The Wolf of Los Angeles.

Chapter 594 Shame and Moral Bottom Line
With the announcement of the Venice Golden Lion, "Sugar Baby" emerged victorious, and its distributor, Paramount Pictures, immediately began expediting the film's release in North America, Latin America, and Europe.

Eric's films always manage to capture current social issues, and this one is no exception.

Jobs like Sugar Baby's can be considered the most primitive jobs in human society, but Sugar Baby has given this job a rather glamorous and attractive appearance.

The film also delves into the social environment, young people's desire for development, and their relationship with money, and has received quite positive reviews.

It opened with a 95% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an average score of 85 on MetaCritic.

Furthermore, the film's plot, spearheaded by Eric, is full of sensationalism.

The camera angle of "Sugar Baby" makes it seem as if someone is secretly spying on this special industry, and the scale of the film reaches the limit of R-rating.

Although it is less commercially viable than big-budget action and sci-fi films, the film still grossed $4432 million in its opening weekend in North America.

Most importantly, Tangbao has attracted widespread attention and discussion across society.

Should poor girls and boys with limited opportunities for upward mobility trade their youth for money?

The film's answer is that the female protagonist becomes a multi-million dollar internet celebrity, enabling her family to completely escape the slum life.

Inevitably, "Sugar Baby" has drawn criticism from some conservatives, who say that these people have no shame and have broken the bottom line of social morality.

Several prominent figures under Zuckerberg's empire immediately responded via Twitter, refuting these individuals' claims.

“I work three jobs a day, and I can barely feed my sick mother and young brother. When we can’t even afford to see a doctor, where are you moralists? Don’t talk to me about public healthcare. By the time it’s our turn, my mother will be dying!”

Most of the earliest sugar babies did not come from very good backgrounds.

They can always find various reasons for themselves, and it's hard to refute them.

"Before joining Sugar Baby, I was a low-level actor in Hollywood. The survival rules in that industry are that if you want to get opportunities, even ordinary ones, you have to sleep with people. Among those who slept with me, there were many who seemed very moral on the surface, but they turned their backs on me as soon as they were done with me. Their promises were like farts. For someone like me who had nothing, it was better to be a Sugar Baby and earn income honestly with my body than to be taken advantage of in Hollywood."

There are also some with higher education levels.

"I had to take out lunch loans and even sell my blood to afford food at school. Why didn't you stand up for me back then?"

In summary, all of this boils down to that famous saying: a gambling father, a sick mother, a young brother, and a sensible mother.

The Sugarbao website primarily offers video subscription services, and it's not entirely adult content; it also covers a wide range of content related to fitness, running, cycling, frisbee, and artistic creation.

As we all know, these are also very eye-catching.

Hawke only gave Zuckerberg a few pointers, and soon categories like "fitness girl," "cycling girl," and "frisbee girl" appeared on Sugarbao.

Zuckerberg has put all his talent into this area, and he has made the website a resounding success.

Although content-related issues caused a series of difficulties for Sugarball's IPO, under Hawke's influence and Zuckerberg's relentless efforts, Sugarball finally went public on Nasdaq at the end of September.

SugarBaby went public on Nasdaq at $13 per share, issuing nearly 40 million shares and raising $4 billion.

Once the stock was listed, the share price immediately began to rise, and by the end of the weekend, Sugarbao's total market value had reached nearly $400 billion.

Hawke's foundation now has an additional $120 billion in stock assets.

Another group that profited handsomely was the Pacific Investment Group, controlled by Erica's mother, Mary Ferguson.

This company also participated in the investment of Tangbao and played an extremely important role in the review process of its listing.

Zuckerberg became an overnight sensation and an idol for entrepreneurs across the United States.

His experience of dropping out of Harvard University was also dug up and extensively reported by relevant media.

While promoting the movie "Sugar Baby," the film also received positive feedback from these news reports, and in just 15 days, its North American box office successfully surpassed $1 million.

Zuckerberg returned to Los Angeles from New York and specifically sought out Hawke, wanting to provide some investment to make a biopic about himself.

Hawke told him to talk to Roger Keane, Tom Cruise, Eric, and others.

Eric has already secured the role of director for his next film, and even if Zuckerberg offered him a huge sum of money, he would still have to wait in line.

…………

Los Angeles, Woodland Hills.

Gunshots rang out continuously from the shooting range inside the manor.

Hawke, wielding an old-fashioned lever-action rifle, is engaged in a rapid-fire contest with Erica's father, Carter Ferguson.

Amidst the banging of gunfire and the clanging of bullets hitting their targets, one after another, the chest targets fell.

Hawke, a former Texas cowboy shooting champion, was now firing so fast his hands were almost blurry, emptying all his bullets in one go.

Carter Ferguson has been out of the game for a long time, and his speed is more than twice that of Hawke.

By the time he had run out of bullets, Hawke had already put away his gun.

Erica's grandfather, Paul Ferguson, announced: "Hawk, all three! Carter, three misses."

Carter stepped forward, bumped fists with Hawke, and said, "Your marksmanship hasn't gotten any worse."

Hawke said frankly, "I practiced a lot."

Brian came up from behind and said deliberately, "He and Erica always encounter attacks when they travel, and they fire their guns so many times that their marksmanship is naturally better."

Erica turned to look at him: "Because you curse us every time!"

Brian wanted to say something more.

Hawke, carrying a lever-action rifle, came over from the side, patted the governor on the shoulder, and asked deliberately, "What are you going to say about me and Erica now?"

Brian wisely chose to keep quiet.

Mary Ferguson then came in from outside and greeted them, "It's time for afternoon tea."

Everyone knew it was time to get down to business, so they put down their guns and followed Mary back to the study in the villa.

Mary personally poured black tea for everyone and said to Hawke, "Sugar Baby's stock price is still rising."

Hawke took the teacup and said, "It's rising steadily now, gradually returning to rationality."

"Look at what you've done, I really feel old." Although Paul Ferguson has always supported the younger generation, there are some things he doesn't quite understand, and he knows that his thinking is outdated and behind the times.

His choice was to offer trust and support, without interfering arbitrarily: "It's astonishing that such a special industry can achieve such a scale."

Brian chimed in, "Because young people these days no longer believe in the American Dream. The idea that hard work leads to success has basically become empty rhetoric." He then joked, "The harder ordinary people work, the less they may benefit, but their bosses will definitely get a new villa."

Everyone here is a beneficiary and understands the current state of society.

Hawke simply stated, "Many of the top-tier internet celebrities who are known for their 'sugar baby' content come from Hollywood. The path to advancement in Hollywood is almost completely blocked by the children of various stars."

Brian said, "The quality of the actors has declined significantly."

Hawke returned to the main point: "Sugarbao has a first-mover advantage. This industry is enduring and will maintain a good development trend for the next ten years or so."

The analysis by the Pacific Investment Group team was similar. Mary said, "We removed some potential obstacles to allow the company to operate normally."

Brian thought for a moment and then said, "As long as it can create many jobs, the state government can also provide appropriate support."

After discussing investment matters, the conversation turned to the political situation.

On the Elephant Party's side, Tom Emer has plunged headlong into the LGBTQ movement and is finding it difficult to extricate himself.

He is now one of the campaign's spokespeople for the Washington authorities.

Hawke stated, "The LGBTQ movement will remain dominant for the next two to three years. The inertia of social development dictates this, and we will continue to push this movement forward covertly until it becomes unruly and truly out of control."

Paul has been closely monitoring the social situation: "This trend is already underway."

“It’s still not obvious enough.” Brian understood the next step: “Only when they infringe on the interests of more ordinary people in order to enjoy privileges will the silent majority truly stand up and fight against the monsters head-on.”

Hawke agreed: "Whoever brings us the greatest benefit, we will be their spokespeople."

Paul nodded slightly, fully agreeing: "The two parties have changed their positions far too many times over the years."

Brian asked, "Do we need to create a character like Steve?"

“I’m looking for people.” Hawke thought of Frank’s son: “It’s best to have the right person, but if the person isn’t right, it’s better not to.”

They can promote Steve because Steve is controllable.

If it were an uncontrollable ambitious person, they would have become someone like Martin Luther King Jr. long ago.

Including Hawke, the group discussed how to use demons and monsters to exacerbate social conflicts and profit from them.

But nobody cares whether social order across the United States will spiral out of control or whether the public interest will be harmed.

Hawke's motives were not pure.

Although the Ferguson family values ​​talent, they still consider ordinary people to be essentially consumables.

During Brian's tenure as governor, the Elephant Party launched a full-scale counterattack in California. Except for the isolated island of San Francisco and a few small cities, the California Elephant Party has gained a comprehensive advantage, showing a trend of returning to the red California of the 1980s.

Following the latest midterm elections, both of California's congressional senators have become Elephant Party members.

Among the members of the House of Representatives, Republican candidates also hold an absolute majority.

Finally, we'll discuss the issues concerning the Los Angeles Police Department.

Carter, one of the five members of the committee, is now vying for the position of director.

The bureau chief needs to be nominated by the mayor and then approved by the city council.

There are currently five people vying for this position.

Carter is undoubtedly the frontrunner, saying, "The mayor is one of our people, and many people on the city council are influenced by us, so it should go smoothly."

Hawke cautioned, "Also, pay close attention to your competitors' situations."

Mary agreed: "Among Carter's competitors is a Black transgender gay man who has received a lot of support from social groups."

Brian said directly, "I'll say hello to Steve."

These are minor issues; Carter could have become the Los Angeles Police Department Chief at any time while Brian was in office.

However, to avoid a media storm and for the sake of Brian's long-term reputation as a leader, the matter has been delayed until now.

After having dinner together, everyone left the manor one by one.

Hawke received a call from Campos, first taking Erica home, then going to the Beverly Business Club to meet Campos.

In the meeting room, Hawke asked, "Why are you in such a hurry? What happened?"

Campos took out the newly printed photos and handed them to Hawke: "These were sent by the people we're keeping an eye on Little Rock."

After Megan Taylor mentioned Halle Wayne, Hawke had Campos send people to secretly keep an eye on Loafton.

Since the London attacks and after issuing several statements about Sillari, Richardson has remained in his hometown of Little Rock, living in semi-seclusion. The only person he sees frequently is Anton, the leader of the Satanic cult.

The photo Hawke saw only showed one person, not Anton, whose features were very distinctive, but an old man with white hair.

He recognized him at a glance: "Isn't this Joseph Jr., Cillaly's running mate in the last election?"

That is, the famous Sleepyhead.

Campos said, "Our people discovered that Joseph Jr. secretly boarded a flight alone and suddenly appeared at Little Rock Airport."

Hawke could easily guess: "Did Joseph Jr. see Zipperton?"

“No.” Campos’s men were still watching from the shadows: “We found that he made a few phone calls and then checked into a hotel in Little Rock. According to the people there, it’s likely that Lalston refused to meet with him.”

Although Hillary Clinton lost the last election and was plagued by various troubles and framing, all of that has become a thing of the past as her political career crumbles in London, leaving behind a large political legacy.

Aside from fame and Cthulhu-related aspects, most of the actual physical assets ended up in the hands of Zipperton.

Hawke asked, "How is Zipperton's mental state?"

Campos shook his head: "The Secret Service has deployed near his farm, and no one can get close easily. We dare not disturb them and can only stay in Little Rock. We have only seen Zipperton a few times from a distance. From a distance, he looks to be in good condition and has already come out."

"Perhaps, Zipperton feels relieved." Hawke learned that Zipperton and his wife had been at odds for many years, with the domineering Sylvia always overshadowing Zipperton.

He said, "Have someone keep an eye on Little Rock. If Zipton meets with Joseph Jr., report it immediately."

Campos replied, "Our men will observe carefully."

Hawke stood up: "Let's leave it at that for now."

(End of this chapter)