r18novel Page 532
Page 532
"Hughes!"
At Roy's shout, a man smoking a cigar on the construction site stopped what he was doing, gesturing at something on the blueprints.
He handed the blueprint to the engineer beside him, who took a puff of his cigar and then walked up to the two men: "I thought you'd be a little late."
As he spoke, the man's gaze passed over Roy's body and landed on Xu Fu, raising his eyebrows.
“Xu Fu, this is Hughes, the person you arranged for me, Howard Hughes, a famous Hollywood director and producer. Hughes is the person I told you about before, the owner of the Messenger and the creator of Superman, Mr. Xu Fu.”
Under Hughes's watchful eye, Roy spoke first, introducing the two men.
“087, it’s nice to meet you.”
Howard Hughes took a puff of his cigar, chuckled as he said, "I like your idea of Superman, especially the flying part."
Hughes had an incredible passion for flying, as everyone in Hollywood knew.
When he first filmed "Hell's Angels," he used 187 pilots, 87 aircraft, and 35 cameramen to achieve the desired effect. To recreate the realism of the bombing, he bought a real Zeppelin and bombed it.
When filming the crash, he demanded that the pilot fall 30 meters above the ground and explode upon impact. Faced with Hughes's insane demands, no one dared to risk their lives in the film.
Later, he became a flight actor himself. His first serious plane crash happened on set; during landing, his face and forehead slammed hard against the instrument panel, resulting in a severe concussion. However, even after such a serious accident, his yearning for the sky did not diminish.
“I also really liked your film ‘Hell’s Angels,’ especially the aerial combat scenes, which were so realistic that they went beyond the scope of the film.”
In response to Xu Fu's praise, Hughes unconsciously tilted his mustache slightly upwards.
He put down his cigar and looked carefully at Xu Fu standing in front of him. The confidence emanating from the other man, if anything, impressed Hughes, because he was also an extremely confident person, even to the point of being paranoid.
It was this obsession that led him, during the filming of "Hell's Angels," to cut out the original version and reshoot it in order to make it into a sound version when the sound version became available.
This move boosted the film's budget to $400 million, much to Hughes' dismay, while the film ultimately achieved box office success with a budget of $800 million.
...
Is this part of your plan to build a new studio?
After a few brief pleasantries, Roy's gaze fell on the construction site in the distance.
Looking at the busy construction workers, one can't help but ask...
Although Hollywood is in a bad state and all film companies are laying off employees, Roy believes that expanding the company at this time is not a good thing.
But he wouldn't be surprised if it were Howard Hughes.
After all, he was supposed to appear as a madman, someone crazy enough to spend $400 million on a movie, so Roy's actions wouldn't be too surprising.
"A photo studio?"
Hearing Roy's question, Hughes turned his head and looked at the messy construction site in front of him. "No, I'm not interested in building this kind of boring thing. What I need is an aircraft repair hangar."
An aircraft maintenance hangar?
Frankly, what Hughes called an aircraft repair shed was harder for Roy to understand than a photography studio.
Because this has absolutely nothing to do with Hollywood.
"This makes you realize that everything I do is for movies, making movies is my hobby, I've done my best, so it's time to focus on other things."
Noticing the change in Roy's facial expression, Hughes opened his palm and said with a relaxed expression.
As he spoke, Hughes turned his gaze to Xu Fu, who had stepped aside. "So, Mr. Xu Fu, what is the purpose of your visit?"
At this moment, Xu Fu and Hughes looked at each other.
At this time, Howard Hughes was in his prime, and his frequent successes in Hollywood made him very confident, which led him to have the idea of engaging in aircraft manufacturing.
Hollywood life may be the highlight of some people's lives, but for Howard Hughes it was only a small part; in fact, most of his life was always connected to the sky until his death.
"So you're no longer making movies, Mr. Hughes?"
Xu Fu did not give a definite answer to Hughes' question, but instead asked another question.
Faced with Xu Fu's question, Hughes subconsciously frowned. He took a puff of his cigar and replied, "I've already made the movies I wanted to make. I might get involved in the production of the next movie, but that will have to wait until I'm interested enough again. Right now, I'm more interested in building airplanes."
Indeed, as Hughes said.
From 1932 onwards, he focused on building faster airplanes, and it wasn't until ten years later that he returned to working on new films.
"So, if you're planning to ask me to make a movie, you're probably going to be disappointed."
Hughes wasn't short of money, so he made movies simply to fulfill his dream, just as he built airplanes for the same reason.
“Perhaps, Mr. Hughes, it wouldn’t be too late to hear my thoughts on the script before you make your plans.”
“I admit, Mr. Xu Fu, you are a man of vision, otherwise you wouldn’t have created something like Superman. But like I said, I’m not interested in making new movies right now, so…”
Hughes frowned, a hint of boredom on his face.
Seeing this, Roy, who was standing to the side, cast a questioning look at Xu Fu, signaling him to stop talking.
However, sensing Roy's gaze, Xu Fu resolutely ignored the other party's good intentions.
He spoke slowly, watching Hughes's impatient gaze.
"Titanic, I'd like to know, Mr. Hughes, what are your thoughts on this unsinkable giant ship?"
"Titanic"?
Upon hearing Xu Fu's name, Howard Hughes' fingers, which were holding a cigar, froze.
He was only 7 years old when the giant ship sank.
But the Titanic also left a deep impression on him; its sinking shocked the entire United States, and major newspapers reported on it for a month. To this day, he still remembers the shocked expression on his father Hughes Sr.'s face when he read the news of the Titanic's sinking.
"Then what do you mean?"
Seeing the change in Hughes's expression, Xu Fu realized that he had achieved his goal.
He smiled slightly and, under Hughes's gaze, continued, "Don't you think all of this is quite dramatic? A ship that was supposedly unsinkable met its demise on its maiden voyage. The sinking of the Titanic was a sad event, but not a source of inspiration..."
Chapter 595 Exposing the Scandal
[Copper seal (80/100)]
[Faith (11684/10000)]
The Anti-World of Manhattan, 890 Fifth Avenue.
Inside the Dark Avengers base.
Xu Fu opened his eyes and moved his cold body.
In the right world, he's already on the train back to New York, with a long journey ahead.
With the return of the positive world, Xu Fu turned more attention back to the anti-world of New York.
"...New York City Mayor Wilson Fisk has been discharged from the hospital and will return to municipal work. This comes after Wilson was hospitalized for treatment following an attack by those opposing the Spider-Man World Act."
"According to reports, Wilson's injuries have largely healed. As he left, reporters asked him how he was feeling, and he gave them a thumbs-up. In a brief interview, he also said he would not be intimidated by the attack and would continue to push forward with the executive order..."
“You (Anti-Registration Faction 11) think you can defeat me through these means, but I assure the citizens of New York City that as long as I, Wilson Fisk, am the mayor of New York City, I will not give up the fight against these lawbreakers. New York City does not need your protection, so please leave!”
The attack on Spider-Man gave the King ample reason to move forward with his plan to crack down on unregistered superheroes.
Following the incident, superhero activity in New York City plummeted, with some street heroes refusing to fight criminals due to public opinion.
Influenced by Kim Jong-il's rhetoric, a large portion of the uninformed public began to show aversion to New York City's superheroes.
Recent polls show that over 50% of New Yorkers believe that anti-hero superheroes could be harmful, compared to only 15% before Kim Jong-il's hospital attacks. Suddenly, New York City has gone from being the most welcoming city for superheroes to the most anti-hero city.
While at his temporary residence, Xu Fu found Howard through [Superhearing].
Immediately afterwards, he took a deep breath and changed back into the clothes of a frontline reporter, Clark Kent's attire.
In front of the mirror, Xu Fu raised his glasses to check his appearance.
Since Superman discovered his [speed] ability, his previously hectic schedule seems to have suddenly become much more fulfilling.
"How's the progress? What are the results?"
Walking to the console, Xu Fu looked at the silent Howard and sent a request.
Howard shook his head, turned his head, lingered for a moment on Xu Fu's attire as the reporter looked at him, and then answered in a hoarse voice, "No."
"In fact, I have hacked into all of New York's surveillance equipment and found no faults."
After Howard's reply, Tony from the base spoke up, "Looks like Kim is ready."
Meanwhile, Xu Fu has been working hard to find evidence to prove Spider-Man's innocence.
However, this was clearly not easy, and even with the help of the resistance, little useful evidence was found.
"Looks like our Spider-Man is going to lose his job."
Even after being transformed into artificial intelligence, Tony remains just as annoying as ever.
Ignoring Tony's voice, Xu Fu glanced at the dense monitoring screen on the control panel and quickly made a decision.
"Howard, I need your help."
A faint blue light flashed in the mechanical eyes as Howard quietly looked at Xu Fu standing in front of him.
"explain."
There are some emotional contrasts between you and your son.