America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 492 The Losers' Alliance

The sun was high in the sky when Ben Affleck woke up from his hangover, patted his head which felt like it was about to explode, opened his eyes and looked at the clock on the wall; it was almost ten o'clock in the morning.

He quickly got up, washed up briefly, slung a bag over his shoulder, and went out. When he arrived at the elevator, the elevator was coming down. He went in and found that there was another woman in the elevator.

The woman's belly was protruding, and she was holding her hands in front of her, clearly a pregnant woman, the same one I had met yesterday.

Seeing the other person's wary expression, Da Ben withdrew his gaze, and waited for the elevator to stop before stepping out first.

He drove north, and not long after leaving Burbank, he arrived at the San Fernando Valley, where the film and television industry is also enormous.

Big Ben had been here before. After wandering around, he arrived at a coffee shop in the valley area, parked his car, and went inside.

Brad Pitt, with his long hair and beard, is sitting in a corner drinking coffee, wearing a baseball cap.

He saw Ben and said with slight displeasure, "You're late."

"Traffic jam," Ben Affleck made up an excuse. He ordered coffee and dessert, sat down opposite Pete, and asked, "Why did you move here?"

Pitt also made an excuse: "I've had enough of that troublesome place, Los Angeles, and I want to come here for some peace and quiet."

Ben looked out the glass window at the area across the street, where there was a cluster of film studios. A thought suddenly occurred to him: "Brad, you're not thinking of changing careers, are you?"

Pete paused for a moment, then forced a smile, full of bitterness: "I haven't made a final decision yet. I'm talking to people and seeing their sincerity and model."

He rubbed his face: "Sigh, what can I do? The banks won't lend me money. I still have some Fannie Mae shares, but Fannie Mae has been delisted and can't be traded directly. A company told me that for an upfront fee of $1000 million, they could revitalize my tens of millions of dollars in Fannie Mae assets. I can only try to make money."

He recounted his unpleasant experiences, not wanting to make Ben feel any better: "And you? I heard you've had a rough time these past six months?"

Ben Affleck's fleeting pleasure at hearing Pitt's pitiful state vanished instantly: "Don't even mention it. I've been through divorce, settlements, and attacks from all the women in Hollywood, led by #MeToo. I'm no better off than you."

The bitterness in Pitt's smile visibly diminished; he felt inexplicably relieved to see his friends living worse lives than himself.

But he couldn't bear to see his friend suffer, and said, "Have you considered changing careers?"

Ben Affleck's face darkened. Pitt didn't have children, but he did.

What will you do if your daughter sees his films on screen in the future? Will you cheer her on?

"I still have some money." Ben just sold a house.

Pete's mood, which had just improved, instantly turned gloomy again, and he couldn't stand the sight of Ben Affleck no matter what.

Big Ben didn't come here today to talk about these things. He said, "We shouldn't be in this situation today. What we did isn't a big deal in Hollywood. You just coerced some domestic workers, and I just slept with some female students in acting classes. What's that?"

Pete picked up his coffee, took a sip, and muttered, "Times have changed, those women have all gone crazy! I also suffered the most shameful betrayal, being stabbed in the back by my wife and girlfriend."

Ben Affleck asked him, "Who's behind Jolie and Aniston? Who's bumping into them and pushing them from behind?"

Pete could answer that question with his eyes closed, gritting his teeth: "Martin Davis!"

Ben Wallace stared at him and asked, "I'm similar to you, I'm also connected to Martin Davis."

"What?" Pete's first reaction was, "Did Martin sleep with your wife Jennifer Garner?"

Ben felt a surge of anger rising in his throat, and he really wanted to grab the coffee cup in front of him and smash it over Pete's head! He held back his anger and said, "That's not true, don't talk nonsense! What I mean is, all this mess that's happened to me is related to Martin."

Seeing Ben Affleck looking downcast, Pete's mood improved, and he asked, "What's wrong?"

"Martin snatched the adaptation rights to a novel I had my eye on..." Ben Affleck recounted, from his perspective, how Martin first took the project and then suppressed the brothers.

For some reason, Pete felt both relieved and resentful. He felt relieved because of the Affleck brothers' mess, and resentful because of Martin Davis.

He downed his cold coffee in one gulp: "Martin doesn't do any of the things humans do!"

Ben Affleck approached Pete, seeking a temporary alliance: "I sold my last valuable property to prepare for dealing with Martin. Pete, you're also a victim of Martin; haven't you thought about retaliating?"

Pete said, "What can you do without money? I plan to revitalize my assets after that."

Ben shook his head: "I can't wait that long."

Pete asked, "What do you want to do?"

"Find Martin's weakness." Having learned his lesson, Ben Affleck wasn't going to waste time and energy on Martin's associates; he'd deal with Martin himself: "We'll be patient. Either we don't act, or we make sure Martin can't recover!"

Pete has been trying to revitalize that asset, and not just for the money: "With Martin Davis's current power, we alone can't deal with him."

Ben reminded him, "Have you forgotten Harvey?"

Harvey is the real boss of the Foot Club, and he had already contacted him: "Harvey has invited Martin many times, but he has rejected him every time. Martin also stole Wes Craven, and Harvey has long disliked him. As long as we can find Martin's weakness, Harvey can launch a targeted attack."

Pete, distrustful of Harvey, asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"Harvey will be at the Cannes Film Festival in May, bringing Quentin Tarantino's film to compete head-on with Martin Davis's new film." Ben Affleck, however, had high hopes for Harvey: "Brad, I believe you, like me, still have some connections in the industry. Let's use our last connections to find Martin Davis's weakness."

These aren't difficult. Pete thought for a moment and nodded slightly: "Okay."

"Kill Martin!" Ben reached out his hand.

Pete grabbed his hand.

…………

Beverly Hills, Davis Estate.

The black Cadillac Escalade was parked in the fountain square. Lily, who was driving, raised the trunk and very conscientiously got out with Bruce to get the luggage.

Elizabeth picked up the two bags Martin was carrying and told the housekeeper to have the kitchen prepare lunch.

Martin, on the other hand, entered the villa empty-handed, like an old man.

Martin took a bag, took out a gift box, and handed it to Lily: "This is your gift."

Lily, quite naturally, took the gift box and winked at Elizabeth, "I'm leaving now."

Bruce never needed to be prompted; he would disappear from the villa on his own.

Martin watched with considerable surprise as Lily walked out of the villa. What had happened during this time? She used to stay put unless he chased her away.

Elizabeth asked, "Where's my present?"

Martin took out three gift boxes and handed them to Elizabeth: "These are for you."

Elizabeth opened the package and looked very pleased: "The new Hermès bag, the Chanel perfume set, and this Cartier women's watch are very similar to your favorite matching pair."

Martin smiled. "I picked it out especially for you."

Elizabeth picked them all up and headed upstairs: "I'll put them away first."

As she walked upstairs, she turned back and asked Martin, "Aren't you coming?"

Martin had just returned from South Korea and had been subjected to a series of interrogations by the nine-member girl group, so his will was exceptionally strong.

But this is not the time to be tough.

The old boy ultimately couldn't resist the Scarlet Witch.

Martin followed without hesitation, using every trick in the book to transform Elizabeth into his shape once again.

Once she had calmed down, Elizabeth asked, "Will you be able to stay in Los Angeles for a while this time?"

Martin said, "By mid-May, I'll first go to Cannes for the film festival, then go to Morocco to meet up with director Nolan for the filming of his new movie. I estimate I'll be traveling all over the world."

When Elizabeth returned from Martin, she didn't mention the gossip that was all over the entertainment media, not even asking about it, as if none of it had ever happened.

This also gave Martin a sense of warmth and comfort, like being back home, isolated from the outside world, and able to enjoy his own private space.

Elizabeth added, "Lily and I have agreed that I will visit the set often."

Martin nodded. "Okay."

It was almost noon when the two took a shower, changed their clothes, and went downstairs for lunch.

Besides Lily and Bruce, Thomas also came over and was talking to Bruce about his girlfriend.

"I'm sure I've found true love this time. Victoria is living with me." He saw Martin and Elizabeth coming downstairs and said, "Martin, Liz, please come to my new house for a party sometime. I have a hostess now."

Martin smiled and asked, "Then I definitely have to go."

Elizabeth replied, "Congratulations."

Martin invited everyone to lunch.

Upon entering the restaurant, the five of them ate and chatted. Bruce even shared some of his experiences in South Korea: "I developed face blindness there. Many women look so alike, like they were made from the same mold. I couldn't tell them apart at all."

Martin said, "That's normal, I can't tell who's who either."

Thomas asked, "I heard that the Koreans want to invest in your film?"

Martin roughly stated, "I'm prepared to use their funds to make a biopic about Marcus. Keep an eye out for suitable directors."

Then, the topic shifted to John Wick.

The film has been showing in North America for three weeks and has grossed $1.41 million.

In addition, the film was shown in more than 30 overseas markets, with overseas box office revenue approaching $6000 million.

Starting this weekend, Latin America, one of Hollywood's backyard markets, will also begin its full-scale theatrical run.

Martin had just finished eating when he received a call from Leonardo.

"I heard you're back?" Leonardo said. "It's a really interesting event, let's go together."

Martin asked curiously, "What activity?"

Leonardo said with a laugh, "Hugh Hefner is having his annual pajama party, and Jack and I are both planning to go."

Martin became interested and asked, "Can you get your hands on an invitation?"

"Jack and Hefner have a long-standing relationship," Leonardo said exaggeratedly. "Dozens of invitations are no problem."

Martin said, "Great, give me a few more. I have quite a few friends here."

(End of this chapter)