"Hey, sit down quickly, let me introduce you!" Kendrick pulled Leon to sit on the sofa that no one dared to touch, next to the ngga in the suit. "This is Leon! As for this one, he's my boss Robinson, people call him 'Saint'!"
Leon showed a surprised look. The Black man in front of him was well-dressed, without weird hairstyles or tattoos.
Yet he was the notorious Crip leader "Saint" Robinson in Compton.
"Boring..." Robinson threw down the controller, muttering, "Been playing the flight school mission for five years and still can't pass, can only find fun from these Bloods bastards every day."
Kendrick reminded from the side: "The gang in the game is the Ballas..."
"Don't you know the real-life prototype of the Ballas is that group of idiots wearing red bandanas?" Robinson rolled his eyes at Kendrick.
Then he extended his right hand to Leon. "I am Nathan Robinson. You can call me [Money], [Chemist], [Doctor], or [Saint]. Of course, you can call me directly by my name too."
"Compton hasn't had a big star like you visit for a long time. You are very welcome here."
"It's my honor to meet a street legend like you." The two shook hands.
What surprised Leon most wasn't Robinson's string of nicknames longer than Napoleon's, but his words and deeds were completely out of place with gangs.
He looked like a young Morgan Freeman, a rare Black gentleman.
"Want a drink?" Robinson got up and patted the pit bull lying on the ground.
"Sure."
"Whiskey? Or a cocktail? Sorry, I don't have beer here." Robinson walked to the liquor cabinet and selected carefully. "I suggest you try a cocktail. Everyone who has tasted it praises my bartending skills endlessly."
He can bartend too?
Robinson gave Leon more and more surprises. This guy looked more and more like an old fox mixing in high society rather than a street godfather.
Since the big shot hinted, he could only choose a cocktail.
Robinson signaled a henchman to bring a cocktail set. He knew every step of bartending, so skillful it was heartbreaking.
In less than five minutes, three cocktails were made, fast and elegant.
"Moscow Mule, try it."
As a globally famous cocktail, the Moscow Mule is as famous as Long Island Iced Tea, Mojito, etc.
After becoming famous, Leon had drunk it several times on various social occasions.
But even those professional bartenders were not as good as Robinson.
"This is the best cocktail I've ever had." Leon drank more than half in one breath to show praise.
Robinson smiled and raised his glass. "Bartending is like doing chemical experiments, paying attention to the ratio of raw materials, and the combination reaction between different raw materials must be precise!"
"Did you get the nickname 'Chemist' because you are proficient in bartending?" Leon asked.
Robinson burst out laughing, and the nggas in the room also clutched their stomachs and laughed.
Looking at Leon's puzzled eyes, Kendrick patted his shoulder and said, "Boss Robinson is a real chemist. Have you heard of crack?"
"You mean..." Leon understood almost instantly, showing a surprised expression again.
In the 90s, a Black drug dealer invented a method to crystallize cocaine into a new drug in Inglewood, which was the "crack" that later swept across the United States.
This is a well-known urban legend in the gang world.
"That's right! Boss Robinson is the one who invented crack... In the 90s, selling this great invention became an important means of survival for Compton families."
Kendrick was full of pride when introducing this experience, but Leon couldn't help wanting to curse in his heart.
I came to Los Angeles to find you for filming; why are you introducing me to a drug dealer?
And a heavyweight drug dealer who changed the industry landscape.
Now Leon finally understood why Kendrick refused to say why they were meeting in Compton on the phone, nor the specific meeting place.
A heavyweight gang figure like Robinson, even if he had long washed his hands clean, was a key target of attention for departments like the FBI and DEA.
Robinson also looked displeased and said in a reprimanding tone: "Little K, talk less! Those things have been over for a long time!"
"Mr. Leon, I am now a legitimate businessman, please rest assured about this."
"Mm-hmm... I'm not worried about this at all." Leon nodded repeatedly, pretending.
If they didn't mention information related to movie filming within ten minutes, he would find an excuse to slip away quickly.
Robinson adjusted the collar of his suit and sat down next to Leon. "As a famous figure, I know your time is precious, so I'll be direct."
"Heard you want to make a movie about N.W.A?"
"That's right, it is." Leon responded.
"That's great. Eazy-E and I were good homies, did you know? I solved a lot of trouble for him; this bastard was always in trouble..."
Robinson paid great attention to appearance and grooming; there wasn't a single stubble on his face.
Plus Black people's skin is relatively smooth, Leon once thought Robinson was only in his thirties.
Now it seemed he was at least about the same age as Eazy-E, already over forty.
If Eazy-E hadn't died.
Leon came with the intention of solving the movie authorization issue. Since the other party said so, the next theme was money.
As a Crip big shot, Robinson must have done a lot of cleaner work like mediating grudges for others and eliminating competitors.
So he asked directly, "Do you know Ice Cube?"
"Of course, that ngga has a bad temper, causing more trouble than Eazy-E... Among them, only Dre has the most brains, so Dre rightfully made a fortune now..." Robinson's eyes lit up when mentioning Dre.
"Kendrick should have told you about my current trouble... Can you solve my problem?"
"Although Ice Cube is stubborn, he respects me very much, so this is not difficult for me."
Hearing this, Leon breathed a sigh of relief and asked straight to the point: "So, how much does it cost to settle Ice Cube?"
As soon as these words were spoken, the atmosphere in the room instantly changed.
Kendrick rushed forward to cover Leon's mouth and whispered, "WTF Bro, are you crazy? Talking about money is an insult to Boss Robinson... That's why everyone here respects him."
Leon was a bit confused.
A ruthless gang boss not talking about money but only about feelings, really treating himself as a saint?
He nodded perfunctorily on the surface, not believing a single letter in his heart.
Robinson smiled and signaled everyone not to be nervous. "Bro, I thank you for your generosity. I will definitely help you with this matter, but I don't need you to give me a cent."
Is there such a good thing?
From entering the door until now, every sentence of Robinson was different from the script Leon imagined before.
He completely couldn't figure out what medicine this ngga was selling in his gourd.
"On the contrary... I want to give you money!"
"You give me money?" Leon suspected for a moment if he heard it wrong.
"Yes, that's right! I want to invest a sum of money in your movie. This is a movie about Compton; it won't work without my participation."
Leon remained calm on the surface, but started secretly rejoicing in his heart.
Regarding filming the Straight Outta Compton movie, he always had a worry, which was the funding problem.
Although Lionsgate hadn't given specific budget figures yet, inferring from Eminem's 8 Mile production cost of $33 million, even compressing costs to the extreme, counting Kendrick and other actors as half-bought half-given...
The final investment would hardly be less than $10 million.
And Leon only had a little over $5 million in liquid funds. Although he and his singers' record sales could continuously transfuse blood, once the movie started shooting, there was a risk of the capital chain breaking at any time.
Before, he also asked Phil and James Wan to inquire if any investors were willing to invest.
The result was obvious; no one wanted to invest in a Black rap biopic.
For this, he even considered getting a loan from the bank.
Now, Robinson's proposal just solved all problems.
Assuming everything the other party said was true.
After calming down slightly, he gave Robinson a heads-up: "Mr. Robinson, I must tell you that investing in movies is risky. If the box performance is poor then..."
Before he could finish, he was interrupted by Robinson. "Best if it earns, if it loses it has nothing to do with you! I can swear to God on everything I said!"
Such a response was simply too straightforward, so straightforward that it was unbelievable!
Leon's brain ran at high speed and only thought of one possibility—was this guy using movie investment to launder the dirty money he earned before?
Such means are routine operations in Hollywood; Leon wasn't surprised at all.
Hollywood has a hundred years of film production experience, so industry elites can infer whether a script will make money or not before the project is approved.
The accuracy rate is at least 90%.
Even so, every year there are so many movies that lose tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars.
Generally speaking, for those big bad movies that lose their shirts at a glance, as long as the film production company participates very little or not at all in the investment, there is likely something fishy going on.
Seeing Leon still hesitant, Robinson continued to persuade, "Bro, the theme of the movie you want to shoot represents the totem of the entire Compton; I must participate."
"By the way, heard you have some beef with that kid Diddy? That sinister guy likes to shoot people in the back most, and I'm very good at dealing with such guys..."
Robinson was indeed a rare negotiation expert among Black people; every point raised was very attractive to Leon.
Although he didn't want to get too close to dangerous figures, Leon decided to let Robinson join.
Even if he could handle Ice Cube now, without Robinson's participation, filming on location in Compton would be impossible.
This way, the safety of the crew was also guaranteed.
This deal was very worthwhile; both sides got what they wanted.
Leon smiled and spread his hands. "I think I have no reason to refuse you, Mr. Robinson."
"Oh yes! This is great! We will achieve a great Black movie!" Kendrick danced excitedly.
The two sides then discussed the issue of investment share, deciding that regardless of the final budget, Robinson would hold a 30% investment ratio.
Leaving Compton, Leon went straight to Robbie's luxury apartment in Beverly Hills.
Just during the negotiation, Robbie called countless times to urge him, once making Leon break down to the point of wanting to turn off his phone.
Fortunately, he didn't lose his footing due to this small matter during the negotiation.
Robbie had given him the key to the apartment some time ago, so he walked in without knocking.
After passing through the entrance, he saw Robbie wearing headphones and barefoot, twisting her body on the carpet in the living room.
"Yikes shxt! Why is this movement so difficult!"
"Is my waist that stiff?"
"My coordination shouldn't be this bad..."
Watching Robbie's clumsy dance moves, Leon couldn't help laughing out loud.
Although she had no talent in dancing, she was indeed an athlete, playing high-difficulty sports like surfing and rock climbing very well.
In her hometown in Queensland, she was also a right winger for an amateur ice hockey team; fighting on the rink was commonplace.
"Are you always this diligent?" Leon deliberately raised his volume, finally attracting Robbie's attention.
Robbie hurriedly threw down the headphones, rushed over, and jumped excitedly into his arms. "Honey!"
Leon stumbled and almost fell. "Don't you know how heavy you are?"
"Oh my god! Are you saying I gained weight again?" Robbie instantly switched to a wronged expression. "Maggie will definitely scold me again..."
"It doesn't matter, slightly plumper feels better!"
"Ah!"
Leon flipped over to complete the suppression, causing Robbie to scream shyly.
The two began a one-on-one dance training session on the carpet.
Afterward, the two lay on the carpet together, their eyes vacant.
Robbie stared at the ceiling, wondering what she was thinking.
After being silent for a while, she suddenly asked: "Heard you are preparing a movie recently, why didn't you tell me about this?"
"The movie is still in the preparation stage, besides, this is a Black gangsta rap movie..." Leon lit a post-coital cigarette.
"I don't care. As long as it's a movie, there should be a female lead, right! Last time you gave Señorita to Little A, I haven't settled the score with you yet! The female lead of this movie can only be me!"
No matter how Leon explained, Robbie kept pestering endlessly on the issue of the female lead.
Leon could only say with a bitter smile, "A group of tattooed Black actors surrounding a blonde white girl... when was the last time you saw this scene in a movie? Such movies usually don't exceed 40 minutes, right?"
One sentence made Robbie completely quiet down, hanging her head with a blushing face.
"You don't need to be disappointed. I have a surprise to tell you, maybe more attractive than being the female lead of a movie?"
"What surprise?!" Robbie's eyes instantly regained their luster.
"Some time ago, the company applied for the Grammy Awards nomination list for you. Just before coming here, I got the news that Faded was nominated for Best Dance Recording of the Year."
"What!" Robbie disregarded that she was wearing nothing, kneeling up in shock.
Lying on the ground like a docile pet cat, she asked infatuatedly: "Are you telling the truth?"
"Of course, and the market performance of Faded is enough to explain everything. You shouldn't have any opponents for this award... of course, shouldn't speak too early..."
Mmph——
Before he could finish his words, his mouth was blocked by Robbie.
"Oh my god, this is the most important moment in my life. I want to call my mom!" Robbie was so excited that her voice trembled a little. It seemed this matter was indeed very important to her.
As an actor, she hadn't made any progress in her acting career, but her singing career touched the ceiling right from the start.
"Don't worry, it's not too late to tell your mom after getting the trophy."
"Maybe you can let your mom fly to the US to witness your coronation at the Grammy Awards ceremony next month."