America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 739 They're all geniuses

After chatting for a while, Musk left the studio satisfied, having reached an agreement with Martin on how to deal with Depp.

"The Lone Ranger" will be released soon. As one of the trilogy that Annapurna Pictures snatched from Martin Scorsese, it has been heavily promoted and advertised, with GG everywhere.

Moreover, unlike the promotional strategy for "Transcendence," which focused on the production by Jerry Bruckheimer's team due to the recent mess that has been plaguing Depp, both the production team and the distributor, Warner Bros., have been prioritizing the film's production.

This award-winning producer also possesses considerable market appeal based on his outstanding past achievements.

Bruce said, "Nobody's sending you a premiere invitation this time."

Martin, completely oblivious, remarked, "Don't they know I'm a lucky star?"

Bruce said the truth: "You're lucky, but they're the ones who are unlucky."

A girl carrying a bag walked into the studio. When she saw Martin in the break area, she immediately ran over and said, "Teacher."

Bruce automatically stepped aside.

"What brings you here?" Martin pointed to the person opposite him. "Sit down and let's talk."

Saoirse Ronan took off her backpack, pulled out a chair and sat down, saying, "Mia and Ms. Mandy Moore rehearsed a dance, but the dancers haven't arrived yet. They wanted to see how it would go, so Louise called me, and I came over to try dancing."

Martin said, "It's good to get familiar with it first."

Saoirse Ronan looked around; seeing no one, she lowered her voice and said, "I've been learning some special dances from my dance teacher, and I only want to perform them for you. When do you have time, teacher?"

Martin thought for a moment and said, "Let's talk about it at the end of the month."

Saoirse nodded. The end of the month would be just right; she would be turning eighteen then.

Also, a few days ago she went to Davis Estate, while Elizabeth Olsen and Lily Carter were going to Europe and weren't in Los Angeles.

Saoirse added, "I'll practice hard during this time, and I'll definitely surprise you."

Martin said, "You're so full of tricks."

Saoirse laughed happily, glanced at the quartz clock on the wall, quickly picked up her bag and stood up: "My appointment with Ms. Mandy Moore is almost here, I have to go now."

"Do you know where the dance studio is?" Martin waved his hand when Saoirse nodded. "Go ahead."

Saoirse hurriedly went into the studio.

Bruce was on the phone for a while, then came over and said, "Harris sent word that Johnny Depp's yacht and his mansion in Malibu have been put up for sale. The yacht is priced at $1600 million and the mansion at $3500 million, both below market value."

Martin, who has learned how the high-end market works over the years, said, "Even if Depp were to sell at this price, no one would take him."

Bruce added, "Harris had Ivan bribe people around Depp, and it's said that Depp's asking price for the yacht is $1100 million."

Martin said, "Let Harris handle it."

Because of the infamous "white-eyed war" within the Harry Potter crew, and the recent expulsion of author J.K. Rowling from the Harry Potter universe, Martin had some recollection of Rowling's news, vaguely remembering that she had purchased a two-masted antique yacht, which apparently cost close to $2000 million.

If Rowling did indeed buy Depp's two-masted antique yacht, the middleman must have made a considerable profit from the price difference.

Martin and his group have already raised the funds, so he won't be involved in the specifics of the operation.

It's clear that Depp has begun selling off assets in response to pressure from the IRS.

That said, there aren't many people in the US who can withstand the pressure from the IRS.

Martin's phone rang; it was Nolan calling to ask him to meet and discuss the new project.

As Martin left the studio, before he even got on his electric scooter, a beautiful red-haired woman with long, wavy hair quickly walked over from the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. studio next door.

"Hi, Martin." Elena Satine waved to Martin. "Nice to meet you again."

Thanks to her striking good looks, Martin even remembered her name: "Hello, Elena."

Upon seeing Bruce arrive in his electric scooter, Elena Satine asked, "Are you leaving the studio?"

"Are you going out too?" Martin got into the car. "I can give you a ride."

"Thank you." Elena Satine quickly got on the electric scooter.

Bruce started the car and drove toward the studio entrance.

Elena Satine glanced furtively at Martin ahead of her and asked, "I heard your new project is a musical?"

Martin casually remarked, "This project has a long preparation period, and filming is still a long way off."

Elena Satine then asked, "Isn't this your next project?"

"No," Martin shook his head and said simply, "A thief movie."

The studio gate wasn't far away. Bruce quickly stopped his electric scooter, and Martin got off and went straight into the parking lot. They left together.

Elena Satine sat in her car, watching Cadillac drive away.

She pulled down the sunshade, glanced at her exquisite makeup in the mirror, and then reached out to touch her own mountain breeze, feeling incredibly attractive.

"Don't rush, take it slow," Elena Satine reminded herself. "Learn from the mistakes of those who failed, and let everything unfold naturally."

She started her car and left the Disney studio.

…………

Century City, WMA.

Martin met Christopher Nolan in a meeting room.

The latter has recently had a falling out with Warner Bros., and photos of his argument with Jon Berg have even appeared on TMZ.

Martin asked directly, "Is the project in trouble?"

"I've already submitted the director's cut for 'The Dark Knight Rises,' and what happens after that is none of my business." Nolan looked exhausted. "The main trouble comes from 'Interstellar.'"

Martin grasped the key: "Warner Bros."?

Nolan nodded slightly: "Although this project is jointly invested in by DreamWorks, Legendary Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros., the investment rights are scattered among DreamWorks, Paramount, and Warner Bros. The first two have already given the green light, but Warner Bros. has been blocking me."

Martin asked, "Because we sued Warner Bros.?"

Nolan shrugged: "That's right. The last time I clashed with Jon Berger, it was because he threatened me with this project. He said that if I didn't drop the lawsuit and reach a settlement with Warner Bros., the development of 'Interstellar' would continue to be delayed."

Martin asked curiously, "What are the conditions for reconciliation?"

"Wait for the penalty and late payment fees, and only pay the normal bank interest rate." Nolan thought that Jon Berger was out of his mind, yet he still received the support of Kevin Tsujihara, the chairman of the group company.

He couldn't help but say, "The new executives at Warner are all geniuses; each of them has amazing ideas."

Martin agreed: "Giving up penalty fees, giving up late fees, and only charging negligible bank interest—Jon Berg has the nerve to propose such terms."

Nolan added, "What's even stranger is that Jon Berger advised me to be more generous, to have a long-term vision, and not to be concerned with petty gains."

He scoffed, "If Warner Bros. owed him his salary, would he be so magnanimous?"

On this matter, Martin is completely aligned with Nolan: "This is not a compromise. If there's a first time, there will be a second. As for the new projects, let DreamWorks and Paramount put pressure on Warner Bros.."

Nolan nodded, while reminding Martin, "Jon Berg has a lot of opinions about you and may object to you playing the male lead, but my side, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks all agree to you playing the male lead because Warner Bros. has not yet put this project into the review committee, and the specific details regarding the actors will have to wait for a while."

Martin, thinking about the upcoming summer movie season and the release of "Jack the Giant Slayer" next month, said, "Things might change once the summer season starts. Warner Bros.... I don't know what to say."

Nolan said, "I will communicate further with Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks to move the project forward."

The day after Martin met with Nolan, Nolan filed a new lawsuit against his former agency CAA and his current agency WMA in the Los Angeles Supreme Court.

The reason lies in Nolan's commission.

Nolan left CAA and joined WMA, which happened to coincide with the production of The Dark Knight Rises.

CAA believes that Nolan signed a director's contract with The Dark Knight Rises studio during his time with CAA, and all remuneration and agent commissions generated during the project should belong to CAA.

But the WMA doesn't see it that way, because after Nolan switched to the WMA, he was still working on the production of "The Dark Knight Rises". During that time, the remuneration and agent commission that Nolan received naturally could not fall into the hands of CAA.

The dispute between the two agencies was so unresolved that the Nolans were extremely annoyed, so they decided to sue both agencies in court and let the court make a judgment.

In the eyes of top figures in the industry like Martin and Nolan, both CAA, ranked number one, and WMA, ranked number two, have a very clear positioning—service providers.

However, Nolan's news still couldn't steal the spotlight from Depp.

Throughout April, the two most sensational news stories in Hollywood were both related to Johnny Depp.

One is that Depp is facing a financial crisis.

The other one was "The Lone Ranger," starring Johnny Depp, which was bombarded with promotional material.

This blockbuster, with a $250 million investment from Annapurna Pictures, produced by Hollywood's top producer Jerry Bruckheimer's team, and distributed by Warner Bros., will hit theaters across North America on April 20.

The film avoided the fierce competition of the summer blockbuster season, sitting a weekend away from Marvel Studios' blockbuster "The Avengers".

In today's film market, let alone two weekends, a single weekend can determine the fate of a big-budget production.

This time, neither Annapurna Pictures and Megan Ellison, the production company, nor Warner Bros. and Daniel Radcliffe, the distributor, invited Martin to the premiere of "The Lone Ranger".

(End of this chapter)