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Chapter 144: Robbery of the Crew
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 09:02:32 +0000 UTCUntil Jay-Z came back from the restroom, and upon seeing the situation, he immediately waved his hand to summon his crew.
"Damn it! What the hell are you all doing?! Put your filthy hands down! Do you believe I'll kill you all right now?" he shouted angrily, taking the silver handgun from one of his subordinates and cocking it.
"Bang!" The sound of the gunshot rang out, and the entire scene went silent. Everyone stopped moving.
After the gunshot, the black man with a bulge at his waist flinched and chose not to draw his gun.
Maybe there wasn't even a gun on him after all.
"Jay-Z! It's a misunderstanding! It's a misunderstanding!" LaTavia didn't expect that these people really had weapons. She felt the situation becoming dangerous and hurried to explain.
"Misunderstanding?" Jay-Z was furious. "Is the misunderstanding that you're harassing my employee? Or do you think you can stroll over here and return to your hometown, pale as ghosts?"
"Sorry!" Under the threat of the gun, LaTavia had no choice but to bow her head, especially since Jay-Z was one of the most powerful figures in the area.
LaTavia herself wasn't harmed, as hitting a woman wasn't considered appropriate, but her group of friends couldn't avoid a beating. They were stripped of their clothes and thrown out, humiliated beyond measure.
After they had all left, Jay-Z turned to Beyoncé. "Do you two have a grudge?"
"Sort of," Beyoncé said as she applied a band-aid to her finger that had been cut by the glass, and explained the backstory of their rivalry.
LaTavia had known Beyoncé since they were ten years old, and they had sung together. Originally, they were very close friends, but after Destiny's Child became famous, LaTavia started to change.
She began to care more about fame and money, and kept pushing her "queen" status within the group. She always wanted the most spotlight, trying to take the most prominent parts of songs, refusing to let Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland shine.
When any team members received more attention than her, she would get angry, yell, or even secretly talk bad about Beyoncé.
As the first member to release a solo album, LaTavia should have gotten more attention, but instead, her collaborations with others quickly fizzled out. Beyoncé and Kelly Rowland left the group because of her behavior.
Now, LaTavia was still keeping Destiny's Child together, with two new members.
"Fxxk, that b**ch," Jay-Z muttered when he learned this. "I wouldn't hesitate to write a diss track about her."
"It's okay, Jay-Z, I'm not an easy target either." Beyoncé smiled. "I've given LaTavia a few good hits while she was distracted. She'll probably be stuck in bed for a few days."
"Good," Jay-Z replied. "If it weren't for you, I would've finished them off today."
"Don't do it, it's not worth it." Beyoncé advised. "The best way to deal with people like her is to become famous. The more popular I get, the more she'll be jealous, and it'll hurt her."
"Yeah, that's right," Jay-Z agreed. "She's just a clown. Once your hand heals, we'll get together with Ethan and shoot your new music video. It's going to be a huge hit!"
"Alright!" Beyoncé nodded.
After the contract for Saw was signed, the preparation for filming officially began. Ethan worked out a deal with Carl and CAA for a service package that provided a five percent minimum cut and $150,000 to set up a full production team.
CAA also handled the actor selection. Aside from casting Tobin Bell for the iconic role of Jigsaw, Ethan didn't need to look further. After all, finding cheap but skilled actors like him wasn't easy.
As for the other actors, it was left to fate. Hollywood was full of talented, underappreciated actors. For all they knew, a random person passing by the set could have been an ex-Oscar winner.
The bank loan for $20 million was approved, with a short-term repayment schedule of six months to a year, at an interest rate of 6.56%. The loan was secured thanks to Ethan's reputation and the scale of his company.
Lauren calculated that the interest would amount to about $700,000, but Ethan wasn't worried. He knew that if the movie performed well, the loan would be a small issue.
With the financing secured, the film and idol plans could proceed.
After paying the bonuses and finishing the paperwork, the script competition was officially over. When Little Miss Sunshine's screenwriter, Michael Arndt, received his $300,000 prize, he cried tears of joy. The script had been in development for three years without finding the right opportunity, with many companies rejecting it. He'd even begun to doubt if it would ever see the light of day.
Thankfully, the script found a buyer in Ethan, who paid a little more than the original price, buying the rights to adapt the script. Ethan's purchase was ahead of the curve by two years.
As for the Avenger script, it was written by a truck driver who had written the script out of boredom during his long trips. When he found out that his script had been picked, he was ecstatic, feeling like he had won the lottery.
Ethan didn't pay much for it, only $100,000 to secure the adaptation rights. He planned to have a professional writer revise it later.
With these matters sorted, Ethan received an invitation from Beyoncé to start preparations for her new music video.
As the director and cinematographer, Ethan worked closely with her and her choreographer to perfect the dance moves. Beyoncé practiced her routine in between shots, making sure everything was perfect.
Jay-Z was present for his parts, which were quick to shoot. After finishing his scenes, he left, and the focus shifted entirely to Beyoncé.
The choreography, featuring powerful and sensual movements, was designed to showcase Beyoncé's strengths. One particularly impressive move involved a quick, fluid squat, followed by ground movements that demonstrated her flexibility and athleticism.
"Perfect, exactly what I wanted," Ethan said, applauding. "Let's keep going!"
As the team set up for the next shots, trouble began brewing outside the factory where they were filming.
Five men, members of a West Coast gang who had previously clashed with Jay-Z's crew, had plans to sabotage the shoot. The leader, Kabigo, was the first to spot the crew.
"There, that's the place!" he whispered to his crew.
They carefully approached the factory gates, sneaking around. Kabigo bent down to peek through but was blinded by a flash of light.
"What the hell?" Kabigo cursed as he quickly retreated.
"Get ready, move in!" The gang leader shouted. The men rushed in, charging toward the factory entrance.
However, as they made their move, they heard Ethan's loud voice.
"Fxxk! What the hell are you doing hiding over there? Come out!"
"We've been spotted!" Kabigo's heart skipped a beat.
They quickly made their move, but before they could act, the lights suddenly blazed again, blinding them.
"Fxxk!" the gang leader cursed, pulling out his gun and firing into the air.
"Bang!"
"Don't move! We're robbing you!" The situation had escalated from a music video shoot to a full-on robbery.
