American Fame and Fortune Chapter 343

Chapter 343 Luxury Car Delivery

At the Los Angeles Country Club, the black Cadillac SLS drove smoothly past the white gate of the club and parked on the flower-studded roadside.

The camera followed the slide to the driver's seat, and Martin opened the door and got out of the car. He was dressed in formal attire, with the background of luxury cars and a club, showing his successful style.

Director Joseph said from behind the monitor: "Kah, this one has passed."

 A driver came over and drove the car to the entrance of the club.

The crew also moved to the door, where they were ready for filming.

 Martin went to the trailer to change clothes and came back to continue filming.

 Not only videos, but also print ads.

Although Cadillac is a luxury car brand among American cars, it is not as focused on high-end as Brioni. It requires advertising to be shot as soon as possible in order to catch up with the Super Bowl commercial in early February.

 The commercial featuring Martin and Che will be featured in the American Spring Festival Gala.

 This is also great publicity for Martin himself.

With Cadillac's annual endorsement fee of 10 million, Martin fully cooperated and put on various POSS according to the photographer's requirements.

 After taking the photo here, I'm going to touch up my makeup.

The Cadillac SLS was parked in front of the club.

 Martin took a key and entered the clubhouse foyer.

　　Director Joseph reminded of the positioning: “Pay attention to the lens and keys.”

 Martin held up the key.

The crew was ready, Joseph gave the order, and filming started again.

 Martin came out of the club, took out the key and pressed it on the car. The car's lights flashed.

The cameraman following you takes a close-up shot.

 Joseph shouted: "This is over, go back and do it again."

 Getting money to do things is the most basic professional ethics. Martin was not tired of it. He filmed this scene eight times in a row.

At about 4:30 in the afternoon, all the advertising shots and graphic pictures were taken. Martin took off his makeup and changed clothes, got into a Cadillac SLS, and headed straight to Burbank.

 This is one of several new cars sent by Cadillac.

 In addition to being used by Martin in public, it can also be given as a gift to relatives and friends.

Agent Thomas is waiting in the car.

 Martin took out a car key and handed it to Thomas: "The car is at the Cadillac store. You can pick it up yourself."

Thomas asked: "Did you give me the car?"

Martin said: "You earned the endorsement contract, and you deserve the car."

This gain in addition to the agent's commission warms Thomas's heart. Compared with those stars who need to be coaxed and deceived after becoming famous, Martin is really a rare good customer.

Thomas put away the car keys.

Bruce also has one just for him.

In addition, Martin also left a car for Mene, but Uncle Mene is filming abroad and will not return to Los Angeles for the time being.

Thomas glanced at his watch and said, "The preview is over."

Today is the theater manager and media preview of "Never Ending". Because he has to shoot a Cadillac commercial, Martin can only attend the reception party in the evening.

As the car entered Burbank, Bruce turned onto the road to the Burbank Hotel.

Martin opened the insulated box that came with the car, took out a box of pizza, opened it and placed it on the armrest in the middle of the back seat. He picked up a piece and said, "It's too late to eat dinner. Drinking is inevitable at the party. Eat some first, don't drink on an empty stomach." ”

 “You are so thoughtful.” Thomas picked up the pizza and ate it.

 Martin ate pizza, rinsed his mouth with mineral water, sprayed a breath freshener, and adjusted his clothes slightly in front of the mirror.

 When dealing with critical critics, pay attention to every detail.

Many critics' minds are bigger than the eye of a needle. If they feel that people don't respect them, they can use their pen to criticize black people for the rest of their lives.

Martin may not care about them in the future, but now he needs these guys to charge forward with commentaries and attract more people's attention.

The car stopped at the door of the hotel. Martin and Thomas got out of the car and saw Louise as soon as they entered the hotel lobby.

She was wearing a women's suit and black-rimmed glasses. When she saw Martin coming in, she waved gently.

 Martin went over there and asked, "How was the test response?"

 Louise would not joke about this kind of serious matter, and said: "The response has been very good."

She took Martin's arm and said, “Go to the banquet hall and chat while walking.”

 Martin walked to the elevator leisurely.

 Louise said: "The 38 reporters who participated in the test screening gave an average score of 84 points. The theater manager's commercial score was better, with an average score of 94 points."

  The latter's scoring is not purely based on the quality of the film, but more from a market perspective. The level of the score is directly related to the support of the theater when the distribution company negotiates with the theater chain.

 In the past ten years, there have been endless examples of good films failing at the box office and bad films selling well.

 Martin asked again: “Where are the fans?”

This question actually made Louise feel good, and she said: "!"

 “That's good news.” Martin also laughed.

As for the critics, he didn't ask, and Louise didn't say anything.

Going upstairs and entering the hotel banquet hall, Martin immediately adjusted his attitude and mingled with media reporters and critics, toasting with others from time to time.

As before, he has great respect for the critics who participated in the test screenings. He can always listen to their opinions and discuss high-level artistic topics with them.

Before entering the new year, Oscar nomination votes have been distributed, and Martin still needs these people to help him continue to wave the flag. Martin took the initiative to find Kenneth Turan, the chief film critic of the Los Angeles Times.

“I just watched the test screening, and your acting skills are as good as ever.” Compared with the film, Turan is more concerned about Martin and his role: “You performed the transformation from abjection to success very well.”

Martin said: "Thank you for your compliment. It may be my own experience that allows me to understand this transformation more deeply."

He has never been shy about boasting: "This change in mental state is a big challenge, and I think I handled it pretty well."

Turan just watched the film and was deeply impressed by Martin's role: "It's no worse than your role in The Departed. If this film doesn't have a science fiction color and has fewer commercial elements, it's completely possible to hit the next awards season."

"In such a business society, it is too difficult to avoid business." Martin looked helpless: "The brokerage company, investment company, and collaborators around me, etc., I need to consider and balance. I can't decide a movie." The film is finished, but I have been trying to use my performance to achieve a better balance between business and art. "

Critics are also a group of business writers. To put it bluntly, these industries related to movies are all business. Turan does not think there is a problem with Martin's words, as if a teacher is teaching students: "Don't get lost in business, and never forget to hone your acting skills." ”

Martin nodded heavily and said specifically: "When the Reader film is completed, I hope you can participate in the test screening as soon as possible. Your comments have given me a lot of guidance. The results I have honed under your guidance also need your subsequent guidance. "

These words made Kenneth Turan feel comfortable from the bottom of his heart and said: "Remember to call me."

 Martin knows what these people like, and at this stage he needs them to shout 666.

 He ordered a drink from the waiter and had a drink with Kenneth Turan.

On the other side, Aniston ended her chat with a newspaper deputy editor. After waiting for a while, she saw that there was no one around Martin, so she went over.

 She was in high spirits: “The response to the film has been very good.”

 Martin is also confident: "Recovering the cost at the box office is not a problem."

Aniston came closer and whispered: "Have you seen the recent news?"

 Martin didn't understand: “What news?”

“Griffith Observatory.” Aniston said: “Many couples like to go there at night for stargazing trysts.”

 Martin has been to this place when he was dating Anne Hathaway.

Aniston continued: "Last night, someone used fireworks to attack the observatory near the planetarium. Many couples were frightened and ran away."

 She took out her mobile phone: "Someone took photos of the scene."

 Martin only took one look and determined that the fireworks were Gatling: "Leo and Jack, these two bastards!"

Aniston said: "Fortunately there are no trees at the observatory."

 Martin knew the style of these two bastards: "They must have been carefully selected."

 After the party, Martin called Leonardo.

As expected, those two **** were the ones who attacked Griffith Observatory at night.

They proposed to wait until Valentine's Day to attack Venice Beach at night, which is said to be another famous wild place in Los Angeles.

 In the following week, Martin devoted himself to work. While promoting his new film, he also did not forget to continue his public relations for the Oscars.

The results of various association awards and Sentinel Awards during the award season have been announced one after another, and Martin has mostly been nominated for the Best Supporting Actor Award.

 But 80% of the prize went to Alan Arkin.

 During this period, he attended the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

The entire cast of "The Departed" was defeated. Not only did Martin and Leonardo, who were nominated for acting awards, not win, but even the best feature film and best director awards were snatched away by "Tower of Babel".

 But no one took it to heart, because the overlap between the Golden Globe judges and the Oscar judges is basically zero.

 At the subsequent Directors Guild Awards, Martin Scorsese won the Best Director crown.

 At the Producers Guild Awards, "The Departed" topped the list!

 The Hollywood Professionals Association Awards are the real benchmark.

 In these two major awards, Martin has entered the nomination list, but the best supporting actor is Alan Arkin of "Little Miss Sunshine".

Robert De Niro, the supporting actor in "Never Ending", has worked hard in Hollywood for decades and has a wide network of contacts, so he revealed some information to Martin.

Last year's critically acclaimed "Little Miss Sunshine", the award given by the production and distribution company Fox's primary public relations was the Best Supporting Actor award for Alan Arkin, who had the biggest chance.

Alan Arkin is not inferior to De Niro in terms of qualifications. Not only has he mobilized the personal relationships accumulated over decades, he has also sold two Manhattan properties he invested in in his early years to use for public relations.

This old man has played important supporting roles in hundreds of film and television dramas. He is also a Jew and is over 70 years old.

 For Best Supporting Actor, the advantage is too great.

 Oscar is famous for his respect for the elderly and nostalgia.

 Martin is open-minded, after all, his goal is to be nominated for an Oscar.

His network is wider than his, an old Jew in his 70s versus a 25-year-old non-Jew, more than 40 years of experience in the industry versus three years of experience.

 The most important thing is that Alan Arkin's public relations expenses are no less than his.

Even De Niro, an old man, left the first place in the nomination vote to Alan Arkin.

 Among the academy judges, more than half are over 60 years old.

 It's just mid-January, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards, the most important indicator of the Oscar acting awards, has announced its results.

Leonardo, who was aiming for the Oscar for Best Actor, did not win the Best Actor award and lost to the black actor Forest Whitaker.

 In terms of Best Supporting Actor, Alan Arkin won the award as expected.

However, both Martin and Leonardo were shortlisted among the five nominees for their respective categories.

With the film basically guaranteed to be nominated for an Oscar, Martin's focus has turned to the promotion of “Never Ending.”

In the last half month before the release, he changed cities one day, repeating the pattern of planes, hotels and announcements, from the west coast to the east coast, and even went to the UK and Germany, which were opening at the same time as North America, for promotion.

Whether it is the Internet or other media, publicity efforts are at full capacity.

Due to the good reputation in test screenings, the distributor Warner Bros. secured nearly 3,300 theaters for the film to open.

 (End of this chapter)

Chapter end