America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 625 This is Marriage

In a dark movie theater in Burbank, with only the screen illuminating the scene, the "perfect couple" on screen talked to a large group of reporters about the secrets to their happy marriage and their deep love for each other.

That peculiar feeling of "a beautiful woman and a dog, a love that lasts forever" leaps off the screen and is clearly conveyed to the minds of every audience member who attended the preview screening of "Gone Girl".

It seems that this is what marriage is like: people deeply love each other, but more often they try to control each other, leading to mutual hatred and hurt, ultimately resulting in a mess.

Perhaps this is what marriage is like: disliking each other, yet having no choice but to depend on one another.

Martin's phone vibrated in the front row. He took it out and glanced at it; it was Marina calling. He chose to reject the call.

Right next to Martin, Elizabeth Olsen frowned deeply, occasionally glancing at him, wondering if this bastard had ulterior motives for bringing her to the preview screening.

Because the marriage depicted in the film he starred in was so terrifying that it unconsciously instilled fear in viewers.

Is marriage really that absurd?

Elizabeth remained silent.

As the screening ended and the theater lights came on, the hundreds of attendees burst into enthusiastic applause after a brief silence.

The story is melodramatic, but also brilliant, with a dark humor that leaves a lasting impression amidst its absurdity.

Hearing the enthusiastic applause, the original author Gillian Flynn stood up and looked back, seeing a sea of ​​warm faces.

"This is another masterpiece," said producer Daniel. "I'm confident the film will be a huge success!"

Gillian could hardly contain her excitement: "It's going to be a success."

Warner Bros. president Jon Berg had a smile on his face the whole time. If this film is successful, Gillian Flynn's next film, "Dark Places," will attract widespread attention, and Warner Bros.' adaptation will also be a success.

This is one of the projects he is pushing forward.

Jon Berger firmly believes he will do a better job than his predecessor, Alan Horn, and be remembered in Warner's history.

But these things can't be achieved by just talking; they require real, tangible results.

Therefore, since taking office, Jon Berg has secured the support of the group's CEO, Kevin Tsujihara, and has been pushing forward several medium-to-large-scale production projects over the past six months, such as the currently filming "Ogres and Gods," the upcoming "Jack the Giant Slayer," and the script adaptation of "Darklands," among others.

He also invested in "Green Lantern," the inaugural project of the DC Extended Universe.

If half of these sell well, Jon Berg will not only prove himself and secure his position, but also make those below him forget about his predecessor, Alan Horn.

Martin bumped fists with David Fincher and said, "That was fantastic! I want to watch it again."

Charlize Theron, on the other side, jokingly asked, "Are you impressed by our acting?"

Elizabeth said, "Sally, you acted wonderfully."

Charlize confidently stated, "This is my best role outside of 'Monster.'"

David Fincher praised, "Martin and Sally's performances were brilliant, perfectly capturing the effect I wanted."

The film was well-made and received a warm response, putting the main creators in a good mood.

Martin, Charlize, and David Fincher then gave a brief interview to the media.

There's not much to say; it's just the three of them praising each other.

Martin's phone rang again after the interview ended. He glanced at the caller ID and found a quiet place to answer it.

Marina's voice came from the other end: "Hi Martin, I'd like to treat you to dinner tonight. You brought me to Los Angeles and helped me find roles and projects. I've prepared something special to thank you properly."

Martin said, "You're welcome. You've already done your part, this is what you deserve." He then turned down Marina's invitation, displaying his scumbag side: "I'm busy here, that's all."

He hung up the phone abruptly after saying that.

On the other end, Marina listened to the busy tone on the phone and dejectedly lowered her head.

Martin's hopes were completely dashed, and she didn't know what to do.

Susie Flavor and Katherine Oxenberg came over from nearby, and the latter invited, "There's a party this weekend, wanna come?"

As an actress, Marina instinctively agreed to the producer's invitation: "Okay."

Susie smiled and said, "It's settled then. I'll call you this weekend."

The two sides reached an agreement.

Catherine immediately called her owner.

Lanier took the phone and told people to get ready. Nikesem had a mature response mechanism; brainwashing with words alone was not enough. They also needed to demonstrate Nikesem's power.

Meanwhile, someone from the "Dog Game" crew sent out a text message.

Soon, the message was forwarded to Nicholson.

"I had someone discreetly investigate. In recent years, Nikesem's methods for attracting key targets have been simple and effective." After reviewing the briefing, Nicholson, sipping his drink, said to Leonard, "On one hand, Ranier himself is exceptionally eloquent and has developed a very impressive theory; on the other hand, they display their influence as soon as a target joins, subtly suggesting that Nikesem has many important figures and that joining will bring countless benefits."

Leonardo poured himself a glass of wine and said, "The latter kind, Martin's Cult of Cola also uses."

Nicholson said, "Don't you think this is the simplest and most effective way?"

Leonardo nodded: "That's true."

Nicholson raised his glass to him: "I hope our swallows will be interested in this."

Leonardo DiCaprio said, "Having spent so much time and effort to break into Hollywood, she probably won't just fly straight back to Russia."

Nicholson nodded: "Sunk costs."

…………

Burbank Theatre.

Gillian Flynn approaches Martin, wanting to explain the situation with Darklands.

"I'm sorry, I said I'd show it to you after it was finished." She wasn't being insincere; her words were quite sincere: "Back then, Warner Bros. approached me with a price that was too high, and I really couldn't refuse."

Martin smiled and said, "It's alright, Gillian, we're old neighbors and old friends, don't worry about it."

He had no problem with Gillian, because Gillian had shown him "Darklands" first: "Frankly, even if you had brought me the completed novel, I wouldn't have been able to give you Warner Bros. such a high price. Business is business, and we'll always be friends."

Gillian relaxed, opened her briefcase, took out a book, and handed it to Martin: "This is a sample copy of 'Dark Lands.' It will be published and released in North America after 'Gone Girl' is released."

This was the safest approach, and one that Martin had anticipated. He took it, saying, "I was thinking of asking you for the manuscript to see the ending."

Elizabeth Olsen walked over quickly, and Gillian took her leave at the opportune moment.

"The data from Warner Bros.' on-site statistics are in." Elizabeth went to inquire specifically: "The average score from theater managers is A, indicating that the film has great selling points. Media reporters and critics gave it a score of 82, and the test screenings received excellent reviews."

She laughed: "Darling, you've succeeded again."

Martin was relatively cautious: "It's not uncommon for films to have good test screening reviews but poor theatrical release. Let's go find David and Daniel; we need to continue investing in promotion and distribution."

It's not uncommon for films to receive poor reviews during test screenings but become huge hits upon theatrical release. The most typical example is "Star Wars." When George Lucas's new film was screened, the film critics who attended the screening criticized it as worthless, with many even calling it garbage. But as we all know, Star Wars became a part of American national culture.

By the time the test screening ended, Martin received the latest news that Warner Bros. had secured approximately 3600 theaters for "Gone Girl".

This number is lower than Martin Scorsese's previous films. On the one hand, the film is rated R, so its screenings are naturally less than those of PG-13 films. On the other hand, Warner Bros.' investment of resources can only be described as appropriate.

On the way back, Elizabeth asked, "Is marriage really that terrible?"

Martin has never been married, but the examples of people around him have had a great influence on him, such as Nicholson and Leonardo DiCaprio. The latter is a staunch advocate of remaining single, while the former's several marriages, as well as his parents, have caused more than just a mess.

If Nick Dunn and the amazing Amy were a bowl of soap opera, then Nicholson's parents were ten bowls of soap opera.

After his mother and sister passed away, Nicholson learned from another sister that the person he had called "Mom" all these years was his maternal grandmother, the person he had called "Sister" was his mother, and the sister who had informed him was actually his aunt...

A normal person would have gone crazy by now.

Not wanting to give Elizabeth the wrong impression, Martin stated directly, "The marriages I've seen are all horrible. Lily's parents, Scott Carter, are a bastard with exceptional talent, Emma Carter was seduced by my father and eloped, and as for my father... haha, he was an absolute jerk, though I've almost forgotten about him."

Elizabeth, who had heard Martin talk about his father before, asked, "There's still no news of him?"

Martin said, "The last thing we heard about him was that he swindled all of Lily's mother Emma out of her money, then abandoned her in Hawaii, and then disappeared."

He thought for a moment and added, "Given Jack Davis's character, if he knew my current situation, he would definitely come looking for me. Even if the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans were combined, they wouldn't be able to stop him, but he has never shown up."

Elizabeth comforted her, saying, "Maybe he's different now."

Martin whispered, "I hope he became a good man and met God."

Upon hearing this, Elizabeth didn't know what to say.

"Let's not talk about him anymore." Martin glanced at his watch. "A new restaurant opened in Century City, and the food is pretty good. Let's go try it together."

Although she was a little unhappy that the topic of marriage had been diverted so easily, Elizabeth didn't dwell on it and said, "Okay, it's been a while since we've gone out to eat together."

In a few days, she will be going on a business trip with her sisters to promote the brand they have invested in.

(End of this chapter)