Chapter 58: Declaration of War

  The movie company is a closed book, for the four of them, even if this $10 million is lost entirely, it's not an irreparable disaster, and if the investment pays off, like Ryan's previous films, it will bring in endless returns.

  Ryan went to the car and retrieved his backpack, handing one of the folders to Paige Kinsley, which was the revised script for "Bodyguard", as well as ten songs including "I Will Always Love You" and "I Have Nothing".

  The script, like his previous works, is interspersed with many scene-setting descriptions. Ryan also noted on it that Kevin Costner would be the best choice for the male lead role, but if the film company disagreed, it didn't matter, Hollywood could still turn without whoever was missing.

  Besides, for this kind of movie, as long as you find a passable commercial film director who doesn't have a screw loose and isn't pretentious about being artistic, the possibility of losing money is infinitely small.

  The eight songs that supplement the creation have consumed a lot of his time and energy. After all, inspiration is not something you can get when you want it, but Ryan has confidence that these songs will not be inferior to the original version.

  Apart from that, there is a small folder. After passing it to Jin Silie, Ryan said, "Pate, after the company is established, try to get the book and movie adaptation rights for 'The Wolf of Wall Street', 'Forrest Gump', 'The Bourne Identity', 'Interview with the Vampire' and 'Catch Me If You Can: The True Story of a Non-Ordinary Swindler'. Do your best, and deal with the others as you see fit."

  "This is......" Jin Silie furrowed her brow, "And Chinese?"

  "Uh-huh. You know, I'm really interested in Eastern culture." Ryan responded with a nod and said, "If you have the time, go to Taiwan yourself."

  Actually, Ryan listed a large catalog, apart from the four he mentioned, the others can be taken down if possible, and it doesn't matter if they can't. Originally, he also wanted to include Stephen King's "Different Seasons" in the scope of trying his best to take them down, but later thought about it and gave up.

  That's right, one of the adapted "The Shawshank Redemption" is very wonderful and classic, can be called one of the best movies in the 90s, but can it really live up to the perfect two words? Moreover, it lost badly at the box office, the reason is simple, in this era, prison-themed films are not liked by either audiences or film academies.

  Later, the success in the VHS market was partly due to sympathy votes after the Oscar defeat. If I had made it myself and won one or two small golden men at the Oscars, I would have cried so much that there would be no place for tears.

  This is a very realistic Hollywood, if you mess up once, you will throw away half of the halo you got before, especially for screenwriters.

  In case such a situation arises, must we wait ten years later, when the media looks back and comments on classic films, to give "The Shawshank Redemption" its rightful name?

  It's still someone else's thing that belongs to someone else, in this case, it's no surprise that "The Shawshank Redemption" is still a classic.

  The serious talk was over and they started chatting casually, soon the topic turned to Ryan.

  "Ryan, something wasn't quite right about what happened yesterday." Jin Silie had been in this circle for a long time after all, and subconsciously felt that there was something off.

  "That's right." Ryan nodded. "Although it was far away, I saw Tom Cruise sitting in the car opposite the school."

  "Him?" Nicole gritted her teeth, as if ready to pounce on someone, "Again him? Next time I see..."

  "Nikki, don't worry." Ryan squeezed her hand tightly and slowly pried open her clenched fist. "Pate, notify the media we're friendly with, I'm going to hold a press conference."

  ……

  Another weekend has arrived, and many journalists have gathered at the headquarters of Disney in Burbank City. Many are prominent figures in the media circle, and it's natural that they would collectively take action for an important task.

  Just a few days ago, the media, including the three major newspaper branches in Los Angeles, received notifications from Ryan Jenkins that he would hold a press conference. These keen-nosed guys immediately understood that the other party was going to respond to some recent hot issues.

  It wasn't just print media reporters who arrived, they also saw Fox TV's broadcast van.

  It was actually Ryan's idea, he borrowed Disney's press hall and simply gave the TV broadcasting rights of the press conference to Disney, anyway his intention was to make a big noise.

  It turned out that Disney not only gave the broadcast rights to Disney TV, but also sold them back to Fox TV, leaving Ryan speechless. However, this was a good thing after all, as Fox TV's influence far exceeded that of Disney TV.

  It seems to be cheering Ryan up, not only did Jin Silie sit beside him, but also Nicole sat on the other side, as for the reporters below the stage, they were still in order, at least this place didn't become a chaotic vegetable market.

  "A few days ago, I think everyone knows...” Ryan simply recounted what happened after school that day and said, “I don't know who they are, nor do I want to know who they are. My lawyer has already sent a lawyer's letter. Their behavior threatened my personal safety, and I will apply for an injunction from the court!"

  "But..." A reporter couldn't help but stand up, "They say there is evidence that..."

  "This isn't the time for questions." Ryan cut in bluntly, then looked to his side. "I'll say it again, in this world I only have one relative and her name is Nicole Kidman!"

  Ryan's eyes left the Australian girl, and the tenderness in them disappeared, replaced by a sharpness like a sword. "To me, they never existed in my life, not in the past, not now, and not in the future... they will still not exist."

  The reporters below naturally understood that he was referring to those who had abandoned him.

  "Besides, you know what kind of experience I had in my childhood. For me, the people who provided sperm and egg do not necessarily represent family members. Even if they really appear in front of me in the future, I will not acknowledge them!"

  This sentence, destined to become a Hollywood classic quote, came out of Ryan's mouth like this. There were not a few reporters present who had dealt with him before, but it was the first time they saw the boy's passionate and full of personality side.

  However, Ryan's words were not finished yet. He found the TV broadcast footage and pointed at it with his right hand, saying "I know you're standing behind this, if you want to start a war, then fine... War... It starts now!"

  The scene below suddenly became chaotic. Some quick-witted reporters immediately guessed the meaning of Ryan's words and vaguely understood who he was referring to!

  War? Open declaration of war?

  As they stood there with their mouths agape, Ryan pulled Nikki away and left the press conference without looking back, leaving only Goldie to deal with those explosive guys.

  "Ryan, you..." returned to the rest room, Nicole didn't know what to say, in this circle, even with the biggest contradictions, there are very few people who openly scold.

  "Nico, don't worry, don't forget, I'm just a kid under twelve years old, a bit rebellious, a bit intense, not many people will hold it against me." Apparently, Ryan had thought this through long ago, age was sometimes a disadvantage for him, but at other times, it was a huge advantage.

  Adults always tolerate minors, let alone Ryan didn't explicitly say who the other person was and didn't say anything too much.

  "Okay." Nicole let out a sigh, unknowingly she always treated him as an adult.

  Nikki's mobile phone rang at this time. She took a look and saw the New York number, immediately understanding who was calling. "Ryan, Nate's phone."

  Nate? Ryan was slightly stunned, this wasn't their usual time for a fixed phone call. It seemed Natalie had just watched the live broadcast of the press conference.

  "Nate, something wrong?"

  "Ryan, were you just referring to Tom Cruise?" Natalie asked from the other side.

  "That's right, what has happened these days is related to him."

  "Then saying it like that won't have a bad influence, will it?" Natalie asked with some concern.

  "Don't worry, Nate," Ryan said with a deep breath. "He's already hit me in the face, I'm not going to just sit back and do nothing."

  "Ryan, I know I can't help you now, what I mean is, I'll always stand with you, fight back with every means you can think of!" It's clear that Natalie has been influenced by Ryan to some extent and sometimes becomes a bit unruly.

  "Counterattack? Definitely, I must...” Ryan suddenly remembered something, paused for a moment, and then said, “Nate, let’s talk about it when I get home, I just thought of something.”

  "Alright, goodbye."

  Ryan hung up the phone and handed it to Nicole, who had found him in the break room. Just then, the door to the break room opened and Carter Eisner walked in.

  "Ryan, no matter what, Disney is on your side!" he shouted.

  Ryan rolled his eyes. Disney had nothing to do with Tom Cruise in the first place, and now they wanted to take sides? Unless their heads were collectively underwater.

  "Nicka, where is my backpack? Thank you."

  He didn't even bother with Carter, pulling out a pen and blank sheet music from his backpack, sitting down to try and recall the tune of the song.

  Carter Eisner shut his mouth under Nicole's hint, standing aside scratching his ears and cheeks. He had seen this situation before, obviously Ryan was inspired, but looking at the current appearance, it seemed to be writing a musical score?

  To be honest, Ryan has no better counterattack than taking away the future works that belong to Tom Cruise. Although he speaks harshly, in fact, he knows it himself, and this is just a show of attitude. As for others, they might just think it's a child who got scolded talking back.

  But Natalie's words just now made him think of the method Taylor used to deal with his ex-boyfriends in his previous life, and he could also write a song, a big hit that could even make it onto the Billboard charts, without using dirty language or mentioning names, yet still making everyone understand, and fiercely mocking and satirizing him.

  This can make him a laughing stock of the whole North America, even the whole world, although he is already a laughing stock of the whole US.

  "He's a bloody genius! Ryan burst out laughing without any image, then looked at Carter Eisner, "Carter, can we go to Hollywood Records now?"

  Here is the translation:

  "Two more updates, drown me with your collections and votes, it's getting hotter and my condition is clearly declining... Thanks to a few friends for the rewards ~ I'm deeply grateful..."