America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 183 Sophia's Shadow

At the Four Seasons Hotel, Martin and Bruce went to the coffee shop, found a booth, and waited for Vincent and Sofia to arrive.

Bruce was puzzled: "Why would you, a scoundrel, be afraid of Sophia? It doesn't make sense."

"Is your head filled with shit?" Martin warned. "Sophia is my sugar daddy. I'm too busy currying favor with her to dare offend her. Since I can't afford to offend her, given her behavior, how could I not be afraid?"

Bruce, deeply affected by the situation, said, "That makes sense."

Martin tentatively asked, "Old Brooks, what about you?"

Bruce wanted to lift his shirt and act like a civilized person again.

Martin quickly said, "I didn't mean anything by it, I'm just helping you find the root of the problem and get rid of your psychological trauma."

Bruce seemed to be recalling something from a distant past: "Sophia saved me."

"I understand," Martin blurted out. "You two were originally a pair of notorious thieves. Sophia saved you, but chose Vincent's father. To protect your beloved, you joined Vincent's family. Sophia, still hung up on you, got you drunk..."

Bruce glared at Martin: "Shut up! Believe me or not, I'll hand you over to Sofia!"

Martin could tell there was a dramatic and convoluted story behind it all, but unfortunately Old Brooks wouldn't tell.

On the upper floor of the hotel, Sofia walked out of her suite in sportswear. Although the clothes were loose enough, they still looked tight on her, highlighting her large size.

The investment was a great success, and she couldn't hide the smile on her face.

Unfortunately, she has lost a lot of collagen, making her smile look a bit scary.

Scott, the bag carrier, followed behind with his legs spread wide, his gait somewhat odd.

After meeting up with Vincent, the three of them entered the elevator.

There were also three people waiting for the elevator to go downstairs: Harvey Weinstein, Ben Affleck, and Matt Damon.

Sofia spotted Harvey immediately and couldn't help but grin. Because of the fat on her face, her smile looked particularly menacing: "What a coincidence, Fatty, we meet again."

Harvey remembered this female warrior and, forcing himself to speak, said, "I don't know you."

He looked around and thankfully had two underlings this time.

After the last time at Warner Bros. Studios, Harvey made a special inquiry and found out that the other party was not involved in Hollywood, came from Georgia, and was not within his sphere of influence at all.

Sofia waved to the handbag carrier: "Water bottle."

Scott immediately pulled out a pink water bottle and handed it to Sofia. Sofia untied the straw cap, grabbed the bottle cap, and gulped down the water, her eyes constantly drifting towards Harvey's large, fat buttocks.

Harvey unconsciously took a step back, leaning against the corner of the wall to hide his backside.

When Matt Damon and Ben Affleck saw him like this, they assumed they had encountered some powerful woman and didn't interrupt rashly.

They usually step forward to help Harvey solve problems, even when it comes to actresses.

Let's wait and see what happens, something even Harvey fears.

Sofia's gaze shifted to Harvey's mouth, then she looked down at the kettle, then back at Harvey's large mouth, seemingly pondering the issue of size.

Sofia remembers clearly the last time this fat guy tried to steal "The Hills Have Eyes".

Vincent adjusted his cowboy hat and slightly moved his wrists.

The atmosphere froze. Harvey couldn't help but say, "This is Los Angeles, this is a society governed by the rule of law!"

Sofia sneered, "When you tried to steal 'The Hills Have Eyes,' why didn't you talk about the law? Now that you've lost to me, you're talking about the law?"

Harvey's momentum faltered somewhat; after all, he couldn't afford to suffer a setback: "The Hills Have Eyes has taken the box office crown, what more do you want?"

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck knew that last week's North American box office champion was bound to be a low-budget, high-return film. They never expected that Harvey would compete for this film and still lose.

Who is this woman?

As if by instinct, without actually thinking, the two took a step away from Harvey.

It seemed to be saying that we didn't know this fat man.

The elevator doors opened, and Harvey was the first to enter. Matt Damon and Ben Affleck hesitated for a moment, but then followed him in.

Harvey pressed the close button repeatedly, and only breathed a sigh of relief after the elevator doors closed.

Matt Damon is a man of many thoughts. For example, when he was helping Harvey suppress the media and actresses, he mostly encouraged Affleck to make the calls, and rarely made the calls himself.

He seemed quite frank: "Harvey, who was that person? She was like a female assassin; she scared Ben and me."

Harvey said, "The rednecks from the southeast are vulgar, rude, and don't understand the rules of the civilized world. I'll deal with them sooner or later."

Affleck asked, "Did they steal 'The Hills Have Eyes' from you?"

Damon nudged Affleck with his elbow, and Affleck immediately shut up.

Harvey didn't seem to care much: "Business is about winning and losing, that's normal. This time they stole from me, next time I'll naturally find a way to steal from them."

Damon followed up by asking, "Are they planning to continue investing in Hollywood?"

"Possibly." The elevator doors opened, and Harvey stepped out, taking out his phone to make a call: "There are a few people here who can keep an eye on things for me, and while they're at it, find out what projects they're looking to invest in in Hollywood."

Upon entering the hotel lobby, Harvey put away his phone and said to Matt Damon, "You want to get Martin Scorsese's new project? It's hard for me to help you. He's working with Warner Bros., and my relationship with Warner Bros. has deteriorated. Speaking up for you would only backfire."

Damon is well aware that auditions are not the key to winning a role, adding, "You worked with director Scorsese twice when you were at Miramax."

Harvey thought for a moment and decided to let them owe him a favor first: "I'll call Scorsese. You'll have to figure out Warner's side yourself."

Matt Damon has worked with Warner Bros. on the Ocean's series and he thinks there shouldn't be any major issues with Warner Bros.

In the coffee shop on the first floor, Sophia saw Martin and Bruce get up to greet her and strode towards the booth.

She opened her arms and hugged Martin first: "Come on, let's celebrate our success."

Even with Martin's excellent acting skills, he was stiff and tense at this moment.

In this situation, how many men wouldn't be terrified?

Bruce, that pervert, was even worse. When he hugged Sofia to celebrate, his legs were trembling the whole time, just like back then...

Martin shook hands with Vincent again: "Boss, congratulations."

"Don't be so formal, just call me Vincent!" Vincent hugged Martin back. "I made the right choice in making you my friend."

Martin invited the two of them to sit down.

As for Scott, the bag carrier, he consciously stood at a distance.

Sofia said, "Vincent and I have discussed it, and in addition to the initial $600 million investment, we will invest another $400 million. Furthermore, all investment returns generated from 'The Hills Have Eyes' will be used for the investment in 'Wanted'."

Martin quickly calculated in his mind that Sophia's initial investment of $1000 million, plus the costs incurred on his side, including the adaptation rights, were counted as $300 million by Louise, making a total of $1300 million.

The other two major investors in The Hills Have Eyes are Pacific Pictures and Gray Pictures, who also plan to invest all their profits into "Wanted".

Louise estimated that, based on a North American box office of $8000 million and a global box office of $1.4 million, Warner Bros., the distributor, would receive at least $4000 million in total revenue from all rights, including box office, DVD, and television rights, after deducting various expenses.

It's about the same as making a movie called "Wanted".

Martin only looks at the figures on paper; he doesn't ask about, understand, or participate in the actual operations.

If something goes wrong, there are always people who can take the blame from all sides, but he doesn't have that ability right now.

Vincent then said, "Hopefully we can win a few more box office championships."

Martin said, "The idea of ​​'seeing through the mountains' is no longer possible; we'll just have to wait for our next project."

Sofia suddenly said, "I sponsored a bartending competition in Georgia, and Elena was the champion."

Martin glanced at Scott. It was something he often did to get two people to do favors for the same thing, and Sophia did it very well too.

"Thank you," was all he could say.

After finalizing the investment in "Wanted," the two sides didn't talk for too long.

Inside the coffee shop, many people were looking in their direction, as if they recognized Martin.

A cleaner quietly went to an empty emergency exit, took out his old cell phone, found a number, and made a call.

"I have important information to provide," he told the paparazzi on the other side. "Martin Davis, that hot young star, is having a tryst with a woman at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills."

The paparazzi over there immediately got excited: "Keep an eye out, I'll be there in a minute."

The cleaner wasn't doing this kind of work for the first time: "Don't forget my informant fee."

At almost the same time, a part-time worker at the coffee shop took out his phone and sent a text message to a familiar entertainment reporter.

"Martin Davis is at the Four Seasons Hotel."

"Coming right away!"

After leaving the coffee shop, Martin headed towards the hotel's main entrance.

Through the glass door, he could vaguely see paparazzi moving around, and he asked, "Old Bu, are you calling the paparazzi?"

"No." Bruce immediately understood what was going on: "Los Angeles is full of informants. You're famous right now, so you've probably been reported."

Martin went straight out the front door; he needed exposure.

Flashlights lit up one after another at the bottom of the hotel steps; seven or eight paparazzi were waiting for him.

Bruce drove up quickly, and as Martin stepped off the stairs, paparazzi swarmed around him.

"We've received information that you were having an affair with a woman at a hotel. Martin, have you betrayed Anne? Or have you broken up with Anne?"

Martin ignored him completely, opened the car door, and got in.

A paparazzo reached out to pull the door shut, but Martin pointed at his hand, forcing the paparazzo to pull it back.

Hotel security personnel then came out, and the paparazzi dispersed.

Bruce drove away quickly.

The paparazzi were quite disappointed that they didn't get any photos of Martin leaving the hotel with a woman.

Those who retain even a modicum of humanity might drive or ride a motorcycle to chase after Martin's car.

I'd already thrown away the photos, so I simply turned the camera around and photographed the young women coming and going at the hotel entrance, then went back to write a short essay about it.

Martin discovered that the paparazzi were following him relentlessly.

That evening, he had to go to Louise's house to pay off his debts, so he had no choice but to let Bruce take the paparazzi for a walk in the streets. He drove Bruce's pickup truck to meet Louise.

Paying off a debt of over 100 million is a real headache and a lot of effort.

(End of this chapter)