Chapter 192: Take It Easy 

Although Li Lianjie had already starred in Dragon’s Son and Universal Warrant, neither of the movies had been released yet. 

But not all action films are the same. 

Sure, Luc Besson is a well-known director, but compared to Wayne nowadays, he doesn’t even come close. 

Wayne had invested in so many films, and the directors he hired—who among them was worse than Luc Besson? 

As for giving Yuen Woo-ping the chance to direct films in Hollywood, there’s no need to even mention it. 

Given these conditions, there was no way the two could refuse. 

"No problem! I’ll go home tonight and make the arrangements. Tomorrow morning, I’ll book a flight back to China!" Yuen Woo-ping took a deep breath, his hands resting on his knees, and spoke first. 

Li Lianjie hesitated no longer and quickly said, "I’ll go with Yuen Woo-ping tomorrow!" 

"Then I’ll eagerly await good news from the both of you~" 

Wayne smiled with satisfaction. 

Fiona Sit was already incredibly talented, and now, with Chinese films still dominated by Hong Kong cinema and Hong Kong stars being held in such high regard, it was the perfect timing. 

If she were to become the CEO of the new company and bring along Nicholas Tse, Chapman To, and Twins, the company would immediately gain significant fame. 

With the added presence of international superstar Li Lianjie, the new company would instantly become the largest talent agency in China’s entertainment industry. 

As for whether poaching Nicholas Tse and Twins would anger Emperor Entertainment? 

That’s something Wayne doesn’t worry about. Even Yuen Woo-ping and Li Lianjie aren’t concerned. After all, they don’t depend on Emperor Entertainment for work. With their current status, even if they offended the entire Hong Kong entertainment circle, they would still be able to thrive. 

In the end, the Hong Kong entertainment industry was just too small of a pond. 

Without delay, after leaving Wayne’s estate, Yuen Woo-ping and Li Lianjie both informed their disciples and agents. The next morning, they took the earliest flight to Hong Kong. 

Although Yuen Woo-ping knew Nicholas Tse, they weren’t particularly close. So, he contacted Nicholas through an old friend, Patrick Tse. Then, through Nicholas, he reached Fiona Sit. 

At the time, Fiona was busy preparing for Twins’ concert. When she heard from Nicholas that the famous Yuen Woo-ping wanted to meet her, she thought Nicholas was joking. 

But when she saw Yuen Woo-ping in the teahouse, along with Li Lianjie, and learned of their purpose, she was stunned. 

Due to the limited environment, Hong Kong’s film industry had always been eyeing Southeast Asia and aspiring toward Hollywood. 

Just like in China and the rest of the world, breaking into Hollywood was considered an honor. 

So as an agent, Fiona Sit knew about Hemera Pictures and Wayne, probably even more than Nicholas Tse, who was an actor and singer. 

This made her disbelief even stronger. 

"Master Yuen, are you saying that the newly rising Hollywood superstar and mogul Mr. Wayne, along with Hearst, the third-largest media group globally, plan to invest in establishing an entertainment company in China, and they want me to be the CEO?" 

"That's right." 

"Why?" Fiona couldn't help but exclaim, "I mean, why would such important people even notice me?" 

Yuen Woo-ping smiled wryly and said, "I don’t know either. Maybe Mr. Wayne saw the work your artists have done. Not only does he want you, but he also wants Nicholas Tse, Twins, and Chapman To to join as well. Both Li Lianjie and I will also be associated with the new company." 

Although Fiona still found it unbelievable, she was starting to accept it. After all, Nicholas Tse and Twins were quite popular in both Hong Kong and China at the moment. 

Nicholas Tse aside, Twins were artists she had personally discovered and nurtured. 

This undoubtedly validated her talent and abilities. 

"I personally would be happy to accept Mr. Wayne's invitation," Fiona said after a moment’s thought. 

People seek higher ground, as the saying goes. 

While Emperor Entertainment had treated her fairly well, and there was a possibility of future promotions, that was only a possibility. Who knows how many years of hard work it would take? 

Moreover, although Emperor Entertainment had a decent size and influence in Hong Kong, it couldn't compare to a company backed by Wayne and Hearst Group. 

As long as she wasn't foolish, she knew what to choose. 

"But what about my artists?" 

"I’ve already spoken with Patrick Tse. Nicholas Tse’s penalty will be paid by him. As for Twins and Chapman To, the new company will cover their penalties." 

"Then there’s no issue!" 

Fiona immediately smiled. 

At this point, Twins and Chapman To’s penalties weren’t even that high—altogether, only 2.4 million HKD. Converted into USD, it was a negligible amount for Wayne. 

The only major penalty was Nicholas Tse’s, which, while not outrageous, was still 6 million HKD. 

Now that Patrick Tse was handling it, things were much simpler. 

Indeed, Fiona had already started thinking from the perspective of the new company’s CEO. 

In her excitement, she even forgot to ask about her own compensation. 

After finalizing things with Fiona Sit, Yuen Woo-ping and Li Lianjie didn’t immediately inform Wayne of the good news. Instead, they spent a couple of days catching up with old friends over tea. 

Two days later, when Wayne received a call from Yuen Woo-ping, in addition to the originally planned Nicholas Tse, Twins, and Chapman To, a few more big stars were added—familiar names from Wayne’s past life. 

This included Wu Jing, whom Yuen Woo-ping had high hopes for and had cast in a movie and two TV shows, though he had yet to make a name for himself in Hong Kong. 

There was also Collin Chou, recommended by Yuen Woo-ping, who had appeared in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions. 

Additionally, there was Simon Yam, who had a good relationship with Li Lianjie, and Cecilia Cheung, who heard about the opportunity from Nicholas Tse. 

As for Fiona Sit’s other artists, though they were aware of the situation, since Wayne hadn’t specifically requested them, Fiona wisely refrained from bringing them along. 

This included well-known singers such as Gillian Chung and Leo Ku. 

Meanwhile, the growing number of people involved meant that news of this spread within the Hong Kong entertainment industry, even reaching mainland China. 

However, no matter what anyone thought, with Wayne, a powerful "dragon," coming into play, there was little they could do. 

It’s worth mentioning that both Liu Yifei and Zhang Ziyi were also preparing to sign with the new talent agency. 

Liu Yifei’s involvement was Wayne’s doing, as she was a "golden investment." 

As for Zhang Ziyi, she heard about it from a friend and reached out to Wayne herself, who saw no reason to refuse. 

"Hi, Aunt Annie, I’ve got some good news for you. The CEO has been decided, and a few promising actors and singers will be joining the company as well." 

After confirming the situation with Master Yuan, Wayne immediately called Annie Hearst to share the good news. 

“You’ve really moved fast on your side. Have you thought of a name for the company yet?” Annie Hearst asked. 

“Let’s call it ‘Lighthouse Entertainment,’” Wayne said, half-seriously, half-jokingly, after two days of pondering. 

“Alright, I thought you’d go with something like ‘Wayne Entertainment,’” Annie responded. 

Wayne then gave Annie Hearst Huo Wenxi’s contact information, as the next step would be for Annie’s team to work with Huo Wenxi to set up the new company. 

Annie’s side would appoint the company’s CFO, while Wayne would appoint someone to be the head of the Film Investment Department and the Deputy Head of the Talent Department. This way, he could indirectly control the company’s film investments and talent selection. 

Huo Wenxi, meanwhile, would be responsible for the company’s daily operations, including the talent management she was most familiar with. 

In essence, Wayne would only be involved in using his experience to sign up talents with potential, while Huo Wenxi would handle their management and development. 

Though this division of power left Huo Wenxi with slightly less authority than a typical CEO, at 29 years old, she was more than satisfied with the arrangement. 

“Sir, the time has come. The car is ready.” 

“Alright, Meida.” 

Wayne got up and, together with Hannah, headed to the company. 

During his ‘retreat,’ Heidi and Grandpa had already finished casting, and the American version of The Ring had officially started shooting the day before yesterday. 

He hadn’t attended either, though. 

But today marked the completion of post-production for Hotel for Dogs, which took 19 days. 

Since the lead actors were Lily Collins and Camilla Belle, both of whom were quite young, this was probably the project Wayne was least confident about. 

Additionally, Nancy Meyers had personally invited him to take a look, so he agreed, also planning to bring the completed script for The Intern to her. 

Even though Nancy Meyers had repeatedly mentioned that she wanted to take a break, she was open to looking at scripts and potentially prepping projects for the future. 

This was more of an internal screening, so when Wayne and Hannah arrived, only Nancy Meyers, Sarah, Mia, and a few lead actors were in the screening room. 

“Hi, Wayne!” 

Lily Collins’ eyes lit up when she saw Wayne, and she excitedly ran over to greet him. 

She had been busy filming, then catching up on schoolwork, and also attending daily acting classes to prepare for Heidi and Grandpa. It had been almost two months since she last saw Wayne. 

“Why didn’t you come to the Heidi and Grandpa audition the other day?” she asked. 

“Because I believe you could pass the audition,” Wayne replied, smiling as he patted her head. 

The young girl immediately closed her eyes, content like a kitten, and the little bit of resentment she had vanished instantly. 

After greeting everyone else, Wayne was ushered to the front row to sit down. 

As the lights dimmed, the film began. 

Honestly, compared to the original, where Emma Roberts played ‘Andy,’ Camilla Belle didn’t quite fit the role as well. Camilla’s appearance was a bit too delicate, especially when she smiled. 

In comparison, Scarlett Johansson would have been a better fit. However, Scarlett had already gone to Europe to shoot Taken, and Wayne didn’t want to waste the role, so he went with Camilla Belle instead. 

Fortunately, her acting was solid. As long as you didn’t compare her to the original, there wasn’t much of a mismatch. 

As for Lily Collins, it was unclear if it was due to ‘beginner’s luck’ or her acting classes, but she performed remarkably well in the film. 

Coupled with Nancy Meyers’ directorial prowess, which far surpassed the original director, Thor Freudenthal, Wayne felt that this version of Hotel for Dogs was a complete upgrade over the original. It should do well both at the box office and with critics. 

“How was it, Wayne? How did I do?” Lily Collins eagerly asked before the lights even fully came back on. 

“Not bad. My eye for talent is as sharp as ever~” 

“Yay! Awesome!” 

Lily cheered excitedly after hearing Wayne’s praise, while everyone else sighed in relief, smiles spreading across their faces. 

“So, when should the official screening be?” Mia asked. 

“Tomorrow,” Wayne replied without hesitation. 

No matter what day it was set for, the distributors would rush over without missing it. 

“Are you going to attend?” Nancy Meyers asked. 

“I’m afraid I can’t. Wedding Crashers starts filming tomorrow,” Wayne explained apologetically. 

“But I’m confident our movie will fetch a good price~” 

He then talked with Nancy about The Intern and handed her the script, despite her amused, helpless expression. 

After that, Wayne left the company and headed straight for Malibu. 

Since filming was starting the next day, he wanted to relax. He had rented a luxury beachfront house with a private beach in Malibu and invited all the models from his ‘backyard’ for a real beach swimsuit show. 

As for the audience, he didn’t invite Leonardo DiCaprio or Tobey Maguire—just himself. 

Of course, even with his enhanced physique, there was no way he could take on 80 models at once. 

After making a note of the numbers of those who didn’t meet his standards to cut them later, he ultimately chose the seven prettiest ones and, along with Adriana Lima, Karolina Kurkova, and Alessandra Ambrosio, spent the night in an intense one-on-ten interaction. 

It was a night of wildness. 

The next morning, after breakfast, Wayne felt refreshed as he headed to the Wedding Crashers set, while Adriana Lima and the other two were settled into the No. 11 Roxbury Street mansion. 

The other seven models, envious, secretly vowed to work even harder in the future. 

(End of chapter)