1994: I Became a Literary Master in America

Chapter 114 News about Wang Dajun

Chapter 116 News about Wang Dajun (4/5)

The film "Run Lola Run," written and directed by Chinese-American teenage prodigy Jeffrey Tsui, reportedly wrapped up filming yesterday.

Next, we will enter the intensive post-production phase.

Director Tsu revealed that "Run Lola Run" is expected to complete all post-production in January.

Producer Dani Ayrault stated that all post-production work, including the theme song and soundtrack, was completed independently by director Tsu.

According to sources, Hollywood star Richard Gere, known as the "American Gentleman" and "heartthrob," has received formal divorce papers from Cindy Crawford. The two were once Hollywood's most envied couple.

Cindy Crawford did not disclose the specific reasons for the divorce.

However, both parties are prepared to go to court. According to sources, the main disagreement between the two sides lies in the division of property.

Ms. Cindy Crawford is demanding a 60 percent share of Mr. Richard Gere's estate, which includes an 18,000-square-foot luxury villa in Beverly Hills and the dog that Mr. Richard Gere and she co-own.

The news of Richard Gere's divorce was finally revealed by the media, causing an uproar.

Some people support it, while others oppose it.

For example, Julia Roberts, during an interview, hurled insults at Cindy, calling her a "greedy bitch!"

She also received a lot of criticism for these remarks.

Xu Shengjie, wearing a bathrobe, made himself a cup of espresso and sat on the sofa in the living room, flipping through the newspaper.

Julia Roberts?

At this point, she was just "America's Sweetheart," not the future representative of the American spirit.

After all, although she has already starred in "Pretty Woman" and become famous because of it, the film that truly elevated her status and created her Hollywood stardom, "Erin Brockovich," hasn't even had a script outline yet.

Hmm————

This movie seems to be based on a true story.

After all, this real-life event only broke out last year, and it won't be settled until 96.

Therefore, even if Xu Shengjie were to take the initiative to contact the real-life figure Eileen now, he would most likely not get her permission.

Unless, of course, he is really famous.

Only with enough fame can one gain Eileen's approval.

Xu Shengjie felt that he needed to work even harder.

Because the real-life inspiration for Erin Brokwich was not a woman who could be easily fooled.

In the movie, Roberts plays Erin, a single mother who has gone through two divorces and has three children.

The poor woman, destitute and without work or future prospects, was teetering on the brink of death.

In reality, Eileen is an outstanding and very famous environmental activist, and also an expert in law, serving as a legal advisor for a major company.

Do you really think an ordinary housewife could easily get a $3.33 million settlement from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E)? That's $3.33 million in 96; if it were 25 years later, it would be worth at least $10 billion.

In the 1990s and around the turn of the millennium, we often heard some people say how Americans have a strong sense of the law.

It is common for individuals to win lawsuits against large conglomerates.

It sounds fair, but is it really?

All litigation actions are inevitably supported by a large organization behind the scenes.

Eileen's outcome was relatively good.

25 years ago, she was the president of Brockovich Research & Consulting.

Remember that old lady who sued Philip Morris, the company that produced Marlboro cigarettes? She sued Philip Morris because she believed her husband died from smoking.

As a result, they received a huge compensation.

and then?

Do you see any news reports about her?

Logically speaking, this shouldn't be the case. How could an old lady receive hundreds of millions in compensation and then disappear without a trace?

Many things are fine if you don't think about them, but they become terrifying when you think about them carefully.

We seem to have gone off on a tangent, let's get back on track!

Eileen is someone you can contact.

However, Xu Shengjie does not yet have the ability to confront the other party directly.

However, he could write a letter to express his support for Eileen.

The lawsuit began in 93 and ended in 96, during which Eileen herself was under tremendous pressure.

At this time, she desperately needs external support.

Xu Shengjie thought about it carefully and felt that there was still a considerable amount of room for maneuver.

I turned to the book section of the newspaper.

The latest weekly bestseller list is out.

Last week, sales of "Buffy" approached 29,000 copies, reaching fifth place on the weekly bestseller list; "Canal Street," thanks to Jason's efforts, saw sales surpass 20,000 copies, entering the top ten on the nonfiction bestseller list.

By this point, three weeks after its publication, Buffett's book had sold 70,000 copies, while "Canal Street" was approaching 50,000 copies.

That's a pretty good result!

Robert, in any case, had complete confidence in both books.

Jingle Bell!

The phone rang.

Xu Shengjie picked up the phone casually; it was Tony calling.

The script for "Buffy" is complete.

It's been almost a month since the end of September.

The script was primarily based on the original work, and Xu Shengjie also created a very detailed outline, making the writing process much easier for Tony and Tim. During this time, they focused on refining the details and dialogue to make the script even better.

"I'm off today, I'm not at the studio."

Okay, let's meet tomorrow and talk more then.

He hung up the phone, yawned, and got up to go back to his room for another nap.

Five and a half weeks of intense work left him physically and mentally exhausted.

The editing room arrangements have been finalized; Dani Ayrault has booked an editing room for him at the Manhattan Film Center in New York.

This is the editing base most favored by independent filmmakers in New York.

Woody Allen and John Sells usually do their editing work here.

The equipment here is very professional, and there are also very professional people assisting—Xu Shengjie, a newcomer, wouldn't normally be able to apply for an editing studio like this. But Danny has a wide network of connections, and Woody also put in a good word for him.

To put it bluntly, this editing base is a property of DGAE.

Dan Petrie made another call, and it was approved without any problems.

I'll rest for two days and take care of some miscellaneous tasks.

The novel about Mulan needs to be accelerated, and preparations for Tomb Raider also need to begin.

It seems like the workload keeps piling up. But Xu Shengjie, who spent six or seven years in a hospital bed in his previous life, finds joy in it.

But I'm really tired, I'll go take a nap first.

He went into the bedroom and had just lay down on the bed when the doorbell rang.

Xu Shengjie was a little unhappy. He shuffled out in his slippers, saying as he went, "Coming, coming, who is it!"

The door opened, and a scream suddenly came from outside.

"What are you yelling for? I'm fully clothed!"

"But you—"

Zhou Wenqiong covered her eyes, but the gaps between her fingers were a little large.

"That's so rude!"

"Big sister, I'm sleeping!"

Xu Shengjie was only wearing a bathrobe over his clothes, with boxer briefs underneath.

His robe was open, revealing his bulging chest muscles.

"Old Hu, what brings you here? Come in and sit down. I'm going to change my clothes so that someone doesn't take advantage of me."

"Who took advantage of you, Jeffrey? Explain yourself."

"You, it's you, Miss Lan Yun."

"Fuck you!"

"Come on, whoever doesn't come is a puppy."

Xu Shengjie didn't stand on ceremony and bantered with Zhou Wenqiong as he walked into the bedroom.

Hu Jun stood to the side, looking slightly embarrassed.

However, this is an internal personnel matter for the company, and as an outsider, he shouldn't interfere.

Zhou Wenqiong and Hu Jun entered the room and closed the door behind them.

"Jeffrey, it's almost eleven o'clock, why are you still sleeping!"

"I woke up once, but I didn't get enough sleep—wait, it's Friday! Vivian, you didn't skip class, did you?"

"The teacher is absent today."

"Your school's curriculum is really easy."

"It's just a preparatory course, and the school also hopes that we will participate in more social activities, which will help us integrate into American society."

Zhou Wenqiong asked Hu Jun to sit down and then expertly helped tidy up the worktable.

Are you writing a new book?

"yes!"

"Is the female lead of Chinese descent this time? Hmm, she looks kind of familiar."

Xu Shengjie changed his clothes, came out of the bedroom, and snatched the illustration from Zhou Wenqiong's hand.

That's right, the female protagonist in the illustration is based on a real person.

Mulan was created based on the character Zhao Ling'er from the 2005 TV series "Chinese Paladin".

That was Zhou Wenqiong's niece.

He's only seven years old!

Their appearances are certainly very different, but some details are still somewhat similar.

Xu Shengjie glanced at her and said, "This was created based on you—"

"You're kidding me, I'm prettier than her."

Zhou Wenqiong appeared very confident.

It seems to be like this —

In the future, someone will admit that her aunt is much prettier than her!

"What story is this?"

"Mulan!"

"what?"

Zhou Wenqiong didn't react for a moment.

It was Hu Jun who spoke up: "Hua Mulan from the Ballad of Mulan?"

"Yes."

"Is this for Americans?"

"yes!"

"Do Americans really enjoy reading our stories?"

"As long as it's a good story, as long as it reflects universal values, the core is the same, transcending national boundaries."

"Hmm!"

Mr. Hu seemed to understand, but not quite.

Xu Shengjie laughed and said, "Besides, how will we know the foreigners don't like it if we don't try?"

"Ah, that makes sense."

"Vivian, brew some tea. The tea leaves are in the freezer; they're this year's pre-Qingming Longjing."

"You still have this good stuff? Hehe, it's been a long time since I've had authentic Longjing tea."

Zhou Wenqiong immediately ran into the kitchen excitedly.

"What brings you here today? Is something the matter?"

Xu Shengjie gestured for Hu Jun to sit down, while he himself sat in the chair in front of the worktable.

"It's nothing, I mainly came to express my gratitude. Thank you for letting me participate in this filming; I learned a lot from it."

'

"You're too kind, brother."

"I'm going back to China."

"what?"

"I'm mainly here to experience life. I've been here for about half a year now, so I need to go back and prepare."

"At the same time, there's something else I want to tell you."

"What?"

Hu Jun hesitated for a moment, then said softly, "Do you still remember Wang Dajun?"

>