Dominating Hollywood: Starting with Scarlett

Chapter 22 Republic Records
  While Badman was negotiating with other record companies, Tang De also went to find his father's former lawyer, Kirk Ramsey.

In the capitalist land of America, as Jimmy said, he needs a professional lawyer to deal with various legal issues to avoid being trapped by the miscellaneous clauses and taxes.

The reason why we wanted to find Lawyer Kirk was because he was very ethical when he was working as a lawyer for Cheap Daddy, even to the point of being a bit old-fashioned.

Basically, he would warn his client of any illegal activity and ask him to stop such operations immediately. Just like when Cheap Daddy emptied his wealth to invest, he also stopped it many times.

But Cheap Daddy recognized it at the time and couldn't stop it.

After his death, Lawyer Kirk also tried his best to help the Tang De family obtain part of the compensation.

He didn't even charge a handling fee and handed it directly to Carmela.

There are many people with conscience, but there are really not many lawyers with conscience here.

So Tang De trusted him.

Lawyer Kirk's office was located on the edge of Manhattan, New York. Tang De drove all the way and arrived at the destination not long after, and saw this old man with mixed black and white hair, neatly combed to the back of his head.

After hearing Tang De's purpose, Lawyer Kirk put down the pile of documents in his hand and took off his glasses.

"Actually, what you lack most now is an agent, which is more important than a lawyer."

"But like you said, you want to wait for the results of the MV to come out before contacting CAA. You are doing the right thing. As long as you have a work, you have already taken the most difficult step. The next step is to negotiate with CAA A reasonable price.”

At this point, Lawyer Kirk took a sip of water: "But there is another key point, which is in what capacity do you plan to join CAA?"

"How's the director?"

"Oh, then I think this is a bad decision." Lawyer Kirk held out a finger: "Because you are not famous now. You just made a movie for an 18th-tier hip-hop singer. I don't know if it will be a hit." ’s song MV, even if it produces results, CAA will not sign a contract based on the film director’s specifications.”

"That's right." Tang De also knows this. There are too many directors on the market who can shoot MVs.

"So you mean I want to start with photography?"

"That's right, isn't this your specialty? You have works and skills. This MV also proves that you have directorial thinking and extraordinary aesthetics. This is great, eh, cough, cough."

Lawyer Kirk wiped the corner of his mouth: "And there are more opportunities for photographers at work, whether it is movies, TV, commercials, or MVs. This is different from directors. Directors in many industries are independent, just like when you shoot No matter how good the commercials are, the movie will not ask you to be the director.

"When you have real masterpieces in film and television, you can join the ASC (American Society of Cinematographers). If you shoot a lot of flat surfaces, you can also join the AIPA (American Association of International Photographers) or the PPA (American Professional Photographers Association).

Tang De nodded. Indeed, as lawyer Kirk said, his identity as a photographer was the best choice.

"As for the rest, it's just a matter of normal cooperation. By the way, don't accept cash to pay for the contract. Black people in the north like to pay in cash because they can evade taxes. But remember, if he breaks the contract, he will only face prosecution, but you will not. It’s the IRS!”

"Don't worry." In addition to the album cover, the MV shooting was under a contract.

Although Badman still wanted to pay the bill in cash due to the situation, Tang De, who accepted the advice of Kirk's lawyer, naturally would not agree.

After that, the two of them talked about various precautions. It has to be said that Lawyer Kirk is very experienced. He mentioned many cases where there may be traps. After Tang De wrote these down, he immediately had an idea of ​​the subsequent brokerage terms. Clear perception.

After the chat, Tang De paid Lawyer Kirk a consulting fee and walked out of the law firm.

However, just when he was about to go home, his cell phone received an unknown call.

"Hello, I'm Tang De, what can I do?"

"Hello, I'm the vice president of Republic Records, Giorgio. I'm calling to meet you. Regarding the music video you shot, I'm near the Bronx right now."

"Okay." Tang De agreed. Although he didn't know how the vice president knew about the MV he shot for Raymond, since he was interested, it meant the possibility of cooperation.

Isn't this the biggest headache for Badman right now?

Not long after, Tang De met the vice president of Republic Records in a Hooters.

But it was different from what he imagined. When Tang De came closer, he found that he was competing with a steak with a knife and fork.

His suit is placed on the side of the sofa, and the white shirt on his body is neat and smooth. It can be seen that he insists on ironing it every day. From this, it can also be seen that he should be married and have a virtuous wife.

"Sit down, what do you want to eat?" Giorgio rolled up his sleeves and handed the menu to Tang De.

"Waiter, please order some fried chicken wings." Tang De looked around. He had not been to this restaurant yet, but he had heard about it because it was known as the sexiest restaurant in the United States.

Some communities have even taken the initiative to ask Hooters to come in and open branches.

But after seeing those waitresses, it was not difficult for Tang De to understand this idea.

The girls with different skin colors and protuberances in front of them all wore low-cut T-shirts with owls printed on them, and the pants on their legs were too short, leaving half of their butts exposed.

You can see their swaying figures every time you walk on the road, and just looking at them makes them worth the meal.

The brown-haired waiter who was called over by Tang De came over, leaned down directly, showed off his advantages to the two men, and then smiled and said: "Handsome man, what do you want to order?"

"A fried chicken wing and a Coke." This chicken wing is famous for its deliciousness. Things like steak pasta are just generic items used to fill out the menu. "Okay, no problem." The waitress smiled impeccably, and before leaving, she gently touched Tang De's hand with her fingers.

Giorgio smiled upon seeing this: "Young people are always more popular."

Tang De also laughed: "If you hadn't put your wallet on the table, the invitation notes would have been piled from the table to the floor."

"Hahaha." Giorgio laughed heartily and picked up his wallet. There was a woman's name printed on the leather.

Apparently, this was what made the waitress quit.

"This is a birthday gift from my wife. I have always cherished it."

"You are such a good husband."

"Maybe, there are things I didn't do well." Giorgio changed the topic after saying: "You should be curious about why I suddenly came to you, right?"

"Of course, I don't seem to have released a record." Tang De joked.

"Yes, but you shot an amazing MV." Giorgio put down his knife and fork, took out his cell phone and pressed a few buttons and handed it to Tang De.

After Tang De took it, he found that there were several photos on his phone, which were the shooting scenes of the song "Eight Hours Later". In addition, there is a recording, which is a fragment of the song.

"That's it." Tang De remembered that someone came to watch when he was reprimanding others, but he didn't expect that someone would take the photo to Giorgio.

Handing back the phone, Giorgio explained: "Actually, I originally wanted to find the singer directly, but unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be famous."

This is true, Raymond just released a hit single, and of course no one recognized him.

On the contrary, Tang De and Jimmy often hang out on the set, and they can still ask for their names.

"So you want to meet singers through me and sign a contract with them, right?"

"That's right." Giorgio said that was indeed the case, and added: "I have inquired that SBK Records had talked with this manager, but they broke up on bad terms. So I would like to ask you to introduce him to me."

"Then do you know that Raymond failed a song before this one?" Donde said about Raymond's song "Beast Star" that was ridiculed by the entire New York radio station.

There is no way to hide this kind of thing. Republic Records is a label owned by Universal, and its connections and funds are at the top of the industry. It is simply unreasonable to hide this kind of thing from them.

So it’s better to speak up and let them think about it themselves.

"Well, this is really the first time I know about this." But Giorgio didn't seem to feel embarrassed after hearing this. He just put a piece of beef into his mouth and chewed it gently with his chin moving.

"I know you are worried that the failure of Raymond's first song will delay the release of the subsequent album, but in fact there are ways to avoid it." Giorgio swallowed the beef: "As long as we use a pseudonym when promoting it, it will be fine , it’s like putting on a mask, and after word-of-mouth and sales increase, we will reveal his identity, which will be more interesting, isn’t it?”

Seeing Tang De pondering, Giorgio added: "Don't worry, as long as you introduce me to... Raymond, I will give you an introduction fee, and... I will also recommend you to other singers. I think You are very talented, and to be honest, you deserve my attention far more than Raymond."

This was Giorgio's real purpose. In his opinion, the song barely reached the passing mark, but an MV director with a unique aesthetic like Tang De was a talent he desperately needed.

After all, many singers under Republic Records need to shoot MVs. Now the music market is getting more and more popular, with a large number of songs appearing every day, and a good MV will often become a sales booster.

Just as Tang De figured this out, the brown-haired waiter swayed over, placed the plate in front of Tang De, turned his back to Giorgio, put his fingers on his lips and blew him a kiss.

Tang De waited for her to leave and picked up the Coke, and Giorgio also picked up his coffee knowingly.

"Ding!" A crisp voice echoed in their ears.

"Then wish us a happy cooperation?" Giorgio said to Tang De with a smile.

"It's a pleasure to cooperate." Tang De took a big sip of Coke, and the stimulation of the carbonated drink also activated his appetite.

After eating, Giorgio took the first step. Tomorrow he will meet Badman under the arrangement of Tang De.

He paid the bill when he left, but didn't tip.

"Waiter." Tang De stretched out his hand, and the waitress with wavy brown hair and fair skin came over immediately.

"This is for you..." Tang De took out twenty dollars from his wallet and handed it to her. She immediately lowered her body, seemingly on purpose. She lowered her body extremely low, exposing most of her fair chest. Gave it to Tang De.

Tang De looked at her and understood her thoughts from her charming eyes, so he rolled up the dollar and stuffed it into the gap in her chest.

During the process, you can still feel the slight vibration and delicate feeling on your fingertips.

After collecting the tip, the brown-haired waiter Beiqi bit his lips and leaned closer to his ear: "I get off work at half past five...what about you?"

"I'm still busy." Tang De told the truth. He was going to buy a lawn mower.

"Then..." the brown-haired waiter took out a note from his pocket and stuffed it into his breast pocket: "My name is Poehler, don't forget to look for me when you have time."

(End of this chapter)