Across America, Starting with the Boxing Champion

 Chapter 215 Press Conference

"Good afternoon, fellow passengers, I am Jenny, the stewardess of United Airlines flight UA714. The plane has safely arrived over London and is landing smoothly. For your personal safety, please do not get up and move around before the seat belt signal light goes out. Before opening the hatch"

"Mr. Baker, the plane is about to land. There may be a little bumps. Please pay attention."

In the business class of the Boeing aircraft, a blond stewardess in uniform squatted in front of Link and gave him thoughtful tips.

"Thanks!"

Link nodded and put down the travel magazine in his hand.

The Boeing plane began to descend, and Link looked sideways out of the window. Thick clouds appeared in the originally blue sky. The clouds changed from pure white to gray, and dropped to a height of more than a thousand meters. Visible to the naked eye, a wave of clouds was floating in the London sky. A thick layer of smog.

 During this process, Link often felt like he had fallen from heaven to hell.

The plane bumped slightly and landed at London Heathrow International Airport.

Franco and Simon, Anna, Bob and Wallace, Coach Brooks and members of the logistics and medical team of Dynasty Promotions got up one after another.

"Link, due to publicity needs, after getting off the plane, the organizer of the boxing match will hold a press conference at the Sofitel Hotel. After the press conference, we will take a short rest in the hotel and then go to the city center in the afternoon. Check-in at Tower International Hotel.”

Franco came over and said.

 “I will listen to your arrangements.”

Link nodded.

 This WBA-WBC world boxing championship showdown was held at the O2 Arena in Greenwich, London.

This stadium is a large stadium built by the British to welcome the new millennium in 2000. It is also called the 'Millennium Stadium'.

The stadium is built on the Greenwich Peninsula on the south bank of the Thames River in London. It is a circular dome-shaped building.

From the plane, it looks like a pearl set on the banks of the Thames, and is also called the "Pearl of London".

The O2 Arena has a large internal capacity, with more than 23,000 seats. After its completion, it gradually replaced Wembley and CTC Arena and became the most famous stadium in London.

 The stadium mainly hosts various sports events, entertainment activities, and large-scale concerts. It is also one of the venues for the future London Olympics.

 This competition is jointly organized by the British Arena Promotion Company, WBA British Boxing Association and WBC British Boxing Association.

Link’s appearance fee is 6 million US dollars, which you can get regardless of winning or losing. This is because he is famous enough.

 The competition prize money is 10 million, divided into 30 and 70. Whoever wins, he or Carl French, will get the big prize.

 In terms of box office share, Link can get 15%.

 The PPV viewing fee is divided into three parts, 20% in the UK and 50% in North America, while other countries and regions get 15%.

The PPV revenue share is the largest share. If one million households choose to pay to watch the match between the two, he and Dynasty Promotions will earn more than 40 million US dollars in this match.

If he gets this money, his total income from boxing and music this year will exceed 100 million US dollars.

 For the sake of dollar bills, he maintains high expectations for this game.

 “Link! Welcome to London!”

 “Link, I love you!”

When Link and his team arrived at the airport, they saw thousands of fans gathered in the square in front of the airport. They were holding various support signs and posters, shouting his name loudly.

Before becoming a celebrity, Link didn’t quite understand the psychology of fans. We are all human beings, so what’s the point of chasing stars?

 After becoming famous, he carefully read research papers in this area.

ˆ Relevant articles say that chasing stars is a kind of "beautiful psychology", which exists at all stages of human development and is an instinct of human beings.

Chasing stars is also a form of popular culture and a way of socializing, similar to a group of people with similar interests partying together to eliminate loneliness.

In addition, chasing stars is also a kind of spiritual sustenance. For example, watching the artists you support become more successful will also give you a sense of accomplishment, which is called the halo effect in psychology.

Link concluded that star chasing is a social activity carried out to satisfy personal spiritual needs after human material civilization has developed to a certain stage.

 And it is also very challenging to become a qualified idol and an enduring star.

 Because idols will age, fans will age, and people’s tastes and interests will continue to change with the times.

  No one can be famous forever, MJ is a good example.

Before 2003, wherever he appeared, tens of thousands of fans would run to meet him.

 After his death, at his memorial ceremony, only more than 30,000 fans came to see him off, instead of the hundreds of thousands or millions expected by the media.

It is said that the vendors selling MJ souvenirs outside Staples Arena that day suffered a lot of losses as a result.

After Link became a star, he naturally wanted to be famous for a hundred years, but he also knew that it was impossible.

 So he will try his best to fulfill the responsibilities of an idol during his term of office, such as releasing more good works, winning more gold belts and gold medals, and making himself more successful.

 At the same time, we also try to get close to fans as much as possible to leave a good impression on them.

 Seeing that there were many fans at the scene, everyone was very excited.

Link took the initiative to walk to the guardrail area, waved to the fans, signed autographs for the fans, and took photos with the fans.

 We arrived at the Sofitel Hotel east of the airport more than half an hour later than originally planned to hold a press conference.

  —

There were also quite a few people attending the press conference, including local British media, journalists from Europe, the United States, and even many Asian countries. There were two to three hundred people including cameramen and reporters.

　　When he walked up to the rostrum in front of him, all the reporters were in a half-crouched posture, with microphones in their hands ready to move.

Link sat on the sofa, took a sip of water, and started by saying something to the host.

“Mr. Baker, welcome to London, England. As far as we know, this is your first time in London. What is your impression of this city?”

ˆBBC TV reporter asked.

  The BBC is the largest television station and the largest news organization in the UK, and it also has many priorities in interviews.

Link spread his hands and said with a smile: "Yes, this is my first time coming to London. I have only seen the sky of London and the busy Heathrow Airport. My impression of this city is very one-sided and I cannot answer your questions for the time being."

However, I have met many British people in London at work, and they all left a very good impression on me. British gentlemen are all elegant, knowledgeable, and well-mannered, giving people a very educated feeling.

The British ladies and ladies are also dignified and generous, have good taste in dressing, and are real ladies.

 In the eyes of us Americans, they are all great dating partners, but few of them succeed. The reason is of course that British gentlemen are too good and it is difficult for foreign men to win their hearts. "

 Hearing his words, the British men in the audience burst into good-natured laughter.

“Mr. Baker, are there any British actors and singers that you admire more? Who are they?”

 The "Daily Mail" reporter asked. Link laughed and said: “I like many British actors and singers, because I was born in 1989 and have little interest in old movies. I prefer movies released in the past ten years, so the movie actors I like are also relatively young.

 For example, Ms. Kate Winslet, she was the goddess of my childhood, Ms. Keira Knightley, she is really a very elegant lady, I have watched almost all her movies.

Also Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe, and Robert Grint, all three of them are good friends of mine.

By the way, Mr. Christian Bale, his acting skills are very good and his work is very serious. When he was filming on the set of "The Fighter", he almost became my acting teacher. I respect him very much.

I like many British singers, including Mr. John Lennon. I think there is no one who dislikes him. There are many singers from the older generation, and the new generation singer is undoubtedly Adele. "

Link also talked about the news that he and Adele sat together at the Grammy Awards. He praised Adele for being cool, singing well, and being his idol, saying that she would become a great singer in the future.

 The reason why he only mentioned young actors and singers in the interview is not only because he likes them, but also because his fan base is relatively young and overlaps with the fans of these stars.

 When he praises these celebrities, fans will be very happy after seeing it, which enhances their sense of identification with him.

 Hello Mr. Baker, I’m Bernard Gary, reporter for The Sun!

"The Sun" reporter Gary adjusted his glasses frame, stood in the third row of the crowd with a microphone and asked, "You just mentioned that Miss Emma Watson is your good friend, may I ask you during the London game? , would you consider meeting her?”

"Yes, I have this plan, as well as Daniel and Robert. It's just that "Half-Blood Prince" has been so popular recently. I don't know if they have time. If it's convenient, I will consider asking them to buy me a drink."

Link said looking at the other person.

Reporter Gary wanted to ask again, and the host pointed his finger at the Guardian reporter.

Most of the reporters at the scene came from several major British media.

 Some reporting styles are biased toward sports and entertainment, such as The Sun, Daily Mail, and Daily Mirror.

There are also a few serious and serious media, such as the Guardian, The Times, and the Financial Times.

During interviews, reporters from media whose main selling point is entertainment news also tend to ask questions about entertainment gossip news and like to ask about celebrities’ privacy.

Serious media, such as reporters from the Guardian, would ask him about the game, what are his chances of winning against Carl French, and what his next goal would be after becoming a pop culture idol. What, career planning and the like.

 The reporter from the Financial Times asked him about the prize money from the competition, his business developments, and whether he had ever thought about making business investments in the UK.

When answering questions from entertainment reporters, Link will improvise based on his own ideas.

 For serious media such as The Guardian, he will give some more professional answers based on the interview scripts prepared by Simon and Anna in advance.

 If the answer is unprofessional or the answer is contradictory, he will be regarded as unlearned and unskilled after reporting, and it will also affect his label as an "inspirational college student".

Therefore, being a public figure is not easy. It requires not only professional strength, but also strong social skills, cultural accomplishment, and a professional agent team.

The reason why many entertainment stars die young is not only because they are not strong enough, but also because the management team around them does not play its due role at critical moments.

"Dear ladies and gentlemen, thank you again for attending my press conference. Due to schedule, I cannot answer everyone's questions, but I will have many public events in the next two days. If you have other questions, you can For the next interview, you can also contact my agent and we will interview alone! ”

The news interview lasted for more than 40 minutes. Link answered more than 20 questions before he stood up and said goodbye to the reporters. The shutters of the scene rang again.

  —

 “James, where are you?”

 Leaving the Sofitel Hotel, Bernard Gehry got into the car and called James Ryder.

“I’m maintaining order outside the terminal. Damn it, I really don’t know what these young people are thinking. They are unwilling to leave even after Link has left.”

Officer Ryder said angrily.

"James, think of a way to see if there is a chance to sneak into Link's security team. If we want to take photos of him and Emma Watson dating, we have to get closer to them."

 Bernard Gehry said as he looked at the door of the Fiat Hotel.

"It's difficult. I just found out that Link's security is handled by the Kingston Security Company. We police are only responsible for maintaining security and evacuating traffic on the periphery. Only when something goes wrong can we get close to them."

"James, you can go to the outside. No matter what, if you want to take pictures, you have to get as close to him as possible. If we can get conclusive evidence of their date, we will be rich."

 Bernard Gehry said with excitement.

 At that time, he will not only receive a reward of 100,000 pounds, but also have the opportunity to be promoted and receive a salary increase. This is a good opportunity that he does not want to miss.

 “Okay, I’ll try.”

 Officer Ryder hung up the phone.

 Bernard Gary called Charlotte again and asked him if he had found out the whereabouts of Emma Watson.

Charlotte replied that after Emma Watson returned from Paris, she had been in her apartment on Cambridge Street in North London for the past two days and seemed to have never left the house.

 Gally asked him to keep an eye over there and report in time if he saw Emma going out.

 In addition, he was reminded to pay attention to the movements of Emma's aunt, Ms. Irene, and he might be able to learn Emma's exact whereabouts from her.

 Hung up the phone, Gary contacted Crowley Biggs again.

 Biggs smiled strangely and said that he had sneaked into the Tower of London International Hotel and booked a business suite. He spent 668 pounds per night and asked him not to forget to report the bill.

Hearing his words, Gary frowned and asked, why not book a cheaper room?

 Biggs told him that Link and his team had almost booked all the rooms in the Tower of London Hotel, and there were more than 20 rooms left that had also been booked by others.

Except for the Tower of London Hotel, the major hotels near the O2 Arena have been almost full recently.

The suite he got for 668 pounds was also the cheapest room in the Tower of London Hotel. He got it by throwing a mouse in to scare away the original tenants, otherwise he wouldn't have gotten it even for two thousand pounds.

 Biggs believes that Gary should not blame him, but should praise him.

 Gally thought about it, and it was indeed the case.

The boxing championship showdown between Link and Carl French attracted many wealthy people from the British Isles to watch. In recent days, not only have hotel prices increased, but car rental companies and flights have also become busy.

 Biggs was able to get an apartment in Link's hotel for 668 pounds, which is indeed quite capable.

Gary changed his words to praise him and asked him to stay in the hotel, where Link's motorcade would probably arrive in the evening.

 Biggs’ task is to try to find out the room number where Link lives, the elevator or other ways to go up and down the stairs.

 After ending the call, Gary called a few of his paparazzi and asked them to keep an eye on Link. If they could take photos of Link in contact with Emma Watson or other actresses, they would pay 100 pounds each.

　　After making several calls in a row, Gary loosened his tie, took a few deep breaths, took the mineral water that had been heated by the sun on the seat, and drank it all in one go.

While drinking water, he noticed many of his peers outside the Sofitel Hotel, and couldn't help but sigh to himself. There were too many people staring at Link, and it was not easy to make this kind of money. thing.

 (End of this chapter)