Millennium director

July 1, 2003.

After an absence of half a year, Wu Yuan once again set foot on the land of Los Angeles.

The person who came to pick him up was John, the right-hand man of the Light Era.

"Daniel, you really can't do this. In Chinese terms, you are a hands-off shopkeeper!" John complained as soon as they met.

Wu Yuan was very surprised to hear him say the four words "hands-off shopkeeper" in broken Chinese.

This old boy actually started learning Chinese?

A bright smile appeared on Wu Yuan's face.

It seems that John is very satisfied with his stay in Guangdong, and he has taken the initiative to learn his boss's native language.

While adjusting the time zone on his watch, Wu Yuan said happily: "John, I think you are enjoying it now."

"I'm not in the United States. It's you who make the decision on everything in the Light Times. Doesn't it feel more comfortable to be the boss than to work at Fox Searchlight?"

Reaching out to take Wu Yuan's luggage, John looked a little proud, but he still pretended to be dissatisfied and said: "Stop talking, I will send you an email to confirm all the big and small things in the company first. You are the BOSS!"

"Okay, let's not talk about it anymore." Sitting in John's car, Wu Yuan pinched his uncomfortable neck, "How is the overseas sales of "The Hangover" going?"

The North American distribution of "The Hangover" was handed over to Fox, and Light Times itself did not have any distribution connections. It was absolutely impossible to lead the overseas distribution by itself and could only sell it out.

Like China, China Film is willing to buy out the mainland distribution rights of "The Hangover" and then release it in the mainland as a batch film.

As for the price, it's US$300,000, a very low price. "The Hangover" is a very American comedy. China Film Group is not optimistic about the box office market of this movie in the mainland.

If I'm willing to buy it out, I'd like to see that the box office of this movie in North America is very high, so I thought I'd give it a try.

By the way, Director Han did not know that "Light Times" was Wu Yuan's company. Although this matter was not a secret among Hollywood executives, no one in China knew about it for the time being.

"At present, the overseas distribution of "The Hangover" has been sold in more than 50 countries. Our film has done very well at the box office in North America, and foreign film companies are still very interested."

While driving, John reported to Wu Yuan: "The overseas release has already sold for more than 8 million U.S. dollars, and it is estimated that it will eventually sell for more than 10 million."

Wu Yuan smacked his mouth, sighing a little.

Hollywood movies are easy to sell, but if it were a mainland movie, even one of the top three movies in Europe would not be able to make as much money.

"More than ten million is a lot," Wu Yuan said happily, "I have enough money to buy a house."

The money earned from selling the distribution rights is for Wu Yuan alone. John can only participate in the North American box office split, and he does not have a share in other income from "The Hangover".

But John was also very happy. He said cheerfully: "Yes, I have selected the house for you. Let's go and take a look now."

More than an hour later, Beverly Hills, Los Angeles.

The world-famous Beverly Hills is surrounded by many cities in Los Angeles. It is connected to West Hollywood via Darcy Boulevard in the northeast. The famous Sunset Street in West Hollywood also includes Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills.

Wilshire Boulevard, Santa Monica Boulevard and Sunset Boulevard constitute the main thoroughfares in Beverly Hills.

Beverly Boulevard and Rodeo Drive are among the shopping areas.

Coldwater Canyon Street is the main road from Beverly Hills to the San Francisco Valley.

As the most famous city within a city in Los Angeles, Beverly Hills is almost an independent city.

Although it is small in area, about 6 square miles, and has a population of only 35,000, it has functional departments such as an elected mayor, police department, and fire department.

The people who live here are all Hollywood stars and Los Angeles rich people, and it is known as the most exclusive residential area in the world.

Most residents live in the relatively flat "flat area" south of Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, but homes north of Sunset Boulevard are much more expensive than other areas.

And the most expensive homes in Beverly Hills are located on hilly land.

The mansions on the hilly land, that is, halfway up the mountain and on the top of the mountain, are a bit too expensive. They cost tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars, and Wu Yuan cannot afford them for the time being.

John drove the car and took Wu Yuan through Rodeo Drive, which was full of luxury stores, and drove onto Sunset Boulevard.

"Daniel, the house I picked for you is just north of Sunset Boulevard. Although it is not on the mountainside, it is also located on the slopes of Beverly Hills, overlooking Sunset Boulevard."

"follow me."

After a while, John stopped outside the iron gate of a large villa. After a few words with the person in the security room, the door opened.

Wu Yuan, who had been full of curiosity since entering Beverly Hills and kept looking around, finally got around to observing this mansion.

With just one glance, Wu Yuan could tell that this mansion was definitely not cheap and could not be purchased for millions of dollars.

The building area of ​​the mansion in front of you is at least three to four hundred square meters. With the front and rear gardens enclosed by iron railings, outdoor swimming pool, pavilion and other buildings, it is estimated that the entire mansion covers an area of ​​six to seven hundred square meters. .

"Daniel, this house has three floors. There is also a basement and an underground parking lot."

"There are a total of 8 bedrooms on the upper three floors, plus a nanny's room and a bodyguard's room, with a usable area of ​​more than 800 square meters."

“The basement is primarily a gym, sauna, wine cellar, entertainment room and video room.”

"The house has two gardens at the front and back, two indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and a small supporting servant building that can accommodate 4-6 servants."

John got out of the car and took Wu Yuan to the mansion.

Although he lived in a courtyard house in the capital, Wu Yuan had never seen such a mansion in his two lives, and he was really impressed.

"The first floor is mainly the living room, kitchen, laundry room, nanny's room, bodyguard's room, reception room, and conference room."

"The middle room on the second floor is the master bedroom, which is more than 80 square meters. It has a dressing room, a luxurious bathroom, the hostess's dressing room, and the male host's collection room."

"Although the other guest bedrooms are not as luxurious, they all have their own dressing rooms and private bathrooms. If guests come to stay, there is no need to worry about embarrassment."

"In addition to the guest bedroom, the third floor also has a tea room, study room, music room, and a semi-enclosed swimming pool on the balcony with a constant temperature system."

"The first floor of the basement is mainly for various entertainment rooms and wine cellars. If you need it, you can find someone to specially modify the entertainment facilities you want. If you have children in the future, it will be no problem to change it into a small entertainment venue."

"The last underground level is the internal parking lot, which leads directly to Sunset Boulevard under the hillside. The parking lot can park a total of ten cars in two rows."

"You know, some luxury cars are not suitable for parking outdoors. At this time, a private underground parking lot is very suitable."

"If guests arrive, their cars can be parked in the open-air parking lot in the courtyard."

It took the two of them half an hour to visit the entire house and supporting facilities, let alone the zigzag front and rear gardens outside the house, as well as the servants' building next to the garden.

After coming out of the mansion again, John stood on the steps at the door, looking around the beautiful garden, and said to Wu Yuan with a smile:

"Daniel, don't worry about the cleanliness and upkeep of the house."

"This luxury property can be listed in the name of the company, and then the company will hire permanent cleaning staff and gardeners for regular maintenance and repairs."

"Your assistant will check in every day to make sure you are ready to move in at any time."

"My assistant?" Wu Yuan was a little surprised. He could count the number of days he spent in the company in a year on two hands, and he actually had an assistant?

"Of course." John patted Wu Yuan on the shoulder: "You are the boss of our Light Era, how can you not have a personal assistant?"

"She will help you handle all your personal affairs in the United States, including but not limited to property maintenance, vehicle maintenance, ordering meals, planning your itinerary, conveying your orders, requirements, etc. to the company..."

"Anyway, if you have anything inconvenient or too lazy to do, you can leave it to her."

Putting the assistant's matter aside for now, Wu Yuan also looked around the garden, and then recalled his experience of visiting the interior of the mansion. He really liked and was satisfied with this house.

"John, let's be honest, how much does this mansion cost?"

"Eighteen million dollars."

John grinned, showing eight white teeth: "You can buy it in the name of the company. Not only does it increase the company's physical assets, but it can also be tax deductible."

Isn’t it just 18 million US dollars!

Wu Yuan gritted his teeth and said, "I bought it!"