America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 173: Ways to Fight for a Role

At Los Angeles International Airport, Jolie entered the VIP lounge with her assistant, holding a little boy who was less than four years old.

Louise beckoned.

Julie went over, greeted Martin and Louise one by one, and sat opposite them.

Martin glanced at the boy with black hair and yellow skin and asked, "This handsome boy?"

Julie said: "I went back to Cambodia mainly for my son, Maddox, and also for me to have some time to myself."

Martin realized that this was Julie's adopted Cambodian son.

Louise said, "As cool as you are, he will definitely be a handsome guy like Martin when he grows up."

Julie glanced at Martin and said with great approval: "It would be great if I could be half as handsome as Martin."

The little boy was shy and buried his head in Julie's shoulder, not daring to speak.

Louise didn't like children very much and had no interest in amusing them. She asked directly, "The film failed. It seems that you have been under a lot of pressure. You actually went overseas to escape the stress."

Julie patted the child's back gently and smiled: "I'm not as stressed as you. Is everything okay over there?"

"Just a dozen investors terminated cooperation." Louise said lightly. Only she knew how much pressure she was under. "I can only look for investment overseas."

Julie said: "As far as I know, there are a lot of people overseas who want to invest in Hollywood. Some people even use Hollywood movies to scam people, which makes it easy to attract funds."

Martin glanced at Louise first, as if considering her, and then continued, "Cambodians are interested in investing in Hollywood?"

Julie thought for a moment and said, "I think so. I haven't noticed it." She looked at Louise and said, "With your work experience and qualifications, as long as the project is good, it will be no problem to attract investment."

Louise turned to the topic that Martin was concerned about: "I have a project in hand and I would like to invite you to participate."

Julie was quite surprised: "Aren't you afraid that I will mess up again? I have failed three times in a row."

Louise's words were equally touching: "We have been friends for many years. We can't just watch you fall. We should give you a hand if we can."

She said the nice thing first, and then said the ugly thing: "Of course, my project can't afford such a high salary."

It is very rare in Hollywood to have someone willing to help you in difficult times. Jolie said: "I am almost losing confidence myself."

Martin knew his own status and just listened without saying anything.

Louise continued: "Let's fight together and show Hollywood that we are far from finished."

Julie handed her son to the assistant and asked, "What project is it?"

Louise said, "It's an action film adapted from the Wanted comic book. Martin is the male lead and you are the female lead."

Julie said: "I'll take a look at the script later. As long as the script and the role are OK, nothing else will be a problem."

"Alexander the Great" failed, and although the most unlucky actor was Colin Farrell, she was also implicated and it would be difficult for her to find other suitable opportunities in the short term.

Unless next year's Mr. and Mrs. Smith is successful.

Louise said, "I'll have someone talk to your agent later."

Julie glanced at Martin and remembered that he had a movie that was about to be released. If it could be successful, then she would take the job. By working with a successful person, perhaps she could get rid of her bad luck?
If she failed, she could only reject Louise's kindness.

The situation is already difficult, and we cannot fall into the abyss without even a chance to turn around.

Louise changed the subject again: "Are you familiar with Cambodia?"

Julie glanced at her son, her eyes full of love: "I have set up a foundation there, and the King of Cambodia is going to grant me the title of honorary citizen."

Louise said, "Next time I have a chance, I will go over and take a look and help."

After chatting for a while, it was time to board the flight, so Martin and Louise went to the first class cabin.

The two seats are adjacent to each other, and after lowering the partition in the middle, it is very convenient to lie together and talk.

Louise pulled Martin's arm over, resting her head on it, and said, "As long as the "Eyes Across the Mountain" is successful, Julie won't be a problem."

She saw that Martin had an earphone in one ear, so she took it off and listened: "Boston accent?"

Martin simply said: "Scorsese's new project is a gangster film adapted from the Hong Kong film "Infernal Affairs". Leonardo is the first protagonist. I want to fight for the second protagonist."

Louise returned the headphones to Martin and said, "This is indeed a good way to improve your style, but you will face very fierce competition and it will be difficult to win."

Martin said: "The easiest way is to bring money into the group."

Louise turned her head and glanced at Martin, guessing what he was thinking: "Without more than 10 million US dollars in funding, don't even think about it."

Martin took the initiative to say: "So, rich woman, I can only count on you and let you support me again." Louise was dissatisfied: "When you need me, you call me a rich woman. When you don't need me, you call me a drunkard, a pervert and a whore. That's you."

"The first part is serious, isn't the latter part just to add interest?" Martin emphasized: "It's Martin Scorsese's gangster movie, it's a sure win."

Louise shook her head slowly. "Scorsese's movies, like Quentin's, have never been known for their box office success. They need offline operations to make money. Bad Seed, do I need to remind you? Time cost is also a cost. Besides, Pacific Pictures doesn't have that many investors anymore."

Martin was silent for a moment, but his mind was still on the process of making "Zombie Gigolo" in Atlanta.

At that time, he jumped up and down, pulling the upper and lower houses, and finally he managed to put together a plate.

When I was a small actor in my previous life, I saw many examples where the producer was confused about both sides and used one to fool the other, and then used the other to fool the one.

Bill Gates' son-in-law is a joke, but similar cases are not uncommon in the film industry.

Louise knew Martin a little bit, so she asked, "Bad guy, what bad idea are you thinking of? If you do something bad, don't drag me into it."

Martin asked, "How about using other people's money to help you make money?"

"Are you so kind?" Louise didn't believe him: "What's in it for you?"

Martin said frankly: "A few million dollars in salary and a role in Scorsese's crew."

Louise just looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Martin said, "Your Pacific Pictures has been established for nearly ten years, right? During this period, you have participated in the filming of many films, and you can see the Pacific Pictures logo in the opening credits of many films."

Louise sighed, "Mostly low- to mid-budget movies, A-grade platters, the only time it was a mess."

"You told me last time that you wanted to go beyond North America, beyond the region most affected by the failure of Alexander the Great, and attract investment overseas." Martin thought about it carefully: "What if we add the names of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo? What if we use their projects to attract investment?"

Louise had participated in many compilations, so she understood what Martin meant as soon as she heard it: "Pacific Pictures raised investment in their name, and then you took the investment to the crew and used it to get the role?"

Martin said, "I have accurate information. The crew will be formed in February. It's a movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio. I believe there must be many people willing to invest. Pacific Pictures can get management fees and profit commissions. It's like using someone else's chicken to lay its own eggs!"

Louise has also been considering attracting investment overseas recently. After thinking for a moment, she said, "We can only start overseas, preferably not in Europe. With Leonardo's appeal, it won't be difficult to attract investment once the studio in Hollywood is established and the news comes out."

Who dares to underestimate Jack's appeal?

Martin made up for the omission: "With your operational capabilities, even if the investors want to visit Hollywood and the crew, you can take them to Warner Studios and you will have no problem dealing with them."

Louise still had some confidence: "No big deal."

She has already started thinking about how to make it work: "For this project, Scorsese is working with Warner Bros., and it won't be difficult for me to get the official materials from the crew... Since it's an investment, I can ignore the time cost."

Martin knows that he does not have enough fame and appeal now. To be more precise, he has not established a brand and can only rely on Pacific Pictures.

Louise looked at Martin: "But in this way, you owe me a big debt again."

"Honey, think about it in a different way." Martin is very self-conscious now. Although he has enough physical capital, he lacks brand capital: "In the future, when I become famous and a movie star with market appeal, you can use my reputation to attract investment!"

Louise laughed at first, then shook her head: "When that time comes, you will abandon me."

Martin put away all his impropriety and asked very seriously: "In your eyes, am I this kind of person?"

Louise wanted to say yes, but suddenly fell silent. The failure of "Alexander the Great" made her experience unprecedented setbacks. Most investors abandoned Pacific Pictures, but Martin and Kelly did not.

Although she knew that Martin was a complicated person, she felt much better about him than before, and said, "We'll talk about it later."

The flight arrived in Hong Kong safely. Louise called Pacific Pictures at the airport and asked the company to contact Warner Bros. immediately to express its interest in investing in Martin Scorsese's new project.

When it comes to investments in the tens of millions of dollars, it is normal to negotiate for several months.

The International Bartenders Association sent someone to receive them, and the two of them stayed in a luxury suite at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Martin was very conscious and acted as a silent male companion. Together with Louise, he met the chairman of the Bartenders Association and several senior bartenders.

The subsequent International Bartender Conference will be attended by bartenders and experienced drinkers from all over the world, and the conference will be held in a famous convention and exhibition center.

Martin specifically found the chairman's assistant and asked for a copy of the meeting agenda and guest list, then returned to the room and read them carefully.

Louise also came to the study, preparing to write a plan. Seeing Martin looking through the materials very seriously, she asked, "Why are you looking at these?"

"I came up with the idea, so of course I have to contribute." Martin said, "See if there are any potential customers there."

Louise said: "Very conscientious, keep up the good work."

After looking through it, Martin found several key targets and obtained more public information through Louise's connections in the Bartenders Association.

There should be a third chapter later, and it is being coded.

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(End of this chapter)