America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 676 Old Bu Sacrificed Again

As darkness fell and the temperature gradually cooled, Martin set up a barbecue grill in the open space in front of the RV, specially to treat Jody, who had come from afar.

Thomas, who had just arrived, brought over a barrel of beer and poured a glass for Martin, Louise, and Jody.

Bruce brought over the roasted vegetables and meat.

This was the first time Jody had actually met Martin in person. She raised her glass and said, "Thank you for your hospitality."

Martin clinked glasses with her and said with a smile, "You should thank Old Brooks instead."

Jody drank the wine in her glass and winked at Bruce.

Bruce glanced at Jody's slender figure, pretending not to notice.

Jody then toasted Louise and Thomas, and then chatted with everyone like ordinary friends.

Even though she had received a tip that something big had happened at the two film crews shooting in Death Valley, and she was incredibly curious, she still forced herself to suppress it.

Jody firmly believed that with her special relationship with Old Brooks, she would definitely be able to get firsthand, detailed news.

The little party didn't last long; Martin, Thomas, and Louise got into the Mercedes RV together.

The three of them discussed the events of the day.

Louise has already found out who Johnny Depp's financial manager and investment manager are.

She turned on the car's computer, opened a webpage, searched for some information, pointed to two images on the screen, and said to Martin, "This is Depp's investment manager, Joel Mandel, and this is Depp's accountant and financial manager, Robert Mandel."

Martin asked, "Are these two brothers?"

"Yes, they're brothers." Louise thought Depp was really out of his mind: "The younger brother oversees the investments and taxes managed by the older brother, and they even co-founded the same finance company. Could there be anything more outrageous than that?"

Martin thought for a moment, then asked, "What is the Mandel brothers' reputation like?"

Louise shook her head: "The outside world doesn't really know because for the past eight years, they've mainly been handling business related to Depp. In other words, one Depp is enough to make them very wealthy."

She added, "The Mandel brothers have known Depp for almost ten years, and they are said to have a very good relationship."

Martin couldn't help but remark, "Depp is a really good friend."

That's what he said, but the work still needed to be done. He said, "Find a way to have someone make contact with these two people. See if you can figure out the specifics..."

Louise and Thomas listened and nodded slightly.

The former said, "Let's try it first, and if it doesn't work, we'll think of other ways."

Thomas chimed in, "I'll also try to think of something."

Martin then said to Louise, "Now that you're on set, stay a few more days and try to get in touch with Megan Ellison. Maybe you'll have something in common."

Louise immediately understood his meaning: "Given Depp's current character, someone like Megan Ellison could explode at any moment?"

Martin said, "Not in the short term. It's said that the production budget for 'The Lone Ranger' has increased to $2.5 million because of Depp."

Louise said, "I would have refrained from making such a huge investment myself."

It was getting late, so Thomas said goodbye and left.

Louise said frankly, "There are no hotels nearby, so I'll stay here tonight. Tell your girlfriend from the film crew to find somewhere else to stay."

Martin had already received a call from Dadario: "She was terrified last night and went to see Jessica Chastain tonight."

…………

In another RV nearby, Bruce opened his laptop and played the videos he had recorded.

From the gun attack on the Mercedes RV last night to Depp being covered in mud this afternoon, there are videos of it all.

Jody became more and more excited as she read on; it really was big news!

She asked Bruce, "All of these for me?"

"I called you here, of course, for this purpose," Bruce said directly. "The news is here on one condition: release it in a way that is most detrimental to Depp."

Jody considered it seriously.

Bruce continued, "You're a professional, this isn't hard for you to do. The whole thing was originally Depp's doing."

After watching all the videos, Jody said, "Although the FBI has identified Depp's friend as the one who contacted the traffickers, that's all the evidence can go. But anyone who has seen the videos will definitely pin the blame on Depp."

She dragged the mouse to switch to another video: "There was a second conflict, which was also triggered by Depp. He urinated in front of your crew in public and then mocked them... By the way, put this video taken on a mobile phone together with the DV video to highlight Depp's public harassment and insults to women. He will definitely be subjected to a barrage of criticism."

Bruce said, "That's what I wanted too."

Jody worked her way up from being an entertainment paparazzi, worked at TMZ for many years, and after the Weinstein scandal, became the vice editor in charge of all entertainment gossip. She has a very accurate eye for things.

She said, "You want to deal with Depp? These alone are far from enough. Even if he falls from his position as a top Hollywood star, the hundreds of millions of dollars that the Pirates of the Caribbean series and Alice in Wonderland brought him are enough for him to live a carefree life."

Jody said this because the process will generate a lot of trending news.

Bruce mumbled, "Let's vent our anger first."

Jody, after compiling the videos, said, "Depp's news, which also involves Martin, is easily on the front page of TMZ, and it's only right that it's highlighted in red on the homepage for a week in a row."

Bruce reminded him, "Many people saw what happened last night and today. The crew is temporarily away from the city, and I've retrieved the relevant videos. They haven't been leaked yet, so you need to go back and publish them immediately."

Jody copied the data to the storage disk he had brought, glanced at the copy time, and said, "It's not too late to leave in fifteen minutes. Let's hurry up, Old Brook. You can't always make me take the initiative."

Bruce gritted his teeth and made another sacrifice.

Half an hour later, he personally escorted Jody away from the camp.

Jody returned to Los Angeles in a helicopter that Bruce had chartered.

That evening, the news appeared on the homepage of TMZ.

The video, which involved Hollywood stars Martin Scorsese and Johnny Depp, quickly went viral.

The next morning, it topped the Google trending search list!

The two people involved in the video have completely opposite reputations.

The majority of people online praised Martin.

"No wonder it's Martin. Those three idiots actually delivered the goods to his doorstep and even tried to attack him. Weren't they just asking for death?"

"The three traffickers were carrying guns and explosives. They started fighting without warning. Luckily, it was Martin. If it had been anyone else, they would be meeting their maker now."

"The people who contacted the traffickers are the most despicable; they clearly want to harm Martin!"

"Damn Johnny Depp! He's not only acting like a madman and giving up, but he's dragging everyone else down with him!"

Depp was subjected to intense online harassment.

"I'm not surprised at all that Depp took drugs during filming. I think it's normal for him to do anything even the most brainless thing."

"Rivendine Phoenix took drugs at Depp's bar and died a few dozen meters away, right? I thought Depp had learned his lesson from River and had completely quit, but it turns out I was too naive."

"Depp's behavior is absolutely scum!"

"To paraphrase a Depp fan, although Depp smokes, drinks, has tattoos, does drugs, cheats, drives under the influence, and does all sorts of reckless things, Depp is still a good man!"

"Johnny Depp has absolutely no respect for women. I urge all female movie fans to boycott his films!"

"Depp has blatantly insulted women!"

This last point was secretly pushed forward, and combined with the rapid spread of the video, Depp became a new target for feminists.

But these weren't enough to get rid of Depp, so Martin didn't inform Jolie and Aniston for the time being.

The main problem is that it's destroying Depp's public image.

Depp's fans are also criticizing Martin.

For example, "Martin Davis is being too dramatic. It's just a misunderstanding that the reseller went to the wrong place. It's not a big deal. Just talk it out between the two sides!"

Such a person immediately drew a great deal of rebuttal.

"Misunderstanding? Guns and detonators are right in front of you, and you call this a misunderstanding? I'll contact a few gang members, point guns at your head, and say it's a misunderstanding. Would you be willing to do that?"

"Would the misunderstanding be cleared up if both sides talked it out? The video clearly shows that Martin Scorsese only asked Depp to apologize to the 'The Martian' crew, and what did Depp do? He unzipped his pants and urinated in front of a group of women! An insult to women! An insult to the entire crew!"

"If you ask me, Martin's temper is too good. He should have gone to Depp's door and beaten him to a pulp!"

The related news has maintained a high level of popularity.

Of course, Depp's die-hard fans will still support him, but his popularity with the general public has plummeted.

This isn't just empty talk or fabrication; the video is incredibly powerful.

Even though Depp's spokesperson responded immediately, it couldn't stop the overwhelming public opinion, especially the barrage of criticism from feminists typing away.

Even those in the industry who have worked with Depp in recent years say that Depp is extremely difficult to work with, and being on the same set with him is a nightmare.

Riding on this wave of popularity, Disney Studios and Davis Studios intensified their promotional efforts, and the name of "The Martian" spread throughout North America.

The film quickly gained popularity.

The production team officially released the first promotional poster, showing Martin wearing a space helmet and standing on a barren Mars.

In addition to the film's title and the list of main creators, the poster also features a prominent subtitle.

"Save yourself or die!"

The popularity of "The Martian," which is currently being filmed, is soaring!

Almost simultaneously, the novel version of "The Martian" was officially published and released. After three consecutive days of book signings in New York, author Andy Weir easily entered the top three of the New York Times bestseller list!

Andy Weir immediately became a bestselling author across the United States.

One newspaper quipped, "Authors hoping for instant fame, don't hesitate! Take your current work to Martin Davis or his studio in Los Angeles. If Martin takes a liking to you, you'll soon be bestselling authors!"

Although this is a joke, it is also a reflection of the reality.

Davis Studios' public email address for submitting scripts suddenly saw a surge in submissions, and it was no longer just scripts being sent in; many novels were also being sent over.

Its prosperity rivals that of a small publishing house.

The studio assigned staff to handle related matters and entered the information into electronic format, forwarding it to Martin's email address so that Martin could review it at any time.

No one can guarantee that there won't be novels like "Gone Girl" among them.

(End of this chapter)