America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 296 I Love Blanchett

Three days later, at Davis Film Studios in Burbank, Martin, on behalf of the company, signed project agreements with Chad Stahlsky and Marcus Rutteler respectively.

The latter's experiences were first written into a memoir and published, and then the film adaptation was discussed.

The former has had several exchanges with Martin in the past few days and has completely clarified his ideas. While continuing to hone his directing skills, he will focus all his energy on creating a brand new action series over the next two years.

From the very beginning of the project, the style and concept were clearly defined—a simple and brutal action-packed movie!

Martin found Thomas and gave him the information about Afghanistan provided by Marcus, asking him to help Marcus and Bruce contact relevant service providers to get the people who rescued Marcus out of Afghanistan.

A memoir can be a viral marketing tool.

The next step was to find a suitable writer to assist Marcus in completing his memoir.

Hollywood is full of unsuccessful writers and screenwriters, much like actors. There are many talented and capable people, but few opportunities.

In this industry, opportunity is far more important than ability or talent.

Ghostwriting memoirs is also common practice in the industry.

The project takes time in its early stages, but Martin has enough patience. As for funding, as long as the production cost doesn't exceed $5000 million, attracting investment shouldn't be too difficult.

In the office, Thomas carefully reviewed the documents and said to Martin, "There are many talented screenwriters waiting for opportunities after the company has signed contracts. I will contact a suitable one."

This is much easier than finding star actors. He then changed the subject: "The three people you asked me to keep an eye on—Bale, Blanchett, and Heath Ledger—have also had some updates."

Martin's biggest fear wasn't causing trouble, but having nothing to do: "Tell me, what have they been up to lately?"

Thomas spoke first about the one with whom the direct conflict occurred: "Under pressure from his fiancée Michelle, Heath Ledger joined a withdrawal support group and will not be taking on any new work for the time being. He'll probably be depressed for a while."

He added two more: "Bale is preparing for The Prestige, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, his next project will be the sequel to the new Batman, where he will reprise his role as Bruce Wayne."

Martin instructed, "Keep a close eye on this project."

Thomas nodded and added, "Blancette went back to Australia after the Oscars. I've heard that she's interested in playing the lead role in David Fincher's new project."

Martin recalled a project he'd seen at the agency last year: "Zodiac Killer?"

"The film has already been completed," Thomas explained. "David Fincher intends to adapt F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel 'The Curious Case of Benjamin Button' into a movie."

Martin had seen all of David Fincher's films and immediately recognized this as the one translated into Chinese as "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

I remember the male and female leads were Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett.

Thomas asked, "Did you find a way to disrupt her plans?"

Martin asked, "Do you have a way?"

Thomas said, "The simplest thing is to send the relevant information to the companies. David Fincher's project is very popular, and there are plenty of actresses who want to be on it. Let them compete. Even if they lose, we won't lose anything. On the contrary, we can watch the show."

Martin casually said, "Why don't you do it?"

After Thomas left, Bruce asked, "How old is Blanchett?"

Martin didn't seem to care and said, "He shouldn't be forty, right?"

Bruce didn't speak, but he thought to himself, "Too young, not easy to handle."

According to Menez's feedback, the older the person, the better the feedback.

Meanwhile, Thomas returned to the company, called his assistant Natasha, and said a few words to her.

During lunch, a group of female assistants gathered together. Natasha mentioned in casual conversation that David Fincher was preparing a new project and wanted to adapt "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button".

By the afternoon, the news had spread throughout WMA and quickly reached other companies.

Although, like Quentin Tarantino and Scorsese, David Fincher's films are not known for their box office success, they are very good at promoting actors and elevating the status of stars.

There are many interested parties.

The competition among actresses for roles is far more exciting than among actors.

That evening, the Face Gang held their routine gathering at the Nightclub.

Besides the trio of bastards, Craven also came this time.

After their routine face washing, the four of them felt refreshed, their minds sharp, and their spirits high.

Craven let out a sigh of relief: "It's been so long since I've been out. I really miss my babies."

Martin glanced at Leonardo and said, "Leo is planning a wild party, are you coming?"

Craven's health has clearly declined in the past two years compared to when he was filming "The Hills Have Eyes." He shook his head and said, "My health isn't as good as it was two years ago. The doctor told me to take care of myself, so I'm not going anymore."

That old bastard Nicholson said, "What's there to be afraid of? When I'm about to die, I'll throw a wild party."

Leonardo retorted sarcastically, "Why didn't you say that when you were in the hospital?"

Martin retorted, "Because he's afraid of dying!"

Nicholson gave Martin and Leonardo the middle finger each, saying, "You bastards, there are rumors in the industry that you got 'Brokeback Mountain' to lose Best Picture?"

"I'd like to, but unfortunately I don't have that kind of influence." Martin briefly explained his relationship with Heath Ledger: "His failure to receive a Best Actor nomination might be related to me. As for Best Picture... isn't it normal for Brokeback Mountain to lose to a purely Los Angeles film?"

He then asked Nicholson, "Where did this rumor come from?"

Craven knows a lot of people: "It first spread from that circle in Australia."

Two names popped into Martin's head: Heath Ledger and Blanchett.

He deliberately asked Leonardo, "Leo, how about I introduce you to a blonde, long-legged actress?"

Leonardo scoffed: "You know him? Of course I know him!"

Martin ignored this and said, "How about Blanchett? Have you seen the Lord of the Rings trilogy? Queen Galadriel is absolutely stunning."

Leonardo shook his head immediately: "I'm too old, way past my 25-year-old age limit." He then mocked Martin: "Unlike you, I don't have such a wide age range..."

Martin held up a finger and shook it: "You don't understand."

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "I'm a single-minded person, of course I don't understand."

Martin sighed, "I was hoping you could help me teach that Australian woman a lesson!"

Leonardo knew this scoundrel was full of rotten ideas, and said, "If you want to teach her a lesson, you should do it yourself."

Martin sighed, "The problem is, when I see that face with lines as hard as stone, I don't even have the interest to talk, let alone say anything else."

Nicholson volunteered, "Blanchette? I remember her. She has a very distinctive face, very recognizable. How about this, I'll give it a try and avenge you, you bastard."

Martin asked, "Do you have a plan?"

"What kind of plan do we need for this?" Nicholson boasted. "Don't doubt Old Jack's abilities. What kind of person hasn't Old Jack seen and done?"

Leonardo reopened a painful wound: "Yes, yes, well-informed! I remember on the yacht, Naomi Campbell and you..."

Nicholson suddenly clutched his heart: "No, I can't! If you keep talking, believe me, I'll have a heart attack!"

Martin chimed in, "We all believe you're that shameless, so don't react."

Craven raised a hand: "Stop, stop! You three bastards are giving me a heart attack."

The four of them laughed and joked as they opened a bottle of wine and drank together.

When the party ended, the driver picked up Wes Craven, whose health had deteriorated and who rarely went out anymore.

The three bastards got into the same car to play the second half of the game.

Nicholson asked, "I heard you two bastards are aiming for an Oscar nomination?"

"You have two Best Actor awards and one Best Supporting Actor award," Martin asked earnestly. "Any tips for winning awards?"

Nicholson spouted nonsense with a straight face: "Lobby the female judges, and they'll be happy and vote for you! Then lobbi the male judges' girlfriends and wives, and they'll whisper in their ears, and the male judges will vote for you too. As for whether you use a gun or your feet, that depends on your luck."

Martin looked distressed: "How long is the awards season? The Oscars have nearly 6000 judges, this task is too difficult."

Leonardo laughed: "With your skills, you'd probably just die halfway through."

Martin retorted, "It's better than 11 seconds in a 100-meter sprint."

Leonardo lunged at Martin, grabbed him by the neck, and shook him violently: "You bastard, I'm going to throw you into the sea to feed the fish!"

Nicholson, unable to tolerate these two scoundrels any longer, slammed his fist on the chair and shouted, "I have some connections with the old guys on the nomination committee. You two should try to curry favor with me, and I'll put in a good word for you."

Martin immediately switched to his loyal underling: "You're our boss, you have to speak up for your underlings. Jack, I've already given you Blanchett."

Nicholson was furious: "Is there anyone more shameless than you in this world?"

"Yes!" Martin pointed to Leonardo and Nicholson: "These two!"

Leonardo was furious: "I'm going to get him drunk tonight!"

Around 11 o'clock, the three of them came out of Avalon. Martin supported Leonardo with his left hand and Nicholson with his right. Neither of those two bastards could fight.

After putting them in the car, Martin instructed the driver, "They're drunk. Don't listen to their nonsense. Just take them home."

Leonardo shouted, "I'm not drunk! Bring ten more bottles of whiskey, I want to have a showdown with Martin..."

Martin grabbed his face and shoved him into the car.

In that short moment, a heavily intoxicated Nicholson suddenly shouted to the paparazzi who had followed him, "I love Cate Blanchett! I love Blanchett!"

Martin, whether he was truly drunk or faking it, shoved him into the car anyway.

He waited for the stretch Lincoln to drive away before getting into his own car.

As long as Blake is in Los Angeles, Martin will be back by midnight at the latest; he won't stay out all night.

As the new week began, Martin boarded a helicopter sent by Coca-Cola and headed to Park, a town in Southern California near the Mexican border.

The GG crew had been preparing there for almost half a month, just waiting for him, the director and the lead actor, to arrive and start filming.

(End of this chapter)