America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 772 Musk's Big Salesmanship

Sunset Boulevard, Vineyard Manor Bar.

Martin entered the private room on the second floor, where there were only two people: Musk and his new girlfriend, Amber Heard.

The room is very soundproof; you can't hear any outside noise once the door is closed.

"Hey, my friend!" Musk stood up to greet Martin, opening his arms for a hug. "You've finally come back from the chilly East Coast to sunny Los Angeles."

Martin noticed the three red lipstick marks on his face and said, "Your look tonight is very unique."

Musk laughed and glanced behind him: "This was a gift from Amber."

Amber waved from behind: "Hey Martin, we meet again."

Martin nodded to her, sat down on the armchair, opened a bottle of wine he had brought, and said, "Try some of the good wine I brought."

Amber took the bottles and poured the wine one by one.

The three of them shared a drink.

Musk was direct, saying, "I'm buying you a drink because there's something I'd like to ask you."

Martin put down his glass: "You go first."

"Amber Heard and Depp's divorce proceedings are about to begin and will last for several days." Musk, despite his scummy reputation, seems quite attentive to his girlfriend: "You've been entangled with Depp for so long, do you have any suggestions on how to get Amber more favorable terms?"

Although the media was abuzz with news of Depp's domestic violence, and entertainment news overwhelmingly sided with Amber Heard, Martin didn't believe a word the woman said.

However, he was happy to make Depp suffer, so after thinking for a moment, he only said one name: "Lily-Rose Depp".

Amber Heard continued, "Depp took drugs in front of his daughter several times, and even tempted her by providing her with seaweed. I filmed all of this!"

Musk cautioned, "Make sure you communicate well with your lawyer. Once these facts are confirmed, Depp's subsequent statements will become unreliable. How can someone who doesn't even care about his daughter care about others?"

Martin didn't say anything more, but poured himself a glass of wine and slowly savored it.

Musk then asked, "Martin, are there any others?"

Martin shrugged: "In other areas, lawyers are more professional than us."

Musk nodded at Amber: "Go talk to your lawyer."

Amber wanted to say something more, but after glancing at Musk's expression, she quickly left the private room.

"This woman is very calculating." With Musk's experience, he could certainly see what kind of woman Amber Heard was: "And she's particularly wild."

Martin casually remarked, "Those who handle snakes shouldn't end up getting bitten by them."

Musk said, "If the snake doesn't behave, I'll put it in a rocket and launch it to Mars."

He paused briefly, then suddenly asked, "What do you think of Amber Heard's looks?"

Martin frankly stated, "In terms of looks alone, he's top-tier in Hollywood."

Musk then asked, "Are we good friends?"

Martin nodded casually: "Of course."

"I saw some gossip in the entertainment news the other day, and it seems you've found a pair of sisters?" Musk, with his money and free time, couldn't resist a thought: "Next time I throw a party, will you bring them along?"

Martin eyed the chubby man warily: "What do you want? Elon, I'm an excellent shot. Shooting someone in the head from 800 meters away is as easy as eating and drinking for me."

Musk, who knew Martin well and considered him to be the most formidable individual fighter among billionaires, quickly explained, "Nothing else, I just want to play a swap game. I'm not the kind of person who takes advantage of others. I'll bring Amber Heard and Tanlulla Riley with me."

He added a special note: "Tanlura is not only a beautiful actress, but also a PhD in quantum physics from Caltech."

"Wait a minute!" Martin was a little confused by this. "If I remember correctly, Tanlura Riley is your wife."

Musk said, "She's my ex-wife, we're divorced."

Martin asked, "A peaceful breakup?"

Musk nodded: "I gave her $1600 million. We're still friends after the divorce. She's preparing to go back to Hollywood. Of all the Hollywood bigwigs I know, you're the most reliable one..."

He said, "Haven't you always liked this type? I'm recommending Tanlura to you, also for her future benefit."

"Stop! Stop!" Martin shouted to Musk. "You're going too far and too wild. I'm too conservative for you to handle. Stop talking about swapping Amber and Tanlura. I respect women's right to choose freely. Let's not talk about this anymore."

Musk kept shaking his head: "I never expected you to be this kind of person."

Martin said, "I'm a better person than you."

"Good man Martin, do me a favor." Seeing that Martin wasn't taking the bait, Musk simply threw away the price he was prepared to pay and said directly, "I saw in the media reports that you've reached a cooperation agreement with the Interstellar production team to be the male lead and producer. It wouldn't be more suitable for such a blockbuster interstellar travel movie to have my SpaceX as the main sponsor."

Martin asked, "The main sponsor?"

Musk said, "I've read the script and I want the space base in it to become a SpaceX base. I contacted Spielberg, and he said that Nolan would be in charge of the film's plot and production. But I'm not familiar with Nolan. I've heard that he's a stubborn and conservative person. If I can't make a good impression the first time, it will be difficult to convince him again."

He looked at Martin: "I've specifically looked into it; you have a very good relationship with Nolan. Martin, Tesla will be raising funds for the next round soon, and I've reserved the same share for you as last time..."

Martin thought for a moment and said, "I can introduce you to Nolan. If Nolan asks for my opinion, I will support you, but the specific work will still be up to you."

To promote SpaceX and Tesla, Musk tried every possible method and immediately said, "No problem."

Before the two had finished their bottle of wine, Martin took his leave and returned to Beverly Hills.

Lily and Elizabeth are in Los Angeles, and he returns to Davis Estate every day.

The following morning, after the routine dance and piano practice, Martin met Jonathan Nolan in Louise's office.

David Fincher then arrived as well.

The four of them talked for half an afternoon and basically reached a cooperation agreement on the multiple personality disorder project.

Following Martin's suggestion, the project was officially named "The Split".

Jonathan Nolan will write the screenplay.

"I need about a year to finish the script," Jonathan told Martin. "Besides the two biographies and the script for 'Crowded Room,' I also need to interview Billy himself and the doctor from that time, and ideally, I'd like to go to Ohio to find the parties involved in the case to learn more details."

Martin and Jonathan were quite familiar with each other and understood his writing style. He was a screenwriter who wasn't very prolific but was meticulous in his work. Martin immediately replied, "Okay, let's do this: finalize the script by September next year."

David Fincher will be producing "House of Cards" for Netflix next year, so he won't have time to direct.

Jonathan said, "I'll have my agent come over and we'll discuss the contract."

At the end of the meeting, Martin stood up and shook hands with Jonathan and David Fincher: "We stay in touch and communicate promptly when problems arise."

This is Jonathan Nolan's first film after leaving Christopher Nolan, and his goal is clear: to prove to all of Hollywood that he is still a first-rate screenwriter even without Christopher.

As for directing a film on his own, Jonathan is familiar with the Hollywood system and knows that he can't rush things and needs to take it one step at a time.

After seeing David Fincher and Jonathan Nolan off, Martin chatted with Louise for a bit.

A top screenwriter like Jonathan Nolan would likely command a salary of at least $300 million.

Hollywood's top screenwriters can earn up to $500 million per script.

Currently, the top screenwriters in Hollywood are Aaron Sorkin and Paul Haggis. The former focuses on television production, with "The West Wing" being his representative work. He also wrote "Moneyball," which directly competed with Martin Scorsese during last year's awards season.

Paul Haggis is even more famous. His self-written and directed film "Crash" won the Academy Award for Best Picture. He later served as the screenwriter for films such as "Million Dollar Baby", "The Last Kiss", "Flags of Our Fathers", "Letters from Iwo Jima", "Casino Royale", and "Quantum of Solace", all of which generated strong reactions.

However, the styles of these two artists are not suitable for "Split".

A few days later, Martin gathered the Face Gang to go to the Nightclub for a face wash, and invited Nolan and Musk, taking the opportunity to introduce them.

Meeting in this environment helps to increase mutual relationship and trust.

Especially after washing your face, when you feel refreshed, things tend to go more smoothly when you're discussing business.

Nolan is a commercial director, and with Martin Scorsese pulling in the fold, he doesn't rule out commercial sponsorships as long as they don't negatively impact the film's production.

Moreover, computer-generated special effects technology has now developed to the point where it is almost completely incompatible with large-scale live-action filming.

In big-budget films, many scenes are shot using real props, which is very expensive, while CGI generation is much cheaper.

Nolan is a director who insists on shooting on location. For films like Interstellar, shooting on location means a huge investment.

Musk can provide an $800 million sponsorship.

Nolan wanted to include this sponsorship in the filming costs, not in the film's revenue.

The specifics will require several companies to negotiate together.

After washing his face, when it was time to leave and go downstairs, Musk deliberately pulled Martin along to walk at the very back.

The chubby man was in a great mood and said, "I really want to thank you for today. When you have time, I'll invite Tanlura out for dinner."

Martin sighed, "Even if you're divorced, you don't need to try to sell me your ex-wife."

As Musk walked, he said, "Compared to those freaks in Hollywood, you're someone I can trust to take good care of her."

Martin said, "Don't forget your promises about Tesla. I'm not interested in Tanura or anything like that."

Musk suddenly realized something and slapped his forehead: "I almost forgot, you're interested in someone else's wife. Tanlura divorced me... How about this, I'll find an opportunity to remarry Tanlura, and then ask you out?"

Hearing these words, Martin suddenly remembered a saying: Perverts are more likely to meet other perverts.

(End of this chapter)