America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 731 Megan's First Failure

Los Angeles, Hollywood Heights Center.

Martin was very familiar with the place. He took the invitation, entered through the side door, and led Musk into the VIP room.

The two didn't walk the red carpet; they arrived early and saw Megan Ellison as soon as they entered.

The VIP room was large and already had quite a few people, but Martin and Megan's gazes met as they passed through everyone.

Musk, hands in his pockets, said, "Larry Ellison's daughter, she's just like her father. Go ahead and go for it, buddy, I'll cover for you and I definitely won't steal your thunder."

Martin couldn't possibly wrong his brother: "Aren't you indiscriminate in your tastes? Go if you want to."

Musk, despite his unusual tastes, looked down on her, grinning and saying, "My target tonight isn't Megan Ellison."

Just as the two were talking, Megan Ellison, the hostess, strode over and looked at Martin and Musk with a hint of curiosity in her eyes. How did these two end up together?

Does a jerk attract another jerk?

Musk laughed and said, "I didn't expect to run into people from Silicon Valley here."

Megan clearly didn't like the chubby white man and ignored him completely. After coming over, she looked at Martin and said, "Welcome to my movie premiere."

She remained confident: "See? I had a huge premiere for Transcendence."

Martin is a total jerk: "Sorry, Elon and I came from the back door and missed your premiere."

Megan remained unfazed: "Once the film is a success, you'll see it countless times in the media."

This is only the first of three films. Martin remained calm and casually said, "Congratulations on your success in advance."

The casualness and insincerity in her words were obvious even to a ten-year-old. Megan took it as Martin's helplessness at losing the project and said, "By the way, if this film is successful, I will give the screenwriter a bonus as compensation for his choice to work with Annapurna Films."

Martin laughed: "I hope you won't get too excited after the film is released."

Although Transcendence encountered many problems during its promotion, and Depp was heavily criticized by the media and received a lot of criticism on the Internet, Megan Ellison carefully studied the past Hollywood cases and proved that as long as the film quality is good, none of these problems are a problem.

Was Johnny Depp well-regarded before the release of "Pirates of the Caribbean"?

Martin noticed that Daniel was no longer interested in Megan Ellison, so he went to chat with Daniel for a while.

Daniel faced Martin with mixed feelings: "If only we were still working together."

Martin said, "Warner needs to pay my share first, right?"

Daniel immediately shifted the blame to Jon Berg: "The distribution company's funds have already been transferred to Warner Bros. Now it's Warner Bros.' problem."

This was consistent with what Martin knew, so he didn't dwell on it. Daniel wasn't involved in these matters either, and said, "You seem to be under a lot of pressure lately?"

Daniel said, "In terms of the film's publicity, the director was constantly putting out fires. One Depp could handle more than a hundred of you." He was very direct: "Originally, I thought that since Depp had a long-term partnership with Annapurna Pictures, and the distribution company was also working with Annapurna Pictures, Depp might become a long-term partner of Warner Bros.

He shook his head: "It turns out I was too naive."

Martin said, "I've been watching the news lately, it's been really exciting."

Daniel said with considerable frustration, "If it weren't for the three-film distribution contract with Annapurna, I would have stopped making any movies starring Depp immediately."

The two continued chatting, and Martin kept glancing outside before spotting Amber Heard.

He spoke a few more words to Daniel, while Musk was already talking to Amber Heard.

Depp isn't here; he's probably still outside the theater with the crew.

Musk's immense wealth clearly caught Amber Heard's attention.

After Musk identified himself, Amber Heard readily exchanged contact information with him.

In her eyes, she'll divorce Depp sooner or later. What's next?

Megan Ellison did indeed promise her that she would be cast as a leading lady in the future.

But with Amber Heard, money comes too easily for her; it's too slow and too difficult for a female celebrity to earn money.

Why not just find another rich man?

Depp's premarital infatuation also fueled Amber Heard's confidence.

As for Musk, Amber Heard probably just happens to fit his aesthetic.

Or perhaps, he has a particular fondness for that kind of thing.

Martin suddenly heard footsteps, turned around and saw Depp coming over.

Depp's burly bodyguard quickly followed.

Bruce stepped forward and stood next to Martin.

Daniel said, "Martin, calm down."

Martin gestured with his chin toward Depp, saying, "You should let him calm down first."

Depp stopped three meters away, his dark circles from alcoholism and drug addiction staring coldly at them, much like the name of his Black Mamba bar.

Martin raised his hand to cover his nose, and waved his other hand in front of his face.

Depp was instantly furious.

Many people in the VIP room, including Musk, quietly took out their phones and pointed them at Depp's waistband, seemingly waiting for him to repeat his feat on set.

Depp's agent, Wrigham, caught up from behind, grabbed Depp's hand, and whispered, "He's deliberately trying to provoke you."

Martin smelled a mixture of cologne, alcohol, and smoke, and said, "A strange smell."

Depp's chest heaved rapidly, but he ultimately dared not take off his pants again.

The bodyguard whispered in his ear, "Have you forgotten about Coulson's contact?"

Upon hearing that mosquito-like voice, Depp turned and walked away, glancing back at Martin halfway. He wanted to ruin that bastard's reputation.

Daniel then said, "It's almost time, let's go into the theater."

Amber Heard returned to her husband's side, and Musk followed Martin toward the theater lobby, saying as they walked, "That woman was easy to pick up. With my charm, I easily got her contact information and even made an appointment to have tea sometime."

Martin quietly gave a thumbs-up: "Indeed, he's incredibly wealthy."

Musk said, "Actually, you can do it too. I guarantee that as long as you show her even a little bit of interest, she will definitely not refuse you."

Martin quickly shook his head: "The smell is too strong, I'm scared."

Musk scoffed, "You're terrible at this."

Martin said, "You have a very strong taste."

The two entered the theater lobby, sat in the third row, and waited a short while before the movie began.

Because it involves Depp and Megan Ellison, Martin is watching Transcendence very seriously.

The trailer and the movie's title suggest a grand and subversive sci-fi feel, similar to "Inception," but it's actually a melodramatic love story.

Furthermore, the film attempts to explore philosophical themes like The Matrix, but it lacks the skill of the Wachowski brothers or sisters.

Even the Wachowskis would be doomed to fail if they were to get involved in philosophical speculation now.

The film may not be terrible, but it is extremely mediocre.

In Musk's words, no one else can turn a sci-fi blockbuster into an artsy, lighthearted film.

During the screening, Martin looked around and noticed that many audience members were asleep.

This situation is far worse than Michael Bay's explosive films being universally panned; at least Bay's films don't put people to sleep in the theater.

Rooney Mara, who was sitting on the other side of Martin, fell asleep five times during the movie.

Even after the premiere ended, the applause was still thunderous. The audience was very accommodating, and there were plenty of polite applause. But you can't judge a film's quality based on that alone.

As Musk clapped, he told Martin, "This is one of the most boring movies I've ever seen in person."

Martin clapped as well: "It might not be bad, but it's definitely boring."

The cast and crew went on stage together for a curtain call, and the audience began to leave.

Martin glanced at his watch: "Let's go."

Musk didn't move, but winked at Martin: "You go first, I'll talk to you later."

Martin understood and left the theater immediately.

On the way back to Beverly Hills, Martin checked Twitter and found that people were already criticizing the movie.

"Depp's new movie is terrible."

"The promotional material was so arrogant, I thought there would be some kind of captain or something, but this is it?"

"Johnny Depp has gone too far; he's no longer the captain he once was."

"Boycott Depp! Boycott this scumbag actor who insults fans!"

The comment section went off-topic.

Boycott Depp!

"Boycott Depp's new film..."

Perhaps it's due to recent promotional announcements; Depp has been too much of a troublemaker. Even with the crew and distributors' emergency public relations efforts after the Nokia Square incident, he still can't shake his habits of being late and drunk.

Even if he drafts a public relations document, he doesn't remember it, or rather, he can't remember it.

These actions have ruined his public image.

A film cannot be made at the box office by relying solely on die-hard fans.

Transcendence also proves this point.

Despite having a huge following of die-hard fans, Depp's new film performed terribly.

On its opening day in North America on Friday, "Transcendence" grossed only $481 million in 3655 theaters.

Normally, if a non-sequel or series film is well-received, its Saturday box office will be better than Friday's. However, this film's Saturday revenue plummeted by 20%, earning only $382 million.

After its opening weekend, Transcendence grossed $1088 million at the North American box office.

Compared to the film's production cost of $1.5 million, this box office performance represents an investment disaster.

The worst part is that the film's reputation among audiences has completely collapsed.

Data released by cinemascore, a professional film market research firm, shows that Transcendence received an average rating of C from audiences in its opening week, and the film is expected to gross around $2200 million at the North American box office.

Even including overseas markets where the film has not yet been released, after the distributor deducts marketing and management fees from Transcendence's box office revenue, Annapurna Pictures' box office earnings are negligible.

(End of this chapter)