scene.

Two days ago, after returning to Los Angeles from Arkansas, Hideki Hanyu stayed at Hibiscus Garden.

These days, he didn't take care of any official business and just focused on accompanying Liu Xiaoli and his baby daughter.

Just as the father and daughter were finishing their play, the Filipino maid Deng Na, who was waiting nearby, stepped forward and reminded them, "Sir, the mistress wants you to go to the second floor to find her."

Hanyu Hideki asked, "Is she still in the dance studio?"

Dunna responded, "Yes sir."

"Xixi stay with Auntie Dengna for a while. Dad will go see Mom."

As Hanyu Hideki said this, he handed his baby daughter to Deng Na's arms, and then walked towards the second floor of the house.

In the dance studio on the second floor, Hanyu Hideki saw Liu Xiaoli dancing in traditional Chinese dance costumes.

After the other party finished dancing, Hanyu Hideki applauded enthusiastically and praised, "You danced very well. You really deserve to be the chief of Jiangcheng Dance Troupe."

The beauty put down the fan in her hand, rolled her eyes at the scumbag and said, "You just talk nonsense. When did I become the chief?"

Hanyu Hideki stepped forward and held the beauty's slender waist and said, "In my heart, you are the chief."

The beauty reached out and touched the scumbag's lips, "You are the best at coaxing people with your mouth."

Hanyu Hideki pretended to be confused, "Really? Did I ever coax him? I remember you were the one who took the initiative at the beginning."

The beauty, who had already been an old married couple, didn't care about the scumbag's teasing at all. She just put her arm around the scumbag's waist, looked at Hanyu Hideki lovingly and said, "Yes, I took the initiative, so what."

Seeing that the beauty's eyes were becoming more and more strange, Hanyu Hideki quickly changed the subject.

"Huh? You asked Deng Na to call me up here, didn't you? It's not just to say this, I still have to go to the gym later."

It’s not that Hideki Hanyu is “timid”, but he does have other plans in the afternoon, and if he plays too much at home, he might be delayed.

"Why go to the gym when you have everything you need to exercise at home?"

After the beauty finished speaking, she complained, "I've noticed that you've been practicing dancing less and less in recent years, and I don't know how much your level has dropped."

Hanyu Hideki was not convinced and said, "I am a genius, even if I practice less, my level will not drop."

"Really? Do you want to try it?" the beauty questioned.

"Just give it a try." Hanyu Hideki will not give in.

The next moment, music from the dance room started.

At first, they were just practicing normally, but as they were practicing, the door of the dance studio was locked for some reason, and then some strange noises began to appear in the music.

After a while, on the carpet in the dance room, Hanyu Hideki looked helplessly at Liu Xiaoli, who was in his arms, with a tired yet satisfied look on her face.

"Hey, I've been seduced by you again, you devil."

The beauty snorted softly, "Humph... it was you who was impatient first."

Hanyu Hideki said, "If I didn't react in the situation just now, I would not be a man."

The beauty is wearing Chinese classical dance clothes, her beautiful body half-covered. As the music plays, she rubs her ears against yours with her dancing moves. Her movements are extremely provocative and teasing. It would be abnormal if the scumbag didn't take her down.

Finally he asked, "Okay, now you should tell me why you asked me to come up."

"Sissi is growing up, and I want to do something I like, so I have an idea to start a traditional Chinese dance troupe."

Liu Xiaoli expressed her thoughts.

Upon hearing this, Hanyu Hideki immediately asked a few questions.

“First of all, who will manage the dance troupe? Just because you can dance doesn’t mean you can manage a dance troupe well. After all, a formal dance troupe is not just about dancers.

What is the nature of your dance troupe? Do you plan to develop it in China or overseas? Do you want to operate it independently or in collaboration with other organizations?

Another question is how to recruit members for the dance troupe? The overseas Chinese dance training system is basically blank, and it is not easy to select talents overseas.

Finally, there is the question of profitability. Although I don’t mind paying to help you support the dance troupe, I think this is definitely not your original intention in establishing the dance troupe.”

Facing Hanyu Hideki's questions, the beauty answered them one by one.

"Don't worry about the management. I have a very good relationship with a senior sister in China. She has been transferred to a management position in the group for several years due to an injury. She happened to be unhappy in the group recently, so she is definitely willing to help me.

As for the nature of the dance troupe, I plan to establish an international dance troupe that will mainly perform overseas. This will also solve the profitability problem. After all, there is market demand overseas, but there is a lack of market-oriented performance providers.

As for the members of the troupe, I initially planned to cooperate with domestic companies and directly borrow mature dancers. Later, I could select them from graduates of dance schools.

Of course, I actually want to start my own dance school and train dance talents myself.”

After listening to her, Hanyu Hideki stretched out his hand and scratched the beauty's nose and said, "You think a lot. Can you handle so many things?"

The beauty said, "If you are too busy, just take your time. I am not in a hurry anyway."

"Okay, but some things are easier said than done. Your senior sister has been in China. She is fine managing the daily affairs of the dance troupe, but she is definitely not good at contacting performances overseas. I will help you keep an eye out for another professional manager."

Hideki Hanyu said so.

After hearing this, Liu Xiaoli immediately hugged the scumbag and said, "You are so nice to me. I thought you would object to me doing this."

"What's there to object to? I'll spend some money to help you kill time. Even if I lose money, it doesn't matter."

Hanyu Hideki reminded, "There is one thing you should pay attention to when cooperating with domestic companies. In recent years, there have been many cases of illegal stay among domestic performing groups performing overseas. If your borrowed people encounter such problems, then you can forget about the cooperation."

"I will definitely pay attention to this," said Liu Xiaoli.

Regarding this matter, Hideki Hanyu just stopped there and did not intend to say more. After all, times have changed and many people see things differently.

Moreover, her baby daughter is about to go to kindergarten. With Liu Xiaoli's current ideas, she will definitely spend a lot of time in China, which will make it convenient for her child to go to school in China.

Just as the two were talking about the dance troupe, the door of the dance room suddenly slammed, followed by the sister-in-law's voice coming from outside.

"Sister and brother-in-law, are you in there? Lunch will be ready soon..."

Hearing Zhou Wenqiong's voice, Hanyu Hideki smiled and said, "You want to start a dance troupe, so you can take Xiaoqiong back with you. If she doesn't go home all day and doesn't get married when she grows up, you, as her elder sister, will have to take care of her for the rest of her life."

Upon hearing this, Liu Xiaoli immediately rolled her eyes at the scumbag and said, "It's all your fault. You should be the one to take care of it."

"Blame me?" Hanyu Hideki looked ridiculous.

Liu Xiaoli suddenly looked a little strange and quickly found a reason to explain.

"Of course it's your fault. If you hadn't given her money to spend all day and let her see the colorful world outside, how could she look down on boys in China?"

"What you said seems to make sense."

……

After lunch, Hideki Hanyu took a short rest and then drove to a private gym in Beverly Hills.

Although I have missed the time, I have already made an appointment with the fitness team. It is better to be late than not to come.

However, although the place he came to was a gym, it would be more appropriate to call it a sports research institution.

The fitness area is just a small part of its annex.

What Hideki Hanyu wants to use are other more professional research parts.

Although Hideki Hanyu was late, as the financial sponsor, the team waiting for him naturally had no objection.

After changing clothes, Hideki Hanyu was taken directly to the testing area, where a testing device was put on him and he began to do various exercises.

After a series of operations, Hideki Hanyu's physical condition was fully revealed.

The team leader then began to develop a more professional and detailed exercise plan for Hanyu Hideki based on the results.

We will even cooperate with nutritionists to provide reasonable nutrition plans, etc.

After finishing all these, Hanyu Hideki found that because of his excellent physical fitness, he finished earlier than expected, so he planned to go into the fitness area to exercise casually.

After all, in addition to coming here for the examination, he also had an appointment with someone else, and the person had not arrived yet.

However, just as Hanyu Hideki was exercising, a white man with muscular build and wearing a training vest suddenly walked towards him.

Hideki Hanyu originally thought that his opponent wanted to use equipment.

Who would have thought that after this person approached, he suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Sir, you seem to be very talented. Do you want to practice better? Here..."

But before the man could finish his words, the manager of the fitness area immediately appeared and said sternly, "Happi, I remember I warned you not to come to the private area to sell your damn products!"

The sturdy man called Harpy smiled and said, "Sorry, I'm just doing this for the gentleman's good."

The fitness area manager was unmoved and said, "Put away your rhetoric in front of me. Besides, even the company behind you cannot afford to offend this gentleman, so don't cause trouble for yourself!"

Upon hearing this, Habib looked at Hanyu Hideki in surprise, then stopped smiling and said, "Sorry, I'll leave now."

"Fuck off!"

The administrator yelled and ignored the harpy, turning to Hanyu Hideki and saying, "I'm very sorry to bother you, sir."

“It’s okay.” Hanyu Hideki waved his hand, then asked curiously, “Can you tell me what he wants to sell?”

"Sir, those things are not good for your health, so it's better for you to know less about them," the administrator kindly advised.

Hanyu Hideki smiled and said, "I'm just asking out of curiosity. I came here for my health and I won't harm my body."

The administrator organized his words after hearing this, and then explained, "The guy was selling a steroid drug that can make the body's muscles grow rapidly. It was originally used by professional athletes, but later the restrictions in the sports industry became stricter, so only bodybuilders and strongmen used it.

However, in recent years, such drugs have begun to enter the market for ordinary people. In Hollywood, many tough guys who need to gain muscle in a short period of time are actually using these things, such as Mr. Robot. "

Hideki Hanyu knew that the Mr. Robot the administrator was referring to was Schwarzenegger.

As for the steroid drugs mentioned by the other party, they are actually no longer a secret in later generations.

Especially in the European and American fitness circles, you can't even think about achieving results without doing this.

In addition, there are a large number of so-called European and American fitness influencers who, driven by interests, have become a link in the black industrial chain and have begun to sell such products to ordinary people without any bottom line.

When the administrator said this, he did not forget to remind Hanyu Hideki.

"Sir, although those drugs can help people gain muscle and lose fat in a short period of time, and even break through the limits of the human body, the damage to the body is huge and irreversible.

Once you use it, you can never stop using it.

There are a lot of side effects, such as damage to your internal organs, hair loss and acne, your blood turning into jelly, and even losing your male potency and making your private parts as small as peanuts.

At the end of his speech, the administrator pinched the knuckles of his little finger to demonstrate in a very vivid way.

Hanyu Hideki laughed and said, "Haha, that sounds really bad."

At the same time, Hanyu Hideki waved towards the entrance of the private fitness area, and then a young and beautiful woman with a curvy figure walked over.

It was Catherine Zeta-Jones who came to Hollywood from the UK to develop her career.

And this is the person Hideki Hanyu is waiting for today.

When Catherine Zeta-Jones approached, Hanyu Hideki put his arm around the beautiful woman's slender waist and said, "With such a beautiful woman waiting for me, I won't be stupid enough to get an injection just for a little muscle."

After saying that, he called Marco who was waiting in the distance, took the wallet from him, pulled out a stack of US dollars without counting, and slapped it directly into the administrator's hand.

"I am very satisfied with your service, this is my tip to you."

Even without the administrator's reminder, Hideki Hanyu would not have used those so-called drugs, but the other party's kindness is still worth affirming.

Seeing that just a few words brought him such a reward, the administrator naturally expressed his gratitude repeatedly.

However, Hideki Hanyu, who had already left with Catherine Zeta-Jones in his arms, didn't care whether the administrator thanked him or not.

……

In the exclusive dressing room, Catherine Zeta-Jones looked at Hanyu Hideki who was changing clothes and said with infatuated eyes, "You have a great figure."

Hanyu Hideki said, "Really? I'm far inferior to those big guys. Just now someone tried to sell me muscle-building drugs."

"Too exaggerated would be a bit too much, yours is just right."

After Catherine Zeta-Jones finished speaking, she asked curiously, "I thought you asked me to come here to meet you because you wanted to take me to the gym."

The scumbag looked Catherine Zeta-Jones up and down and said, "Your figure is already very good. I am very satisfied with it. You don't need to train anymore."

"Even if you're satisfied, you don't come to me." Catherine Zeta-Jones said resentfully.

The scumbag said, "Aren't you here today? Besides, I've been worrying about you these past few days, and today I'm here to help you find an opportunity. The TV series I promised you before has already started casting."

After Catherine Zeta-Jones came to America, she was arranged by Hideki Hanyu to work at New Century Entertainment, and then she studied in a professional acting school, trying to adjust the habits she developed in stage plays to the status of a Hollywood actor.

Although she knew that this was necessary, she couldn't rush it until she was ready.

But being in the world of fame and fortune in Hollywood, seeing all the colorful things, seeing female stars becoming successful, seeing so many people surrounded by the spotlight.

It's impossible for Catherine Zeta-Jones to say she's not anxious.

At this moment, when she heard that Hanyu Hideki was finally going to take her to find an opportunity, one can imagine how happy she was.

The woman immediately hugged Hanyu Hideki's arm and whispered in a charming tone, "I happened to be studying medieval court etiquette these days, and I borrowed a few sets of clothes with the characteristics of the era from school. Do you want to go and see the results of my study tonight?"

The scumbag's eyes lit up when he heard this, and he answered without hesitation, "Of course I have to watch it. After all, I am responsible for your studies!"

……

Cloud Films.

In a reception room located in the top-floor leisure area, two of the most important executives of Cloud Pictures were sitting there: Fred Weber, head of production business, and new CEO Alan Horn.

Sitting opposite the two was Hideki Hanyu, who had just arrived with Catherine Zeta-Jones.

After all, apart from Hideki Hanyu, there would be no one else who could send these two people out to receive the guests at the same time.

Several people have been chatting here for a while.

At this time, Hanyu Hideki patted Catherine Zeta-Jones's head and said, "Your business is all right now. Go to the bar and order some drinks. The cocktails here are very good."

Although Hanyu Hideki said it directly, Catherine Zeta-Jones understood that Hanyu Hideki wanted to discuss serious matters with the two senior executives of Cloud Pictures and hoped that she could go out and wait.

Just now, Hideki Hanyu and Alan Horn mentioned that they hope to include Catherine Zeta-Jones in the final round of casting for the heroine of "Seinfeld".

Alan Horn, who is also the president of Castle Rock Pictures, stated readily that there is no problem with Catherine Zeta-Jones' appearance and as long as her acting skills meet the requirements, she will definitely get the role.

After receiving this promise, Catherine Zeta-Jones, who was quite confident in her acting skills, immediately felt confident. She naturally would not act rashly at this moment. She just agreed and left.

It was only after Catherine Zeta-Jones left that Hideki Hanyu asked.

"Weber, what's wrong with you? Why are you feeling so depressed today?"

Hearing this, Fred Weber asked in surprise, "Did the gentleman see through all this?"

Hanyu Hideki said, "It's not the first day we've known each other."

After hearing what Hanyu Hideki said, Fred Weber sighed and said, "It's all because of the box office."

"Box office? Die Hard has made nearly 50 million. It will definitely not be a problem for the North American box office to exceed 80 million. What is there to worry about? Is it because the overseas box office is not good?"

In response to Hanyu Hideki's doubts, Alan Horn continued, "Die Hard has been released in some overseas box office markets. So far, the performance is quite good. It is expected that the overseas box office will most likely exceed 50 million US dollars."

Hanyu Hideki looked at Fred Weber in confusion and said, "Isn't this great?"

This time, Alan Horn did not answer.

After all, what frustrated Fred Weber was a project that took place during his tenure as general manager, and the project was decided by Hideki Hanyu himself.

If it was a success, like "Die Hard", then there would be no problem for Alan Horn to talk about it, but the current situation clearly does not seem like a success.

If he said anything now, it would feel like he was adding insult to injury or "complaining" to his boss.

At this time, Fred Weber spoke.

"It's not Die Hard, it's A Fish Named Wanda. The movie was released last weekend. Although it opened on less than 500 screens and it wasn't a preview release, its first-week box office was only $110,000, and we invested $7.5 million in the movie."

Hearing this, Hanyu Hideki touched his chin and said, "It's a bit little."

But even though he said this, there was no worry on his face.

Because for this movie, in addition to remembering that the total North American box office exceeded 60 million US dollars, he also remembered that this movie maintained this very interesting North American theater record for more than ten years.

That is the longest time record for a theatrical movie from its release to winning the first weekly box office championship.

In another time and space, it took more than three months for this movie to be released and win its first box office championship.

It can be seen from this that this movie is definitely a typical example of a slow-burn, long-tail box office in the theater market.

So for Hideki Hanyu, it is normal that the box office of this movie was a little low at the beginning.

But he knew this, but Fred Weber didn't.

The successive successes of Yunshang Pictures gave the former general manager great confidence, especially when "Die Hard" was selling well. It is understandable that he was depressed when he suddenly suffered such a blow.

Of course, his bad mood is bound to lead to ridicule and sarcasm from the public.

After all, praising success and criticizing failure, and praising the high and criticizing the low are what the media likes to do most.

From this we can see how wise it was for Hideki Hanyu to recruit Alan Horn to replace Fred Webber and let him concentrate on managing the production business.

When the business was small, Fred Weber could still cope.

But as Yunshang Pictures gradually enters the mainstream perspective and begins to attract attention from many media, managers need to have a big heart.

Obviously, compared to the mature and steady Alan Horn, Fred Weber was still a little too "green" and lacked the mentality and experience to deal with this kind of situation.

Thinking of this, he asked Fred Weber again, "Has CinemaScore conducted a survey on this movie? What is the score given by moviegoers?"

Fred Weber replied, "It's an A."

"The rating is not bad." Hanyu Hideki said and looked at Alan Horn. "Horn, tell me your opinion."

Although Hideki Hanyu knew everything, since he had already invited Alan Horn, he naturally had to give the CEO the respect he deserved.

"Since the movie has received good reviews from audiences, we should change the publicity and distribution strategy, improve word-of-mouth influence, and release the film over a long period of time." Alan Horn's answer was straightforward.

Hanyu Hideki nodded and said, "I think what Horn said makes sense, let's do it."

As he spoke, he stood up and patted Fred Weber on the shoulder.

"Weber, you don't need to be depressed about the box office of this movie. Your job now is to produce the movie, and the distribution is not your responsibility.

Besides, it was me who decided to make this movie. Even if it really loses money, I should be held responsible.

Of course, I am still very happy about your sense of responsibility, which makes me feel very relieved to hand over the production department to you. I believe you will not let me down, right? "

In response to Hideki Hanyu's consolation and questions, Fred Weber said firmly.

"Of course, sir."

(End of this chapter)