Meizong Wealth Life

Chapter 108 Another Michael
After comparing two Dragon Girl candidates, Kate Beckinsale and Sophie Metz, Cheng Long finally chose the latter.

The reason is that the image of Sophie Metz is more consistent with the little snake in the animation.

Jamie's evaluation of this is that it is a very wise choice.

Cheng Long breathed a sigh of relief.

Indeed, someone on Hong Kong Island had asked him to help Miss Zhang if he had the opportunity.

That's why Cheng Long arranged for the other party to play a very important role in "Rush Hour 2"...the villain.

However, Miss Zhang is an ambitious person, so naturally she will not be satisfied with this. She expressed to Cheng Long many times off-screen the idea of ​​​​cooperating again.

Cheng Long agreed, so he helped the other party win it.

Telling the result to the other party later...the person behind him would be considered an explanation.

Cheng Long's move of retreating instead of advancing was actually placing his real bet on the character of Xiaoyu.

In his opinion, he has already given in to Little Snake as the heroine.

For the role of Xiaoyu, Jamie should respect his right to speak, right?

Cheng Long picked up the teapot and poured Jamie a cup of tea himself.

This overly attentive move immediately made Jamie wary.

Sure enough, then I heard Cheng Long say:

"Jamie, since Snake's positioning in the live-action movie is more towards the heroine, can the heroine Xiaoyu in the animation also make some adjustments in the live-action movie?"

"I'm referring to her age. Of course it's okay to put the ten-year-old setting in animation, but isn't ten years old too young in a live-action movie?"

Jamie asked calmly:

"Brother Cheng Long thinks how old Xiaoyu should be in a live-action movie?"

Cheng Long replied without hesitation:
"About fifteen or sixteen! The heroines in most of the Hollywood youth campus movies I watch are this age."

Jamie understood immediately.

Xiaoyu, who is fifteen or sixteen years old, is no longer a girl.

In the entertainment industry, it is popular to act young, and it is common for people in their 20s to act like they are fifteen or sixteen.

In this way, Xiaoyu has more room for maneuver in casting.

"For the role of Xiaoyu, my idea is to select the most suitable candidate through open casting. With the appeal of Brother Cheng Long, I believe that girls of the right age throughout the Chinese-speaking world will enthusiastically sign up."

The smile on Cheng Long's face suddenly solidified.

Jamie immediately added:
"Of course, I also agree that the age limit for casting should be appropriately relaxed. How about the upper limit for registration?"

Cheng Long couldn't express the pain in his heart.

That's not possible either. The two girls from my old friend's company over in Hong Kong are already twenty this year, right?
When Cheng Long first came to Hollywood to pursue his career, he was not familiar with the place. It was his old friend who was busy helping him with everything.

At that time, Cheng Long felt that he owed the other party a huge favor.

Later, Cheng Long's son returned to Hong Kong to study music, and it was Li Zongsheng who came forward to introduce him.

Before, Cheng Long had not established a firm foothold in Hollywood and had no way to repay the other party.

This time "Rush Hour 2" was released, the old friend flew from Hong Kong Island to Los Angeles to congratulate Cheng Long, and also brought over two newcomers that the company was planning to support.

Among them, the girl named Gillian was sweet and pleasant, and she made a very good impression on Cheng Long.

In front of that old friend, Cheng Long personally promised that if there is a suitable role in the next movie, he will strongly recommend it to the producer and director.

Originally, the role of Xiaoyu is quite suitable, and she is also the heroine in the animation. If the recommendation is successful, it will be enough to repay all the favors owed to the other party.

Unexpectedly, Jamie would come up with an open casting method, which would make Cheng Long unable to speak.

But this is actually just a coincidence.

One of the reasons why Jamie proposed an open casting call was that he was inspired by the casting of Harry Potter in his previous life.

Watching the young actors in the movie grow up one by one can make the audience have more feelings and identification with the entire series of movies.

Another reason is that Jamie's good-looking actress hasn't debuted yet.

If you go to the other party directly, many things cannot be explained. It is better to open the casting and attract the other party to take the initiative to sign up.

As for what Cheng Long thinks, Jamie doesn't care at all.

Cheng Long's next dinner was very tasteless at first.

Jamie, on the other hand, finished three large bowls of rice, while praising the delicious Chinese food.

In the second half of the meal, Cheng Long himself figured it out.

These are the rules of the game in Hollywood. They cannot be changed, they can only be adapted.

He couldn't get involved in character selection, but in terms of movie location, Cheng Long still suggested to Jamie whether he could consider Hong Kong Island more.

This time Jamie agreed happily.

After dinner, Cheng Long had to fly back to Los Angeles overnight.

After seeing Cheng Long off, Jamie received a call from an acquaintance as soon as he got in the car.

Ding Dong!

The doorbell rings.

Rebecca, who was doing yoga, stood up from the mat and walked quickly towards the apartment door.

Opening the door, Jamie was standing outside.

Rebecca stepped aside and invited Jamie into the house, closing the door and asking him what he would like to drink.

Jamie replied that coffee would be fine as he looked around at the apartment where Rebecca lived.

Rebecca walked into the kitchen and finally came out with an apologetic look on her face, holding an empty jar of coffee beans.

"I brewed the last coffee beans yesterday and forgot to buy them today."

Jamie shrugged and said that just have something to drink.

Rebecca opened the refrigerator and took a look, and finally took out two bottles of beer.

"That's all besides the milk, okay?"

Jamie asked rhetorically.

“Vegans also drink milk?”

Rebecca shrugged and replied:
“It depends on what kind of vegetarian you are. I am a lacto-vegetarian, which means you can drink milk and dairy products but don’t eat eggs. There are also lacto-ovo vegetarians who can eat eggs and white-meat vegetarians who can eat some white meat. By."

Taking one look at Rebecca's perfect figure outlined in her tight yoga clothes, Jamie thought he already knew why Rebecca had chosen to go lacto-vegetarian.

"Then just drink milk."

Rebecca had no choice but to turn around and get another carton of milk, pour a glass of milk and put it in front of Jamie.

Because she was at home, the neckline of Rebecca's yoga clothes was very low.

As soon as he bent down, Jamie had an unobstructed view of the scenery inside.

Jamie picked up the cup, took a sip of milk, and looked at Rebecca who sat down on the sofa opposite. "You came to me for other matters, right?"

"Today at noon, I received a call from my distant cousin. To be honest, I was quite surprised. The last time we met was at a family gathering three years ago. I really didn't expect that she would be here the next year. An Oscar-winning actress.”

Jamie shrugged and replied:
"Yeah, no one else who was at the Oscars that year expected it either."

Rebecca knew that Jamie was teasing her cousin about relying on public relations after winning movies, so she nodded and said:
"I thought that after she won the award, she would invite all family members to hold a celebration ceremony, but she did not do so. One relative even complained to my father that since someone became a movie queen, there has been no change in the family. Becoming unsociable.”

As a qualified listener, Jamie cooperated with a curious look.

"So why did she suddenly remember to call you?"

Rebecca shrugged and said bluntly:

"She's not here to see me, she's here to see you."

Jamie was really surprised this time.

"I?"

Rebecca handed over a piece of paper with a phone number written on it.

"She originally wanted to ask me for your phone number, but I think the decision on this matter should be yours, so I just promised that she would tell you about it."

Jamie took the note and glanced at it.

"Did she tell you that she wanted to see me for anything?"

Rebecca replied:

"She said that she was also entrusted by someone, and I only need to give you this phone number, and it will be considered a favor to her."

Jamie immediately thought of someone.

Harvey Weinstein, who helped Rebecca's cousin Gwyneth win the Oscar.

This is the time when this guy is at his most prosperous in Hollywood. At every Oscar, there will basically be a winner standing on the stage and adding a sentence like "Thank you Harvey" in his acceptance speech.

Considering this guy's final fate, Jamie certainly didn't want to have anything to do with him.

At the same time, Jamie was a little strange.

Harvey Weinstein has always focused on small and medium-budget films and various films that are competing for the Olympics. It stands to reason that this guy will not have any intersection with him.

Gwyneth only gave Rebecca the number and did not tell her who the other party was.

In order not to disturb Jamie's decision-making, she got up and returned to the yoga mat, continuing the unfinished movements before.

Jamie walked aside with his cell phone and dialed the number on the note.

He had already made up his mind that if Harvey Weinstein was on the other end of the phone, he would just say a few words and be done with it.

The call was connected, and the voice on the other end was a middle-aged man's voice.

"Jamie Dutton?"

Jamie wasn't sure if the voice was Harvey Weinstein, so he answered calmly.

"Yes, it's me."

Before Jamie could ask who the other person was, the other person took the initiative to give his name.

"I'm Michael Ovitz. I guess you may have heard of my name, but of course you may not. After all, in the eyes of many people, I am already an outdated figure."

Rebecca, who was on the yoga mat, had actually been secretly paying attention to the situation here. Seeing the look of shock and surprise in Jamie's eyes, she was also a little curious about who was on the other end of the phone.

But Rebecca was very sure of one thing, the person on the other end of the phone definitely had a good background.

"Wow, can I say this really surprises me? The famous founder of CAA, the most powerful man in Hollywood, so you are really Michael Ovitz?"

"If you're worried, we can meet. I'm in New York now."

The other party replied quickly.

Jamie thought about it carefully and finally refused.

"Okay, now I believe you are not lying. After all, not everyone can have the connections to find me through the cousin of an Oscar-winning actress. So Mr. Ovitz, do you have anything to do with me?"

Ovitz on the other end of the phone was also very direct.

"You must have guessed it, right? The purpose of my calling you is to ask if you need an agent?"

Jamie's answer was also straightforward.

"No, I think I'm past the stage where I need an agent to help me handle some things, and even if I have one, I have better options, right?"

If Jamie remembers correctly, Ovitz's agency will close down next year, so what he just said at the beginning of the phone call was not self-deprecating, but a true reflection of his own situation.

That's not to say that Ovitz was in dire straits, of course.

A person who was fired as president of Disney and still received a $1.2 million severance package has nothing to do with misfortune.

In fact, Michael Ovitz achieved complete financial freedom as early as the early 90s.

After helping Sony acquire Columbia and helping Panasonic acquire MCA, two acquisitions that were once considered impossible to succeed, Ovitz received at least hundreds of millions of dollars in commissions.

But US$1990 million in 1 is not the same concept as it is now.

By 1995, Ovitz, who founded and led CAA to success, had been named the most powerful man in Hollywood by the media for five consecutive years.

After becoming famous, he no longer faced any challenges in the agent business, so he readily accepted Disney's invitation and left CAA to become Disney's CEO.

But Ovitz only stayed in this position for less than fourteen months before he suffered the most painful backstab in his life.

He was fired by the Disney board of directors.

Ovitz was not discouraged and decided to return to CAA to make a comeback. As a result, CAA, which Ovitz founded, also rejected his return.

In anger, Ovitz decided to set up a new brokerage company.

As a result, CAA did not miss the old friendship and teamed up with other agencies to suppress Ovitz's new company.

Everyone's attitude is surprisingly consistent.

Ovitz is good, but better without him!

Now that a person like this, who has been collectively ostracized by the entire Hollywood, says on the phone that he wants to be Jamie's agent, normal people know how to make a choice.

Even Ovitz himself was not surprised by Jamie's rejection.

He immediately changed the question.

"Then you need a partner?"

As if he had anticipated that Jamie would reject him without hesitation, Ovitz immediately added another sentence.

"I am not planning to invite you to invest in my company. In fact, even I know that it is about to be finished. I am referring to CAA. You must be interested in controlling the most successful agency in Hollywood, right?"

Jamie asked cautiously.

"What do you mean?"

Ovitz on the other end of the phone immediately explained:
"I still have a portion of CAA's shares, about 1%. In addition, when I left CAA, Disney also purchased a portion of CAA's shares with my help. I can convince Disney to sell these shares at a suitable price. To you, the most important thing is that during the entire transaction, I will not charge any fees as before."

　I'm taking half a day off today, there's only one chapter left!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)