America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 580 Professionally Taking Advantage of Someone's Misfortune

At Davis Estate, Elizabeth Olsen, dressed in her finest attire and radiating glamour, approached Martin and pinned the fist symbol to his left collar.

Martin, dressed in a Brioni haute couture suit, a Cartier men's watch on his wrist, and a Coca-Cola-shaped crown on his right collar, put down his Nokia N98 phone, opened the jewelry box in front of him, took out a necklace made of seven flawless rubies, and put it around Elizabeth's neck.

Elizabeth looked delighted, ran her hand over the necklace made of platinum, diamonds, and rubies, and smiled sweetly: "I love this gift."

Martin asked, "Isn't my judgment good?"

Elizabeth stood in front of the full-length mirror, admiring herself closely, and said, "So beautiful."

Martin stood a little further away, admiringly remarking, "The person is even more beautiful."

Elizabeth smiled even more sweetly.

Martin picked up another fist symbol and pinned it to her chest.

Elizabeth said, "I don't want to be a feminist, I just want to be your saint forever."

Martin said, "If you want to."

"Ahem..." Bruce, who came in from the doorway, reminded him, "It's time to get going."

Martin picked up his Nokia phone, took Elizabeth's hand, and led her out to their car, a Cadillac, of course.

Sponsors not only provide him with sponsorship fees each year, but also allocate resources to help him compete for nominations and awards, so Martin naturally has to do his best to promote them.

The Cadillac flagship car drove out of the estate and headed straight for the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

Elizabeth suddenly remembered something: "No news from Chanel No. 5?"

Martin nodded slightly: "Last year, Toni Fairman caused a paternity test scandal, and the French side proactively cut off contact with Thomas. They haven't contacted Thomas again yet. We'll see what their attitude is on this matter."

"How are Toni and Stuart?" Elizabeth asked.

Martin didn't pay much attention.

Bruce continued, "The situation is a bit complicated. Stuart Townsend, on the advice of his lawyer, is now countersuing Toni Fairman for stealing his genetic material. This case is expected to drag on for a long time."

Martin sincerely wished them well: "May these two be entangled forever."

"Is this a curse or a blessing?" Elizabeth asked with a smile, changing the subject: "A while ago, Louise introduced me to Erin Lauder, who is planning to make me a beauty brand ambassador."

Martin said, "If your sisters' brands don't do beauty products, you could give it a try."

Elizabeth said, "They don't have any plans in that regard at the moment."

The car quickly approached the Kodak Theatre.

Although the red carpet was wider and longer at this year's Oscars, the dominant color was black.

Many guests, including Martin and Elizabeth, followed Julie and Aniston's lead by wearing black dresses and pinning the #MeToo fist logo to their chests.

Even the place where the members of the Cola Cult gathered turned into a black ocean.

Martin and the others had their usual Cokes, dealt with the on-site interviews, and then went into the Kodak Theatre.

As soon as I entered, I saw Nicholson talking to Meryl Streep, who was also dressed in a black dress.

Martin led Elizabeth over, greeted the two of them, and when he saw Meryl herself, her face lit up with joy, he asked, "Meryl, did something good happen?"

Meryl smiled happily: "The divorce agreement has been reached, but it won't be announced for now; it might take a few years."

In contrast, Nicholson looked worried.

Martin knew why without even guessing. Why not kick her while she was down? He said to Meryl, "To celebrate your newfound single status, would you like me to introduce you to a wonderful man? He told me the other day that he wanted to get married again and experience the warmth of family."

Meryl said, "Sure, I'd love to get to know you!"

Nicholson snapped, "Shut up!"

How could Martin possibly give up? He said, "Jack Nicholson, a three-time Oscar winner, the infamous leader of the Face Gang, the man who can make Martin Davis and Leonardo DiCaprio willingly become his underlings, how about it?"

"Excellent!" Meryl asked Nicholson, half-jokingly, "Jack, when are you going to propose to me?"

Nicholson blushed and turned to leave.

Meryl smiled and waved to Martin before quickly following him.

Elizabeth said, "You guys love to fool around."

Martin smiled and said, "I'm just doing a good deed, helping Jack overcome his loneliness in his old age."

The two entered the hall and, because "Benjamin" had received 13 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, their seats were in the first two rows.

Martin had just walked into the guest area when someone greeted him.

Blake Lively, wearing a black dress, stood up: "Hi, Martin."

Elizabeth glanced at her and whispered to Martin, "I'll go first, you two talk."

Martin nodded, and after she left, he leaned on his seat and said, "Long time no see."

Blake said softly, "Work is too busy, on set, in publicity, running around everywhere, it's endless."

"I watched Gossip Girl." There was no sharp conflict between the two, and Martin genuinely praised, "Queen S is fantastic."

Blake said, "You were the one who gave me confidence back then."

The two also had a sweet time living together. Martin recalled from "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants" to Burbank High School, then looked at Blake in front of him and fell silent for a moment.

Blake sensed the slightly awkward atmosphere and took the initiative to say, "When do you have time to grab some coffee?" She then slapped her forehead, "Look at me, you like tea."

Martin didn't respond. Instead, he asked, "I recently heard that Warner Bros. and DC are developing a superhero film called 'Green Lantern,' and I heard you're interested in competing for the female lead?"

Blake stated directly, "The third audition will be held soon, but the competition is fierce. Diane Kruger and Eva Green are both interested in the role."

Martin thought for a moment, and considering their past relationship, decided it was best to be direct: "Blake, I don't think you're quite suitable for this role."

"You mean..." After all, you know me well, and I know your strengths and weaknesses, so Blake immediately understood what Martin meant: "This film's prospects aren't very good?"

This film almost completely shattered Blake's path to becoming a movie star. Even though he later appeared in some films, he was more like an internet celebrity than a movie star who let his work speak for itself.

Martin looked around and said in a low voice, "Personally, I don't have a good feeling about the fact that Warner is now dominated by a group of people of Japanese descent."

Blake lowered her head to think. She knew Martin well and knew he never spoke carelessly about work matters.

"That's enough for now." Martin prepared to leave. "I'll contact you again when I have time."

Blake assured him, "I won't tell anyone."

Martin nodded to her and went to the front seat.

Blake returned to his seat.

The agent leaned closer and asked, "What did you and Martin talk about?"

Blake said, "We talked about the past. Although we don't keep in touch much, there were no conflicts when we parted ways."

"Should I talk to Thomas about pairing you two up to generate some buzz?" Both belong to WMA, and their agent is also familiar with Thomas: "Your high profile is advantageous in your bid for the lead role in 'Green Lantern'."

Blake decided to take Martin's advice and said, "I'm withdrawing from the audition for this film."

The agent was stunned and quickly asked, "Why? Blake, do you know how much work I did to get this role? You can't be so capricious!"

Blake said, "I've made up my mind!"

"This is disrespectful to my work and to your father's efforts during this time!" The agent was quite angry: "You should think about it carefully."

Blake shook his head immediately: "No need."

The agent, seething with anger and unsure who to vent it on, grabbed his bag and left.

In the front row, Elizabeth saw Martin return and, having finished her conversation with Catherine Kennedy, asked, "How did it go?"

Martin frankly stated, "I advised her to give up a role."

Elizabeth stopped asking that question: "We have thirteen nominations, we should be able to win quite a few awards, right?"

Nearby Kathleen Kennedy and David Fincher both shook their heads and sighed; the situation was not optimistic.

David Fincher glanced at the Meitu logo on his collar and said, "Best Director is out of the question. This year's Oscars are going to make history."

Kathleen Kennedy said, "The chances of it being Best Picture are slim too."

Martin boosted morale: "At least we've had a commercial success; the film did very well at the box office."

Thanks to 13 Oscar nominations, Benjamin's box office rebounded in North American theaters after the nominees' luncheon, and has now grossed $1.89 million in North America and $3.68 million worldwide.

After the Oscars, regardless of how many awards are won, there will be another small rebound.

After a brief discussion about who might be the biggest winner that night, the awards ceremony commenced.

Because of the Harvey Weinstein case that swept through Hollywood and even North America last year, this year's Oscars had a strong #MeToo theme, and the host was Helen from WarnerMedia.

At the end of her opening remarks, Meryl Streep appeared and performed the song "ME TOO".

Bringing down Harvey Weinstein has become the politically correct stance across the entire Hollywood industry.

After all, even the academy expelled Harvey.

Martin then left his seat and went backstage through a side door. As last year's Best Supporting Actor winner, he was to present the Best Supporting Actress award today.

This is also the first award presented today.

After Martin took the stage, he routinely gave his remarks, read out the list of nominees, and opened the envelope to announce the results: "The winner is Comonina Monique for the film 'Precious'."

Amidst applause, a large, Black woman lifted the hem of her skirt and walked onto the stage. She received the Oscar from Martin, gave her usual thanks, and then said a long string of anti-racism remarks.

Of course, the Black people's anti-racism movement only refers to their opposition to discrimination against Black Americans.

(End of this chapter)