America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 567 Cherish Life, Stay Away from Martin

Visiting room at a California state prison.

Manninger sat in front of the bulletproof glass window, listening to the black boy across from him talking.

The young man said, "Old Man, we've been taking care of your sister and mother for you, and they're doing very well."

They visited last month, and Manninger nodded, "Thank you."

"No need for formalities, we're brothers," the black guy said again. "I managed to bring you a few new bars of soap. They'll be handed to you after the inspection. Three soft-skinned bastards just arrived, the tallest of them..."

After hearing the description, Manninger said, "I recognize him. The brothers haven't had any meat in a long time. You've come at just the right time."

Seeing that it was almost time, the young man said, "We can talk in detail next time I come to see you."

When the visit ended, Manninger received an inspected bag from the prison guard as he left; inside were several boxes of opened soap.

These soaps have a unique fragrance that is refreshing and invigorating, quite different from the ones I used to have.

Manninger returned to his room, waited for the iron gate to close, and immediately called over a few of his underlings.

The day was peaceful, but during the exercise break, many black men gathered together.

They were extremely energetic and did things without restraint, forming their own faction within the state prison.

These people quickly reached an agreement, and six of them decided to participate directly.

Some of them, with their substantial capital, were able to be recruited to work as male artists in the Sagrada Familia.

The next day, it was time for the prison to shower.

Pete, Ben, and Cassie, who had just transferred over, entered the open-plan bathroom and deliberately chose a secluded spot to shower.

The tap had just been turned on when a group of Black men came over from across the street. They were chatting noisily about something, and some of them were glancing this way.

Pete glanced across the room and said to Ben, "I've got a friend who can get preferential treatment soon. Don't cause trouble in there, and try to slip some money in. We'll definitely get out sooner."

Ben Wallace's face had been grim these past few days: "When I get out of here, I'm not going to let Martin Davis get away with this!"

He said sternly, "Martin's sister, Lily Carter, right? You'll see her on Tijuana's red-light district!"

"Should we stay away from Martin?" Cassie was recently traumatized and didn't want to get involved anymore. "Martin is not someone to mess with!"

Pete remarked with deep feeling: "Cherish life, stay away from Martin."

Ben looked around: "You guys chickened out?"

Cassie lowered his head and remained silent.

Pete sighed and said, "Haven't you heard about Harvey? Harvey might end up here too, in a worse situation than us."

Ben Wallace wasn't going to give up so easily: "I still have Damon. Damon will help me out there. I need to get out of here as soon as possible and quietly pay back all that Martin Davis has done to us, so that he will suffer for the rest of his life."

Pete fell silent, his mind starting to race as he considered his own future. He wondered if reporting Ben Affleck might reduce his sentence.

Once such thoughts arise, they can no longer be suppressed.

With a soft thud, it sounded like something had fallen nearby. Pete turned to look and saw a bar of soap with a peculiar scent lying at Ben's feet.

Big Ben also saw it; the aroma wafted into his nose, even more invigorating than the traditional foot massage.

He looked in the direction the soap had come from and saw a burly man as tall as a black iron tower.

The man grinned, revealing two rows of large white teeth, and looked very friendly: "Hey buddy, could you help me pick up the soap?"

Big Ben ignored him and moved aside from the soap.

Black Tower strode over, picked up the soap, but didn't leave.

Ben looked at him in surprise.

Black Tower raised his hand, clutching a lathering bar of soap. With a slight effort, the soap flew out from between his fingers, hit Big Ben's chest, and fell to the ground.

The man was tall and strong, not someone to be trifled with, and had a fiery temper: "Apologize to me and leave!"

The black tower laughed: "Help me pick up the soap."

Just as Ben clenched his fists, footsteps sounded around him, and all the nearby black men gathered around, numbering as many as thirty.

The black tower snapped his fingers: "Are you going to pick them up voluntarily, or do we have to force you to pick them up?"

Casillas quickly tugged at Ben Affleck and said, "Let's talk this out, let's talk this out. He's Ben Affleck, after all."

Black Tower shoved Cassie aside: "Hollywood big stars, this is fucking rare!"

The crowd roared with laughter, and the black men were eager to try it out.

Cassie quickly tugged at Pete: "Think of something quick!"

A dozen or so black men looked over.

Pete could see clearly that these people weren't targeting him. His eyes quickly scanned the area and he noticed that the patrolling guards seemed to have a prior understanding and were simultaneously patrolling other places.

It's obvious that this was all arranged.

Having been repeatedly schemed against and losing their fortunes and futures, their reputations no longer frighten these old blacks.

Pete knew what was going to happen next. Although he had had similar experiences before becoming famous, he definitely didn't want to go through it again. He quickly raised his hand and said, "I don't know them at all."

The Black Tower shook his head, and Pete quickly walked away, eventually starting to run.

Even though he had fallen on hard times and ended up in prison, abandoned and scorned by the entire Hollywood, Pitt remained persistent. Anyone who wanted to do these things with him had to at least be paid a large sum of money, just like the producers of Saint Oliver.

From a distance, Pete glanced back and saw several black men restraining Cassie, while dozens more surrounded Ben Affleck, with some of them clutching soaps that emitted a peculiar fragrance.

Not long after, Ben's bark rang out.

The sound was very, very strange, and Pete couldn't immediately tell if it was a scream.

The horrific events recorded in California state prisons as the "Manninger Massacre" have occurred!

…………

On this very day, a grand premiere was being held at the Emirates Theatre in Hollywood.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button has premiered in North America.

To coincide with the awards season publicity, this film, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, was not actually released until after the North American awards season officially began.

Warner Bros. and Paramount Pictures invited many celebrities to attend, and Christopher Nolan's appearance in particular caused a great sensation.

This star director has a huge fan base across the United States and even the world. They unconditionally support Nolan, and even today, they still use IMDb as their battleground to fight tooth and nail with fans of "The Godfather" and "The Shawshank Redemption".

In the words of Warner Bros. and Nolan himself, as long as The Dark Knight DVDs are still on the market, this war without gunpowder will not stop.

The movie "Inception," which will be released next year, has a GG (Ghostly Origin) overlay added to "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button."

Tom Cruise, one of Paramount Pictures' current star collaborators, also came to show his support and brought Martin a special gift.

Martin and Elizabeth walked the red carpet together to the area where the Coca-Cola cult was gathered. After the usual autographs and Coca-Cola drinks, they entered the media area.

Tom Cruise was waiting for him in the media area.

Martin was somewhat surprised, wondering what Tom Cruise was up to.

In front of numerous media reporters and cameras, Tom Cruise strode over, opened his arms and gave Martin a tight hug, then waved to the back.

Katie Holmes brought over a small cake.

Tom Cruise took it and handed it to Martin: "This is for you."

"Thank you." Martin carefully put the cake away and solemnly handed it to Elizabeth: "We must try Tom's cake sometime."

Tom Cruise, seeing that Martin understood his meaning, said, "My cakes are special; I'll send you a few more later."

Without Martin even waving, Bruce had already taken a gift box out of his bag and quietly slipped it into Martin's hand.

Martin handed the statue Lily had hand-carved to Tom Cruise: "I also have a gift for you."

Tom Cruise accepted it.

The two stood together, looking like close friends.

A reporter asked, "Tom, Martin, when did you two become such good friends?"

Tom Cruise chimed in, "Martin gave me a lot of advice on action design for Mission: Impossible 4, which is currently in production. He helped the crew avoid many pitfalls. The smooth progress of Mission: Impossible 4's filming is partly thanks to Martin."

These past few years have been tough for the film market, and even Tom Cruise has started trying to ride the coattails of their popularity.

Many relationships in the industry sometimes develop this way, and Martin didn't mind, saying with a smile, "I became a die-hard Tom fan back when Top Gun was released. I've watched Mission: Impossible more than a dozen times; it's a classic among classics. It's my honor to be able to help Tom in a little way."

Tom Cruise bumped fists with Martin: "I should invite you to the premiere of Top Gun."

Martin chuckled. "I was just a little kid back then." He was good at starting conversations: "Tom, there's something I've always wanted to ask you."

Seeing that these two drama queens were putting on their own show without the reporters even asking questions, the reporters simply stopped asking questions and focused on filming the news.

Tom Cruise asked, "What is it? Ask away."

"Now that the Mission: Impossible sequel has started filming, I've been waiting for years, and it's finally here." Martin asked, "When will there be a Top Gun sequel?"

Tom Cruise reacted quickly, immediately realizing this was a great topic for publicity, and said, "Soon, we're doing some initial planning!"

He declared confidently, "Martin, I guarantee you'll see Top Gun 2 in just a few years!"

Martin said, "This is good news."

The reporters were all very excited; this news story would be hyped up for at least a few days.

Martin left the media area, joined the rest of the cast and crew, took a group photo in front of the sponsors' backdrop, and then entered the theater lobby.

Elizabeth handed the cake to Bruce and asked, "Why is Tom Cruise bringing a cake on this occasion?"

Martin explained simply, "It's a symbol of Tom Cruise's friendship. He sends cakes to close friends every Christmas, which is a Cruise tradition."

This book is not finished yet; it will be written at least until next year. I will give you half a month's notice when it is finally finished.

(End of this chapter)