America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 119 First Time

On Avalon Island, a large number of vehicles crowded the coastal road leading to the Avalon Theatre, with dozens of actors or stars inside, like Martin, waiting for the moment to walk onto the red carpet at the theatre entrance.

Bruce drove the car forward slowly.

Hundreds of meters away, shouts from movie fans rose and fell.

The scene ahead stopped moving again, so Bruce simply said, "The scale of this event seems no smaller than the Oscars I've ever seen."

Thomas, sitting in the passenger seat, said, "Most of the Saturn Award nominees are big-budget commercial films from last year. High box office means a wide audience; if the audience likes it, there will naturally be more supporters."

Martin racked his brains, thinking, "How can I attract attention? This is so frustrating!"

Thomas said, "Tonight's guests include big stars like Keanu Reeves, Johnny Depp, Hugh Jackman, and Nicole Kidman. You should focus more on your stage performance."

Martin is able to face reality: "The difference in status is too great."

Thomas told him an even more painful truth: "You're not a big shot right now."

Martin was hit hard.

Bruce wanted revenge for what happened a few days ago: "Dude, show your most twisted side, and you'll be the brightest star tonight."

Martin lifted his shirt back and said, "I want to be a civilized person."

The car was moving unusually slowly. There was only one road leading to the Avalon Theatre, so those who weren't considered important would naturally have to wait.

Feeling utterly bored, Martin started coming up with another terrible idea: "How about I trip and fall on the red carpet?"

Before Thomas could answer, Bruce said, "You're a man, not a cripple. Everyone will laugh at you."

Thomas realized that Martin was trying to stir up trouble to get attention and advised him, "You don't have the luxury of doing anything reckless right now. If you want to increase your exposure, you can walk the red carpet a little slower and say more during interviews."

Martin nodded. Men are at a huge disadvantage on the red carpet compared to women. Sophie Marceau has shown off her cleavage several times, Jennifer Lawrence has been involved in a wrestling incident, and Scarlett Johansson may have even approached male reporters…

As for things like exposed, see-through, and protruding, needless to say, they are all for women only.

There is gender inequality!

Royce, a reporter from the tabloid American Rumors, stood behind a tripod, specializing in capturing the moment celebrities got out of their cars.

With years of experience in the industry, he has accumulated rich shooting experience and has an excellent eye for choosing angles, always managing to capture special moments when celebrities get out of cars.

For example, female celebrities wearing high-slit skirts are most likely to have their underwear exposed when getting out of a car.

Just now, Royce captured the moment on camera: Lindsay Lohan wasn't wearing underwear under her high-slit dress.

A black Audi stopped in front of the red carpet. As soon as the door opened, Reuss's camera followed it and found that it was a man, which inevitably made him a little disappointed.

As soon as the person stepped down, he was slightly surprised. Who was this person? He was even more handsome than Keanu Reeves in his youth and the late River Phoenix.

Moreover, unlike Depp and River, who are effeminate, the light falling on his face made him appear radiant.

Martin got out of the car and remained standing, waving frequently in all directions.

The surrounding fans, whose emotions had already been stirred up by the big stars, cheered loudly.

The television cameras, set up in a crisscross pattern, were pointed directly at the front of the red carpet.

For his first real red carpet appearance, Martin wanted to create as many memories as possible.

As the Audi drove away, he waved to the media reporters who were taking pictures.

Royce couldn't help but ask, "Who is he?"

The female reporter next to her racked her brains, but there was no such person among all the well-known figures: "I don't know."

Another online journalist recognized her: "Do you know Eliza Cuthbert? Her ex-boyfriend."

Royce suddenly realized: "That twin brother who broke up with his girlfriend after walking down the red carpet once."

Reporters around took photos. "The Girl Next Door" was well received by teenagers, and the female lead's ex-boyfriend was somewhat newsworthy.

As the Audi drove away, other cars gradually approached, and the sand sculptures beside it continued to wave. The staff had to whisper a reminder: "Sir, the cars behind are coming; you should move forward."

"Thank you." Martin seemed to only then realize, "It was my first time, I was so nervous."

Seeing that he was young and his face was unfamiliar, the staff felt it was understandable and quickly comforted him, saying, "You'll get used to it after a few more times."

Martin smiled and said, "Thank you for your encouragement."

After a few brief words, Martin lingered for another five seconds in front of the live television cameras before leisurely walking onto the red carpet.

His speed wasn't slow; he was much faster than the tortoise that usually won races.

Unfortunately, neither side of the fans held up his nameplate or a poster of the zombie dancer.

The red carpet was only a few dozen meters long; no matter how long Martin dawdled, it was impossible for the people behind him to catch up.

As they approached the theater entrance, a girl mingled in the crowd on one side of the red carpet suddenly pushed her way forward, saying, "Excuse me, can you make some space? My supporter is coming."

She finally squeezed to the front, held up a poster for DVDs from a video store, and shouted, "Martin! Martin Davis!"

Among the many celebrity posters, a male dancer suddenly appeared, and Martin quickly noticed it.

Hundreds of people came to the scene, and finally, one person came to support him.

Martin, that heartless scoundrel, was actually slightly moved.

He found a reason to continue tagging along, so he strode over and realized that the woman holding up the poster looked very familiar. He quickly remembered her after a moment's thought.

When the woman saw Martin approaching, she was overjoyed: "Martin, over here! I'm here!"

Martin walked over and greeted her with a smile, "Rachel, I didn't expect to see you here."

Seeing that the other person remembered her name, Rachel's eyes reddened: "I saw on the news that you were nominated, so I came."

Martin opened his arms and gently hugged her: "Thank you! And thank you for your encouragement! Do you remember the message you wrote for me?"

He realized he had forgotten and quickly brushed it off with a sentence: "Your encouragement helped me through the most difficult period of an actor's career."

Rachel was moved to tears: "Martin, I will always support you!"

Martin opened his arms and gently hugged her: "Let's cheer each other on."

After they separated, Rachel took out her phone: "Can we take a picture together?"

Martin beckoned to the young man next to him, "Hey handsome, can you take a picture for me?"

That sounded nice, so the man took Rachel's phone and took a picture of Martin and Rachel together.

Martin returned to the red carpet, only to be overtaken by the other actors.

He showed no embarrassment whatsoever and strode forward.

In the media area, WarnerMedia, the broadcasting network, will conduct a brief interview with the nominees.

When the female host, Sunny, saw someone approaching and realized she didn't recognize him, she immediately glanced at her assistant nearby. The assistant then prompted through her earpiece: "Martin Davis, nominated for Best Young Actor, in the film 'Zombie Dancer,' a horror movie."

After Martin entered the media area and took photos in front of the sponsor's GG logo, Sunny went over to greet him: "Hi Martin, was this a dream night for you?"

Martin had done his homework: "Good evening, Sunny. Walking the Saturn Awards red carpet has been my childhood dream. Back then, when I watched Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Freddy Krueger, I knew I wanted to go down this path."

Sunny nodded repeatedly, preparing to end the routine interview; time couldn't be wasted on unknown actors.

Martin knew that if he wasn't high-profile enough, he wouldn't have any rights. Since the other party wasn't going to ask questions, he would create questions on his own initiative. Every extra second he could be in front of the camera might mean one more shot on the live TV broadcast.

His follow-up was particularly timely: "Sorry, Sunny, I'm a little late because I met the only fan who supported me on the red carpet. She means a lot to me, and I must thank her."

In that brief moment, Sunny lost control of the situation and could only ask, "What happened between her and you?"

"At an event for 'Zombie Dancer,' I was completely at a loss when facing fans and the media..." Martin recounted the events of that time, mentioning several names.

Sunny thought to herself, "You really feel helpless in front of the media? What are you now?" But Martin's suggestion of asking fans for autographs and encouraging messages felt novel even to this seasoned entertainment reporter, and she couldn't help but ask another question.

After Martin finished speaking, she realized that the interview, which was supposed to last one minute, had already lasted nearly four minutes.

The live broadcast signal was transmitted to the TV station, and the director shouted, "This interview is interesting. The lead actor is asking fans for autographs. They really know how to have fun. Broadcast the entire interview."

Since the Super Bowl incident at the beginning of the year, all live broadcasts across the United States have been delayed by ten seconds, giving directors more options.

Among those watching the live broadcast on television were also people who had attended the fan meeting last year.

Inside the bar, Rick said to his friends, "See that? That's Martin. He got my autograph last year, did you hear that? He mentioned my name!"

A few friends clinked glasses: "This guy's not bad."

"Another drink, my treat tonight!" Rick said. "His movies are good too, I suggest you check out the DVDs of Zombie Dancer."

There were also many people discussing it on movie forums.

One male lead attributes his success to the encouragement of his fans, who even develop a greater liking for him than people they don't know.

Soon, someone extracted the video of Martin's interview and posted it on the Internet, attracting a lot of attention.

In Clayton, Elena went to work, while Lily and Hall sat in the living room watching a live TV broadcast.

The latter said, "He's still just as shameless."

Lily slammed a punch into Hall's head: "That's called staying true to your original aspirations and not forgetting those who helped you!"

Hall turned around and looked directly at Lily: "Something's wrong with you!"

"Because I'm smarter than you," Lily said dismissively. "And all you do is dig holes!"

She clenched her fist: "Martin will definitely win tonight."

(End of this chapter)