America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 182 The Customer Decides Everything

As soon as I got to work today, all my colleagues in the open office hall looked at Thomas differently. In just a few months, his client Martin Davis won the North American box office championship twice!

"How many years ago was the last time this happened to the hall broker?" someone asked in a low voice.

Another said: "It seems like it's the year after Ary Emanuel left the mailroom."

The first person was envious and jealous: "Where is the value of an agent? Clients! Thomas now has Martin as a client. As long as Martin doesn't kick him out, he will definitely be successful."

The other man stopped talking, an idea popping up in his mind: Martin Davis' next movie must be a failure.

At this moment, there were countless brokers in the hall who had similar thoughts.

Thomas in particular was called away to meet with higher-ups.

These people who have been trained in the mail room may appear normal on the surface, but their emotions are extremely complicated.

Everyone wants to be Thomas, and no one wants others to be Thomas.

Leaving the hall, Thomas walked past a dozen separate offices.

The door to one of the offices opened, and Pinto leaned against the doorframe, watching Thomas turn into the elevator room.

He turned his head and looked at the independent office diagonally opposite. Four or five workers were doing the final sorting. Computers had already been installed at the independent workstations outside the door.

There was a sign on the frosted glass door - Thomas Lane.

An independent office, with an assistant!
Just one Martin Davis makes Thomas surpass him.

Pinto regretted very much that he should have tried harder to win over Martin Davis, who had many female clients who were as beautiful as Anne Hathaway.

Is there still a chance to poach Martin Davis? Pinto is considering it carefully, unless he leaves.

Thomas went upstairs to Ari-Emanuel's office.

Whitesell, who was in charge of administration, was also there.

Whitesell got straight to the point: "Your work over the past six months has been very effective, and you have cultivated clients like Martin. We have prepared an office for you. Go to the mailroom to choose an assistant."

Thomas had already seen the office, but he was still very happy when the dust settled. He suppressed his excitement and said, "I want to choose Natasha at the front desk."

Whitesell responded, "Go to the mail room to handle the formalities later."

Ali took over the conversation: "Martin is a good actor. His acting skills, emotional intelligence, communication and network are quite outstanding. He has the potential to continue to move forward."

Thomas smiled and replied, "Yes, although Martin sometimes does things..."

He wanted to say that he had no bottom line, but Martin was his client and he had to defend Martin: "Sometimes he does things a little out of the ordinary, but he is absolutely trustworthy at work. Martin handles his work like a 50- or 60-year-old actor instead of a young man in his 20s."

Ali emphasized: "Many people are clear-headed before they become famous, but they are blinded by success. You have to pay attention. Martin's value and profit can be greater for the company. Don't let him fall quickly."

People are not the key point. The key point is the profit they can bring.

Thomas said, “I’ll keep an eye on Martin.”

Ali asked, "I heard Martin is working on a new project?"

"Yes, Martin has set up a studio and is working with Louise Mayer of Pacific Pictures, who is mainly responsible for assembly, production and planning." Thomas said roughly: "The project is called Wanted, adapted from the Dingniu comics. The crew is being set up, and Martin and Julie will star in the male and female protagonists."

Ali asked, “What about the investment amount?”

Thomas said: "It is expected to be around $5000 million. Martin has several female investors in Atlanta who support him. Louise Mayer is also his supporter."

"Sure!" Ali was a little curious: "He's clamoring to get engaged to Anne Hathaway, and he can hook up with a few female investors over there. This is Martin's most outstanding strength!"

Whitesell said: "I suggested that Martin's internal level be adjusted from level 500 to level . Although his salary does not reach the level of million US dollars, his situation is very special and he has strong financial support behind him."

Thomas then added, "There is one more thing I haven't reported to the company yet. Martin and I are going to compete for the second lead role in Scorsese and Leonardo's new project, the gangster film The Departed."

"You guys?" Ali couldn't help but frown. He had just told them to stay sober, but these two people have been carried away by the box office champion?

Thomas quickly explained: "Pacific Pictures has basically reached an agreement with Warner Bros. on the project. Louise will let Martin bring in money, about 2000 million US dollars."

Ali and Whitesell looked at each other, and the same thought came to their minds at the same time: How powerful are Martin Davis' strengths that he can reach such a level!
This guy relies entirely on women to get to his position!

To be able to live off others to such an extent, he is definitely a talent!

"Martin has two things that require the company's support." Thomas is used to super gigolos, so he is not surprised: "Louise will discuss cooperation with Warner Bros. and Director Scorsese, focusing on promoting Martin. As for the company..."

Ali nodded: "I will communicate further with Scorsese and Warner Bros."

Thomas added: "Wanted" currently lacks a suitable action director.

Ali is a man who does big things, and he didn't hesitate at all: "I will help him find a suitable director, but for a series of supporting roles in the project, the company's clients must be given priority."

Thomas said, "That's what Martin meant."

Ali looked at Whitesell and said, "The company's level 4 resources will be prioritized towards Martin."

Martin has two movies to shoot in a row, so he won't use the roles recommended by the company in the short term, but the company should show its attention to him. There are too many poaching incidents among the major Hollywood agencies.

…………

Near noon, Martin arrived at the WMA and many people looked at him strangely.

Some people also came over to say hello: "Hi, Martin, congratulations."

"Our box office champion is here."

"What's your next project? Bring me one of your clients?"

In the agency, no matter who he was facing, Martin looked very kind and harmless, like a lucky naive person.

When I came to Thomas' office partition, Thomas was sitting in a chair with an empty desk.

Martin understood immediately and went over to give him a fist bump: "Dude, you have your own office now."

Thomas laughed and waved: "Follow me."

The two entered the independent office area. Martin saw the independent office with the sign "Thomas Ryan" from a distance. A woman with short blonde hair was sitting at the assistant desk at the door.

Seeing Martin coming over, the blonde woman took the initiative to stand up and greet him: "Good morning, Martin."

Martin remembered her: "Hello, Natasha."

Thomas pushed open the frosted glass door and invited, "Come on, come in and take a look."

Martin followed him in. The office was not big, only about 15 square meters. In addition to the desk and filing cabinet, there was also a long sofa for guests.

Thomas was very excited: "How is it, not bad?"

Martin knew he had to give encouragement: "This is a great office. I want to stay here and work."

After the encouragement, it is natural to add some weight: "But this place is still a little small, the big office upstairs is more suitable for you."

Thomas nodded. “I want to go upstairs, too, but those are offices for senior brokers and partners.”

"Do you have no confidence in me or yourself?" Martin needed Thomas to charge forward and would never allow him to rest: "Who was No. 1 at the North American box office last week? Huh? It was us! We are a golden combination, we are developing well, and we have a bright future."

He emphasized: "We still have many goals, and we can still reach higher!"

Thomas was full of energy: "Yes, I want to be a partner in the company!"

Martin said: "There are senior partners above the partners, and above them there are associate partners. Just like me, I am a little star now, and there are many levels above me..."

"You are now a level 4 client in the company, which means you are a star client." Thomas said, "You can't get the salary, but you are in a special situation."

Martin understood: "Because I can bring in money?"

"Yes." Thomas selectively described the relevant situations that Ali mentioned, mainly talking about Martin's customer level upgrade, as well as the two projects of Wanted Order and The Departed.

Martin pulled out his office chair, sat in front of Thomas' desk, and said, "Now that a movie has been successful, it feels like there are more good people around me."

Thomas pulled open the blinds on the window and said, "A lot of the connections and resources are brought by the success of one film after another."

Martin asked: "What if I fail and everyone around me becomes a bad person?"

Thomas thought for a moment and said, "When a movie starring a star has high box office, everyone from the producer to the distributor, from the theater to the audience will remember him, and everything he does, no matter how vulgar, is right and good."

He suddenly changed the subject: "If the film fails, do you think these people will let him go? Will they simply forget about the failure? Will they not blame him for the box office poison?"

Martin couldn't help but laugh: "Thomas, you can be my life mentor."

Thomas said, "Because I want to continue to be successful with you!"

The time soon reached noon.

Thomas invited Martin to dinner at a nearby restaurant, and also invited Bruce to come along, and the agent generously paid for the meal.

"Bruce, we didn't interact much before, so we should interact more often in the future." Thomas had a drink with Bruce and said nicely, "We should provide good service to Martin."

Bruce smiled like a pervert: "No problem."

Martin gave Thomas Jessica's contact information. "She's the personal assistant I hired. She's in charge of fans, blogs, and some chores. If you can't contact me and BB, you can contact her."

Thomas wrote down the contact number directly.

After lunch, Bruce asked Martin, "Where are we going?"

Martin said, "Go meet Vincent and Sophia."

Bruce was still terrified: "You're going by yourself?"

Martin didn't want to go alone either: "Hey, man, you have no professional ethics!"

(End of this chapter)