America achieves both fame and fortune

Chapter 870 The New Leader of the Family Heroes

Disney Studios, the cast and crew of "Beauty and the Beast".

After more than a year of preparation, this big-budget live-action/animated film has begun shooting.

Producer David Haberman stayed by Martin's side, watching the crew film.

The entire film was shot on a studio set. The few outdoor scenes were filmed by the camera crew on location alone, and the green screen was replaced in post-production.

On set, Saoirse Ronan danced gracefully with the male lead, who was wearing a motion capture suit, to music.

Hollywood's makeup skills are in no way inferior to the four great Asian sorceries.

Dressed up, Saoirse's figure and appearance were elevated to at least one level.

Just like plastic surgery, Hollywood's makeup is also the highest standard in the world's entertainment industry.

During a break from filming, David Haberman said, "The crew should be able to wrap up all filming before December."

Martin nodded and asked, "Has Disney booked the dates?"

David Haberman said, "For family-friendly movies, of course, next year's Thanksgiving season is the way to go."

Saoirse Ronan, wearing a bright yellow gown, walked over at that moment.

David Haberman said goodbye and went somewhere else.

Saoirse came to Martin's side and said softly, "Teacher."

Martin glanced at her briefly and said, "Darling, you look just like a princess."

The speaker may not have meant anything by it, but the listener took it to heart. Saoirse had an idea and replied, "The costume department has the design drawings. I can ask them to make another one. If you like it, teacher, I'll send it to you another day."

She lowered her voice and said, "Just wear this princess dress."

Martin smiled. "You always manage to come up with something new."

These words reminded Saoirse that she had been quietly building a group of girlfriends over the past few months. Although the time was not yet right, she was sure she could surprise Martin when the time came.

Saoirse then asked, "Did you cast Sofia in a supporting role for your new project?"

Martin, recalling the audition a few days ago, replied, "Yes, that's right."

"Sophia is very grateful that you chose her," Saoirse said. "Her parents have been a bit strict lately and haven't been able to thank you in person, so she specifically asked me to convey her thanks."

Martin said, "Tell her to prepare well for the role."

Saoirse nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "I've made some new friends who all admire you. When the time is right, I'd like to throw a party and invite you and them to join us."

What normal man could refuse such a consideration? Martin said softly, "You handle the preparations."

Saoirse was overjoyed: "Great! Teacher, I promise I won't let you down."

Martin thought to himself, once you enter the Hollywood circle and are influenced by the overall environment, it is indeed easy for a person's thinking to change.

Take the previous life as an example. Before Teacher Chen's scandal, the general public might have had all sorts of fantasies about celebrities, and even be skeptical of rumors that had already been circulating, such as golf and skincare.

But Teacher Chen single-handedly shattered the filter of celebrities.

The information exploded afterward, including things like milk baths and my husband, giving people a full glimpse into the ecosystem of this circle.

There are no hidden rules; everything is out in the open.

Martin, who took down Harvey Weinstein, will also enjoy these benefits.

Of course, he never uses force.

There are so many beautiful women in Hollywood; there's always an even better one waiting for you.

After leaving the "Beauty and the Beast" set, Martin went on to work on two other film sets he had invested in.

Filming for "Sicario," directed by Denis Villeneuve, has already wrapped and is currently in post-production. It is expected to be released next year.

Damien Chazelle's self-written and directed film "Whiplash" is about to begin filming, and according to Disney's distribution plan, the film will participate in the Cannes Film Festival or the Venice Film Festival next year.

This niche art film naturally follows the path of aiming for awards and distribution.

The following day, Martin and Jessica, representing Davis Studios, held a joint project meeting with Disney Studios to discuss collaborations for the near future.

In addition to the original issuance contract, the main discussion focused on future project collaboration plans.

It mainly consists of three live-action fairy tale films: Cinderella, The Jungle Book, and The Lion King.

As is typical in Hollywood, all three films will resolve their budget issues through financing, with Davis Studios receiving 40% of the investment.

In addition, Martin has decision-making power over script ideas, filming, and final editing.

Every project Disney Studios has worked on with Martin Scorsese has been a success.

They believe Martin will bring even more success.

In the eyes of Disney executives, Martin is more reliable than Kevin Feige, who created "The Avengers".

The last item discussed at the meeting was Martin Scorsese's "The Shallows".

The film is still in post-production, with limited investment and a relatively small marketing campaign. It also won't be released during a highly competitive peak season.

For the film market, starring in a film and directing a film are two completely different things.

Disney has chosen the end of January as the release date, and large-scale promotions will begin after Christmas.

In fact, the promotion and buzz surrounding "The Shallows" has been ongoing since filming began, with Blake Lively's Twitter and Instagram accounts being the main promotional channels.

Martin's official social media accounts also occasionally release promotional materials such as posters, stills, and behind-the-scenes footage.

…………

Century City, WMA Headquarters.

Dwayne Johnson, who had just switched teams last month, entered the conference room accompanied by his new agent Raymond and manager Garcia.

In the past two years, through his leading roles in several successful films, as well as the "Fast & Furious" series, Dwayne Johnson has risen to fame. This year's "Hercules" was a box office hit, which truly propelled him into the ranks of A-list stars.

As a star client widely regarded as a promising future, WMA opened its internal resource library, allowing Dwayne Johnson to choose freely.

Johnson didn't leave the casting process entirely to the managers; instead, he carefully reviewed the project descriptions and indexes.

Even those items marked as already selected are no exception.

Dwayne Johnson is a very assertive person. In the Fast & Furious franchise, he once rivaled Vin Diesel and even harbored the idea of ​​taking over the role of the series leader.

However, while he was still making plans, Vin Diesel met his maker due to a shooting.

In preparation for the new "Furious 7" movie, Dwayne Johnson has become exceptionally assertive, always trying to outdo Paul Walker.

Like Vin Diesel, he used various methods to pressure the studio to further marginalize Paul Walker's character, thereby replacing the now-obsessed Donald as the new leader of Family Man.

But to become a superstar, one successful series is not enough; you need more blockbuster films like Hercules.

Johnson quickly flipped through the script library; there were countless scripts written by both new and veteran writers under WMA.

He used a search function to automatically filter out screenwriters who had no successful works.

After filtering through a large portion of the scripts, Johnson quickly browsed the other works. This step of the selection process was also very simple: the script had to have a strong, powerful male lead who was in an absolutely dominant position.

As scripts were rejected one by one, finding a suitable project was not easy. Johnson felt dizzy and shook his head.

At this point, the manager, who is also Johnson's ex-wife Garcia, said, "Dawn, take a look at the script synopsis for A-45. This project is very interesting; it's a story about a firefighter saving a family during an earthquake."

Johnson entered the number, and the script popped up immediately. He asked, "Is it 'San Andreas'?"

Garcia said, "That's right."

Johnson quickly skimmed through the list; the male lead was just his type—saving his family from a near-apocalyptic super earthquake.

Moreover, the San Andreas Fault, like the Yellowstone volcano, is famous throughout the United States, and a major earthquake caused by it would easily attract attention.

Judging from the male lead's character design and synopsis alone, the script seems tailor-made for him.

Johnson's joy at finally finding a suitable project was quickly replaced by disappointment.

The item has been marked, meaning someone has taken it.

Johnson saw two names on the label—Davis Film Studio and Martin Davis.

He looked at his agent: "The project has already been taken by Martin Davis?"

Raymond said, "Martin Davis is the company's number one client. He goes through all the projects first before anyone else gets a turn."

Johnson touched his bald head and remained silent for a moment.

Garcia waved his hand to dismiss the others, and once only the three of them were left in the meeting room, he said, "This project is perfect for Dawn. Dawn has just transferred to WMA and urgently needs a work to establish his position."

Raymond shook his head: "The rights to the project have already been bought by Martin's studio. I suggest choosing something else."

Johnson wasn't one to give up easily, and asked, "Is it possible to buy this piece from Davis Studio?"

Garcia quickly skimmed through the script and asked, "Martin Davis is going to play the male lead?"

Raymond had heard about the project from people at the company: "Yes, it's said that he's not very satisfied with the script and is having screenwriter Carlton Cuth's team revise it. I don't know the specifics of how they're doing it."

Garcia carefully reviewed the male lead's character design: "Personally, I feel that the role is not very suitable for Martin. First of all, the age is not quite right. The male lead is married and divorced, and has a daughter who is at least in high school."

She asked, "Dawn's age and appearance are more in line with the male lead's character."

Raymond said, "It's not a question of who's a better fit; the project is already in Martin's hands."

Johnson typed Martin Davis into the search bar and clicked search. The names of several movies appeared, all of which were new projects from Davis Studios listed in the WMA.

The brokerage firm records these things to mobilize internal resources and prioritize WMA clients for projects led by its own clients.

Not only actors and directors, but also photographers, prop masters, costume designers, makeup artists, and so on, all need agents.

Johnson asked, "Has Davis Studio been officially approved?"

"No." Raymond could confirm this: "Martin has been working closely with WMA for the past few years. As soon as a project is initiated, the company will change the relevant notes in the database."

Johnson is not one to give up easily. Having finally found a script and role that suited his taste, he said to Raymond, "Let's talk to Martin Davis and try to buy this project from him."

Raymond said, "Isn't that inappropriate?"

Johnson laughed: "Let's make contact and see what they think. If it doesn't work out, we won't lose anything."

Garcia chimed in, "Dawn's Seven Dollars company also has the ability to finance filming."

Faced with a heavyweight client he had worked so hard to acquire, Raymond had no choice but to pull out his phone and call Thomas Lane, explaining that his client, Dwayne Johnson, had something important to discuss with Martin in person.

Martin happened to be at WMA discussing something with Thomas, and when he received the call, he told them to come over directly.

Five minutes later, Martin met Dwayne Johnson and his entourage in the senior partners' private meeting room.

The big, muscular Dwayne Johnson has a憨厚 (honest and simple) smile, and his on-screen image and public persona are that of a humorous older brother. But Martin has heard many rumors about him, and Hollywood stars are known for their duality.

The hidden side may not be as it appears on the surface.

For example, the conflict between Johnson and Vin Diesel is a long and complicated one.

Who is right and who is wrong? Apart from the crew members, who can say for sure?

It's said that Dwayne Johnson is also a notorious latecomer on set.

Johnson greeted Martin with his brightest and most enthusiastic smile, shook hands with Martin, and said, "I've always wanted to get to know you, but I never had the chance. The first thing I did when I arrived at WMA today was to see you."

He was just like Martin Scorsese in the past: "You are my favorite movie star, an idol in the action world. If I had half your skills, I would be laughing in my sleep."

Martin had come this far, so of course he wouldn't take those words seriously. He smiled and said, "I used to really enjoy watching your wrestling shows."

After a few pleasantries, Johnson got down to business after they sat down: "I heard about a film project, a script adapted from the San Andreas Fault Zone. I asked Raymond, is the project handled by your studio?"

Martin countered, "Are you talking about Carlton Cuth's *San Andreas*?"

Johnson replied, "Yes, that's the script."

"That's right, my studio bought the rights a few months ago." Martin guessed why Johnson was looking for him: "The studio is moving forward with the project, and it will be officially launched soon."

Johnson, whether he didn't understand or didn't want to give up, thought for a moment and tentatively said, "I've seen Martin's schedule; it's packed for the next few years... Um, I don't mean anything by it, I just wanted to ask if there's any possibility of us collaborating on this project?"

Martin looked at Johnson: "What do you mean?"

"We have to try, no matter what," Johnson said. "If possible, could your company resell the rights? Martin, name your price."

Such resale of copyrights is not uncommon in the industry, Martin said calmly, shaking his head: "I can only apologize."

Johnson settled for the next best thing: "What about me playing the leading role?"

Martin had already revised the script, so there was no way to revert it. He politely declined, saying, "We will have opportunities to collaborate in the future."

Johnson was somewhat displeased, but he didn't say anything more and politely took his leave.

(End of this chapter)