Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 300 I am not bowing down to him!

In late April, the Pirate King series set sail again, with a launch ceremony held in Los Angeles. Instead of going outside right away, they first filmed various interior scenes at the studio base in Los Angeles, such as the interior scenes of the Black Pearl and another ship, the Flying Dutchman.

Filming had been underway for a week, but it wasn't going very smoothly.

At this moment, Wu Yuchen was sitting face to face with Depp's agent, Fat Jack, while Depp, who looked somewhat listless, was sitting next to him. He had just finished removing his makeup.

Wu Yuchen looked at Depp with a serious expression: "Depp, don't you have anything to say?"

Depp didn't say anything, but his agent, Fat Jack, smiled and said to Wu Yuchen, "Hey Wu, don't be so nervous. I think this is just a minor incident."

As he spoke, he gestured by pinching his right thumb and forefinger together, as if it were truly a trivial matter.

"A minor incident? He made our entire crew wait for two hours. He single-handedly delayed the entire crew's filming schedule, and you call that a minor incident?!" Wu Yuchen's voice grew louder and louder, and anyone could hear the anger in it.

Seeing Wu Yuchen's angry expression, Fat Jack gently pressed his hands to his chest and said, "Calm down, Wu. Johnny didn't mean it. You know, everyone gets drunk sometimes..."

Wu Yuchen pointed directly at him and said, "I allowed Depp to drink, not so the whole crew would wait for him like this! Alcohol brought him pleasure, but it ruined the mood of the entire crew! He's dragging down the entire production schedule!"

A month ago, Wu Yuchen finalized the contract negotiations with Depp before leaving. Depp's side eventually agreed to the production company's salary offer. However, Depp insisted on a privilege in the contract, namely that he must be allowed to drink alcohol during filming.

He certainly had his reasons, because alcohol kept him in a good mood, which would be beneficial for his portrayal of Jack Sparrow. If that wasn't agreed to, he absolutely refused to sign the contract.

After speaking with Spielberg, Wu Yuchen finally agreed to Depp's request, since the Pirate King project couldn't be delayed any longer.

Moreover, Depp is no longer the second-tier star he was before filming "Pirates of the Caribbean." Now a leading man, he naturally demands many privileges on set. For example, he requires the crew to be able to pick up his dog whenever he misses it. Additionally, the crew must cover all expenses for his dog and its sitter. Such clauses are listed extensively in the contract.

In Hollywood, when a star rises to A-list status, many people fawn over them, especially when their position on set becomes crucial. They enjoy numerous privileges, and everyone has become accustomed to it. There have even been cases of stars using drugs on set, with the production team covering for them.

Actually, Wu Yuchen didn't care about Depp's privileges; spending more money was fine with him, as long as he could play the role of Jack Sparrow well. But now, things haven't gone as planned…

Depp, having been relentlessly berated by Wu Yuchen for a while, finally snapped and shouted at him, "This was just an accident! Why are you making such a fuss? Are you trying to show me your authority?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen couldn't help but laugh in anger: "An accident? Fuck! You've only been on set for less than a week, and you've already had this kind of accident. How many more accidents like this will you have in the future? Once a week? Or once every five days? Should we have a custom-made wine vat made for you so you can soak in it every day?"

Faced with Wu Yuchen's sarcasm, Depp's face flushed red: "Enough! I don't need your criticism! You have no right to criticize me. I can drink whenever I want. It's all written in black and white in the contract. It's my freedom!"

Wu Yuchen slammed his fist on the table and yelled, "Fuck your freedom! Fuck your alcohol! Fuck your dog! Fuck your privileges!"

Depp, listen to me! All the rights you enjoy right now are based on the premise that you can film properly on set! Look at the garbage you produced today! How dare you even mention these rights you enjoy?

We're all gathered here not to be your babysitters, to fawn over a drunken baby! If you can't film properly, I guarantee I'll kick you out of the crew!

Depp snapped his neck out, raised his hand, and yelled at Wu Yuchen, "Do as you please, you tyrant!"

After saying that, Depp stormed off in a huff.

Depp is gone, but his manager, Fat Jack, isn't. Depp can throw tantrums, but Jack can't; he has to clean up Depp's messes.

Wu Yuchen narrowed his eyes as he watched Depp's retreating figure, then said directly to his agent, "Jack, go and call your lawyer!"

Fat Jack was taken aback upon hearing this, then his body trembled. He quickly stepped in front of Wu Yuchen and said, "Wu, did it have to come to this? This was just a normal argument, and you were just saying things in anger."

Wu Yuchen snorted and said coldly, "Talking nonsense? Do you think I'm trying to scare you?"

Then he glared at Fat Jack and said, "You guys have no idea how serious this is! What happened today isn't just about my interests, it's about the entire crew! Everyone waited for two whole hours because Depp was late! And he filmed a bunch of crap! This not only means we've wasted our whole day, but it's also ruining everyone's plans!"
Is Johnny Depp the only star in the crew? Do you know that Hugh Jackman is going to the premiere and promotional events for *X-Men 2* in two weeks? If we don't finish filming now, we'll have to wait until Hugh finishes his schedule and returns before we can start filming again. The entire crew will be stuck in Los Angeles because of this, and other location shooting is waiting for us. Can you cover all the expenses? And what about the precious time lost? Can our crew afford to wait?

I will not allow a spoiled brat who only thinks of himself and disregards the feelings of others to stay on set!

After Wu Yuchen finished speaking, he turned to leave, but was stopped by Fat Jack. He knew that it was indeed Depp's fault this time, and quickly apologized to Wu Yuchen, saying, "Director Wu, I know that Johnny has caused a lot of trouble for the crew this time, but he really didn't mean it! I promise, he won't do it again!"

"ensure?"

Wu Yuchen chuckled upon hearing this, and then said, "Jack, your promise is useless."

Fat Jack looked at Wu Yuchen and asked, "Director Wu, so what do you want?"

Wu Yuchen said calmly, "Apologize."

Fat Jack's expression changed upon hearing this: "Director Wu, this... I know Johnny offended you, but I think it would be fine if you could reach a settlement?"

As Depp's agent, he knew Depp's temperament well and knew that it was almost impossible for him to apologize to Wu Yuchen, who had been yelling at him. It would be worse than killing him.

Wu Yuchen shook his head: "This apology isn't to me, but to the entire crew!"

Fat Jack was silent for a moment: "Does it really have to be this way?"

“He has to do this if he wants to stay in the crew!” Wu Yuchen said without pausing and walked away. Fat Jack rubbed his temples painfully, sighed, and then quickly moved his obese body and jogged to catch up with Wu Yuchen: “Director Wu, give me three days, and I will persuade Johnny.”

Wu Yuchen looked at Fat Jack's face for a few seconds, then nodded.

Fat Jack watched Wu Yuchen's departing figure, knowing that he couldn't handle this on his own. So he picked up the phone and dialed Depp's wife Vanessa's number. He needed her to come over, and she had to bring Depp's daughter Lily with her.

……

Two days later, with his wife and daughter by his side, Depp had completely transformed into a good father, appearing completely at peace, and had not touched a drop of alcohol during those two days.

Looking at Depp like this, Fat Jack smiled, and then had a private conversation with Depp.

"Apologize? That's impossible! I will never bow down to a tyrant!"

After hearing his agent's words, Depp resolutely refused.

Fat Jack said gently, "Hey Johnny, nobody's asking you to bow down to anyone, nor are you asking you to apologize to Wu, but to apologize to the entire crew. These are two different things, completely different things, do you understand?"

Depp reiterated, "I can drink alcohol, it's written in the contract! It's a right they gave me!"

"Yes, Johnny, you can drink, and no one is saying you're wrong to drink!"

The point isn't that; it's that you wasted everyone's time. You were late, and your performance that day was terrible, making everyone's hard work go to waste. I think you wouldn't deny that, would you?

Depp didn't refute it; he was drunk that day and felt completely dizzy, so he was naturally in a terrible state.

Fat Jack continued to say to Depp, "Johnny, if you insist, I'll definitely stand by you. We can sue the production team, and we might even get a large sum of money in damages."

However, he then shrugged and said, "But to be honest, if we actually did that, we'd be in a very bad situation. Your image would be completely ruined, no big Hollywood production would want to use you anymore, you'd be seen as a drunkard by the public, and your career would suffer a serious blow..."

Depp frowned upon hearing this. He knew that if this were to be done, this situation was very likely to occur; no investor would hire someone who would cause so much trouble for the production team.

Fat Jack put his chubby arm around Depp's shoulder:

"I know you've never cared about what others think, but you don't want Lily to only hear bad things about her father from others in the future, do you?"

Upon hearing this, Depp turned to look at his 3-year-old daughter, who was happily playing with a Captain Jack Sparrow toy.

Career, family, his daughter's growth... Depp fell into deep thought.

Fat Jack knew that Depp had actually been persuaded by him, but he was like a stubborn big boy who couldn't bring himself to say no, so he had to give him another push.

“Johnny, you’re not apologizing to Wu alone, but to the entire crew. This doesn’t mean you’re bowing your head and giving in. On the contrary, standing tall and having the courage to admit your mistakes is what makes a real man!”

After a moment, Depp finally responded: "Jack, like you said, I'm not bowing down to anyone, I'm just taking responsibility for my own actions!"

Upon hearing Depp say this, Fat Jack smiled, knowing that Depp had already agreed.

……

"I'm so sorry, I had too much to drink and was late, which delayed everyone's work..."

At this moment, the entire crew gathered together in silence, all watching Johnny Depp, the male lead, who was apologizing to them.

To be honest, most people didn't really react much to Depp's two-hour delay due to alcohol. It's not that they didn't have any thoughts, but rather that they were already numb to it. Alcoholism is just a minor issue; can it be more serious than drug use and acting crazy?
He's a top-tier celebrity, so he has these privileges, making the entire crew wait for him. Based on their past experience, this should have been swept under the rug. At most, the director and producer would talk to him, and he'd behave himself for a while, only to do it again later.

But this time it was completely different. First, Depp didn't come to the set for three days, which caused a lot of discussion and rumors. Some said that Wu Yuchen was going to fire him, some said that he was using his privileges to squeeze out Wu Yuchen, and some said that the movie might not be able to continue. In short, people's hearts were in turmoil...

But to everyone's surprise, early this morning, Wu Yuchen gathered the entire crew together and showed them Depp, the male lead, obediently apologizing to them!

This is something they have almost never seen in any of the film crews they have worked with before!
Regardless of what Depp himself thinks, in the eyes of everyone on the crew, it was Wu Yuchen who subdued Depp, making the male lead willingly bow down and admit his mistakes to the entire crew!
However, no one looks down on Depp because of this; on the contrary, many people have changed their opinion of him. After all, someone who is willing to admit their mistakes will always receive a lot of goodwill.

Wu Yuchen was naturally watching this scene as well. Fat Jack, who was next to him, said, "Wu, are you satisfied now?"

Wu Yuchen nodded, but said, "It's not that I'm satisfied, it's that everyone is satisfied."

Then he turned to Fat Jack and said, "Let's just leave it at that. I won't target Johnny. We're all here to achieve one goal: to build a high-performing team and make an excellent film."

Wu Yuchen was so firm this time because he had to curb Depp's bad habits as soon as the film crew started filming. Otherwise, who knows how many troubles would arise during the long filming process that would last for more than half a year!

You know, this guy is a troublemaker; if we don't keep him in check, he'll be a real headache.

After this incident, Depp should be much more restrained, his agent will keep a closer eye on him, and the entire crew will become more united and efficient.

(End of this chapter)