America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 416 Necessity is the mother of invention

"It's a beautiful house, Martin. You have excellent taste."

Standing on the highest terrace of the villa, Nicholson took off his sunglasses and looked around: "When are you moving? We must have a huge party. If we can't invite 50 supermodels, you can just jump off this building."

Martin pretended not to hear the last sentence and said, "The interior needs to be renovated. The plan has just been finalized, and we won't be moving until at least summer."

He remembered the first sentence: "Jack, you have good taste too, you can tell I have exceptional taste."

Leonardo, who was standing nearby, couldn't stand it anymore: "I remember this house was newly built by Pete, right? I'm very curious, why would Pete be willing to sell it to you at such a low price?"

Martin said, "Because I'm good friends with Pete."

Leonardo sensed something was wrong and asked, "Did Pete know that this house ended up in your hands?"

Martin waved his hand: "Don't worry about these trivial details."

"I get it." Leonardo started brainstorming bad ideas: "Aren't you going to tell Pete? He doesn't know, and if he doesn't properly thank you, don't you feel like something's missing? It won't be complete!"

Nicholson patted Martin on the shoulder: "How can you do good deeds anonymously?" He took out his phone and dialed his daughter's number: "Lorraine, bring your camera and come to the North Side of Sunset Boulevard. Aren't you short on pocket money? Film some videos and sell them to TMZ for some cash."

Martin looked at the two idiots and said, "You two are truly my best brothers!"

He didn't mean to stop him, nor did he care.

"Who's our neighbor? Let's say hello." Nicholson pointed to the left and right sides and said, "I have a rocket launcher and special fireworks in my car. If we say hello, our neighbor will definitely remember us."

Martin quickly said, "I haven't even found out who the neighbors are yet. Don't mess around. Not everyone can act like you and Warren Beatty."

Nicholson retorted, "Buddy, if it turns out to be a beautiful neighbor, you've hit the jackpot."

Leonardo DiCaprio chimed in, "Martin's grand prize isn't his beautiful neighbor, but his beautiful neighbor who's married and has a husband."

Not long after, Lorraine drove into the yard, and following her father's instructions, took a DV camera and filmed everywhere. She also called a TMZ reporter and rushed over to sell the video.

Martin Davis's new home is still somewhat newsworthy.

Nicholson called out, "Let's go to the Nightclub. It's time to wash up. I've arranged to go with Warren Beatty and Scorsese."

Martin got into Leonardo's car, and they drove together to the Nightclub.

After a while, Scorsese and Warren Beatty arrived.

A few people went backstage to choose people and entered a VIP room to enjoy facial cleansing services.

As the face wash rolled over his aging face, Scorsese looked refreshed and younger, as if he had become more than ten years younger. Feeling energetic again, he said, "I've been resting for over a year, and I'm really bored. I'm getting ready to shoot a new film."

Martin joked, "Ready to earn money for baby formula?"

Nicholson, however, stated a harsh truth: "Alimony."

Martin knew this; Scorsese's previous four marriages had provided him with tremendous creative inspiration.

Warren Beatty, who works at the Academy, said, "They won't easily give you another Best Director Oscar."

"It's okay, one is enough." Scorsese had let go of his Oscar obsession and wouldn't dwell on it anymore. He looked at Leonardo and said, "Give me your schedule from the second half of this year to the first half of next year."

Leonardo agreed without hesitation: "I'm available anytime."

Nicholson asked Martin, "And you, what are you planning to do?"

Martin's answer was simple and direct: "Of course, it's about making money, a gunfight action movie."

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "You need to have enough money to pursue art."

Warren Beatty agrees: "Without money, it's difficult to even gain artistic recognition."

Although he didn't say it explicitly, everyone knew he was referring to the Oscar statuette.

Martin asked, "Is my chances of getting a nomination this time very high?"

"The Screen Actors Guild has announced your nominations for Best Actor, and you're on their five-person shortlist," Warren Beatty said bluntly. "If you don't get a nomination, you can throw all of Jack's fireworks into my house."

Martin and the others laughed.

Warren Beatty cautioned, "You can forget about winning; this Best Actor award is 90% going to Daniel Day-Lewis."

Then, the five of them took a second round of facial cleanser.

They left looking more and more energetic than the last.

Martin also learned about Scorsese's next project, called "Shutter Island".

Leonardo DiCaprio found a new investor from Asia who could easily solve the production funding problem.

Martin kept to his boundaries and never intended to get involved.

…………

In New York, Lily stepped out of the elevator, took out her keys, and opened the door to her luxury apartment.

She had never lived in a house like this before.

Even when the Carter family was destitute, they still had a detached, dilapidated wooden house in the Clayton neighborhood.

Lily changed her shoes, walked through the entryway into the living room. The house had never been lived in before; everything was brand new.

She walked to the huge floor-to-ceiling window in the living room, which overlooked the entire Central Park.

"Pete has a great eye for houses," Lily said admiringly. "Much better than Martin."

But then he thought, Martin doesn't need to have a good eye; he only needs to keep an eye on Pete to reap the rewards.

Ultimately, Martin is still the better one.

Lily has made up her mind. She will stay here tonight in this luxurious apartment that is over 300 square meters. She wants to be the first person to check in.

Two blocks away, in an apartment nearly half the size of its former self, Pete lay alone in bed, unable to sleep all night.

Lacking sufficient cash to pay compensation and legal fees, he had to sell fixed assets at low prices to raise funds.

Pete sensed a financial crisis; with only expenses and no income, it would be difficult for him to enjoy life.

Going back to the past in Hollywood is almost impossible. He's also been ousted from the Plan B board, and it's unclear how long Jennifer Aniston will withhold his share of the profits, perhaps even until legal action is taken.

When he was earning $2000 million a year, Pitt thought money was just a number to him.

Encountering these terrible things, the economic crisis caused him to lose almost all of his liquid funds invested in Fannie Mae, and he was constantly attacked by public opinion led by #MeToo.

Pitt truly realized how difficult it is to make money.

He didn't sleep all night, analyzing what capital he still had that he could use to make money.

Naturally, Pete thought of his fame.

Even if he's disgraced, he's still a celebrity.

Even a socialite like Kim Kardashian can sell a single video for tens of millions of dollars; he would definitely earn even more.

Pete only has an idea for now.

…………

The press room at The Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Beverly Hills.

The Oscar nominees luncheon is underway.

The luncheon was hosted by Academy President Sidney Ganis and Hollywood sweetheart Jessica Alba.

Martin sat at the same table as Kate and Sam Mendes.

Jessica Alba announced the nominations one by one, and soon it was time for Best Actor and Best Actress.

Both Martin and Kate were relatively calm about the nominations, because the Screen Actors Guild nominations are, in most cases, a carbon copy of the Oscar acting nominations.

Sure enough, accompanied by Jessica Alba's introduction, Martin and Kate's names appeared on the big screen in the press room.

"The nominees for Best Actor are George Clooney, Daniel Day-Lewis, and Martin Davis... The nominees for Best Actress are Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, and Ellen Page..."

Cheers echoed from all around, especially from the table next door where the "Juno" crew was sitting, where the celebrations were the loudest.

It is truly commendable that a low-budget film can achieve success in both the artistic and commercial spheres.

Martin stood up and opened his arms: "Congratulations, Kate."

"Congratulations to you too, Martin." Kate hugged Martin.

It's just a nomination, after all.

Sam Mendes subsequently received a Best Director nomination.

"The Reader" received six Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.

In the group photo of the nominees, Ellen Page stood in front of Martin.

The latter turned around and saw him, and quickly greeted him: "Hello, Martin, congratulations on your Best Actor nomination."

Martin responded with a smile, "Congratulations to you too, you gave a very good performance."

Ellen Page looked surprised: "Really? You saw it?"

Martin hadn't even seen the movie she starred in, and slightly changed the subject: "My favorites are still your performances in Kitty Phantom and Hard Candy, especially Hard Candy, which was so memorable."

Ellen Page added, "I really enjoyed your performance and hope to have the opportunity to work with you someday."

Once the group photo began, Martin said no more and posed for a group photo with hundreds of people.

In addition to receiving an Oscar nomination, he will continue to serve as an award presenter.

Stimulated by the good news of the Oscars, "The Reader," whose North American screenings had been declining rapidly, experienced a resurgence and a surge in box office revenue.

Following the nomination luncheon, the film expanded its screenings to 1457 theaters in North America that weekend and continued for two more weekends, earning another $874 million in North America, bringing its total North American box office to $6811 million.

The final North American box office will definitely exceed $70 million, but that's about it; the genre of the film determines that the North American box office cannot exceed $100 million.

While both films deal with Nazism and the Holocaust, "The Reader" is far less entertaining than "Schindler's List," and it lacks the sentimental, happy ending that North American audiences often enjoy.

In addition, the film has already been released in Germany and the UK, and thanks to its story background and the star power of its actors, the combined box office in the two countries has exceeded ten million US dollars.

It will also be released in other overseas markets in the future.

The Oscars ceremony is followed by a period of great excitement for the DVD market.

Martin was preparing for the Oscars, and Lois Lane, who had gone to New York to scout out "John Wick," rushed back to Los Angeles, bringing back a new sponsor.

(End of this chapter)