America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 149 Proposal

As if it had been premeditated, overnight, many gossip media outlets published numerous reports praising Martin Davis, the male lead of Madame Tussauds.

The film's opening weekend box office exceeded expectations, so Martin Scorsese naturally had to play the leading role.

Moreover, what he was fighting for was perfectly justified.

In the villa's living room, Louise stood at the bar, poured herself a drink, and asked, "How much did it cost?"

Martin roughly stated, "Those gossip newspapers didn't cost much, and they weren't even front-page ads. The most important Hollywood reports were resources that Thomas requested from the company."

Louise pushed a glass of whiskey toward him: "It's normal for WMA to give a push to the leading man who tops the box office."

Martin clinked glasses with her: "Celebrate for me."

Louise chuckled: "Congratulations on becoming a nobody star."

Martin downed his drink: "From a producer's perspective, am I worth a million dollars right now?"

Louise wouldn't mislead Martin, and said directly, "It's not worth it. The reason is simple: you're not the main character in Madame Tussauds. If The Hills Have Eyes could achieve this level of box office success, your salary would definitely be over a million dollars."

Martin knew that risk was directly proportional to reward.

The protagonist bears the severe consequences of failure, and naturally enjoys the greatest benefits of success.

Louise poured more wine: "The wine tastes especially good tonight."

Martin said, "Because the compilation of this movie will make you money." He then shamelessly added, "Honestly, I envy Menez. Once Paris agrees, he'll be set for life. Rich lady, take me on, I really don't want to struggle anymore."

Louise pulled out a box and pushed it towards Martin: "Take a look."

Martin asked in surprise, "Do we need to sign an agreement? I don't think it's necessary. What's mine is yours..."

Louise said, "Shut up, take a look first."

Martin opened the black box; inside was a cell phone with a battery on the back cover as thick as a brick.

He had seen similar things before; the old knock-off phones were said to have a one-month standby time.

"A gift for me?" Martin asked, puzzled.

As it turns out, Louise knows how to use it too: "This phone can keep you talking all night without any problems."

Martin immediately understood: "You need to call Kelly."

Louise extended her long fingers and playfully lifted Martin's chin: "Your film topped the box office; you should call your former boss who gave you the job and let her share in the joy, don't you think?"

Martin wholeheartedly agreed: "Let's go upstairs and call Kelly."

A few minutes later, Kelly Gray, far away in Atlanta, cursed a thousand times in her mind before turning on her phone's speakerphone.

…………

The following morning, Martin called Bruce, and they drove with Menez to the prison where Paris Hilton was being held.

Today is Paris's big day of release from prison.

The production team certainly wouldn't miss out on this delicious opportunity and communicated with Menez in advance.

"Boss, do I look alright?" Menne asked, holding a bouquet of flowers.

Martin looked him over carefully, then straightened Menez's tie and said, "Very handsome, definitely a heartthrob for middle-aged and older women."

Bruce said, "We're almost there, but there are too many people and cars, we can't get through."

The open space in front of the prison was packed with media reporters and paparazzi, and several television stations even brought their broadcast vans over.

Menne asked, "What if she doesn't go this way?"

"She'll definitely go this way; Susan talked to her about it beforehand," Martin said. "Believe me, she won't pass up an opportunity to make herself even more famous."

Susan had already communicated with Paris's agent, and Paris had been persuaded, knowing that she only had one path forward: a rebound.

Bruce honked his horn, but the car in front refused to give way.

Martin patted Menez on the shoulder: "Roll down the window, stick your head out, and those bastards will automatically make way."

Menez rolled down the car window, popped his head out, and shouted, "Guys, don't delay my proposal, okay?"

Many reporters and paparazzi turned to look, and upon seeing Mr. Menez's fiery face, they very consciously made way for him, even urging the people in front to quickly move aside and not block Mr. Menez's path.

Bruce drove smoothly to the vicinity of the entrance, turned around, and said, "Buddy, let's go."

Martin pulled out a box and handed it to Menne: "In case she agrees, don't forget to put the ring on her finger."

Menez opened the box, revealing a huge pigeon egg: "Boss, this..."

Martin said, "Don't worry, it's fake. Paris doesn't want it; you can save it for the next one."

Menez scratched his head: "If she really agrees, wearing a fake diamond ring wouldn't be a good idea."

"It's okay," Martin suggested, offering a bad idea. "If she agrees, make her pay for it, then you can go buy a real one."

Menez agreed: "That makes sense."

Martin glanced at his watch: "Time's almost up, let's go."

In future events like this, he and Old Broglie will no longer try to steal Menez's thunder.

Menez got out of the car, straightened his suit and tie, picked up the bouquet of roses, and strode toward the prison gate.

At this moment, the focus of dozens of cameras and video cameras was entirely on Menez!

Menez stood a dozen meters away from the prison gate, waiting for his goddess to come out.

This scene will undoubtedly steal the headlines of countless gossip media outlets tomorrow.

Bruce unbuckled his seatbelt and said, "This industry is so much fun, much more interesting than being a street sweeper."

Martin asked, "Are you addicted? Don't get lost in the gold."

Bruce laughed: "It'll be over once the movie's promotional period is over."

Martin then scoffed, "You're not talking like a civilized person, you're talking like a jerk."

Bruce said, "I can't help it, I learned it all from you."

The prison doors then opened, and Paris Hilton emerged carrying a bag.

Countless flashlights lit up, and the media extravaganza began.

Menez, holding roses, walked towards Paris. When he was two meters away, he knelt down on one knee and presented the roses: "Paris, marry me!"

Reporters and paparazzi gathered around, shouting, "Marry him! Marry him..."

The scale of the event was truly breathtaking.

After all, if Paris agrees, the love story between the poor boy and the princess will be widely reported, and the news will definitely be explosive.

Paris suddenly realized, looked closely at Menée, the unknown minor actor in the crew, her lips curled up to her ears, took the rose, and threw it on the ground: "What a boring trick."

She turned and walked towards her car, where her agent was waiting.

Menez squeezed his eyes hard. Although his acting skills were not as good as his speaking skills, they had not been wasted. Two lines of tears rolled down his cheeks.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head: what would happen if he accused Paris of being discriminatory against Black people for not agreeing?

Menez slowly got up, head down, tears streaming down his face, and walked toward the Volkswagen.

Surprisingly, many media reporters turned their cameras in his direction.

Love is unattainable!

The tragedy is overwhelming!

With Paris getting into her car and leaving, the farce finally came to an end.

Not wanting to be besieged by dozens of reporters and paparazzi, Menez got into the Volkswagen before they arrived.

Having achieved his objective, Martin told Bruce to start the car and drive away quickly.

Menez wiped away her tears and lamented, "My love, which ended before it even began."

Martin received a call from Susan, chatted for a while, and then hung up. He said to Menne, "Buddy, I have some good news for you. Susan asked me to tell you that she's going to give you a supporting role in her next production, one that's just as important as the one in 'House of Wax Museum'."

Menez immediately perked up: "What kind of show, boss? Are you going to participate?"

Martin shook his head: "The male lead is Susan's fiancé, Robert Downey Jr. I can't compete with him, so I won't participate."

There's no need to try to operate something like this; the chance of success is almost zero.

Mene immediately forgot about the failed marriage proposal and said to Martin, "Boss, my luck has improved ever since I met you."

Martin thought for a moment and said, "I've had good luck too, and you've brought me good luck as well."

Indeed, although Madame Tussauds' ratings and reputation have been declining, the film's box office performance has not plummeted due to continuous promotional efforts.

With Halloween approaching, a traditionally popular time for horror films, Hollywood horror movies are starting to flood the theaters. The Wax Museum box office champion only lasted a week before being overtaken by Columbia Pictures' "Ju-on".

However, $958 million was enough to guarantee Madame Tussauds the second spot at the box office the following weekend.

Including box office revenue from Monday to Thursday, the film's cumulative North American box office reached $3614 million.

It's not a problem for it to gross over $5000 million at the North American box office.

Global distribution capabilities are one of the hallmarks of the six major Hollywood studios. Warner Bros. launched the film in several overseas markets, including the UK, Mexico, and Germany, this weekend, and Madame Tussauds' overseas box office revenue quickly exceeded $1500 million.

The production company, Silver Films, and the distributor, Warner Bros., jointly threw a celebration party for the film.

The party also featured a brief red carpet ceremony.

This is also a standard form of publicity.

When Martin walked the red carpet again, the treatment of the media was completely different.

The few fans outside the hotel screamed, camera flashes never stopped, and some reporters even called out to him, wanting to interview him.

Martin only granted interviews to his partners, speaking candidly in front of the WarnerMedia cameras.

"The film's box office success is thanks to the entire crew; every staff member worked hard for it." He is high-profile in his work but low-profile in his personal life: "Personally, I'm very lucky. Silver Films gave me the opportunity to act, Warner Bros. brought the film to the audience, and Susan and Jaume Coleman provided me with so much help on set."

Just then, director Jaume Coleman pulled him over.

He opened his arms and hugged Martin tightly, making it clear that they had a very good relationship.

In an interview, Jaume Coleman was full of praise: "I am very lucky to have worked with such an outstanding actor as Martin Scorsese in my first film as a director. He is a genius at acting. I only need to tell him what I want, and he can perfectly fulfill it. I never have to worry about his performance."

The two have a good relationship and enjoy praising each other in a commercial way.

Susan, who arrived later, also highly praised Martin and Zommy's work.

If the film is a success, everyone benefits, and in front of the media, it's naturally a win-win situation.

This is a late update, please vote with your monthly tickets! Mr. Menez proposed, so I'm asking for a monthly ticket...

(End of this chapter)