Chapter 4268 4270【DreamWorks】
Xiang Nan and Rose headed west, wherever there were scenic spots.
Stay there for a few more days if you like, and then hit the road again when you get tired of staying there.
Anyway, they have plenty of money and time, so they don’t have to worry about daily necessities, nor do they have to worry about how time flies.
That’s why I can do whatever I want, be free, be on the road every day, see new scenery, meet new people, and have new things happen every day.
They played cards with people in small bars, climbed Devil's Mountain with their own skills, watched cowboys grazing on the ranch, dug for fossils in the Grand Canyon, fished for trout in Wudalian Lake, hunted grizzly bears in Yellowstone Park, and even I also encountered gangsters and robbers.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the rule of law in the United States was not yet sound, and many places were sparsely populated, with no human habitation within a hundred miles, which gave many desperadoes room to survive.
Xiang Nan and Rose were alone, young and beautiful, and weak in power. Naturally, they were easily coveted. Therefore, they were molested by gangsters, robbed by bandits, and ambushed by horse thieves several times.
However, their approach is destined to hit a brick wall.
Don't say that it would be easy for Xiang Nan to destroy them. Even Rose's skills have become very good because of practicing the "Shenzhen Sutra", and even a dozen strong men can't even think of getting close to her.
Hence, anyone who dared to take advantage of them would, without exception, be beaten so badly that they even had doubts about their lives.
…
Xiang Nan and Rose kept going until the middle of 2014, when they finally arrived in Hollywood, Los Angeles.
At this time, the atmosphere of war in Europe was already very strong. The Allies, mainly the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Allied Powers, mainly the United Kingdom, France, and the Russian Empire, were already at war with each other.
However, the United States did not participate in the war. Instead, while remaining neutral, it sold equipment to both sides and made a lot of money.
Post-war statistics show that the warring countries lost US$180 billion. That was US$180 billion at the beginning of the 20th century, equivalent to 270,000 tons of gold (approximately 15 trillion yuan).
Not only did the United States suffer no losses, but it also owed the warring parties tens of billions of dollars. It suddenly turned from a debtor country into a creditor country, and owned 40% of the world's gold reserves.
Xiang Nan and Rose didn't care much about the upcoming war. After they arrived in Hollywood, they planned to start a film company of their own.
On the one hand, Rose wants to become a movie star. Since he has such an idea, Xiang Nan is willing to help her realize her dream; on the other hand, the entertainment industry is notoriously chaotic. There are many unscrupulous beasts and few decent people in this industry.
The infamous “red couch” arose in Hollywood, where even top stars like Marilyn Monroe were subject to superficial rules by film company bosses and investors.
She wrote in her autobiography, "Yes, I slept with the producer, and everyone does that. If you don't do it, there will be another girl waiting outside the door. I can't remember how many times I squatted down and unzipped them... "
Xiang Nan is also someone who has been in the film and television industry, so he naturally knows Xiao Jiujiu among them, so instead of letting Rose sign with other film companies and being taken advantage of by the bosses of other film companies, it is better to be his own boss and make her famous.
In any case, it is not difficult for Xiang Nan to open a film company.
…
Subsequently, Xiang Nan established his own film company, DreamWorks.
“DreamWorks?! What a nice name.” Rose smiled.
However, the names of many film companies are very general, and they are mostly named after the bosses themselves, such as Nester Production Company, Lasky Production Company, etc., which are not as nice as Xiang Nan's name. DreamWorks, a factory dedicated to making dreams for the audience!
“That’s natural.” Xiang Nan smiled and nodded.
There are so many film companies in Hollywood, and there are many film companies with great names, but there are very few that sound better than DreamWorks.
After the establishment of DreamWorks, Xiang Nan recruited staff and built his own studio.
Early film companies had a large-studio system. They built their own studios, recruited their own actors, directors, and screenwriters, invested and produced movies by themselves, and distributed them themselves...
Shaw Brothers in Hong Kong is a typical large-scale studio system.
However, the large studio system exploits talents very seriously. Directors, stars, screenwriters and staff all receive a monthly salary and at most some dividends.
As a result, employees’ subjective initiative is generally low, and many talented actors, directors, and screenwriters don’t like this.
This is the case for Chen Baixiang. He makes movies in Shaw Brothers and earns 50,000 yuan per movie. Even though he has already made blockbuster films such as "The Frog Prince", "I Love Rolando" and "Cinderella", his salary is still 50,000 yuan.
So he later gave up playing the leading role and specialized in supporting roles. Anyway, a movie cost 50,000 yuan, and it was the same whether he played the leading role or the supporting role, so why bother to put in more effort.
So later, in order to stimulate the subjective initiative of directors, stars, and screenwriters, Hollywood film companies introduced reforms such as the dividend system, the star system, the director system, and the producer system.
However, for now, the large-scale studio system is still the mainstream in Hollywood.
…
In June 14, the Sarajevo incident broke out. Archduke Ferdinand, the crown prince of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and his wife were shot dead by Serbians.
In July, the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on Serbia; in August, the German Empire declared war on France and Belgium; the United Kingdom declared war on Germany; the Austro-Hungarian Empire declared war on the Russian Empire; Japan declared war on the German Empire and took the opportunity to occupy Qingdao and Jiaozhou Bay. , Marshall Islands and Caroline Islands.
October, the Ottoman Empire announced that it would join the Allied Powers camp composed of the German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire and start a war with the Allied Powers, mainly Britain, France, and Russia.
The European continent suddenly became one, and everyone’s brains were turned into dog brains.
After learning the news about the outbreak of World War I, Rose couldn't help but feel a little worried.
Because many of her classmates and relatives are in the UK, and now that the war is coming, she doesn’t know what will happen to them.
"Don't worry, as long as you don't go to the battlefield, you should be fine." Xiang Nan advised her.
During World War I, the British mainland did not suffer much damage. After all, the British Navy was the most powerful in the world at that time, and the performance of aircraft at that time was not strong, making it difficult to carry out cross-sea bombing.
However, they were still harassed by German airships, killing and injuring hundreds of people. But overall, the rear is relatively safe.
But things were miserable before the battle. In the First World War, more than 700,000 British people died and more than 2 million were injured.
At that time, the total population of the United Kingdom was only 45 million. Excluding women and the elderly, weak, sick and disabled, this was equivalent to the loss of half of the young people.
This also resulted in a large number of marriageable women at that time being unable to find suitable marriage partners because all the young men died on the battlefield.
“I hope so.” Rose nodded.