226 Upper class?

Barry Meyer pondered for a moment, then looked at the young man sitting casually on the couch.

Lyman maintained his relaxed posture, comfortably leaning back, his gaze assessing the layout and furnishings of the office, seemingly lost in thought.

These were somewhat impolite actions, but they also indirectly emphasized that he didn't have an overwhelming desire to collaborate with Warner Bros.

On second thought, whether it was Paramount Pictures or EuropaCorp, they wouldn't give up on a director like him who could bring in profits. The thought of trying to win him over had surely crossed their minds too.

As for what he had said, his terms seemed assertive, almost as if he didn't take Warner Bros. seriously.

But Barry Meyer, who had experienced numerous storms throughout his life, had encountered all sorts of peculiar directorial personalities.

The domineering and irritable temperament of James Cameron, the attention to details and gains of Peter Jackson, their unwavering determination... And of course, the two mentally peculiar Wachowski siblings, who approached everything with a distinctive flavor.

After a brief consideration, Lyman was actually relatively normal among these exceptionally talented directors.

Perhaps what someone had said was true, that there was only a fine line between genius and madness.

Moreover, it was Warner Bros. that had taken the initiative to invite him for collaboration, so they couldn't skimp on sincerity. Even during negotiations, it was fine for their side to take a slight disadvantage. After all, if Lyman established this working relationship with Warner Bros., they might reap more benefits from him in the future.

With his mind made up, the conversation shifted back to the movie project.

After a while, Michael Krauf had something to attend to and excused himself first.

Barry Meyer glanced at his wristwatch; it was nearly five in the afternoon. He said, "It's getting late. If Director Lyman is willing, I can take you somewhere for a meal. We can continue our discussion afterwards."

"Sure." Lyman smiled.

Barry led Lyman outside. After his personal assistant learned that his boss was inviting Lyman to dinner, she was quite curious. She didn't understand why this French director was being given such importance. After all, as Warner Bros.'s Chief Operating Officer, Barry rarely personally invited people for dinner.

Lyman noticed this and waved his hand, signaling for his agent John to stay behind.

After all, this was a personal conversation; the real negotiations hadn't begun yet.

In the underground garage, the personal assistant was waiting in a Bentley. It drove out of the Warner Bros. headquarters gate and headed towards Beverly Hills.

"Go to that club," Barry Meyer instructed and explained to Lyman, "The scenery there is great. If you have time, Director Lyman, you can frequent the place."

About 20 minutes later, the car slowed down.

Trimmed oak trees lined both sides of the road, standing like a pair of guards, evoking a solemn feeling.

After the security guard let them through, a massive lawn came into view. This was Beverly Hills, and to have such a large piece of land dedicated to building a club, complete with a racecourse and golf course, was the epitome of luxury.

Of course, what Lyman didn't know was that the membership fees of this club were exorbitant, and not just anyone could become a member. Only the so-called upper class could.

As for what constitutes the upper class.

That naturally meant having money and status.

For Lyman, as long as you had enough money, you could establish a club even more luxurious than this one. After all, in a capital-driven country like this, having enough money implied having enough status. Haven't you seen how those powerful capitalists can influence even the policies of the White House?

Speaking of which, we can't help but mention the Koch brothers. They had always pursued a radical right-wing ideology, advocating for a small government - preferably so small it's nearly invisible - tax cuts - preferably to the point of no taxes - and reduced market regulations - preferably no regulations at all.

And behind them was the Koch family's two generations of hard work, resulting in one of the world's most powerful enterprises, Koch Industries.

However, since they weren't publicly traded and didn't disclose annual reports, no one knew how much money Koch Industries actually made.

But the only thing clear was that these two individuals entered the top twenty of the Forbes billionaires list based on their net assets alone.

And what were they doing, influencing the White House?

They established numerous charitable foundations, invested in intellectual education, and conducted research. They sought to change people's perceptions.

They established many think tanks and research institutions. They turned their right-wing ideologies into practical policy research reports.

They formed social groups, packaging their ideologies as the voice of the masses, and pressured elected officials. They transformed personal ideas into popular ideas.

They participated in elections, starting from the core. For instance, their foundation had supported Reagan's presidential election, achieving their goals that year: tax cuts for the wealthy, tax increases for the middle class, and tax reductions for their oil industry, and so on.

The Koch brothers' most famous quote was, "Government isn't the solution to our problems, government is the problem itself."

Oh, right, they also had a hand in the Tea Party movement. The Tea Party movement referred to a series of protests and demonstrations participated in by a large number of lower-class individuals in the United States. Their ideology was that government intervention is the cause of economic decline, and in order to bring back good times, government regulations should be weakened.

Someone once sarcastically commented on this, "This is a grassroots movement to reduce taxes for the top 1% wealthiest."

Even the later Secretary of State, Pompeo, successfully entered the core management level of the government thanks to the Koch brothers' sponsorship.

You should know that after graduating from college, this guy became their apprentice. Even when he was initially accumulating social experience, he worked for companies invested in by Koch Industries. In the subsequent congressional elections, he also received the Koch brothers' political donations and was promoted through the extensive publicity of NRA (National Rifle Association).

As for this guy's political ideology, it naturally followed the same routine. He opposed the Democratic Party, minorities, Clinton, Hillary, climate change... Basically, anything or anyone that posed a threat to the wealthy, he opposed.