America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 177 The Ellen Show

"In today's program, we are honored to have with us the godfather of Hollywood horror films, Wes Craven..."

At this point, Ellen DeGeneres abruptly changed the subject: "His new film's male lead, Martin Davis, is also Princess Anne's boyfriend!"

The audience erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Martin strode over from backstage, greeted Allen and the audience, and sat down on a white single sofa.

Warner Bros. is optimistic about the film's prospects and has invested a significant amount of promotional resources.

The same applies to WMA.

This talk show opportunity was facilitated by both WMA and Warner Bros.

Between the armchair where Martin was sitting and Allen's armchair, there was an oddly shaped table, somewhat like a wooden box, which looked quite unique.

"The Ellen DeGeneres Show" achieved good ratings after just over a year on air, and host Ellen DeGeneres' popularity soared.

Allen cut to the chase, his words tinged with sarcasm: "Martin, all I've heard about you before has been about Anne Hathaway. You pursued Anne as your girlfriend just to become famous?"

The very first question was off-topic. Martin cursed her inwardly, but her smile remained unchanged: "That's because you don't know enough. My fame comes from the two movies I starred in. 'Zombie Dancer' grossed $702 million in North America and $1230 million worldwide. 'House of Wax' just finished its North American run, grossing $6758 million and over $1 million worldwide."

He further emphasized, "My zombie machine gun dance is very popular in major nightclubs."

Allen pressed further: "It's undeniable that Anne has further enhanced your fame."

Martin bluntly stated, "If I wanted to use my girlfriend to gain fame, I could have chosen someone else, like you. You're much more famous than Anne."

Allen frowned slightly: "I'm gay."

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Martin said politely. "I apologize for my rudeness."

He won't be polite if the other party goes astray.

Weakness will only allow this bitch to cause more trouble.

Allen knew that a difficult guy had come today, so he first showed his thorns to provoke him, and then apologized in time to show his manners.

The balance between advancing and retreating was well-managed.

The audience responded with applause, clearly taking his approach well.

Allen glanced at Martin's face again. As a gay man, he overlooked one thing: Martin Davis's appearance naturally gave people a good impression.

This damn world judges people by their looks.

Ellen's style is often labeled as harsh, so she immediately changed her tune, no longer mentioning Anne Hathaway, and said with a smile as if chatting casually: "I heard you and Wes Craven are good friends, so he chose you as the male lead?"

"That's part of it." Martin didn't deny it, but emphasized, "The key is that I'm a good actor and I'm good at fighting. This horror film added some action elements, and my performance and fighting skills got me this role."

Allen asked in surprise, "Skilled? Better than Siegel or Jack Chen?"

There was clearly a trap in those words, but Martin wasn't about to fall for it: "It's different; there are many different kinds of skills."

Allen tapped the sofa armrest, signaling to those below, and continued digging a hole: "Are you really that good at real combat?"

Martin said, "It depends on who you're comparing yourself to and how you're comparing yourself to them..."

"What if, as the production team advertised, a psychopathic killer actually appears?" Allen's questions only deepened. "What would you do?"

Martin faintly heard some sound and was about to speak when the wooden table, which resembled a box between the two sofas, was suddenly pushed open.

A strangely shaped, deformed person emerged, wielding a sharp knife!

Martin didn't cooperate at all. He raised his hand, grabbed the deformed man's wrist, and before the man could pounce, he twisted his wrist hard. The deformed man screamed and was slammed against the wooden box.

With his other hand, he first snatched the prop knife and threw it aside, then pressed down on the deformed man's neck, rendering him immobile.

This was not something that had been discussed between the two parties, so it's normal to have an emergency response.

The audience, however, thoroughly enjoyed the performance. Upon closer inspection, it didn't appear to be fake, and they immediately erupted in enthusiastic applause.

Allen quickly said, "Stop! Stop... This is one of our staff members, just a little joke."

Martin released the man and patted him on the shoulder: "Sorry, no one told me beforehand."

The actor playing the deformed man rubbed his wrist, glanced at Martin, and left the stage dejectedly.

I didn't scare anyone, and I almost got beaten up. I'm in a bad mood.

Allen had to smooth things over: "We can now confirm that Martin is indeed very skilled."

The audience erupted in applause once again.

Martin is well aware that the reason so much out-of-scope content keeps popping up is because of his low status.

It's nothing new for variety shows to bully minor celebrities.

Martin replied neither too firmly nor too softly, "Luckily, I didn't have a weapon."

Allen laughed and said, "You're a very strong father, and we believe you can rescue your child in the film."

Martin's words are impeccable: "Protecting one's family is a man's responsibility."

Allen pointed to the large screen behind him: "Now let's enjoy the trailer for 'The Hills Have Eyes' and see how Martin performs."

The program switched to showing trailers.

The talk show ended quickly, with very little content belonging to the agreed-upon outline.

Martin went into the lounge, and Thomas followed, saying, "When that character actor comes out, you should play along and get scared."

"Taking action is more in line with my persona," Martin asked. "Did they notify you?"

Thomas quickly replied, "No, no one consulted me." He added, "It's normal for minor celebrities and actors to experience this."

There was a knock on the door, and Martin said, "Come in."

Allen pushed the door open and said directly, "You're not cooperating enough."

Martin said, "I come from the ghetto and grew up amidst gunfire and chaos, so my first instinct is to protect myself."

Allen stared at Martin: "If you can't handle it, you don't have to come."

Martin looked at her back: "Aren't you the ones who can't take a joke? You didn't give me any prior communication or hints. I was suddenly attacked and reacted instinctively, and you come here to blame me?"

Allen coldly replied, "This episode will air as per the contract, and I will not work with you again."

Martin waved his hand, too lazy to pay her any attention.

After Allen left, Thomas said, "It's unnecessary. She'll smear your reputation."

Martin looked at Bruce, who was sitting in the corner of the room.

Bruce put on his headphones, pressed a button in his pocket, and heard a clear conversation. He nodded to Martin.

Thomas was speechless: "You guys..."

Martin stopped him from continuing, removed his makeup, changed his clothes, went out and got into his car, and then said, "If she smeared me, it's perfectly reasonable for some members of the production team to feel indignant and release this recording online to defend me."

Thomas, who owned a large brokerage firm, was also somewhat annoyed with Allen.

Once these talk show hosts gain some fame, they can't control their hands and mouths. When they encounter someone they can't mess with, they disguise their pranks as jokes and don't even give a heads-up.

The unpleasantness of the Ellen Show did not affect the production team's normal promotion.

Martin's performance on the show actually won him a lot of goodwill from the audience, and the number of fans on his blog continued to increase.

At the same time, viral marketing has entered its final stage.

In New York, Ted sits in front of his computer, controlling Bob in the game as he storms into a town of psychopaths and goes on a killing spree.

The game is relatively simple, and Bob only has three skills: baseball bat, release the dog, and stealth.

In addition, there are simple decryption elements, such as killing psychopaths to collect children's personal belongings and having dogs help find their whereabouts.

Ted used the mouse and keyboard with lightning speed, smashing the heads of several psychopaths in succession before finally finding the protagonist's child.

The player controls the main character to pick up the child, and a lottery event pops up on the screen.

Ted recited the name of God Jesus, then picked up the Coca-Cola next to him and drank it all in one gulp.

Then, he pressed the start button for the lottery wheel.

The pointer spun around and finally stopped on the grand prize.

Ted was incredulous, clutching his head and staring wide-eyed as he looked at it again and again, convinced he had won the biggest prize ever.

He was able to go to Los Angeles for free to attend the premiere of "The Hills Have Eyes".

He had never won the lottery before, but this time he won a super jackpot.

With ten days to go until the premiere, various awards on the website have been announced, and people have been leaving messages in the comment section, expressing their joy at winning awards.

The website had over 1 million participants in the lucky draw and over 10 million page views.

After "House of Wax" finished its run in North America, DVDs and VHS tapes were released, and both of them included a short clip of "The Hills Have Eyes" in their opening credits.

Martin's fan club also mobilized, calling on people in Los Angeles to go to the premiere to support Martin, and people in other places to buy tickets after the film's release.

With the premiere drawing ever closer, Jessica and Emily maintain close contact with Rachel.

The production team set aside a small portion of their marketing budget to order a large number of Martin's light boards and posters.

Jessica specifically arranged to meet Rachel.

"I have three hundred light boards and 1000 posters," Jessica said. "Rachel, we don't lack materials, we lack people. Let's get as many people as possible to support Martin on the premiere red carpet."

Rachel said, "I can guarantee that three hundred people will be there, and it's hard to say how many others will go on their own."

She noticed something new: "Anne is accompanying Martin to the red carpet, and I think a lot of Anne's supporters will be there too."

Jessica was prepared: "I also made some light boards and posters for Annie."

According to the marketing department's estimates, after the film's release, a group of people who like Anne will go to the cinema to buy tickets and watch the film.

Rachel organized several events and gradually gained confidence: "I and Phoebe will handle the on-site work. You just need to bring the materials over in advance."

Jessica said, "I have no problem. The crew will deliver the materials to the premiere theater warehouse a day in advance."

The two then discussed some organizational issues for the premiere. Jessica left the contact information of a security manager so that Rachel could get help at any time in case of an emergency.

Martin, on the other hand, welcomed some important guests.

For example, Wu Maoting and his daughter from Asia.

Since the Departed Studios had not yet been officially established, Louise took them on a tour of Pacific Films, and then accompanied them to Warner Bros. and Warner Studios, even bringing along a Warner Bros. executive to accompany them.

Pacific Pictures was already in talks with Warner Bros. about a potential investment partnership, and everything they presented was genuine, which naturally earned Wu Maoting's trust.

After "The Hills Have Eyes" is released, the two sides will formally discuss investment.

(End of this chapter)