novellhall Chapter 211 The Hidden Wolf of Wall Street [5000 words]
Chapter 211 The Hidden Wolf of Wall Street [5000 words]
Chapter 211 The Hidden Wolf of Wall Street [5000 words]
The scene that unfolded on the London set was quickly uploaded online by reporters and audience members.
Twitter:
#FastFighters#
#Chen Xun is pampered by Universal Music Group#
The two topics were side-by-side on the trending list, and clicking on them revealed pictures and videos from that day.
The most popular edit combined the protesters' desperate shouts, Vin Diesel's line "No one can bully family," Justin Lin's confrontation with a megaphone, and a close-up of Chen Xun being surrounded by the entire cast.
The accompanying music is a variation of the classic "See You Again" from the Fast & Furious series.
This video is extremely damaging!
Those extreme netizens and professional haters who were celebrating the removal of Chen Xun from Nolan's new film on American websites just a few days ago suddenly felt like they had swallowed a whole hedgehog.
WTF???
A highly upvoted tweet perfectly encapsulated their feelings: "We went through so much trouble, holding up signs and buying plane tickets to chase him to London, only to find out he was throwing a family party there."
"Was Vin Diesel even putting his arm around his shoulder?"
"This script is wrong!"
Their envisioned scenario was that Chen Xun would be humiliated and rejected by the new production team, and hopefully, some rumors of discord would surface, completely ruining his reputation.
Reality, however, gave them a resounding slap in the face.
Chen Xun was not ostracized; instead, he was treated like family.
The feeling, to quote a later, disillusioned hater on an anonymous forum, was like "having shit stuck in your throat, unable to swallow or spit it out, and you had to feed it to yourself."
This frustration quickly transformed into a new wave of impotent rage.
They then turned their attacks on the Fast & Furious series.
"They've thrown all shame at them for the sake of the Chinese market!"
Some people even photoshopped Chen Xun's face onto Vin Diesel's body to mock him:
Let's just make Chen Xun the boss from now on!
These remarks appear pale and laughable in the face of the massive global fanbase of Fast & Furious and Chen Xun's ever-growing group of supporters.
Chinese netizens even started making fun of the word "Family," a core term from the Fast & Furious franchise, giving it a new interpretation: "Fuck AlI Morons, Love You More."
This interpretation was turned into various memes and widely circulated in the comments section.
And on the second trading day after the London incident.
After a brief surge fueled by media hype, Warner Bros. Discovery's stock price began to decline, experiencing a series of slight drops.
Although the decline was not huge, it stood out conspicuously against the backdrop of a generally positive market.
Wall Street analysts have offered various professional interpretations.
The company faces pressure on its streaming business growth, its traditional cable network revenue continues to be eroded by the cable-cutting wave, its debt burden of tens of billions of dollars remains a concern, and the ongoing tug-of-war with Paramount brings uncertainty.
Guggenheim downgraded Warner's stock rating from buy to neutral, citing "uncertainty about the completion time of the transaction and the risk of approval."
In the eyes of most retail investors, especially netizens and investors who are closely following this matter, this must be related to Chen Xun.
On a stock forum, a post with a sensational title was bumped to the top:
Rational Discussion: Did Chen Xun contribute to WBD's recent gradual decline?
"Brothers, isn't the timeline too coincidental? Chen Xun was being promoted by Warner Bros. before, but the stock price didn't seem to be doing much. They just announced his suspension here, and now the entire Fast & Furious franchise is taking over with great fanfare, and the media is cheering."
"On the other hand, Warner Music was criticized as a coward who bowed to racism, and now its stock price has softened. You say it doesn't matter at all?"
"I don't believe it! This is called a backlash against reputation. The capital market is most afraid of a brand image being tainted."
The comments section of the post was in an uproar.
"Don't be ridiculous. Chen Xun is just an actor; how could he have that kind of influence? Do you really think he's the Wolf of Wall Street?"
"The person upstairs is too naive. A celebrity's public image and commercial value directly affect the stock price of the brands they work with. There are countless examples of this. Warner's move has damaged its image of fairness and decisiveness, which is a risk in the eyes of investors."
"The main thing is that the contrast is too stark! Look at Universal, the Fast and Furious crew is as united as an iron barrel, they're like a family. And Warner Bros.? They can't even protect the actors they chose themselves. This kind of corporate governance makes you feel uneasy."
"And don't forget the Chinese market behind Chen Xun. Warner Music has essentially thrown away a potentially good card and offended—"
"This has attracted a huge potential audience. If I were an investor, I'd have to think twice."
"Hahaha, so those idiots who flew to London to hold up signs, wouldn't you consider them a different kind of short-selling force? Hilarious."
This popular interpretation spread like a virus.
Although no reputable financial media outlet would cite it as a reason for the stock price decline, it has formed a certain consensus among netizens.
Many people even went to the comments section of Warner Bros. Discovery's official Twitter account to post jokes: "Dear Warner, the stock price went down again today. What do your family members think?"
The accompanying picture is a group photo of the Fast & Furious cast.
"We suggest that your company's senior executives collectively watch the 'Fast & Furious' series to learn what it means to never give up."
"I heard you've been a bit short on cash lately? Is it because you're missing out on some mysterious Eastern fortune brought by a certain family member?"
Warner Bros. executive meeting room.
Several executives and advisors from investment banks and strategic consulting firms sat around a screen displaying complex financial statements.
-
According to the stock price curve.
The dim light shone on the long oak conference table.
The reflection on the faces of the surrounding high-ranking officials made them all appear deathly pale.
"Overall, the recent stock price fluctuations mainly reflect the pressure of the expansion costs of the European streaming business exceeding the initial budget."
A strategy advisor wearing gold-rimmed glasses gave a report: "The Guggenheim's downgrade report also played a catalytic role. Of course, on a macro level, the President's proposal to impose tariffs on overseas-produced films has also cast a shadow over the entire industry!"
A vice president with meticulously combed hair rubbed his temples: "All that noise on the streaming media is irrelevant. What investors ultimately value is asset quality, strategic positioning, and financial returns."
No one mentioned the name Chen Xun.
In the eyes of these people, an actor's contract dispute is as insignificant as dust in the midst of corporate mergers and acquisitions, streaming wars, and global market competition that often involve hundreds of billions of dollars.
They only see the bigger picture.
The Chinese actor in London was never included in their strategic analysis model.
That was just a ripple in the entertainment news section, and had nothing to do with the real business world.
London.
Filming for Fast & Furious 6 continues in full swing.
During a break, Paul was scrolling through his phone when he suddenly laughed and handed the screen to Chen Xun: "Hey Chen, someone said you single-handedly lowered Warner's stock price. Now you're the hidden wolf of Wall Street."
Chen Xun glanced at it and shrugged: "Then I should suggest that Director Lin give me stock options in exchange for my salary."
Everyone around laughed.
Vin Diesel took a sip of his protein drink and slowly began, "Wall Street only recognizes numbers and trends, but sometimes trends are made up of countless seemingly small choices. They made one choice, we made another, and time will tell everyone which choice was right."
Filming in London has entered its second week, and Chen Xun is in increasingly better shape.
Today's scene is a chase in the underground parking garage.
Chen Xun plays Chen Zhen, who has to intercept an escaped armored vehicle by driving a car. He needs to complete three consecutive drifts in a narrow space and finally turn the car sideways to block the exit.
"Action!"
Chen Xun stepped on the gas, and the modified black sedan roared into the garage.
The first bend.
He jerked the steering wheel, pulled the handbrake, and the rear of the car traced an arc, the tires screeching against the ground.
Vehicle handling precision +4
A purple attribute ball floated out from the stunt instructor in the passenger seat and was absorbed by Chen Xun.
moment!
He felt that the feedback from the steering wheel in his hands was clearer, as if he could sense the grip of each tire.
The second bend is even sharper.
Chen Xun shifted gears half a second in advance, and the coordination between the accelerator and brake was as natural as breathing.
The car almost glided past the concrete pillar, keeping the distance within ten centimeters.
"pretty!"
Lin Yibin's voice came through the walkie-talkie.
On the third bend, Chen Xun needs to swerve the car to the designated position.
He glanced at the rearview mirror, calculated the angle, and then did something that almost defied the laws of physics.
The car suddenly changed direction on the highway, slid sideways for five meters, and came to a steady stop on the marked line.
"Cut! Perfect!"
The staff at the scene applauded.
Paul climbed out of another car and whistled, "Chen, you drive like a street thug even more than I do."
"The role requires it."
Chen Xun got out of the car and stretched his wrists.
[Street Driving Instinct +6]
This time it's a purple attribute ball, from the captain of the stunt team.
After absorbing the information, several emergency rescue plans for extreme situations automatically popped into Chen Xun's mind, like muscle memory.
[Character credibility +35]
[Cultural Influence +42]
[Highly praised by 63%]
I've made rapid progress lately!
In particular, Chen Xun could feel the credibility of the character; now that he was wearing that uniform, he didn't need to act to make it believable.
The new production assistants on set would unconsciously start their sentences with "sir" when they spoke to him, and he corrected them several times.
During the lunch break, Robert excitedly walked over to Chen Xun.
Warner's stock has fallen again.
"How many?"
"It's fallen below 65!"
"Today's closing price was 63.8, a drop of more than 15% from the highest point at the beginning of the year."
Rob kept scrolling through his phone: "The key issue is that the decline hasn't stopped. Those people on the financial channel, who started by analyzing debt structure and streaming competition, are now raising concerns about brand reputation risks and strategic instability leading to a lack of investor confidence."
"What does this have to do with us?"
Neither Chen Xun nor Robert bought Warner stock.
"It might not have been a problem originally."
Robert paused for a moment: "But investor forums and social media have closely linked this drop to your situation and the Fast & Furious crew's support for you."
"They even packaged this decline into a story."
"story?"
Chen Xun was somewhat curious.
"A story of how those who act justly gain widespread support, while those who act unjustly find themselves isolated. Warner Bros. abandoned its own actors for short-term public pressure, resulting in them being disliked by both sides and seemingly offending a huge market."
Rob explained, "This thing is more mysterious than financial report data, but if it really forms a consensus, it can be extremely damaging to stock prices. Now, many retail investors, and a small number of institutions, are selling based on this factor to some extent."
Chen Xun never expected that something as simple as leaving the film crew would escalate to this point.
The next day, we filmed a major explosion scene.
Vin Diesel strolled over while the technicians were setting up the set.
"I heard Warner Music is having some trouble lately?"
Fan handed him a cup of coffee.
Chen Xun took it and smiled: "The stock price is falling every day, and netizens say it's because of me."
Vin Diesel raised an eyebrow: "Those guys on Wall Street don't really understand movies; they only understand numbers and stories. An easy-to-spread story is more useful than a hundred-page financial report."
Chen Xun agreed.
Those who control capital have been detached from the people at the bottom of society for too long and no longer know what the emotions of ordinary people are like.
The explosion scenes were filmed in a thrilling and dangerous manner.
Chen Xun needs to make precise positioning among a series of pre-buried explosive points and jump into the bunker at the last moment.
The instructions repeatedly emphasized safety precautions.
Filming has officially begun.
Universal had high expectations for Fast & Furious 6, hence the huge investment.
The shockwave, flying debris, and deafening roar of the explosion instantly drew people into the scene.
Chen Xun was completely focused.
Right now, all he can think about is the movement, the timing, and the reactions the character should have.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
An explosion was heard.
Chen Xun darted swiftly through the firelight and smoke, making a final, clean and decisive leap.
"Cut! Perfect!"
Lin Yibin's voice came through the walkie-talkie.
"Chen Xun, the resolute look in your eyes when you lunged forward was portrayed exceptionally well!"
Chen Xun got up from the ground and dusted himself off.
Just then, several attribute orbs of different colors fell from his body:
[Calm in high-risk environments +5]
[Movement Flow +4]
[Instantaneous Burst Power +6]
[Heroic Aura +3]
Especially the last one, the "heroic aura".
Although it was just a blue attribute ball, it made him feel a slight warmth spreading throughout his body.
Chen Xun felt his aura suddenly become stronger.
He suddenly remembered the way Vin Diesel naturally centered around him on set.
After finishing work, I returned to the hotel.
Chen Xun opened his laptop and, almost without thinking, searched for Warner Bros. Discovery's stock price chart.
That downward-sloping green line was indeed glaringly obvious.
The related discussion threads on the forum are very popular.
Various technical terms, conspiracy theories, and schadenfreude.
He saw a highly upvoted reply: "What Warner Bros. lacks now is not one or two blockbusters, but a landmark event that can salvage its image. If they can bring back the talent they themselves fired and collaborate on a masterpiece, the story will be complete."
Someone below mocked, "Are you dreaming? Doesn't the management have any pride?"
But some countered, "What's the value of face compared to stock prices and US dollars?"
Chen Xun closed the webpage.
Noon the next day.
Chen Xun had just taken a bite of his sandwich when a financial news notification popped up on Paul's phone next to him.
Paul picked up his phone and read aloud: "Warner Bros. Discovery's stock price continued to decline in early trading today, hitting a new low for the year at $62.1. Analysts point out that market anxiety is spreading —"
"It's fallen again?"
Vin Diesel leaned over and took a look.
He knew that Paul had bought Warner stock.
Paul sighed, "Who would have thought that ever since I bought Warner stock, it's been falling every day? I'm practically radiating the smell of losses now."
"If I'd known Chen joined our team so early, I would have bought Universal Pictures stock!"
Paul was half-joking.
Gail leaned over and glanced at Paul's phone, then laughed, "This is more exciting than an action movie script!"
Chen Xun swallowed his food and wiped his hands: "It really has nothing to do with me. I'm just an actor."
"Now everyone thinks it's related to you!"
Vin Diesel sat down with his tray in hand: "That's the power of public opinion. Once it takes hold, no amount of financial reports or announcements can reverse it, unless you can create an even more sensational and favorable public opinion for yourself."
They were talking when Rob called.
He needed to go back to the company a couple of days ago to handle business matters.
"Chen! Warner Music has released two announcements!"
"What did you say?"
The first piece of news is that the title of Nolan's new film has been officially changed to Interstellar.
The second official announcement stated that Matthew McConaughey will take over the role of Cooper, the male lead.
Rob spoke rapidly: "The announcement lauded Matthew, calling him an Oscar-winning actor, a top-notch performer, and saying he perfectly fit the character—"
It's obvious they're trying to overshadow old opinions with new information.
Chen Xun paused for a moment. Although he had a premonition, the official announcement of the change of actors still felt a bit complicated.
It was indeed Matthew O'Connor, who played Cooper in his previous life.
He hung up the phone and opened Twitter.
really!
The hashtags #Interstellar# and #MatthewOConnor# have already trended on social media.
The comments under Warner's official tweet were polarized.
Supporters celebrated: "Matthew! The perfect choice!"
"This is the kind of Cooper we should be!"
"Oscar-winning actor, quality guaranteed!"
But many comments did not develop as Warner had imagined.
"Was Chen Xun suspended before just to replace Matthew? The upgrade isn't as significant as I expected."
Warner: We replaced Chen Xun due to public opinion, and we replaced him with another Oscar winner. Me: So what exactly are you afraid of? Are you afraid he's too Asian or that he's not Oscar-worthy enough?
"Hilarious! Does this indirectly admit that Chen Xun's casting was Oscar-worthy? Otherwise, why didn't you just replace him with a younger, more popular actor?"
"Warner Bros. spent even more money to hire an even more expensive person to prove they didn't do anything wrong? (doge)"
"The stock price fell because of this? I feel it's because they look stupid."
Chen Xun almost laughed.
Netizens' interpretations are always so unique and deadly.
-
-
Instead of attacking Matthew McConaughey directly, they targeted the self-contradictory logic of Warner's decision-making.
I feel that the memes from Chinese netizens, though late, have finally arrived.
A widely circulated picture shows Chen Xun surrounded by a group of people on the set of "Fast & Furious" on the left.
"Our whole family loves him!"
On the right is Matthew McConaughey's official handsome photo.
"Their new son, whom they paid a fortune for!"
The Warner Bros. logo is in the middle.
"An attempt to mend the broken heart of the old family with the new son."
Comments below: "Scumbag behavior!"
"Late-blown affection is worth less than grass."
1
"This stock price is Warner's blessing —"