Leaving the chaotic rally on Skid Row, Leon and his team took a business van non-stop to the next stop—Los Gatos.
This small city is located south of San Francisco, in the famous Silicon Valley region.
"You look a little haggard." In the business van, Bonnie said while touching up her makeup.
During the rally just now, many veterans took advantage of the chaos to cop a feel.
"I didn't expect you to have such an embarrassing time." Phil took the opportunity to mock.
Leon quickly rubbed his head to cheer himself up.
He knew very well that he couldn't avoid rallies like today's in the future.
This was Charlie's way of using him, perhaps mixed with some elements of revenge.
Smack—
Leon slapped Bonnie on the butt without warning.
Bonnie was used to this, but since Phil was also in the car, a flush inadvertently crept onto her cheeks.
"I feel much better now~" Leon grinned.
Since dating Taylor, the quality of his nightlife had seriously declined.
Both of their schedules were very busy, especially Taylor, who spent few days in the US throughout July.
But fortunately, he received some mysterious pictures every night, including Taylor's long legs and Beyoncé's "taillights" (butt).
After entering the Silicon Valley area, the view became significantly broader.
The flat, wide roads and dense green belts signaled the standard of living here.
Leon put on his sunglasses, walked to a roadside coffee shop with Bonnie, and ordered two Americanos.
"Good afternoon sir, two Americanos, that'll be 15 dollars..."
"Thanks." Before the clerk could finish speaking, Leon threw down the money and turned to leave.
Under the surprised gaze of the clerk, Bonnie took out a 5-dollar tip.
Leon rolled his eyes. "Since when are you so generous? Looks like your channel revenue has been good recently."
"This is Silicon Valley. Like Manhattan, tipping is a contract here." Bonnie shook her head with a smile.
"What can I say? I wouldn't be surprised if cheap fast-food restaurants start charging tips one day," Leon said.
Simply looking at consumption power, Silicon Valley might have surpassed Manhattan now.
The wealth of old-school capitalists was accumulated over generations. Even with billions in wealth, they often showed Grandet-style stinginess.
However, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs were mostly nouveau riche. In the internet age, they accumulated wealth far faster than those bankers and factory owners.
In 2000, Netflix was still a DVD rental company.
The initial business model was renting movies by mail, which directly led to the mass death of traditional brick-and-mortar rental stores.
There were few physical DVD rental stores left on the market.
At that time, founder Reed Hastings had the idea of cashing out and running.
He wanted to sell the company to Blockbuster for 50 million dollars but was rejected.
This became an important turning point. In the following decade, Netflix focused on online channels and was now a streaming giant with a market value of tens of billions of dollars.
As soon as Leon returned to the car, he saw Phil open the stock software and point at the screen.
Coming to a place like Silicon Valley, the old geezer could hardly suppress his restless fantasy of being a stock god.
"Nvidia? A clumsy imitator of Intel... another chip company drawing big cakes to fool newbies into buying."
"Tesla? Fxxk... what kind of person would spend money on a large toy car? I'd rather ride the bicycle my grandma left from World War II."
While studying the K-line trend, Phil sprayed all over the emerging companies in Silicon Valley.
"Okay, shut up. I don't want to hear you analyze Netflix's stock in front of Scooter later," Leon reminded.
"You are full of prejudice against the stock market and never know what making big money means." Phil retorted: "In Silicon Valley, someone can easily swindle hundreds of millions of dollars in investment with a whimsical idea... some fool tried to set up a private company to develop a rocket that can be recycled and reused."
"Such an idiotic idea can actually receive large investments. These Silicon Valley freaks have gone completely crazy for money..."
In the interval of Phil's complaints, the group arrived at the Netflix headquarters building.
As soon as they entered the door, the receptionist in the lobby hurried to greet them: "Are you Mr. Leon?~"
"Yes, I have an appointment with Mr. Scooter," Leon said.
From her excited and shy state, it was easy to see that this woman was also his fan.
Leon skillfully took the marker from Bonnie and signed for the receptionist.
"Please follow me~" The receptionist accepted the signature with satisfaction and led the group to the conference room on the second floor.
The door of the conference room was not closed tightly, and Scooter's complaints could be clearly heard.
He seemed to be on the phone with someone.
"Listen, investing in original content is the strategic goal set by Hastings..."
"The fluctuation of the stock price is just pain; we will persuade the board to continue to increase the stakes!"
"Many people are staring at this track... The opponents we face now are HBO, FX... If we don't seize the opportunity now, we might face the damn Disney in the future! Those bastards want everything!"
Scooter's furious appearance made the receptionist dare not speak for a long time, only stunned in place and repeatedly apologizing to Leon and his party.
Thirty seconds later, Scooter's emotions eased. He turned his head and saw Leon.
"I have an important guest here; contact you later." Scooter hung up the phone and switched to a smiling face in a second.
"Welcome to Silicon Valley, Mr. Leon! You don't know how long we have been looking forward to this day!"
"I am also very happy to see you again." The two shook hands and exchanged pleasantries.
Soon, two young women in black business suits walked in holding documents; they seemed to be Scooter's assistants.
Both sides took their seats, and the negotiation officially began.
Before Leon could speak, Scooter first raised the movie issue he was more interested in: "Ready Player One. After you proposed this project, I spent two days reading that novel."
"What do you think?" Leon asked.
"Very potential, and very ambitious..."
Scooter did not spare his praise, which could actually be summarized in one sentence—"I think this project can make money!"
There are more than a billion active video game players worldwide. Even if many people have little free time for video games after entering the workforce...
Classics such as Mario, Pac-Man, Tomb Raider, etc., carry the memories of a generation of youth worldwide.
Just aiming at the huge nostalgic consumption market could create huge box office value.
Moreover, besides games, the script also involved superhero IPs, animation IPs, etc., which all have their own fan bases.
Scooter toyed with his pen and asked with interest: "How did you think of making this movie? I mean, this is a niche novel."
"I am a game fan myself. I call this movie [a love letter to every gamer]." Leon said.
"Why does this kid lie so smoothly?" Phil cursed secretly in his heart.
He had never seen Leon talk about any topics related to video games.
Smack—
Scooter slapped the table excitedly. "A love letter to every gamer~ This is simply awesome! Maybe it can be used as the movie's slogan!"
Looking at the other party's fanatical attitude, Leon agreed on the surface but was calculating how to skip this topic quickly.
If this movie was so easy to make, Warner Bros., holding the novel's copyright, would have started long ago.
To solve the IP copyright issues involved one by one, the cost would probably not be lower than producing a large amount of CGI special effects.
Leon hid a small thought here; he had no confidence in Netflix's streaming release model.
If it were a low-budget movie, it would be passable.
For a movie with an initial investment of tens of millions of dollars, the risk of not landing in theaters was too high.
"This movie seems to only stay in the conceptual stage for now," Leon said.
"Why?"
Leon spread his hands. "Spielberg is still interested in this novel. We might have a hard time persuading Warner to sell the novel's copyright to us."
"Damn..." Scooter was silent for a few seconds, then laughed proudly. "I will talk to the executives of Warner Bros."
Leon had nothing to say about this. The only problem involving the novel's copyright was money.
Netflix didn't lack money at all; it lacked content.
"What do you think about the production of a hip-hop talent show we talked about on the phone last time?" Leon turned the topic back to the right track.
The filming of Ready Player One was a long process.
Short term a year, long term maybe several years.
In comparison, the production of a talent show was much faster.
If the project establishment and promotion started in July and filming started in August, the first two episodes could be produced within August at the fastest.
Just in time to seamlessly take over The Voice.
Scooter's attitude was written on his face, his eyes casual. "Oh... I haven't reported this to Mr. Hastings yet. To be honest, I don't think it's a good idea..."
His thoughts were exactly the same as Phil's before.
Traditional talent shows cover all music types: classical, pop, rock, country, electronic...
Hip-hop music is just a small section.
Using a hip-hop talent show to compete with traditional talent shows is like fighting a duel with your legs tied.
It is difficult for a grassroots hero with a contrast like "Susan Boyle" to appear in the show.
"I regret that Netflix might miss the biggest wave of traffic this year." Leon quickly made up for it. "Think about what is the hottest event in the entertainment industry right now?"
Many answers flashed through Scooter's mind, including the scandal of Leon possessing a large amount of contraband last month.
After thinking twice, he said the answer in his heart: "Are you talking about Diddy's arrest?"
"Yes."
"This incident did happen very suddenly. No one expected Diddy to be arrested." Scooter rolled his eyes. "But Diddy is so rich; he will come out soon."
It is not surprising that rappers are promiscuous, but Scooter seriously underestimated the influence of this matter.
As the police continue to disclose details of the crime, the influence of this matter will grow.
"You have attended Diddy's parties; you must be familiar with his strange quirks."
"Imagine if the public knew these secrets, knew the secrets of Bieber, LeBron, DiCaprio at the party..."
Speaking of this, the corners of Leon's mouth rose forty-five degrees. "You should be able to imagine what the public's expression would be..."
Scooter's cold expression finally changed, his brows gradually smoothed, and there was light in his eyes.
If this matter continues to ferment, it will 100% become the focus of the whole United States and even the world.
At that time, the eyes of the melon-eating masses all over the world will be attracted by the promiscuous circle of the rap world.
After a brief excitement, Scooter regained his sanity and asked: "But will Diddy really be convicted? He is very rich; paying hundreds of millions of dollars in bail is no pressure for him."
In America, having money basically means not going to jail even if you commit a crime.
This concept is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people.
But it depends on who you offend.
Leon knew very well that offending the archangel under God's throne, Diddy would not have the possibility of seeing the light of day in the second half of his life.
The probability of him dying in a cell was obviously higher.
"In my opinion, there is no hope of bail for the felony he committed."
"Why are you so sure?"
"Don't you watch the news? Even JAY-Z has stood up to publicly cut ties with Diddy; doesn't this explain the problem?"
Seeing signs of Scooter's wavering thoughts, Leon pursued the victory and described the vision for this show.
He wanted to make a talent show that completely overturned the traditional rules of the game.
The gimmick of traditional talent shows lies in the contrast between the simple image of grassroots contestants and their heavenly voices;
Contestants suffering from terminal illnesses fighting adversity through music;
Bottom-level life achieving counterattack through talent shows, etc...
Although everything is scripted, what is conveyed is indeed full of positive energy.
The values Leon injected into The Rap of America were exactly the opposite.
Rebellion, violence, sex.
Indifferent attitude towards life, tethered and obscene living state, undisguised worship of money, unrestricted freedom.
These are the true core values of young Americans today.
"Go on..." Scooter held his breath, so much so that he didn't care about the cigarette ash falling on his pants.
Leon stood up and paced around the conference table while saying: "Remember we are a streaming show, so we have the ability to output some real images to the audience... overturn tradition, let them see something real, you know what young people are interested in."
If filmed according to this, this show would mostly be a paid R-rated program on traditional TV channels.
However, on the internet, there are far fewer censorship restrictions.
This is also why Leon was obsessed with cooperating with Netflix; only Netflix could let this show burst out its maximum potential.
His vision for The Rap of America was the messier, the better; the messier it was, the more it could leech off the traffic of Diddy's parties.
Ideally, create some interesting gossip news.
Such as real-life PK between contestants and judges;
A contestant sleeping with a judge's wife, the two meeting late at night to "do hair," and other melodramatic events.
"I think I understand your idea." Scooter instructed the female assistant aside: "Record every letter Mr. Leon said; I will use it when reporting to Mr. Hastings."
Leon cleared his throat and leisurely drank his coffee.
He had said everything he could say; the next step depended on Hastings' attitude.
If this proposal really couldn't interest the other party, he could only take the project to find those traditional TV channels for cooperation.
"I await your good news."
"Netflix looks forward to working with a genius like you!"
After shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries, Leon and his party left the Netflix headquarters building.
On the way back to the hotel, he scrolled through social apps.
The hot searches were still all content related to Diddy's party.
Just now, the NYPD spokesperson disclosed more details about Diddy's party, mainly targeting Cassie's revelations.
The police confirmed that part of Cassie's revelations during this period was true.
It set off a huge wave in public opinion.
"NYPD?" Leon lowered his head and smiled without saying a word.
This indicated that under Charlie's pressure, McMahon was no longer acting as Diddy's umbrella.
The news at the top of the hot search attracted Leon's attention; JAY-Z and Diddy appeared in this news headline at the same time.
Yesterday, a woman accused the two of violating her at a party in 2000.
She was still a young girl at that time.
The media confirmed the authenticity of this news through court channels.
"It seems JAY-Z can't attend to you at all; this matter is enough to give him a headache," Phil said.
Coincidentally, Beyoncé called suddenly at this time.
"Leon, I heard you are in Los Angeles, right?" Beyoncé's tone was very wrong, obviously affected by the hot search.
"Yes, how have you been recently?"
"I feel terrible..." Beyoncé sounded gloomy. "I knew Diddy had some secrets, but I never thought it would be like that... I never thought JAY-Z would be that shameless."
Leon comforted the other party with a gentle tone on the surface, but sneered constantly in his heart.
Your husband and Diddy were so close they almost got married; could you know nothing about those ugly things they did?
He had to put a big question mark on the authenticity of Beyoncé's words in his heart.
"This matter will pass soon..."
"No! Let that bastard go to hell!" Beyoncé's tone suddenly became excited. "Even entangled with so many troubles, he didn't forget to hang out with that btch Rihanna!"
"This..." Leon was speechless, not knowing what to say.
"Are you free now? I'm at home in Los Angeles; I need you very much..."
Women need comfort the most at such times; they have a huge emptiness to fill at this moment.
On the road of Leon's initial growth, Beyoncé had given him considerable help.
It was only right to repay her unsparingly now.
"Of course I'm free!"
After arriving at the Beverly Four Seasons Hotel, Leon drove Phil and others out of the car and immediately asked the driver to drive to Beyoncé's mansion not far away.
The grille gate of the garden was ajar, and there were no security personnel nearby.
He pushed open the grille gate and walked straight in, coming to the front of the mansion and knocking on the door.
Three seconds later, the door opened.
Beyoncé wore a black silk nightgown, supported only by a tie around her waist.
Two perfect semi-circular arcs on her chest were faintly visible.
Her lower body played the "missing bottom" trick directly, with only the corner of the nightgown slightly covering it.
Most of her slender and plump legs were exposed to the air, barefoot on the carpet.
This scene looked familiar to Leon, as if he had seen it in a movie produced by Brazzers.
Beyoncé leaned against the door with her head tilted, saying softly: "What are you waiting for, come in quickly..."
"I want it~"
Leon only felt his throat was terribly dry, accepting a western duel under the provocation of the Texas cowgirl.
Just then, JAY-Z, far away in New York, called.
"Damn it." Beyoncé didn't choose to hang up but answered generously.
Her unchanging heroic posture showed the calm composure of a Texas girl.
"Shxt..." Leon lay on the floor lighting a post-coital cigarette, his eyes empty.
Because Beyoncé's figure was relatively athletic, the consumption of every duel with her was huge.
"What are you thinking?" Beyoncé covered herself with the robe and lay on the carpet, following suit.
"Nothing, I mean, I'm sorry about what happened to Diddy; this is not the result I wanted."
Leon's words had an ulterior motive, intending to probe Beyoncé's true thoughts.
"It's none of your business." Beyoncé sighed softly. "He should have expected this day..."
Saying that, she nestled on Leon's chest: "We shouldn't talk about that guy at this time. Stringer told me you already have ideas for a new album?"
"That's right." Leon didn't intend to hide it; he already had two good works in his hand.
"Heard this album is your transformation work?"
"I want to try more music types."
Transformation is risky. If it weren't for the music types refreshed by inspiration not being fixed, no one would be willing to try transformation easily.
"I really hope there can be a collaboration track between us on this album."
"I will try hard..."
As soon as the voice fell, Beyoncé climbed onto Leon's body, in a condescending posture.
With a smirk on the corner of her mouth, "You can try harder now; maybe I will help you find inspiration."
"Shxt..." Leon was powerless to resist, his body hard-controlled by Beyoncé's magic.
The two tossed and turned until 11 o'clock late at night.
Leon dragged his exhausted body up from the carpet; Beyoncé beside him had fallen into a deep sleep.
He shook his head hard and went to the bathroom to rinse his face with cold water.
Just as his brain gradually cooled down, the melody refreshed by inspiration drilled into his cochlea.
All my friends are heathens, take it slow
Wait for them to ask you who you know
Please don't make any sudden moves
You don't know the half of the abused
The environment in the MV was dim. A neurotic man wearing an orange prison uniform walked through a long prison corridor under the escort of two detectives.
Leon caught a glimpse of Robbie in the MV, just like in the MV for Sucker for Pain.
With mismatched twin ponytails, super short hot pants, waving a baseball bat.
This indicated some connection between the two songs.
The MV played to the end, and the melody gradually stopped.
The screen froze on the work title—Heathens.