America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 175 had a bit of an unexpected turn of events.

Several faxed documents were laid out on the desk. Wu Maoting carefully looked through them. Nowadays, many Hong Kong movie stars and behind-the-scenes personnel work in Hollywood, so it is not difficult to obtain relevant information.

First, let's look at Martin Davis, who I met with last night. He has starred in two theatrical films, both as the male lead, and his rumored affair with Disney princess Anne Hathaway has been making headlines.

After looking at the newspaper clipping, Wu Maoting confirmed that it was the young man he had seen last night.

Then there's bartender Louise Meyer, the owner of Pacific Pictures, which has been involved in the distribution of many films by Warner Bros. The DVDs her staff found according to the list all had Pacific Pictures' logo at the beginning.

Many of the films in which he invested have been successful, but his most recent film, "Alexander the Great," has received a poor market response.

But Wu Maoting didn't take it to heart, because she was preparing to participate in Leonardo DiCaprio and Martin Scorsese's film project.

Zhuang and Mai personally replied to the friend Wu Maoting had asked, saying that Pacific Pictures has always been a partner of Warner Bros., and that they have officially contacted Warner Bros. in the past few days to negotiate an investment in Martin Scorsese's new project.

Hong Kong films aren't doing very well these days; the market is small, the audience is small, there are few projects, and few productions are starting...

Wu Maoting knows his own situation. He can still maintain things in Myanmar, but it's only a matter of time before things go wrong.

Even from the perspective of risk sharing, we cannot concentrate all resources in Myanmar and the port city; we need to have industries that can provide our daughter with a comfortable life.

At Wu Maoting's age, it's inevitable that he would think about his descendants.

He found the contact information Martin had left yesterday, called the number, and invited Martin and Master Louise to have afternoon tea together.

It's on the 45th floor of the Four Seasons Hotel; their kumquat afternoon tea is quite good.

At 3 p.m., Martin and Louise came down from upstairs and arrived at the 45th floor on time.

Wu Maoting and his daughter had already booked a private room and were waiting inside.

This time was different from last night. Wu Maoting was much more polite. Before afternoon tea was even served, he presented Martin and Louise with a gift.

Martin is a full green bracelet.

Louise, on the other hand, wore a full green bracelet.

Martin doesn't know much about jadeite, and judging by appearance, the quality isn't particularly good, but the value is still over HK$100,000.

He gave Louise a light kick, and Louise said, "It's too expensive."

Wu Maoting smiled and said, "It's just a small token of my appreciation." He got straight to the point: "Besides my jewelry business, I also invest in films in Hong Kong. I've always wanted to visit Hollywood, and my daughter is also curious about it. Last night, Mr. Davis told me that you have a film that's about to be released. Would my daughter and I have the honor of attending the premiere?"

Martin and Louise exchanged a quick glance, and Martin continued, "The film will be released in early February and premiere at the end of January. You two are free to go to Los Angeles anytime. When I get back, I'll have the crew send you formal invitations."

Wu Dan was overjoyed: "That's wonderful!"

Like many people of her generation, she was filled with curiosity about Hollywood and America.

Wu Maoting pushed the gift towards the two of them again, saying, "Please accept it."

Martin took the two gift boxes and put them away.

Afternoon tea was served, and the atmosphere became much more lively. During the tea, Wu Maoting specifically talked about Hong Kong filmmakers in Hollywood, revealing that he had the intention to invest.

Louise naturally agreed, and the two sides agreed to discuss the matter in Los Angeles after attending the premiere of "The Hills Have Eyes".

Martin was mostly just responding to Wu Dan's curious questions.

An hour later, both sides left.

Martin accompanied Louise upstairs: "They won't feel comfortable handing over their money unless they see it with their own eyes."

Louise asked, "It involves an investment of over ten million dollars, and it's separated by the Pacific Ocean. If you were in her shoes, would you feel comfortable with that?"

Martin specifically reminded him: "You need to be prepared."

Louise takes it very seriously: "Pacific Films has already started preparations, don't worry, I've handled similar projects many times before."

She then asked, "Are you planning to go back to North America tomorrow?"

"I wanted to stay here with you too," Martin said affectionately, his eyes filled with guilt. "But Warner Bros. needs to shoot a lot of promotional photos, so I have to rush back."

Louise didn't press the issue: "I'm going to Cambodia; Julie has contacted some people."

Martin said, "You need to be careful; Southeast Asia is not like North America."

Louise pointed behind her: "The bodyguards have been with us the whole time."

Martin noticed it when he was in Los Angeles and suggested, "Let's go out and see the harbor city at night."

"No, I'm not interested." Louise grabbed Martin and strode forward. "You owe me a huge debt again. Go back and pay it back!"

Martin, who is in debt, has no money. How can he repay it?

Thirty is really like a wolf.

Martin spent his trip to the port city paying off his debts, except for attending events organized by the event organizers and seeking investment.

Fortunately, his cow was strong enough.

The following morning, Martin and Louise arrived at the airport, boarded their respective flights, and left the port city almost simultaneously.

I arrived in first class, but I'm going back in economy class by myself.

Martin has nowhere to reason with.

Back in Los Angeles, just as I arrived at my apartment, Harris called to say that a new Star Express package had arrived.

Martin dragged his suitcase to the apartment entrance.

Antonio, as always, sat under the parasol: "Weren't you supposed to go to East Asia? You're back so soon?"

Martin took out a safety amulet and handed it to Antonio: "This is for you, a souvenir."

Antonio said, "You're too kind."

Martin shrugged: "I'm afraid you'll sell me to the paparazzi."

"Don't worry, I won't sell you for less than $100,000." Antonio wasn't very tempted: "You're not worth that much money in the short term."

Martin said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do. I'm not even worth a fraction of Julia Roberts' twins."

Last month, Da Mouth gave birth to twins, and several gossip magazines offered millions of dollars to buy photos of the children.

Martin dragged his suitcase upstairs, and as he passed the door diagonally opposite, the door opened.

Jessica came out with the package: "Martin, from Atlanta."

Martin accepted the package and casually handed over two lucky charms: "These are little souvenirs for you and Emily."

Jessica exclaimed in surprise, "Me too? That's great! Thank you, Martin!"

"What's going on at the studio?" Martin asked. "They suddenly called me back."

Jessica said, "It seems some of the promotional photos are inappropriate."

Martin nodded, preparing to leave, then remembered something else and asked, "Was work going well?"

Jessica quickly replied, "It's much better than before. The income is stable, and there are more opportunities."

Martin stated directly, "If you'd like, you can move to my studio after the film's release."

Jessica was taken aback for a moment, then realized what she meant: "You're hiring me?"

Martin said, "I need an assistant, whose job is similar to yours. Think about it."

"No need to think about it! No need!" During Jessica's most difficult time, she once considered going north to develop in the valley. What does dignity matter when you have no money?

She replied, "I do!"

Martin nodded: "I'll have Old Brooks talk to you later."

"Okay," Jessica said.

Martin returned to the apartment, Jessica returned to the apartment, rummaged through the clothes and props she had bought last year, put them in a box, and prepared to throw them away.

This was what she and Emily had prepared to use to lure Martin.

Martin opened the package; inside was still a human-shaped sculpture, but unlike the previous one made of bull horn, it had been transformed into a stone sculpture.

It's still a clown look modeled after him.

Martin picked them up and looked at the soles; each one had Lily Carter's name engraved on it.

The carving skills seem to have improved again.

Martin put them all away, placing them alongside the bull horn carvings and crocodile tooth pendants.

Should we wait a few months before giving it to Annie?

Perhaps she would have become Anna then.

Regardless of who the gift was to, Lily Carter was a top-notch master of art sculpture.

Martin could spend a long time sending Lily's works alone.

Martin decided that once Wu Maoting and his daughter arrived in Los Angeles, he would purchase a batch of ordinary jade from him and give it to Lily and Elena.

We need to motivate Lily's initiative.

As for the labor cost? Martin hasn't even asked her for the image rights fee yet.

Bruce returned home around 9 p.m.

Martin invited him up to the rooftop for a drink and told him about Jessica.

Bruce, leaning on the rooftop railing, said, "Leave it to me."

Martin trusted Bruce the most and briefly explained the situation in Hong Kong: "In a while, some Southeast Asian investors may come to Los Angeles. Pacific Pictures may need someone to cooperate then. You can communicate with them about the details."

"Dude, I really admire you!" Bruce didn't know what to say: "You've gone all the way to Asia to swindle people!"

Martin tapped on the metal railing: "This is called giving people investment opportunities, this is called a win-win situation!"

Bruce said, "I get it, it's a win-win situation, you and Louise win twice."

Martin, unwilling to continue arguing with this piece of shit, changed the subject: "How's it going on your end? Did you finish filming the video?"

Bruce sighed. "Something unexpected happened."

Martin asked doubtfully, "Isn't everything under your control?"

"This afternoon, while I was resting at Kim's place, her sister came over," Bruce recalled. The girl, even among ordinary women, was considered quite attractive: "She was taller than Kim..."

Martin immediately understood what was going on: "Old Brooks, have some decency! Don't be a scoundrel, don't do scoundrel things! They're your own sisters!"

Bruce scoffed, "Who do you think I learned all this from? I spend every day with a rotten person; what else can I do besides learn to do rotten things?"

Martin didn't bother to refute.

After his previous experience, Bruce had become more familiar with the ways of the entertainment industry: "Don't worry, I'll see how things go."

The next morning, Martin rushed to Warner Bros. Studios to work with the crew and photographers to shoot new promotional photos.

At the same time, the production team sent formal premiere invitations to Wu Maoting and his daughter.

The production team's regular promotional efforts revolved entirely around the male lead, and Martin also started getting busy with work.

Before the New Year, I spent almost every day on set, participating in various routine promotional activities.

2005 has arrived.

The New Year holiday had just ended when Annie returned to Los Angeles from New York.

Martin had prepared a surprise.

(End of this chapter)