America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 152 The Public's Favorite Gossip

The areas where luxury homes in Los Angeles are located are generally areas with few cars, few people, and few houses.

A girl in a school uniform stood alone by the roadside, her right hand sticking out a thumb and waving it in Martin's direction.

Martin had seen it once; he parked his car next to the man and rolled down the passenger window.

The girl bent down and looked closely to make sure she hadn't mistaken him for someone else. She then waved to Martin and said, "Hi, handsome, we've met before."

Martin glanced at the slightly chubby face and asked, "Are you Elizabeth from the Olsen family?"

Elizabeth Olsen had a particularly sweet smile: "Are you going to Louise's? Can you give me a ride home?"

Martin opened the passenger door: "Get in."

Elizabeth got into the car, placing her backpack on her lap: "Thank you."

Martin, driving: "I can just flag down any car; I'm not afraid of running into bad guys."

"Are you a bad guy?" Elizabeth turned to look at Martin. "I recognized your car, that's why I dared to stop you."

Martin asked in surprise, "We've only met a few times."

Elizabeth reminded her, "You often go to Louise's place, and you always pass by my house."

Martin asked, "Are all girls this smart as you these days?"

Elizabeth giggled, amused. "Handsome, you have such a sweet voice. By the way, I still don't know your name."

Martin Davis.

"That name sounds familiar. I think I saw it in the newspaper recently." Elizabeth remembered: "The male lead in a horror movie."

Martin nodded and asked, "Those times I saw you, wasn't it always your sister who drove you around?"

Elizabeth explained simply, "They were very busy today, so I took a last-minute leave to come back. I took the bus here, and there's no public transportation further ahead. I was originally planning to walk back when I ran into you."

Martin said, "You're lucky."

Perhaps her privileged upbringing gave her extraordinary confidence. Elizabeth said, "Of course, I've always been very lucky."

Martin drove up the south hill, and Elizabeth said, "No need to stop, just go straight to Louise's house. Nobody's home."

"Really?" Martin ignored her and instead called Louise first.

Louise said, "The Olsen family is attending a business event. Let her come over."

Elizabeth said, "I don't know Louise well, but my sister does."

Martin drove straight into Louise's house and parked the car next to the villa.

Elizabeth got out of the passenger seat and greeted Louise politely as she stood at the villa's entrance. She then said, "I have nowhere to go for the moment. Could I stay here for a while?"

Louise invited, "Come have lunch with us."

Martin took the gift from the armrest case and went into the villa to hand it to the housekeeper, Mary.

Louise asked, "What is it?"

Martin said, "I ordered this wine for you from overseas. You can sip it, but don't drink too much. One glass and even a donkey would be knocked out."

Louise nodded. "Understood."

Ten minutes later, the three of them sat down at the dining table.

Elizabeth, seeing the beautifully prepared roast meat, exclaimed, "Meat! I love it the most!"

Louise said, "Don't be shy, help yourself."

Martin didn't talk much; the barbecue was more appealing.

Just like last time, Louise specially hired a chef to make the barbecue.

After lunch, the three chatted for a while. Elizabeth had a habit of taking a nap, so Louise asked Mary to arrange for her to rest in the guest room and then take her home when the neighbors returned.

Louise got into Martin's car, and they went to Warner Bros. Studios together.

As Louise passed by the door next door, she pointed and said, "The real rich woman is here."

"The Olsen sisters? They're richer than you?" Martin asked curiously.

Louise said, "Who knows, I might be a billionaire someday."

Martin laughed: "I still want you to be my sugar daddy."

Louise changed the subject, asking, "Is the Madame Tussauds promotion over?"

Martin said, "It's over. The distribution company didn't arrange any overseas promotions. Yesterday's celebration party was the last public promotional event."

Louise, reclining in the passenger seat, asked, "What are your plans?"

Martin thought for a moment: "I'm going to do post-production work on The Hills Have Eyes these next few days; some scenes need dubbing." He turned into the main driveway: "Originally, Jummy told me a horror story, and he received the first draft of the script yesterday. He showed it to me at the bar, but unfortunately, it's not suitable for me."

Louise asked, "That dwarf murderer you mentioned?"

Martin simply stated, "The core of the script written by Jummi's friend is a female protagonist with dwarfism who is also a psychopath, as well as a female supporting character. The male supporting character is not particularly outstanding and is ultimately killed by the female protagonist."

Martin might have been interested during the filming of Madame Tussauds, but after playing the lead role, he could never play that kind of role again.

Louise offered a subtle suggestion: "Whenever possible, choose the main character first. Even if you choose a supporting character, make sure they are a distinctive one, not a foolish one who just serves to highlight the others."

Martin then thought of Alexander the Great: "If you're interested, you can check it out. I think the script is very interesting, and Jaume Coleman's directing skills are also quite good."

The reason I brought this up with Louise wasn't because of the positive reception of Orphan in his previous life.

Many Hollywood films that were once hyped up online have a high chance of being box office flops in North America.

There are too many films that receive rave reviews but perform terribly at the box office.

Martin's judgment was based on the fact that a sequel had been made for this film.

Louise was somewhat interested, after all, Jaume Coleman had just achieved success: "Once he finishes his script, have him submit a copy to Pacific Films."

Upon arriving at Warner Bros. Studios, Martin called Jaume Coleman to remind him to finalize the script and send a copy to Pacific Pictures.

The post-production studio where the Hills Have Eyes crew was located was right next to the Alexander crew's studio. When Martin and Louise arrived, they saw Angelina Jolie.

Louise seemed to know her quite well, and they even chatted for a few minutes.

Earlier this year, gossip media published rumors of Pitt cheating on Angelina Jolie, but it didn't attract much attention and hasn't caused a stir yet.

When Martin entered the post-production studio, he glanced back at Julie.

It is said that this woman never hires professional public relations personnel; all her public relations and self-marketing strategies are her own creations.

Angelina Jolie embodies one thing perfectly: no matter how well a movie is made, it's not as important as a well-executed publicity campaign.

Martin approached director Aja and went to the post-production dubbing studio. Many on-location shots were affected by environmental factors and could not achieve the desired effect, so they could only be solved through post-production dubbing.

He spent half an afternoon in the dubbing studio, and his work efficiency was quite good, re-dubbing more than 30 shots.

When Martin came out, Wes Craven was returning from a meeting at Warner Bros.

Along with A-Jia, the three of them went into the producer's office.

Craven started by saying the important thing: "House of Wax Museum did well at the box office, which earned you a lot of credit. Warner Bros. is taking this film, in which you are the absolute lead, very seriously. Originally planned for release in April, it was ultimately decided to move up to early February, the weekend after the Super Bowl."

Martin asked, "Will GG be shown at the Super Bowl?"

Craven said, "I did mention it, but the specifics depend on Warner Bros.' arrangements."

Aja tossed his hair aside and said, "I heard that the Super Bowl's GG effect is very good."

"The number one most-watched show in the US." Craven watches it every year: "When it comes to TV dramas, there's no better than the Super Bowl."

Martin pondered for a moment, then said, "I have some ideas about the film's promotion."

A-Jia asked curiously, "I heard that Madame Tussauds used a lot of your suggestions in their advertising?"

Martin wouldn't be modest about this: "Partly."

Craven, a seasoned veteran, said, "It's definitely not the usual advertising; that's been overdone. So, Paris Hilton?"

Martin simply smiled, neither confirming nor denying.

Craven said, "In a few days, Warner Bros. will be holding a film promotion meeting. One of you is the director and the other is the production manager, so you should both attend."

Martin replied, "I'm fine with it. Call me when you're sure about the time."

Craven, who had been a producer countless times, reminded him, "Martin, The Hills Have Eyes is entirely focused on you; you are the main focus of public opinion."

He offered similar advice to Thomas: "The wax museum has given you some buzz, and you should try to maintain that buzz, as it will benefit your next film."

Aja, quick-witted as ever, said, "I'll throw a party and invite a few French actresses over. Martin, why don't you hit on one?"

Martin said righteously, "Why is it that when it comes to creating buzz and trending topics, the first thing that comes to your mind is women?"

Ah-Jia shrugged: "Because the public loves gossip the most, and the simplest and most effective way to create gossip is through matters of the heart between men and women."

Martin said, "Unless you bring Sophie Marceau."

"It's no use, you'd better find a Hollywood actress." Craven, with decades of experience in the industry, understands the market and audience better than Martin and Aja: "Sophie Marceau has no appeal in North America and doesn't have much popularity."

Martin realized that not only Sophie Marceau, but also Monica Bellucci, had only average appeal in North America.

It's not Europe, after all.

Afterwards, the three of them went into the post-production editing room together to watch the initial cut of the sample footage.

Craven and Aja discuss how to do a second edit.

Martin listened attentively without saying a word.

Although I'm not a complete novice in this field, I haven't had much experience with it before, not as much as Craven and Aja.

Craven has the final cut rights for the film.

The title of "Godfather of Modern Hollywood Horror Films" is well-deserved.

I spent two days in the post-production studio, and Halloween is just around the corner. Every year at this time, all sorts of monsters and ghosts from Hollywood and across America come out.

Martin wanted to invite Louise to the Halloween parade, but Louise wasn't interested.

He thought for a moment and then called Anne Hathaway.

"I remember your film crew hasn't started shooting yet. Are you free for Halloween?" Martin invited, "Let's go to the Halloween parade together."

Adhering to the principle of not refusing but not taking responsibility, Anne said, "The crew will have a holiday then. I've participated in the Halloween parade in Greenwich Village, but I haven't participated in the one in Los Angeles."

Martin immediately said, "My princess, would your loyal guards be willing to accompany you on your inspection tour of the territory?"

Anne laughed, "Sure, but you'll be in charge of the princess's styling and dress."

Martin replied, "No problem."

On the last day of the month, I'm posting this at midnight. If you still have any monthly tickets left, please vote for me. Thank you.

(End of this chapter)