America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 243 This is discrimination

Chapter 243 This is discrimination

Thomas, who had just arrived from Los Angeles, looked slightly anxious in the Four Seasons Hotel's coffee shop, glancing towards the entrance every now and then.

A few minutes later, Martin finally appeared at the door.

Thomas waved in that direction.

Martin ordered a coffee and sat down opposite Thomas: "I just called yesterday, and you're already here today?"

Thomas said, "You have a lot of influence now, and dating a girlfriend is no small matter. It involves many people, so I had to come and deal with it immediately."

He asked, "Have you taken to the streets in public?"

"No," Martin said without any embarrassment. "I spent the entire weekend in my hotel room."

Thomas cautioned, "Be careful not to cause any problems for people."

Martin nodded: "I'm being careful; my girlfriend isn't just a temporary companion."

"You need to communicate with her carefully; it's best not to go public at this stage." As her agent, Thomas's first consideration was naturally the work aspect: "I'm having Natasha communicate with the Wanted crew; it would be best if your relationship could be coordinated with the film's promotion."

Martin wouldn't object: "I have no problem with it. I've had a preliminary discussion with Blake, and there aren't any major issues."

After all, he comes from a family of entertainers and knows a lot about how things work in the industry, which makes him a worry-free person.

Thomas added, "Blake's agent is also affiliated with WMA. I spoke with her before I came here. Blake won't be going to college; she's officially entered Hollywood. Her father, Ernie, is preparing her second film. Your relationship with her aligns with their needs."

Martin considered for a moment and said, "You and the Wanted crew should come up with a detailed plan for this, and then send it to me or Old Brooks. I'll handle talking to Blake himself."

Thomas replied, "Okay, I'll stay in New York for two days and then go back to Los Angeles."

The two quickly left the coffee shop.

Martin met Bruce in the lobby, and they went upstairs together.

Taking advantage of the fact that no one was around, he briefly explained the situation to Bruce.

Bruce asked, "You've given up on Aniston?"

Martin asked in surprise, "We had any plans involving Aniston?"

Bruce remembered: "My suggestion was for you to get Aniston after Julie." He shrugged: "That's no longer necessary."

Martin didn't want to deal with this jerk.

Bruce handed Martin the People magazine in his hand: "Julie went to Africa from the Middle East and stayed there for a long time. She'll be back in North America next month. If she finds out you have a real girlfriend, she'll probably go crazy."

Martin's words were direct: "A few whacks and she'll behave."

Bruce, knowing Martin was in contact with Jolie, asked, "When did she and Pitt announce their breakup?"

"I bet Pete already knew what was going on," Martin casually remarked. "The two of them are probably discussing how to generate another wave of traffic."

After "Mr. & Mrs. Smith" was released, Jolie went to the Middle East and Africa and didn't see Pitt at all. It would be strange if Pitt didn't notice anything amiss after a while.

Martin returned to the room and found Blake packing his luggage. He asked, "Have you booked the tickets?"

"My flight is tomorrow morning." Blake said helplessly, "Dad just called me. He's preparing to put together a new project." She came over and kissed Martin. "The jeans project was a huge success. Dad got support from Warner Bros., and I'll continue to play the lead role. The new project should still be a teen comedy similar to jeans."

Martin had just spoken with Thomas about Ernie Lively and said, "Since you've chosen not to go to college, focus on your career and go back."

Blake was reluctant to part with her: "We just got together."

"My filming will be finished in about ten days, and then I'll go back to Los Angeles," Martin said, mentioning the potential issues that might arise between the two: "My agent, Thomas, has spoken with your agent, and they both agree that our relationship shouldn't be made public for the time being..."

Blake chimed in, "Dad knows I'm here to see you; he mentioned it when he called me just now."

Coming from a family of entertainers, she easily accepted these things and even felt there was no problem with them: "If you have no objections, shall we proceed as they suggest for now?"

Martin nodded: "Okay."

Hollywood's commercial influence permeates every aspect of life, including the relationships and even marriages of its stars.

Blake held out his hand: "Give me a key to your house. I'm tired of staying at home, so I'll stay at your place for the night."

Martin gave her a set of keys: "The master bedroom is on the second floor, and the annex is where Old Bu lives."

With their separation imminent, Blake, wanting to sleep with his crush a few more times, didn't leave his room at all, and the two of them kept going until midnight.

The following morning, Martin had to get to the film set early for shooting, so Bruce took Blake to the airport.

Matt Damon had very few scenes and left New York after filming wrapped up last week.

The filming is nearing its end.

In the past few days, the production team has organized media events to facilitate early publicity.

Martin arrived on set after getting his makeup done. Scorsese glanced at him and asked, "Do you need to rest for the rest of the morning?"

"No need." Martin thought to himself, "Director, you need to maintain your composure and not be like that old bastard Nicholson. I'm in perfect shape right now."

Scorsese nodded, returned to his director's seat, and sighed to himself that young people were still the best.

Leonardo then came over, punched Martin's arm, and angrily said, "Jack and I have decided to kick you out of the trio of scumbags."

Martin protested, "Why? Am I not a scumbag enough?"

Nicholson approached, a cigar dangling from his lips, and exhaled a puff of smoke: "Men with steady girlfriends don't deserve to stand next to us."

Martin pointed at them and said, "This is discrimination! Discrimination, don't you understand?!"

Scorsese then called out, "Jack, come out of the set."

Nicholson left the set, which had been set up like a rooftop.

The crew then cleared the set, asking media personnel who wanted to take photos to temporarily turn off their cameras and video recorders, but they were allowed to observe and film.

Martin and Leonardo familiarized themselves with their blocking, and filming began for the rooftop confrontation scene between the two leads.

The dialogue in this scene is entirely based on the word "fuck," with Martin and Leonardo uttering at least one "fuck" every second on average in just a few dozen seconds.

There was nothing poetic or picturesque about it.

It's all in an American street-style realism.

Both Martin and Leonardo were in excellent form, and even in moments of extreme anger, Leonardo didn't rely too much on his signature three-hit combo to express his emotions.

Even so, the long take was filmed five times before Scorsese was satisfied.

Next, there is a small-scale gunfight scene.

Another mole blows Leonardo's head off, and Martin shoots the mole and the detective played by Menezes in the head with a quick-fire gun.

The characters' emotions were concentrated in this moment and exploded. Martin and Leonardo were both quite tired after filming and sat in the rest area without saying a word.

Nicholson took over filming when the crew moved to another location.

In an indoor love scene between Franco and his mistress, the old bastard displays the vile side of an old-school actor.

He demanded that something resembling flour be poured onto the buttocks of the actress playing a mistress. When the actress refused, he then demanded that the set be filled with sex toys and that Coca-Cola be poured onto the actress's bare back.

Scorsese didn't see it as a problem, and the actress readily agreed.

After filming these scenes, Nicholson went to the rest area.

Even a scumbag like Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't stand it anymore: "You're so damn childish."

"That's evil, not childish!" Nicholson declared emphatically. "My professionalism is at least a towering Empire State Building higher than my old buddy Brando's."

Martin agreed: "You old bastard, you really know how to pick people to compare yourself to."

Nicholson, however, said, "Yesterday, I did a good deed that you'll all praise me for."

Martin said, "I know that paparazzi who's been staking out the Four Seasons Hotel all this time, his motorcycle exhaust pipe broke."

"I'm going to kill you, Martin!" Nicholson made the famous throat-slitting gesture at Martin and said, "I went to see a play, and a 15-year-old girl named Lawrence tried to seduce me and asked me to bring her into the industry, but I firmly refused."

Martin exposed his true colors: "You're afraid, not enlightened."

Nicholson, unusually, did not refute, but remained silent for a moment, thinking of an old friend.

After the afternoon shoot, Martin and the other two gave a joint interview to reporters. There was nothing special about it; it was just mutual flattery.

In their own words, each of them is the best actor, the best person, and the most dedicated actor in Hollywood.

By mid-September, Martin's scenes were nearing their end.

During a police operation, Colin seized an opportunity when Frank was alone and shot and killed his boss.

On set, gunshots rang out, and Nicholson fell into the bucket of an excavator. Martin put down his gun, looked over there with a complicated expression, and suddenly felt much more relaxed, shouting for backup.

As director Scorsese called "cut" and the film was approved, Martin went over, pulled Nicholson up, and hugged him: "You old bastard, when we get back to Los Angeles, you have to treat me to a party at your house on Bad Boys Boulevard."

Nicholson and Marlon Brando lived on Mulholland Drive in Beverly Hills for several years, and Warren Beatty also lived nearby, so the road was known in the industry as "Bad Guy Drive".

"No problem," Nicholson replied.

Martin walked off the set and shook hands with each member of the crew to express his gratitude. Because of a severe shortage of stock and the fact that he hadn't brought any with him, he didn't give them any souvenir sets.

Old Bu has already placed an order with Australia.

Martin approached Scorsese, first shaking his hand, then embracing him: "Director, this role has benefited me so much. Under your guidance, I can feel my acting skills have reached a new level."

Scorsese nodded slightly and said, "You have great talent. I haven't seen many actors your age who are better than you. Martin, act well and don't waste this talent."

Martin pointed to his heart: "I'll keep that in mind."

Finally, Leonardo DiCaprio came over and, on behalf of the crew, presented a commemorative gift: handcuffs in a glass box.

During filming, he used these prop handcuffs to restrain Martin.

Leonardo said in a low voice, "When I get back to Los Angeles, I'll be throwing a huge party. If you dare not come, I'll kick you out of your bastard club!"

Faced with coercion from a Hollywood superstar, what could a small-time actor like Martin do? He had no choice but to agree.

(End of this chapter)