America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 458 All for the News

Studio 4 in Burbank changed its sign and officially opened in front of dozens of media reporters: the James Franco & Ben Affleck Acting School.

For second- or third-tier celebrities, especially those with few film offers, this business is very profitable.

But very few of the most popular celebrities would do it.

On the one hand, I don't have time, and on the other hand, I feel it would be beneath my taste.

Ben and Franco presented gifts to every journalist who came by, in an effort to increase the school's exposure.

After seeing the reporter off, the two returned to their office to discuss their next steps.

Ben Affleck couldn't come up with much cash, so he could only invest a small portion of his funds, along with his own fame and connections. After all, he had a gang of actors behind him, so it wasn't difficult for him to get extras and minor actors into the gang's production crews.

He could even help some girls arrange dates with Harvey Weinstein.

James Franco, still the school's largest shareholder, sat in his office chair and said, "There's only one important thing left!"

The two were in the honeymoon phase of their collaboration, and Ben Affleck automatically chimed in: "Recruit! Recruit as quickly as possible!"

It's not that he has no assets, but rather that he has relatively little personal capital. Currently, all his truly valuable fixed assets are registered under the couple's names, and any sale would require Jennifer Garner's consent.

Big Ben was a good older brother; he didn't want his younger brother to end up in jail picking soap, so he said, "We need to recruit students as quickly as possible and make money!"

Franco said, "Ben, how about we each lead a class? That would improve efficiency. Halfway through the lesson, we can switch teachers, thus fulfilling our promise of dual-star teaching!"

Big Ben, whose mind was full of making money, replied, "Good idea, let's do it your way."

The previous batch of students had officially graduated after a week of training. Franco called his assistant in and asked her to contact the newspaper and recruit students through GG.

Jennifer Lawrence stayed at the acting school as an assistant for the time being, and then patiently waited for the good opportunity that James Franco had mentioned.

After finishing her work contacting the media, Lawrence took out the Nokia 1100 that Nicholson had specially provided for her, edited a short message with only a number code, and sent it to the secure phone that Nicholson had specially set up for this operation.

…………

In the North Side of Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, Nicholson was leisurely enjoying afternoon tea with Lorraine.

The classic Nokia ringtone sounded. He pulled out a black 1100, glanced at the text message, and said to Lorraine, "Go to the study and get my hardcover notebook."

Considering that her father had just given her a large sum of pocket money from TMZ, Lorraine didn't say much and readily went to the study on the first floor to retrieve her notebook.

Nicholson opened his notebook and compared it with the code he had written to see what it meant.

There's nothing I can do; as people get older, their memories fade.

He was very enthusiastic about coding at the time and even asked Martin and Lawrence to write it all down, but he himself forgot it completely.

Lawrence sent a text message in code, but Nicholson couldn't understand what it meant.

Nicholson followed the code and finally found the corresponding content: the performing arts school was preparing to enroll students.

We can proceed to the next step.

Making a phone call was out of the question. Nicholson strictly adhered to the rules Martin had set for himself when he left Los Angeles. He picked up his Nokia 1100, found the number assigned to Bruce, and forwarded the code.

Lorraine asked curiously, "What's going on? Why are you being so mysterious?"

Nicholson said, "It's a secret operation, so don't ask about it."

"Ha, what secret?" Lorraine voiced her dissatisfaction. "Jack, can't you be a little more aware that your new girlfriend isn't even older than me!"

Nicholson confirmed that the text message had been sent, put down his phone, and said, "We agreed that I wouldn't interfere in your private life, and you wouldn't interfere in mine."

Lorraine pursed her lips. "Fine, I won't interfere!" Her tone abruptly changed. "I think Martin is quite something. He has a ton of mistresses, both public and private, some of whom even have husbands and boyfriends. Is there something special about him?"

Nicholson looked up.

Before he could speak, Lorraine interjected, "Jack, don't you like to have fun? Wouldn't it be hilarious to have your best friend become your father-in-law?"

Nicholson's eyes widened, and he was speechless for a moment.

…………

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Martin and Nolan were recording a show in the TV studio, while Bruce stayed backstage.

His phone vibrated, and he took two steps back, leaving the crowd. He took out his spare phone, but it only displayed a text message code.

Bruce thought for a moment and remembered what it meant; it was sent by Nicholson.

Ignoring the rules set by Nicholson, he dialed Ivan's number directly and said, "Keep an eye on it, they should be recruiting soon."

Ivan's reply was simple: "Received."

Bruce hung up the phone immediately and took a step forward to continue guarding Martin.

After a while, Martin came out of the studio to go to the restroom.

Bruce followed and whispered, "Jack sent the code, let's begin."

Martin felt a headache coming on when he thought about the code: "He completely immersed himself in it and even wrote a page of code."

Bruce said, "You don't write it down, but you make me write it down!"

Martin said, "Your memory is better than mine." A thought struck him, and he thought of John Wick from Nicholson: "How about we cast old Jack as one of the behind-the-scenes bosses at the High Table?"

"His salary is very high." Bruce, after all, has the title of manager: "Unless his next film can gross $4 million at the box office, but that's too difficult for an R-rated action film."

Martin waved his hand: "Let's talk about it later."

…………

In Los Angeles, Jody received a call from Ivan. She first picked up her makeup mirror and touched up her makeup before heading out to drive to Griffith Park.

Jody met Ivan under a pavilion in the park.

"Did you hear some big news?" she asked directly.

Ivan shook his head: "I haven't had much luck lately; I haven't managed to get any big news shots."

Jody took out a cigarette, offered one to Ivan, and when Ivan waved it away, Jody put it in her own mouth, lit it, and said, "You wouldn't contact me if there wasn't news."

Ivan said, "I just received some information, but I'm too old to verify it in person."

"You know TMZ's rules: we don't buy news without concrete evidence," Jody said pragmatically. "I'm not going to pay you for a single piece of information."

Ivan fell silent for a long while before saying, "Payment can be made later. You can verify the information and only pay me the informant fee."

The informant fee was very low, and Jody agreed: "I can make that decision. If the information is reliable, I'll double the informant fee."

Ivan took out a rolled-up newspaper from his hand and handed it to Jody: "Take a look."

The newspaper was divided into two parts: the first part reported that the James Franco and Ben Affleck Acting School had been officially established yesterday, while the second part was about student recruitment.

"Is there something wrong with this school?" Jody asked.

Ivan explained in detail: "In the apartment I used to rent, there were two girls on the same floor who had taken acting classes at Franco's Studio 4 school. I heard them mention that they had all been sexually harassed by Franco in class, even being asked to strip naked and perform explicit scenes with him in the name of art, and even being asked by Franco to go to a hotel after class..."

Jody didn't interrupt rashly.

After receiving Bruce's notification, Ivan did a lot of preliminary work: "I originally wanted to persuade them, but they were afraid that their acting careers would end from there, so they didn't dare to step forward."

Jody said, "I wouldn't do the same either."

Ivan continued, "And then there's Ben Affleck, who used to work part-time as a teacher at the Adler School of Performing Arts, and soon after, he received complaints from several female students, similar to those against Franco."

Bruce told him that this is a common problem in many acting schools in Hollywood. The so-called "red sofa" doesn't start with auditions to win roles. Girls without connections or backgrounds face the choice of the "red sofa" from the very beginning of their acting studies.

Jody had vaguely heard similar rumors, but didn't know much about them, so she asked, "Are you sure?"

Ivan countered, "Was any of the information and news I provided to you ever false?"

Jody thought back briefly; not even once.

Ivan said, "I've given you the message. I'm leaving now."

Jody nodded: "I need to get the support of my superiors. Wait for my news."

Ivan smiled slightly, put his hands behind his back, and left the park.

Jody exited the park from the other side, drove back to the company, retrieved the relevant information on James Franco and Ben Affleck from the archives, reviewed it carefully, and then went to the editor-in-chief's office.

Unlike traditional media, TMZ, while not daring to truly provoke those big shots, chooses to expose scandals involving celebrities more often than it settles with those involved.

After hearing Jody's description, the editor-in-chief asked, "What's your opinion?"

Jody said, "Franco is a second-tier star. Aside from his close ties with the thugs, his background and network are so-so. Ben Affleck is a bit more troublesome; he's one of Harvey Weinstein's men..."

The editor-in-chief interrupted, "Harvey Weinstein? It's a bit troublesome when it comes to him."

"He's just one of Harvey's henchmen at best," Jody continued. "Since Daredevil's failure, Ben Affleck's career has plummeted, and he's long since lost the glory he had at the turn of the century. He's now one of those washed-up but relatively well-known stars."

She was very direct: "We at TMZ can totally handle them!"

The editor-in-chief quickly browsed the two individuals' profiles on his computer: "Okay, but you know TMZ's principles: we can create news, but we absolutely cannot publish fake news!"

Jody is still young, and apart from being as thin as a stick, she is quite pretty. She said, "I'm going to sign up for their acting school's acting courses to experience the content firsthand."

When Jody came to the editor-in-chief, she was also asking for support: "I need to use a lot of special photography and recording equipment during this period."

"I will make an exception," the editor-in-chief praised. "Joe, you have great courage."

Jody remained steadfast: "It's all for the news."

With support and equipment in hand, Jody quickly enrolled and became a young actor eager to become famous, beginning her studies at a performing arts school.

Her first teacher was Ben Affleck, whose teaching style went beyond simply touching the girls inappropriately.

Jody doesn't report fake news, but she actively creates real news, and her flamboyant performance quickly attracted Ben's attention.

(End of this chapter)