America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 318 Dark, Short, and Ugly, and the White Moonlight

"This is the most entertaining film I've ever made."

After saying this to reporters in front of the theater, Scorsese lowered his head and got into his car. The black sedan drove towards the hotel where the film crew was staying, followed by a van carrying cattle.

This cow will be sent away tonight.

Martin and his two companions declined to be interviewed and got into the same car.

Nicholson, who has known the director for decades, said, "Scorsese is in a good mood and he's very happy with the film."

Martin sighed.

Nicholson asked, "You think the film is bad?"

"No," Martin said, recalling the events. "The three of us alone probably insulted Fuck over 200 times in the final cut, right?"

Leonardo thought for a moment: "More, not less."

Martin said, "Do you know why I sighed? I'm ashamed of my meager vocabulary of insults."

Nicholson shook his head: "Your focus is really something else."

Martin, however, said, "Insulting is an art."

Back at the hotel, the three of them went to Leonardo's room for drinks. Before they had even finished half a bottle of whiskey, three different text message notifications sounded at the same time.

Martin took it out and glanced at it; it was the result of a questionnaire survey conducted by Warner Bros. for the premiere audience.

Leonardo DiCaprio laughed: "The audience at the premiere gave it an average score of A+, which is the best possible result."

"It's really good," Martin said seriously. "I think I'll get a very high positive rating."

Nicholson chimed in, "It's mainly because of that idiot Leo that makes it stand out."

There were promotional events the next day, so the three of them didn't drink too late and soon left.

Warner Bros. was very confident in "The Departed" and immediately lifted the embargo on various ratings for the film that same night.

By the following morning, the rotten tomatoes had reached freshness, with a freshness level of up to 95%.

Subsequently, in the media comprehensive score released by MTC, the Infernal Affairs received an average score of 87.

Roger Ebert, a renowned film critic who attended the premiere, gave a brief one-line review in his column: "This is Martin Scorsese's best film since Goodfellas in 1990, and one of the best films of the year."

With guaranteed film quality, Warner Bros. only needed to put in a little effort, and the media's positive reviews quickly followed.

Another point is that Martin Scorsese has never made a bad film over the years, nor has he over-commercialized his work.

This has earned him a consistently good reputation among critics.

In contrast, Martin's film is currently holding back its release because it has not yet been widely released.

Unexpectedly, because he chose an art film like "The Reader," the critics in Los Angeles had a very positive impression of him.

Especially Kenneth Turan, a film critic for the Los Angeles Times.

He also attended last night's premiere and immediately wrote a commentary in his column.

Unlike Roger Ebert, Kenneth Turan focused on Martin.

"Los Angeles critics have always considered Martin Davis to be a very talented actor with artistic aspirations, as evidenced by his choice of 'The Reader' earlier this year, and the premiere of 'The Departed' last night also proved this point."

"Martin plays a criminal who goes undercover in the police force. With his superb performance, he brings out the complexity of the character's inner world, showing us a complex character composed of desire, power, and betrayal. This complexity makes it easy for the audience to resonate with the character and deeply understand the character's decisions and behaviors."

"Hollywood has produced many talented actors, and Martin Scorsese is certainly one of them. He has given Scorsese's new film a special magic with an outstanding role, and he deserves to win awards this season."

On the streets of Toronto, during a break from a promotional event, Leonardo DiCaprio saw a copy of the Los Angeles Times delivered to him by the film crew.

He asked Martin, "Tell me honestly, have you been involved in any kind of shady dealings with that Kenneth Turan? That old bastard has been cursing me all these years, yet he's been sucking up to you like this!"

Martin said in a deep voice, his gaze distant, "There's nothing I can do; my artistic pursuits are higher than yours."

Leonardo dismissed this with a sneer: "Do you even have any artistic aspirations?"

Martin bluntly stated, "Whether I am or not is unimportant; what matters is whether the critics and academic judges believe I am!"

Leonardo DiCaprio couldn't hold back any longer: "Those people have something wrong with their heads. Back then, I looked down on the Oscars, and they thought I didn't value the Oscars and didn't respect art. Later, I actively tried to get closer to the Academy and the Oscars, and I actively competed for awards every year. They thought I was deliberately trying to win awards, and that I still didn't respect art."

He asked Martin, "Are they out of their minds?"

"No, they're not wrong, they just look down on you." Martin revealed a stark truth: "If a dark-skinned, ugly woman were pursuing you, no matter how she behaved or what she said, wouldn't you have a hundred ways to reject her?"

Leonardo said, "I can easily find a thousand ways." Then, realizing what he'd said, he pointed to himself and asked, "Am I a poor, ugly, and unattractive guy?"

Martin shrugged: "Kate now understands how to become their ideal woman."

Leonardo looked down at his belly, then pinched his increasingly wide face, and finally understood what his "white moonlight" was.

I sighed inwardly, thinking what a bunch of weirdos they were. Isn't it better to appreciate beautiful things?

Nicholson then came over from the side and said, "What are you afraid of? Even if you become like I am now, the women who want to pounce on you will still pounce on you."

He glanced at Martin and decided to side with Leonardo: "Even though you only lasted 11 seconds, and even though you're not as big as him, you're still better than him..."

Leonardo interrupted him: "Stop! Jack, stop talking. If you keep going, I'm going to be so ashamed that I'll jump off a building."

Martin immediately criticized Nicholson: "You're such a terrible person. How could you say Leo 11 seconds? Leo sprinted 11 meters in the 100 meters, that sounds much better."

Leonardo nodded at the two men: "The day I win my Oscar, I'll give each of you 50 ugly black men. Even if you cry, you have to finish those things!"

…………

Los Angeles, Pacific Film Production Company.

Accompanied by her assistant, Louise saw off Wu Maoting, an investor from Asia, and then went into another meeting room.

Thomas was waiting there when he saw them come in and said, "The premiere of The Departed was a huge success, with excellent reviews from all sides. Martin's performance has been highly praised by critics. Should we get started here?"

Louise said, "You've been handling the relationships with the critics who have a good impression of Martin. You should continue to be the one to handle things. I'll take care of the Academy judges."

There are more than 1300 judges for the acting awards. Based on past experience, once you submit your nomination, you can basically secure a nomination if you get 200 votes from the judges.

Not every judge will vote during the nomination process.

Louise asked, "How are the talks going with the people I circled?"

Thomas said, "They made it clear that they would support Martin and, incidentally, provide some resources in support."

Louise nodded slightly: "We can't slack off on our work."

Thomas knew that Louise and the wealthy woman from Atlanta had jointly funded a professional PR team, and said, "The resources invested by WMA have been handed over to me. At the key film screenings, Ali-Emanuel will personally attend to help garner votes."

Louise felt that wasn't enough: "At the crucial moment of the nomination voting, it would be best to have some eye-catching news. Too many judges, no matter how much you urge them, will not watch the video; they will simply vote with their feet and cast their votes for people they have recently become familiar with."

Thomas said, "Martin has made some preparations."

Louise nodded and added, "The praise from famous people can also influence many people's choices."

Thomas said, "Martin will do these things himself."

Louise also pointed out a key point: "You also need to be wary of your opponents' smear campaigns. Martin has had a smooth ride these past few years, and he hasn't hesitated to step on others to climb the ladder."

The two then discussed the matter.

Since Harvey Weinstein joined the game, not only has the amount of money spent on public relations increased exponentially, but every year there are also scandals involving popular videos.

The citywide smear campaign against the soldier back then was a classic example of such tactics.

After Thomas left, Louise returned to her office, dialed a number, and said, "Rita, start it."

Rita PR is a specialized company that provides public relations and publicity services to the entertainment industry, with the awards season being its busiest time of year.

Rita Baker, the company's founder and largest partner, was Louise's friend from her college days.

Upon receiving Louise's call, Rita immediately instructed her assistant: "Have the first team take immediate action and send out all the prepared emails and messages."

On the same day, many members of the Screen Actors Guild and the Critics Association, as well as other Sentinel Awards judges, received an email in their inboxes.

"Martin Scorsese's new film, 'The Departed,' starring Martin Davis, will be released nationwide in North America on October 6th..."

A few days later, these people received another physical email with the same content in their inboxes.

…………

Four Seasons Hotel Beverly Hills.

Lukaku, from the News of the World newspaper, sat in the lobby lounge, seemingly reading a newspaper, but his eyes kept glancing toward the hotel entrance.

The automatic door opened, and a familiar, overweight figure entered the hotel.

Lukaku said in a low voice, "Harvey Weinstein is here."

Hazard picked up his bag and walked towards the lobby. After following Xavi into the elevator, he glanced at Courtois, who had followed him in, but said nothing.

The elevator doors opened with a ding, and Harvey stepped inside.

Hazard and several others followed him into the elevator.

He pretended to go to select a floor, but then noticed that the button light for that floor was on, so he withdrew his hand.

The elevator ascended rapidly, and when it stopped, Harvey stepped out.

Hazard followed him out, but instead of exiting the elevator, he took a corridor in the opposite direction from Xavi's. He pulled a specially made mirror out of his pocket and secretly observed the situation behind him.

Some of the reporters at the World News newspaper possess very sophisticated criminal skills.

Seeing Xavi stop in front of the door, open it, and go inside, Hazard turned back, checked the room number of Xavi's long-term reserved room on the room layout map, and quickly went downstairs.

Once the room is confirmed, it will be easier to do the following things.

(End of this chapter)