America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 269 The Taste of Tiger Balm

For celebrities, especially those of the stature of Martin Scorsese, Pitt, and Aniston, gossip spreads at an astonishing speed. Many entertainment channels interrupt their evening news broadcasts that night, and the newspapers are filled with it the next morning.

Two male gods got into a fight over an American sweetheart, which was a sight to behold for the general public.

On this day, there was only one topic at the American dinner table: Martin beat up Pitt because of Aniston!

Most Americans applauded this, believing that Pitt deserved to be punched!

Compared to Angelina Jolie, who has been whitewashed into a saintly figure, Brad Pitt's reputation is not so good.

It's fair to say that just as popular Rachel is in North America, Pitt is just as disliked.

Martin, meanwhile, was darting around in the shadows.

If you don't capitalize on a trending topic, you'll be condemned by heaven and earth.

The topic has sparked heated discussions online, with videos and images appearing on almost every website.

TMZ, the first website to release the video, became an instant sensation, gaining widespread recognition.

Similarly, rumors are rife that Aniston will star in Martin Scorsese's new film.

The pre-release publicity for "Limitless" completely outshone that of "Wanted" and "The Hills Have Eyes," making it the first Martin Scorsese film to become an instant hit upon its release.

As for Martin himself, after chasing away the female thief who was so excited that she wanted to stay up all night, he hid at home and never showed his face.

The video is there, and there were dozens of people watching at the bar at the time; there's no need for him to personally come forward and create hype.

And if Martin doesn't come out, someone else will naturally step forward.

He knows the other two members of the bastard trio very well.

Almost semi-retired Nicholson was afraid of not having any fun, so he left the hotel early in the morning and deliberately wandered around the entrance.

Seeing that no reporters came to interview him, the old bastard got angry, pulled out his phone and dialed a news agency: "This is Jack Nicholson. I was at the scene of Martin and Pete's fight last night. I have some juicy news to reveal!"

Less than ten minutes later, a reporter drove a Mustang into the hotel parking lot at breakneck speed and almost rushed to Nicholson's side to conduct an interview.

Nicholson sadly discovered that he was indeed outdated, and the media only focused on the newly emerging idiots.

Upon arriving at the hotel's first-floor coffee shop, the reporter ordered Nicholson a Blue Mountain coffee and asked, "Do you have any inside information?"

"Last night, Leonardo, Martin, and I were drinking together in Avalon," Nicholson said seriously. "In my opinion, Martin and Aniston are just friends at most. Pete clearly misunderstood. I didn't expect Pete to be so weak and still take the initiative to provoke us. He's all show and no substance. I even suggested that they have a one-on-one duel in the most manly way. But Pete launched a sneak attack and was easily subdued by Martin."

He was notoriously foul-mouthed and didn't care about the younger generation: "If I were Aniston, I would never choose Pitt. What's the point of having such a spineless coward?"

The reporter seized on the crux of the matter: "So, according to you, Martin is both good-looking and useful?"

Nicholson boasted, "Martin was half as good as I was in my youth, but he's a jerk!"

He didn't forget to help his old friend Scorsese gain some attention: "On the set of The Departed, I was in love, enjoying the best of romance, when that bastard Martin got Leonardo to throw firecrackers into my trailer, almost scaring me so much I couldn't get an erection!"

The reporter was quite excited; Leonardo DiCaprio was involved—this was juicy news!

As a member of the Face Gang and the self-proclaimed leader of the trio of bastards, Nicholson naturally had to praise his own people and belittle his opponents.

A dozen minutes later, Nicholson left the coffee shop and went upstairs back to the suite he had stayed in the previous night.

Meryl Streep, who had come to meet him, finished washing up and came out of the bathroom, complaining, "Where have you been so early in the morning?"

Nicholson was getting old and was showing signs of fatigue, but it would be too embarrassing to refuse Meryl's invitation.

How will I ever be able to hold my head high again?

He thought of the gift Martin had given him.

I think I've seen that thing before when I was strolling through Chinatown.

Nicholson took it out, and Streep looked on curiously…

By noon, after taking several showers, Nicholson finally recovered. How could he enjoy such a wonderful thing by himself without telling his friends?

He immediately grabbed his phone and called Leonardo: "Leo, I just used the stuff Martin gave me last night, it's fucking awesome!"

Leonardo asked, "Is it really that good?"

Nicholson said earnestly, "I just used it, and it's 100% positive!" He gritted his teeth, "When I see Martin later, I'll have to thank him properly!"

Martin recommended it, and Nicholson guaranteed it; normally, this should have been reassuring. However, Leonardo immediately abandoned the idea of ​​trying it out, thinking about how those two bastards liked to do shady things.

I would never use it, even if you killed me.

Just three days after TMZ broke the news, the "Limitless" production team held auditions for the lead role of Linda, and for the time being, there was only one candidate—Jennifer Aniston.

At the entrance to the audition room, Martin waved to Bruce, who brought over a handheld game console that had been prepared in advance.

He took the game console back inside, and the representatives from the Screen Actors Guild and Warner Bros., with excellent professionalism, very conscientiously came over to take the game console, sat in the last row of the audition room, turned off the sound, and played the game quietly without saying a word.

Martin was sitting in the second row when casting director Molly said, "Please come over here, Miss Aniston."

Aniston arrived quickly; she recognized many people in the audition room and greeted them one by one.

She had an assistant to rehearse with her, and her audition scene was only half a minute long.

After Aniston left, Martin, Molly, Boyle, and Louise all watched the audition video on the screen.

"No problem." The role itself is quite simple. Director Boyle asked, "Shall we choose Aniston?"

Martin nodded. "I agree."

Louise and Molly both said, "Okay."

With the lead actress confirmed, Louise asked Nikki, who was serving as assistant producer, to inform Aniston of the result so that formal negotiations could begin as soon as possible.

Several more roles were auditioned, but Martin and Louise did not participate and left the audition room together.

For another important role in the film, the production team extended invitations to Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. The two are not currently paid much, and there is a hint that they will take any role as long as the money is right.

Walking down the corridor, Louise asked, "Want to come to my place for Thanksgiving dinner?"

"Aren't you going home for Thanksgiving?" Martin knew Louise's parents lived in Brentwood. "Not spending time with your parents?"

Louise followed her to the office: "My parents went on vacation to Europe."

Martin could only politely decline: "It's too late. I have plans to go back to Atlanta for Thanksgiving, and I can't break my promise."

"It can't be Kelly," Louise thought, realizing the answer: "Lily Carter?"

She suddenly laughed, her face full of mischief: "How about this, I'll go to Atlanta with you."

Martin knew she was a slut, so how could he possibly take her to Atlanta? He went into his office and found the recipe: "This is a new cocktail recipe. It's quite complicated to mix. You should find some time to practice it properly so you don't embarrass yourself at the bartender competition."

Louise took it, quickly glanced at it, then leaned over and kissed Martin on the cheek: "At least you have a conscience, remembering who was good to you."

Regardless, Louise helped Martin a lot when he came to Los Angeles, even with the deal. He said, "Don't worry, I won't forget your kindness."

How could a beautiful producer in her thirties, a kind-hearted man who cherishes the past, possibly forget her?

If it were someone like Whoopi Gordonburg, Martin would definitely forget about it the moment he turned his back.

Louise left the office satisfied.

Martin called Jessica and asked her to book her flights to Atlanta and New York in advance.

Subsequently, the production team officially announced that Jennifer Aniston had joined the cast of "Limitless" and would play the female lead.

Because she didn't want to respond to the still-hot topic of Martin's feud with Pitt, Aniston remained silent after issuing a statement through her agent, just like she did during her divorce. However, the popularity of "Limitless" immediately surged.

With Martin Scorsese's "Wanted" gaining popularity again, the decline narrowed this weekend before Thanksgiving, earning another $988 million in North America, bringing the North American box office to $1.6 million.

The film's global box office is very close to $3 million.

Based on box office revenue alone, this film has already made a profit.

During the subsequent Thanksgiving season, although many films entered the market, the wanted poster still held a place.

As the film appeared in more overseas markets, its international box office surpassed its North American box office.

The market prospects for the film are becoming increasingly clear. Warner Bros., the distributor, has made the most conservative prediction that by the time the film is fully released, its North American box office will likely exceed $2 million, and its overseas box office could reach $2.5 million.

Martin returned to Atlanta before Thanksgiving.

(End of this chapter)