America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 166 Quasi-A Project
After packing up his filming equipment, Jody took off his helmet and prepared to return home to catch up on today's news.

A girl suddenly came over and asked, "Are you a reporter?"

Jody thought she looked familiar, and after thinking carefully, she remembered that she had seen her in Anne's crew when she was filming Martin and Anne. She seemed to be an actor as well.

She asked, "Something's up."

Laura said: "I'm an actor and I know a lot of news in the industry. How can I contact you?"

Qiao Di took out his business card and handed it to her: "Call the number above, and I will give you some compensation depending on the news value."

This is the unspoken rule in the industry, and Laura understood it. She put away the business card and walked towards a car where there were also paparazzi.

Laura collected the contact information of more than a dozen entertainment reporters and paparazzi in one go.

After returning to the Hilton Hotel where we were staying, we waited for more than two hours before Anne came back.

She walked briskly, her face full of joy, she kicked off her high heels as she entered the room, and couldn't help but spin around and dance, feeling so happy that she was about to burst.

Laura reminded: "Don't be happy too soon, he is not your boyfriend yet."

This made Annie stop in her tracks. Her smile faded, and a hint of sadness appeared between her brows: "I thought he would confess to me today."

Laura analyzed: "You gave too little response? He felt unsure and afraid of failure?"

Annie came over and sat on the sofa, hugging her knees with both hands, feeling helpless: "I gave a lot of responses, and they were quite obvious."

Laura said, "Maybe he wants to wait until he has a better chance of success."

"I can't wait too long, can I?" Annie worried, "After this movie is finished, I will go back to New York. If I don't stabilize the relationship... Hollywood has too many temptations, especially for a high-quality stock like him."

Laura nodded: "Yes, he is very good-looking and has a promising future. His only flaw is not a flaw. He can attract tens of millions of dollars in investment."

She was going to be Annie's assistant, so she was anxious about what Annie was anxious about: "Since you have met me, Annie, why didn't you grab it earlier?"

Annie looked at her: "What do you mean..."

Laura said: "He is afraid that his confession will fail, so you can take the initiative, for example, you can confess to him."

"Isn't this a bad idea?" Annie hesitated.

Laura asked, "Do you want to see him taken away by another woman?"

Anne thought back to the scene in the car.

Right now, Martin is a potential stock that not many people have noticed. When he really shows his potential...

Laura took out a stack of business cards: “You asked me to get the contact information of the reporter, I thought you were going to hold a confession ceremony.”

Annie nodded slowly, remembered Maha's instructions, took out her cell phone, went to the balcony, and called her agent Maha.

"I can't make decisions for you on this matter." Maha's words sound nice, but his inclination is obvious: "His future is generally optimistic. The key point is that he can find funds to participate in the game, which is not something ordinary stars can do."

Anne made up her mind: "I collected some contact information of entertainment media."

Maha praised: "Very good, you are making progress." She suggested: "The news of you and Martin's participation in the event has already appeared on the Internet. Wait for a while and wait for the next wave before launching it."

Anne understood: "I know."

…………

News related to The Hills Have Eyes and Martin subsequently appeared widely in the media. House of Wax has not yet been taken off the shelves, and Anne's Princess Diaries 2 is a big hit this year. The attention the two have attracted together easily makes 1+1 greater than 2.

Entertainment Weekly and The Hollywood Reporter also published news related to The Hills Have Eyes.

30-second trailers, which are shorter than those in the promotional activities, have also been released on some TV stations.

Martin would go to the studio every day to develop unconventional publicity plans with the crew's publicists and Warner Bros.' publicity and distribution department.

Television, trailers, posters and outdoor advertising are all conventional promotional methods.

This time, there is no Paris and Kardashian to hype, but there are still many things that can be hyped.

Martin might make a mess of it if he actually did it, but he is very good at coming up with bad ideas.

The crew and professionals from Warner Bros. can turn Martin's ideas into practical plans.

In December, Warner Bros. held a new round of film screenings for The Hills Have Eyes. In addition to company internal staff, some theater managers were also invited.

Most people believe that the quality and market response of this film will be much better than House of Wax.

Warner Bros. is also investing in promotional resources, such as its own films.

The Hills Have Eyes patch advertisement appeared in the opening advertisement of Ocean's Twelve.

When later films such as "Alexander the Great" and "The Signal" were released, there were also related interstitial advertisements.

It was a brand new Monday when Martin arrived at WMA, and his agent Thomas was waiting for him in the lobby on the first floor.

Seeing Martin, Thomas was slightly relieved because Martin's first agency contract had expired and he could choose to sign with any company or agent.

Under normal circumstances, when a new artist's one-year contract expires, the agency will proactively request a contract renewal, because you can't do much in Hollywood in one year and there won't be much development.

There are very few like Martin.

Thomas hurried over and said, "Shall we go upstairs?"

Martin nodded: "Go upstairs and sign the contract as soon as possible so that you can rest assured."

Thomas smiled easily: "I am most confident in you, don't forget that we are a golden pair." The two went upstairs and came to the signing office. Martin found that the person who signed on behalf of WMA was actually senior partner Jim Witt.

The latter shook hands with Martin and said: "A year has passed so quickly. We are about to start a new cooperation."

Martin responded with a smile: "Without the company's help, there would be no me today."

Jim Witt said directly: "After signing the new agency contract, Martin, you will be the new talent that WMA will focus on training."

Martin said: "I look forward to our closer and more pleasant cooperation."

An assistant brought three copies of the agency contract.

Thomas said: "The Screen Actors Guild has reviewed the contract and endorsed it."

This is a necessary procedure.

Martin sat at his desk, read the terms of the contract carefully, and signed it.

According to regulations, a brokerage contract can only be signed for a maximum of three years, and the brokerage company's commission is only a maximum of 10%.

It's not just the film remuneration, it also includes advertising endorsements, post-production sharing, portrait rights sharing, etc.

Of course, clients’ investment income is not included.

Martin had no qualifications to ask for more, so naturally he signed a maximum contract of three years and 10 percent.

After signing the contract, WMA sends a copy to the Screen Actors Guild for filing.

Jim Witt shook Martin's hand.

An assistant also came over to take pictures.

Thomas finally put his heart back into his stomach.

Jim Witt said a few more words of encouragement to Martin and quickly left the office.

After sending the assistant away, Thomas closed the door and spoke to Martin: "Yesterday I met Maha Dakshir from CAA."

The name sounded familiar to Martin.

Thomas explained: "Anne Hathaway's agent, aren't you pursuing Anne? She talked to me about how to promote it after you two get together."

“We’re not together yet,” Martin said.

Thomas has been paying attention recently: "It's only a matter of time." He further said: "If you really want to be together, it's hard to say in the long run, but in the short term it will help attract media attention and thus increase your popularity."

Martin was prepared: "You discuss the details with her, I have no objection."

Thomas saw it right: "Maha came to me, which means Annie has no objection. How long will it take you to win her over?"

"I take relationships seriously." Martin looked particularly serious: "So, it will take some time..."

Thomas knew that Martin was a man who knew what was going on, so he didn't push him and said, "I said last time that I would find you an important role in a quasi-A-level production."

"Any clues?" Martin thought to himself. Sure enough, oil could be produced by squeezing the oil.

This person needs more pressure to be able to truly bear the weight.

Thomas took the initiative to take on a heavy responsibility since Martin mentioned Ridley Scott's big production last time: "I heard an important news that Martin Scorsese and Leonardo have officially contacted Warner Bros."

When Martin heard the names of these two people, he couldn't help but make some guesses.

Thomas continued, "They are preparing a new project. I can confirm that it is a multi-protagonist gangster film. If Warner Bros. agrees to participate, and The Hills Have Eyes is a huge success, given your and Louise's many collaborations with Warner Bros., we may be able to compete for an important role."

Martin asked directly: "Do you know the specific content of the project?"

"It should be an adapted movie, and it's definitely a gangster theme." Thomas got a lot of information: "It's only a prototype at the moment, the screenwriter and script haven't been determined yet, but Scorsese's gangster themes, like Craven's horror movies, are synonymous with success."

Martin nodded slowly: "One of the four major directors in Hollywood, if he really gets an important role, it will raise the profile."

Thomas was even more direct: "Just raise the status!"

Martin asked, "Any other news?"

"It's confirmed that this is a joint venture." Thomas added, "Brad Pitt's Plan B and Paramount Pictures are also interested in participating in the joint venture. As for Louise..."

Martin shook his head: "She can help me speak at Warner, but I can't guarantee her participation in the platter."

Thomas said: "Then I won't have a direct say." He confessed: "The last few films directed by Scorsese were all produced by Graham King, a British man. I got this information from his assistant, and I have a good personal relationship with his assistant."

Martin asked again: "I remember that Plan B is a company established by Pitt and Aniston. Who is responsible for the specific business?"

Thomas is certain of this: "Brad Pitt and Aniston are just shareholders and are not involved in the day-to-day operations."

Martin thought for a moment and asked, "How many resources can the company mobilize for me?"

Thomas said, "I'm sure you'll have Jim Witt speaking for you."

It wasn't hard for Martin to make the decision: "You try to make it work."

No matter whether you succeed or not, you have to give it a try.

Thomas vowed: "I will mobilize all my connections to get you an opportunity."

(End of this chapter)