Bab 250: Chapter 247 The Future's Richest Man
*The Fighter* opened in 1,209 theaters in North America in its first week, earning $15.37 million at the box office, ranking sixth in weekly box office performance.
The box office champion was the simultaneously released movie *Twilight 2*, which earned $140 million in North America in its first three days, becoming the third-highest opening weekend box office in history, following *The Dark Knight* at $158 million and *Spider-Man 3* at $151 million.
Ranking second to fifth were *The Blind Side*, *Up*, *2012*, and Disney's hand-drawn animation *The Princess and the Frog*.
Compared to the top five big productions with investments exceeding $50 million, *The Fighter* had a production cost of only $18 million, and its first-week box office of over $15 million fully demonstrated the film's good quality.
Some media also believed that Link's appeal at the box office was getting stronger and stronger, and he was a newcomer actor with great commercial value.
*Variety* called him another A-list singer to gain a foothold in Hollywood after Will Smith and Justin Timberlake.
Time came to December.
Compared to the end of last year, when he was just a simple boxing star with not much work at the end of the year.
This year, he had become a boxing superstar, a popular singer who had released two best-selling albums, a movie star, a swimming champion, and an entrepreneur and billionaire with companies like Dynasty Promotion, Link Records, Palm Bay Agency, Palm Beach Pictures, and over $100 million in stocks like Amazon.
With more titles, he was busy every day at the end of the year.
First, he went to the set of *Easy A* to shoot the final scenes and was "bullied" by his employee, Emma Stone, in terms of acting skills.
He decided to find a chance to get back at her and let her know how dark a capitalist's heart could be.
Before the movie was finished, he took Taylor to the neighboring villa district to attend the wedding party of Scott Stuber and his supermodel girlfriend, Molly Sims.
At the wedding party, he also collaborated with Taylor on the song "You Belong with Me," with Taylor singing and him playing the piano, as a wedding gift.
Stuber and Molly were so moved that they wiped away tears, and the many billionaires attending the party also applauded and cheered for them.
At the party, he also met Elon Musk, who came to freeload.
Meeting this future richest man, he naturally wouldn't miss the opportunity to get acquainted.
Elon Musk was also one of the people he admired.
Elon was 38 years old this year, a South African immigrant, with a bachelor's degree in economics and physics from the University of Pennsylvania, and had studied for a Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University.
He started his business at the age of 24 and became a multimillionaire at 28 with the self-developed online content publishing software Zip2.
In 2002, when e-commerce was just emerging, he co-founded the digital mobile payment platform PayPal, similar to Alipay, and became a billionaire.
Since 2003, he founded the space exploration company SpaceX, researching how to reduce the cost of rocket launches, and planned to achieve Mars immigration in the future, creating a human space civilization.
Unfortunately, the workload of rocket research was too large, and three consecutive rocket launch failures led to a shortage of funds for the company. He then shifted his attention to the electric car industry and acquired Tesla Motors in 2005, becoming the chairman of the company.
However, Tesla's research was not smooth. The first electric car, Roadster, was not launched until October 2008, and the price was as high as 110,000 US dollars. Because the price was too high and there were too many problems with the electric car, Roadster's sales in the car market were dismal.
Also due to the impact of the financial crisis, both SpaceX and Tesla Motors were in trouble. The media often reported that Musk was about to go bankrupt, and the two companies were about to go bankrupt and close down.
It wasn't until September that Musk sold 10% of Tesla's shares to Daimler AG for 70 million and got a 460 million low-interest loan from the US Department of Energy that he successfully overcame this crisis.
But there was also news that Musk's crisis was not over.
Because the research and development cost of Tesla cars was too high, and SpaceX's rocket launch failed again, Tesla was still short of money. Because of this, Musk was planning to let Tesla go public on Nasdaq to overcome the current difficulties.
After Link met him, he didn't take the initiative to mention investing in Tesla.
He didn't understand financial investment or car research and development, and he couldn't talk to him about these things, so they only talked about music, boxing, and movies.
Musk founded a film company in 2003 and served as a producer for three films, including *Iron Man 2* released this year. He also made cameo appearances in many films. His current girlfriend, Talulah Riley, was also an actress.
Musk was also a boxing enthusiast, claiming to be his fan and having watched every one of his matches. He even posted a boxing video on the YouTube boxing section.
Link hadn't seen that video and said they could practice boxing together sometime. Musk also took the initiative to exchange contact information with him.
"Honey, you seem to be very interested in Elon Musk."
"Why do you say that?"
After the party, Link and Taylor walked hand in hand on the path outside the villa. On both sides of the path was a lush botanical garden. Even in the winter of the northern hemisphere, many trees still had lush foliage, especially the two rows of tall palm trees on the roadside, which didn't change color all year round.
"You two just chatted for over an hour, and you were so engrossed. I've never seen you so enthusiastic about anyone before."
Taylor said, swinging his hand.
"It's different. Elon is a great genius, like Edison. Chatting with him can broaden your horizons, so I chatted with him for a while longer."
Link shrugged. He remembered that this was what Ivanka's father used to describe Elon.
"So that's it? Then I'm relieved."
Taylor patted her chest and exhaled exaggeratedly.
"Relieved? What do you mean?"
Taylor smiled slightly and pointed to his eyes, "I saw your eyes light up when you looked at him, like you were seeing a beautiful woman. When he looked at you, his eyes were also very passionate. Talulah and I thought you two were going to come out."
"What? What nonsense are you talking about?"
Link looked at her with black lines, put his arm around her waist, and said, "With such a hot girlfriend like you, how could I become that kind of man?"
Taylor covered her mouth and smiled, "You mean if it weren't for me, you would come out?"
"Of course not, I'm straight as an arrow, my orientation is very normal. I'm just interested in Elon's space immigration plan. If he succeeds, in the future we only need to buy a ticket to travel to outer space on SpaceX's spaceship. Do you want to travel to space?"
Link looked at the sky obscured by palm leaves and said.
"It does sound interesting. If I could travel in outer space, I would definitely find inspiration there and write many great songs."
Taylor looked up at the sky with him and saw a few blue jacaranda petals falling down.
Link shook his head helplessly. Taylor had to relate everything to creation, as if she was obsessed with songwriting.
"Did you feel anything when you saw Scott and Molly get married just now?"
Link asked.
Taylor picked up a petal and shook her head: "No, I'm not familiar with them, so what could I feel? If they were my sisters, friends, or ex-boyfriends, seeing them get married might give me some writing inspiration."
"I'm asking about your feelings about marriage. Generally, when single people or couples attend other people's wedding parties, they will think about their own lifelong events. Did you have any similar thoughts just now, or consider when to get married and have children?"
"I did."
Taylor smiled slightly, faced him, and walked backward while saying, "Preferably in four or five years, when our work stabilizes and we're not as busy as we are now, we'll get married in a country villa in Nashville and have two children. What do you think?"
"Sounds great!"
Link smiled and kissed her on the cheek.
Taylor smiled and said, "I heard that giving birth is very painful. Do you think it will inspire creative inspiration during childbirth?"
"Definitely. Many singer-songwriters have created related songs during the period of having and raising children. Madonna and Whitney Houston both have. I think you can too. How about we have one now?"
Link hugged her and smiled.
"Now?" Taylor shook her head repeatedly, saying it was too early. She was only twenty years old and still a big girl, not ready to be a mother.
"It won't be too difficult, trust me. Let's go, let's go home and have a baby."
"No!"
Ignoring Taylor's resistance, Link embraced her and returned to the villa, spending a pleasant Wednesday afternoon in the small bedroom bathed in the setting sun.
(End of Chapter)
Bab 251: Chapter 248 Spring Festival Gala Invitation
At the end of the year, the American entertainment industry began a big melee.
In the film market, blockbusters were released one after another, including James Cameron's "Avatar," Robert Downey Jr.'s "Sherlock Holmes," Fox's famous animation "Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel," Matt Damon's biographical film "Invictus," George Clooney's "Up in the Air," and Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore's new film "Baarìa," and so on.
Coupled with several blockbusters released in November, the competition in the December film box office market entered a fever pitch.
Also because of the many blockbusters, the "Commercial Daily" reported that after the 2007 and 2008 lows, the total box office of the American film industry this year was expected to return to more than 10 billion US dollars, which was good news for all film industry practitioners.
In addition to the film market, the record market competition was also very fierce.
Britney Spears released her second greatest hits album "The Singles Collection" in early December, and Lady Gaga released a reissue of "The Fame" called "The Fame Monster."
Drake's first EP "So Far Gone," Rihanna's fourth studio album "Rated R," and Link Music's artist Bruno Mars' debut album "It's Better If You Don't Understand" were also released.
Counting the albums released in November, Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful," Carrie Underwood's "Play On," and Justin Bieber's debut album "My World," etc.
According to "Rolling Stone" statistics, fifty-three albums were released in the last two months of the year, and 15 of them currently had sales exceeding 100,000 copies.
Among them, Selena's debut album "Come & Get It" had sold 671,000 copies in the United States after seven weeks of release, and Lana's "Young and Beautiful" had sold 563,000 copies after six weeks of release.
Canadian boy Justin Bieber's debut album "My World" had sold 537,000 copies in the United States and 172,000 copies in Canada after eight weeks of release, with global sales exceeding 1 million copies.
Justin also became one of the youngest singers in the world to get a platinum record and the second male singer in 2009 whose debut album sales exceeded 1 million copies. He was called a "magic boy" by the media.
In the boxing world, before Christmas, Dr. Ironfist Wladimir Klitschko, South African Nightmare Samuel Peter, Cannon Shannon Briggs, and Eastern Beast Valuev all had exciting matches.
Among them, it was worth noting that on December 10th, in the WBA heavyweight championship fight held in Nuremberg, Germany, British boxer David Haye fought against Valuev for 12 rounds and won by points, winning the WBA heavyweight champion's gold belt.
The WBA heavyweight champion's gold belt changed hands.
Other levels didn't change much.
And on Christmas Eve, Link took his tour team and held nine concerts in seven countries in South America.
Because "Despacito" was quite popular, the physical single sales had accumulated to 600,000 copies, becoming the best-selling single in South America in 2008/2009. His two albums also sold 520,000 copies in South America.
His reputation as a boxing champion was also very loud in Mexico, Haiti, Colombia, Brazil, and other places.
The nine performances in South America were also quite sensational, with an average of 47,000 people per show and a total box office of about 18 million US dollars.
During the concerts, he also held two gold belt lottery ceremonies on the spot.
According to the original arrangement, on Christmas Eve, the six gold belts would be given in batches to boxing enthusiasts who shot videos. One for the United States, one for South America, one for Asia, two for Europe, and one for Oceania, just enough to distribute.
After a busy year, two days before Christmas, Link returned to the United States with his tour team to rest.
Because the weather forecast said it would snow in New York during Christmas, major shopping malls would hold holiday activities, Broadway theaters would have some special Christmas performances, so Link and Taylor decided to go back to their apartment in New York for Christmas.
"It's been almost half a year since we lived here. I feel that New York is quieter than Los Angeles."
Link dragged two suitcases, opened the door of the Yorkville apartment, and turned on the power switch.
The whole apartment instantly lit up, and through the window, he could see the lights of thousands of homes across the street. He felt that living here had more of a sense of life than in the beach villa.
"It's not quiet! It's deserted!"
Taylor followed behind him with her hands in her pockets.
She was wearing a burgundy college-style coat, a white spotted wool sweater, and blue pencil pants. Her blonde hair was loose, and she wore a knitted hat and his scarf around her neck, revealing only a delicate and fair oval face.
She was dressed warmly but still complained about the cold.
"I lived here for half a month in September. With the doors and windows closed, there was no sound around, like living in a cave. I couldn't stand it and went to Nashville."
Taylor said, following behind him.
"Really? I happened to have time those days, and I said I would come to accompany you, but you didn't want to. Now you say it's deserted. Aren't you asking for it?"
Link teased.
"It's your fault. I used to live alone and never felt deserted. After living with you, I gradually got used to having someone around. When you were suddenly gone, of course I felt deserted."
Taylor bumped into him and said sulkily.
"Okay, it's my fault!"
Link smiled gently, turned on the heater, and helped her take off her hat, scarf, and windbreaker, hanging them on the rack.
Because Mrs. Mandy sometimes arranged for people from the housekeeping company to come and clean, the apartment was in good sanitary condition, and they didn't need to do any dusting.
After returning home, they only needed to organize their daily necessities and go to the supermarket to buy some fruits and vegetables to move in.
"Honey, how are we going to spend Christmas?"
Taylor took off her shoes, lay on the sofa, and turned on the TV with the remote control.
"Make a Christmas dinner, visit Catherine and Mandy's homes, watch the Christmas Spectacular show at Radio City Music Hall, then go to Times Square to see the Christmas light show. I heard that the Winter Village in Central Park West will be very lively that day, so we can go there for a walk if we have time. Do you have any other suggestions?"
Link asked, coming out of the dining room with a basket of washed fruit.
"Do we have to go to so many places? I think it's also good to stay at home and enjoy our time together."
Taylor picked up a strawberry and took a bite.
Link nodded, "That sounds good too. We can keep making love at home, from Christmas Eve to Christmas night. What do you think?"
"Hey, pervert, what are you thinking? Why is your mind full of those dirty things?"
Taylor lifted her foot and pretended to kick him.
"Don't you think it's romantic? Just like in the movies."
"Not at all. I'm not as lecherous as you."
Taylor wrinkled her nose and said.
Link smiled gently, lay on the sofa, and hugged Taylor to watch an episode of the popular drama "The Good Wife."
Taylor liked to watch TV series about strong women, hoping to absorb nutrients from these strong female characters.
Link thought the female lead Alicia looked good in a lawyer suit and didn't mind watching it with her.
While watching TV, Selena called and said she was going ice skating at the Rockefeller Center ice rink on Christmas and asked if he and Taylor would go. If they did, she would buy tickets for them.
Link said he couldn't skate and didn't want to go.
Taylor immediately took the phone and said "yes." Selena said okay.
"Do you really want to see me make a fool of myself?"
"Yes!"
Taylor raised the corners of her lips and smiled, "You're so good, you're good at all kinds of sports, but you can't skate. That's so interesting. So how about Selena and I teach you how to skate on Christmas Day?"
"Thank you! You're such a good wife!"
Link pinched her cheek.
As soon as the phone hung up, it rang again. Mrs. Mandy told him good news on the phone.
The organizers of the 'American Spring Festival Gala' invited him to perform in the halftime show.
Link was a little surprised to hear this news.
The 'American Spring Festival Gala' was the final of the National Football League (NFL), also known as the 'Super Bowl.' It was the most watched sporting event in the United States.
It was usually held on the last Sunday of January or the first Sunday of February each year, and it was also one of the most important unofficial holidays in the United States every year. The amount of food consumed in the United States on Super Bowl Sunday was second only to Thanksgiving.
There was another statistic that clearly showed how attractive the Super Bowl was.
In 2006, the total number of American TV viewers watching the World Cup final was about 17 million, and in 2008, the number of viewers watching the Olympic opening ceremony was about 12 million. In 2008, 120 million people participated in the presidential election voting.
In 2009, 130 million Americans watched the Super Bowl, and the Super Bowl was also broadcast live or relayed globally, with more than 1.5 billion viewers watching the Super Bowl every year, no less than the number of people watching the Spring Festival Gala.
The Super Bowl was divided into two halves, with a 15-minute halftime break.
Before 1990, the halftime show was mostly used to pay tribute to celebrities.
Since 1991, pop music stars have been introduced to participate in the performance, also known as the 'halftime show.' The average viewership rating was 40%-60%, three times more than the sum of Major League Baseball and NBA Finals.
Because of the great influence of the Super Bowl, the singers invited to perform every year were all top stars in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, Shania Twain, Justin Timberlake, P. Diddy, U2, The Rolling Stones, etc. Small singers were not qualified at all.
Link had thought that he would have the opportunity to be on the Super Bowl, but he didn't expect it to be so soon. After thinking about it, it was probably because of the advantage of the venue.
This year's NFL final was between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints, on February 7th, at Dolphin Stadium in Miami.
Now he had a great influence in Miami, and the locals called him the 'Prince of Miami' and the 'Pride of Miami.'
Before his concert in Miami in October, the city hall awarded him the title of honorary citizen and gave him a 'Key to the City of Miami' symbolizing honor.
If it weren't for this, he would probably have to wait a few more years to be on the Spring Festival Gala.
"Link, do you want to participate?"
Mrs. Mandy asked.
The reason she asked this was because in November, the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show invited him to be a guest performer, but he was busy with his tour and didn't have time, so he declined.
Link thought for a moment. This was a good opportunity. The Super Bowl had a huge influence, and performing at halftime could further expand his influence in the United States, and at the same time, he could also promote his third album.
"Let's participate. You can contact the organizers and ask when the rehearsal is and how much performance time we have. We'll prepare in advance."
"Okay, I'll arrange it right away."
Mandy said.
Mandy also asked if he and Taylor wanted to come over for Christmas. Link declined. Last year, there was no one at home, so he went there to join in the fun. It was better to spend Christmas at home.
"I heard that the Super Bowl invited you to perform?"
Taylor looked at him in surprise after he hung up the phone.
"That's right."
"You're so amazing! I haven't received an invitation after three years of debut, but you can in just one year. Humph! Tell me, why are you so awesome?"
Taylor wrapped her legs around his waist and hooked her hands around his neck, asking.
"Of course it's because I have a super beautiful and famous girlfriend."
Link hugged her hips and smiled.
"Humph! You smooth talker!"
Taylor curled her lips and leaned in to kiss him.
(End of Chapter)
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