America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 65 Masters and Salaries

The film's publicly disclosed investment was huge, and Kelly Grey had never worked on it; she specifically called Louise Meyer.

Louise, who was preparing to travel to Morocco, chose to transit in Atlanta and stay overnight.

At the airport hotel, upon seeing Martin and Kelly arrive, Louise ignored the latter and threw herself at Martin, shouting, "Penicillin!"

Kelly was heartbroken and angrily yelled, "You female pervert! All you see are men? Can't you two, you shameless couple, tone it down a bit?"

Louise picked up the magazine she had brought and shoved it at Martin: "Take a look! Louise's penicillin has shocked the entire United States, shocked the International Bartenders Association, and many people call me a master!"

This is Esquire magazine, owned by Hearst Corporation. Martin noticed that the cover featured Louise, dressed in an elegant business suit, her right hand resting across her prominent chest, holding a glass of mixed penicillin.

Cover quote: Louise's penicillin, cures all unhappiness!

Open the magazine and look at the cover page. There's an interview with Louise, mainly about the process of inventing penicillin.

Martin had already traded away all of the penicillin, and Louise, of course, wouldn't be polite; she kept it all for herself.

Then there are the praises given to penicillin by several well-known wine tasters.

One of them, and some might even say, is the greatest discovery in the cocktail world since the beginning of the new century: Louise is the most outstanding female bartender of the last two decades.

Louise was completely ecstatic, like Michael Jordan with baseball, Gareth Bell with golf, or Leonardo DiCaprio with female models under 25—it was a love that came from the depths of her soul.

Kelly grabbed the magazine, glanced at it, and mercilessly exposed her: "You slut, how much did you spend?"

Louise plummeted to the floor like a thud, glaring at Kelly: "How dare you slander my innocence out of thin air?"

The two glared at each other, their hands bent into claws, ready to tear each other apart at any moment.

Martin patted the sofa: "Sit down and let's get down to business."

Louise snatched the magazine back, carefully put it away, smoothed out her wrinkled beige shirt, and said, "Don't use the typical 'pure romance' approach for this project; use the Hollywood method."

Kelly understood immediately: "Find a few insignificant guys and register a separate company just for the project?"

This is a common practice in Hollywood movies. Louise simply said, "As long as you pay taxes legally, there generally won't be any problems. But you have to be prepared for problems to arise. Put a shell on the project and keep the finances separate. If someone really investigates in the future, you can get rid of the shell at any time."

Martin understood: "And then let someone else take the fall?"

Louise joked, "If you want to go to jail to pick up soap, that's fine too."

Kelly automatically agreed: "I'm ready."

Martin cautioned, "Stop rambling and get down to business."

Louise added, "The publicly disclosed production cost shouldn't be completely decoupled from the quality of the film. I attended a screening a few days ago by a German director, I think it was called something like 'House of the Dead,' a film that claimed a budget of $1200 million, but the final product only had the quality of a $10 film, not even as good as your late-night scenes..."

She and Kelly have been friends for ten years, so close that they even work together on screen. She specifically reminded her, "That German director can throw away his pride, but Kelly, you can't. You still have a long way to go."

Kelly gestured and said, "I've been away from Hollywood for a long time, give me some advice."

Louise didn't keep them in suspense and said directly, "I know you don't have distribution capabilities, but in order to sell the film and attract distributors, you still need to do some promotion."

She emphasized: "Especially for overseas distributors, it doesn't matter how much the film sells overseas, as long as there are expenses for overseas promotion in the accounts."

Martin suggested, "Sign up for a few overseas film festivals? Like Southeast Asia, India, or Russia, send a few people, and just go all out on the cost?"

Louise smiled at him: "Not bad, you've broadened your horizons."

Kelly remembered it all: "Benjamin has planned a three-month shooting and production cycle for the film, and he's going to showcase it at the Savannah Film Festival. Can you contact a few distributors for me?"

The three of them talked for a while longer before the conversation gradually came to an end.

"Now that we've finished the business, let's talk about something fun." Martin walked to the sofa, sat between Kelly and Louise, and put his arms around both of them: "You drunkard, didn't you take out the expansion bolts?"

Louise is a master of promotion: "Take it slow. I'll keep releasing new cocktails and maintaining my buzz in the bartending world. Before long, I'll be like Ada Coleman, a master bartender from the International Federation of Bartenders!"

She gripped Martin's hand tightly: "You'll help me, you'll continue to inspire me, won't you?"

Martin said, "Of course, everything I have is yours."

Kelly suddenly asked, "What's an expansion screw?"

Louise laughed happily: "As good as penicillin."

Kelly felt she had fallen too: "You two are such a despicable couple."

Martin enthusiastically invited, "Kelly, welcome to the ranks of the adulterers."

Unfortunately, the sofas in the hotel were red, making another round of auditions inevitable.

…………

The following morning, the production team held its first meeting after the project was approved.

Gray Company registered the "Zombie Dancer" studio with Andrew and others.

The company's vice president, Dave, served as the producer, and the filming team, apart from Andrew replacing Lynn as the casting director, consisted of the same people Benjamin usually used.

Martin, in addition to playing the lead role, also served as the production manager and had a certain degree of influence.

The production team hired Atlanta's hottest male stripper troupe and will pay them high salaries.

As highly professional technical personnel, the team of 18 people received a total salary of $900,000.

Their inflated salaries indirectly drove up Martin's salary as the male lead.

Martin Scorsese's lead actor and production manager received a total salary of $15.

The main filming location was the Wild Things House Club.

At the same time, another simple photography studio will be set up.

The production team publicly stated that the production cost was $600 million, the publicity investment was $300 million, and the plan was to release the film globally.

As soon as the studio was officially established, staff responsible for overseas promotion and selling overseas copyrights set off from Atlanta Airport and began traveling all over the world.

The production team also submitted materials to the relevant state government office to apply for related subsidies and benefits.

According to a policy passed by Georgia last year, investments in "Zombie Dancer" exceeding $50 are eligible for a total tax credit of 30%.

As for how the accounts were handled in between, that's none of Martin's business.

Jerome accompanied him to the office building that the studio had temporarily rented, and Martin signed his name on the contract that Dave brought him.

He landed his first leading role in the drama "Past Life and Present Life".

As he left the office, Jerome said, "$15, you've set a new record for the Marietta Theatre Company."

Martin mumbled, "The situation is special."

Jerome thought he was referring to his relationship with Kelly: "If you're getting a high salary, you have to work hard, you can't slack off, and you have to be well prepared."

Martin agreed: "I'll start preparing tomorrow."

After going around in circles, he finally stepped onto the circular stage of the House of the Beasts.

(End of this chapter)