Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

 Chapter 84 Buying Stocks

 “Thank you for your hard work, Link!”

Downstairs at the HBO TV station, Simon Curtis stood in front of the car door wearing a suit, opened the door and smiled.

 “You have worked hard too.”

Link got into the business car, took off his tie, and breathed out.

 In recent days, he and Simon have been running around, participating in TV shows, accepting exclusive interviews with the media, and being urged by the brand to shoot five commercials. It is indeed quite hard.

  However, in the past few days after the Olympics, there was an additional 3.5 million US dollars in advertising endorsements and announcement fees in the account. In addition to more than 1 million in awards from the Sports Commission and the Boxing Association, one Olympic Games allowed me to earn nearly 5 million US dollars.

 This money does not belong to the peripheral income of the game. According to the originally signed contract, Dynasty Promotion cannot participate in the distribution. Only Franco and Simon can get an agent share.

 “Hey, Link, would you like to have a fight with me?”

Just as the car was about to start, a red Ferrari F50 convertible stopped next to it, and Tyson shouted to Link.

Link looked at the other party's car and asked, "Mike, are you ready to make a comeback?"

“Yeah, we have this plan, but it’s not easy to find a suitable opponent. You have a good reputation and strength. If we have a fight, there will definitely be many people cheering for our game.”

Tyson asked, tilting his head.

Link thought to himself, this guy is really short of money, so he would come here to rub off on himself as a world champion, but Tyson's proposal is not bad. Although he has retired, in the sport of boxing, his reputation is still unparalleled. Comparatively, if you compete with him, your various incomes should be considerable.

"No problem, you can ask your agent to contact Dynasty Promotions. After the two parties have negotiated, you can compete at any time."

 “Haha, it’s settled.”

Taylor shook his fist at him and drove away in his sports car.

Link smiled softly and had to admire that the skinny camel was bigger than a horse. The news said that Tyson had been bankrupt for many years and owed tens of millions, but the market price of the limited edition F50 was more than 2 million US dollars. Although he could I can afford it, but I can’t bear to spend so much money on a car.

"Simon, if Tyson contacts us, we will take over this match. It is also my dream to play against Tyson. I want to compete with him before he gets old."

"good!"

Simon nodded, took out his phone and wrote it down.

The car drove south for more than half an hour from Burbank, the media capital of the world, north of Los Angeles, and arrived at the White Oak Apartments on Bird Street next to Hollywood Boulevard. Link stretched and got out of the car. The flower shop bought a bouquet of red cosmos and knocked on Gal Gadot's door.

Before coming, he sent a message to ask Gadot. Gadot said she was reading a script at home, so he rang the doorbell twice at the door.

Hearing footsteps coming from inside, Gadot immediately opened the door with a bright smile on her face.

She still has long brown chestnut hair, bare feet, wearing white convex suspenders and black yoga pants, and a forehead protector on her forehead. She still looks tall and toned.

 “Gayle, this is for you.”

"Thanks!"

Gadot smiled slightly, took the bouquet and said, "Why did you think of buying me flowers?"

 “Thought you might like it.”

Link chuckled.

 “Yes, it’s very beautiful, I like it very much.”

Gadot smiled, kissed him, and pulled him through the door.

Back in the living room, Gadot pulled out the wilting tulips and put them in the trash can, and then put the cosmos in it.

Link leaned on the counter and watched her walking around the living room. She had a slim waist, pert hips and long legs. She was not clingy or pretentious. She was indeed a very nice girl. This was what Link would like to see again after coming to Los Angeles. Find her reasons.

 “How was the movie audition?”

Link took off his coat and hung it on the rack.

“Not very good. I am tall and have a tough temperament, which does not meet the aesthetics of Hollywood directors. I failed in both auditions.”

 Gadot came out of the kitchen with a glass of pomegranate juice and fruit pudding, placed it on the craft wooden table, and invited him to try the pudding she made.

Link tasted a piece, which was ice cream and chia pudding. It was sweet and tender, melted in your mouth, and tasted very good. "You are like an actor like Charlize Theron or Angelina Jolie, suitable for playing a leading heroine. Action drama.”

Gadot sat cross-legged on the carpet and smiled: "Now I just want to get a supporting role to kill the boring time. The main heroine is too far away from me."

Link thought for a while. "Wonder Woman" will have to wait a few years. At this stage, he doesn't know what roles are suitable for Gadot, but he can ask Franco to inquire. Franco said that he is in the entertainment industry. He also has connections here. If you want to make a movie, you can contact him.

 “Don’t be discouraged, there are many opportunities.”

“I understand, don’t talk about me. How is your work? Your interviews and advertisements are everywhere on TV recently.”

Gadot squeezed his arm and said.

"The interviews and commercials have been shot, and there are only a few days of filming for "Blue Sea 2" left. If I had known that there would be so much work, I shouldn't have taken on this film in the first place."

Link said as he leaned on the sofa.

“Others want roles but don’t get the chance, but you think it’s too much. You are indeed a big star.”

Gadot joked.

Link smiled softly, put his arm around her waist, and remembered something, "HBO is having a reception at the Beverly Hilton Hotel tonight. Do you have time to attend it with me?"

"OK!"

Gadot agreed without hesitation and kissed her closely. The living room is filled with spring light, and the cosmos in the vase is blooming more and more beautifully.

  —

“Scene 62, shot 2, shot 2!”

 “action!”

At the Universal Film Studio in Los Angeles, on the filming set of "Blue Ocean 2", Link stood in a studio filled with crew members, with three camera positions facing him, lights and microphones surrounding him, and the indoor The temperature is very high.

Link looked at the male protagonist opposite and said, "Man, I don't mean any harm. I just want to cooperate with you once. I will provide a yacht and salvage equipment. How about we work together to salvage the treasure that fell to the bottom of the sea?"

 “Sorry, I don’t know what the treasure is.”

Playing opposite him is a handsome brown-haired guy with a broad face, named Chris Carmack. He is a model and is 185cm tall. He once acted in "The Orange County Boys Season 1" and also played in "Unlucky Goddess". He played a role as a vase, and his acting skills were just average.

 “Man, do you want to keep it all to yourself? That’s not a good idea.”

Link said, holding the hero's arm.

The hero turned back and gave him a cool look.

Link let go of his hand and took a step back to show that he meant no harm.

 “cut!”

 “Well done, Link, you are a great actor.”

 After filming a scene, director Stephen Herrick took off his headphones and took the lead in clapping his hands. Other staff members also clapped and cheered.

Link waved his hand to thank him, walked behind Director Stephen, and watched the clip he had just performed. He really had no acting skills to speak of, and his opponent's acting was also very stiff. He was totally sorry for the applause just now.

He sat next to Director Stephen and said, "Stephen, are you sure this is okay? I heard that when other directors are filming, even if they are working with Oscar-winning actors, they will take it several times, but I, a newbie actor, Is it enough to take just two shots?”

Director Stephen smiled and said: "Okay Link, this is a commercial film and does not require too much acting skills."

"you sure?"

Link regretted taking this role. From the script to the lines, to the co-actors, to the director's attitude, this movie didn't look like it would be a hit, let alone be nominated for an Oscar. Consuming one's own fame doesn't seem to help.

Director Stephen seemed to notice his hesitation and smiled: "Link, do you know the principle of barrels?"

Link nodded, but didn't quite understand what he meant.

"The principle of making movies is opposite to that of wooden barrels. The decision of how much water a wooden barrel can hold does not depend on the longest piece, nor the shortest piece. It is best to have the same length. If you are strict, you will be strict with others. The actors must also raise their standards so that other people's acting skills will not appear poor.

If this was a literary film, I would ask every actor to do their job, and even ask for actors to be replaced. But this is a commercial film, and the main selling points are sunny beaches, handsome boys and beauties, action scenes and adventures, not acting skills. As long as your As long as the performance is not too stiff and dramatic, it will basically be fine. "

 Director Stephen explained.

Link understood what he meant, which was that he and the other actors in the crew had average acting skills, so he couldn't ask too much of them.

If the requirements are too high, the actors need to be changed, but the male and female protagonists are people installed by the producer, and the director has no right to change them. Director Stephen is also in a difficult position, so they all mess up.

Although Link understands it, he cannot agree with it, because it will waste his time, damage his popularity, and have no other benefits except earning some salary, and he is not short of money.

“Stephen, this is my first speaking role, and I hope you’ll be strict with me because I do have some interest in acting.”

"Haha, no problem. Next, I will use the standards of a third-rate actor to measure your acting skills. If you can't pass the test, I will ask for a reshoot. How about it?"

Director Stephen said with a smile.

 “OK!”

Link made a gesture.

In subsequent performances, Director Stephen indeed had stricter requirements on him, constantly correcting his lines, expressions, and body language, and sometimes even went on stage to teach him how to perform.

 Director Stephen once directed "Life Is Beautiful with You" and was nominated for Best Actor at the 1996 Academy Awards. He still has some ability in directing actors to act.

After eight days of shooting on the set, I felt more tired than practicing boxing, but I also gained a lot. At least I knew how to stand and move, how to face the camera to make myself look more handsome, and how to deal with the pressure of the male protagonist and the female protagonist. The protagonist’s seduction.

 It’s not like in “Fast and Furious 4” where you only learned how to pose for the camera and nothing else.

 After Link stayed in Los Angeles for about two weeks, he went to New York to prepare for playing professional games.

 After arriving in New York, he turned his 12 million U.S. dollars into about 100,000 Amazon shares through an asset manager at Morgan Investment Bank.

Due to the impact of the financial crisis, the U.S. stock market lost a total of 5.3 trillion US dollars from October last year to September this year. The New York Stock Market S&P 500 Index had fallen by 40.6% by August, and nearly 300 banks went bankrupt.

In this case, Internet technology companies such as Amazon, Apple, and Google were not immune and suffered the largest decline since the Internet bubble in 2000.

 The total market value of Amazon has dropped from 33.7 billion US dollars in May 2007 to 23.8 billion US dollars, a drop of nearly 40%. Amazon's stock has also dropped from the highest price of 241 US dollars per share last year to the current US$119.

Link doesn’t know what the lowest value of Amazon’s stock was during the 2008 financial crisis, nor how high its stock will rise next year, but he knows that when Amazon President Jeff Bezos became the world’s richest man in 2019, Amazon’s market value exceeded 10,000 billion, and the stock exceeded $2,000 per share.

 If you buy 100,000 shares in 2008, you can earn about US$230 million in ten years, which is more cost-effective than leaving it in the bank.

As for other high-tech stocks, except for Facebook, he doesn’t know much about them, and he doesn’t dare to risk investing in them. Facebook is not yet listed, and there is no way to invest in shares in advance. It is easier to invest in Amazon stocks first.

 After spending the money, Link felt relaxed.

 (End of this chapter)