If I''m not mistaken, Aitken must have promised Fox a lot of benefits after taking down the giant Universal tree. Otherwise, with Fox''s personality, he wouldn''t do something without getting anything in return. Similarly, once Fox is on the same page as Aitken, he will definitely go all out to attack me and Leamer.


    I think I should talk to Leamer face to face!


    That night, I called Leamer and proposed the idea of meeting to talk. Leamer agreed to me and said he was free on the morning of the 5th and asked me to come to his company.


    I didn''t sleep all night. Before dawn the next day, I got up and took a taxi to the headquarters of Universal Pictures. In order not to attract attention, I didn''t bring anyone with me.


    Universal Pictures is located in the western suburbs of Hollywood, far away from Harvey Street. I slept in the car for a while and was woken up half an hour later.


    The gate of Universal Pictures was tightly closed. It seemed that they hadn''t started work yet. It was just past seven o''clock at this time. There were only a few pedestrians on the empty street. The early shift tram clanged and the sky was getting light. The air was still a little cold.


    I tucked the collar of my trench coat up to cover my face, walked into a small alley next to the gate and had something to eat, waiting for them to open the door.


    About forty or fifty minutes later, two doormen pulled the big iron gate with a whoosh. I crossed the street and walked over, telling them that Mr. Leamer had an appointment with me. They let me in.


    Universal Pictures has a huge area. Inside, there are factory sheds, office areas, temporary residential areas, warehouse areas, etc., which are strictly divided and guarded by special personnel. My DreamWorks is simply incomparable to it.


    I got lost inside. Later, I even got lost. Finally, under the guidance of an actor, I found a small building that looked extremely ordinary and even a little dilapidated from the outside.


    When the actor told me that this was where Leamer worked, I didn''t quite believe it. This small building might be the most dilapidated building in the company. Was the boss of Universal really working here?!


    "Sir, this is our boss''s style. He is low - key and pragmatic. If you want to work in Hollywood, you should find someone like our boss!" The actor said with pride when he mentioned Leamer.


    After saying goodbye to him, I went upstairs alone along the gray - white marble staircase. When I entered the door, the doorman stopped me.


    "Sir, you can''t go in casually!"


    "Mr. Leamer has an appointment with me."


    "Mr. Leamer hasn''t gotten up yet. You can meet him later." The doorman looked at me as if he wanted to keep me a thousand miles away.


    "Can I wait inside?" I asked.


    "No! You can''t disturb Mr. Leamer''s rest. He has been working hard enough!" The doorman sniffed and his tone was full of worry for Leamer.


    It seemed that Leamer was still very respected in the minds of Universal employees.


    Since they wouldn''t let me in, I could only wait outside. I sat on the bench at the door and took out a cigarette. Before I could light it, I heard someone calling me from behind. When I turned around, I found it was Heidi.


    She was wearing a black long dress with a small black shawl on the outside and a pair of black leather shoes on her feet. Her hair was a little messy and her eyes were red and swollen. She was completely different from the "Hollywood Flower" in my memory who was bold, sexy and showed a row of white teeth as soon as she smiled.


    "Andre, how come you are here?" A gust of wind blew and Heidi pulled the shawl.


    I put the cigarette back into the cigarette case and said, "I want to talk to Mr. Leamer about ''Lust, Caution'' and the movie''s release problem."


    Wow! As soon as Heidi heard what I said, she burst into tears immediately.


    In this way, I was at a loss.


    "Heidi, don''t cry. What''s wrong?" I said anxiously.


    Heidi threw herself into my arms and smeared all her snot and tears on my clothes. "It''s all your fault! It''s all your fault! For making this stupid movie, which made my father love it at first sight. He insisted on pulling down all the movies currently showing in Universal theaters and only showing your movie. As a result, there are criticisms everywhere outside now. If the release fails, Universal will be doomed!"


    Heidi''s crying proved that what I had heard about Universal''s capital operation situation was true. At least, Leamer had encountered great challenges now.


    "Don''t cry, don''t cry. It''s just the ''Hollywood Flower''. Isn''t it just such a small matter?!" I said with a smile.


    Heidi looked up at me and gave me an angry look. "My father is so anxious that he has fallen ill! And you can still laugh?!" The little vixen gritted her teeth as if she wanted to eat me.


    "I''m here now. Don''t worry. I''ll solve it!"


    The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Really?" Heidi stopped crying and smiled.


    "Really!"


    "Then let''s go in quickly!" Heidi pulled me and ran towards the door.


    "Didn''t you say Mr. Leamer was sleeping?" I asked doubtfully.


    Heidi wouldn''t let go of me. While running, she shouted, "You are here. Why should he still sleep?!"


    Leamer worked on the second floor and his bedroom was on the third floor. Generally, he rested at home and only stayed here when the company was busy. When we entered, he was still lying on a huge white sofa.


    "Dad, look who''s come?" Heidi pushed me in front of him.


    The old man looked haggard. He seemed much older than the energetic movie tycoon I had seen in the DreamWorks cinema. His face was full of wrinkles, his eyes were bloodshot and his chin was full of unshaven white stubble.


    "Andre! Come on, come on, sit down quickly!" Leamer sat up suddenly, put on his clothes and asked Heidi to make tea for me.


    It seemed that everyone knew my habit of drinking tea now. Not long after Heidi ran out, she brought a cup of fine West Lake Longjing over.


    "Mr. Leamer, I came today because there are some words that must be said to you in person." I took a sip of tea, looked at Leamer. Even in such a difficult situation, the old man still looked calm. He was really an old fox who had fought all his life.


    "Andre, are you talking about my predicament as an old man?" Leamer looked at me and smiled, then said in a low voice, "Are you going to tell me that someone is secretly sabotaging me?"


    "You know?!" I shouted loudly.


    Leamer looked at me and nodded. He stood up, patted my shoulder and smiled. "Actually, not long after signing the contract, I felt there was something wrong. But I didn''t think too much. There was only one reason, that is, I liked your movie too much. I have been struggling in Hollywood for so many years and no movie has ever touched me like this. There are shadows of my grandfather and father in it, and also my own shadow. So no matter what the result is, I must let Universal theaters show it!"


    Leamer''s voice trembled. Looking at the morning light outside the window, he sighed slightly. "I''m old. When people get old, they won''t be as naked as when they were young and only care about money in their eyes. They begin to know that besides money, there are more important things, that is, pursuit. If it were 20 years ago, I would never have made this mistake."


    "But now Universal has encountered great difficulties. If it can''t be solved well, the consequences will be unimaginable!" I had to remind Leamer of the seriousness of the matter.


    Leamer smiled and leaned over to whisper in my ear: "Let me tell you an insider. This year, I invested a large sum of money in real estate. As a result, I lost all of it last month. Now I am in debt. Facing such a situation again, the company is like a small boat in a storm and is always in danger of capsizing. Originally, I was still hoping that by showing this movie, I could earn a little money. In this way, there will be some working capital in the company to make several new movies next year and turn over. Unexpectedly, those guys don''t let me go."


    "Mr. Leamer, it''s all my fault. I''ve done you harm." I lowered my head.


    Leamer smiled and sat opposite me gently and said, "Andre, from the first time I saw you, I knew you were different from Chuck, Aitken and the others, and also different from Marcuolov. You reminded me of myself when I was young. I had ideals and longings for life. So you could make a movie that made me fascinated and let the movie be shown in all Universal theaters. It was my own choice and had nothing to do with you. On the contrary, I should thank you. Thank you for making such an excellent movie and fulfilling one of my dreams. You don''t know. I have always wanted to make a movie about the Civil War, but I haven''t started yet. Other companies have made some, but they are all purely for money."


    Leamer looked at me, his eyes full of kindness and encouragement.


    "But do you know that the current situation is not as simple as you think? The one who wants to deal with us is Aitken of the Mutual Company, and he has even colluded with Fox. In addition, Bishop is also instigated by him. Coupled with Chuck of Paramount Pictures, a group of guys are eyeing your Universal covetously. They won''t give up easily until they swallow Universal. The First National Pictures Company, Biograph, MGM, Essanay, Flash, Warner Bros., these companies are all watching from the sidelines and reaping the benefits. Now the ones that can be confirmed not to be involved may be United Artists and Columbia." I told Leamer all the intelligence I had mastered, as well as my ideas on how to solve the problem.


    Leamer was stunned for a moment: "Fox has also joined?! Andre, I really didn''t know these things you said, and it has also solved a lot of doubts in my heart."


    Heidi looked at me and Leamer and rubbed her hands and said, "Dad, Andre, stop analyzing the situation and think of a way quickly!"


    Hahaha. Leamer looked at Heidi''s anxious look and laughed.


    "Heidi, you can''t be so anxious when facing problems. Andre is right. The key now is to turn the public opinion. What we can do is to find someone more authoritative than Bissenter and Bishop. But as you know, these two people are basically uncontrollable in Hollywood and Los Angeles." Leamer was of course very familiar with the situation in Hollywood.


    "Mr. Leamer, I have great doubts about the ''Christian Truth Newspaper''. Logically speaking, it has the closest relationship with the bishop. But why is it so surprisingly silent among all the newspapers?" I raised the question that had been suppressed in my heart for a long time.


    This question also made Leamer fall into deep thought. He pinched his chin and walked back and forth in the room, and then said softly, "I can''t say clearly either. But as far as I know, this newspaper has indeed had a very good relationship with the bishop all the time. Why didn''t it support the bishop this time? Although its circulation is not large, its influence in the whole West is even greater than that of ''Los Angeles Times'' such a newspaper."


    Leamer thought for a while, and then suddenly walked quickly to the telephone on the desk, dialed a number and said loudly, "Help me check the situation of their new editor - in - chief who just took office."


    Leamer waited for a while, then put down the phone and said to me, "They changed a new editor - in - chief at the beginning of this year. It is said that he also came from our Hollywood. I haven''t paid attention to it all the time. Hehe, Andre, guess who it is?" Leamer had a smile on his face and a glimmer of joy in his eyes.


    "Who?" How could I possibly know?


    "Biely Pizhel!"


    Maybe others don''t know this name very well, but I am too familiar with it! Biely Pizhel was the cinematographer of Griffith''s "Intolerance" and also his good friend! Griffith bet all his family property on the shooting of "Intolerance". Although this movie became a masterpiece in the history of movies, it was a box - office failure. Griffith also carried a heavy debt burden for life and never recovered. However, Pizhel''s superb cinematography conquered all the audiences. For this reason, after leaving Griffith, he accepted a lot of movie shootings and later voluntarily withdrew from the film industry and left the sight of Hollywood. But I didn''t expect that he had become the editor - in - chief of the "Christian Truth Newspaper".


    "So it is Pizhel!" I was overjoyed and suddenly grabbed Leamer''s hand. "We are saved!"


    Leamer naturally understood my meaning and laughed heartily.


    Only Heidi looked at us with big eyes, confused.


    Pizhel was very familiar with Griffith. Through him, we could find Griffith. Although Griffith has basically cut off his movie peak now, he is still recognized as a leading figure in Hollywood. Bissenter is still a junior in front of him. As long as he is willing to help us, I think the banner of Bissenter will automatically fall in front of him.


    Leamer and I discussed it for a while, and then went downstairs directly to the headquarters of the "Christian Truth Newspaper".