roccoschili Chapter 313 Beach Night Talk
Chapter 313 Beach Night Talk
Los Angeles.
Bloomer's mansion.
David and the others were sitting on the sofa in the conference living room on the first floor, relaxing and discussing their travel plans in Los Angeles in the past few days.
As a landowner, Bloomer gave everyone suggestions for fun activities.
There are several must-see attractions in Los Angeles: Disneyland, Hollywood Walk of Fame, Kodak Theater used for the Oscars, Griffith Observatory, Santa Monica Beach, Rodeo Drive shopping street in Beverly Hills, etc. .
If David and the others find this boring, they can go further and go to the Las Vegas casino to play a few games, go to the Grand Canyon of the Colorado, and experience firsthand the customs and customs of the local Hualapai tribe Indians, and Beautiful scenery of the canyon.
Or go. .
When David heard what Blumer had introduced, he quickly waved his hand to tell him to stop. .
"Man, you don't want us to waste these few days visiting tourist attractions, do you?"
"Um...you don't want to see the attractions? What are you doing there?"
Giles complained: "Are you a travel company? Is this the Los Angeles you want to show us?"
Leslie didn't wait for Blumer to retort, and also complained: "Hey~ Man, if I were a teenager, I might be willing to go to Disneyland~"
"Go to Las Vegas? Or go to Colorado to see Indian customs? Canyon style?"
"You're not mistaken, are you?"
David hugged Bloomer, who was aggrieved and wanted to explain, patted him on the back and said, "We all know what you said~"
"I think, how about we go to Santa Monica Beach to watch the sunset?"
"Come on, let's talk~"
"Sunset on Santa Monica Beach? Sounds good~I'm ok~" Giles voted in agreement.
Leslie thought for a while: "The beach there is very nice. We can walk. We can walk more and see~ I'm ok~"
Blumer looked back and forth at a few people and shrugged: "I'm just doing whatever I want, you are guests~"
David stood up with a smile: "Then let's change clothes and set off~"
"Haha~ok~"
----
After half an hour.
In the afternoon in Los Angeles, there is plenty of sunshine and the temperature makes people feel very comfortable ~
Several people rode in cars and entered the center of the city.
While passing by Beverly Hills, several people got out of the car and prepared to buy some clothes. .
Among the clothes David brought with him, there was nothing suitable for going to the beach, and Leslie also didn’t bring that many clothes~
Blumer introduced them to the Rodeo Drive shopping street in the Beverly Hills area that they would pass on the way to Santa Monica Beach~
Rodeo Drive is not as well-known as Sunset Blvd.
But Rodeo Drive is a famous high-end commercial street in Los Angeles, located in the heart of Beverly Hills where there are many luxury houses.
The short three-block stretch between Whilshire Avenue and Santa Monica Avenue is the best of it all.
Between these three blocks, there are dozens of famous brand stores and high-end custom brand stores in the fashion industry.
Numerous luxury stores have settled on both sides of the street, with colorful display windows that dazzle passers-by.
Not to be outdone, major famous car dealers have placed their top models in the most conspicuous positions, attracting people's curious eyes.
In the meantime, these streets are also interspersed with various high-end restaurants, bars, galleries and other places.
Although these stores charge a lot of money, they are a feast for the eyes and allow people to experience the luxurious life of celebrities up close.
Because Hollywood is so close, it attracts many celebrity clients and attracts a lot of star-struck fans.
Hollywood film and television productions have also introduced Rodeo Drive, a high-end shopping destination, to the world.
Of course, not everything on Rodeo Drive is unattainable.
Scattered among famous shops, there are also many affordable restaurants and cafes.
If people are tired from shopping, they sit in an outdoor cafe to bask in the sun, look at the luxury around them, and enjoy a bit of tranquility, which is the "luxury" that is close to them.
. . .
David and the others randomly picked a shop they liked on the street, got out of the car, and prepared to go in and pick out some clothes~
Before Blumer set out from home, he felt that as a native of California, he might not be able to bring any constructive opinions to everyone about eating, drinking and having fun.
so. .He picked up the phone and dialed a number, ready to call someone for help~
While David and Leslie were trying on clothes, Bloomer's helper followed the butler into the store~
"Hey~ Brummer man, how long have we not seen each other?"
Blumer smiled and hugged the visitor: "Hey Roland, long time no see! Haha~"
----
The visitor's name was Roland Perkins, one of the partners of the Creative Artists Company (CAA), which was newly established in 1975.
When he had dinner with four friends who also worked at William Morris Agency (WMA), they were all very dissatisfied with WMA's seniority-based and rigid constitution.
After that, several of them left WMA, took out all their savings and funds, and jointly founded their own brokerage company: caa.
----
Blumer led Roland and introduced him to three friends~
Roland, who was dressed very casually, took off his sunglasses and shook hands with Giles, Leslie, and David with a smile on his face, saying that he would definitely let them have a happy vacation in Los Angeles!
When David introduced Roland to several people in Bloomer, he was silently looking up and down at Roland Perkins. .
caa?
Brokerage company?
The name sounds like it. .Sounds familiar?
Just when he was distracted and searching for this caa in his memory, Blumer tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey, David~ Roland can help satisfy your wish to see Hollywood stars~ Haha~"
"How about it? Who do you want to see? Let him help you arrange it~"
"Forehead.."
David opened his mouth, but for a moment he really couldn't remember who he wanted to see the most. .
Roland hung his sunglasses on his chest and waited for a few seconds. When he saw David's confused look, he couldn't help but laugh.
"It doesn't matter~ No matter who you want to see, I can help invite him or her to come and meet!"
Yo ho~
This guy is fat and not tall, but his tone is not small. .
David tilted his head, raised his head at Leslie and Giles, and gave a mischievous look.
"Well...how about Audrey Hepburn? Or Elizabeth Taylor..."
As soon as David said these words, everyone around him fell into silence. .
Roland glanced at Bloomer who was holding back his laughter with a troubled face, twitched the corners of his mouth, and said with a smile: "Well... Mr. Coleman, there is no problem in inviting them to meet~"
"It's just that Elizabeth Taylor and Audrey Hepburn were not in Los Angeles during this time and went to London~"
"Look...this..."
David looked at Giles, who was also holding back his laughter, and Leslie, who was looking at the ceiling, and rolled his eyes at them both.
"Okay Roland, call me David~"
"I just made a joke, don't mind~haha~"
"Uh... Hahaha~ It doesn't matter. Do you have anyone else you want to meet? I will try my best to help you make an appointment~"
hehe~
My tone has become much calmer now~
David smiled and patted his shoulder, turned to look at Blumer, and asked a few words in his ear.
Blumer chuckled and said the answer, and David nodded with understanding.
"Roland~ Man, we want to hold a small-scale cocktail party with a relaxed atmosphere at Bloomer's house in the next few nights~"
"Can you help invite some celebrities in Los Angeles to participate?"
Roland smacked his lips, nodded quickly, patted his chest and said, "No problem~ Tell me... is it tomorrow night or the day after tomorrow?"
Blumer said: "Tomorrow night~ Today you go to Santa Monica Beach with us and have a round trip~"
"Okay~ Let's leave now?"
"Let's go~haha~"
----
Los Angeles.
Everyone took the car directly to the vicinity of Santa Monica Beach and got out of the car.
David looked back and saw the big man Zach, who had just managed to buy oversized casual clothes. He shook his head in amusement and joked to his friends around him.
"Look, what do you think if we let Zach, carrying a large tape recorder on his shoulder, play music, and follow us to play together?"
Leslie smiled and complained first: "fxxx! Do you want to make a movie? Haha~"
Giles gave David a kick and said, "What are you thinking about? When you come to the beach, do you need music? Haha~"
Blumer laughed and patted Roland: "Man, can you get him a large tape recorder?"
"..."
At this moment, Roland felt in his heart that countless mythical beasts were stepping on his face and running towards him. .
David smiled and apologized to Roland and waved to Zach: "Hey, Zach, you don't have to be so nervous. We are here to have fun!"
The big man Zach, with a tight and serious expression on his face, showed his neat, white teeth, and responded with a smile: "Okay boss!"
When several people saw his appearance, they all smiled and shook their heads~
David shrugged at Zach, crossed the road with a few people, and walked onto the beach~
. . .
As everyone walked, Roland walked at the front and briefly introduced Santa Monica Beach to a few people.
“Santa Monica Beach is 15 kilometers long, with clear blue water and crystal clear water ~ it is known as the most comfortable beach in Cape Verde!”
"Every year, countless tourists from all over the world come to this beach to play~"
. . .
David glanced down at the soft sand under his feet, simply took off his shoes, and used the soles of his feet to feel the touch of the slightly cool sand and the skin under his feet. .
Very good experience~
The big man Zach saw David carrying shoes in his hand and stepped forward to help carry them.
Seeing that he was so good at getting into trouble, David smiled and shook his head in refusal~
A few people just followed Roland, listening to his introduction, stepping on the soft golden beach, looking at the small crowd around them, and breathing in the breath of the sea brought by the sea breeze. .
A few sails in the distance dotted the blue sea.
The sea breeze blowing in front of them, the sound of waves crashing on the shore, not far away from where they passed, the laughter of several young couples chasing and playing, and the occasional shells stepped on under their feet ~
All this and the scene formed gave David a kind of trancelike illusion.
It seemed that the scene before him had appeared in his memory before. .
----
As a few people strolled leisurely and relaxedly on the beach from south to north, the sun continued to tilt to the west and slowly set toward the sea~
The floating clouds in the sky are reflected in a golden-red sunset by the setting sun~
Under the golden red glow.
Several people sitting side by side resting on the beach looked at the sunset in the distance with confused expressions.
Blumer sighed softly to his friends: "It's been a long time since I watched the sunset in such a quiet and relaxing way~"
"Yes~ The sunset scenery here is unexpectedly beautiful~"
Giles sighed and turned to look at Leslie: "Where is the yacht you mentioned? Can you borrow it for us to go out to sea someday?"
Roland, who was sitting behind a few people, suddenly had his ears pricked~
Leslie smiled and shrugged: "Whatever, any time is fine - the boat is ready!"
Blumer pouted, grabbed a handful of sand with his hand, watched it slowly slipping between his fingers, and turned to David.
"You've been in New York for so long, but haven't you ever been to Coney Island or the Gold Coast?"
David also held a handful of sand in his hand, found a shell from it, held it in his hand and played with it.
"Beach? Rockaway Beach in Queens is the closest beach to Manhattan, but even there, I need to drive at least an hour to get there~"
"Besides, there is no such clean beach and environment as here ~ Rockaway Beach is overcrowded in the summer, and there are all kinds of garbage and waste everywhere."
"In my opinion, there's nothing beautiful there~ man!"
Leslie praised the channel on the side: "The same is true for the Gold Coast of Long Island~"
"However, the speed and efficiency of garbage removal there have been slightly improved in recent years. During the summer tourist season, you can still have a good time on the private beach!"
"Private beach?" David played with the shell in his hand, feeling choked and shaking his head.
Giles also smiled and nodded: "Yeah~ David, if you want to play next summer, let's go to Leslie's private beach~"
"Hey~ Don't you have one at your home? Why do you go to my beach to play?"
"Well...because your beach area is huge~"
"my home.."
Leslie's side face was illuminated by the sunset, but she started a daily quarrel with Giles.
David put the shell in Bloomer's hand, put his arm around his shoulders and whispered: "How about we go back in the evening and have a BBQ (outdoor barbecue) in your yard?"
"Go home bbq?"
Blumer tilted his head and thought for a while, and suddenly a good idea popped up in his head.
"The scenery here is so beautiful, why should we go home?"
"Wouldn't it be better to just have bbq here?"
"Here? Can...is that okay?"
Faced with David's doubts, Bloomer patted his butt and stood up. He waved to the butler who followed him and said he wanted to enjoy the beautiful sunset on the beach and have some BBQ.
The housekeeper thought for a moment, nodded and said it was okay, just give him some time to prepare~
Blumer turned back with satisfaction and said to several friends: "Hey, it's done! Let's go choose a good place and get ready to start bbq!"
David twitched the corners of his mouth speechlessly, looking at Giles and Leslie who were also interested in hearing the bbq here, and couldn't help but complain in his heart. .
hey~
These damn rich people!
This is their way of showing off their wealth without even realizing it. .It’s really hard to guard against~
----
I have to say that Bloomer’s butler is frighteningly efficient when doing things~
A few people just sat on the beach for a short while, looking around for a place to have a bbq.
The housekeeper has already returned with some people and all the tools and ingredients needed for bbq. .
David patted the sand on his butt and watched the butler direct the people to place two barbecue stoves, four tables and some chairs neatly on the roadside of the beach not far away, under a street lamp. He couldn't help but He touched his nose. .
This feeling of being able to do whatever you want wherever you go is so damn good~!
hehe~
The three losers, Roland Perkins, couldn't help but lend a hand to help when they saw the butler ordering people in an orderly and fast manner and setting up the bbq venue.
David also walked to a small round table, helped set up the chairs, and gave Bloomer's butler a thumbs up~
The butler was wearing a suit, and the leather shoes on his feet were not stained with any sand. He bowed slightly to David with an impeccable posture, and accepted the compliment with a smile~
Hey~Butler!
This guy really has that. .British butler style!
David looked at the butler up and down admiringly, thought about it for a moment, and asked, "Do you have any friends or... companions?"
"After some time, I may also need an excellent housekeeper like you to help me at home~"
The butler's eyes quickly glanced at Bloomer who was busy not far away, and with a smile on his face he said warmly: "Yes, sir, if you need me!"
"Okay! When the time comes, let Bloomer contact you when I need you!"
"Okay, I'd be honored to help you!"
David smacked his lips, shook his head and smiled: "You don't have to be so polite~ We are just relaxing and having fun, aren't we?"
"Haha~Okay sir~"
"Okay~ We are ready, shall we start?" Blumer, who was not far away, turned back to David and said.
"Okay, let's start!"
. . .
The setting sun gradually sank into the distant sea level.
Under the fiery red sunset, on the beach of Santa Monica.
David and a few friends, each holding a beer in one hand and a long skewer in the other, were grilling the skewers in their hands on the barbecue grill and chatting about interesting things in a relaxed manner.
Roland Perkins, the Bloomer came here. .Tour guide?
I talked to a few people about a topic that everyone is interested in, Hollywood!
He raised his hand and took a sip of beer, couldn't help but burp, and continued: "In the past few years, what people call the new Hollywood era movie trend has been replaced by a blockbuster movie "Jaws". In a sense, it brings an end~"
"This movie "Jaws", which mixes elements of a drama film and a thriller, has a total investment of about 900 million U.S. dollars, but the total box office has reached more than 4 million U.S. dollars!"
"It was released in the summer of 75. It was precisely because of this film that it provided a precedent for being released in multiple theaters at the same time, providing a new model for Hollywood film distribution."
"Since then, relying on the successful demonstration of this film, executives of Hollywood studios have discovered a successful model that can be repeated over the past two years."
"The concept of summer movie release schedule came into being~"
Roland flipped the skewers in his hand, glanced at David and others with interesting expressions on their faces, and continued with a smile.
"In December last year, "Star Wars" began to be released online in major theaters."
"It imitated the marketing and media promotion model of the movie "Jaws" and pushed these promotion and marketing models to surprising heights~"
"This movie "Star Wars" with an investment of 1100 million U.S. dollars has already earned nearly 10 million U.S. dollars at the box office since its release in October~"
"The success it has achieved has once again proved to major Hollywood film companies that adapting to market demand and making films that sell well at the box office is the new way for Hollywood to continue to develop sustainably in the future."
"At the same time, it also made some people realize that those films that continued the new wave of artistic path had no future without the support of box office income!"
At this point, Roland briefly introduced what the new Hollywood movie wave is. .
In the 60s, American society was facing a series of harsh social realities: murders everywhere, civil rights movements, the economy began to decline, the government faced crises, etc.
The overall concepts of filmmakers are changing, and the concepts of the audience are gradually entering a mental state that transcends reality.
(I won’t go into detail here about the rather turbulent American history in the 60s. Interested friends can search on Qiandu: New Hollywood Movies)
(There are many real events that happened in the United States that seem magical to us now!)
In the 70s, after the Watergate incident, people's hearts and minds were trampled under the feet of the US government. .
The resentment and resistance movement in people’s hearts are growing day by day~
The New Hollywood film movement was born in such an era of social unrest and democratic crisis~
The social and political reasons are diverse and cannot be avoided by people ~
In addition, in recent years, after the failure and end of the Vietnam War, the gloomy social prospects have been presented on the big screen in many classic movies.
Roland moved his arms and placed the grilled skewers on the edge of the stove. David and others, who had also grilled the skewers, walked to the small table and sat down.
Under the beautiful night of Santa Monica Beach, the story of what happened in this city is told ~
"Every year, the major Hollywood film companies combined invest in nearly a hundred films of various types~"
"But among the new wave of Hollywood films in recent years, few are blockbuster and profitable~"
"Let's take [-]th Century Fox, which invested in the movies "Cleopatra" and "The Sound of Music" more than ten years ago as an example~"
"At that time, Fox, which was plagued by various troubles, spent a huge sum of about 4400 million U.S. dollars to shoot the movie "Cleopatra," and the final total box office was only about 2600 million U.S. dollars."
"Later, Fox still relied on the low-cost film "The Sound of Music" to earn more than 2 million U.S. dollars at the box office, and then regained some of its due status as a major Hollywood film company."
"However, Fox did not learn any more lessons. They produced another war movie "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!" in 70, which made almost no profit from the box office."
"In addition, in the past two years, few of Fox's movies have been big hits, which has made it very difficult for it to survive, and the funds to invest in movies are even more stretched~"
. . .
David sat quietly in his chair, enjoying the sea breeze, drinking beer, eating skewers, and listening to Roland's story.
While Roland was telling him, he asked, "Where's Paramount? How is it doing now?"
Roland smiled and shook his head, and said to David: "David, in fact, these big movie companies in Hollywood all have their own troubles~"
"Fox is like this, and Paramount is not much better~"
"Paramount just changed the person in charge the year before last year. This is the third time it has changed people in recent years!"
Roland sat up slightly, and the playful smile on his face slowly faded.
"Guys, you may have always thought that as long as these big Hollywood movie companies can invest in a movie that is a hit at the box office, they can earn a return on investment that can be squandered for several years, right?"
David and the others looked at each other and nodded one after another.
"Haha~ You all thought wrong~"
"In fact, film companies are a high-risk investment industry with large investments, long production cycles, and very unstable returns!"
“It’s not like the stock market on Wall Street in New York!”
“They don’t have accurate return and income evaluation data reports that people can see or predict~”
"Every investment in a movie is a decision made through gritted teeth by many people. It is a high-risk gamble!"
"Behind these investments, many people have been anxiously hoping that the investment costs can be recovered and the movie will sell well at the box office, so as to make a lot of money~"
"But how many movies can be made every year that can be big hits at the box office?"
"How much investment money was spent on those movies that didn't become big hits and were wasted?"
"Take the "Cleopatra" I just talked about~"
"It was a huge investment film that Fox took a huge risk at the time, investing $4400 million, and starring Elizabeth Taylor, who had just won the Oscar for Best Actress. It took many years~"
"So... what about the box office it achieved?"
"It's only 2600 million dollars!"
"This little money is not enough to cover the production costs of the investors. How can we talk about profits, and how can we talk about making money?"
"Of course, the movie "The Sound of Music" invested by Fox later made a huge profit~"
"But it's just a lucky few!"
Roland leaned back, playing with the beer bottle in his hand, and put a smile on his face again.
"In my opinion, there is no fundamental difference between investing in and making movies in Hollywood and gambling in Las Vegas~"
"They are all gambling, and they are all relying on their luck and intuition to make bets~"
David sat silently next to him, thinking of the movie "The Godfather" that Malkin wanted to invest in!
How much box office did this most classic gangster movie in history earn after its release?
David searched the memory in his head several times before discovering that there really was no such remote information in his memory. .