"I didn't expect you to be a Harry Potter fan too," Beyoncé said. "That wand is beautiful. Congratulations on getting it."
Few people would have imagined that Leon, who had been shrouded in a street aura since his debut, would be a die-hard fan of a teenage fantasy movie.
For Leon, buying the Elder Wand was more of an investment. Seeing such a good item indeed touched some collector's itch in his heart.
Thirty minutes later, the auction officially ended.
The Elder Wand became the top lot of the night with a transaction price of $1 million.
During the cocktail party segment, according to the convention of charity dinners, the most generous donor of the night would receive the highest level of treatment.
As soon as Jeff walked off the stage, he raised his glass and headed straight for Leon.
"Mr. Leon, thank you for your contribution to African children."
"It's what I should do." Leon noticed a middle-aged man of average build following Jeff and couldn't help but look him up and down.
Noticing Leon's gaze, Jeff pulled the man over and introduced him: "This is director Zack Snyder. You should be familiar with his reputation."
Zack was a low-key Hollywood director.
Hearing his name, familiar movies like 300, Watchmen, and Dawn of the Dead instantly flashed through Leon's mind.
He immediately shook hands with him enthusiastically. "It's an honor to meet you!"
Zack was a bit shy, his eyes dodging constantly while shaking hands and exchanging pleasantries.
Noticing this, Jeff patted him on the shoulder. "Relax, Leon is an elegant and easy-going man. The gossip media only hypes things up! They never report the truth!"
"If the relationship between Leon and JAY-Z was really that tense, how could he appear here with Miss Beyoncé?"
Saying that, he looked at the two with a meaningful smile.
Leon just wanted to skip this awkward topic and asked, using movies as a breakthrough point: "The final chapter of the Harry Potter series is hitting theaters. I think there is no suspense about this year's global box office champion."
In July, the summer box office competition had entered a white-hot stage.
Paramount Pictures' Transformers: Dark of the Moon won the weekly championship in early July with an opening performance of $97 million.
Surpassing Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, it became the movie with the best opening week box office performance in the North American film market since the beginning of 2011.
Next, Paramount had another heavyweight superhero movie, Captain America: The First Avenger, about to be released.
It seemed a bit like encircling Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
Facing the competitive pressure of two major works, Jeff appeared extremely calm. "First of all, I want to clarify that I am not an arrogant person. Does Paramount think they have grasped the life-saving straw of superhero movies? No... the real first year of superhero movies is not their turn to open, nor is it Disney's turn~"
Jeff's confidence in making such wild statements lay in the huge copyright library in the hands of Warner Bros.
They not only owned a super IP like Harry Potter but also the inexhaustible treasure trove of DC Comics.
In the early American comic market, DC almost led the development of American comic superheroes for a period of time.
Batman and Superman were the most popular characters in American superhero comics for a long time.
In comparison, Iron Man, who gave Paramount a taste of success, was only second-tier in popularity.
In Jeff's view, Paramount just seized the opportunity given by the times first. The final winner must be Warner, who controlled DC Comics.
"I grew up watching Tim Burton's version of Batman. Director Nolan's The Dark Knight is also a perfect work. He pushed superhero movies to a new height." Leon complimented.
This flattery was very useful to Jeff, and he swallowed the champagne in his glass with satisfaction.
The Dark Knight was called the most profound superhero movie in history, achieving both box office and critical success.
Although this movie was completely set by Nolan, its release time happened to be after Jeff took over as President of Warner Bros. Pictures in 2007.
Naturally, he had a share of the credit.
"This is just the beginning... It won't be long before you can see the best superhero movie!" Jeff took another glass of wine from the waiter.
Warner's big move to launch the DC Universe plan had been receiving overwhelming coverage from the media.
According to the news currently leaked, Warner planned to throw out the "King Bomb" of Superman plus Justice League from the beginning, attempting to defeat the Marvel camp in one fell swoop.
Leon didn't care who would win the superhero movie battle. Anyway, no matter how much these big IP movies made, it had nothing to do with him.
He could only stare.
But through the conversation with Jeff, he still got some news beneficial to himself. At least for now, Warner's mind was not on Ready Player One at all.
There was no sign of this novel being greenlit for production now.
Leon took the opportunity to cut to the chase: "I can already fully imagine who will dominate the film market in the next few years. Maybe we can also have a chance to cooperate?"
Jeff's eyes lit up, obviously interested in this proposal.
When Leon was looking for distributors everywhere to film Straight Outta Compton, he had also sent an email to Warner.
When the secretary reported this to Jeff, he didn't take it seriously at all.
A new singer who had just debuted for a year wanted to make a movie, and it was a low-budget black music biopic?
The first reaction of every practitioner in the film industry upon hearing this was like hearing a ghost story.
Now the box office of Straight Outta Compton slapped every doubter in the face. Three consecutive weeks as the summer box office champion was a great achievement that even Transformers: Dark of the Moon didn't achieve.
Especially after hearing that Leon personally designed everything from the script to every shot of this movie, no one dared to question his ability to make movies anymore.
"Of course!" Jeff quickly asked the waiter to fill Leon's glass. "If you have any ideas for cooperation, you must notify me immediately. Your talent is unquestionable!"
Saying that, he nudged Zack beside him with his arm, signaling him to chime in. "Am I right, Zack?"
"Of course, I know very well how difficult it is for a music biopic to achieve that kind of box office," Zack echoed.
In the following time, the two sides chatted more and more congenially.
Leon kept using roundabout tactics, just not actively mentioning the matter of the Ready Player One novel copyright.
If he behaved too eagerly, it would inevitably arouse the other party's suspicion. Spielberg was also eyeing this script now.
After the banquet, Leon took Beyoncé's car back to her mansion in Beverly Hills.
Seizing the time to cherish the last night of passion in Los Angeles.
The two tossed and turned until 11 pm. Beyoncé, having exhausted all her physical strength, went limp and fell asleep on the pillow in a second.
At this time, Leon unexpectedly received a text message.
[Which hotel are you staying at? What is the room number?] Sender: Megan Fox.
"This woman..." Leon shook his head with a smile.
All signs indicated that this stupid woman would stop at nothing to get popular again.
Offending Spielberg was basically equivalent to a death sentence for her career.
Leon left her hanging, pretending not to see anything.
At noon the next day, as soon as Leon returned to New York, he first went to Fulton Street.
Inspecting the renovation progress of the Apocalypse Music office building.
"This place looks like a rat's nest..." Phil pushed aside the cobwebs wrapped around his neck. "Don't you think it's cold here? Like the cold in a cemetery!"
"Shut up!" Leon glared, and the old geezer immediately quieted down.
This building was built in the 1980s, which is definitely not an old building in Downtown Brooklyn.
For the past thirty years, it had been operated as a hotel.
Therefore, the first step of renovation was demolition.
Leon, who had always been stingy, did not intend to save money in this regard, signaling to send all the old things here to the garbage dump.
"According to the current progress, how long will the demolition work take to complete?" Leon gave the contractor a cigarette and asked.
"At least a month."
"Fxxk! That long?!" Leon cursed directly. Demolition is the least technical part of renovation work.
It is completely a job done by piling up volume.
There were as many as thirty workers on the site. According to common sense, it shouldn't take so much time.
When noticing the skin color of the workers, Leon's brain seemed to connect to the internet and figured everything out.
The "Black Gold Limited Skin" (black workers) was famous for dawdling.
"Did you contact these fools?" Leon questioned Bonnie.
"Yes."
"Get these little blacks out of here! Hire Mexicans for the same money; they can finish the work in seven days!"
"I understand!"
Seeing Leon furious, the contractor immediately stated that he would transfer a batch of newly arrived illegal immigrants tomorrow.
Giving them the same wages, they would work like beasts of burden.
"How many recording studios do you plan to set aside?" Phil asked.
"Three."
"The company only has three signed singers in total; when did you become so generous?" Phil teased: "Apart from you wanting to find some excitement in the recording studio, I really can't think of a reason to do this."
According to the original plan, Leon only planned to set aside two recording studios, which could fully meet the work needs.
Top recording equipment is not cheap.
He had seen Dre build seven recording studios regardless of cost, half of which were idle for a long time.
Currently, setting aside one more recording studio was the best choice, saving the trouble of messing around again when the company expanded later.
"Have you thought about establishing the new label?" Phil sighed. "Those two brats from Chicago pester Cardi B all day long... If you don't find something for them to do... maybe next time you see Cardi, her belly will be big."
Leon had long handed over the registration of the new label to Bonnie. Now it was only a matter of naming it before formally submitting the application to the New York Tax Department.
If nothing unexpected happened, it would be approved within three days.
Originally, he was not in a hurry about this matter, wanting to wait until the matter of The Rap of America was settled.
Considering that the brain circuits of these two nggas were very abnormal, to prevent them from causing trouble on the streets of New York, this matter could not be dragged on any longer.
Leon glanced at his watch. "Where are those two guys now?"
"Probably in the hotel doing drugs while playing video games." Phil shrugged.
"Ask them to come to the company now."
An hour later, Lil Durk and King Von arrived at the office.
As soon as they entered, the two kept chattering. "Damn~ Boss, heard you went to Los Angeles a few days ago? Why didn't you take us with you?"
"Heard that place has the prototype of Grove Street in GTA: San Andreas, and Venice Beach is full of big-booty chicks in bikinis~"
Knock knock—
"Shut up." Leon gently knocked on the table, and the two immediately quieted down.
Born in O-block on the South Side of Chicago, Lil Durk and King Von were like wild animals on the African savannah.
But they always obeyed Leon's instructions.
He continued to ask: "I asked you to manage your social media accounts seriously before; how are you doing?"
"Of course! I cleared the previous tweets as you said." King Von said excitedly: "I have 100,000 followers on Facebook, can you believe it?"
Leon immediately poured cold water on him. "Those followers were bought by the company."
"What?!" King Von stared wide-eyed, unwilling to believe reality. "Boss, you are joking, right?"
"Otherwise? Do you think 100,000 people would follow two poor ghosts like you spraying trash talk on social media and showing off that Glock that's about to patina all day long?" Leon retorted.
Focusing on online channels was the tone set before signing these two.
The essence of Drill music is rough poor people's music, slum music.
It belongs to the true bottom layer, the kind deep underground.
Expecting the audience of this music to pay for records or buy streaming copies is impossible.
In this case, operating King Von in the traditional way is not cost-effective in terms of cost or prospect.
Future gangsta singers sell personas and stories; the gold content of the work only accounts for a small part.
"Tell me, what thoughts do you have about the new label?" Leon put his feet on the table and asked.
"You want to hear our opinion?"
"Of course, this company is not a plantation. I will fully respect your opinions."
King Von's thoughts were no different from what Leon thought before.
This new company should use street culture and pure gangsta as selling points.
Going against the current in the market where melodic rap is king.
It looks like walking an old path; rap culture has walked such a path since its birth.
But Leon keenly sensed that this might be the future trend.
He had participated in many rallies organized by the Democratic Party, and the participants were mostly minority groups in society.
Woke people, extreme feminists, extreme environmentalists...
These cyberpunk lunatics who seem to be the social minority might be the mainstay of America in the future.
Maybe among them, generals, senators, ministers, and even presidents will be produced...
In such a social environment, extreme rebellious and violent street Drill music will definitely not lack a market.
Lyrics that used to make people blush just hearing them can now be sung loudly in front of parents!
The success of Cardi B and Nicki Minaj's music proves this point.
They currently see each other as their biggest competitor, both wanting to prove that they are the best female rapper.
The two are becoming more and more competitive in the obscenity of their lyrics, but they are also becoming more and more popular.
"Very good, your suggestions are reasonable." Leon said, "But I have to remind you, you are selling personas, there is no need to really go to the street and have a shootout with people..."
"I spent a lot of money to package you; don't cause trouble for me..."
King Von didn't make a sound upon hearing this, nodding his head up and down constantly.
"Then this new label will be in charge of Marco in the future. He is your manager, which can maximize work efficiency." Leon said.
"No problem! Marco is a good man! His wife is also a good person!" The two said in unison.
Marco aside shook his head. Although he was praised, he always felt something was weird.
In order to get closer to the artists under him, he did often invite these two nggas to his home.
Many managers do this.
"Then this new label is officially established today. When the approval process is completed, release this news through the media."
"What ideas do you have for the name of this new label?"
Lil Durk and King Von looked at each other, scratched their heads, and said: "How about calling it Walking Dead?"
"Walking Dead? Tell me why?" Leon showed interest. "Did you watch that TV series The Walking Dead?"
Lil Durk clutched his stomach laughing while explaining: "In the South Side of Chicago, we call junkies who use 'bath salts' walking dead. Anyone who touches that stuff won't live long..."
"Walking dead is the street lifestyle closest to death."