America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 185 The industry is becoming increasingly competitive

As soon as the video was leaked, Martin and Anne immediately held a press conference. Anne's assistant, Laura Noodles, broke down in tears in front of the camera, explaining that she had accidentally lost the USB drive and hoped that whoever found it would return it.

The two individuals' temporary spokespersons urged media outlets not to broadcast such improperly obtained private videos and reserved the right to pursue legal action against the relevant parties.

Martin also posted on his blog, requesting that media outlets not allow personal privacy to occupy public resources.

You need to maintain the correct posture.

A large number of netizens flocked to his blog area, leaving various comments.

Regardless of whether it's considered controversial or not, it has garnered countless attention.

Martin's blog was so congested that it crashed at one point.

How could the entertainment media possibly heed appeals? The louder the appeal, the more willing they are to spread it.

In just over a day, Martin and Annie's selfie became the number one search term on Google.

Humans have an inexplicable thirst for knowledge about things that are taboo.

Especially the privacy of celebrities.

Many people who didn't know Martin before also learned about him through the "gate scandal" and the currently showing film "The Hills Have Eyes".

Martin and Anne have a considerable number of staunch supporters, and some of them "spontaneously" organized to protest in front of the media company that repeatedly played their selfie videos.

Correspondingly, this generated another wave of news and traffic.

A large number of passersby went into the cinema and generously donated money to support "The Hills Have Eyes".

In a short period of time, Martin's popularity rivaled that of a Hollywood star's new movie release.

If even a small portion of that translates into box office revenue, all the beneficiaries, including him, will be laughing all the way to the bank.

Martin subsequently gave interviews to several television stations, calling for the protection of celebrity privacy, which was echoed by many stars.

The selfie scandal had a limited marketing budget, yet produced amazing results.

This event could even change the industry.

Following Paris Hilton, this further proves that another path can lead to success.

A small number of celebrities with an exceptionally keen sense of smell have also noticed this.

…………

On holidays like Halloween and Valentine's Day, celebrities and even politicians will come out to show off, trying to attract attention and make their presence felt.

Although showing off your love is said to lead to a quick breakup, there are always a lot of celebrities eager to do so.

With "Hitch" scheduled for release during Valentine's Day, lead actor Will Smith gave his wife Jada a gift and even had the crew film it and distribute it to various entertainment media outlets, hoping to grab entertainment headlines and generate another wave of buzz before the film's release.

However, very few people paid attention to it; all the onlookers' attention was stolen by the so-called selfie scandal video.

In terms of fame, Martin and Anne are far less well-known than Will Smith and his wife.

However, this could not stop the gossip-loving public's enthusiasm for gossip and their strong desire to peek into the privacy of celebrities.

In the living room of the mansion, Jada Smith flipped through several entertainment channels, quite exasperated: "They're all reporting on Martin Davis and Anne Hathaway's petty squabbles."

She glanced at Will Smith on the other side: "Those two little stars stole our thunder."

Will shook his two prominent ears: "It wasn't us, they stole everyone's spotlight on Valentine's Day."

Jada, not being an open-minded person, couldn't help but say, "Why wasn't it a video of sex leaked?!"

Will Smith is considered quite intelligent among Black people, and having worked in the industry for many years, it's not hard for him to see the problem: "It's very likely that it was deliberately released; Martin's 'The Hills Have Eyes' is currently showing in theaters."

Jada exclaimed in surprise, "They deliberately let it out? They've lost all shame! What a despicable couple!"

She picked up her laptop, opened her web browser, and saw that Martin and Anne's selfie scandal was the top trending keyword on Google. Clicking on it would show the related video.

After watching it again carefully, Jiada thought her husband made a lot of sense: "There are no nude scenes at all, they only talked about 'The Hills Have Eyes,' using the guise of candid shots to gain popularity..."

Thinking about how his own news release had been overshadowed by a little kid, Will Smith cursed, "They're all insane! The industry is getting tougher and tougher, and these newcomers will use any dirty trick they can think of!"

As he spoke, he unconsciously glanced at Jia Da, wondering if he should... when the popularity falters later?

Jada, sharing an unspoken understanding with him, abruptly stood up: "You bastard, don't even think about it!"

Will Smith, however, knew that no one can stay famous forever, and that bad luck will eventually come.

At that time, we will definitely have to find another way to gain attention.

Jada dislikes videotapes?

Will suddenly had an idea: what about an open marriage with Jada? Imagine the two of them sitting on an interview show, without even a host, openly discussing their open marriage and their respective careers. The media and the public would surely go crazy for it.

For celebrities, looks and such are not important.

Looking at what Martin Davis has done, even Will Smith, a veteran in the industry, has some respect for him.

This year's Valentine's Day is different from previous years. In addition to traditional romance films, many people have chosen to watch the horror action film "The Hills Have Eyes".

Will Smith's star power is undeniable; these days, he's synonymous with box office success.

"Hitch" grossed $4314 million over the three-day Valentine's Day weekend in North America, received an A rating from CS audiences, and has a projected box office of $1.7 million in North America.

While taking the top spot at the box office, it fully proved one thing.

Your Will Smith is infinitely arrogant!

As expected, "The Hills Have Eyes" slipped to second place at the box office, but thanks to the strong stimulus of the selfie incident midweek, it did not experience the typical second-week drop that horror films usually see. The drop was kept to less than 50% by the end of the second weekend, and it made it through Valentine's Day with $18.1 million.

Including the previous four business days, the North American box office has totaled $5911 million.

Warner Bros. immediately negotiated a new distribution agreement with theater chains, demanding an extension of the theatrical run for "The Hills Have Eyes" so that the North American box office could eventually surpass the $1 million mark.

Such a screening strategy will not bring more box office revenue to the distributors and producers.

However, films that gross over $100 million at the North American box office receive completely different treatment in the television and DVD markets.

In this era, distribution companies at the top of the Hollywood industry chain don't just take a cut of the box office revenue; they take a cut of the entire copyright.

In addition, it takes time for the production company to receive payment from the distributor.

"The payment is crucial to the preparation of 'Wanted'." Martin stood on the top floor of his North Hollywood apartment, watching the scene unfold below as if it were a grand spectacle, and said to Louise on the phone, "Keep pushing for it."

Louise said, "Don't worry, we can use the proceeds as collateral to get a bank loan based on the investment agreement." She added, "My people have spoken with Sophia and Vincent."

Martin was far inferior to Louise in actual project planning: "You considered things more comprehensively than I did."

Louise asked, "So, my Valentine's Day gift is a stone clown sculpture modeled after you? How thoughtful of you!"

Martin recently blurted out, "That's the work of the master sculptor Lily Carter, a masterpiece!"

"Great!" Louise couldn't help but chuckle. "Lily Carter, the high school student from Marietta in Atlanta, should I bring her to Los Angeles? Huh?"

Martin then remembered that Louise and Kelly had sent Lily a return gift.

There's no way around it; I've sent out so many gifts and letters that my memory gets confused at times.

Martin felt he needed to learn a new course—time management.

Louise said a few more words and then hung up the phone.

Seeing Bruce looking through the binoculars, Martin asked, "Any new discoveries?"

These two shameless scoundrels watched the paparazzi surrounding the apartment like they were watching a play, finding amusement in it.

Old Bu pointed towards the parking lot: "There were two paparazzi, a man and a woman. They probably each got some information, and while exchanging information, they started having sex in their car. They just finished."

Martin picked up his binoculars and could only see a man and woman getting out of the car and straightening their clothes. Regretting missing out on hundreds of millions, he said, "Why didn't you say so sooner?"

He suggested, "How about we install surveillance cameras in the parking lot? There are a lot of paparazzi around lately; the belt in this line of work is about the same as that of an actor."

Bruce sighed, "Are you addicted to taking photos secretly?"

Martin said deliberately, "It's actually quite interesting. You could try asking Kim."

Bruce didn't want to mention Kim, mainly because when it came to Kim's sister, Martin was just spewing rubbish. How could a civilized man like him do such rotten things?

He then asked Martin, "Weren't you going to test Anne's love?"

"Have any humanity at all," Martin scoffed at Bruce's inhuman behavior. "It's only Valentine's Day, and you want me to sing 'Happy Breakup' to someone? Where are your morals? Where are your manners?"

Bruce didn't bother to refute. Judging from his experience over the years, he knew Annie couldn't possibly pass the test. He said, "Tens of thousands of Hong Kong dollars worth of jade can be exchanged for a box of chocolates for 99 US dollars."

"Fine, it's gone." Martin had that much magnanimity. "Am I supposed to ask for it back?"

All the gifts he gave out were genuine.

For example, there are never any fakes of crocodile tooth pendants, ox horn carvings, and stone carvings.

After the first week's box office results for "The Hills Have Eyes" were released, to show his sincerity, Wu Maoting sent a lot of jade by air, which he then sold or gave away to Martin at half price.

Martin accepted it without hesitation.

One of the jade pendants given to Anne Hathaway was a rather nice one.

Martin asked Bruce, "Take two pieces and give them to Kim and her sister."

"I'm giving this to Kim," Bruce emphasized. "As for who Kim gives it to, that's none of my business."

Martin's phone rang at that moment, and when he took it out, he found that it was Angelina Jolie calling.

"Hey, Angie." He answered the phone, "Why did you suddenly think of calling me?"

Julie said, "I've officially signed a contract with the 'Wanted' production team. You're the project initiator, and I'd like to invite you to dinner to express my gratitude."

Martin was curious as to why Julie had suddenly asked him out. He replied, "No problem."

Bruce said, "You got together with Julie, dumped Annie, perfect."

Martin simply gave him the middle finger: "I'm not the one who betrayed this love."

(End of this chapter)