America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 163 One pit after another

Across from Warner Bros. Studios, the Smoke House restaurant.

Martin ordered his steak and looked towards the stage, where a young pianist was playing jazz; the cheerful music was soothing.

Across from him, Bruce flipped through his notebook and asked, "The time and location of the event are all set. Should we notify the gossip media and paparazzi now?"

Martin looked away: "They're far less interested in normal film and television news than in entertainment gossip. It's not too late to call after I get a chance to meet with Annie."

He is highly qualified and considerate: "We can't let our journalist friends come here empty-handed. We must further improve our professional ethics and resolutely refuse to do anything despicable like cheating or deception."

Bruce, seeking revenge, deliberately asked, "You won't do the swindling and cheating? Are you and Annie truly in love?"

"Of course!" Martin used the most apt metaphor: "My feelings for Anne are as real as a diamond."

Bruce felt there was something wrong with Martin's analogy, but he couldn't figure out what the problem was.

The upbeat music continued, just the kind Martin liked. As the waiter brought the steak, he pointed to the stage and said, "The pianist is good."

The waiter smiled and said, "His name is Sebastian, and he's a pianist."

Martin nodded: "Send a bouquet of flowers, and put the bill on this table."

When the music ended, the waiter brought over flowers and whispered something. Sebastian nodded his thanks to Martin.

Bruce calculated the time: "The publicity campaign fits your and Annie's exposure rhythm."

Martin responded, but then turned to look at the doorway, where Angelina Jolie and Louise entered the restaurant together.

The two men walked towards them, and Martin stood up to greet them, "What brings you here?"

Louise smiled at him: "Nobody's treating, so we have to come and pay for it ourselves."

Martin, showing no loyalty, abandoned Bruce, saying, "Lunch is on me."

Because she frequently visited the set of "Alexander the Great," Julie had met Martin several times and was quite familiar with him. She said, "Let's go together."

The three of them sat at another table and each ordered their own food.

Louise asked Martin, "Any progress on 'The Wanted'?"

"No," Martin said simply. "The crew of 'The Hills Have Eyes' is planning a promotional event, and I'm here to help come up with ideas."

He wouldn't neglect Jolie: "If the crew had a superstar like Angie, the media would be scrambling to cover it."

Despite the other party's sweet words, Julie remained unfazed and smiled, saying, "I'm hardly a superstar; these days, not many production teams dare to cast me as the lead actress."

Martin asked, "I heard you made an action movie."

Jolie's current situation is not good: "My most successful film to date is Tomb Raider, but the second one was not well received."

Martin praised, "Lola is so cool and stylish, everyone around me loves her."

Louise's gaze swept across Martin's face, and she suddenly remembered the conversation Martin had with Bradley, the screenwriter of "Wanted," about rewriting the black female supporting character Fox from the comics into a white female assassin, and a cool girl at that.

Julie said, "It's a shame there won't be a third one."

Martin could tell that Julie wasn't opposed to action roles.

He didn't say much; given his qualifications, he had no persuasive power whatsoever.

Let Louise handle the rest.

When the food arrived, Martin changed the subject to war and refugees.

Sure enough, Julie had already noticed these things and was moving in that direction.

Because of their shared interests, by the time they finished lunch, Julie's impression of Martin had gone from vague to very strong.

Martin paid the bill and went back to the studio with Louise and Julie.

Julie went to a promotional event.

Martin went into Louise's office.

Louise asked curiously, "When did you start caring about Afghanistan and Iraq?"

Martin went to pour himself a glass of water and started spouting nonsense: "Isn't this our universal values ​​and democratic spirit?"

Louise scoffed, "Americans don't believe in this stuff, but those who've been beaten and lost their homes do?"

Martin didn't elaborate: "Who knows?" He then got to the point: "I'd like to invite Julie to play the role in 'Wanted,' the one with Fox."

"Angelina Jolie's salary isn't cheap; the lead actress in 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' received $1000 million." Louise said with doubt, "Whether that $1000 million is worth the ticket price is hard to say."

Martin believes Jolie's salary may decrease further, with "Alexander" scheduled for release in December.

Although it involves Louise's funding for the project, Martin can only watch from the sidelines given his current capabilities.

Hollywood commercial film salaries are directly based on an actor's performance in the previous three films, with the most recent film being the most crucial.

Martin knew very well that Julie's appeal was undeniable in the success of "Wanted" in his previous life.

Since "Mr. & Mrs. Smith," Angelina Jolie's career has entered a fast track, making her one of the few actresses in Hollywood who can single-handedly carry the box office.

Actresses like Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett, and Meryl Streep, in terms of commercial appeal alone, are several levels below Angelina Jolie.

Martin specifically inquired and found out that "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" will be released next May.

Louise looked at Martin: "What are you thinking? Sometimes I can't understand what you're thinking."

Martin chuckled: "I'm such an innocent person, yet you always see right through me at a glance."

Louise pushed up her black-rimmed glasses: "I'm not even sure if the you I see is the real you."

Martin patted his chest: "Want me to dig it out and show it to you?"

Louise opened the drawer, rummaged through it, found a utility knife, placed it on the table, pushed it over, and gestured for it to come.

Martin picked up the utility knife, pushed it upwards until the blade was fully extended, and said, "I knew you wouldn't part with it."

Louise threw a box of razor blades at her.

Martin put the item in his pocket, as if he had never said anything, and promptly changed the subject: "Let's talk about this later. Even if we invite her, Julie might not agree."

Louise knew Julie's situation: "She's short on money lately, so she'll definitely agree to the fee if it's about right."

Seeing that she was about to grab the razor blade again, Martin said, "I have something to do, I'll go now, I'll come to your house another day."

After leaving the studio and arriving at the entrance of the film studio, Martin met up with Bruce and said, "Let's go to Paramount Studios. I'm going to see my beloved Annie."

Bruce started the car: "You have too many favorites. If they formed a 'Favorite League,' would you get beaten to death?"

"No, I won't," Martin said earnestly. "Because you will protect me."

……

During her lunch break, Rachel logged into her MSN account and joined a group she had created some time ago.

Most of the most active users on Martin's blog have joined Rachel's fan group.

She quickly edited an announcement to inform all members that a meet-and-greet with Martin and The Hills Have Eyes would be held next Saturday in the Burbank Hotel ballroom, where the first trailer for the film would be released.

One male fan asked, "Boss, shall we eat first and then go?"

Rachel recognized the man; he was a chubby little guy. He replied, "The film crew is providing a free buffet, and everyone who attends will receive a gift."

Another person chimed in, "Rachel, you're amazing! You got us such great treatment!"

Rachel sent a smiley face emoji: "It was Martin who got it for us. I was planning a regular dinner party, but after Martin found out, he specifically asked the production team for support, which made this event possible."

"Martin is awesome!"

"I love Martin the most!"

"Always support Martin!"

Amidst a long string of cheers, a user named Phoebe asked, "Should we prepare a gift for Martin?"

Others responded in unison.

Someone asked, "What should we prepare?"

There were all sorts of answers, with some even suggesting giving Martin a doll...

Phoebe asked Rachel, "You attended Martin's meet-and-greet, was there anything special?"

Rachel quickly recalled the most special detail: "Last time, Martin asked us supporters to write encouraging messages for him, which motivated him to keep going. By the way, Martin still remembers the message I wrote for him."

"That's great! Martin will always remember us!" Phoebe said. "It's much more meaningful than us pooling our money to buy Martin watches and jewelry or anything like that. I'm sure Martin will love it!"

The group quickly reached a consensus.

…………

The film crew took a break in the Paramount Studios soundstage.

Anne walked briskly to the rest area and was especially happy to see Martin bringing gifts again.

Laura said from behind, "Martin always brings you gifts, I'm so jealous."

Annie smiled happily; the envy of others brought her satisfaction.

Recently, she specifically inquired through her agent, Maha, and learned that Martin had indeed established a new film studio and was planning a comic book adaptation film project called "Wanted".

The project has also issued a director recruitment notice through the Directors Guild, with an expected investment of no less than $4000 million.

After seeing the photos in the recruitment notice, Annie was absolutely certain that she had found true love.

So, Annie also prepared a small gift: "Lola, where's the gift?"

Laura handed a pink gift box to Annie.

The two arrived at the rest area.

Martin personally brought over a chair and even brushed off non-existent dust from it: "My princess, please sit down."

Anne didn't sit down, but deliberately moved the chair next to her closer to herself: "You sit too."

The two sat down side by side, one with deep affection and the other with overflowing love; they were truly a match made in heaven.

Annie quickly took out the gift, grabbed one of his hands, and stuffed it into his hand: "You always bring me things every time you come over. This is my return gift to you. You can't refuse."

"Okay, I'll take it." Martin took it and asked, "Can I open it?"

Anne nodded: "Of course."

Martin opened the box and saw a pearl bracelet. He exclaimed, "How beautiful!"

Anne specifically mentioned, "The souvenirs I received on the set of 'The Princess Diaries' are especially meaningful."

"I love it so much." Martin took it out and put it on his wrist.

Having worked on many film and television crews and seen countless props and accessories, he could easily tell that this was just an ordinary string of artificial pearls, and its actual value was probably less than half a gold donut.

Martin was overjoyed, seemingly completely captivated by the gift from his goddess, grinning like a sycophant, and casually gave Annie the gift box he had brought.

I had to go out yesterday and didn't get back to write until after 6 PM. I haven't finished the second chapter yet; I'll post it later. A 40-year-old man, with a ton of trivial matters.

(End of this chapter)