America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 569 La La Land

The personnel changes at Warner Bros. were gradually revealing chaos, and rumors were circulating everywhere. Martin received relatively reliable information that Alan Horn, the head of Warner Bros., was about to leave his post and was preparing to join Walt Disney Studios as co-chairman and CEO.

In the first decade of the new century, Warner Bros. dominated Hollywood.

In the next decade, Disney will likely dominate the market.

Martin held an internal meeting in the studio and discussed the matter with Louise several times, making preparations for both scenarios.

Every change of power inevitably leads to the downfall of prominent figures from the previous generation.

Nobody wants to be the one who falls.

That day, Ali Emmanuel called and asked Martin to meet him.

Because Martin was at the Warner Bros. Studios for "Gone Girl," he came straight over.

The two agreed to meet at an ice cream shop.

When Martin arrived, Ali was already there.

Besides him, there was another person, Mark Wahlberg.

Martin wasn't embarrassed at all, after all, the person who took Mark Wahlberg's role in "The Departed" was Matt Damon, not him.

Wahlberg stepped forward and shook hands with Martin: "I'm new to WMA, please give me some pointers in the future."

Martin shook his hand: "You're welcome."

Wahlberg bluntly stated, "Actually, we have something in common: we both dislike Matt Damon and his group."

Martin was slightly taken aback, but then he understood what was going on and laughed: "This common point is good."

The two sat down, and Wahlberg took the initiative to say, "I've heard about the Foot Clan and the Face Clan. I despise the Foot Clan. When I auditioned for 'The Departed,' the production team originally decided that I would play the role of Ding Gannan, but thanks to the Foot Clan's efforts, Matt Damon ended up taking it."

Martin remained unfazed: "The Foot Clan really are a bunch of bastards!"

Wahlberg was clearly trying to curry favor with Martin: "It's a pity that Matt Damon didn't go in with Harvey. I've heard a lot of media friends say that many victims and media outlets wanted to expose the incidents, but were pressured by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck and had to compromise in the end."

Martin said, "These are just moral issues, not legal ones."

For a while, he focused his main energy on Harvey Weinstein and ignored everyone else.

After all, Xavi is the core of the Foot Gang; once he's taken down, the others will be easier to deal with.

Wahlberg said, "I won't let Damon get away with this."

"He'll definitely be greatly affected in the future." Seeing Wahlberg going on and on, Ali quickly interrupted him and said to Martin, "Old friend, I'm being driven crazy by Natalie Portman lately. She's been complaining to me all day long."

Martin knew what he meant: "David Fincher and the original author Gillian Flynn both chose Charlize Theron in the final audition, and there was nothing I could do about it."

Ali said, "I understand. She's still not good enough. I'll stop Natalie when we get back and not let her bother you."

Having laid the groundwork, he abruptly changed the subject: "Mark read Marcus's autobiography, 'The Lonely Survivor,' and then saw the script here. He's very interested in the real-life character that inspired Marcus."

Wahlberg immediately chimed in, saying, "I've played many soldier roles, such as in 'Borderline,' 'Three Kings,' and 'Shooter.' I've undergone extensive military and firearms training, which gives me an advantage over other actors."

He had also approached Saoirse Ronan, who played his daughter in "The Lovely Bones," hoping she could help him.

But Saoirse Ronan was more slippery than a fish; she talked a lot of empty platitudes but didn't actually come to see her teacher.

Ali looked at Martin and said, "Give Mark a chance, he's excellent."

Martin thought for a moment and figured Mark Wahlberg would be a good fit, so he took out his phone in front of the two men and called Marcus and producer Akiva Goldsman respectively, recommending Mark Wahlberg.

The rest was simple: Mark Wahlberg was instructed to prepare for his audition with makeup on.

Upon hearing this, Mark Wahlberg went to the nearby studio of "Lone Survivor" first.

Ali stayed behind to have tea with Martin.

Martin said, "You've been making a lot of moves lately, did you just poach this guy?"

Ali simply stated, "It's been a while now. He has a wide range of roles and is very commercially promising. He can play serious characters as well as scatological roles."

He put Wahlberg aside and said, "My top choice is still Christopher Nolan."

Martin had already introduced the two to each other, and that was all he could do; he wouldn't get too involved. He asked, "Has Nolan's attitude softened?"

Ali said, "Not yet, but the CAA's pressure on Nolan has already created a huge rift. If I persist, the rift will widen and collapse the entire wall."

Martin smiled and said, "I hope you can dig down the whole wall soon."

"Yes, I will." Ali finished his tea and took his leave.

Behind the counter of the ice cream shop, Mia had been observing Martin, waiting for the two to leave. Seeing that Martin was also about to leave, she quickly picked up her bag and went to look for them.

Martin had already spotted Mia and greeted her, "Long time no see."

Mia said cautiously, "Martin, could you spare a few minutes to talk?"

Martin had known Mia since he was a young actor. Since he wasn't in a hurry, he pointed to the chair opposite him and said, "Sit down and let's talk."

He asked, "I remember you left here to focus on your career in Hollywood, didn't you?"

Mia smiled sheepishly: "There's nothing I can do. Life forces me to focus on my writing, but the works I produce are too classical and don't fit the current trend. I also lost my job at the smoke house, so I can only try to earn more money."

Martin nodded slightly; these two were just a microcosm of the tens of thousands of low-level actors and crew members in Hollywood.

Throughout Hollywood, there may be hundreds of thousands or even millions of people working in the industry, but only a very small minority can make it big.

"I might not be very talented at acting," Mia said with a sense of helplessness. "Even getting a role with lines hasn't changed my situation, and my acting career hasn't improved at all."

Martin knows this is true for most people in the acting industry: "Many times, hard work doesn't necessarily bring equal rewards. I've had similar experiences, just luckier than you."

Mia nodded and said, "Martin, do you remember what I mentioned last time? I wanted to try writing a screenplay. I've been writing in my spare time, but I think the stories I write are terrible, and I keep scrapping them."

Martin asked, "Have you written a suitable story?"

Mia opened the bag she had brought, took out a manuscript, and handed it to Martin: "I can't write a fantasy story, so I simply adapted a script based on my and Sebastian's experiences. I've written the beginning now, can you take a look?"

Martin took it and discovered it was a handwritten original manuscript. He kindly reminded him, "Next time, keep the original manuscript safe and only provide copies. If someone takes your original, you'll lose even if you sue."

Mia wasn't even a formal screenwriter, so she was unprepared for this and quickly nodded, "I remember."

Martin quickly skimmed through the script and found that the female protagonist in the story was indeed very similar to Mia, and could even be said to resemble many lower-level actresses in Hollywood.

As for the male protagonist, all the Sebastians Martin met were pianists playing music in the smoke room; he knew nothing about them.

The female lead is portrayed as a low-level actress and screenwriter in Hollywood who works part-time as a waitress at Warner Bros. Studios. She often has to take time off to attend auditions but has never received any significant roles and can only support herself through part-time work.

The male protagonist is a pianist who plays in a restaurant. His ideas are too outdated, and he insists on playing jazz.

The two met because of a traffic jam, and later, their shared experiences as down-on-their-luck Hollywood stars led them to get together and encourage each other in their careers.

Martin was very familiar with the last scene of the manuscript: the male and female protagonists visited Griffith Observatory together at night and confirmed their relationship.

That's all.

It's obvious that even in the unfinished parts of the script, or even in the parts that were already completed, Martin, a novice writer, could see many problems with scene design and transitions.

Mia is a beginner, so it's normal for her to encounter problems.

Martin asked, "Not finished yet?"

Mia said directly, "As I was writing, I suddenly lost confidence, and Sebastian and I had a disagreement about the script."

She explained in detail: "Sebastian read the script and felt that incorporating musical elements such as jazz would make it more suitable as a musical, but musicals have long been out of fashion, and I think romantic comedies are better."

Martin nodded slightly: "The story is not bad."

Because of her own experience of struggling at the bottom of society, Mia's stories resonated with Martin.

Moreover, Martin saw the shadow of a movie he remembered, La La Land, starring Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling.

Martin was deeply impressed by that film, partly because it was relatively recent in time, and partly because it caused a huge blunder at the Oscars for Best Picture.

The winner of Best Picture, Black Lives Matter, was mistakenly referred to as La La Land when the guest announced the winner.

Is there something inside? Martin doesn't know. He's forgotten the titles of Black Lives Matter gay films, but he always remembers La La Land.

Seeing that Martin remained silent, Mia asked, "Is it worthless?"

Martin thought for a moment and said, "Your script is very rough, and many parts need to be revised."

Mia lowered her head, wondering if she should leave Los Angeles and go back to her hometown.

Martin continued, "Okay, Mia, you finish writing the whole script first."

Mia looked up, her eyes shining again, and promised, "I will finish writing it."

Martin glanced at the counter and said, "I need you to focus on your creative work. Quit these part-time jobs and go to my film studio to find Jessica. You've met her before."

Mia nodded: "I know him."

"She'll give you a full-time writing job, so you can focus on writing the script," Martin said beforehand. "In addition, there will be a buyout fee for the script rights. You're a newcomer, so the price won't be high, but I'll give you a buyout price that's slightly above average for a new screenwriter from the Writers Guild."

According to the new agreement signed by the Writers Guild last year, a new screenwriter's script will be worth a maximum of $30,000.

Mia readily agreed.

(End of this chapter)