novelraw Chapter 279
Chapter 279
Lucy Spiller is a mature woman with long black curly hair, wearing a one-piece black slim dress, which at first glance looks a bit like Courteney Cox, one of the stars of "Friends" , but that fierce elite temperament is very different.
"He wants to block me." Josie said briefly, "You party host is too perfunctory. To be honest, I can't see what you look like."
"Don't pay attention to these details, anyway, except you, no one will notice whether I chose "X Files" or "Seinfeld"." Lucy Spiller shrugged and greeted Jim: "See Glad to see you, Mr. Stewart, I'm Lucy Spiller, editor-in-chief of NOW USA."
Jim, who has always been a wallflower, said, "Good night, Ms. Spiller, I heard someone mention your magazine. It is said that it is the first-hand source of information for people in the Hollywood industry."
Lucy Spiller raised her eyebrows and said with a faint smile: "I'm glad your friend didn't confuse my magazine with the National Hearing News. I can't talk about first-hand sources, but in the city there is only Our news is the most authentic, because we have informants all over Hollywood. By the way, if you have any news for me, call this number anytime, and I will respond accordingly."
As she spoke, Lucy Spiller took out a business card with only a phone number printed on it from her small handbag.
Jim was a little puzzled, and habitually looked at Josie beside him to ask for her opinion.
Josie gave him a faint smile, and Jim took the business card with satisfaction. This was because he was unfamiliar with Hollywood, and he couldn't help being more cautious about everything here.
He seems to have been led to open a brand new door, rich and luxurious, feasting and feasting, a Hollywood after stripping off the halo of film art.
After the brief conversation with Lucy Spiller, another group of insiders came over to say hello. Most of them were very friendly, and some even vowed to invite Jim to audition.
But, Hollywood.
It's okay to listen to this kind of polite talk.
It's like Josie, in most cases, will also kindly tell everyone: "Yeah, this project sounds good, I will find the time to read the script... Oh, I hope too There is an opportunity for us to work together, but I'm afraid I don't have the right schedule."
Look, sometimes the way of talking about projects and work in this circle is not much different from doing business. Everyone adheres to the way of making money with harmony, except for some outliers who do not follow the common values.
Like Harvey Weinstein.
He is a complete asshole, but for Hollywood, his "asshole" is not bullying or even committing crimes, but not playing by the rules.
This is exactly the other side of Hollywood that cannot be sun-drenched.
"Great, Josie, you're here!"
Tom Freston, the CEO of Paramount Pictures, walked towards Josie with a clear goal.
After Shirley Lansing resigned, Viacom recruited the co-president to parachute to Paramount. At first, even Tom Freston thought it was just a temporary transition. half a year.
So now he is assigned to the frontier, and if he doesn't make any achievements, it is conceivable that he will have no chance to return to the parent company.
Josie is hardly familiar with Tom Freston, and the relationship with Paramount was once stiff because of what Shirley Lansing did, but this obviously does not prevent the newly appointed CEO of Paramount from treating her very well. With enthusiasm.
"Hello, Tom." Josie nodded politely.
"I've seen the sample of "Mission: Impossible 2". To be honest, your performance has added too much color to this movie." Tom Freston seemed not to notice Josie's indifference, "I assume you have seen The information on "Tomb Raider" is over, are you interested in playing the sexiest explorer in the history of the game? Our cooperation has always been very pleasant, and this project is tailor-made for you."
Since winning the copyright of this very popular game adaptation in recent years, Paramount has begun to choose the most critical heroine for "Tomb Raider".
The first ones to enter the list are of course several female stars who are currently popular in Hollywood, such as Josie Horton, Demi Moore, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Gwyneth Paltrow and others.
Among them, Josie Horton is the absolute first choice, because she just won an Oscar this year, and the action movie "The Trap" is also a hit in theaters and home entertainment markets, and The professional rating of "Fight Club" is not very good, but the audience's word-of-mouth is amazing. The follow-up box office continues to rise, and it has become a popular topic on campus.
Although Demi Moore was once the queen of blockbusters, her popularity has been declining since she took over "Striptease", and then she rushed to "Devil Private", which looks very good. Major film companies hesitated to find her as the heroine of a commercial film.
As for others, the box office appeal may not be as good as Demi Moore.
But the problem is that Josie Horton herself seems to have no interest in playing the game heroine Lara Croft, even though Paramount offered her agent Martha Miller a whopping $2000 million - which is a Hollywood It is the only treatment among the female stars, almost catching up with Tom Cruise, another superstar with close cooperation with Paramount.
How long has Tom Cruise been famous, and how long has Josie Horton been famous?
What's more, female celebrities are inherently inferior in the circle.
Therefore, Paramount's high price did not include even a 1% share, which made Martha Miller only mention it to Josie, and then lost interest in this project.
Josie has too many choices now, there is no need to stereotype herself as a sexy hit girl, not to mention that the cooperation with Paramount has not been very pleasant.
But out of politeness, Josie still told Tom Freston tactfully: "I'm not sure yet, Tom, my schedule is very tight, but if you can write the script, I will read it as soon as possible. Make a decision."
"Of course, of course." Tom Freston didn't expect Josie to agree immediately. In fact, due to some historical issues, she was willing to read the script before thinking about it, which was already unexpected.
——After all, everyone knows that this popular actress is very vengeful.
He seemed to see Jim next to Josie just now, and said, "Wow, you must be Mr. Stewart, I've seen your movie, my God, your performance is incredible!"
From Tom Freston's sincere tone, it was almost impossible to tell that he only knew the name of the foreign actor "Jim Rose Stewart" 5 minutes before he came.
But due to the natural sensitivity of the artist, Jim still sensed why the exaggerated compliment came from, and only shook hands out of courtesy, "Oh, thank you, sir."
"You're a good actor, you deserve it." Tom Freston didn't even introduce himself, and immediately turned to Josie and continued, "Well, we've agreed, Josie, I'll get someone to give you the script as soon as possible !"
"Okay, I'll watch." Josie perfunctorily left alone.
When Tom Freston was gone, Josie couldn't help but sighed, looking a little troubled.
Seeing her like this, Jim gently hooked the corners of his lips and gave a chuckle.
Josie raised her face with helplessness: "Are you laughing at me?"
"Okay—" Jim imitated her tone just now, couldn't help laughing again, and said, "I was wondering how many times you said 'well, I'll see' tonight."
"No way, this is Hollywood." Josie pinched the bridge of her nose, then looked at Jim again, "It's boring tonight, isn't it?"
"Would you like to hear the truth or the lie?" asked Jim, resting his arms on the table.
"Well, I've got the expected answer." Josie shook her head and laughed, and said, "Wait a minute, I've figured out how to express my apology—for this boring party."
Before Jim could answer, she jumped off the high stool, went to the bar and whispered something to the bartender, then faced Jim and asked, "Guest, what would you like to drink?"
Jim couldn't help laughing, his sparkling eyes went from Josie's velvet dress of a famous retro actress to her well-manicured Veronica Lake hairstyle, and finally fell into a pair of sly and beautiful blue eyes.
It's amazing.
The sweet and elegant ladylike upbringing can be intertwined with the unrestrained artist temperament to form such a beauty that always surprises people.
Is this a gift from God, or his luck?
Jim pondered for a moment, then said cooperatively: "Ma'am, please give me a Mojito."
"No problem." Josie took off her long gloves, washed her hands, and started her performance.
Fresh mint leaves are added to the glass and stirred five times, followed by adding crushed ice, lime juice, syrup and rum, stirring quickly until the ice cubes are half melted, and the glass wall is frozen with frost, and then the glass is filled with crushed ice. Garnish with a sprig of mint leaves, and you're done with a refreshing yet classic mojito.
Josie wiped her hands and pushed the Mojito towards Jim: "Try?"
Jim watched the preparation process with a smile on his face, and of course he would not refuse at this time.
He first carefully examined the appearance of the glass of wine, and sighed: "What should I do, this is the first time a girl invites me to drink the wine she personally mixed, and I really don't want to finish it."
"Is it really the first time?" Josie asked after washing her hands.
"Yes." Jim looked up at her, his ice blue pupils were not obvious under the light here, leaving only two spots of lacquer, "It's strange, I don't want to lie to you, even though I know some problems The answer is not standard."
"That's fine. I like it," Josie said, "but I'm sure the wine's mission is to be drunk, not to melt in the air."
Jim laughed and raised his glass: "Well, to its mission."
Josie also washed her hands again, and returned the seat to the bartender.
She asked the other party to pour a little tequila for herself, sat in the original position, and slowly put back the matching long gloves.
"Do you think I'm a bad woman?" Josie asked suddenly.
"Huh?" Jim was taken aback for a moment, then shook his head when he realized it, "No. I was just wondering, would such a life be very hard?"
"Occasionally it's fun." Josie said, propping her chin up with one hand, tilting her head to look at Jim who was sipping lightly beside her, "Just like just now, I can indulge my bad temper and slap that bastard all over the face." wine, isn't it?"
But Jim put down his glass, turned his head to meet her eyes, and said softly: "With all due respect, I would rather the world treat you softly than force you to make yourself stronger and stronger."