America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 463 The Road to Becoming a Super Giant

The van stopped in front of the villa, and several workers carefully carried the wooden crates into the living room to unpack them. Under Bruce's direction, they placed the snow-white marble statue on its base.

Lily took a check to settle accounts with the workers.

Martin called out to Leonardo, who had just returned from a vacation in New York: "Come and see your statue."

Leonardo and Nicholson followed, with the former saying, "I haven't paid yet, so it's not mine yet."

Nicholson retorted, "You'd better pay up, or you won't be leaving Martin's house."

Martin looked at Nicholson: "What do you take this place for? A den of demons?"

Leonardo ignored the two silly figures and quickly walked to the snow-white marble statue, carefully examining the human figure, which was about 50 centimeters tall.

The sculpture has smooth lines, superb craftsmanship, and is lifelike.

Based on his years of experience buying art, his eye for it is not much worse than that of modern artists.

Martin didn't concern himself with that; as for how much Leonardo wanted to offer, he would have to discuss it with Lily's agent.

Nicholson then answered a phone call, not bothering to hide it from Martin, and immediately put it on speakerphone: "Hi, honey, how's it going?"

"The house is very beautiful," Lorraine said excitedly. "It's spacious, and I haven't lived in it much since it was renovated. Most importantly, it's cheap enough, and I love it."

This is a small villa that the former Ben and his wife bought in Brentwood. After their divorce, the villa was transferred to Ben's name, and he quickly sold it at a low price to get cash and get rid of those troubles as soon as possible.

Martin had been keeping an eye on Ben Wallace's side and immediately notified Nicholson.

Nicholson said, "Great. The original owner of that house paid $700 million for it, and now you've bought it for only $400 million. The house is now yours. Consider it my early coming-of-age gift to you. Don't come asking me for gifts when you turn 21."

Lorraine was quite something: "Jack, aren't you going to make up the $300 million difference?"

Nicholson hung up the phone in anger and said to Martin, "You and Leo are the best; you don't have to worry about these family dramas."

Martin pointed towards the statue, where Lily's carving knife danced up and down between her fingers. He said, "Without me watching over her and suppressing her from time to time, she's much more troublesome than Lorraine when she starts causing trouble."

Nicholson nodded repeatedly: "Lorraine wouldn't think of stabbing someone with a knife, nor would she go into studying human medicine to figure out how not to seriously injure someone."

Lily, her ears perked up, vaguely heard Nicholson's words and shouted, "I study human medicine so I can sculpt, okay?!"

Martin and Nicholson ignored her, their eyes flashing with nothing but "you're kidding me" and the like.

Leonardo then said, "The statue is very nice, I'll take it." He told Lily, "Have your agent talk to my investment manager about the price."

Lily smiled happily: "Okay, I'll go make the call now."

This isn't just about making a small profit; if his agent promotes it and Leonardo DiCaprio buys Lily Carter's sculpture at a high price, his net worth could increase even further.

Leonardo went to the living room liquor cabinet, grabbed a bottle of wine and three glasses, poured some, and demanded, "You two are so unfair! You caused trouble without even calling me!"

Martin raised his hand: "I was just the errand boy." He pointed to the side: "This is the planner and commander!"

Nicholson, with the air of a boss, said: "There's no room for you to make a difference in this."

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "They're kicking us in the face, where's our RPG?"

"The war hasn't started yet, so there's no need for RPGs," Martin said seriously. "If a full-scale war were to break out, you, the core member of the Face Gang, would be indispensable."

Leonardo DiCaprio was full of fighting spirit: "All the blonde, long-legged, unmarried, young, and beautiful women in the foot gang are mine; the married women are Martin's; and the other men are Jack's."

Nicholson and Martin simultaneously raised their middle fingers.

Martin's phone rang. He answered and hung up, saying, "Ben is selling his house in Santa Monica. Anyone interested?"

Leonardo shook his head: "I own too many houses to count. Having too many fixed assets isn't a good thing." Pete and Ben Affleck both reminded him: "You still need to keep enough cash on hand."

Nicholson thought of Lorraine: "I bought a set."

"Looks like I'll have to take it on." Martin sighed. "It's really not easy to be a good guy taking over a business, especially since it costs millions of dollars."

He happened to see Lily coming in from outside and said directly, "Go and buy me another house."

Lily silently mourned for the Affleck brothers for two seconds, then suddenly perked up and asked, "Martin, once we buy the house, can you rent it to me as a studio?"

Martin didn't take it to heart at all and casually replied, "Sure, you can pay whatever rent you want."

Lily got the real estate agent's contact information and hurried off to work.

This time there were no complaints, and they were particularly proactive.

Lily contacted the real estate agent, went to see the house again, negotiated with the agent, and cut the price down by $20. She then immediately went to complete the necessary procedures.

In the afternoon, Martin and Bruce went to the Angels Club to practice their shooting and keep their skills sharp.

Just after finishing a magazine of AR, Thomas called, and Martin simply told him to come to the club.

More than half an hour later, Thomas, with a shiny forehead, came looking for him.

Martin handed the gun to Bruce and went to the rest area with Thomas, asking, "What's the rush?"

Thomas said, "We've reached an agreement with Cartier for a men's watch endorsement. We signed a contract in October for $1000 million per year."

These were all within Martin's expectations. He asked, "What about the others?"

"I've negotiated a few additional terms," ​​Thomas explained in detail. "For awards like the Oscars or the three major European film festivals, Cartier will assist you in your pursuit of the award, including covering some of the public relations expenses and contacting relevant media resources. If you win one of the major awards, we will pay an additional $200 million bonus."

Martin nodded: "Okay."

He thought for a moment and asked, "Coca-Cola and Cadillac have similar clauses, plus the Cartier men's watch, and the support from the production team and agency, it seems like I don't really need to spend much of my own money to go to the Oscars, right?"

Thomas said, "That's not wrong. Take this year for example. I've already reached an agreement with the Dark Knight crew. They will do their best to help you win an Oscar for acting. I've also contacted the brands you endorse, and they've indicated that their support will be no less than that for your 'The Reader'."

Martin secretly calculated that not only would he not have many places where he actually needed to spend money, but if he could win an acting award, not to mention the increase in his net worth, the sponsorship rewards from just a few sponsoring brands alone would exceed $500 million.

Such an Oscar award is incredibly motivating, offering both honor and financial rewards.

Thomas said, "The huge success of The Dark Knight, plus an Oscar for acting, meant that when negotiating Nolan's new project, a $1500 million salary was just the starting point, and $2000 million was also possible. I felt that a $1000 million salary plus a share of the post-production costs would be more appropriate."

"Sure," Martin asked. "How far am I from being a 20+20 superstar?"

Thomas frankly stated, "There are only a handful of actors in all of Hollywood who receive this kind of treatment, and not every film gets it."

He also hopes Martin can become a superstar soon, but the road to superstardom is one step at a time: "Let's get this year's Oscars sorted out first."

Martin said, "If it weren't for the comic book adaptation, I'm confident I could have won Best Actor this time."

Thomas's agent was more pragmatic: "Winning Best Supporting Actor would be a victory. I heard Sean Penn's new film received excellent reviews in test screenings, and his goal is Best Actor. You know, Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn are both super darlings of the Academy's older white male idols."

Martin asked, "What's Sean Penn's new movie?"

"Milk," Thomas explained simply, "is a biographical film about Milk, a gay man who entered politics to fight for the legal rights of gay people, and was ultimately assassinated."

Martin knew immediately that the Joker wasn't a strong contender for the role.

Thomas continued, "Since Brokeback Mountain won the award, the atmosphere in the community has changed. Homosexuality is no longer taboo; instead, it has become a major asset in the race for awards."

Martin said, "The support will only increase in the future."

Thomas tentatively asked, "Would you like to try this kind of subject matter?"

Martin's gaze fell on Thomas's face, but he said nothing, simply watching him quietly.

Thomas had figured out how to get along with Martin over the past few years, so he quickly changed his tune: "I'll turn down any subject matter like this."

Martin said, "Your work going forward will revolve around the Oscar race. The studio has hired a professional PR team, and you'll have to fully cooperate."

Thomas said, "The agency will also fully cooperate. I've spoken with Ali, and he will personally campaign for you."

He then brought up another matter: "The election is about to begin, and Ali's brother is a member of Obama's team. Ali would like to invite you to Obama's campaign event in Los Angeles."

Martin's stance has been left-leaning ever since he was in Atlanta, and so have his friends and associates, including Kelly and Louise. After a moment's consideration, he agreed: "Let me know when the time and place are confirmed."

Thomas nodded, and after finishing the business, he brought up some industry news that Martin was interested in: "Pitt has reached an out-of-court settlement with Cadillac, Breitling, and several other brands he endorses."

Martin was intrigued and asked, "How much compensation?"

Thomas shook his head: "The exact amount was not disclosed by either party, but the total breach of contract compensation will definitely be at least fifty million US dollars. Pitt originally had a net worth of over 100 million, but a large part of it was invested in Fannie Mae stock after he broke up with Jolie, and now it's no different from a piece of waste paper."

He continued, "Aside from one house he owns, Pitt has sold off most of his other real estate and car assets. He is now in contact with several small production companies, hoping to return to the screen and regain his former glory."

Martin asked, "They still dare to use him for big projects?"

"Let alone big projects, even small- to medium-sized film projects wouldn't dare risk using him." Thomas had investigated in detail: "No insurance company is willing to insure Pete."

(End of this chapter)