America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 155 Seeking a New Job (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Early in the morning, while having breakfast at a nearby restaurant, Bruce told Martin about what happened last night.

Martin was somewhat surprised: "It wasn't you who suggested it, but she who offered to make you the male lead in the videotape?"

Bruce deliberately struck a smug pose: "Hey, man, look at me, the real Casanova is right here!"

"Wow, that's fast evolution." Martin put down his knife and fork, wiped his mouth with a napkin, and said, "The most crucial question is, Bruce, the Casanova, have you said yes?"

Bruce said, "I told her to think about it carefully."

Martin pointed at him and said, "That's it? You dare call yourself a Casanova? You're clearly a spineless coward!"

Bruce retorted: "Mr. Scumbag, you dare to film this?"

Martin replied without hesitation, "If Anne invites me to film this, I'll definitely say yes!"

Bruce was genuinely intimidated by King's request and found a reason and excuse: "King will sell the videotapes to a distribution company for distribution throughout North America."

Martin was incredibly thoughtful; he even found a buyer for Old Brooks: "Jenner's company will buy it."

"That's not the point. Can you let me finish?" Bruce finally came up with a reason he'd racked his brains for: "A gang of traffickers in Mexico is still looking for me. What if they see the videotape and come after me?"

Martin scoffed, "Just don't show your face, right? I believe you can do it." He added fuel to the fire, "Don't forget who you are. You're Bruce, the man Sophia can't forget."

The conversation died down again. Bruce threw down his knife and fork, got up, and left, determined not to say a word to Martin that day.

After breakfast, Martin rushed to Warner Bros. Studios to attend a post-production and distribution meeting with Craven and Aja, as the production manager of The Hills With Eyes.

The meeting specifically discussed the film's promotion.

Given the huge success of "House of Wax" in terms of publicity, Martin's suggestion was taken seriously.

Of course, Martin can offer suggestions and ideas, but for them to be actually implemented, it will depend on the professionals from the production team and Warner Bros.

The large-scale propaganda campaign, which involves "seeing through the mountains," will not be launched until after the New Year.

Warner Bros. decided to push the film's GG into the Super Bowl.

In addition, Warner Bros. publicists reminded Martin that it would be best to maintain a certain level of buzz before the film's release.

Craven's reputation and the success of Madame Tussauds both contributed to the appeal of the protagonist, Martin.

After its third weekend in North America, Madame Tussauds' North American box office totaled $4756 million, and it is sure to surpass $5000 million in another week.

Overseas, the film was released in more than 30 countries in Latin America, Europe and Australia, and its overseas box office exceeded 3000 million US dollars.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the global box office will surpass $1 million.

After his meeting, Martin went to Alexander's post-production studio next door, intending to invite Louise to lunch.

When he arrived, Louise was seeing Angelina Jolie off.

Julie had met Martin before and couldn't help but ask, "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Louise stated frankly, "Martin Davis, a talented actor I discovered in Atlanta."

Martin took the initiative and said, "Hello, Julie."

Julie shook hands with Martin: "I see a star rising."

When others praised her, Martin complimented her, saying, "Julie, you are the bright moon in the night sky, making all the stars pale in comparison."

Julie said, "I'm just a second-rate actress."

Martin blurted out, "You're my idol, I like Laura."

The two chatted for a few minutes, then Julie's agent came over. She said goodbye and left quickly.

Martin followed Louise into the office, where the walls were covered with propaganda materials about Alexander the Great.

He looked at the four costume photos on his left, each one different, and asked, "Isn't Colin Farrell the male lead in this film?"

Louise glanced up at them and said, "Director Oliver Stone's initial choice was Heath Ledger, but I and several other producers were very worried about his condition and rejected him."

She took off her black-rimmed glasses and rubbed her temples: "The investment is too high; we have to be careful."

Martin sat down opposite her and asked, "I heard there was a preview screening for theater managers?"

Louise was troubled again: "The test screenings didn't go very well." She paused slightly before expressing her concerns: "Hollywood has made a general mistake in its market assessment. The recent epic films have generally received poor reviews, and this project's chances of losing money are increasing."

Martin reassured him, "It's alright, I'll take care of you then."

Louise said bluntly, "I'll make you penniless in a month at most."

Martin said, "Drunkard, you have to look at people with a developmental perspective. I'm currently making hundreds of thousands of dollars a month. If 'The Hills Have Eyes' succeeds, my salary will be in the seven figures."

Louise smiled and shook her head.

"I've finished all the post-production dubbing for 'The Hills Have Eyes,'" Martin said earnestly. "I'll be looking for a new job soon."

Louise asked, "Does your support group in Atlanta still have the capacity to put together a cohesive effort?"

Martin knew she was referring to Vincent and Sofia, and said, "If The Hills Are Eyes is successful, they will definitely continue to participate in the anthology, and even invest more money. They are waiting for The Hills Are Eyes to be released."

He brazenly asked directly, "Honey, do you have any suitable roles or projects you could recommend?"

Louise didn't respond, but emphasized, "You haven't paid off your debt to me yet."

Martin spread his hands: "Hey, you drunkard, isn't there any genuine affection between us, any willingness to give everything for love? I took advantage of you, and you became an international bartender. You took advantage of me, so shouldn't I become an internationally renowned movie star?"

Louise cast aside her worries and laughed happily.

After laughing, she added, "You're very good at making people happy."

"Feeling better?" Martin asked crisply when she nodded. "International bartender Louise Mayer, I heard you've invented two new cocktails?"

Louise understood: "That's right, I'm preparing to announce it soon, to truly solidify my title as a global master bartender."

Martin came prepared, handing her a notepad: "Master, could you please sign this for me beforehand?"

Louise opened it, glanced at it, and put it away with satisfaction: "Since you have a support group and can organize a game, to be fair, I'll give you a good chance."

She thought for a moment and said, "Pacific Films' script project library is open to you. It includes scripts submitted by screenwriters, projects recommended by directors, and initial plans from producers seeking investment. It can't compare to the Big Six studios, but it still has tens of thousands of scripts and initial plans for hundreds of projects."

Martin was very interested, as film companies rarely open their script libraries to the public.

Louise poured cold water on the idea: "Most of them are useless. Every year, Hollywood registers tens of thousands of original scripts and launches thousands of initial projects, but only a very small fraction of them end up as movies."

Martin asked the latter, "The initial project plan?"

Louise simply stated, "Like Madame Tussauds and The Hills Have Eyes, most Hollywood movies don't start with a script. Instead, the producer comes up with a suitable idea, or encounters a literary work or true story suitable for adaptation, and then they start assembling the project, including raising investment, finding a production company, finalizing the director, hiring screenwriters to write the script, and so on..."

She emphasized the importance of adaptation: "Many initial plans remain only on paper. Some adaptation plans submitted by producers are almost worthless if you don't invest in them, because they don't even have the copyright."

Martin carefully considered what his chances of success were if he wanted to set up a deck.

He definitely can't use his own money, and besides, his meager funds aren't enough to make a movie. He can only wait for the box office results of "The Hills Have Eyes" to come out.

He glanced at Louise; if all else failed, there was always her management company.

Thinking of this, Martin shook his head inwardly; he still hadn't found a project.

Louise said, "This afternoon you're coming with me to Pacific Film Studios, you can pick whatever you like."

"You're quite the businessman! You drunkard, is this what you call fair trade?" Martin said viciously. "You've already put together the valuable projects, and the rest is all moldy junk sitting in the warehouse, which you then casually dump on me, treating me like a garbage dump?"

Louise was honest: "I don't have any suitable projects on hand at the moment."

Martin certainly wouldn't miss the opportunity to freely browse and select scripts from a film company's script library.

At noon, Louise had lunch with Martin, and the two went to Pacific Studios, which is next to Warner Bros. Studios.

This company does not produce films directly, has a small number of employees, and its three-story office building is rented from Warner Bros. Studios.

Louise had been drinking and planned to take a nap, so she asked her assistant Nikki to take Martin to the archives on the first floor.

The custodian, having been notified by Louise, led Martin into the warehouse.

He pointed to the computer: "There's a catalog here. You can find project outlines. Except for scripts whose copyrights the company has bought out, which will be kept indefinitely, other scripts, planning documents, etc., will be cleaned up once a year."

Martin nodded. "Thank you."

"Do as you please." The custodian left.

Martin sat down at the computer, just about to turn it on, when he suddenly remembered the most important thing. He quickly took out his phone and dialed Robert's number: "It's me, can you help me with something else?"

The system automatically replied, "I understand. The ceremony will begin immediately."

Martin thought to himself, "Has it evolved into a specialized ritual?" He said, "Robert, thank you."

"You're welcome," Robert said, as if reciting a prayer. "May Martin Davis have all the best."

Martin, brimming with confidence, pressed the power button, opened the database, and searched for scripts and project information from the past year.

He first looked at the script, glanced at the title, and then read the synopsis.

Many Hollywood movie scripts may have their names changed several times before they go into production, and some of the movie titles in the past were not even direct translations of the English.

Even a small company like Pacific Films has thousands of pieces of content.

If you don't recognize the name or have no recollection of the story's synopsis, Martin will be immediately rejected.

I searched for a long time, but I couldn't find anything familiar.

Martin was considering that, if all else failed, he could wait for the market response to "The Hills Have Eyes" (a Chinese online forum) and continue with this style.

However, without the powerful boost from social media, the effect is hard to say.

His current fame and influence are far less than Keanu Reeves used to be.

The third update is here, please vote with your monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)