America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 394 Bald from masturbation

At Benjamin Studios, Elizabeth signs her acting contract, landing her first real film role.

Caroline in her youth, the daughter of the male and female protagonists, Daisy.

When acting, you have to call Martin "Dad".

Thinking about this, Elizabeth scratched her cheek, feeling a strange, indescribable feeling.

Should they go to Martin to rehearse the play ahead of time? Eighteen-year-old Elizabeth's mind was racing with all sorts of thoughts: "Or should I call Martin first to express my gratitude?"

As they left the office, Liz's agent, Martha, reminded her, "Liz, Martin was key to you getting this role. Don't forget to call and thank him personally."

Elizabeth had already taken out her phone, waved it around, and said, "I'll call as soon as I get out the door."

As soon as she left the studio, she called Martin. When he answered, she said, "Martin, it's me, Elizabeth. Do you have time for lunch? I'd like to invite you to lunch."

Martin replied, "I have time. Where?"

"There's a really nice restaurant in Sherman Oaks," Elizabeth cheerfully told her the address.

"No problem, let's meet at the restaurant at 11:30."

Upon receiving Martin's reply, Elizabeth quickened her pace, hopped on the scooter, hung up the phone, and called to her agent, "Martha, hurry up!"

Martha waved her hand: "You go first, I have other things to do."

Elizabeth stepped off the shop door, and the electric scooter sped off with a whoosh.

On the other side, on the roof of Nicholson's mansion, Martin swung his club, sending the golf ball flying dozens of meters before it crashed into a metal barrel in the yard with a thud.

Leonardo laughed heartily: "Challenge failed, you lost!"

Martin put down his cue, took out five dollars, and stuffed it into Leonardo's hand: "You win."

Nicholson replied, "There's been progress; more practice will do."

Leonardo suddenly remembered something: "Jack, didn't we also set up a betting line?"

Nicholson, being older and not as good a memory, asked, "What odds?"

"About Weinstein," Leonardo reminded him, "Georgina Chapman."

Nicholson remembered, did a quick calculation, and said, "It's not time yet."

Martin packed his things: "All this nonsense you're talking about has nothing to do with me."

"You were going to place a bet back then," Leonardo said.

Martin vaguely heard some noise, looked at the mansion on the other side of the Nicholson's house, and changed the subject: "Someone is moving things out of Marlon Brando's place, and there's also a van."

Nicholson said, "Marlon sold that house while he was alive. Alimony and lawsuits for his children drained all his savings and assets. He also took out a large loan from the bank using copyright income as collateral, but he was unable to repay the loan. He lost his union share and had to move into a RV to live on welfare and basic benefits from the Screen Actors Guild."

Martin cautioned, "We must never end up like this."

Leonard nodded repeatedly, pointing to Nicholson's neighbor on the other side and saying, "We're going to be Warren Beatty."

Martin scoffed: "You betrayed the trio and want to get married!"

Leonardo then remembered that Warren Beatty eventually got married, and quickly corrected himself: "Warren Beatty before she got married."

He didn't forget to take a jab at Martin: "Why don't you consider buying Malone's house? Your house on Coty Road is too small; you can't even fit a rave party."

"We'll talk about changing houses later." Martin glanced at his watch. "I'm not going to waste time with you guys, I have an appointment for lunch."

Nicholson chimed in, "I heard you on the phone. Aren't you going to consider bringing the two of us along? With our help, you can succeed this afternoon."

Leonardo put his arm around Martin's shoulder: "You're not going to abandon your two old buddies here and go on a date with a beautiful woman, are you?"

Nicholson retorted, "Martin is certainly not that kind of person." He didn't mince words, grabbed his coat, and headed for the ride: "Leo, hurry up, we can't keep the lady waiting."

"Wait!" Martin called out to them, saying, "The lady said this is a date for two, and we can't bring a third person."

He didn't want to bring those two along again: "This time is different. I'll go scout things out first. If I need your help, I'll call you right away. Compared to the two of you, I have less experience, worse skills, and less capital, so I'll definitely need to learn from you."

Leonardo was just making a gesture; Nicholson wasn't worried, but he still wanted to keep a low profile.

If he really tries to cause trouble, Martin, that scoundrel, would definitely set off a ton of fireworks to celebrate when he's trying to pick up girls.

"Never mind, good luck." Leonardo waved his hand casually.

Martin then said to Nicholson, "Don't forget our agreement; it's not appropriate for us to be out together right now."

Nicholson nodded: "That's right, let's wait until The Dark Knight is released before we talk about it."

Martin hurried off, calling Bruce as he went downstairs. By the time he arrived at the villa, Bruce had already driven up in his car.

Once in the car, Martin gave the address and cautioned, "Take a couple of detours, and be careful those two guys don't follow you."

The car drove out of the gate, and Brewster circled around twice to make sure Nicholson and Leonardo weren't following, before heading to Sherman Oaks.

Martin, still uneasy, turned back and stared for a while longer. He didn't find anything else, but he did notice that the van in Marlon Brando's yard had turned north at a three-way intersection.

This reminded him of Leonardo's talk about houses and parties, and he asked, "Should we move to a bigger house?"

Bruce said, "Is it too small now?"

Martin said, "Let's talk about it next year."

Bruce suddenly remembered something and said, "Pete has reached a settlement with several victims and will pay a considerable amount of money. I heard that he is short of cash and has sold several properties on the East Coast."

"Old Brooks, if you keep taking advantage of Pete, Pete will go bald," Martin said, but he felt it was something worth keeping an eye on.

He asked, "I remember Pitt has a super mansion in Beverly Hills?"

Bruce, who keeps an eye on Pitt and knows a lot about him, said, "The super mansion that Pitt bought for nearly $1300 million before marrying Aniston in 2001 is his premarital property and is also Pitt's current residence."

Martin began to wonder if he should continue to be a good person to the end.

Bruce added, "The mansion was built in 1934. When Pitt bought it, the house was quite dilapidated. He hired a company to renovate it, which reportedly cost tens of millions of dollars. Although the exterior of the mansion has not changed, it was actually only a few years old."

Martin made a decision: "Have Ivan keep an eye on things over there. If Pete is planning to sell this mansion, let me know."

Bruce said, "I think Pete will definitely thank you for considering his concerns in advance."

Martin, however, seemed to have the intention of being a good Samaritan: "If Pete is in a hurry to sell at a low price, we'll help him out. If he doesn't want to sell, then we'll talk about it later."

Soon, the car arrived at the business district of Sherman Oaks and stopped in front of a French restaurant.

Martin got out of the car and entered the restaurant. Before he could even ask the waiter, Elizabeth Olsen, dressed in a white dress, walked quickly towards him.

"You've arrived." Elizabeth smiled sweetly, her perfectly fitting white dress highlighting her youthful and alluring curves.

Martin made a phone call gesture: "I came right away after receiving your call."

Elizabeth walked over to the booth, invited Martin to sit down, and then sat opposite him, deliberately puffing out her chest as she said, "When I was on the phone, I think I heard Leonardo's voice, him and Jack Nicholson..."

"They didn't come." Martin smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry about what happened last time."

Speaking of the last time, Elizabeth felt somewhat uncomfortable. She had prepared for so long, only to have it all disrupted, and then Martin didn't even take the initiative to ask her out to explain things properly.

Martin, who was probably able to guess Elizabeth's thoughts, said specifically: "In February, I took on a role and locked myself in a hotel for more than 40 days, cutting off all contact with the outside world, and spent the whole time studying the character."

Elizabeth remembered and said, "The Joker? Nicholson even argued with you about it?"

Martin solemnly stated, "This role was indeed difficult to grasp and could easily affect one's mindset. I became completely immersed in the character, and even had mental health issues. I scared many people on set. When Maggie Gyllenhaal and Michael Caine were acting opposite me, they were so frightened that they forgot their lines."

He said helplessly, "This is a terrifying role. You'll see when the Dark Knight trailer is released. I got so into character that I forgot everything else. All I could think about was the Joker. It even led to Bale, who was also deeply immersed in the role, hitting me outside of filming hours..."

Elizabeth gasped in surprise, covering her mouth. As someone in the industry, she had heard of similar cases, and it wasn't particularly rare in Hollywood.

"The production team asked me to keep this a secret, but I..." Martin paused for a moment, "...I just wanted to explain it to you."

Elizabeth nodded vigorously. "I absolutely won't tell anyone." She asked with concern, "Are you feeling better now?"

Martin frankly stated, "I go to the mental health clinic every week; the problem isn't particularly serious."

Elizabeth recalled the rumors circulating in the industry, and how many people who had worked with Martin said he was a dedicated and excellent actor, and remarked, "Martin, you work too hard."

Then, with a hint of envy, she said, "If only I had half of your acting talent."

Martin encouraged her, "You're excellent too. We've worked together before, and I know how outstanding you are. Given the right opportunity, Elizabeth, you might even become more famous than your sisters."

That sounded nice, and Elizabeth couldn't help but smile sweetly. "I hope so, thank you for your encouragement. Oh, and I also want to thank you specifically. I got the role of young Caroline, and Thomas said you put in a good word with the production team."

Martin smiled and said, "It's nothing, don't worry about it. We're friends."

"I owe you so many times." Elizabeth beckoned to the waiter to order.

The two resumed their old ways and chatted enthusiastically.

(End of this chapter)