America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Seeing Martin, Scott didn't show a hint of curiosity and came over, saying, "Idiot, come with me."

Bruce stood at the front desk unwilling to move, planning to let Martin meet Sophia alone.

Martin grabbed his arm and pulled, saying, "What are you afraid of?"

Scott turned around, baring his teeth in a grin, "At most, you'll end up like me. After you endure it enough times, you'll understand that it's actually a kind of enjoyment."

Martin patted Old Cloth's shoulder, "I understand now why you're always so nervous and scared, you haven't endured it enough times!"

Bruce said nothing. To a rotten person like Martin, the more you resist, the more excited he gets.

Out of consideration for Elena, Scott reminded them, "You understand Sophia; what she cares about most is reliability and safety."

Martin nodded, "Thanks."

Scott opened the door and led the two of them into the reception room.

Sophia was sitting on the long sofa, calling out, "Martin, Old Cloth, sit wherever you like."

Martin chose an armchair.

Once Bruce entered the room, he leaned against the wall, his back firmly against it. If anyone wanted to attack him from behind, they would have to break through a concrete wall first.

Sophia, who always got straight to the point, glanced over Martin and Bruce's backsides and said, "Someone from Warner Bros. came over this morning, inviting me to invest in the fourth installment of The Terminator."n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Martin said, "They invited me to be the lead actor, and I refused."

Sophia asked, "You don't think much of this project?"

Martin indeed didn't think much of it, but he wouldn't say so, "In these past few years, the movie projects I've been involved in represent not only myself. My success today is thanks to Louise, Kelly, and you, Sophia."

With his acting skills and a speech nearly indistinguishable from genuine sentiment, he said, "When I consider commercial projects, I don't just think about myself. I also consider whether your investments will profit. The more profit you make, the more support you can give me, and the higher and farther I can go."

Sophia thought about the investments she participated in.

"Louise turned down this investment, and I turned it down too," Martin said, not mentioning the role or The Terminator franchise's connection to Cameron, for these had no meaning to Sophia: "Without an industry veteran company like Pacific Pictures, I wouldn't dare to invest, let alone drag you into it."

What he disclosed was the truth: "In the years I've been in Hollywood, it's not the investment profits that struck me most, but the swindling and deceit. They stop at nothing, especially against those from outside the industry."

Sophia added, "And it's not just this industry."

Martin nodded and decided to clarify with an example, "'Saving Private Ryan', you must have heard of it, Sofia. It was very successful both commercially and in terms of awards, but would you believe it? To the investors, it was a loss!"

Sophia was somewhat surprised, "A loss?"

Martin continued, "Through that film, Spielberg made a fortune, Tom Hanks made a fortune, and the distributor DreamWorks made a fortune. But the investors from outside the industry, they lost money! There are many other similar examples. Take Warner Bros., for instance. On 'Troy', Brad Pitt made tens of millions of US Dollars, and Warner Bros.

also made tens of millions in profit, but what the investors ended up seeing was a ledger showing a loss."

Sophia asked, "Are these industry insiders colluding to create financial scams?"

But Martin shook his head, "No, not scams. It's all legal. For instance, distributors cover marketing expenses, many media channels belong to Warner Bros., and as for the cost of international promotion, probably even God couldn't figure it out. Moreover, the distribution costs fronted by Warner Bros.

can be borrowed from other Warner companies, and the high-interest charges also get included in the marketing costs..."

Sophia understood and continued, "For overseas investors, they're insignificant. Many investors in North America are like me; even if we do make some profit in reality, we still earn because, for various reasons, we wouldn't choose to resort to legal action even if we're dissatisfied."

"Exactly," Martin took the chance to circle back, "Our investments through Pacific Pictures may incur a management fee, but we can get our hands on the profits we're due."

The profits Sophia made from investing in "The Hills Have Eyes" were all reinvested into "Wanted Order." This project had its first financial settlement last December, and the returns exceeded the investment amount.

Martin said this precisely because he was aware of the details. "Wanted Order" was also his investment. Although it had been on screens for a year before the formal financial settlement, Davis Studio saw its $5 million investment return over $12 million in the first settlement.

Subsequent offline revenues would also be settled annually.

Sophia laughed, her face creasing, "Martin, you know, I've always supported you."

Martin said, "This year, Pacific Pictures and my Davis Studio will continue to invest."

Sophia sought stability and manageable risk, "Just remember to notify me."

After chatting about some memories from Atlanta, Martin and Bruce took their leave.

Sophia made phone calls to the high-priced entertainment lawyer and specialized accountant she had hired. After finishing several calls, she took out the business card she had received that morning and dialed the number.

Lauren was drinking coffee in a café, considering her next breakthrough, and her expression turned sour after answering the phone.

She had just talked to them that morning, and in the afternoon, the House of Beast people had already turned down the investment invitation from Warner Bros.

These country bumpkins...

Lauren couldn't help but shake her head. If Hollywood wasn't short of money, would Warner Bros. have given her an investment opportunity?

If this avenue wouldn't work, then she had only Asia left to turn to.

Lauren decided to take a trip to Asia.

......

Bruce had driven over, and once Martin got in the car, he called both Louise and Kelly. He even made contact with Wu Maoting.

It's hard to say, but Louise and Kelly aren't going to abandon him just yet.

Kelly once said that if he's handsome and useful, you should enjoy him while you can, so of course, you'd want to enjoy a few more years.

Regarding Sophia, Martin also needed to make some necessary preparations. He put down his phone and asked, "Old Cloth, is Ivan still in Los Angeles?"

Bruce probably understood what Martin was thinking, "He's been keeping an eye on Pitt's matter."

Martin considered a lot, "Is there a way to keep Ivan in Los Angeles for a long time?"

Bruce understood Martin's concern as soon as he heard it and said, "Even if Sophia chooses to cooperate with Warner, it's just a pure business cooperation."

Martin said, "It's just about controlling the risk."

Bruce nodded, "Don't worry, I'll handle it well. Ivan hasn't had relatives in Atlanta for a long time, and he was my partner back when we were in other businesses."

Both times, Ivan played a certain role. Martin directly said, "I'll give Ivan a stable and long-term income..."

"No!" Bruce interrupted him, "Ivan is employed by me, it has nothing to do with you."

Martin pointed at him, "Old Cloth, your head really is full of shit."

Bruce retorted, "You're the one I caught it from!"

Martin took out his phone and made a call to Thomas, "Keep an eye on the news about Warner Bros.' Terminator project."

He also said to Bruce, "Go to Pacific Pictures."

After thinking for a while, Martin found a cell phone number, the one Cody Horn had given him at the golf course last time.

"Hi, Martin," a familiar female voice came from the phone receiver.

Martin had already thought of an excuse, "Cody, last time you said you'd teach me how to golf, I've been waiting to learn some tips from you. Do you have time?"

"What a pity," Cody said, sounding regretful, "I'm adjusting my body for the Oscar ceremony these days, so it's not suitable for golfing."

She probed, "Martin, can you wait until after the Oscars?"

Martin replied, "Of course I can, we'll make an arrangement then."

Cody laughed, "Then it's a deal."

Martin hung up and suddenly noticed an unusual look from the side.

Bruce said, "See, my rotten state has a reason."

"Don't make excuses for your rot," Martin was somewhat helpless, "I was probing for information to keep up with their movements, in case something comes up, to be ready to respond immediately."

The Oscar ceremony was about to start.

Arriving at Pacific Pictures, Martin entered Louise's office and carefully discussed the recent events.

When men and women discuss business, sometimes they use both hands and mouth, moving together in sync.

The day before the Oscar ceremony, Martin received news from Thomas that Christian Bale's agent, Parker, was in touch with Warner Bros. About initial discussions for the Terminator project.

It seemed that Bale's likelihood of starring was very high.

Martin remembered clearly, Christian Bale played the role of John Connor in that installment.

He also proved something to Hollywood, that without Batman, his commercial draw was not strong at all, lacking the ability to carry a box office on his own.

It seemed everything was developing in an orderly fashion. Discover hidden tales at empire

But Martin kept a watchful eye; Bale had tricked him in "The Prestige," and given the chance, he wanted to get back at him.

The Sponge Tearing Incident at Pine Forest Film Studio could be proven totally unrelated to him, Martin Davis, by the British media and police, as they could show it was Jack Nicholson and Meryl Streep who were involved.

So, this account was still unsettled.

It wasn't just him; at Bale's end, the accounts were being noted very clearly.

The last weekend of February 2007 arrived, and the 79th Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre began on time.

This time, the biggest highlight was whether Martin Scorsese could fulfill his dream.

Those with insider information knew the odds were as high as ninety percent!

Although Martin knew he was there to make up the numbers, he still walked the Oscar red carpet. He would not repeat the mistake Leonardo made when he was younger.

In the year the big ship was a hit, Leonardo declined to walk the Oscar red carpet because he did not receive a nomination for Best Actor, and he publicly declared he "feared stealing the Oscars' thunder."

The rest of the story was well-known to those who followed Hollywood.

On the day of the award ceremony, Martin arrived in a Cadillac flagship car, wearing a custom-tailored Brioni suit, and joined the members of the Cola Cult to lift Coca-Cola together on the red carpet.

Then he met up with Nicholson and Leonardo in the media area, and as the Trio of Scoundrels supergroup, they entered the Kodak Theatre together.