America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 447 Making Big Money

Early in the morning, Martin woke up and felt something pressing on his face, which had a pleasant fragrance.

He struggled to get out, only to find that Elizabeth's face wash had been thrown on his face at some point.

She seemed to be having a sweet dream, a gentle smile on her face even in her sleep, a sight that could brighten anyone's mood from morning till night.

After washing up, Martin went to the French windows and slightly pulled back the curtains. The eastern glow of the sunset fell on the spacious courtyard, turning the roads, lawns, and trees into a golden hue.

It's much quieter here than in the recent hustle and bustle of the Coty neighborhood.

Martin went downstairs to prepare breakfast; Elizabeth had bought a lot of semi-finished products yesterday.

As soon as he entered the kitchen, he found Bruce busy inside and asked, "Did Thomas go back last night?"

Bruce, who was frying eggs, paused, then realized, "Is he not going back to stay here?"

Martin blurted out his bastard words: "I thought he would live with you."

Bruce picked up the frying pan and dumped the fried eggs into the trash can: "You didn't have breakfast."

"I smell something burning," Martin said. "You're a terrible cook."

He went over to help, and before the two had finished making breakfast, Elizabeth had already come downstairs and offered to get the cutlery.

After the three of them sat down at the table, Martin said, "We need a long-term chef."

Elizabeth looked out at the large yard: "It seems we still need a butler."

"Take your time looking." Martin focused on his breakfast.

After breakfast, Bruce went out to find Ivan, leaving Martin and Elizabeth alone in the new house.

The two of them held hands and went for a walk in the garden.

As Elizabeth walked, she said, "This afternoon you're coming back to Sherman Oaks with me to help me move."

Martin asked, "Are you going to live here from now on?"

Elizabeth turned to look at him, a slight surprise on her face: "Is it not allowed?"

"I'm worried your sisters won't approve." Martin reacted quickly: "You can move in whenever you want, and stay as long as you like."

Elizabeth drew circles on his chest: "I want to live here forever as long as you don't move out."

Martin nodded and said, "No problem." Then an important question suddenly occurred to him: "Haven't you been going to any acting classes lately?"

Elizabeth hugged Martin, her face finally showing worry: "I'm afraid something will happen to you, afraid that the role will continue to affect you, afraid that you will really become that Joker. I'll stay with you and play the games you like, which will always make you feel more relaxed and happier."

Martin wrapped his arms around her and they kissed passionately.

They parted ways after a long time.

Spending every day with Martin brought Elizabeth immense joy, both physically and mentally. Her ambition even faded. She continued the previous topic: "It's okay. If I miss this acting class, I can take the next one. These classes are designed for professional actors, and everyone's class time is usually intermittent."

Martin nodded: "You can handle it yourself."

Elizabeth suddenly remembered: "I'm going to Europe with my sisters before the weekend. They're going to England to expand their market, and I might have to help them there for a while."

She explained, "From childhood to adulthood, I've always been spending their money, enjoying the benefits they provide, and hiding under their protection. Now that I'm grown up, I want to help out if I can."

Martin understood what was worrying and said, "I'm fine here, you can go without worry."

Elizabeth nestled into Martin's arms: "Shall we do it here? I've never tried it outdoors before."

Martin picked her up and put her on the swing in the garden.

…………

Brentwood, at Matt Damon's mansion.

Ben Affleck picked up the bottle, poured more than half a glass of liquor, and drank half of it in one gulp.

Damon glanced at Jennifer Garner, who was with her wife Lucy, and asked, "Did you two have a fight?"

Ben shook his head: "It has nothing to do with Jennifer, I'm just feeling a bit down after seeing the recent news."

Damon understood: "Martin Davis and the Dark Knight?"

"That's right, it's that bastard." Ben Affleck finished the rest of his drink. "Why is that bastard so lucky? He played the second male lead in a movie, and it became a box office hit. Not only did he completely overshadow the lead actor, but the Joker was ten times more popular than Batman."

Damon also had a poor impression of Martin, but the conflict and resentment were fading over time. After all, he hadn't had a direct confrontation with Martin. He poured himself a drink and asked before taking a sip, "I heard The Dark Knight broke the North American weekend box office record?"

In Ben's eyes, Martin was a bastard who interfered and stole the project he was about to get, so he had been paying close attention to Martin and the Dark Knight.

He roughly stated, "Not only is there a North American weekend box office record, but also a single-day box office record, and a record for the fastest film to surpass $2 million. Just yesterday, it set a new record for the fastest film to surpass $2.5 million. If nothing unexpected happens, the record for the highest second-weekend box office in North America will also belong to The Dark Knight."

Damon hadn't paid much attention, but he was somewhat surprised when he heard this: "With this kind of trend, won't North America break $5 million? And globally, it could reach $10 billion? I see clowns everywhere. With this kind of commercial success, Martin is definitely going to become a superstar."

"A double win of fame and fortune! I heard he signed a base salary plus a percentage of the profits." The thought of Martin potentially earning tens of millions of dollars made Ben Affleck feel worse than if he himself were bankrupt; a mountain weighed on his heart. "That bastard, having a project like The Dark Knight wasn't enough for him, he had to come and steal mine!"

Damon asked, "What happened?"

"I had my eye on a novel and had even made some real contact with the author, but I never expected Martin Davis to interfere halfway through..." Ben Affleck embellished his story about "The Thief Prince".

This reminded Damon of what happened when he was competing for "The Departed": "He really doesn't follow the rules."

Jennifer Garner, who was talking to Lucy, looked up and interjected, "I heard Martin Davis has a lot of powerful backers. It's not a big deal, it'll all be in the past."

"Shut up!" Ben pointed at Jennifer, almost roaring, "What do you know? He's not just stealing the adaptation rights to a novel, he's destroying my career and future."

Damon quickly said, "Ben!"

Lucy looked at Ghana, whose face had turned pale, and said, "I just got a cat, it's super cute, shall we go see it together?"

Jennifer Garner held back; the alcoholic Ben was completely unreasonable. She followed Lucy out of the living room.

Damon advised, "Drink less and control your temper."

Ben rubbed his face: "I'm not usually like this, but when I think about that bastard Martin stealing my project and then profiting from the Joker, I get really upset!"

He expressed it very directly: "Martin made a lot of money, which made me feel worse than me losing tens of millions! And my business hasn't been going well these past few years, and I've earned too little money."

Damon said, "If you find the right project, it's not hard to make money with your abilities."

Ben nodded: "I'm looking. We can't keep going like this. If I made a lot of money like I did in previous years, Jennifer wouldn't be arguing with me."

It's a very real problem: if a man can't earn enough money to support his family, he can't be on top with a clear conscience.

Ben Affleck returned to his earlier question: "Why does a jerk like Martin Davis make so much money?"

Damon, however, knew that the guy he also disliked had now gained the upper hand: "Ben, don't confront him directly. If you can't find a suitable opportunity, just bear with it. There will always be a time when you can vent your anger."

Ben Affleck vaguely said, "I won't provoke him directly. I suspect that Pitt's current situation is definitely due to his connections. I estimate that what he did was second only to Jolie and Aniston."

Damon said, "Actually, Harvey isn't happy with Martin either, because he rejected Harvey's offer again. Don't worry, there will be other opportunities."

He picked up the bottle to pour himself a drink and asked, "I heard Cassie's been going to art exhibitions a lot lately? 'Have you become obsessed with art?'"

Ben knew a little about it, but didn't go into details, since it was just a test: "He considers himself an artistic youth."

Damon said, "Casey asked me for money, saying he wanted to buy some valuable artwork."

Ben nodded: "He also borrowed money from me."

…………

Los Angeles, Museum of Modern Art.

The multi-day art exhibition was coming to an end, and Martin and Brewster made a special trip to come on the last day.

Upon entering the exhibition hall, Martin found a quiet spot with few people, and, as if he had taken a liking to a painting, stood opposite it and quietly admired it.

Bruce arrived at the sculpture exhibition area and stood in an inconspicuous corner, his gaze occasionally sweeping over Casey Affleck.

Today, Casey Affleck returned to the showroom for one last push.

Lily Carter's booth remained empty, and she was nowhere to be seen.

Cassie had some negative associations before, but as a man with an overconfident and decadent demeanor, he always believed in his own charm.

Cassie grew somewhat anxious as no one came.

The empty booth reminded him of the art sculptures he bought at high prices, which cost him hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Casey isn't a big name in Hollywood, his salary isn't high, and he doesn't have a habit of saving money. He always spends whatever money he has, so a few hundred thousand dollars is a lot for him.

Not only did he use his credit card, but he also borrowed money from Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.

The money was spent, but I haven't been able to see the person in the last few days.

Although they talked entirely inside the exhibition hall, they enjoyed their conversation about art.

From sculpture to carving, from film to medicine, there's always something in common to discuss.

Seeing that it was getting late, Cassie took out his phone and made a call.

"Hello, this is the Business Department of the California Institute of the Arts." A man's voice came through the phone: "What can I do for you?"

Cassie paused for a few seconds before asking, "Isn't this Lily Carter's phone?"

The person on the other end replied with a smile, "During the exhibition, to facilitate communication, the college has provided each participating student with a business mobile phone. The phone must be returned after the exhibition."

Cassie's face fell. "Do you have Lily Carter's contact information?"

"Sorry, I didn't. If you don't need anything else, I'm hanging up." The other end was busy, and the call ended abruptly.

Hearing the busy signal, Cassie lowered her hand and murmured, "Lily Carter..."

Looking at the empty booth in front of him, he immediately realized that he had been tricked by a female student!

Cassie circled the booth. After the bubble of blind confidence burst, people's minds always recall many things they had previously overlooked.

That Lily Carter clearly took advantage of his deliberate approach to sell him those worthless student sculptures at exorbitant prices.

And they even use the method of clearly priced artworks!

Cassie dug her fingers into her hair and scratched frantically, leaving dandruff all over the floor before leaving the exhibition hall.

(End of this chapter)