America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 280 Rich Woman, Let's Get Married

Burbank, Warner Bros. headquarters building.

Thomas had just entered the lobby and was about to turn into the elevator.

A person walking towards me greeted me: "Hi, Thomas."

Thomas stopped in his tracks. "Dario, it's been a long time."

The two were college classmates. The middle-aged man, Dario, glanced at Thomas and said, "We haven't seen each other for over a year, you've changed quite a bit?"

Thomas was slightly taken aback: "Really?"

Dario pointed to his head: "Why is your forehead starting to bald?"

Thomas subconsciously touched his forehead; the area where he used to be able to touch his hair was now bald.

A colleague called from the doorway, and Dario quickly replied, "I'm leaving now. Come out for a drink sometime."

Thomas nodded, entered the elevator lobby, and took the elevator upstairs.

As he stepped out of the elevator, he glanced at the mirror at the front of the elevator lobby. The person in the mirror not only had a receding hairline, but also a slightly balding forehead.

Thomas dismissed it dismissively and confidently exited the elevator, heading towards Daniel's office.

As long as he clings to Martin, so what if he goes bald? With his current income and status in the industry, finding a girlfriend will be a piece of cake.

Thomas just didn't want to look for it.

He knocked and entered Daniel's office. Even the Warner Bros. executives treated him with great courtesy. Daniel came over, shook hands, exchanged pleasantries, and asked, "You didn't go to New York with Martin?"

Thomas followed up, saying, "I'd also like to take a vacation in New York, but Martin can't afford it for me."

Daniel immediately understood that this was a debt collection agency, and said, "The box office revenue from the wanted poster has not been settled yet, it will take some time."

Thomas laughed and said, "It's not a wanted poster, it's a horror movie, The Hills Have Eyes, and Summer of the Traveling Pants."

He was referring to the Screen Actors Guild's mandatory basic agreement on revenue sharing offline, which involves various aspects such as DVDs, videotapes, and television broadcasts.

As a member of the Producers Guild, Warner Bros. signed an agreement with the Screen Actors Guild.

Thomas said, "Many actors have received their share of the profits from last year. I'd like to ask Warner Bros. about their payment schedule on Martin's behalf?"

If we don't urge them, Warner Bros. will deliberately drag it out for a long time.

This part of the cost is unavoidable, and the union is keeping a close eye on it. Daniel, who is directly in charge of the three projects, said, "I'll ask around; it should be done soon."

He made the call in front of Thomas and then told Thomas, "The money will arrive before the weekend."

"Excuse me," Thomas said, then took his leave.

Actors' offline income is also subject to commission from their agents.

Because of Martin's antics last year, those three films not only had substantial box office revenue in theaters, but also maintained considerable popularity offline. Although the basic revenue sharing agreement was only a few per thousand, the total revenue from DVDs alone exceeded $1 million for the three films.

…………

New York, snow is falling heavily, and the wind is biting cold.

The crew of the newly started film "Limitless" had to change their shooting schedule, temporarily canceling all street shooting and moving to the studio for filming.

Inside the newly set-up café, as the script supervisor claps the clapperboard, another scene begins to be filmed.

The male and female protagonists are sitting together drinking coffee.

Martin was slovenly, his clothes were old, and his long hair was greasy.

Aniston, dressed in a beige business suit, exuded shrewdness and competence.

A down-on-his-luck, unknown writer and a fashionable career woman will naturally have a difficult time communicating.

"Cut!" Director Danny Boyle suddenly called for a halt, took off his headset, entered the set, looked at Aniston, and said in a more tactful tone, "Jane, there's a problem you need to solve as soon as possible."

Aniston was quick to understand: "Make me look less like Rachel?"

Boyle nodded: "You look like another Rachel on camera."

Aniston was quite frustrated; this was a problem she encountered on every film set.

The higher Rachel went, the harder it became for her to break free from her shadow in other roles.

Boyle didn't say much and returned to his director's seat.

Aniston turned to look at Martin, who had been filming for two days. The character he played showed no trace of the wanted poster or the "eyes in the mountains" trope. From the human eye to the camera, he looked like a down-on-his-luck pauper.

She thought for a moment and asked, "Why are you able to portray a character's essence, both inside and out, so that each character shows a completely new side of you?"

"It's related to my experience," Martin said simply. "Before last year, I was a penniless nobody, so I didn't need to find the feeling for a role."

Aniston has only ever worked as an actress; she hasn't done any other jobs for an extended period of time.

Martin thought for a moment and said, "In my personal opinion, first of all, you need to forget about Rachel and stop trying to get rid of her. That might help."

He wants to get rid of Rachel all the time, but he will always remember Rachel.

Every actor's situation is different, and he couldn't apply his own experiences to Aniston.

Aniston thought there was some truth to it; if she didn't forget Rachel, no one else would ever forget her.

Filming resumed, but it was still intermittent.

Most of the problems stemmed from Aniston; Martin managed the impoverished Eddie relatively easily.

After 3 p.m., the crew took a short break to rest and regroup.

Aniston sat down in her chair next to Martin, took the straw cup handed to her by her assistant, and said to Martin, "I've been in this industry for over ten years, and it's so frustrating to be overshadowed by someone like you who's only been in it for three years."

Martin's talent is one thing, but his experiences are something no one else can replicate, so he confidently says, "That's talent."

Aniston was speechless, but she had to admit that the young man was too talented, saying, "He's good-looking, has a great physique, and is talented. He was born to do this job."

Martin leaned closer and whispered, "Does 'food' refer to you?"

Aniston, in her thirties and at the peak of her prime, puffed out her chest and said, "When we get home tonight, I'll make sure you eat your fill."

Bruce then came over, glanced at Aniston, and, since it wasn't a secret, said, "Thomas called. The revenue sharing for the three films, *House of Wax*, *The Hills Have Eyes*, and *Jeans*, has gone through the Screen Actors Guild and is now with the agency. It will be transferred to them soon."

Martin nodded and smiled at Aniston, "Let's go out together this weekend."

"Looks like you've got money now?" Aniston asked.

Martin said, "Without money, there's no confidence."

"Your share of offline revenue, the Screen Actors Guild's base agreement, right?" Aniston said like a caring older sister, "Keep it. I just want to stay in my room on weekends."

Martin understood what she meant: "I'll play along." He asked curiously, "Friends gets a share of the post-production revenue every year, right?"

Aniston's contract is public, and she simply stated, "I signed a supplemental agreement with the production company that gives me two percent of Friends' total revenue each year. It's been relatively stable over the years, around $3000 million."

Compared to that, the $47 that Martin was about to receive seemed insignificant.

Aniston asked deliberately, "What are you thinking about?"

Martin sighed. "I still have a long way to go."

This surprised Aniston; Martin was clearly a very ambitious actor.

Before she could finish her inner monologue, Martin continued, "I need to accumulate enough blockbuster films to not only earn a basic salary, but also to fight for revenue sharing both online and offline. When I can earn $3000 million a year in revenue sharing without even lifting a finger, I'll retire and live a carefree life."

Aniston, however, had some reservations, especially regarding her relationship with Martin, and said meaningfully, "Then you should be careful not to get married lightly, and if you do get married, you should sign a comprehensive prenuptial agreement."

She seemed to be referring to Martin Scorsese, or perhaps reminding herself: "Do you know why Scorsese still maintains such a high filmmaking frequency today? Because he's been divorced four times."

Martin really wanted to say, "Rich lady, let's get married!"

But he knew that marriage wouldn't help.

When Aniston and Pitt got married, they had a prenuptial agreement, so their divorce was clean and efficient, without any fuss.

Although the ultimate goal for many men is to find a billionaire woman to settle down with, Aniston is not the right type. Martin, on the contrary, reassured her: "I prefer Leonardo DiCaprio's lifestyle."

Aniston's slightly tense heart settled back into her chest. Playing happily with the puppy and embarrassing Julie along the way was one thing, but getting married and starting a family was a completely different matter.

She can play without worry as long as the puppy hasn't thought about it that way.

After their break, Martin and Aniston got back to filming.

The snow stopped over the weekend, and the weather was unusually cold.

Martin and Aniston had no intention of going out; instead, they stayed in the hotel researching the most crucial academic topic for all of humanity.

Because it brought immense joy.

Aniston had long since forgotten about Jolie and Pitt, and only wanted to enjoy herself.

As the new week began, two more film crews moved into Brooklyn Studios.

One of them is the cast of "I Am Legend," which also belongs to Warner Bros.

The other venue had many big-name celebrities present.

During breaks in filming, Martin also met with people from two different film crews. The actors from the former hadn't arrived yet, while the actors from the latter started filming as soon as they entered the set.

Bruce followed Martin out of the studio and said, "I asked around, and the new crew is called 'I'm Not There'."

Martin watched from a distance as a somewhat familiar face hurriedly left the studio, wearing a coat, and headed towards the parking lot.

He examined it carefully and said, "It looks like Heath Ledger."

Bruce confirmed, "It's Heath Ledger. I saw Brokeback Mountain recently, I can't be wrong."

Martin instinctively took a step forward and asked, "Aren't the Kardashian sisters appealing anymore?"

Bruce gave Martin the middle finger: "I'm male, and I like women."

Martin said, "I get it, you like big-butt sisters."

In the distance, Heath Ledger turned into the parking lot.

Because of the building blocking his view, Martin couldn't see over there.

Then, he saw Christian Bale and Cate Blanchett loitering outside the studio next door and couldn't help but wonder, "What movie is 'I'm Not There'?"

"A Bob Dylan biopic." Aniston, who had just come out of the studio, heard Martin's words and said, "I auditioned for this film last September. There was a role where I played a woman, and I lost to Cate Blanchett in the audition."

"Cross-dressing? It's perfectly normal that you lost to her." Martin, of course, had to stand on Aniston's side: "Blanchette is just a weird-looking tomboy. Jane, you're so sweet and pretty, cross-dressing isn't suitable for you."

Aniston smiled sweetly at Martin: "It's mainly about cutting my long hair; I can't accept that."

(End of this chapter)