American Fame and Fortune Chapter 525

Chapter 525: The King of Pitfalls

After his morning run, Martin returned to the villa, took the towel from the housekeeper, wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck, and asked, "Is Liz up?"

 The housekeeper took the towel back and said, "Make breakfast in the kitchen."

 Martin strode into the restaurant.

Possibly hearing the noise, Elizabeth came out with breakfast and deliberately complained: "I woke up early because I got up so early."

"I'm used to it." As he gets older, Martin doesn't feel any decline in his body or energy. He is still as strong as the sun at noon: "After breakfast, you go to sleep for a while. You slept too late last night."

Elizabeth said openly: "I was too excited last night and my back is so tired."

  She laid out breakfast and sat across from Martin: "I'm not going to sleep anymore. I made an appointment with Mariah and Sophia Stallone today to go see the art exhibition at Lily College."

Martin then remembered that Guan Hai's daughter was still in Los Angeles, and Elizabeth had been in charge of receiving her: “Is she easy to get along with?”

Elizabeth smiled sweetly: "A teenage girl is very easy to coax."

 Martin nodded and said, "Tell Maria that the crew will regroup soon and she will join the crew then."

Elizabeth replied: "She has been waiting."

 After breakfast, Martin changed his clothes and went out to WMA.

 Elizabeth got into her Porsche and went to meet Maria, Sofia and others.

  Came to Century City and entered the WMA headquarters. Although Martin hadn't been here for several months and didn't even recognize the two girls at the front desk, all the WMA employees he met took the initiative to say hello to him.

 “Good morning, Martin.”

 “Martin, you are more handsome than before.”

“I have a few female clients who are particularly compatible with you. Do you want to meet and give them a chance?”

 Looking around, there are good people everywhere.

Martin just smiled and nodded without saying much. He turned into the corridor leading to the elevator room for senior customers and finally became quiet.

 Ali entered the front office of the company at this time.

 The new receptionist who joined the company's mailroom was very discerning. She trotted over and said, "President, Martin has come to the company and has just turned to the dedicated elevator."

Ali ran forward and ran all the way into the elevator. He caught up with Martin before he entered the elevator.

 Martin shook hands with him: "I heard that you are getting engaged? Have you decided on the time? I'll prepare a gift."

"The time has not yet been determined." Ali followed Martin into the elevator and deliberately joked: "I will never invite you to my fiancée's bachelor party."

 Martin couldn't help laughing and said: "I will attend your bachelor party, Ali. I believe in your vision and strength."

 Ali has heard some rumors from the modeling circle: "Don't have high hopes, I can't find a group of Victoria's Secret Angels."

Women like to show off more than men. This kind of showing off includes all aspects. As Martin's fame has risen and he has become an American hero, he has naturally become the capital for those Victoria's Secret angels to show off.

Phrases like "I've had **** with Martin, what kind of **** are you playing with?" often appear in supermodels' daily fights.

  Martin said: "Confirm the time and remember to call me."

"No problem." When the elevator arrived, Ali accompanied Martin out of the elevator and said, "Thomas has received many film invitations for you, including some of the company's key projects. You must take a closer look."

He thought for a moment: "Over the years, you have been choosing your own films, and each successful film has proved your vision. The company will not interfere with your choice, but there is one thing I would like to remind you. On your terms, , it would be a pity to take the commercial or artistic route alone. "

 Martin knows what he means: "I will not give up on the Oscar road."

 Ali shook hands with him and said, "Let's play golf together when we have time."

 Martin then went to Thomas's partner's office.

This is really a typical example of a bald man who has become stronger. He climbed from a junior broker to the position of a company partner.

Thomas saw Martin coming in and immediately called the finance department.

 The deputy director of the finance department came over personally with the documents, asked Martin to sign and confirm, and then called the company's finance department to notify the company of the transfer.

　　After nearly a year of waiting since the release of "The Dark Knight", Martin's post-production share has finally arrived.

In the past year, including the North American box office and DVD, plus peripheral image rights, after deducting the agent's commission, US$34.66 million was transferred to Martin's account.

Thomas asked: "Having made such a huge sum of money, do you have any consumption plans? Count me in."

The money was transferred to the account, and Martin signed the receipt and said: "Buy some stocks, buy some fixed assets, and the rest will probably be spent on food, drink, and fun."

Of course he was exaggerating: “Before next year's tax season comes, strive to invest more and consume more, otherwise you will be in vain to benefit the tax bureau.”

 Thomas hopes that Martin will have better development in the future and reminds: “You still have to leave a savings fund.”

  This is what Martin does all the time: “I'll keep a fifth of it as an emergency reserve.”

There is no need to rush when it comes to investing. The next tax season is still far away. In addition to Apple stocks, Martin is also paying attention to other investment opportunities.

Of course, when you earn money, you use it to spend it and enjoy it. Long-term profits must be ensured, and short-term expenses cannot be ignored.

 Martin asked Bruce: "I remember Elizabeth liked Porsches very much?"

 Bruce thought for a while: "She has never driven the Cadillac at home, and she obviously doesn't like it."

 Martin asked: “When I was in New York, I remember seeing an advertisement. Porsche launched a four-door sedan?”

Thomas knew better and said: "Panamera, a four-door coupe."

 Martin nodded and said: "Old Bu, order a high-end Panamera. Complete the procedures today and have them send it directly to your home."

 Bruce went out to do this.

 Thomas took out a thick stack of invitations, placed them on the table, and said, "Many people or activities have been inviting you recently, and the important ones are all on top."

 Martin took them over and looked at them next to each other. Most of them were from charities or environmental protection organizations, as well as some invitations from individuals.

For example, Hefner invited him to a pajama party.

 Martin saw a special invitation. The cover logo was two equilateral triangles connected with an S.

 Thomas emphasized: "The invitation letter from Tom Cruise, his leader Hubbard invites you to visit the headquarters of Scientology in your free time."

He was a little worried: "Cruise helped you win the Best Actor at Cannes, but they obviously had other intentions."

 Martin waved his hand: "Even if I go to see Hubbard, it will be a dialogue between the leaders of the two sects."

Thomas then remembered that Martin's CocCola Cult had several times more followers than Hubbard's Scientology.

Calculating it this way, Martin, the leader, has more capital than Hubbard.

 Thomas continued: "The copyright of "The Martian" has been obtained, and the original author Andy Weir wants to meet with you."

"Okay." Martin thought for a moment: "Ask him if he has time this afternoon."

Thomas called Andy Weir and the two parties agreed to meet at the WMA in the afternoon.

 After receiving the basic adaptation fee, Andy Weir has resigned from Blizzard Entertainment and concentrated on the creation of "The Martian".

  Martin's studio and Random House have a written agreement with him to complete the novel by the end of this year.

After Thomas made the call, he talked about the director again: "Ridley Scott is a client of the company, and his agent is Ali. I have talked with them about this matter. Ridley has not commented yet, but An invitation has been extended to you."

 Martin had a bad feeling: “An invitation for a role?”

Thomas nodded slightly: "Yes, Ridley invited you to play the leading role in his new film, but the new film is an epic masterpiece, based on the film adaptation of Robin Hood. You said you would reject all epic films. I think your schedule is not suitable. For this reason, it is temporarily blocked."

He was also a little helpless: "Ridley is very optimistic about you and thinks you are particularly suitable for the role of Robin Hood. He also said that if you play the leading role, the crew will directly dismiss the confirmed heroine Cate Blanchett."

Martin knows that epic films of this era are all pitfalls, and Ridley Scott's epic films are typical of them. He said: "Give a clear reply and find a reason to politely refuse."

"Okay, I'll figure it out." Thomas added one more thing: "If we invite Ridley Scott to be the director again, there may be twists and turns."

 Martin couldn't ruin his reputation for this and said, “Let's wait until the novel is finished.”

 Subsequently, Thomas found several more audition invitations.

 Martin read it carefully, and the only one that impressed him was the new film "Cloud Atlas" by the Wachowski siblings.

The siblings have been working with Warner Bros. for a long time, and the invitation they sent was very sincere, and they even sent a complete version of the script.

Martin roughly flipped through the script and found it to be more complicated than the script for "Inception". It was so foggy that I couldn't understand it.

Thomas said: "I met with Lana, and he...she expressed her willingness to wait for your schedule."

Martin closed the script and said: "Put it down, my ideas are too different from theirs to cooperate."

"Okay." Thomas took the script back and said one more sentence: "I read the script and I feel that the design is very grand, and the description of time, space and human nature is spectacular."

"Robin Hood" and "Cloud Atlas" are key projects promoted by WMA. He added: "This was highly recommended to Lana by Larry's number one female client Natalie Portman during the filming of "V for Vendetta" of."

 Martin didn't say much and just shook his head.

 Ridley Scott's epic was The Pit, and Wachowski's post-The Matrix project was The King of Pit Kings.

 Thomas saw that Martin had made up his mind and said no more.

 In his eyes, the company is far less important than Martin.

Those invitations of the other films, Martin did not impress the characters, title and content, and there was no shortage of projects, all of which pushed Thomas.

In the afternoon, he met with Andy Weir, the author of "The Martian", and discussed the situation of the novel in detail. He made sure that the novel could be completed this year. He also had a phone call with Louise to advance the project.

 (End of this chapter)

Chapter end