America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 284 The Beauty Trap

Outside the studio, in Martin's rest trailer, Aniston gave a general overview of her situation.

"This involves more than just you; it involves me too." Martin was a responsible man. "Don't let things escalate too much with CAA and put all the blame on me. Just tell them I absolutely disagree!"

He hugged Aniston and gently patted her back reassuringly: "I have nothing to do with CAA, it doesn't matter if things fall apart."

The puppy's words warmed Aniston's heart, and she shook her head: "It's okay..."

Her phone rang, and she took it out to answer it, her expression becoming increasingly tense.

A few minutes later, Aniston hung up the phone.

Martin asked, "What's wrong?"

“Bryan Lord, CAA’s biggest partner,” Aniston said simply. “He called and told me that CAA had contacted several hot projects with female characters that were perfect for awards, and CAA was going to develop a plan to help me win the Oscar for Best Actress.”

Martin sensed something was wrong, but didn't want to say it outright. Aniston and Oscar were even more difficult to work on than Leonardo DiCaprio's epic projects.

The other party didn't say it explicitly, but Aniston understood: "Brian wants me to consider the company a little more regarding Heath Ledger's situation."

Martin asked, "What are they thinking?"

"I signed a revenue-sharing agreement for Friends not only with the production company, but also with CAA. They only get 1.5% as commission." Aniston has a clear understanding of her situation: "After Friends ended, my film career didn't go very well, and I also have the unavoidable factor of age, so I became a fading flower for CAA."

She sighed: "Perhaps I overestimated my importance in CAA, or perhaps the senior partners in CAA see themselves as the owners of celebrities. Michael Ovitz has expressed similar views more than once."

Martin understood how sweet Aniston's honeymoon with CAA was, and how difficult their daily life would be after the passion faded.

Aniston generates over 2000 million in offline revenue annually, but CAA only receives a little over 30...

"Jane, they're setting up bait." It wasn't a pleasant way to put it, but he still warned her directly: "They're waiting for you to take the bait; they might have other motives."

Brokerage firms have also done plenty of things to secretly cheat their clients.

"It's nothing," Aniston said, sounding serious. "At worst, I'll just fire CAA."

There was a knock on the door, and Martin opened it to find Aniston's agent, Steve, standing outside.

The latter asked, "Brian Lord called you? Jane, if the company pushes you hard, you could get a Best Actress nomination..."

Aniston's expression changed.

Steve immediately shut up and changed his tune: "I didn't mean anything by it, Jane. We've been working together for over a decade, you know I've always been on your side."

Martin stepped aside, saying, "You two talk."

After Steve got into the trailer, he closed the door from the outside.

Martin walked toward a secluded spot, considering Aniston's words and his current situation. A few minutes later, he took out his phone and called Thomas.

Thomas arrived quickly.

Martin asked, "How did the talks go?"

Thomas glanced around to make sure no one was watching, and said, "Everything else is fine, but those bastards from CAA are the real problem."

Martin was straightforward: "Don't waste time arguing with them. Have Attorney Ward go to the Brooklyn precinct to put pressure on them, and have the production team release the news. I'm preparing to hold a press conference."

CAA's meteoric rise from its unparalleled success in the 1990s to its decline in the new century was not only due to other companies catching up, but also to internal problems.

It seems that Michael Ovitz's arrogance at the end of his CAA career infected the other partners.

The phenomenon of "reaching the peak and then declining" seems to be a common problem for many companies.

Thomas nodded: "I'll arrange it right away."

Martin suddenly asked, "Is the WMA interested in Aniston?"

Upon hearing this, Thomas paused for a moment, then quickly recovered: "Of course I'm interested!" His hands trembled with excitement: "We can poach Aniston?"

Martin glanced at Thomas, seemingly looking at a scumbag: "You want to be Aniston's agent?"

Thomas reacted quickly: "That's not what I meant."

"Aniston started working with Steve when she was still a small-time actress, and their relationship was quite special." Martin had studied Aniston carefully from head to toe and knew a lot about her: "Aniston never thought about ending her collaboration with him."

Even at this point, Martin couldn't resist adding a sarcastic remark: "If any other agency tries to poach me, but only after kicking you out, I'll spit in their face and tell them to get as far away as possible!"

Thomas was startled, thinking to himself, "So I'm that important to Martin already! I'll never leave him!"

He believed Martin was capable of such a thing, and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Martin continued walking forward: "The two of us don't represent the WMA enough. I'm going to call Ali Emmanuel and have him come over."

Thomas followed up, "I'll cooperate with you." Then he suddenly remembered something: "Why are you so enthusiastic?"

"At the end of this year, I want the company to allocate more resources to fully support me, but I'm not high-profile enough..." Martin said simply.

Thomas said, "They will definitely agree."

Martin took out his phone and dialed Ali Emmanuel's number.

Ali put down his phone and shouted to his assistant, "Contact a private jet company immediately! I need a business jet that can fly directly to New York in half an hour! Also, keep my itinerary confidential!"

On this day, the Heath Ledger drug-driving incident, which was originally only reported by one gossip media outlet, was reposted by numerous online media outlets, and other media followed suit.

Brokeback Mountain is a hot contender in awards season, and the film has also garnered attention due to its homosexuality. Heath Ledger was previously considered a strong contender for an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, which already generated considerable buzz.

The media, of course, wouldn't let it go.

When filming wrapped up in the afternoon, assistant producer Damian approached Martin and director Boyle and said, "There's been a bit of an unexpected situation. Our application to film in Central Park has been postponed in New York due to weather and environmental concerns."

Boyle frowned. "Another change of plans? We had to change them once because of the heavy snow." He cautioned, "The ice in Central Park will melt soon!"

Martin said, "Have Warner Bros. contact them, and tell the production team not to get involved anymore."

Boyle glanced at Martin and had a general idea of ​​what was going on, but as the director of the film crew, he didn't want to get involved in pointless disputes, so he didn't say anything more.

Damian said, "I called Daniel, and Warner Bros. is in contact. Even if they can resolve it, filming will have to be postponed."

Martin, who was also listed as the production manager for the previous production, said, "The shooting schedule has been changed again. We will continue to shoot indoor scenes on studio sets."

Boyle nodded: "That's the only way."

Martin didn't want the director involved in this mess, so he focused on making the film. After Boyle left, he asked, "Is Weinstein involved in this?"

Damian, Louise's subordinate, spoke without restraint: "I didn't realize that it was so difficult for us to find out about this. The Weinstein brothers built their careers in New York and have extensive connections."

As usual, Martin rode back to the hotel in the same car as Aniston.

Aniston was unhappy: "CAA doesn't dare to do anything to me, but they put pressure on Steve. So, in their eyes, I'm already past my prime."

Martin said again, "Put everything on me, and I'll deal with them."

Aniston reached out and stroked Martin's face, saying, "This happened to both of us, how could I let you face it alone? If it weren't for you, I might have been hit by a car."

Martin cut to the chase: "You said you wanted to leave CAA while you were in the trailer?"

Aniston said, "I became famous at CAA, and I've been at CAA for all these years, but everything has changed since Friends ended."

"Perhaps in the eyes of those veteran agents at CAA, it was CAA that made you famous." Martin was just guessing. "I've never worked as an entertainment agent and don't know much about it, but many commercial companies value their own employees far less than those they painstakingly recruit from outside."

Aniston smiled. "What, you want to poach me?"

Martin tried to cheer her up: "I've dug up all the important parts of you."

Aniston bit Martin's ear, leaving two rows of teeth marks, before saying, "How about I dig you out tonight?"

Martin quickly changed the subject: "Ali Emmanuel is coming to New York to help me with Heath Ledger's affairs. Why don't you meet with him?"

Aniston's mood improved, and she said with a smile, "So it turns out WMA wanted to poach me, but they were afraid they couldn't, so they sent you here to use their good looks."

Martin asked, "Did my charm offensive work?"

Aniston stopped laughing and considered it carefully for a moment: "I'll discuss it with Steve. You talk to Ali first."

Martin nodded: "No problem."

These things can't be rushed.

Back at the hotel, the two had dinner together and talked about CAA and WMA. Aniston then called her agent, Steve, to discuss the future.

Martin received a call from Thomas informing him that Ali Emmanuel had arrived.

In a business suite at the hotel, Martin met with WMA's top broker and co-partner.

Upon seeing Martin, Ali rushed over and said, "I know about the difficulties the crew is facing. Don't worry, I've already contacted people to handle it."

Martin had heard from Thomas that Ali's older brother wielded considerable influence in politics and was currently a member of the Democratic Party's "Black Coal" team, which was preparing to run in the next election.

"Whenever I encounter difficulties, having WMA to rely on always gives me peace of mind." Martin said, sitting on the single sofa, "Ali, seeing you makes me feel relieved immediately."

Ali smiled. "It's just part of the company's job." He got to the point: "Are you sure Aniston intends to leave CAA?"

Martin said, "I have some ideas."

Ali understood: "And you too?"

Martin did not deny this: "I can get WMA ahead of other companies."

Ali flew over immediately, also to keep it a secret: "Don't tell anyone about this yet. Also, I'm not in New York right now."

He knew that if he wanted Martin to do something, he had to offer him something in return, so he went straight to the point: "Martin, we're old friends, tell me what you want."

Martin Scorsese didn't mince words: "The Departed is coming out this awards season. I think I did a pretty good job. Director Scorsese has a very high opinion of me. The quality of his gangster films is never an issue. I want an Oscar nomination."

Ali nodded, signaling him to continue.

Martin added, "The quality of the characters and the film is just the foundation of the Oscars. Money, marketing, connections, and public relations are even more crucial. I hope the company can allocate enough resources to help me with this."

After a brief consideration, Ali said, "Assisting clients in winning prizes is the job of a brokerage firm. I guarantee that the company will give it 100% effort."

The third watch today.

(End of this chapter)