America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 792 Menez Shocks the Entire Audience

During the following days of filming, Clara became inexplicably more confident, perhaps feeling that she had taken root in Los Angeles and no longer needed to worry about going back to sign the slave treaty if things didn't go well.

After the four-person musical number featuring the female lead's best friends was filmed, Menez appeared with his black band.

Martin plays the male lead, who, after a phone call between the female lead and her mother, accepts an invitation from Menez, the lead singer, to join his band as a keyboardist.

In the film set, which was set up as a recording studio, the band recorded a song together. Menez, the lead singer, occupied the center position, while Martin, the male lead, naturally stood next to him, and the rest of the members were all blurred in the background.

During filming, Martin was barely able to keep up with the rhythm compared to the other professional musicians, and there was nothing wrong with the performance footage alone.

As for the music, it can be changed during post-production.

After filming three scenes, Menez drank some water to moisten his throat and then cleared his throat a little when he returned.

Martin cracked his knuckles and asked, "Ready?"

"Of course I'm ready." Menech Martin blinked and said in a low voice, "In order to play this role well and film several singing scenes, I went to Las Vegas to find Celine Dion, and Celine gave me a month of intensive study and training."

Martin gave him a thumbs up: "Impressive."

Menez looked toward the rest area, where Chad, Marcus, Chen Hu, and others who had come to visit were pointing and gesturing.

Knowing his friends were waiting to see him fail, he said, "Boss, you'll soon find out I'm a professional!"

As the script supervisor clapped the clapperboard, filming began.

The band played as usual, and Martin continued to play the keyboard to the beat.

Menez sang a modern jazz song.

His voice is professional from the moment he opens his mouth; he has plenty of breath, his singing is expressive, and he has a firm grasp of rhythm and beat.

While it's far from stunning, it's a whole level better than when Martin and Saoirse Ronan filmed the concert.

"Stop!" Damien yelled, halting filming. Menezes gestured his signature hand: "Well done, keep it up!"

He then shouted to the rest of the crew, "Get ready, we're shooting the next scene in two minutes."

After filming for more than an hour, the crew completed this part of the scene and took a break.

Martin and Menez returned to the rest area.

Chad, acting as his temporary assistant, handed him a bottle of water and said, "Dude, you've chosen the wrong profession. You should be a singer."

Chen Hu doesn't know much about Black music, but based on his immediate impression, he said, "I think you sound much better than many Black rappers."

Marcus agreed: "That's right!"

Martin asked Menez with a puzzled look, "I remember the last time I heard you sing, you weren't at this level. Celine Dion's intensive training for over a month has made you this good?"

Chad and his two companions suddenly realized that it wasn't surprising, considering that Menez had a North American pop diva on his side.

"I spent a month in Las Vegas with Celine, and I've improved a lot in every aspect." Menez cleared his throat and said, "As for my singing, you've heard. Celine thinks I can release an album, and she's going to sponsor one for me."

Everyone, including Martin, looked at Menez with undisguised admiration.

A man who reaches the level of Mr. Menez is truly a super winner.

"You mean there's progress in all aspects?" Bruce asked curiously. "What about the others? In what other areas?"

Menez, surprisingly, revealed a subtle smile.

This is not in line with his usual style.

Chad punched Menez: "Hurry up and tell the truth, or else..."

"I'll drag you to the Angels Club's shooting range!" Marcus's fat face twisted into a sinister smile. "He'll be shot for ten minutes!"

Faced with the threats from this group of envious and jealous people, Menez could only reach into his pocket and say with a hint of smugness, "It's because my best skill has improved by leaps and bounds once again that Celine is willing to help me release a music album."

If it were just about releasing albums for personal enjoyment, not to mention Menez, who is gradually becoming a golden supporting actor, even Marcus and Chen Hu would have the financial resources for that.

However, it's not so easy for music companies to push their music into sales channels.

Celine Dion has access to resources and connections that none of the others present possess.

Martin was also curious: "Stop rambling and just confess!"

"This... is hard to describe." Menne scratched his head with one hand and took a ball of red thread out of his pocket with the other.

The red thread was as thick as the yarn in a handmade sweater and stretched out to be three feet long.

Menez cleared his throat twice and stretched his jaw: "Let me show you."

Martin gestured for him to proceed.

Chad, Bruce, and the others were waiting for Menez's performance.

The commotion attracted the attention of many members of the crew, including director Damien, who stood at the edge of the set to see what kind of amazing trick Menez could pull off.

Mene picked up the red thread, bit the middle part, and his cheeks moved rapidly, as if his tongue was moving around inside his mouth.

He pulled his hand outwards, and a knot was found tied in the red thread!

The onlookers, including Martin and Bruce, were all amazed.

This isn't over yet!

Mene grabbed one side of the thread and pulled it out, while the other side of the red thread was pulled into his mouth. His cheeks moved rapidly as if an electric motor had been turned on.

The red thread he pulled out had knots connected one after another, as neat and orderly as the links of a chain.

This is much faster than a person tying a knot by hand!

It's as if this isn't a mouth, but rather the entrance and exit of an electric knotting machine.

Martin muttered, "This is outrageous! No wonder it's Menez! Forget Celine Dion, even Madonna would surrender."

Bruce's eyes widened, thinking to himself that if he had that ability, he could easily handle not only Kim and Khloe, but also Kendall and Kelly.

Chad, Chen Hu, and Marcus were at a loss for words.

Only Marcus muttered, "This guy is a true genius! A super genius!"

On the side of the set closer to the director's crew, Damien rubbed his eyes, making sure he wasn't seeing things due to work fatigue and that what he was seeing was the truth, and couldn't help but grin.

He suddenly understood some things he hadn't quite grasped before; no wonder many people in the crew said that Menez was the real winner in life.

With such an outstanding skill, it's hard not to become a winner in life!

At this moment, the studio was completely silent.

Mr. Menez stunned the entire audience!

What is technology? This is what technology is!

"I'm impressed!" Chad picked up the knotted red thread from Menez and examined it closely, exclaiming, "Buddy, you really earn your living through skill!"

Chen Hu and Marcus nodded repeatedly.

Bruce went over and patted Menne on the shoulder: "We've known each other for eight years, haven't we? You've been keeping your secret weapon to yourself! Old buddy, you have to teach me. I don't need to be as good as you, even a third of it will do."

Menezes smiled smugly: "Of course, of course!"

Bruce couldn't help but ponder, what if, at the same time, the left and right hands, plus Menez's signature move...

Martin overheard Bruce's words and suddenly remembered something: How many Kardashian sisters are there in total?

Not only Bruce, but Chad, Chen Hu, and Marcus were also humbly seeking advice from Menez.

After a while, a few young people from the film crew also came over.

They are good-looking and hold positions such as assistant director, camera assistant, or art assistant, making it easy for them to come into contact with star actors.

If you actually manage to get one, your life might just take off.

Moreover, these seemingly assistant positions are actually the ones in Hollywood where it's relatively easy to get involved with female celebrities.

Actresses like Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, and Kelly Knightley often had similar boyfriends in their past relationships.

After that day, Menez's reputation on set soared, and many eager learners would flock around him during breaks from filming.

Not just men, but also many women.

In Hollywood, the career advancement opportunities are much wider for men than for women.

However, if a woman can master a skill to the extreme, she will undoubtedly have many more opportunities.

However, this skill requires talent.

Catherine Daddario just couldn't learn it no matter what she tried, while Clara watched Menez perform twice, asked him about the techniques, and after a night of hard practice, she gradually mastered it.

Clara quickly gave Martin a private presentation.

Martin was very satisfied, believing that with Clara's abilities, she would definitely have a promising future in the industry.

So, after Clara finished her scenes in La La Land, Martin recommended her to the cast of John W. 3 for an audition for a female role.

In this sequel, there are two main female characters.

Blake Lively passed the audition and landed the role of a dog lover.

Clara auditioned for the role of the judge representing the high table.

Chad quickly contacted Martin, approved Clara's audition, and suggested that, based on the actress's particularly good figure, the role be slightly adjusted, with the judge's daily attire changed to a black, tight-fitting leather outfit.

Martin had no objection to this.

The La La Land crew left the Disney studio and began filming on location in Los Angeles.

Among them are 48 outdoor filming locations, including Griffith Observatory and Angel Cableway.

The most troublesome part is the opening song and dance performance on the elevated road.

This scene not only required road closures for filming, but also involved hundreds of singers and dancers.

Starting in May of this year, Mandy Moore and Damien rented an open-air area at Disney Studios for extensive rehearsals.

Filming scenes at Griffith Observatory was also very troublesome. The rental fee for the exterior area alone was $10,000 per day, and it had to be done without affecting normal tourist visits, while no one was allowed to enter the interior for filming.

The crew could only film scenes inside the observatory using a set built in a studio.

As filming progressed into December, with the main focus on the female lead, Martin temporarily left the production to handle matters related to "Argo."

After seven weeks of screenings, the film has grossed $1.78 million in North America, and it's only a matter of time before it surpasses $2 million.

Meanwhile, the film has consistently received positive reviews, which forms the basis for the production team's series of operations during the awards season.

(End of this chapter)