Manhattan Reborn 1978

new York.

Manhattan, da film and television company.

David, Lavis, and One-Eyed Andres found a corner where there were few people around, and sat down to watch Tangtang, Harvey, and the TV series staff busy.

The actors who came to audition today clearly exceeded the expectations of Harvey, Tangtang and others, both in terms of quantity and quality~

Is this the trouble that fame brings?

. . .

Time flies by.

David took a pen and paper and wrote down the names of actors who seemed familiar to him.

When Tangtang, who was standing at the door, called the next group of people in, David immediately spotted a big black man among them, who looked very familiar.

He paid close attention to the big black man calmly, and watched him carefully while he was performing.

ten minutes later.

After this wave of actor auditions were completed, David wrote a note and asked Lavis beside him to send it to the big black guy who was about to leave.

Ravis opened the note and looked at it curiously, glanced at David with a strange expression, and chased the big black guy out.

For more than an hour after that, David never found another celebrity from the Hollywood film and television industry who matched his memory.

Simply, he patted his already growling stomach, said hello to Tangtang and Harvey, and left first.

. . .

Da Film and Television Company downstairs, on the street.

As soon as the three Davids walked out, they saw a big black young man wandering around and looking around under the streetlight not far away.

Lavis tilted his head and glanced at David. After receiving a confirmation look, he walked over and said.

"Dude, let's go, get in our car."

The tall black young man watched Lavis walking towards a car, paused, and immediately walked over.

In the car, David, who was already sitting in the back seat, made room for the big black man to sit in, and then said to the driver Lavis who was getting on the car in the front seat.

"Find us a restaurant, I'm hungry~"

"Okay~ Where to go?"

"Um.."

David thought for a moment, then turned to look at the big black young man and asked, "What do you want to eat? I'll treat you!"

"...It's okay, you decide~"

"Okay, how about we go have steak?"

"Ok~"

"Let's go to that steakhouse on 49th Street and Third Avenue~"

Lavis looked at the lucky black boy in the rearview mirror and said with a smile: "ok~"

. . .

on the way.

David stared out the window blankly for a while, then turned to the big black young man, smiled, stretched out his hand, and said.

"My name is David Coleman..."

"Hello, Mr. Coleman, my name is Denzel Washington."

David said in his heart: Of course I know your name. . !This face is so familiar~

"Hehe~"

"I was also at the audition just now. I looked at your watch and told you..."

David briefly explained why he invited him to lunch.

Denzel said sincerely: "Mr. Coleman, thank you very much for giving me a chance. I will definitely not let you down~!"

David opened his eyes a little wider, smiled and asked curiously: "Do you know me?"

Denzel shrugged slightly and smiled: "I just asked the staff and they said you are an investor in two movies and the boss of a movie company."

"So... you will wait patiently for me downstairs?"

"Ha ha.."

On Denzel's young, thin face, there was a hint of cunning that could not be concealed in his eyes.

David was stunned for a moment, then shook his head, and said when he saw Lavis stopped the car and waited for the signal light.

"I'm not really the boss of a film company, at best I'm an investment partner."

"However, you were right just now. I believe in the feeling at first sight~"

"So, I will give you a chance ~ I hope you can seize it!"

"I will!" Denzel Washington's eyes were shining, and his thin face was filled with a confident smile.

"Hehe~"

"Let's go have lunch first~"

"it is good!"

----

New Jersey.

The training base of the security company.

Base director Lawrence, Cohen, and Jackal gathered around the desk and discussed a list in a low voice.

Outside the office, there was a sound of footsteps.

Lawrence turned around and looked over. It was Rambo who walked in with a kind-faced, fat middle-aged man and laughed.

"Hi~ Ball!"

The middle-aged man nicknamed "Piqiu" cheerfully gave Lawrence a big hug, nodded to Cohen and others, and said.

"Why didn't you tell me that you were coming to New Jersey?"

"Haha~ I've been here not long~"

"Look outside, the house for the winter is not completely built yet~"

"I know you're in Pittsburgh, how are you doing?"

Piqiu patted his belly and said with a smile: "My cooking skills are great~"

"So, I got a job as a chef in a restaurant."

Ball didn't believe his lies, so he blew on Lawrence's chest with his meaty fist and said, "I owe you twice!"

"This time, you can't run away!"

Lawrence's smile became brighter, and he took his old friend Piqiu and introduced him to everyone.

After a while.

A few people sat down, and Lawrence didn't hide it. He directly expressed his idea of ​​forming a mercenary team.

When Piqiu first started listening to it, he didn't think much of it.

But later on, the smile on Piqiu's face became less and less.

Until Lawrence finished speaking, Piqiu's face was already full of surprise~

He pointed to his nose and asked: "You want me to put on a military uniform and become a mercenary?"

Lawrence laughed and pointed at the ball's belly, and said angrily: "How could I let you go? Do you want to use your fat to fight against drug dealers?"

"Hahaha~"

This time, everyone in the office was amused~

Piqiu also patted his belly and said with a smile: "I can prepare them some delicious dishes to make them hungry~"

"Hahaha~"

After a few people joked and joked for a while, they slowly put away their playful attitude and talked about serious business.

Lawrence also emphasized that the mercenary team to be formed will cooperate with Florida's DEA and other law enforcement agencies to carry out crackdowns on drug dealers who are becoming increasingly arrogant in cities such as Miami.

He listened to the plan again in detail, nodded to express his understanding, and then asked his own questions.

"There are many private security companies in the country, right?"

"Why did they... why did they ask you for help?"

Lawrence did not answer, but turned to look at Cohen.

Cohen met the eyes of several people, thought for a few seconds, and then explained: "The reason is very simple, there are only two points."

"[-]. The proposer is the Florida DEA director. He was able to take office and get this lucrative job because he has some relationship with our boss."

"Second, the mercenary team goes to Florida to help him, so that he can quickly establish himself after arriving in Florida and have a strong force to fight against drug traffickers. This is a win-win cooperation."

"Furthermore, we are ready to accept his proposal. The mercenary team will accept any money from any law enforcement agency, but will be paid entirely based on the seizure after the battle."

Piqiu's eyes slowly opened wide, and his voice of disbelief rose twice: "Seizure of drug dealers? Drugs? Cocaine?"

"We...why do we need that thing? Are you going to be drug lords too?"

"Hahaha~fxxx!"

"Your idea is really... weird~"

"Hahaha~"

"Cohen was talking about drug money!"

“Drug dealers have three main things in their hands: drugs, weapons and drug cash~”

"Oh ~ money!"

Qiu Qiu raised his hand and touched the fine sweat on his forehead, pretended to be frightened, and said while covering his heart.

"I thought...you were going to throw out a bag of cocaine and if I joined, I would have to take a few puffs now..."

"Hahaha~"

Several people laughed again.

Lawrence jumped up and kicked him, and then he laughed and cursed: "Are you thinking about donuts?"

"Stop talking such nonsense about you!"

"Hahaha~okok~I'll try my best...haha~"

Several people laughed again.

Cohen walked behind the desk, took out a document from the drawer, and placed it in front of the ball.

"This is your cooperation contract. You can take it back later and read it yourself. Don't spread it to others."

"Your job requires you to go to Miami, Florida, to be our liaison with the DEA and other law enforcement agencies."

"From now on, you will communicate with those law enforcement agencies about all mercenary team actions, and then tell us the progress of the negotiations."

"However, you have to remember a few key points."

"[-]. All missions of the mercenary team can only be known to you and cannot be told to anyone."

"Two, you don't need to know anyone other than us. You just need to know that we, the security company, are behind you to back you up."

"So, when you arrive in Miami, Florida, don't meet any strangers."

"Third, when the mercenary team accepts the mission and performs the mission, you will be our intelligence observer, summarize the first-hand real-time intelligence, and tell us."

"If the DEA director wants to contact you, you have to contact the DEA director from a public phone number on the street that they can't find."

"You tell us whatever he says."

"Don't get involved in the crackdown on drug dealers. No matter what happens to them, just watch silently and report to us."

"Only by keeping you out of the situation can you be safer, do you understand?"

Pi Qiu nodded with understanding, thought for a moment, and concluded: "Do you want to separate management, operations and intelligence liaison to avoid being traced by drug traffickers and retaliate?"

Cohen shrugged and smiled: "We're not afraid~ but we all have families, don't we?"

"Hi~hu~..I understand~!"

Ball's eyes swept over everyone in the office.

He lowered his head and picked up the contract, read it silently for a while, asked Lawrence for a pen, and signed his name and a family member's bank account number.

"OK~!" Cohen took the contract and read it over, shaking hands with the ball with satisfaction.

"Welcome to join our big family!"

"Hehe~"

Piqiu let go of Cohen's hand, turned around and gave Lawrence a big hug, and asked softly.

"When do I leave?"

Lawrence smiled and shook his head: "I hope you go earlier to learn more about the situation."

“Miami Beach is a man’s paradise!”

"All three of them have been there, so you should go a few more times and bring out my share~"

Pi Qiu laughed with his eyes shining: "No problem! Hahaha~"

"Wait until I find you a beautiful girl that you can pack up and bring back to make you happy!"

"Hahaha~"

. . .

The ball is gone.

After Lawrence saw him off, he returned to the office.

Cohen, Jackal, and Rambo all looked at him.

The jackal asked with a smile: "This guy looks... pretty good~"

"However, his hometown is in Arkansas, but he works as a cook in a small restaurant in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...?"

Lawrence shrugged, sat back in his old seat, silently lit a cigarette, exhaled a cloud of smoke, and said.

"I trust him and he trusts me!"

"He is the same as me and us!"

The jackal stopped laughing.

He nodded silently, indicating that he was fine.

Cohen took Lawrence's cigarette case, lit one for himself, blew out a cloud of smoke, and said.

"The ball is very smart and knows how to measure!"

"He saw that I didn't trust him very much, so after saying those words, he signed the contract without much hesitation."

"Lawrence, this method of separate management and control is the best and safest arrangement for the ball."

"I know~"

Lawrence responded in a muffled voice, took a long breath, put out the cigarette butt, picked up the list that the others were studying just now, and said.

"Let's go ahead and try to assemble this team in the next few days!"

"..good!"

----

Manhattan.

The intersection of 49th Street and 3rd Avenue in Manhattan.

Denzel got out of the car quickly, stood by the car and watched David slowly get out of the car, then let himself be half a step behind, and walked into the Smith & Wollensky steakhouse before David.

A few days ago, David and Livlin came to this steakhouse for a meal.

This time he came here with the idea of ​​leaving a deeper impression on Denzel Washington.

After all, this steakhouse is going to be a famous restaurant in New York in the future.

. . .

The three of them walked into the steakhouse and followed the waiter to sit down at a table facing the street.

David looked around again and asked the waiter: "Why are there so few people here today?"

The waiter smiled and said: "Sorry sir, I don't know either..."

"Oh~"

David raised his eyebrows and nodded, looked at Lavis, pondered for a few seconds and then said: "Go and ask Andres and the others to come in, let's eat together~"

Lavis blinked a few times, nodded with a smile, got up and went out to call someone.

"Please, give me one... and another bottle..."

After David took the menu and ordered for himself, he looked at Denzel sitting opposite: "What about you? What do you want to order? Just tell me~"

With a polite smile on his face, Denzel looked down at the menu and cursed in his mind. .

On the menu in his hand, the cheapest item is one. .Dessert?

The price tag is 26 meters! ?

The cheapest salad is priced at $36~! ?

The cheapest steak is $58. . ?

The bill for this meal was enough for Denzel to live a comfortable and comfortable life for ten days. .

fxxx! !

How to do?

The boss pays the bill and you order the food yourself. What should you order?

Denzel struggled in his mind for a while, then pointed to the cheapest steak and ordered one for himself.

Then he handed the menu to the waiter, shut his mouth, and said nothing. .

David looked at him with a smile for a few seconds, then turned to the waiter and said: "Just serve two portions as I ordered~"

"Okay, sir~"

When the waiter learned that he could earn more from his tips, he bowed and left with a polite smile.

Denzel smiled awkwardly and adjusted his posture in the chair. Just as he was about to say something, he saw David waving and shouting behind him.

"Hey~Andres, you can sit down wherever you want, I'll treat everyone to steak today~!"

"ok~hahaha~thank you!"

"You're welcome! Hahaha~"

After David made a gesture to One-Eyed Andres and the others, he looked at Denzel and smiled.

"Then... how about letting me get to know you too?"

Denzel nodded and said, "I was born in New York State. I am 24 years old and the second among three brothers in my family."

"My parents divorced when I was 14, so I followed some childhood playmates and hung out on the streets all day~"

"My mother didn't want to see me become a gangster or a gangster, so she sent me to a boarding school with military management."

"Later, I entered Fordham University. Not only was I a quarterback on the football team, I also entered the main lineup of the baseball and basketball teams."

"However, my academic performance was very poor. From medical school to political school and law school, I could not find a sense of belonging."

"I'm not good at this~"

"So, between studies, I often worked outside the school and worked as a garbage collector for a while."

“My senior year in college, I went to Connecticut and attended a youth summer camp.”

"There, I helped a group of children who were performing in a drama. They recognized my help very much and suggested that I learn drama acting."

“So, I changed my drama course and went back to school to start studying.”

“In drama school, I was exposed to traditional stage plays like Emperor Jones and Shakespeare and Othello for the first time.”

"From then on, I fell in love with the stage, theater and performance."

"Last year, after I graduated from college, I went to San Francisco, California, where I studied for another year as a graduate student, and then came to New York."

"A few days ago, I went to audition with several crews, and then I heard about Da Film and Television Company, which is preparing to shoot a TV series and two movies."

"So, I'm here~"

Denzel seemed to have been prepared for it. He poured out his past experiences like beans from a bamboo tube.

David tilted his head and smiled, nodded and said, "That is to say... you have never had any public performance experience?"

"There is no official performance..."

"But, I was in school..."

David waved his hand, interrupting Denzel's words that were about to put money on his face, and said, "Do you understand that plays, dramas, movies, and TV series are completely different ways of performing?"

"..Understood~"

"Then what? Are you going to rely on luck and get into a certain crew and learn while filming?"

Denzel admitted his little thought with an awkward expression: "Yes, sir!"

"Um.."

"You can call me David!"

Denzel was stunned for a moment, and asked in a low voice with some uncertainty: "Do you... think?"

David shook his head slightly, pointed at Lavis who came back to sit down, and introduced: "He is Lavis."

"I... want you to join my agency and become a contracted actor."

"You have no experience or acting skills, it doesn't matter~"

"I can find someone to coach you and teach you how to discover your acting talent."

"I will find more opportunities for you to participate in performances so that you can accumulate more performance experience."

"I will also arrange a place for you and pay you a living allowance every month, so that you can practice your acting skills without the pressure of life and wait for an opportunity that belongs to you."

"What I just said, all the contributions I have made for you will be written in black and white in the contract."

"What about you?"

"Do you know how you need to repay me?"

Denzel felt his mouth go dry.

He picked up the cup, drank all the white water in a big gulp, took a deep breath, stared at David with burning eyes, and nodded.

"I understand! Nothing you said..."

David smiled and waved his hand again, interrupted him, and said: "Let's not beat around the bush, let's be direct."

"We will sign a 20-year brokerage contract."

"You are only 24 years old this year."

"When you are 44 years old, when our contract expires, you should become one of the most shining stars in Hollywood~"

"By then, if we can cooperate happily, I will be willing to sign another contract with you."

"But next time, you will decide the length of the contract!"

"Twenty years...hiss~"

Denzel took a long breath of air, shocked by the time limit of this contract. .

When he was talking about the past with David, he was being careful and neglected to mention some very important experiences.

His supervisor, who was a graduate student in San Francisco, once told the students some truths that surprised them during a casual chat. .

"Hollywood, it looks very glamorous to outsiders."

"But the person who really controls it is never in Los Angeles, but in New York!"

"If you really want to find a suitable development opportunity, don't go to Hollywood, go directly to New York to try your luck~"

With these words from his mentor, young Denzel Washington returned to New York and began to try his luck and look for opportunities.

But what he didn't expect was that such a huge opportunity hit him on the head today. .

But this kind of thing is almost risking the entire 20-year agency contract. Does he really want to sign it?

Denzel frowned and lowered his head, thinking over and over in his mind about the most important decision in his life that he was currently facing.

David didn't rush him. After seeing the waiter bring dishes to several people, he picked up the tableware and quietly enjoyed the delicious lunch with Ravis.

not far away.

One-eyed Andres, who had been paying attention to David, turned back and smiled at the soldiers and buddies around him.

"Another boy who was favored by his boss and had some bad luck... Haha~"

"Come on, don't be polite!"

“You’ve also seen the menu~”

"If we were allowed to come to this restaurant to eat by ourselves, we would definitely feel pain for a long time..."

"This time the boss is treating you to a treat, so don't be cautious and eat freely!"

"Hahaha~ good!"

Several soldiers also relaxed more, watching the waiter deliver the dishes to David first, and then also delivered the same sumptuous products to them.

One-eyed Andres looked at the two bottles of red wine brought by the waiter, thought for a while, waved his hand and said: "Open one bottle, let's share a little bit and it's enough."

"...Okay~"

The waiter took back a bottle of red wine, opened one, and poured half a glass of red wine for everyone.

One-eyed Andres gently shook the wine glass with his hand, raised it to several people, and laughed softly: "Come on, let's drink to our feast~"

"Hahaha~ Cheers!"

"cheers!"

. . .

Andres and the others were having a lively meal.

At the table on David's side, Ravis was eating delicious steak, looking curiously at the boy named Denzel.

He has been with David for a long time, and he knows very well that this kid will rarely do anything that makes no sense, or invest. .

So. .What is this Denzel black boy still hesitating about?

What was it about him that David valued?

Lavis didn't see anything and didn't think about it.

Emm. .

Simply, he didn’t want to think about it~

. . .

Almost 10 minutes later.

Denzel Washington, who had always looked like a wooden man, raised his head and took a deep breath. When he wanted to speak, David put down the tableware in his hands and spoke first with a smile.

"It seems that you are very confused~"

"It doesn't matter, I can add some more benefits to you~"

"For example, we can write it in the contract and help you participate in two movies and two TV series within five years."

"Or how about I directly invest in a movie or TV series for you and let you be the second male lead, or even the first male lead?"

Denzel stared at David blankly. After a few seconds, he reached out and picked up the red wine glass that the waiter had just poured, and raised his glass to David.

"Thank you!"

"I... agreed!"

"Wow~ This is really a wise decision! Hahaha~"

David also raised his glass, touched it with Daniel, and said, "You won't regret it, I promise!"

Denzel twitched the corners of his mouth and gave a stiff smile. He gulped down the red wine in the glass, picked up the tableware, and prepared to enjoy this "expensive" delicious lunch. .