The latest in Los Angeles

On the dining table was a feast of fish, meat, tofu, and vegetables, which not only delighted Henry but also allowed old Gary to enjoy a meal he hadn't had in a long time.

Henry devoured most of the food. Back in Switzerland, considering the lady's light palate and health condition, he practically ate grass every day; how could he not retaliate fiercely?

Old Gary, who came in to eat with them, brought a bottle of bourbon whiskey. After they finished eating, Henry first piled the dishes in the sink. He then turned on the stereo system, which hadn't been used in a long time, and turned the volume down to the lowest setting to use as background music.

He poured whiskey for the two of them into glasses. After a few drinks, old Gary let out a long breath, and his tone was more normal than usual, no longer his usual seductive manner, and his speech was no longer effeminate.

Old Gary said, "Damn, it's been so long since I've had a proper meal like this."

"It can't be that bad. Even if your cooking skills aren't great, there are plenty of good restaurants outside, they're just a bit more expensive. Los Angeles may not be a food capital, but it has a huge customer base with amazing spending power, so there's no shortage of excellent chefs opening restaurants there."

Old Gary rolled his eyes and said, "Looks like you really haven't been back for too long. Before, in Los Angeles, as long as you avoided those gang-related neighborhoods, you wouldn't run into any trouble at night. Things are different now."

Upon hearing this, Henry frowned and asked, "Is the situation that bad?"

Old Gary said angrily, "Animals that have eaten people cannot live, but people cannot be dealt with in the same way. The government seems to have used strong measures to suppress the riots, but it is weak and incompetent in the final handling of the situation, and makes many concessions to the blacks."

"They even punished those officers who did their duty. I can't help but wonder if, in the future, if a Black person commits murder, as long as they insist on their skin color, they can use the excuse of white discrimination to try and convict them, and then be acquitted."

Henry shrugged and said, "There's no way around it. Biologically speaking, introducing a foreign species into a region will inevitably cause a corresponding chain reaction. When white people brought black people from Africa to the the Americas as slaves, they were destined to bear the consequences we face today."

"Those damn blacks," old Gary cursed, then added, "Anyway, the streets of Los Angeles are pretty much the same everywhere except downtown and the wealthy areas. It's best not to go out alone at night."

"Will they rob us?" Henry asked curiously.

Old Gary replied, "Even if you don't get robbed, haven't you seen how arrogant those black people are right now? As long as you look like someone easy to bully, they'll find something to do with you. As for what will happen in the end, I can only say that whatever happens wouldn't be surprising."

Hearing this, Henry didn't even want to ask the police why they weren't doing anything about it.

Although last year's Los Angeles riots were quelled by the combined efforts of the military and law enforcement, the events ended by damaging the credibility of the police force, unlike a time when a crackdown would have made petty thieves more cautious.

So instead of blaming Black people for being greedy, it's more accurate to say that the Los Angeles government gave them this opportunity, and if the Black community didn't take advantage of it, it would be a waste of their innate intelligence.

Although he hadn't yet made up his mind to go back and stir things up, Henry still asked, "What about Hollywood? Is it the same situation there?"

"Ha, you're seriously underestimating those Jews who're entrenched at the top of Hollywood. Those black guys, besides raising their own funds and running their own little clique, think they can get a piece of this lucrative pie? Dream on."

Come to think of it, it's the circle that Black people built up and defined the rules of, starting with jazz and soul music and accumulating to contemporary rap.

The eight major arts in Western culture have always been dominated by white values.

Especially in Hollywood, the top circle of fame and fortune, a group of black people speaking with rolled "r" sounds and carrying guns, trying to get involved, will likely end up being smashed to pieces. Trying to outdo the real big shots in ruthlessness? These black people from Africa aren't even close. Even in the era of Black Lives Matter, only a few films with relatively dark themes have proven themselves at the box office.

This led Hollywood, blindly following trends, to believe that the era of Black people had arrived.

But this did not shake the political stance of those at the top; it only made the voices and proportions of Black people in the film more and more prominent.

As long as Black people can no longer prove themselves through box office success, they will be abandoned by Hollywood again, just like generations of big stars who have been abandoned.

"So, are you going back to being an actor?" Henry muttered to himself.

"What? Do you have other plans?" Old Gary thought for a moment and said, "You've been following Audrey Hepburn for over a year, haven't you gotten any connections from her? Or that she agreed to pave the way for you, to introduce you to some big directors? Didn't you manage to curry favor with her enough?"

"Fuck! Gary, that's going too far," Henry complained, sounding slightly annoyed.

Old Gary raised his hands in surrender and said bluntly, "It was my fault."

Henry then said seriously, "I have attended many fundraising parties with Ms. Hepburn and met quite a few people. But that circle doesn't belong exclusively to Hollywood, and it's too high-end. I was just a transparent assistant; I couldn't get on their good side."

"Even if I were to use Audrey Hepburn's name to swindle people today, it wouldn't be of much use given that she's already passed away. Besides, she has children in the film industry; it's not my place to get involved."

"That's right. So you didn't go to live with her children?" old Gary asked.

Henry replied, "Sean mainly works in the Europe film industry. Europe cinema itself is barely surviving; what's the point of going there? Besides, who would promote their mother's former assistant? Wouldn't it be better to use that resource to invest in someone with a better future?"

"That's true," old Gary exclaimed. He then helped Henry take stock of the situation, saying, "In other words, besides spending more than half a year as an extra, you were also Audrey Hepburn's assistant for more than a year."

"With your qualifications, are you interested in pursuing a career path as an agent, or a producer's assistant leading to a producer? No, you'd probably be better suited as an agent; as for a producer, without some connections, no one would even dare to hire you."

Henry laughed, "Then, I can't get clients like big stars. I can only hope that some nobody I signed from who-knows-where can somehow make their way to the top as an actor or actress? Dude, that's not an easy path either."

Old Gary said disdainfully, "There's no easy path to success. What If...? there were, I'd take it."

Will it tell you?

"Oh, you're absolutely right." Things that people can easily say are either unimportant or things they don't care about.

No one is truly incapable of keeping a secret because they're stupid. The only reason is that they didn't take the secret to heart.