The movement of Dennings' chest was enticing, but Leon hadn't eaten much proper food since noon, and his stomach was protesting in waves.
He was really too hungry.
But thinking of Taylor's hysterical scenes, coupled with Jeff's advice still lingering in his ears—"Don't casually sleep with Hollywood women!"—these factors all affected his appetite now.
"Don't worry, Mr. Leon. I really have a lot of things I want to ask you about movies and investments." Dennings brushed her wet hair back, the scent of her body wash pungent enough to choke the nose.
"Just chatting about movies and investments?" Leon asked.
"Of course!" Dennings' face lit up with joy, and she hooked onto his arm.
"Then no problem." After a not-so-intense mental conflict, Leon quickly agreed.
The prime mover of Hollywood is social circles. SLW Apocalypse was in a period of rapid development, and building good relationships with these famous actors would do no harm.
In the past, the company always relied excessively on Jeff's connections, which could lead to the risk of Leon being sidelined one day.
"But we can't chat for too long..." Leon said, "I just invested in a new movie and have a lot of things waiting for me to deal with."
"Oh my God, you invested in another new movie?" Dennings grinned with her signature big mouth, her excitement almost spilling over her cheeks.
Fantasizing in her head that with her performance tonight, maybe she could snag the female lead role.
She was too eager to prove herself on the big screen.
"It's a low-budget horror film..." With the lesson of Amber Heard being retaliated against, Leon didn't want to see such a thing happen again.
The problem was that Dennings' conditions didn't fit any role in The Purge.
Playing a middle-aged mature woman, she was too young. Even with her mature aura, she didn't meet the standard required by the script.
Playing Ethan Hawke's daughter, her development seemed too advanced.
Most importantly, the production team's budget of $2 million simply couldn't afford an actress of her status.
Moreover, all the work from project initiation to casting had already been completed. DeMonaco and his team showed extremely high efficiency.
The two chatted while walking and successively boarded the business car that had been waiting outside the studio for a long time.
"Where to now, Boss?" Jorge turned his head, his wicked smile seeming to see through everything.
The Mexican thug's rough appearance made Dennings slightly startled, then she turned on her toxic tongue mode and said, "Is this Mexican a character actor? He looks exactly like Danny Trejo, the star of Machete."
"Thank you for your hard work today, Jorge..."
Leon winked, and the other party immediately understood, sensibly handing over the car keys and exiting the driver's seat.
The business car stopped in front of a Chinese restaurant near Flushing, Queens.
Leon and Dennings wrapped themselves tightly with sunglasses and scarves before getting out of the car with peace of mind.
Flushing is not only the area with the densest Chinese population in New York but also the area with the densest Asian population, known as "New York City's Second Chinatown."
The municipal department had never paid much attention to this place, investing pitifully few welfare and construction resources here every year. This led to a large amount of outdated infrastructure in Flushing, and untidy streets had always been a chronic illness here.
However, one could always find the most authentic Chinese food here.
Leon chose a Cantonese restaurant. As soon as the dim sum was served, Dennings began to gorge herself with a fork.
Ladylike etiquette simply didn't exist in her world.
"I'm increasingly convinced that Max in 2 Broke Girls is you playing yourself," Leon teased.
Just as Dennings stuffed a shrimp dumpling into her mouth, realizing her eating appearance might not be very good, she wiped the corner of her mouth with a napkin. "I am a bit like Max, but not completely. I'm actually a very socially anxious girl."
You? Socially anxious?
Leon pursed his lips, but thinking carefully, when he first met Dennings in Jeff's office, the girl was so nervous she couldn't even speak.
At that time, 2 Broke Girls hadn't officially aired yet, and she was just a second-rate actress with little fame.
After filling his stomach, Leon habitually lit a cigarette and puffed smoke.
"Can you give me one? I seem to have forgotten to bring cigarettes." Dennings rummaged through her handbag. "Damn..."
Leon froze for two seconds first, then immediately took out a Huazi from the cigarette case and handed it over, lighting it for her personally.
"Thanks. You are a considerate gentleman, completely unlike the rough image described by the media." Dennings took a deep drag on the cigarette.
Her charming red lips, full big mouth, and the way she exhaled smoke matched perfectly.
"Is this cigarette too strong for you?"
"Not at all. I grew up in a drug-infested poverty-stricken neighborhood in Philadelphia." Dennings cupped her chin, recalling the past. "Being a well-behaved girl there would make people treat you like a freak."
"So you learned to smoke just to be a rebellious girl?" Leon teased.
"That's right, it's as simple as you think." Dennings curled the corners of her mouth, answering very frankly. "Money anxiety ran through almost my entire childhood. I'm curious, how exactly did you achieve your current success?"
"You come from Brownsville, which is also a violent and poor community. I've watched your documentary; the black people there respect you like a godfather..."
Dennings chatted more and more excitedly, constantly making small teasing movements, escalating from brushing her hair to pulling her V-neck sweater with her fingers from time to time.
Attempting to extract the wealth code leading to success from Leon's mouth in this way.
Seeing the time was ripe, she took the opportunity to change the subject and ask about the question she truly cared about: "What is the new movie you just mentioned?"
"That's just a low-budget movie; you wouldn't be interested in it." Leon shrugged while drinking water.
"No! If it's a movie invested by you, I think I will be interested!" Dennings raised her voice by three degrees. "The cost of Straight Outta Compton was only 10 million dollars. Friends around me told me that this movie is going to land at the Oscars next month!"
News in Hollywood spreads fast. Leon had just hosted a grand banquet for those AMPAS old white men last week, and there was already feedback just a few days later.
Although Dennings' words couldn't prove that Straight Outta Compton was sure to be nominated, no news comes from nowhere.
Currently, Straight Outta Compton being shortlisted for "Best Picture Nomination" was already taking shape.
Leon also wanted to give this straightforward girl a chance, but forced by the actual situation, he could only tell her truthfully: "The maximum budget for this movie will not exceed 3 million dollars..."
"Alright..." The light in Dennings' eyes extinguished instantly, but she still whispered persistently, "Is there no room for additional budget? I'm willing to have a good talk with the agency. Because it's your movie, I'm willing to join with the lowest salary."
In the American film and television industry, the salary gap between bottom-tier film actors and TV actors is not large; the vast majority of professional actors earn between $50,000 and $100,000 annually.
However, the closer to the top of the pyramid, the more obvious the income gap between the two groups.
There are dozens of actresses who can get tens of millions in salary. Julia Roberts and Angelina Jolie have even entered the "20 Million Dollar Club."
The number of actresses in the TV industry who can reach this level is pitifully small. Jennifer Aniston's current quote is $2 million per episode.
Even so, Dennings' price was unaffordable for The Purge crew.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, her basic salary per episode for the first season of 2 Broke Girls was $150,000.
During the filming of the twenty-three-episode TV series, her total salary was $3.45 million.
If filming a movie, Dennings' lowest salary couldn't be less than $2 million.
Leon shook his head and said, "Many things are not decided by me alone. Everyone knows I am an investor who respects the director."
"Fine... I don't care about these." Dennings waved her hand dashingly, unable to hide the disappointment in her tone.
"I will think of you first when there is a suitable script in the future."
"I hope what you said is true. There are quite a few girls who want to get close to you~"
"Don't worry."
Leon's mind conjured up scenes of Dennings playing Catwoman. Her voluptuous figure paired with a black latex suit would have immense visual impact. His plan to rob money from the Warner Bros. IP treasure trove through Jeff's inside help was already showing promise.
Not all IPs are not for sale for Warner Bros. Currently, only super big IPs like Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, etc., which have been far ahead in popularity since the comic era, are explicitly not for sale.
Among them, Batman is valued at over $10 billion, ranking first even looking at both DC and Marvel camps.
As for the villain IPs Leon valued, only the Joker, brought to life by Heath Ledger, was harder to deal with. Warner Bros. was still struggling to find an actor who could replace Heath Ledger.
Harley Quinn, Penguin, Black Adam, and other IPs were all not in the not-for-sale list.
Even Catwoman, who had already had two movies filmed, was the same.
After two consecutive movies flopped at the box office, Warner Bros. had made up its mind not to film any more canon movies for her.
"Then can you give me some advice on investment?" Dennings asked.
"If you are interested in stocks, I recommend you buy Tesla stock."
"Tesla?" Dennings was skeptical about this car company whose products hadn't even been mass-produced yet.
Tesla's stock price had risen to $48 per share after entering 2012, and professionals believed it was seriously overvalued.
"I am the spokesperson for Tesla. Trust me, you can't go wrong." Leon continued to PUA Dennings, shaking her thoughts with just a few words.
Anyway, this was no loss to him. He held a large amount of Tesla stock; the more people bought, the higher the stock price would soar.
After the meal, the two immediately wrapped themselves up and hurriedly got into the business car.
When driving to a dim block, just as Leon was struggling to choose between "going home" and "going back to the hotel," Dennings in the passenger seat suddenly unbuckled her seat belt.
"I feel so hot..." Dennings held her forehead, pretending to be carsick. "My head is so dizzy. Can we stop here for a moment?"
Leon specially found a secluded corner with no one around to stop the car.
No one was more familiar with this environment than Phil. Just drive past Manhattan Beach at midnight and wave to the streetwalkers, and they would shake their butts and gather around.
After getting in the car, find a quiet corner to park steadily, and next is a night of burning passion.
Such things were commonplace in New York at night; no one would be bored enough to come and disturb.