The top of fame and fortune [Comprehensive British and American]

The pan-fried flounder and beef Wellington at the White House state dinner were delicious, but Erica was a little disappointed tonight when Mr. Holmes made it clear to her that the consulting detective was not on this trip to Washington.

She originally wanted to talk to Sherlock about that Dr. Strange, the two men were too similar in appearance, of course it was not so easy for her to forget about it.

At the long banquet table, Erica looked at the British government beside him. He was tasting the lemon pudding poured with Idaho berry sauce. When she took a look, she felt that the sweetness was a bit tight in her throat, "Sherlock said that you often toothache."

I'm afraid most of the time it's due to the sweet tooth.

Hearing Erica's voice, Mycroft put down the golden dessert fork in his hand, looked at her with displeasure, and lowered his voice, "You mentioned your little uncle all night, a bit too often."

Erica said half-truth, "Ilikehim."

Obviously, this is not the answer Mr. Holmes would like to hear. His eyebrows are raised a little, and the corners of his mouth still have a polite arc, but his expression looks calm and not easy to provoke. When he met, he used bad words to tell him to go away."

A few years ago, Mycroft always thought that being an older brother was troublesome enough, but with new knowledge in these years, becoming a father is even more burdensome.All in all, whether it is younger siblings or children, they are a group of 'burdens'.

Erica saw the frown on Mr. Daifuku's brows, and finally her conscience broke out and she stopped messing around on purpose. She moved closer to Mycroft and said to him, "I hope I can be your female partner for the next East Hall dance .”

Naturally, the White House state banquet is not only a one-meal dinner, but also includes an evening dance. The venue will be transferred from the State Dining Room to the East Hall.

And Erica would rather dance with McCoff than dance a tango with Lex Luthor in front of hundreds of guests, so that everyone thinks that the two have reunited.

Mycroft's expression seemed to be milder. He was satisfied that Erica did not intend to continue to deepen the entanglement with Luther, but at the same time he thought, what made her give up the emotional game she was always fond of?Who else?

He thought of Harry Osborn, who had become closer to Erica recently, and he didn't think that young man was any better than Luther.

It's just that compared to Luthor, who is a dangerous person himself, and Wayne, the dark knight who has made countless enemies, Harry Osborn's stay by Erica's side is less likely to bring her dangerous factors.

At the dance in the East Hall that night, Erica hung on the arm of the British Government for almost the entire time, and did not invite anyone to dance. Lex Luthor cast her gaze from time to time, as if it could become a real poison arrow .

Mycroft, who was used as a shield, gave her a flat look, "If you don't plan to socialize effectively tonight, maybe you should choose to refuse to attend."

It's not like now, in order to avoid Luthor, he seems a little reluctant to let go of things.

Erica's expression was a little stiff, she did not explain to McCoff, in her original plan, she thought that not only did she not reject a tango with Mr. President, but she even had the impulsive idea of ​​fooling around in the White House.

But when things came to an end, she suddenly regretted it.

At that moment, she unexpectedly thought of Harry Osborn inexplicably.This is not a good sign.

******

On Midsummer Night in July, when Erica was at the East Room Ball of the White House, the crew of "The English Patient" in Rome, Italy, was in a desperate situation recently.

"Damn [-]th Century Fox!" "The English Patient" director Anthony Minghella swears, but no one stops him, or it should be said that the entire crew is thinking about it at the moment—

Twentieth Century Fox, as the producer, suddenly decided to withdraw its capital five weeks before the filming started.And it is when the film crew and the main creator of the film have arrived in Italy, where the filming took place.

The reason for the divestment was that [-]th Century Fox and the film producer Saul Zaentz had endless disputes over casting. Fox believed that a more well-known actor should be used as the leading role, but Zaentz opposed Fox. repeatedly pointed fingers.

The crew of "The English Patient" in Italy is in a state of panic, and Zaentz is clearly aware that the entire crew has begun to doubt whether the film can still be filmed. "We need to find new investors."

Zaentz, who is over 600 years old, has already invested [-] million US dollars in this film. If the film "aborts", he will not only fall into financial crisis, but also lose his reputation as a gold medal producer in Hollywood.

However, it is not easy to get the next producer of this love tragedy movie that has been withdrawn temporarily. The romantic and war tragedy factors of "The English Patient" discouraged the big studios that favor commercial movies. With tens of millions of dollars of expensive investment, it is difficult for ordinary independent film studios to complete financing.

Until the assistant director of "The English Patient", Gianni Alduni, proposed, "Why don't we try to contact Erica?"

Alduni also used to be the assistant director of "The Godfather 3", and has always had a good personal relationship with Erika over the years. Even when she received the British Academy Award in her acceptance speech, she once thanked Erica for being so helpful to her in the crew assistant director.

"In recent years, Erica is almost the most famous producer in Hollywood," Alduni thought that this proposal was quite feasible, and he tried to use this to enhance his voice in the crew. In one year, she made $20 billion at the box office."

Hollywood has always been a place that values ​​'timeliness' very much. They don't care about the brilliance you have created many years ago, they only care about your recent achievements, and Erica is undoubtedly one of the most powerful people in Hollywood right now.

At least until she meets Waterloo and experiences a career downfall, she will be the darling of Hollywood and America as a whole.

Zaentz was moved by the proposal of the assistant director Alduni. He remembered that at the Oscar afterparty, he passed the director of the Screen Actors Guild of America, Alan Rosenberg. Oh no, Rosenberg has now become the chairman of the union. .Anyway, Rosenberg had introduced Erica Parker to him at the time.

During a crew meeting, Zaentz looked at the two stars of "The English Patient," Ralph Fiennes and Kristin Scott Thomas.Both actors happen to have worked with Parker before, on "Basic Instinct" and "Four Weddings and a Funeral," respectively.

Ralph and Christine seem to support the opinion of the assistant director Alduney, "Erica is almost an angel investor in Hollywood."

The authenticity of this sentence is somewhat doubtful. Erica does have enough respect for innovative talents such as cast members, but she has never lost a single investment, or it should be said that she has never made a lot of money.

And the reason why the two leading actors prefer Erica to be an investor is more out of self-interest considerations——

The reason why [-]th Century Fox withdrew its investment was to replace the two actors with more commercially valuable leading actors. The sudden withdrawal of capital is no lack of a power struggle with producer Zaenz, trying to force Zaenz to agree to change the lead actor.

Compared with the big studios acting strong, Erica, who had a smooth cooperation with Ralph and Christine, is undoubtedly more conducive to the two of them retaining the starring seat of "The English Patient".

The crew seems to agree to contact Erica Parker, making it the new producer of the film.

Saul Zaentz, who was in financial crisis, did not ask Alduni and the two leading actors to discuss the matter with Erica.Instead, Zaentz called Alan Rosenberg, chairman of the Screen Actors Guild of America, "I hope to have a conversation to persuade Erica Parker to finance "The English Patient."

******

In the middle of the night, as the White House state banquet and ball gradually ended, Erica walked out of the presidential mansion on the arm of Mr. Holmes. Mycroft's British-made car had already parked in the parking lot of the White House.

But Erica didn't approach this car, because a Rolls-Royce Silver Spirit broke into her sight not far from the parking space, and she recognized that it was Osborn's executive car .

The car door was opened from the inside, and a young man with blond hair and blue eyes came out. The white shirt made his flat and broad shoulders look great, and the black trousers highlighted his slender body. The blond hair was not combed meticulously, blown by the night wind , with a few strands of hair dangling on the forehead.

"Harry." Erika left Mr. Holmes behind without any guilt, and walked towards the handsome young man.

And when she approached, she smelled a faint smell of tobacco on his body. Erica frowned. Although his genetic disease has been controlled and even cured day by day, smoking is still not a good choice for now.

Mycroft looked at the pair of blond young men not far away, and when his eyes touched Osborne, he felt a little 'out of sight', so he got into the British car alone, after all Erica didn't seem to leave that A 'pretty gentleman' plan.

The British sedan drove away, Erica and Harry Osborne sat in his Rolls-Royce executive car, the smell of tobacco seemed to be stronger in the car.

She heard Harry's moody voice, "I thought you would stay in the White House tonight."

Erica was noncommittal, she looked into those blue eyes, "So you started smoking?"

Of course Harry understood that Erica was worried about his genetic disease, which might even have killed him.But as he waited outside the White House, terrified that she might have reaccepted Lex Luthor, he thought it might be worse than death.

The only pain death made him feel was not being able to die for love.

He watched Erica, whom other men were attracted to because of her fickleness and uncontrollability, the affection for her that was like a special piece of expensive jewelry or a crown.

But he just wanted to spend his life forever, never get tired, and dedicate all his enthusiasm, heart, loyalty, and his entire life to her.