Chapter 272 - Watching the Ball Fiasco (Next)
Sunglasses, black jacket. The expression on Jack Nicholson's face as he walked through the crowd always looked so tired, evil, even rebellious and unruly; yet so staid, rich and intriguing. His eerie face as the ghostly haunted writer Jack Dorrance in the horror movie The Shining is so evocative that back in reality one feels that the eerie ghostly aura is innate to him.
Anyone familiar with the history of the Lakers knows that there are eight seats at Staples Arena adjacent to the courtside visiting bench, and come playoff time, the face value of those seats is $2,300 per game. Anyone trying to get one of those is going to have a very difficult time because too many fans want to get up close and personal with the big stars. And two of those eight seats, even with a million-dollar check intended to buy, the answer is only "No."
The reason is very simple, their owner is Jack Nicholson. Nicholson, who starred in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "The Shining," is a die-hard Lakers fan. The acting star, who has been nominated for 12 Oscars in all and walked away with a small gold medal three times, doesn't always skim through Staples Center like Stallone, Nicole Kidman or Beckham. As early as Chamberlain, West joint world in the 1970s, Jack and the Lakers through thick and thin; since then, 30 years, the Lakers have undergone a sea change, the boss changed, the ballpark changed, the announcer changed, the coach player is a set of changes and a set of only Nicholson's sunglasses and black jacket and the Lakers through the generations of the dynasty of the glory of the wind and rain together.
Most of the Lakers fans recognize Jack Nicholson, the crowd from time to time people and he greeted, for Jack Nicholson appeared here, we have long been strange, everyone will see him as an ordinary old man, rather than a big star in Hollywood.
Jack Nicholson just walked in the crowd with a cup of hot drink, smiling and nodding at the people around him from time to time. Walking along, he suddenly felt that someone was staring at him, this feeling was very strange, Jack Nicholson stopped and looked, finally in some inconspicuous corner, he found a young man who was looking towards his side.
After recognizing the identity of the other party, Jack Nicholson, who was about to enter the arena, suddenly reversed his direction and sidestepped through the crowd. When he came close, he held up the hot drink in his hand and smiled at Lin Mingyang.
As the legendary chairman of MGM Studios, Hollywood's famous new generation superstar, Jack Nicholson was no stranger to Lin Ming Yang, while Lin Ming Yang was also quite familiar with this veteran movie star, although there was no direct cooperation, they had been friends with each other for a long time.
Without any polite pleasantries, just like old friends meeting, Jack Nicholson asked very directly, "First time here?"
Lin Mingyang nodded.
"You like basketball too?" Jack Nicholson asked again curiously, because of its location in Los Angeles, there was never a lack of star faces in the audience of Staples Arena, but the vast majority of people came here as a pastime, and many of them had never even touched a basketball.
Lin Mingyang shrugged, "I played basketball in high school for a while, then I gave it up because of acting!"
"What a shame..." grimaced Jack Nicholson, "Did you join the school's basketball team then?"
"Thomas, the Lakers' backup power forward, was my teammate back then, and at our peak, we won the state championship!" When talking about this past, the corners of Lin Ming Yang's mouth turned up slightly, and the smug expression on his face was just right, proving himself while not giving the impression of showing off.
"Thomas?" Jack Nicholson remembered that the Lakers did have such a person in their lineup, a player introduced only last season. There weren't many opportunities to play as a substitute, but every time he was on the court, he performed very positively, "He was your teammate in high school, so what's your position?"
Lin Mingyang smiled radiantly, "I play the same position as Kobe!"
"I have two fixed seats in the front row, I'm coming alone today, there just happens to be an empty seat left... "Jack Nicholson enthusiastically extended an invitation to Lin Ming Yang.
"I booked the front row seats as well... "Lin Ming Yang took out the tickets from his pocket and glanced at them, "These two seats should be right next to you!"
"So you're still waiting for someone?" Seeing Lin Ming Yang take out the two tickets, Jack Nicholson nodded knowingly, "I have to go in first now, I'll see you in the dugout later!"
Jack Nicholson went one step ahead, Lin Ming Yang waited for a few more minutes and finally saw Jessica Biel walking in style in the crowd. Despite wearing sunglasses, Jessica Biel's unique temperament and exquisite attire was so unique that she drew frequent attention from the people around her all the way, and it wasn't difficult at all to spot her in the crowd.
At the place where she had arranged to meet, Jessica Biel didn't see Lin Ming Yang, she flipped out her cell phone from her handbag to check the time, and was about to frown slightly when suddenly someone behind her whispered, "You're very pretty today!"
Jessica Biel turned around and realized that Lin Ming Yang was standing right behind her, with two hot drinks in his hands, one of which he had already handed over.
Softly saying thank you, in the face of Lin Mingyang's warm smile like the warm winter sun, Jessica Biel suddenly felt her cheeks slightly burning. When she had seen Lin Ming Yang before, she had never felt her heart racing like it was now.
Just as Jessica Bell was thinking wildly, Lin Ming Yang was also a little distracted, Jessica Bell's dress today is really beautiful, even he looked at it and did not feel some sideways glance, I did not expect her to be so shy, Lin Ming Yang did not say anything flirty, her face has already been colored with a blush, in the elegant and sexy temperament added a few minutes of flirtatious divine grace.
Lin Ming Yang and Jessica Bale standing stupidly at the intersection like this had already attracted quite a few gazes. It would be bad if someone recognized their identity, Lin Ming Yang, who had come back to his senses, immediately realized this problem and then immediately proposed, "Let's go in!"
Jessica Biel nodded her head and smiled revealing a mouthful of neat white teeth, the stunning radiance of her appearance made Lin Ming Yang's eyes dazzle for a moment, he hurriedly stabilized his mind, which prevented him from making a fool of himself in front of each person.
In the crowd of people entering the venue, the bodies of the two were squeezed so close that the occasional touch gave Lin Ming Yang a feeling of being in a state of mind, and Jessica Bale wasn't any better than him, when she walked into the VIP channel, her cheeks were already a flushed red, and her face was dainty and colorful.
As a professional actress, Jessica Biel quickly got her emotions under control, and by the time she entered the interior of the dome, her face was back to normal. The two of them were seated next to Jack Nicholson, and the first time she saw this prestigious old movie star, Jessica Biel was very surprised in her heart, except that she wasn't as familiar with Jack Nicholson as Lin Ming Yang was. Jack Nicholson and Lin Ming Yang greeted each other warmly, but to Jessica Biel, she just smiled and nodded.
The photographers and reporters in the dugout had gotten used to Jack Nicholson sitting on the sidelines, and even Lin Ming Yang and Jessica Biel, who were sitting next to him, were not surrounded by reporters' cameras for the time being.
A middle-aged man beside Lin Mingyang immediately recognized him when he took off his sunglasses, and Lin Mingyang chatted with the man for a few moments before turning his head to Jessica Biel's side. The seats in the stadium are very close to each other, Jessica Bale neck fragrance straight to Lin Mingyang nostrils, making him a burst of heart.
Jessica Biel was also a little uncomfortable at first with the feeling of being squeezed together, but seeing that everyone around her was like this, and that Lin Ming Yang in fact didn't do anything too much, she quickly became accustomed to this environment of being close together.
The whistle for the start of the match sounded, and the attention of everyone around them was focused on the court. Jessica Biel had her eyes lowered, her visual gaze simply focused on the game, and although Lin Ming Yang's eyes were following the ball, his eyes drifted, and it was clear that he wasn't focusing his mind on the game either.
As the game became more and more intense, the emotions of the people around them were slowly driven up, cheering, applauding and cursing endlessly, wrapped in this lively atmosphere, Lin Ming Yang and Jessica Bale were given a relatively independent space to talk.
A chance collision of eyes, Lin Mingyang and Jessica Bale both read the deep meaning in each other's eyes, the first to break the silence was naturally Lin Mingyang.
"This time I asked you out, in fact, I wanted to ask you if you have a schedule lately, the Bond girl in the new James Bond movie hasn't been finalized yet... is there any interest in trying it out?"
"Hmmm... "Jessica Biel hesitated, "How many Bond girls are there in this movie?"
Lin Ming Yang didn't mind spoiling part of the plot in advance, "Just one, and to be precise, she's still Bond's strongest rival in the movie."
Jessica Biel bit her lip and subconsciously asked, "Why me?"
Lin Ming Yang shrugged, "When I look for someone else to act in a movie, a lot of people will ask me this question, and usually I'll tell them what kind of characteristics the character has, and how those characteristics match up with and that actor's own style of acting... If I reply to you in this way, by and large you can't pick any faults, but it looks like I am very much without much sincerity, and to be honest it's just a feeling, strangely enough, that I think you're right for it, and that's all there is to it."
Jessica Biel's eyes twinkled with suspicion, "A feeling for no reason?"
Lin Ming Yang smiled, "It's like loving someone, can't say why you love them, but you just like and want to stay with them. The human mind is a marvelous thing, I think some feelings don't need a reason."
"But I should always know some basic information about the character!" Jessica Biel lowered her head and smiled slightly, and when she tilted her head back up again the gloom that had been hovering over her breakup had cleared from her eyes.
Jessica Biel's change in mood was not hidden from Lin Ming Yang's eyes, "A Russian female spy who infiltrated the British upper class, she designed to frame Bond, and in the end, Bond in turn launched an investigation into her, and finally revealed her true identity... this is just the general plot, it's too noisy here, if you want to know more details, the game is over we can go find a quiet coffee. ends we can go find a quiet cafe and I'll have the script sent over."
Jessica Biel blinked, "Since Bond and the heroine are rivals, it ends with...Bond killing the heroine?"
"Bond captures her and is then repatriated in a hostage exchange deal between the authorities and Russia!"
Jessica Biel nodded, "That's not too brutal an ending!"
"So you agreed?" Lin Mingyang's eagerness exposed the lack of bottom in his heart, Jessica Biel neither nodded nor shook her head.
"I need time to think about it."
Lin Ming Yang nodded silently, don't look at the expression on his face that appeared tense at this time, but in his heart he let out a long sigh of relief. Now that the decision was in Jessica Bale's hands, his entire being had become relaxed.
The progress of the game did not affect the two whispering, the topic also became more and more relaxed, the game has been carried out for two sessions, the scene of the media reporters and cameramen have not yet realized that a pair of Hollywood's big stars are sitting right under their noses.
After a timeout, the Lakers replaced Thomas, the backup power forward, Jack Nicholson found that Lin Mingyang's mind was focused on the beautiful woman beside him, and had to sidle up to remind him.
This inadvertent action just happened to be captured by a cameraman on the opposite side of the camera, the camera with the direction of Jack Nicholson's sidestep moved half the screen, wearing a baseball cap Lin Mingyang although the brim of the cap is pressed down very low, but inadvertently raised his head or revealed a large part of his face.
Not only did this cameraman freeze, even the skillful lines coming out of the mouth of the host in charge of the live commentary in the TV studio paused for half a second because of the man who appeared in the live picture.
"Jack Nicholson is a die-hard Lakers' fan, and he shows up thunderously for all of the Lakers' home games...Oh my god, the man sitting next to him is Felix Lin, Felix Lin appeared at the Lakers' game!"
The viewers in front of the TV were complaining about the live feed staying in the audience for too long a second ago, but as the host exclaimed, they also spotted Lin Ming Yang sitting in the front row seats.
"Oscar's old and new movie stars appearing at the same time at the scene of an NBA game, this kind of situation is not rare in the past... The Lakers just called a timeout, the game started less than a minute ago, and the Spurs called a timeout right after, now let's look at the replay of the footage from just now... What, that pretty lady next to Felix Lin also looks familiar, oh my god, isn't that Jessica Biel who just broke up with Justin?"
The host was a little incoherent with excitement, "Is this still an NBA game? I feel like I'm hosting the Oscars, Felix Lin must have come with Jessica Biel, they've been joking and laughing in front of the camera...I can basically visualize the headline of tomorrow's newspaper now, even I've already formulated a headline, 'Felix Lin and Jessica Biel Spotted at Lakers Game. The two act close and suspected to be a couple?' ...It's a crazy world!"
And at the scene, Jessica Biel also noticed that they were being stared at by the camera, she whispered and turned the side of her face towards Lin Ming Yang's end, "Felix, it seems like we're being recognized by the reporters over there, they're taking pictures."
"See that cameraman directly across from us?" Lin Ming Yang's face didn't change as he slightly inclined his head, "He was the first one to spot us, we're probably on live TV by now."
Jessica Biel's tone looked a little anxious, "What should we do then?"
"Just pretend that nothing happened." Lin Ming Yang said softly and comfortingly, "We really didn't do anything anyway."
"But the media definitely won't think so!" Jessica Biel was suddenly a little nervous in her heart, she could even imagine that after she went out from the dugout, photos of her and Lin Ming Yang close together would definitely appear in tomorrow's newspapers, and then the media could say whatever they wanted to say about it, while she was a hundred times more difficult to discern.
Lin Ming Yang skimmed his mouth and had a glib expression on his face. "Tomorrow I'll have MGM send out an announcement, just state that you're one of the candidates for Bond Girl, I'm asking you out to talk about this, those media can say whatever they like, just ignore it!"
"To talk about things here?" Jessica Biel's tone steepened a lot, "Do you think people will believe this kind of statement?"
"But it's true, are we going to announce that we're dating here?" Lin Mingyang's rhetorical question caused Jessica Biel to remain silent for half a day before she finally spat out a mumbled sentence.
"Killed by you guys!"
----
The photo of Lin Ming Yang and Jessica Biel watching the game intimately at the Staples Arena the next day unsurprisingly became the front page headlines of all the major entertainment newspapers, originally the breakup of Jessica Biel and Justin was already a big deal, and now that another Lin Ming Yang had been killed, the whole thing became more and more complicated in the eyes of the media.
At the beginning of the media public opinion in Jessica Bell and Justin's breakup event, the attitude is basically neutral, because Justin's previous "cheating", some media even stand in sympathy with Jessica Bell's position, but in Jessica and Lin Mingyang in the Staples Arena to watch a game, all the comment direction has changed.
Justin is cheating yes, but Jessica Biel seems to have found a new love as well. It was true that Jia Tian Wang was very popular in the music industry, but compared to Lin Ming Yang, the two were not even on the same level. Jessica Biel's choice of Lin Ming Yang, whose conditions are impeccable in every aspect, is naturally reasonable, but according to this inference, the previous rumor that she was dumped by Justin is a bit untenable, and judging from the current situation, it seems like she dumped Justin.
Before also in the verbal criticism of Justin's "start and end", a turn of the media public opinion attack, had to first pin the tail as a person Justin turned into a victim, was dumped by his girlfriend, not to mention, the top of the head is also with a top of a huge green hat, he quickly got a lot of fans understanding, and even won more people's sympathy.
Immediately after a reporter caught a demoralized Justin getting drunk in a nightclub, his close friends then came forward and stated that Justin had been hurting lately, before deliberately pointing the finger at Jessica Biel.
Justin himself was finally interviewed by reporters, and then sadly and melodramatically said, "Whether or not I've been betrayed, I want the other person to be happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy, happy. This is a euphemism for confirming the fact that Jessica Biel and Lin Ming Yang had an affair behind his back, which won a lot of sympathy, while Jessica Biel became the "cheating" queen in the eyes of the media.
Jessica Biel finally stood up and called Justin a complete asshole. This media-inspired confrontation quickly escalated and became more and more violent.
MGM's announcement conference was "late", and given the seriousness of the situation, Lin Mingyang had to come out and explain himself, which made him very angry. Facing the reporters on stage, he did not hide his anger.
"The truth is that I wanted to curse today, but our MGM's president, Mr. Eckles, told me that I should maintain enough poise on an occasion like this...well, in order to prevent my emotions from getting out of control, they also prepared this for me." Lin Mingyang shook the speech he was holding in front of the crowd.
"I've never been in the habit of reading from a script when I speak, because I can make sure that every word I say has been thought through by my brain, unlike some people who speak and do things with or without a brain without any difference at all, and it should be clear in everyone's mind what kind of person I'm referring to." Being swept by Lin Ming Yang's cold and harsh gaze like this, there were quite a few people under the stage who were a bit weak in their hearts.
"The candidate for the Bond girl in 007's new movie has yet to be determined, I asked Belle out to take the opportunity of watching the game to solicit her own opinion on the role to determine if there is a possibility of cooperation between us... But the truth of all that shit in the newspaper has disrupted all of my plans, and at the same time, it has deeply hurt Belle. What I find most abhorrent are the extremely irresponsible remarks made by a certain man, and what I'm trying to say is that it's okay to be a man without commitment, but please don't be shameless to that unacceptable extent!"
Seeing that the speech he had prepared for Lin Ming Yang had not worked at all, Ecks hurriedly lowered his eyes towards the host on the side, and at his signal, the host of the conference stiffly interrupted Lin Ming Yang's speech.
"Let's move on to the free question session, everyone's questions will be answered by MGM Studios' press spokesperson."
Lin Ming Yang was about to have a fit, but he saw Ecks shaking his head vigorously at him from the stage, in the end he held back his anger and prepared to leave the stage, but it was a bold reporter who suddenly stood up at this time.
"Mr. Felix, was that comment you just made directed at Mr. Justin?"
From the moment he stood up, Ecks had a feeling that things were going to be bad, this conference was what he had meticulously prepared in order to alleviate the pressure of public opinion, but immediately after Lin Mingyang's answer directly made all his previous efforts come to naught.
"As you wish, it's him I'm talking about."
The "fearless" reporter then asked, "Then, can I take what you just said as a threat to Mr. Justin?"
Lin Ming Yang snorted coldly, "That's right, that's a threat!"