Chapter 488

On the street, the line stretched as far as the eye could see, as if it could go all the way to Long Beach. The men and women in the line chatted excitedly, craning their necks to look at the entrance from time to time, hoping to buy tickets. However, when it was finally the turn of a girl, the staff put up a notice that the tickets were sold out.

The smile on the girl's face disappeared, and she protested loudly with her boyfriend. This caused a commotion in the line behind her. Many people who had been waiting in line for a long time rushed up and complained. Although they were very excited and impatient, the staff of the cinema still explained patiently. It seemed that they had dealt with such situations many times.

Indeed, this kind of thing was happening all over the United States. Who else could have caused all of this except for "Titanic"? The film was late but unanimously praised by the critics, and the promotional work had never stopped. The film had completely begun to ferment. The terrifyingly high box office did not happen again in the second week, but it had been very stable, and it continued to occupy the top spot in the North American box office.

Even so, it still swept the box office of the current schedule. Many film companies had delayed the release of their own films to avoid the spotlight of 'Titanic'.

"I love this movie! If possible, I might watch it again! "a male audience member said excitedly in an interview, watching the film for the second time.

"Titanic" was released in Europe soon. It caused a sensation, especially in the United Kingdom. Like the United States, there was a long line, wanting to see the super production as soon as possible. The media also sang praises. After all, when the Titanic was launched, the British Empire was at its peak, and the British people were actually very nostalgic.

"This is a romantic but tear-jerking disaster love film." There was such a comment in The Times. With these guys adding fuel to the fire, "Titanic" became more and more popular in the United Kingdom.

Although it was not as exaggerated in Europe, it had also caused a considerable amount of excitement. When young people gathered together for a party, if they couldn't talk about the plot, it would be terrible. Those who had ridiculed Adriaan for becoming Hollywood shut their mouths for the time being. The film had a good story and artistic quality, sweeping all the European art films into the corner.

"Titanic" was so popular, and they could not talk about the box office. No matter how big the investment was, when the film was selling like hotcakes, anyone in their right mind would not talk about it before going offline. So in the end, he could only choose to swallow his anger. At most, he would say a few unpleasant words, such as —

"It is not so much Cameron's victory as the victory of computer special effects. It is basically the credit of the technology that makes people feel immersed in the film." This was a comment in the French newspaper Liberation. It was sour and disdainful, which was in line with the French people.

Adrian was well aware of the situation. Although he was quite confident in "Titanic," which had been proven by the current box office, he still asked Charlie to sort out all the information related to the movie and pass it to him when there was a certain amount. As an investor, he had been questioned by reporters recently. The director and the lead actor had received all kinds of attention. How could he, an investor who had invested a huge sum of 200 million yuan, be let off the hook? Moreover, the name "Miracle Director" had become a household name.

However, Adriaan did not care about that. The popularity of "Titanic" was enough to slap those guys in the face. Don't you see that even those tabloids can only write articles about other aspects and don't mention the huge investment at all? As long as the film continued to sell like this, no one cared what they thought. The only regret was that almost no one had realized that special effects would become the mainstream of the movie industry.

Therefore, most of his attention was now on the post-production of "The Matrix". In addition, he was also supervising the preparation of "Shakespeare in Love" and "Elizabeth". If everything went smoothly, such as the completion of the costumes and the completion of the set, etc., they could start shooting in the UK in mid-August at the latest.

The main work for "The Matrix" was on editing and special effects. The former had to wait for the editor to finish the preliminary editing before Adriaan finished the montage himself. The latter had been entrusted to Industrial Light & Magic. He wanted to hand it over to Cameron's studio, but Cameron's team had not recovered from the demonic post-production of "Titanic." Their morale was not high, so he had to give up.

These two tasks only needed to be explained clearly. Even across the Atlantic Ocean, the supervision would be a little more troublesome. If Adriaan moved fast enough, maybe he could finish shooting the two films and release them at the end of the year. Anyway, Gwyneth and Blanchett's schedules were already reserved.

Speaking of Gwyneth, her father's invitation was not a big deal. Adriaan could basically guess what the other party wanted to say. After all, almost everyone in the entertainment industry knew that he was a playboy, and he had ambiguous relationships with many women. His daughter was one of them. Bruce Paltrow would not be too happy.

"Forgive me, Adriaan, but I want to know what position Gwyneth has in your heart." After dinner, Bruce Paltrow invited Adriaan to his study and asked.

"Unfortunately, Bruce, I can't give you or Gwyneth any promises." Adriaan was straightforward.

Old Paltrow's expression suddenly turned a little ugly, but before he could speak, Adriaan continued, "I like Gwyneth very much. She is a very cute, emotional, and beautiful woman. Any man would be moved by her, and I am no exception. I am very happy when I am with her."

"I think you probably say this kind of thing often, Mr. Adriaan," Old Paltrow mocked rudely.

"Not really, I only say this to those who are worthy of being cherished." Adriaan shrugged and raised his hand to stop the other party from speaking. "I can only say this, Bruce. As long as Gwyneth is by my side, I will try my best to make her happy and satisfied. If one day she gets tired of it and wants to leave, I won't stop her. "

Old Paltrow was a little angry and stared at Adriaan speechlessly. He then stood up and said, "That's it for now. I'll take my leave. You have enough time to think and communicate with Gwyneth. But, no matter what, please don't criticize her or scold her. She still loves you very much. "

That was the conversation in Old Paltrow's study that day. Although Bruce Paltrow and his wife weren't big shots in the circle, they still had some connections. Otherwise, they wouldn't have let Spielberg be Gwyneth's godfather. If it was the Adriaan of the 90's, he definitely wouldn't have spoken to him like this, but now …

Old Paltrow wasn't stupid or stubborn. Although he was dissatisfied with Adriaan's attitude and didn't know if his words were true or false, his daughter was clearly infatuated with him. Thus, he didn't say anything to stop Gwyneth from interacting with him. He just sighed and reminded her to be careful.

"What did you guys talk about in the study?" Gwyneth later asked. "After that, Dad always frowned."

"It's nothing. I'm just expressing my determination to keep his precious daughter by my side, as well as the necessary respect," Adrian replied with a smile. "He's probably upset about something."

What it was was needless to say.

"Ha, if I had invited Kate that day, wouldn't it have been more interesting?" Gwyneth suddenly said, holding her face.

"Don't joke around, Gwyneth. Even if you invited Kate, he wouldn't have agreed." Adriaan laughed and shook his head. If Old Paltrow saw him hugging Gwyneth and Blanchett, he might explode like a volcano.

But the biggest gain from this incident was what Gwyneth said. Although she said it in a half-joking tone, deep in her heart, she didn't even know what she was thinking. Since Adriaan had other plans for Monica, he basically didn't have a threesome with Julia anymore. Other than the occasional threesome with Liv and Sarah, most of the time it was Gwyneth and Blanchett.

After the specially planned elevator passion, it was usually Adriaan who took the initiative to pull them together. As time passed, they began to have a tacit understanding, but the two women never took the initiative to speak. That's why when Gwyneth said this, it meant that she had crossed a line in her heart.

Old Paltrow probably thought that Soros was having an ambiguous relationship with different women. If he knew that his daughter had been having sex with another woman and had started to take the initiative, what would he think?

Alright, although Adriaan had just finished and started to prepare two new movies, there was still some time left. Now, there was something important that needed his attention — sheep shearing!

At the end of June, Thai Baht had started to become unstable. The Thai government tried everything they could, but it was useless. That's why the Baht collapsed in July. Soros led the international speculators across Thailand and looted all the wealth that Thailand had accumulated over the years.

Then, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Japan started to become unstable. The Thai Baht crisis turned into a Southeast Asian financial crisis, and it might even turn into an Asian financial crisis.

"I don't recommend you to stretch your hands into Hong Kong." This was what Adriaan said after he pulled Claude out of his busy schedule.

"Why?" Claude was surprised. Just a few moments ago, he was still describing his gains from the Thai Baht crisis.

"Hong Kong is more troublesome than those Southeast Asian countries." Adriaan said.

"I don't think so. The Hang Seng Index had fallen below 10,000, unless someone had invested a huge sum of money. But which idiot has the ability to fight against so much money?" Claude shrugged his shoulders.

"Really?" Adriaan asked.

"At least, I can't think of anyone …" Claude paused and looked up after a few seconds. "You are talking about … the Chinese government?"

"You should know that their system is different from ours. If needed, they can use all their resources to help Hong Kong. No matter how much money Soros has, he cannot go against a country." Adriaan said.

"This is against the rules, and we can apply pressure from other areas." Claude rubbed his chin and said.

"Forget it, Krau. China is not Indonesia." Adriaan laughed.

Indonesia is also in Southeast Asia and is one of Soros' targets. Indonesia Rupiah is also affected. The Indonesian government is smart and wants to maintain a fixed exchange rate with the USD to maintain the situation. But the financiers will not allow them to do so. The International Monetary Fund immediately issued a warning that they will withdraw their aid. The US and Western Europe are against this, and the Indonesian government had no choice but to give up on this plan. Now, Indonesia Rupiah is on the verge of collapsing.

This is the outcome of a country that had completely opened up its financial sector to other countries' experts. You must pay the price for what you have gained. You will have to spit out double the amount you have gained.

But because of this crisis, coupled with other factors, next year will be …

Every time Adriaan thought of this, his face will look gloomy. But he cannot and does not want to intervene. The cause of this incident is too complicated. There are many historical factors, and they are all intertwined. It is hard to say who did not do anything. It is hard to explain, and he does not want to pursue this matter. Therefore, the only thing he could do was to arrange for a hot-blooded young CNN reporter who had been brainwashed by mainstream American values to come to Jakarta. Even if his report might be suppressed by the higher-ups, don't forget that there was still the Internet. Others might not be fully aware of it, but Adrian was well aware of the power of the Internet.

But this is the only way. Don't forget who he is now. If he accidentally gets himself into trouble, it will be the stupidest thing to do.

Alright, let's get back to Hong Kong.

"The Chinese know very well that we set the rules. If they follow the rules, they will only be played by us." Adriaan continued, "They may not have the ability to make the rules, but they definitely have the ability to break the rules. For example, the IMF has reached an understanding with them regarding the RMB pegged to the USD. So, even if we attack them in the media for violating financial freedom, it will not help."

Adriaan paused for a second and waited for Claude to digest what he said. He then continued, "Let's make a very simple assumption. If the Chinese government announces that the RMB will not depreciate, what will happen? What will happen if they provide aid to some Southeast Asian countries? Of course, we can find ways to force them, but at most, it will be a draw. Since there is no benefit to be gained, why should we go to Hong Kong? "

He let out a long breath. Although he was a little nervous, he still maintained his calm gaze and looked at Claude. This time, it was not as easy as persuading Claude to join. At that time, Claude did not know much about IT, so he could naturally give a passionate speech. However, finance was where Claude was best. If he casually showed off, he would be digging his own grave.

Therefore, he simply left some space, mentioned the important parts, and let Claude think about the rest. This way, he could avoid a lot of things.

"It looks like," Claude thought for a long time, then slowly said, "You are not completely ignorant about these things."

Looking at his smiling face, Adriaan could not help but roll his eyes.

"Okay, I admit, what you said makes sense …"

"If you think there is a problem, you can choose to be a bystander, Krau." Adriaan quickly said, "We don't have to make a lot of money in Hong Kong. How about being a bystander and watching carefully?"

He paused for a second, and seeing that Claude did not respond, he then said, "In short, our target is Thailand, Indonesia, South Korea, Japan, and other countries."

"You seem to have forgotten something, Eide." Claude suddenly reminded, "And Russia."

"No, no, no, Krau, we can still judge the situation in Hong Kong by being a bystander, but it is best not to touch Russia." Adriaan shook his head and denied his statement.

"Oh?" Claude looked at him, puzzled.

"Let's put it this way. We used the tactics we used in Southeast Asia. We saw that we were about to make a profit, and then —" Adriaan smiled and looked at Claude, "Russia announced an unlimited depreciation of Ruble. What do you think will happen in the end?"

"Are you sure?" Claude suddenly raised his eyebrows.

"I am not sure. But after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia could not be any worse. It is already at the bottom of hell. What can it do if it goes any further?" Adrian spread his hands. Although he did not know much about it in his previous life, he still had an impression of Russia's method of harming others while harming themselves. Soros was also injured by this method.

"Okay, I got it. I will be careful." Claude said after rubbing his fingers.

Although his answer was not very certain, Adriaan did not emphasize it. Claude had his own opinion, and this was something he was good at. Anyway, he would ask about it anytime, and even if he wanted to involve Russia, it would take time. Claude was also very careful. After all, this was related to the further development of the group. So, he decided to leave it at that for now.

This was the most important matter that Adriaan was currently concerned about. Other than this, there was another matter. Although it was not as important as this matter, it still had some weight. Christina Aguilera would be singing the theme song of "Charlie's Angels."