Batman Began Filming

Although he wanted to take the two little maids out for some fun, Li Chen still couldn't put his work aside.

The main reason was that the lottery really was addictive.

All he had to do was open the system to see the notifications.

[Pirate King generated 100 reputation points]

[Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World generated 20 reputation points]

[Superman reputation points...]

[One-Punch Man...]

He could see his reputation points slowly increasing, and naturally, the sight filled him with excitement.

It felt great to see his efforts rewarded.

If he'd had a system in high school and could see his own progress, getting into Tsinghua University or Peking University... actually, that probably still would've been impossible. The required scores were too high.

In the office, Harry Sloan said with a smile, "Li, don't you want that girl named Taylor?"

"?"

Li Chen said, "I just think she has a lot of potential."

Why did it sound so strange when Harry put it like that?

"Sure, sure."

Harry Sloan continued, "Starlight Pictures wants to establish a music division, but starting from scratch would be too difficult."

"We have two options."

Li Chen motioned for him to go on.

"First, we could find someone with plenty of experience and build it from scratch."

"Second, we could simply acquire these record companies."

As with movies, the biggest problem for small companies was how to distribute them.

The same went for record companies. Distribution channels were crucial.

With so many record stores across America and the world, how could they get their records into them without enough people?

That was one of the roles the Hollywood giants played. If nothing else, they had plenty of people.

Otherwise, were they paying all those employees to sit around doing nothing?

Building distribution channels wouldn't be hard for Starlight Pictures. The hard part was producing quality songs.

Just like with movies, why had MGM gone bankrupt? Because its movies weren't good enough and didn't make enough at the box office.

People said that after the twenty-first century began, Warner Bros. churned out bad movies and suffered enormous losses every day. But it still had movies that made money, and lots of it, so even its losses didn't seriously hurt it.

But a company like MGM, without a media giant to keep it afloat, couldn't avoid bankruptcy.

And producing songs required not only singers but also a whole supporting staff. Equipment and the like, by contrast, could all be taken care of with money.

Li Chen understood now, so he asked, "You want to acquire one?"

"Yes."

Harry Sloan said, "Taylor Swift's contract is with Big Machine Records. Its founder is Scott Borchetta, and the company focuses on country music."

"He previously worked at DreamWorks and Universal Music. He's an excellent music producer."

Li Chen made up his mind on the spot. "Then go negotiate an acquisition."

If they could pull it off, they needed to tie Taylor firmly to their side. After all, she was a real money-making machine.

Later, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was released in theaters and made even more at the box office than many movies...

That showed just how popular she was.

"Oh, and there's Katy Perry. She's currently signed to Capitol Records, a Universal Pictures label."

"Then forget it."

Li Chen waved his hand.

Only now did he appreciate how frightening the world of capital was. Many people were spotted and developed before they ever became famous. If he wanted to snap up an overlooked talent, he'd have to get there many years in advance.

So Li Chen decided to look for newcomers.

After Harry Sloan left, Li Chen called Li Qianhuan over.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"To visit the sets."

In the car, Li Chen received a call from the White Queen, telling him there was a party that evening.

This was a regular event at the Hellfire Club, because relationships needed constant upkeep. If people went too long without seeing each other, they would grow distant.

So the Hellfire Club often held parties.

He told the White Queen he would go.

He had already noticed that, by American standards, the Hellfire Club's parties were actually fairly normal.

Although there was still plenty of alcohol, they didn't go too far, and even sex was rarely a feature. Perhaps that was because the White Queen and the Black Queen were both women.

He had heard that some terrifying circles not only held dark rituals but even "ate meat."

It made Li Chen remark that calling them descendants of pirates was an understatement; descendants of demons was more like it.

Just thinking about it made him feel sick.

"We're here."

Li Qianhuan's driving was anything but smooth, and she raced all the way to the studio lot.

During Hollywood's golden age, movie companies built numerous studios in the area. Their movies were filmed almost entirely on the lots, and they rarely went elsewhere for location shooting.

But as filmmaking technology developed, those studios also declined.

Many movies now shot on location around the world, and there were also tax breaks for filming elsewhere.

For example, if a movie with a budget of over a hundred million filmed in a certain place, it would get a percentage back.

That meant a sharp reduction in cost pressure.

As a result, the once-glorious studio was now covered in rust and looked very old.

Li Chen had come to visit two Starlight Pictures productions.

Transformers made extensive use of special effects, and much of it was filmed indoors.

Meanwhile, Zack Snyder hadn't been able to resist any longer and had hurried to start filming Batman.

Li Chen took his bodyguard, Li Qianhuan, to check on Transformers first.

That was mainly because Kitty Pryde had been slipped into the production as a passerby.

When they reached the set, they saw the male and female leads filming a scene, acting against props that weren't there.

After all, they couldn't conjure up actual Transformers to film with them...

The female lead was striking and very much in line with Eastern beauty standards. She was the somewhat alluring Megan Fox.

When Megan Fox first debuted, her looks were considered so seductive that she was seen as Angelina Jolie's successor.

Although they were both sexy, Li Chen really couldn't see any resemblance in their looks.

Angelina Jolie's big mouth, on the other hand, was memorable. It would surely be great to eat.

But apparently, Megan Fox had even less brains than Angelina Jolie.

As for the male lead, he had been replaced by someone Li Chen didn't know.

The male lead in the original Transformers was Steven Spielberg's godson, but Li Chen had no ties to Spielberg now.

Besides, Hollywood had too many lunatics, and the original male lead was one of them.

But acting had never been important in this kind of movie. All it needed was handsome men and beautiful women; the main attraction was the Transformers.

Li Qianhuan, meanwhile, spotted Kitty.

"Boss, Kitty's over there."

"I'm not blind."

Li Chen didn't disturb Michael Bay. After watching for a bit, he turned and went next door.

Preparations for Batman were much more hectic.

The crew was larger too, with over a hundred people.

That was another terrifying thing about Hollywood productions. A major production sometimes needed hundreds or even thousands of people, which kept movie costs high.

Just feeding all those people and taking care of their daily needs was a considerable expense.

But that was also proof of Hollywood's industrialization.