America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 677 Male Bastard and Female Bastard

In the morning, not far southwest of the camp, Martin stood in front of a modified Mars rover, carrying supplies from the ground, sweating profusely from the heat.

The weather is still hot, but the crew is almost through it.

After filming wraps up today, the entire crew will leave Death Valley and return to the soundstage at Disney Studios for more filming.

Ridley Scott called a halt to filming.

Martin immediately opened his helmet and took it off, feeling like his body was smoking. He took off his spacesuit, climbed into the air-conditioned car, and only then did he feel like he came back to life.

In the seat next to her, Louise put down her binoculars and said, "There's a Jeep Wrangler on the main road over there. I've looked closely, and it should be Megan Ellison's car. I'll drive over there in a bit and pass by her."

Martin took a sip of water and waved his hand, "Go on, I don't want to talk right now."

Louise knew he was hot and tired, so she didn't say anything more. She got out of the car and had her bodyguard drive a Mercedes-Benz G-Class away from the film set and onto the main road.

She hadn't driven far when she discovered that the Lone Ranger crew's convoy had just left the camp.

Louise turned her gaze to the Wrangler to her right. On a large rock beside the vehicle stood Megan Ellison, wearing a sun hat, gazing at the Martian film crew in the distance.

As the Mercedes-Benz G-Class drove by, Louise instructed the driver to pull over to the side of the road and stop the car.

Megan watched with interest as she got out of the car and said, "Louise Mel."

Louise pushed up her black-rimmed glasses, walked onto the rock, and deliberately asked, "So interested, you came all this way just to watch Martin film?"

Meghan retorted without backing down: "And you? Want to stand up for your little lover?"

Louise was bold and decisive, and didn't mind people bringing it up: "I wish I could, but unfortunately he can't use it."

She turned to look at the convoy approaching in the distance, then glanced down at her watch and said, "It's almost noon, and you're only just starting to film. That's a bit inefficient."

Megan, with an air of wealth and confidence, said, "We have a full budget and plenty of time, so there's no rush."

Louise, of course, didn't believe such nonsense and said directly, "Because of Johnny Depp, right?"

Upon hearing Depp's name, even though Megan considered herself very cultured and not the type to show her emotions easily, her face still darkened.

Anyone who works with that bastard for a while will want to kill him.

Moreover, Megan is also an investor.

Louise said this because filming of "The Lone Ranger" was in its final stages, and changing the male lead was simply impossible.

"You did a great job, really." She genuinely admired Megan Ellison: "If it were me, I would absolutely explode if I had a leading man like Depp."

Megan pretended not to care at all: "Capable people always have some quirks, and what producers have to do is bring out their talents."

Louise nodded. "Good luck."

Megan smiled and watched the person get into the car and drive away.

Once the Mercedes G-Class had driven away, she, like Louise, first gazed at the approaching film crew convoy, then glanced down at her watch, her face extremely grim.

The remaining scenes all required Depp's participation in filming; without Depp, the crew simply couldn't function properly.

Depp hasn't changed anything about what happened a few days ago; he continues to do things his own way, and everyone on the set has to go along with his pace.

Megan looked at the financial statements and realized that the increased budget of $2.5 million was definitely not enough.

It's not that she didn't want to blow it up, but she was held back by hundreds of millions of dollars.

The convoy pulled up, Megan Ellison got into the car, and told the driver to follow the convoy.

Sitting in the back seat, Depp's van drove past, and through the gaps in the open windows, thick smoke billowed out of the car as if it were on fire.

Megan, recalling their earlier conversation, muttered to herself, "You'd better be worthy of my investment!"

Upon arriving at the filming location, the crew got busy.

After thinking for a moment, Megan called Amber Heard to her car.

As soon as Amber got into the car, she said, "Ms. Ellison, I have tried my best to keep Depp in check, and we have argued about it many times."

"I know, you did a good job." A bomb was simmering inside Megan, constantly urging, "I heard Depp proposed to you. When are you getting married?"

Amber said, "After we finish filming this movie, we will seriously prepare for the wedding."

Meghan asked directly, "Because of love, or something else?"

Amber hesitated for a moment, then said, "Because of love."

Megan understood, took out a check and handed it to Amber: "After you marry Depp, collect everything that's bad for Depp, then wait for my call."

"He is my husband!" Amber refused.

Megan gave her another check: "You're a smart woman, you should know my attitude and stance towards Depp."

Amber knew all this perfectly well, and glanced at the number on the check: "Depp and I are family."

Megan chuckled. Amber spoke with such conviction, yet she held onto the check tightly.

"You know Depp better than I do. How long will your marriage last?" Megan stopped pulling out checks. "Don't you want to be in control during the divorce? Don't you want my support?"

She also tried to stir people's hearts as a Hollywood producer: "In the future, I will invest in many film projects and need many leading ladies."

Such a price increase left Amber with no room for refusal: "I did it!"

Fearing Megan might suddenly change her mind, she quickly said, "From now on, I will collect all the bastard things Depp has done and leave direct evidence."

Megan finally smiled: "Very good."

Besides being heartless, Amber Heard also has a ruthless streak: "Depp is drunk and on drugs, and his temper isn't very good. After we get married, I'll find a way to provoke him and make him abuse me."

She looked at Megan: "Boss, I can bring out something to ruin him anytime you want."

Megan was pleased with her attitude: "Start collecting things regularly, don't disappoint me, don't wait until I want to use them and you have nothing."

Amber lowered her voice: "I've already started."

Megan realized she had underestimated this woman.

…………

Los Angeles, outside Beverly Hills.

Depp's friend Coulson entered a beautifully decorated villa and met Fernandez, whom he had met several times before.

The latter remembered who Coulson was and asked, "My men went to deliver goods to you, and they're gone, along with the goods."

Coulson said, "This has nothing to do with us; it was all Martin Davis's doing."

Fernandez had already seen the news video and said, "It was a stupid thing done by you bunch of idiots."

"The truth is not as the media has reported." Coulson hadn't expected the news to break so quickly, and could only try his best to say, "The video released online has been edited by Hollywood's top editors, with some parts cut off, so it's not 100% true."

He said, "From what I understand, Martin Davis also wanted that shipment, which is why Sanchez and his group demanded money. This led to a conflict and a gunfight. While this incident is indeed related to us, the more direct cause was Martin Davis's insistence on taking the goods!"

Fernandez, of course, wouldn't believe it so easily and frowned in thought.

Coulson added, "Martin Davis fired the shot, knew he couldn't hide it anymore, and reported Sanchez to the FBI!"

His tactic of sowing discord wasn't very clever: "The truth is that Martin Davis messed with your goods and your brother, causing you huge losses."

Fernandez smiled, seeing right through him: "Depp and Martin are at odds right now, so you want to encourage me to make a move on Martin Davis?"

Coulson paused for a moment, but showed no embarrassment, and said, "Your brother was killed by Martin Davis. Don't you want revenge?"

Several of his subordinates were standing in the living room. Fernandez couldn't say he didn't want to: "This can't be rushed. Martin Davis is no ordinary man. I can't let revenge cost more of my brothers."

He waved his hand: "Alright, you can go now. Go back and tell Depp that from now on, he'll get a 50% markup when he gets goods from me, as compensation for my brother's death."

Before Coulson could speak, several people came over and pushed him out.

Only Fernandez's two closest subordinates remained in the living room. One of them asked, "Boss, what should we do?"

Fernandez said, "We need to be careful about this. We want revenge, but we can't let Depp use us as pawns. Think about it: if we go after Martin Davis, a national hero of America, whether we succeed or fail, can we even survive?"

Neither of the two subordinates spoke.

"Let's leave this to the big boss. The big boss is a woman with close ties to Hollywood." Fernandez picked up his phone and dialed a number.

A pleasant female voice came from the other end: "This is Michelle Blaine."

…………

On the set of "The Martian," Martin finished filming his last location scene in Death Valley, returned to the crew's residence, took a shower, packed his belongings, and got into an Escalade driven by Bruce.

Louise went back to Los Angeles with him.

As Cadillac was about to leave Death Valley National Park, Martin spotted the film crew shooting "The Lone Ranger".

Louise said, "I slightly provoked Megan this morning. I heard from the crew next door that Megan was so angry with Depp that she almost exploded on the spot several times. Regardless of the success or failure of the two films she is working with Depp on, she will definitely not swallow this insult."

Martin asked, "Even if we succeed, it won't happen? I thought it would only happen if we failed."

Louise was absolutely certain: "Absolutely not. I'm a wealthy and powerful woman myself, so I can more or less guess what she's thinking."

Martin actually had other plans: "Even if Megan doesn't do it, we can try to get someone else to do it."

Louise knew Martin's strengths and weaknesses all too well: "You mean Amber Heard?"

Martin said, "I think she's going to give Depp a huge surprise."

Louise casually remarked, "Left a huge mess on Depp and her wedding bed?"

Hearing this intriguing description, Martin quickly changed the subject: "Any progress with Depp's investors and financial managers?"

Louise said, "We've started making contact."

(End of this chapter)