America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 170 Sending You a Little Star

In Beverly Hills, Jody rode her motorcycle towards the main entrance of the Hilton Hotel and parked next to the flower bed.

Taking off her helmet and picking up her camera, she saw Martin and Anne get out of the car and walk hand in hand into the hotel.

Jody instinctively pressed the camera shutter, thinking, "Don't come out! Those two are going to spend the night together!"

These paparazzi are even more eager than the people involved in the gossip.

After waiting for more than half an hour, Martin still hadn't come out.

Jody found a place to sit down and, while waiting, pondered how to write the gossip.

She quickly came up with a suitable headline: Martin Davis and Hollywood princess Anne Hathaway, this is what love should look like...

Jody is a dedicated paparazzi. In addition to taking photos, he also runs a gossip column on an entertainment website. When he sees someone who isn't showing up for a while, he takes out a pen and notebook, finds a streetlamp, and starts writing a short essay based on his previous ideas.

Hard work always pays off.

After a while, a tall figure suddenly blocked the light overhead.

Jody quickly closed her notebook to prevent her colleagues from copying her ideas. When she looked up, she saw Bruce's awful face.

"Is there something you need?" she asked.

Bruce didn't say anything, but beckoned with his finger.

Jody packed her things and followed Bruce into a car.

During the journey, she tried to turn on the voice recorder again.

Bruce said, "Go back, I'll find someone else."

Jody took out a voice recorder and, under Bruce's watchful eye, disassembled it into parts.

Bruce opened the car door and got in.

Jody got into the passenger seat.

Bruce pulled out a memory card, placed it on the armrest between the two, and said, "Photos of Martin and Annie at the hotel."

He took this photo himself.

Jody nodded, picked it up and put it away, then bent down and crawled toward Bruce, her hand heading straight for his zipper.

Bruce glanced at the unremarkable buttocks even when lying down, feeling nothing, and shoved Jody back: "Don't try to corrupt a good person like me with your lousy methods. I won't be corrupted by you!"

Jody stood up, looked at Bruce, and felt a strange sense of superiority compared to the man opposite her: "What do you want?"

Bruce wasn't being unreasonable: "A $100 fee for your hard work; your article must be biased towards Martin."

Jody pulled out all the cash she had and stuffed it all into Bruce's hand: "I will."

Bruce counted it; it was only a little over 80 dollars. He didn't argue: "Martin won't be out until eight o'clock tomorrow morning. Go back and get a good night's sleep."

Jody got out of the car, walked to the motorcycle alone, put on her helmet, and returned to her rented house. Instead of going to sleep immediately, she worked through the night to finish her article, which included photos she had taken herself and those provided by Bruce, and posted them on her website column.

She still had quite a few photos left, so she called the print media outlets she worked with and sold them to them.

Early in the morning, Laura got up, picked up her camera, and waited by the door, looking through the peephole at what was happening across the street to Anne.

Martin stayed in Anne's suite last night after returning from Griffith Observatory.

In the middle of the night, Annie sneaked over here, looking both sweet and tired. She said she had been exhausted by Martin and wanted to take a break.

There was movement over there, so Laura opened the door slightly, extended the camera lens, and pointed it in that direction.

She practiced several times last night and was very familiar with the routine.

Anne opened the door to her suite, and Martin came out of the room. Anne, wearing pajamas, chased after him to the door.

The two, one inside the room and the other outside the door, first gazed deeply into each other's eyes, then engaged in a passionate kiss.

Laura pressed the camera shutter, snapping photos one after another.

Martin held Anne's hand and said, "I have work at the studio, so I can't be with you. Take care of yourself."

Anne leaned in again and kissed Martin on the cheek: "Work comes first."

After all, his job is related to her future.

"Last night was too rushed," Martin said apologetically. "I wasn't prepared either."

Annie blushed just right: "You...you did a great job, you did it perfectly."

Martin laughed: "I'll prepare a special gift for you later."

Anne was pleasantly surprised: "Really?"

Martin nodded. "Of course, a surprise." He glanced at his watch. "I have to go."

Anne leaned against the door frame, watching Martin enter the elevator, turning back every few steps.

A surprise? What kind of surprise? Annie couldn't help but imagine: a luxury car? An exquisite pigeon egg? Or a set of luxury jewelry?

The door across the hall opened, and Laura poked her head out, raising the camera in her hand.

Annie waved her hand, urging her to hurry up and do it.

Laura returned to her room and started making calls to the entertainment media and paparazzi she had collected, preparing to sell the photos of Martin leaving Anne's room.

Anne closed the door, picked up her phone, and dialed her agent, Maha, to tell her about the latest developments in her relationship with Martin.

Maha said, "I will speak directly with Martin's agent."

Just as a marriage between two people on the other side of the Pacific is not simply a matter between the two individuals, it is also not simply a matter between two celebrities getting together.

Meanwhile, Martin went downstairs, called Bruce, and arrived at the hotel entrance just as Bruce drove up.

Martin got into the car and said, "To Warner Bros. Studios."

Bruce drove away from the hotel and said simply, "There's a lot of news about you and Annie on the internet and in entertainment magazines; it's very popular."

Martin asked, "What was the reaction on the blog?"

"Your fans are having a lot of discussions, thinking you and Annie are a good match." Bruce specifically mentioned this this morning: "It attracted quite a few of Annie's fans, it was very lively, probably all to tell you to treat Annie well."

Martin anticipated this, noting the difference in fan culture on both sides of the Pacific. On one side, celebrities dating doesn't have as much impact on fans.

Of course, there are also crazy, brainless fans.

Bruce continued, "Thomas called you, but your phone was off, so he called me instead. He said you and Annie should keep things on track, extending the time from one week to ten days, ideally until 'The Hills Have Eyes' is released. If a small portion of that buzz translates into market data, you'll make a fortune."

Martin nodded slightly, took out his phone, and called Thomas.

After the call connected, they exchanged a few words and then brought up an important matter: "Annie's agent, Maha, has arranged a meeting with me. She said Anne mentioned it to you."

Martin said, "Annie told me last night that you should talk to Maha."

Anne simply said last night that the two of them being together has attracted a lot of attention, and that her agency had specifically contacted her. If she and Martin were to get together, there would be some things that needed to be discussed.

Martin, of course, agreed.

Just after hanging up with Thomas, Daniel, who was in charge of publicity for "The Hills Have Eyes" at Warner Bros., called again to discuss with Martin how rumors could effectively increase the exposure of "The Hills Have Eyes".

What appears to be a simple relationship between two people actually involves interests from all sides.

Bruce was speechless: "This lousy industry is a pile of dog shit."

Martin, however, said, "In essence, it's no different from marriage alliances between political families."

Bruce recalled something: "Like Schwarzenegger marrying a woman from the Kennedy family."

Martin asked, "I'm planning to give Anne a special gift. What do you think would be good?"

"What does she like? I think she'd be interested in jewelry, luxury cars, and other luxury goods." Bruce brought up the old topic again: "Get her a big diamond. I've heard there are synthetic ones that are even more pure and beautiful than natural ones."

Martin shook his head: "That's too ordinary. Let me think... I've got it! How about giving her a star?"

Bruce didn't want to talk to this person anymore.

Martin, always a man of action, pulled out his phone and dialed Harris's number: "It's me, Martin. Give me an easily observable star called Anne Hathaway, yes, that princess. Make the star chart and certificate exquisite, with the highest-grade materials, yes! High-end, classy, ​​and sophisticated, and mail it to me."

Harris readily agreed.

Martin easily solved the gift problem, creating something romantic and unconventional.

This time he sent stars, next time he could send real estate. He mentioned developing a lunar project to Harris last time.

This is far more upscale than those who casually give away seaside villas.

After all, one is in the sky, and the other is on the ground.

Martin arrived at The Hills With Eyes studio at Warner Bros. Studios for another promotional meeting for the film.

Because theater managers approve of the screenings, the male lead Martin is very popular, the previous film was a huge success, and Wes Craven's reputation is also a plus, The Hills With Eyes is expected to open in around 3300 theaters in North America.

In addition, Madame Tussauds will end its run around January 20, 2005, at which time Warner Bros. will release a DVD. The DVD discs currently being pressed include GG of The Hills Have Eyes.

Martin then followed Craven and Aja into the producer's office.

Craven took some documents and handed them to Martin: "Take a look, these are newly printed top-secret documents."

Martin sat in the chair, carefully examining the document in his hand. The paper was slightly worn, stamped with the word "Top Secret" in red, and bore the logo of the U.S. Atomic Energy Assessment Agency.

A-Jia was also watching: "Won't this cause trouble?"

Craven chuckled. "No, it's just somewhat similar. There's no such organization; we made it up."

Martin recalled a common saying in Hollywood: "As long as you don't smear the IRS, you can smear any other department or agency."

“That’s right,” Craven said. “These are minor issues, nobody will care. We’re not just making up fake news. The movie poster and the first draft of the movie have already been released. Once the public sees them, they’ll quickly associate them with movie promotion.”

Aja asked, "Viral marketing?"

Craven simply stated, "It's a form of viral marketing, Martin's idea. In recent months, there's been a lot of noise about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction, the political struggle caused by the election has also led to media divisions, and some people have come forward to reveal that Iraq only had laundry detergent."

The production team and Warner Bros. adopted Martin's idea, which also took into account the current social situation: "The public is particularly concerned about weapons of mass destruction right now, so we're adding fuel to the fire."

(Regarding *The Departed*, firstly, I think the Hong Kong version is much better, completely outshining the American version. Personally, I lack understanding of the American version's gangster and social environment, making it seem rather dull. However, this film received high praise in North America. Before *The Wolf of Wall Street*, it was Martin Scorsese's highest-grossing film. North American critics considered it Scorsese's best film besides *Goodfellas*, and it seems to be around number 50 on IMDb's Top 100 Films list.)

(End of this chapter)