Megan Throws Herself at Him

Li Chen had read the script for "Batman."

There was nothing particularly new about it. All he could say was that it flowed smoothly and focused on Batman's growth.

But a movie like this was exactly what the DC Universe in his previous life had lacked.

Warner Bros. had been far too impatient with its DC Universe.

First, they had rushed to release "Green Lantern," only for it to flop so badly that they dared not put the character on the big screen again for more than a decade.

After two quiet years, Warner Bros. released "Superman." This time it was reasonably successful, but the executives at Warner Bros. were not satisfied.

Because over at Disney, Marvel had already reached the Avengers!

So, with pressure coming from all sides, they skipped Batman's solo movie and went straight to filming "Batman v Superman."

In fact, the movie should have been a huge success. Its opening weekend brought in as much as $170 million, the highest opening-weekend box office in Warner Bros. history.

And that was just in North America. Adding the opening-weekend box office worldwide, it easily exceeded $200 million.

The facts showed that most audiences wanted to see Batman and Superman face off on the big screen.

Unfortunately, because of the lack of buildup and a theatrical cut that had been edited to pieces, word of mouth collapsed, and the final box office was disappointing.

That brought up one of Zack Snyder's traits... he liked making director's cuts.

Because in Hollywood's producer-driven system, he did not have final cut as a director.

But that also proved there were major problems with his filmmaking. At the very least, he had failed to tell the story clearly within two hours.

Still, that also had to do with Warner Bros.' strategy. If there had been a solo "Batman" movie, this would not have happened.

But Warner Bros. had its own argument: Nolan's "Batman" trilogy had only just wrapped up, so how could they possibly shoot a new Batman movie already?

And so, Warner Bros.' DC Universe collapsed.

That was also why Li Chen had never considered making the "Batman" trilogy. Although those three movies were indeed classics, Batman's combat power in them was too low. They were clearly unsuitable as part of a DC Universe plan.

They were less like superhero movies and more like detective movies in superhero clothing.

On set, Scarlett was the first to notice Li Chen.

Scarlett had gotten the role of Catwoman and was deeply grateful to Li Chen.

Several times, she had wanted to throw herself at him, calling to say she couldn't hold back anymore.

After trying Li Chen, she no longer had eyes for anyone else.

But Li Chen was very busy and had turned her down repeatedly.

So when Scarlett saw Li Chen again, she looked somewhat resentful.

Li Chen gave her a hug, his expression calm.

"Tonight?"

"I have something to do tonight."

Li Chen sounded apologetic.

Scarlett knew where the problem lay: she couldn't fully satisfy Li Chen.

But she had already done her best. She really couldn't take it.

"Li, welcome."

Zack Snyder was all smiles, looking pleased with himself.

The others watched from the side, looking reserved.

"Zack, how's it going?"

"Very smoothly."

Snyder nodded.

Then he began making introductions to Li Chen.

What did a successful commercial movie need? A complete script, an excellent director and producer, and, of course, either a sufficiently well-known property or actors with box-office draw.

Finally, add a beautiful actress as "eye candy."

It sounded harsh, but that was the truth. For a long time, movie audiences had mostly been men.

Only certain movies, such as romances, had predominantly female audiences.

In Li Chen's view, as long as they didn't mess around, "Batman" would have no trouble succeeding.

Zack Snyder's strengths and weaknesses were both obvious. His movies had a powerful visual style and a strong religious feel, a foundation he had built as a commercial director.

But he lacked clear control over the script and had a preference for slow-motion shots.

Li Chen recalled watching "Rebel Moon." Even the heroine harvesting wheat had to be shown in slow motion, making him want to throw up.

So Snyder absolutely could not be given too much power. There was no way he could be allowed to produce the movie himself; an experienced producer had to keep an eye on him.

Li Chen therefore gave the producer, Jeff, a few instructions.

In Hollywood, producers were the ones who truly held power.

Not long ago, a media outlet had compiled a "Hollywood power list." The most famous producer on it, and the one with the most power, was Jerry Bruckheimer.

"Top Gun," "The Rock," "Black Hawk Down," "National Treasure," and even "Pirates of the Caribbean" had all been made through the efforts of this finest of Hollywood producers.

There had been a time when a movie produced by him was a guarantee of box-office success.

That was also why Hollywood companies considered producers more important than directors.

Li Chen chatted with Ben Affleck for a while, and then Zack Snyder came over.

"Boss, do you have any ideas for the movie's subtitle?"

Just like "Superman," whose subtitle was Man of Steel.

This was actually a common practice in Hollywood movies, intended to highlight a movie's distinctive features.

Li Chen thought for a moment and said, "How about Dark Knight?"

There was no particular reason. He just thought the name sounded cool.

"Dark Knight? Cool!"

Snyder immediately grew excited.

Li Chen soon left with Li Qianhuan, or Scarlett would latch onto him.

That crazy woman didn't care what anyone else thought and insisted on showing how close she was to him.

Though that was perfectly normal in Hollywood...

Even so, it left Li Qianhuan green with envy. "So actresses really are this forward."

"They're forward with me."

Li Chen glanced at her.

He looked into the distance and saw that Megan Fox had also found a chance to slip out, hoping to say hello to him.

Heaven knew how attractive a young film company boss like Li Chen was to actresses.

After all, the others were all old geezers with big bellies. Women cared about looks too, okay?

As long as they latched onto Li Chen, they could save themselves decades of detours.

So their frenzy was understandable.

"Oh!"

Megan Fox rather clumsily "accidentally" bumped into Li Chen.

To keep her from "falling," Li Chen had no choice but to put his arm around her.

"Careful, Miss Fox."

"Just call me Megan."

Megan Fox gave Li Chen a flirtatious look.

She really was beautiful and sexy now, and Li Chen liked her type.

He just couldn't understand why Megan Fox had insisted on Kardashianizing herself in his previous life.

All he could say was that the Kardashian family had done plenty of harm.

Li Qianhuan felt a little helpless. She had discovered that her boss was a little too charming.

Of course she knew why: it was thanks to Li Chen's money power.

He was rich!

In a capitalist society, money was more attractive than anything else.

As the NBA's The Round Mound of Rebound Barkley had said, Jordan wasn't handsome for shit. If he had as much money as Jordan, he'd be handsome too!