America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 742 I Want Depp to Be Completely Finished

Under the cover of night, a black minivan drove out of Beverly Hills and headed straight for Burbank.

Inside the car, Martin flipped through an invitation with Tom Cruise's image and a Mission: Impossible 4 poster printed on the cover.

Nicholson asked, "Are you sure Megan Ellison will be at Tom Cruise's celebration party?"

"There's no mistake," Martin said simply. "Megan Ellison's brother, David Ellison, founded Skydance Pictures, which invested in Mission: Impossible 4. The film was a huge success, reversing Tom Cruise's recent decline. Among the guests invited by Tom Cruise, the Ellison siblings were the main focus."

Leonard patted Martin on the shoulder: "Luckily, Jack and I came with you, otherwise you would have been fighting two against one, and if you lost, it would have been too embarrassing for the trio."

The van arrived at the Burbank Hotel, and the three of them got out, walked across the red carpet, and followed the signs into the banquet hall where the party was being held.

Tom Cruise and director Brad Bird immediately came to greet them.

After shaking hands with Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicholson, the former immediately opened his arms and gave Martin a hug, saying, "You helped me a lot with the success of Mission: Impossible 4. All the advice you gave me became the film's best selling points!"

"You're too kind, Tommy," Martin said with a smile. "Those are selling points because you're incredibly hardworking."

Tom Cruise thought Martin was very savvy and said, "Please come in, we must have a drink later."

He will also send Martin a cake this year.

Martin and his two companions entered the banquet hall.

Leonardo turned to look at Tom Cruise and said, "Jack, why do I always feel like Martin and him are having an affair?"

Nicholson said, "Because Tom Cruise gives us the impression that Martin betrayed the trio and was secretly having an affair."

Martin really didn't want to deal with these two idiots, so he simply pretended not to hear them.

His gaze swept quickly across the spacious banquet hall, searching for his target for the night.

Martin spotted David Ellison first.

When he first entered Hollywood, he was also very high-profile. When investing in movies, he claimed that for every additional plane that appeared in the scene, he would add a million dollars to the budget.

David Ellison's Skydance Films initially followed the path of independent investment and production, but after the failure of "Skyfighter," he stopped producing independently and became a more purely investor.

Leonard nudged Martin with his elbow and gestured with his eyes: "Over there, Megan Ellison."

Martin saw that Megan Ellison was talking to a few people.

Nicholson nodded to the two of them: "Come with me."

Each of them took a glass of wine, and the three of them sat down not far from Megan Ellison, chatting casually as usual.

To an outsider, these three bastards would seem exceptionally happy and cheerful.

Nicholson raised his glass to Martin and Leonard, saying, "The best hunters are the prey."

Martin took a sip of his drink: "That makes sense."

On the other side, Megan Ellison quickly noticed Martin. Seeing Martin chatting and laughing there, her already super-blocked mind was immediately captivated.

In that instant, her face turned crimson, her skin became cold and clammy, she became agitated, her heart rate increased, she had difficulty breathing, she experienced severe pain near her sternum, and she could barely stand.

Megan Ellison isn't lacking in mental fortitude; the loss is simply too great!

She's invested over $300 million, but the final return might only be in the seven figures. Even if her father were in charge, he wouldn't be able to handle it all at once.

Megan's gaze was fixed on Martin, because she remembered very clearly that this project had been snatched from Martin Davis.

As the project has progressed to this point, she inevitably begins to wonder: was this project really stolen?

As she watched Martin, Leonardo, and Nicholson raise their champagne glasses to toast, Megan knew that the more she thought about it, the more uncomfortable she would feel. Yet, the thoughts in her mind were as tenacious as life itself, piercing through her blocked cardiovascular system and surfacing.

"Are those three bastards celebrating my defeat?"

Megan, true to her temperament, didn't hide or conceal anything. She immediately went over, pulled out a chair, and sat down opposite Martin.

Martin snapped his fingers at the waiter, who then brought over a glass of champagne.

Megan looked at the champagne in front of her and asked directly, "What, celebrating the failure of my investment in 'The Lone Ranger'?"

This domineering female CEO looks very imposing.

Martin raised his champagne glass, making no attempt to hide his delight: "It's definitely worth a drink."

Since the other party's character is a mysterious and domineering female CEO, he might as well play the shallow villain who wears his heart on his sleeve. He took a sip of champagne: "Ms. Ellison, congratulations on your film's failure."

Megan remained expressionless, as if this setback was nothing.

But even if she didn't completely break down her public image after losing hundreds of millions, her heart had changed. With a hoarse voice, she asked, "Did you do this on purpose?"

Martin's acting skills, while not quite at Nicholson's level, are more than adequate for handling this situation.

He seemed not to understand: "What?"

Megan asked, "Did you deliberately hand the 'Lone Ranger' project to me?"

Martin downed the rest of his champagne in one gulp and retorted, "Are you out of your mind?"

He stared into Megan's eyes, his pent-up anger erupting: "Ms. Ellison, I've never seen anyone as awful as you before! You stole someone else's project, messed it up, and now you're blaming the person you stole from!"

Nicholson retorted, "In my fifty years in Hollywood, this is the first time I've ever seen someone so shameless."

Megan looked at Martin, then at Nicholson; it didn't seem like a lie at all.

Martin nudged Leonardo with his foot.

The trio of scoundrels had a tacit understanding. Leonardo said, "Martin went through a lot of trouble to find the 'Lone Ranger' project from Disney's huge film library, found Jerry Bruckheimer, a top producer, to produce it, contacted Gore Verbinski, who had achieved several commercial successes, and also found Johnny Depp..."

He seemed to be standing up for his best friend: "And what happened? Martin did all the preparations, you snatched the project away halfway through, and now you've messed it up and you're coming to cause trouble for Martin? You're not just crazy, you have a problem with your character!"

Megan Ellison certainly doesn't feel ashamed.

Martin sneered, "The project's failure is your fault. Your crew has problems, and so do you..."

He shook his head: "A project with such a promising future has been wasted like this!"

Someone like Megan wouldn't doubt her own abilities.

But since the project actually failed, there must have been problems with the production team.

What was the biggest problem with the production team? Megan immediately pictured Johnny Depp's face.

Leonardo shook his head: "If you're not good enough, don't complain about the environment."

Nicholson stood up: "We came here to attend Tom's victory celebration, but we've run into this mess. We're leaving."

Martin stood up as well: "They're gone, they're gone."

The three men went directly to Tom Cruise, said goodbye, and left.

Upon exiting the banquet hall, Leonardo asked, "How did I cooperate?"

Martin was pragmatic: "It's a bit stiff and exaggerated, but in terms of effect, it's enough."

Nicholson concluded, "Megan Ellison wants to blame Martin for the failure. We criticized her for being incompetent, but the kind of person she is won't admit incompetence. When she gets angry, she only looks for new reasons and excuses. Who is the easiest target for her frustration?"

Martin chimed in: "Of course, it's Johnny Depp, with whom she has a long history of conflict."

Nicholson said, "Don't be fooled by that woman's calm expression. In my experience with hundreds of women, she's about to set herself on fire."

Leonardo DiCaprio's face jiggled with laughter: "In the end, Depp will take all the blame."

…………

Although she felt like she was on fire, Megan Ellison stayed a little longer in the banquet hall because it was a day to celebrate David Ellison's successful investment in Mission: Impossible 4.

Upon arriving at the hotel and getting into the car, she told the driver, "To Griffith Observatory."

The driver, who had served Megan Ellison for several years, knew she was a powder keg ready to explode at any moment, so he didn't dare say much and drove around the streets.

Megan Ellison took out her phone, found Amber Heard's number, and said, "See you at Griffith Observatory in half an hour."

The reply came from the other side: "I'm coming right now."

Megan Ellison hung up the phone and was about to put it away when it vibrated.

She glanced at the caller ID and frowned; it was someone from the bank.

"This is Megan Ellison."

"Hello, Miss Ellison, this is Judith." The voice on the other end sounded exceptionally pleasant: "It's like this, the bank might officially notify you tomorrow. I just received the news myself, so I'm calling you as soon as possible to let you know."

Megan asked, "What is it?"

Judith said, "The poor reception of 'The Lone Ranger' might lead the banks to take measures such as urging repayment..."

Megan remained calm: "I understand, thank you."

The two hung up the phone quickly.

Megan gripped her phone tightly, the diamond-encrusted iPhone 4S seemingly screaming in agony.

At that moment, she recalled all the outrageous things Depp had done on set and during promotions.

Half an hour later, Megan Ellison met Amber Heard at Griffith Observatory.

Megan didn't waste any words and went straight to the point: "Are you ready to do what I asked you to do?"

Amber said, "I've collected a lot."

Megan looked down at the observatory and at the city lights, saying, "I want Johnny Depp to never appear in another top-tier Hollywood production again, and I want him to regret all the outrageous things he did on the set of 'The Lone Ranger'!"

Her final words, laced with boundless anger and hatred, were: "I want Johnny Depp completely finished!"

Amber had never seen such a domineering female CEO before, and for a moment she forgot to answer.

Megan asked, "Can you do it?"

Amber Heard originally intended to rake in another large sum of money from Depp, but her sugar daddy Megan urged her new love Elon Musk to make the same request, so she gritted her teeth and said, "I can do it."

(End of this chapter)