America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 393 Good Man Old Bu

After officially signing the contract with the production team, Martin ignored everything else and immediately threw himself into the pre-production work.

Compared to any of his previous roles, the styling work for Benjamin Button was far more complicated.

Industrial Light & Magic deployed a special effects team of dozens of people to Paramount Studios.

For the first two weeks after joining the crew, Martin's work consisted entirely of assisting the special effects team with modeling.

It's mainly about using his face.

In the special effects studio, Eric, the project manager at Industrial Light & Magic, led Martin to a machine and said to the operator, "Ready to begin."

The face-shaped platform automatically turned around and stopped in front of Martin.

Eric instructed, "Martin, step forward, rest your chin on the brace, and look directly into the camera. We need to model your smile when you're older."

Martin nodded: "No problem."

This was different from a live performance, and it was Martin's first time doing it. He wasn't used to it at first, and the motion capture footage didn't turn out very well.

He has a strong ability to self-regulate and decisively said, "I'll take a few minutes to adjust."

Eric and his team have done special effects capture modeling for many films. It's normal for actors who are used to traditional acting to find it difficult to adapt to special effects capture acting at first.

The modeling work is very meticulous and cannot be rushed.

Not everyone is as talented as Andy Serkis.

Martin stood up, paced back and forth a few times, and then asked Eric, "Can a lot of the makeup be omitted during filming?"

"It will save you a lot of time. You won't have to wear those not-so-breathable silicone patches every day, and you won't have to wear a head covering." Eric suddenly brought over a hat: "Wear this, and we'll generate the hair and other effects through post-production special effects."

Martin glanced at the hat's color, his face turning as green as the hat itself, and asked, "I remember using a blue screen works too?"

Eric said, "If the lead actor's eyes were blue..."

"I'm not blue," Martin pointed to his pupils. "I'm dark brown."

Eric wouldn't bother arguing with a celebrity over such trivial matters. After taking a closer look, he noticed that Martin's eyes were indeed dark brown and said, "There's not much difference between green and blue."

Martin said, "Blue."

Eric nodded: "Okay, I'll have someone prepare that we'll have blue hats worn during the shoot."

Martin gave him a thumbs up: "A wise decision."

Although Eric didn't understand, he sensed Martin's goodwill and immediately returned the smile.

Martin relaxed and sat back in front of the camera. This time he quickly got into character and, with Eric's prompting, made various expressions of joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness.

The expressions captured by the camera are automatically used by Industrial Light & Magic's professional software to generate corresponding models.

When it comes to the actual filming, Martin's face can be superimposed onto a special effects model.

Compared to actual filming, which often involves three or four hours of makeup every day and various restrictions, digital technology saves time and effort for both the crew and the actors.

Directors who insist on practical effects like Nolan will become increasingly rare.

In the afternoon, Martin put on the blue hat provided by the crew and tested the shooting effect.

As the day's work came to an end, Eric accompanied Martin out of the special effects studio, saying, "This week, the main focus was on sampling and modeling your facial expressions. Next week, the focus will be on your speech and behavior."

Martin replied, "No problem, I've done a lot of preparation during this time."

Eric accompanied him out of the studio: "We have plenty of time to finish before filming begins."

Martin said, "This is my first time really working on special effects. Please point out any shortcomings in my work."

Eric smiled and replied, "You adjusted very quickly today. Just keep up the good form from this afternoon."

The two left Benjamin's studio. Martin met up with Bruce, and after waiting a short while, Thomas came out with Coca-Cola and Briony's representatives in Los Angeles.

The group went to a nearby coffee shop and chatted briefly.

Coca-Cola will still sponsor the big-budget film starring the leader of the Coca-Cola cult.

Briony would sponsor the costumes for several of the main male characters.

These savings for the production team and the resulting commercial revenue could amount to millions of dollars.

David Fincher's choice of Martin was based on more than just acting skills and auditions; the key factor was the underlying business considerations.

Aside from a very few who are completely out of their minds, which director doesn't want their film to fetch a good price?

After seeing the two business representatives off, Martin and Thomas got into the Cadillac Escalade that Bruce had driven.

Thomas answered a phone call, and after hanging up, he said to Martin, "Elizabeth Olsen's agent, who is also with WMA, called and asked me for a favor. Elizabeth Olsen is preparing to audition for a role in the Benjamin Butler series, to play Caroline, the teenage daughter of the lead actress Daisy."

Martin remembers this role; it wasn't very big, only slightly better than an extra. He probably didn't even have 20 lines in total, and after editing, he might just be a background character who makes an appearance.

He thought for a moment and said, "If it's not too much trouble, I'll lend a hand."

Thomas nodded: "I understand."

This is such a small matter that Martin didn't even need to say a word. As his agent, he could easily get several minor actors into the production with just a word.

Martin is Thomas's biggest trump card and reliance.

Thomas then made a phone call, and by the time he got off at Century City, the matter was basically settled.

Martin shook his head inwardly; it seemed like he hadn't seen Elizabeth Olsen in a while.

Thinking about this, I couldn't help but feel so angry at Nicholson and Leonardo that my teeth ached.

I kicked those two bastards' asses too lightly back then; I should have stuffed a big double-bang in their backsides!

Martin pondered how he could get them to ride in a homemade plane.

Bruce suddenly said, "Shall we go through West Hollywood?"

"Okay," Martin agreed first, then asked, "A detour? Old Brook, what are you planning to do?"

Bruce turned around and said simply, "King's DVD was released yesterday. There's a Saint Valley store in West Hollywood that specializes in these kinds of movies. Let's go check it out."

Martin perked up: "Yes, we absolutely have to go!" He exclaimed, "Old Brooks, should I talk to Jenna and ask her to nominate you for the AVN Best Newcomer Award next year?"

Bruce dismissed it: "I didn't even show my face."

"It doesn't matter if you show your face or not," Martin laughed. "As long as you show your penis!"

Bruce raised his hand and gave the middle finger to the bastard in the back seat.

Martin accepted the middle finger and gave him his reward: "Old Brooks, don't you think about it? If you don't win an award, how can you face Hart and Ivan? How can you face Sophia's painstaking guidance?"

Bruce thought the first sentence was normal, but after the second, his nose practically twitched, and he emphasized, "This has nothing to do with Sophia! Absolutely nothing!"

Seeing that he had replied, Martin wasn't about to let it go so easily: "There's no direct relationship, but there is an indirect one, right? Think about it..."

"Shut up!" Bruce threatened bluntly. "If you keep talking, I'll drive my car into a lamppost."

Martin shut up immediately, but he was already planning to ask Jenna about AVN later.

When Cadillac arrived in West Hollywood, he stopped near the Shoeneck Theatre, where the AVN Awards were held, across from a cassette rental shop.

At that moment, a large poster was hung above the store, proclaiming that the hacker video was officially on sale. The poster did not use any image of Kim Kardashian, but anyone who saw the blurry silhouette on the poster knew it was Kim Kardashian.

The DVDs and videotapes released by Jenna's company were claimed to have come from so-called hackers and had nothing to do with Kardashian.

A long queue formed outside the store, with hundreds of people waiting to enter and make purchases. Among them were some entertainment bloggers who, in an effort to attract attention, wore specially made T-shirts with messages like "Kim, I love you" written on them.

These quick-thinking individuals have already grasped the secrets and tricks of traffic generation from the Kardashian hacking scandal.

Martin watched for a while, and as the end of the workday approached, more and more people joined the queue.

The fact that there's a queue outside means the store has reached its maximum capacity.

Bruce silently counted and said, "It seems to be selling quite well."

Martin casually remarked, "Jin's made a fortune, aren't you going to ask her for a cut?"

"Forget about splitting the profits." Bruce, remembering that he had used the most prominent part of the gold for several years, surprisingly showed a bit of conscience: "Consider it a breakup fee."

Martin gave Old Brooks a "good guy" card: "I never expected you to be such a good person."

Bruce's next sentence revealed the truth: "No matter what, Kim is Khloe's older sister, and we'll be seeing each other often in the future."

Martin nodded and said very seriously, "It turns out I was wrong, Old Brooks. You're the one who's really cunning."

Bruce, too lazy to deal with this jerk anymore, started the car, drove onto the main road, and left West Hollywood.

…………

Century City, WMA Headquarters.

Thomas stepped out of the elevator and, before even reaching his office, saw Elizabeth Olsen and her agent Martha arriving at the office door.

Martha came over and said, "Thank you, my friend, you've helped us a lot. The Benjamin crew just called and said Liz can go straight to the audition with makeup on. As long as Liz's acting skills aren't a problem, she has a good chance of getting the role."

She placed one hand behind her back and beckoned.

Elizabeth immediately stepped forward and said, "Mr. Ryan, thank you."

"Don't mention it, and don't thank me." Thomas, a seasoned agent, knew where all this came from, and specifically said, "Martin asked me to do all this."

Martha replied, "I will thank Martin in person."

Elizabeth looked surprised and murmured to herself, "So Martin always remembered me."

That night she returned home disappointed, hoping that Martin would take the initiative to ask her out again, just like he used to be when he visited Louise's house. Martin did call her a few times, but he didn't ask her out.

Unexpectedly, Martin had been secretly watching over and taking care of her all along.

Martha vaguely heard something but couldn't make it out, so she asked, "Liz?"

Elizabeth smiled sweetly: "I've known Martin for many years, and he even saved my life."

(End of this chapter)