hunt hollywood

Generous children are always easier to please, not to mention that Linda just said that Simon is optimistic about this girl, and all the big guys look amiable. Robert Redford listened to the girl's self-introduction, smiled and asked some questions. He decisively stated that he could find time to arrange a formal audition for her, and also told the girl how to prepare, read the original "The Horse Whisperer" and so on.

After a brief chat, Linda got up, took the little girl and her agent away, and came to the backyard again.

Taking a glass of red wine from the passing waiter, Linda took a sip, stood by a flower bed with few people, and said to the two who followed closely: "The Horse Whisperer is a best-selling book published last year. Bo likes this story very much and plans to direct and act in it. Daenerys Films has approved the project. The role of the little girl Grace is very important, so this is just an audition opportunity. If Scarlett’s performance during the audition process If it doesn’t meet the standard, Simon will not agree. So, you should prepare carefully next, and then wait for me to notify you of the audition time.”

Scott Lambert agreed again and again, hesitating for a while, but he couldn't hold it back, and asked tentatively: "Ms. Vargos, you just said...Mr. Westeros, um, is very optimistic about Scarlett?"

Linda didn't answer, but just glanced at Lambert meaningfully, took out her wallet, chose a business card and handed it over, and said, "It's my office number, Scott, I hope you can Understand, if it's not related to Scarlett, don't make this call casually."

The woman in front of him didn't answer directly, but Scott Lambert understood it completely. He took the business card calmly and assured him again and again: "Ms. Vargas, don't worry, I will definitely take good care of Scarlett."

Linda nodded slightly, turned to the little girl again, reached out and rubbed the girl's head, and said softly: "Little lucky thing."

Turn around and leave.

There was never much explanation, but Linda was sure that the agent should have understood.

Speaking of it, in fact, my boss didn't express much interest in the little girl just now, but occasionally mentioned a few words during the casting process, and personally confirmed that the role was given to the little girl.

However, the attitude is different after all.

Linda also took it to heart.

To be able to hold her own position by her boss's side for so many years, Linda relies on constantly thinking about someone's thoughts, and quietly helping her boss arrange certain things, there is always nothing wrong.

Although the girl is very young now, Linda doesn't feel anything wrong.

Not to mention that his boss has always been very measured, but the power he possesses at this time, even if it really crosses the line, is nothing at all. Some things are not uncommon in Hollywood, if not common at all.

This is actually the second one.

When "The Conjuring 2" was filmed in the UK, there was also a little girl named Keira Knightley who was spotted by her boss, she was a good embryo.

Therefore, it was also quietly arranged by Linda.

Watching Linda Vargus leave, Scott Lambert fantasized about his bright future, the smile on his face couldn't be suppressed, and looking at the girl beside him, she was simply his lucky star.

Although, it's a little small, but so what.

Even if he can't directly get any dividends from the little girl in the short term, just relying on the business card left by Linda Vargas just now, he can try to poach some well-known clients to his name. I believe that woman just now can't Let yourself be a babysitter for nothing, and always give some benefits.

This is the opportunity.

After a little calculation, Scott Lambert made up his mind. Seeing that the girl next to him was staring at her with a pair of green eyes as if she clearly understood something, he raised his hand and wanted to imitate Linda Vargus' rubbing like that just now. With a flick of her head, her arms were raised and subconsciously retracted.

Now this is my aunt, so I have to sacrifice.

So he showed a gentle smile, and said to the little girl, "Scarlett, let's discuss it. How about not telling your mother about this?"

The girl rolled her eyes and said, "About Simon Westeros liking me?"

Whether he likes it or not, Scott Lambert is really not sure. After all, there are so many women around Westeros, and this girl is still so young, she does not meet the rumored taste of Simon Westeros at all. .However, what is certain is that the little girl knows everything in her heart, so it is much easier to handle, so she nodded and said: "Yes, if you want to become a big star, it's best to keep this matter secret, because your mother may keep it secret." fuck up."

The little girl thought for a while, then nodded: "Okay, Scott, but, if this is the case, what should I do about the dental work?"

"It's very simple. It's the request of the film crew of "The Horse Whisperer."

The girl nodded, but said again: "But, orthodontic surgery should be very expensive, my mother must not be able to afford it."

"It's not a problem, we'll figure it out."

After discussing with one big and one small, they quickly made up their minds.

The unexpected surprise made the two of them less interested in the party. After all, this place is not the circle of the two of them, and after less than half an hour, they left early.

Scarlett Johansson lived in the Ocean Park area south of Santa Monica, and her manager drove the girl home after nine o'clock.

Melanie Sloan opened the door, saw her daughter happily throwing herself into her arms, hugged her quickly, and then looked at the agent standing outside the door: "Scott, I'm really sorry for your trouble," she said holding The daughter turned sideways slightly: "Please come in and sit down."

"It's okay, this is what I should do."

There happened to be something to talk about, and upon hearing Melanie's invitation, Scott Lambert walked in the door with a smile.

This is the second floor of a common two-story apartment in Los Angeles. It is not big, and the living room of a family of five suddenly becomes more crowded.

The agent probably knows the situation of this family.

Melanie Sloan is a single mother who used to be in the New York film industry. She divorced her husband two years ago and moved to Los Angeles for the development of her children's acting career.

Speaking of which, this kind of thing is very common in the circle.

Single and divorced mothers, their star dreams are shattered and their sustenance is transferred, or they hope that their children will become famous and change their lives, so they take their children to live in Los Angeles and tirelessly look for opportunities. Among them, the most typical and controversial one is undoubtedly Brooke Jr. silk mother.

However, this is mainly the reason why Brooke Shields became famous later.

In the circle, in order to make the child stand out, not to mention sending her 10-year-old daughter to take nude photos like Brooke Shields’ mother, there are countless more outrageous things, but ordinary people don’t know about it.

Scott Lambert also signed three of Melanie Sloan's four children because of the introduction of acquaintances in New York. He was more optimistic about Scarlett's sister Vanessa and brother Adrian Unexpectedly, it was the little girl who was the least optimistic that unexpectedly gave him the biggest surprise.

When Scott entered the door, the other three children who had been poking their heads also greeted him one after another.

Scott Lambert greeted patiently and looked at Vanessa Johnson inadvertently. The girl is 16 years old this year and is the eldest of four children. Compared with her mother who is less than 1.6 meters tall, she probably inherited her father's genes The girl is already 175 cm tall, and her face is much prettier than her younger sister Scarlett, and she even has the potential to be a supermodel.

It's a pity that there is no shortage of beautiful girls in Hollywood. Even if she has a mother who has been involved in the film industry, Vanessa Johnson is much worse than her sister in terms of qualifications and opportunities.

However, looking at Scarlett as thin and small again, some faint thoughts flashed in the manager's heart.

Scott Lambert sat down on the sofa in the living room, took a glass of water from Vanessa graciously, took a sip politely, and saw that Scarlett couldn't wait to talk about "The Horse Whisperer" with his mother And Melanie Sloan looked over in surprise, joy and disbelief, and nodded with a smile.

"Yes, we met Mr. Redford tonight. This is another new film he is about to direct and star in, financed by Daenerys Entertainment. And, according to... a casting director, this This time is a very important role, if she can play it well, Scarlett will definitely become the most popular child star."

Melanie Sloan hugged her daughter, thought for a while and said: "The Horse Whisperer, I seem to have heard of it, a bestseller published last year, but I don't know the content yet, by the way, Scott, Sloane Are you sure you got the role?"

"Not yet, an audition is needed," Scott said, seeing Melanie Sloan showing a disappointed expression, he added: "However, since we were personally introduced to Mr. Redford by the person in charge of casting, the party We had a very pleasant chat online, and Scarlett has great hopes. You just need to prepare well, first of all, you have to watch "The Horse Whisperer". In addition, the person in charge of casting also suggested that Scarlett have some orthodontic surgery .”

Hearing this, Melanie Sloan showed worry again: "Orthodontics, this kind of surgery should be very expensive, I'm afraid... By the way, Scott, if you can get the role, this time Scarlett's How much is the salary likely to be?"

"It's definitely enough for Scarlett to correct. However, even if you get the role, the salary will definitely not be available in the short term," Scott said, seemingly hesitating for a while, and then looked at this simple rental apartment, and finally said: "This way Come on, Melanie, if you want, I can lend you a sum of money in my own name, and when Scarlett gets her film salary in the future, just pay me back."

"This……"

Melanie Sloan was hesitant. She didn't understand why her agent was so kind all of a sudden, and she was a little worried that she would not be able to pay back.After all, dentists in the United States are notoriously expensive. An orthodontic surgery can cost as little as several thousand dollars, and as much as there is really no upper limit. In this country, a person’s family background can often be judged by the quality of his teeth.

Just as he was hesitating, Melanie Sloan quickly softened when she felt her daughter grabbing her arm and shaking it.

If you are in debt, you are in debt.

As long as the daughter can become famous, she will definitely be able to earn it back easily.Even if it's a big deal, ask your parents or ex-husband to help.

After making up her mind, Melanie Sloan nodded to her agent, not forgetting to keep an eye out, hoping that her daughter's participation in that movie would be more promising.

Otherwise, you can do surgery or not.

The agent just wanted a certain little girl to owe him a favor, so of course he didn't care about these details, he nodded and agreed, and began to chat with Melanie in detail about the next preparations.

Chapter 1066 Change Strategy

The helicopter landed in a seaside manor at the easternmost end of East Hampton. David Rubinstein, the head of the Carlyle Group, got off the helicopter, subconsciously raised the collar of his windbreaker in the cold wind blowing from the wings, and looked around. The manor is surrounded by all kinds of evergreen plants, and even the lawn under his feet is still green. It is not at all desolate in winter in many other mansions in the Hampton area. Even though he himself is not poor at all, he still can’t help it. There was a bit of hatred for the rich.

Behind the maintenance of such a manor is money.

Moreover, this is just one of the many estates in Westeros in the Hampton area.There have been media reports that just because of someone's own large-scale buying, in recent years, housing prices in many popular wealthy areas across the United States have skyrocketed.

Two Weijia maids in uniform came to greet them. David Rubinstein quickly put away these thoughts, simply greeted one of the tall and tall girls with an Eastern European face, and followed her towards the English-style villa not far away. go.

Entering the warm spring villa, David Rubinstein was taking off his thick windbreaker and handing it to a lady, when a woman laughed faintly.

Obviously more than one.

Curiosity in the heart, after all, only curiosity.

I was taken to a reception room next to the hall, and the Eastern European girl delivered the coffee herself while explaining that her boss was changing clothes and would be there soon.

Of course, David Rubinstein had no objection, it was because he came a few minutes earlier.

Simon soon appeared, wearing a beige long-sleeved T-shirt and khaki trousers, with slippers on his feet, and his hair was still a little wet. It was not difficult to imagine what the other party was doing just now, and Rubinstein couldn't help but imagine the interior of the villa The possible fragrance of spring in the bath.

Damn super rich!

After the greeting, the two had just sat down on the sofa when the Eastern European girl appeared again, followed by another waitress, holding a towel and slippers, walked up to her boss, gestured for the towel in her hand, and said softly: " Boss, Ms. Davis will be very angry when she says that it is easy to catch a cold."

Simon nodded.

The Eastern European girl walked behind her boss and gently dried the man's hair with a towel. Another waitress came to Simon's feet and knelt down, took off the plastic slippers on his feet, and dried them with a towel first. , just put on a pair of cotton slippers that I just brought in.

David Rubinstein and the two waitresses left after finishing all this, feeling numb and suspicious of life.I have been working as a trapeze person for more than half of the last month. During the short sleep of a few hours every day, I never forget to think about company affairs in my dreams. Is it possible that I am contributing to the wealth and gentleness of others?

Simon didn't have the time to think about the complex thoughts of the fund manager. When the two of Carmen left, he asked directly, "How is the result of this trip to China?"

Today is February 11st, Sunday.

In the past week, David Rubinstein returned to China again and officially started the negotiation of some investment projects.

When David Rubinstein heard Simon's question, he quickly cheered up, took out a stack of documents from the briefcase he was carrying, and handed one of the black folders to Simon. While opening his memo, he said, "It's very Well, this time we hired a team from Goldman Sachs as a financial advisor, and have already started the financial review and asset restructuring of XCMG. In addition, Sany Heavy Industry's joint venture negotiations, 35% of the shares are basically finalized, and the current see-saw is only the investment amount. There is also the Liugong Group in Guangxi Province that the boss selected last time, and the feedback from the other party is also very positive.”

XCMG and Sany were the targets selected by Rubenstein during his trip to China in October, and this time they began to officially advance.

Liugong Group is a company that Simon personally finalized after agreeing with Chen Qing's plan to raise Gu. Apart from the fact that this company ranks at the forefront of the industry in memory, there is another reason that Simon occupies an area in Yangshuo. At the top of the mountain, I have been looking forward to it for several years, and I always want to give back to a big project.

Since it is necessary to raise Gu, the three families are certainly not enough, but it is useless to rush in this regard, we must take our time.

Simon flipped through the information in his hand, and asked again: "The Perkins engine company in the UK, how is your team's contact?"

David Rubinstein said: "I have assembled an investigative team and started collecting information on Perkins Engines. If everything goes well, we can launch it early next year."

Perkins Engine Company is a world-renowned diesel engine company, and for many construction machinery, diesel engines are also the top priority. China has been able to produce its own engines at this stage, but many high-power construction machinery engines still need to be imported.

This involves another strategy of the Westeros system to lay out the construction machinery industry.

At the very beginning, according to everyone's assumption, they hoped to introduce overseas construction machinery technology into China with Carlyle's capital as the leading factor, so as to boost the development of related industries.

During this period of time, I tried some contacts and found that it didn't work.

At this stage, heavy industry companies in Japan, South Korea, Europe and the United States basically have a layout in China, but at the same time, they are basically not optimistic about the development of related industries in China.

As for the reason, it is still the arrogance and prejudice in the bones. This kind of arrogance and prejudice in North America is even worse. So far, only Caterpillar has set up branches in China among the major construction machinery giants in the Federation. Others such as Case, Deere , Dreiser and other companies have either not set foot in it at all, or they are just dispensable sales companies.

Since Carlyle is not optimistic about it, Carlyle took the initiative to pay for the front line. It should be a good plan for these companies to provide some technology, right?

Or not.

Even some second-tier and third-tier construction machinery companies that cannot make ends meet, in the process of contacting Carlyle, they basically treasure their own broom while asking for prices, and the conditions offered are difficult for people to accept.

As a result, Simon felt for the first time the profound contradiction that American financial capital and industrial capital were doomed to be irreconcilable.

That being the case, Simon, who had been paying attention to this matter personally during this period, decisively changed his strategy after discussing with the Carlyle team.

The first is on the Chinese side.

The layout continues, or acquisitions, or shares, first use money to open the way. After all, construction machinery is not an automotive industry with several levels of higher technical requirements. As long as there are templates and no shortage of funds, with China's own research and development capabilities, most products can be done gradually.

Secondly, of course, there are things that cannot be done.So, what China lacks, Carlyle will help buy it.

The British Perkins Engine Company was Carlyle's first target.

Most construction machinery uses diesel engines. China has been able to produce diesel engines for a long time, but the technical level is difficult to meet the needs of many construction machinery. This is the shortcoming of most construction machinery giants in China.

On the other hand, compared with the United States, the decline of heavy industry in the United Kingdom is even worse. Over the years, it has been selling off, which gave Carlyle an opportunity.

Moreover, the current market value of Perkins Engine Company is only about US$10 billion, and even if the premium that may be encountered in the acquisition is included, it will definitely not exceed US$15 billion.

Simon has only prepared US$10 billion for investment in China's construction machinery field. Now, it seems a bit uneconomical to spend more than one billion US dollars for an engine company.

Of course not.

First of all, this money is of course not fully borne by the Westeros system.

Simon's current capital layout goal basically focuses on penetration and control through sharing, and does not pursue complete interests. Therefore, in each project, Simon only intends to occupy 30% to 50% of the equity.

Secondly, Perkins Engine Company is still the engine supplier of many large construction machinery giants in the world, such as Caterpillar. Unsatisfactory.

According to the proposed plan, after buying this company, Carlyle will close the high-cost factories of Perkins Engine Company in Britain, the United States and other places, and transfer manufacturing to China in order to greatly reduce production costs. Develop new customers in China.

When the company regains its vitality, it will be a very cost-effective business whether it continues to hold it or re-list for cash. At the same time, it can also assist the layout of China's construction machinery industry in the Westeros system.

This is of course an ideal state.

However, due to cost reasons, related industries have shifted to China, which is the overall trend in the global construction machinery field.

It is expected that after the turn of the millennium, global construction machinery giants will flock to China.What Simon is doing now is to plan ahead and take the lead.At that time, when other giants react, the Westeros system has been able to establish an industrial barrier through its own layout, and divide as much as possible the dividends of this part of the industry.

While Simon carefully looked through the documents in his hand, he discussed various details with Rubinstein, and before he knew it, more than half an hour had passed.

As the meeting was coming to an end, Simon closed the folder he had flipped through twice, and said to Rubinstein: "One more thing, you know I have a lot of investments in Ukraine, let's not talk about that. We all know that the former Soviet Union The foundation of heavy industry is actually very strong, and a large part of it has been inherited by Ukraine. I want you to contact my manager in Ukraine, Celia Miller, to set up a team in the near future to collect the technology and talents we need in Ukraine, and then Transfer to China. Just like the Black Sea Shipyard in Odessa, as the aircraft carrier manufacturing base of the former Soviet Union, the port machinery involved will be very useful to Xugong, which we are negotiating with, and can even become our bargaining chip. There are mining machines in Donetsk, in short, you operate these yourself, I only look at the results."