America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 710 A Successful Example of Playing the Victim

Martin spent two days in Nashville, hoping to inspire Taylor Swift's creative work.

The next morning, Karlie Kloss brought her two model friends to visit the estate.

"This is Kendall Jenner, and this is Gigi Hadid," Carly introduced them to Martin one by one. "They belong to the same modeling agency as me, and right now they mainly do training and take on some small commercial projects."

Martin greeted them with a smile: "Hello, welcome to Nashville."

Gigi Hadid pulled out an iPhone and asked, "Martin, can I take a picture with you and tweet it?"

Martin never refused in this regard, and replied, "Sure."

Gigi Hadid didn't let anyone help her, and went up to Martin to take a selfie together before excitedly tweeting about it.

Martin looked at Kendall Jenner, who was tall, had long legs, and was exceptionally slender.

Two of the once-famous KFC sisters have now appeared.

Kendall's figure is completely different from her two older sisters; she looks remarkably like Jody. With her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket, she said, "I often hear my sisters talk about you."

This girl has really good proportions; her only flaw might be that she's not fierce enough.

But no one is perfect.

Martin had no reason to deny it: "I'm more familiar with Kim and Kohler."

Kendall smiled, but his gaze passed over Martin and landed on Bruce not far away, his expression quite complicated.

She asked Martin, "Can I talk to him?"

Martin stepped aside: "This is your freedom."

Kendall walked quickly toward Bruce.

Bruce saw her, and his expression became somewhat unnatural. He had seen photos of Kim and Khloe's sister more than once.

Kendall stepped closer and said, "You're Old Brooks? I've seen you on Kim and Kohler's phones; you're their phone's screen saver."

Bruce, thick-skinned enough, said, "I have some connections with them."

Kendall asked, "Is Kim your girlfriend, or is Khloe your girlfriend?"

Bruce vehemently denied it, responding with scathing remarks: "None of them."

"You really are a scumbag!" Kendall said, somewhat disappointed. "I really don't know what Kim and Khloe saw in you; you're just a bodyguard!"

Even Martin Davis's bodyguards are just bodyguards.

Bruce remained silent. He couldn't very well tell the young girl in front of him that he was worth tens of millions, could he?

What if this little girl pounces on me like her two older sisters?

Bruce often suffers from pelvic pain because he only has one person with a slender figure like Jody; he can't even imagine having a second one.

Kendall snorted and turned to leave.

Ahead, Taylor and Carly were seen kissing Martin one after the other. Kendall had a sudden thought: if she could influence Martin to fire that perverted bastard, Kim and Khloe might look down on him.

Kendall wanted to join in, but was rejected by Taylor, Carly, and Black.

To avoid potential risks, Martin always stuck to his principles and only chatted with Carly's two girlfriends at most.

As for Kendall Jenner's suggestion that if Bruce were fired, he dismissed it as utter nonsense.

Even if Elizabeth Olsen said this to Martin, let alone the KFC sisters he had just met, there would only be one outcome.

That afternoon, Taylor's team and Katy Perry's team had formal contact at the estate and presented their respective proposals.

Taylor brought it over specifically to show Martin.

Martin glanced at it briefly and said, "In terms of actual execution, your team is more professional; I'm only responsible for proposing ideas."

Taylor, like a devoted admirer, said, "Suggesting ideas is often the hardest part." She then asked, "Is there anything I should pay special attention to?"

Martin thought for a moment and reminded him, "You're a singer; the best way to respond is always through your songs."

Taylor nodded: "I remember."

That evening, after everyone had left, the singing competition resumed at the villa.

Taylor said to Martin in a serious tone, "I've discovered that it really does help maintain vocal cord health. My voice and singing have been getting better over the past two years."

Martin said, "It's alright, I can give you more."

Before coming to Nashville, he knew he would be very busy, since opening his voice and maintaining his vocal cords is a rather difficult task, so he has been maintaining a high-protein diet.

Since Taylor had a need to maintain her voice and vocal cords, Martin would naturally accommodate her.

By the middle of the night, there wasn't a single drop left.

The following morning, Martin boarded a flight and left Nashville, returning to Los Angeles.

Once inside first class, Martin, who hadn't slept all night, was finally able to get a good night's sleep.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Martin had just stepped out of the terminal and gotten into his car when Thomas, who had come to pick him up, handed him a copy of The Hollywood Reporter, which contained some articles about him.

It still emphasizes playing the victim.

This time, the story includes people and events from Atlanta. It's about how Martin's mother died and his father ran away before he came to Hollywood. He grew up by sponging off his neighbors, but instead of becoming a scoundrel, he became a good person in the eyes of his neighbors, leading them to repel drug dealers' attacks on the community several times.

One sentence in particular hits the nail on the head.

"Anyone else would have fallen into who knows how far they'd gone by now..."

Martin, putting away the newspaper, asked Thomas, "Was it all Leo's doing?"

Thomas said, "Leo provides the ideas and suggestions, and the team below is responsible for implementing them."

Martin frowned, thinking, "Why does this marketing tactic look so familiar?"

Thomas said, "Because Leo also borrowed from others. He referenced CAA's marketing of Keanu Reeves, which is also the most successful case of Hollywood's sob story marketing."

Martin said, "No wonder it felt familiar. I've heard Charlize Theron mention Keanu Reeves before. This PR campaign couldn't be more successful."

After The Matrix trilogy, Keanu Reeves botched several projects, causing his career to plummet. His agency, taking into account his personal experiences, used a series of images, videos, and news articles to create a completely new persona for him, stabilizing his status and slowing his decline.

The specific tactic is to play the victim based on the facts.

For example, Keanu Reeves was brought up to highlight his tragically deceased ex-girlfriend. It's true that she had a miscarriage, but it wasn't caused by a car accident; rather, it was caused by drug use.

If the media reports the facts, how can the public possibly sympathize with a drug addict who has a miscarriage?

For example, it's also true that Keanu Reeves doesn't buy a house and lives in hotels for a long time. After becoming famous, Keanu Reeves didn't buy a house for a long time and instead lived in hotels, but they were old luxury hotels in Los Angeles.

According to him, staying in a hotel means there's no need to tidy up the house.

The hotel is extremely high-end; it's said that Keanu Reeves spends thousands of dollars on a single meal with his entourage.

As for eating hamburgers on the street and sitting in the park like a homeless person, those are some unreleased set photos of Keanu Reeves.

Of course, all of these are based on facts and can withstand scrutiny, so Keanu Reeves' persona has always been very solid and will not easily collapse.

Moreover, Keanu Reeves is very popular in the industry, and gifting motorcycles and Rolexes is commonplace for him, earning him a reputation for generosity throughout Hollywood.

It's no exaggeration to say that Keanu Reeves is a classic example of successful Hollywood marketing through playing the victim.

Leonardo DiCaprio's so-called "playing the victim" plan is largely based on Keanu Reeves' successful experience.

Thomas then asked, "Do you think Leo's plan will succeed?"

Martin didn't answer, but instead asked, "Louise has held several film review sessions in Los Angeles. How were the responses?"

Thomas was present: "The overall response was good. The Academy members who attended appreciated your performance, but regarding the film's genre..."

He spoke frankly: "Science fiction films, even those with a strong plot, are still at a disadvantage at the Oscars."

"Get the nomination first, then we'll talk about everything else." Martin shook his head. "A bastard who's been chasing awards for over a decade and still doesn't understand how he's doing it, do you really think I can win Best Actor..."

Thomas didn't respond, but in his eyes, the three of them seemed to be entertaining themselves.

Leonardo DiCaprio has no films being released this awards season, so he doesn't need to worry about film promotion and public relations for awards. He has plenty of free time. In addition, with Nicholson, who always tries to stir up trouble even when there's no wind, involved, this sob story plan is going very well.

Martin, believing he was better off relying on himself, asked, "How's your research on the competitors going?"

December 1st is Oscar submission day, and the competition has largely emerged. Thomas said, "We've collected almost everything."

Martin had just returned home when Leonardo and Nicholson rushed over.

If you can't cause trouble outside, then cause trouble among your own people.

The main point is to play music and dance together.

In the following days, Martin barely rested, frequently attending various events, appearing at film screenings and parties, and having to humble himself when it came to campaigning.

Nicholson also threw several parties to help Martin campaign among older white men.

Leonardo also mobilized his friends.

Among the films vying for an Oscar this awards season, "The Martian" has the widest audience reach and the best market performance.

The film's box office performance in North America has been stable, accumulating $2.42 million after three weeks of release.

Meanwhile, The Martian's overseas screenings expanded to markets such as Australia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America, and its overseas box office soared, quickly surpassing North America with $2.72 million.

This is not the end of the film's box office. Just from the box office revenue sharing, the investors, including Davis Studio, will be able to recoup their entire investment.

For awards season, it is extremely important that The Martian did not suffer a significant drop in critical acclaim despite its surge in audience numbers; its ratings across the board remained strong.

Compared to award-season films like Midnight Tree, War Horse, and Moneyball, its critical acclaim is in no way inferior.

Because Harvey Weinstein wasn't there, Martin didn't see that black-and-white silent film during awards season, and he has very few films that he remembers.

In his view, this year's Oscars were a typical weak year.

The race for the awards is underway. In addition to Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholson's sob stories, Martin has also invested energy and resources, but his main focus is on potential rivals.

(End of this chapter)