America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 338: Million-dollar Endorsement
In Hollywood's independent art film circle, Harvey is definitely a big shot, but his influence in the fashion and modeling circles is much smaller.

Hearing Georgina's words, Martin's mind turned and he said, "I do know a few supermodels."

Georgina looked pleasantly surprised, but when she saw that some guests were leaving, she could only say, "Martin, can you stay for a while? We can talk later?"

Martin responded: "Okay."

Georgina went to see the guests off.

Kate stayed here to chat with Martin and asked, "What are you planning?"

Martin glanced at the hallway and said, "She's your best friend, and you introduced me to her. For your sake, I'll help her if I can."

Kate nodded. When it comes to being a good person, Martin has always been impeccable.

She pointed to another room and said, "Let's wait inside."

After a while, Georgina came into the room, her face full of fatigue.

Kate asked. “Everyone’s gone.”

"They're all gone." Georgina slumped down on the sofa and said, "It's really hard for a woman to start a career. It requires too much sacrifice."

She smiled at Martin and Kate: "Fortunately, I have friends like you who support me."

Martin naturally took over the conversation: "I am familiar with some supermodels who often appear in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show. I can introduce you to them."

As for the rest, it is up to Georgina to negotiate on her own, such as whether the price and brand are suitable.

Georgina reminded: "The five Victoria's Secret Angels cannot endorse other clothing brands."

Martin nodded: "I understand."

The three of them discussed this for a while, so they left a little late.

It was almost 11 o'clock in the evening when Martin left the villa.

After saying goodbye to Georgina, he accompanied Kate to the parking lot and took the initiative to invite her: "Let's find a place to chat for a while."

Kate's eyes stayed on Martin and she said, "My daughter Mia is in Los Angeles, and I promised to go back to be with her tonight."

Martin could understand: "Children are important, say hello to them for me."

He came to the car and Bruce, who was waiting there, said, "Old Bruce, my gift."

Bruce immediately took out a two-piece gift set.

Martin took it and handed it to Kate: "I didn't bring a suitable one, so I'll give you a set of figures and pendants first, and I'll make up for it another day."

Kate knew what was inside the box without opening it, and said, "We don't have to be so polite."

Having said that, she still accepted it and said, "I've always wanted to find a godfather for Mia, and you're a good one."

"No problem. When you are free one day, you can introduce me to her." At this point, Martin sighed and said, "Originally, I wanted to be the godfather of Leo's child."

Kate couldn't help but laugh: "Then you'll have to wait."

Martin also smiled and waved: "Good night."

Kate got in the car first and left.

Bruce started the Escalade and asked, "Where are you going tonight?"

Martin fastened his seat belt and said, "Go home and sleep. From today on, I will conserve my energy."

Leonardo has contacted the supermodels, and Martin will definitely not miss this trip.

…………

At the Beverly Hills Hilton Hotel, a team jointly formed by Cadillac's Planning Department and Legal Department arrived in Los Angeles for nearly a week.

At the regular meeting in the morning, everyone reported on the progress of the work they were responsible for.

Larris from the legal department said: "I have met with Brad Pitt's agent and lawyer several times in the past few days. Pitt is currently restricted from leaving his home in Beverly Hills. The termination of the contract requires us to visit him in person."

Johnson, the team leader, said: "Terminate the contract as soon as possible. Even the Hollywood community is distancing itself from Pitt. Public opinion in the United States is unanimously condemning Pitt. He has seriously affected Cadillac's market image."

Larris said: "It is not difficult to terminate the contract, but it is not easy to sue for liquidated damages."

"Terminate the contract first." Johnson knew that the longer Cadillac was involved with Brad Pitt, the more losses it would suffer. He said, "We can take our time in pursuing the lawsuit. There's no need to rush."

Larris responded: "I'll get it done as soon as possible."

Johnson looked at Michelle from the planning department and asked, "What do you think about the new spokesperson?"

Michelle said: "Someone recommended Matt Damon to me. The first two Jason Bourne films made him famous. If nothing unexpected happens, the third film, which will be released next year, will also be a success."

Someone immediately retorted: "Damon's image is average, especially his appearance... How should I put it? He is born with a sad look, which does not fit the positioning of a successful Cadillac owner."

Michelle agreed: "I have always had this concern."

"What about Ben Affleck?" someone suggested.
Another person retorted: "The star is too low. Since the failure of Daredevil, there has been no outstanding works for several years."

Michelle waited until everyone's discussions died down before she said, "I have another candidate here, but he is not a client of CAA. We have been working with CAA in the past."

Johnson didn't care. To Cadillac, CAA, WMA, or any other agency made no difference. He nodded, "Tell me about it."

"Martin Davis, a movie star under William Morris." Michelle was very satisfied with the candidate recommended by WMA, and deliberately mentioned him at the end: "Martin Davis, I believe everyone knows him, a Hollywood star, an American hero, an honorary citizen of Los Angeles, and he assisted the FBI in catching Russian spies..."

The first person to refute said: "Martin Davis is much more suitable than Matt Damon."

The others nodded in agreement: "His personal image and temperament are also good."

"He is on the rise, acting with Leonardo DiCaprio in The Departed."

“He is young but relatively stable, which is in line with Cadillac’s market development strategy.”

Johnson is also considering this candidate carefully.

Michelle took out a USB drive, handed it to her assistant, and asked her to play a slide show full of clippings.

He pointed with a laser pointer and said: "Since he became famous, Martin Davis has been riding in a black Escalade for daily travel and most public events. He is a loyal user of Cadillac."

Johnson looked carefully at the slides of newspaper clippings, some of which were taken in 2004.

The two sides are highly compatible.

Seeing that he was looking at it seriously, Michelle gave her assistant a look and asked her to continue changing the pictures.

Johnson watched for a few minutes and said, "Misha, you are responsible for contacting Martin Davis and his agent. The contract terms for the endorsement...well, refer to Brad Pitt."

Michelle responded, “I’ll take care of it right away.”

The meeting ended here, and both agendas came to an end. Cadillac terminated its contract with Brad Pitt and contacted Martin Davis for endorsement matters.

…………

As Christmas approached, Martin and Bruce packed their bags.

For Thanksgiving, the two returned to Atlanta.

Of course I have to go on vacation during this Christmas holiday.

Martin plans to go to Miami and then fly to a private island in the Caribbean.

Spend a special Christmas on the island.

The doorbell rang at this time and Bruce went to open the door.

Thomas walked into the living room excitedly with a few newspapers in his hand and said, "Good news. Cadillac has just contacted the company and is interested in inviting you to be the global spokesperson."

He did a lot of work and recommended Martin to Cadillac.

"Sit down." Martin pointed to the sofa opposite and praised Thomas: "You are so efficient. You did a great job."

Thomas was very happy, not only because of Martin's praise, but also because of the commission he could get.

This is an endorsement contract worth up to tens of millions of dollars per year.

He said cheerfully, "Christmas is coming soon. You can go on vacation. I plan to work overtime during the holiday to sort out the necessary information. As soon as the holiday is over, I will immediately negotiate with Cadillac."

Martin thought that his efforts were not wasted, as Thomas knew to work overtime on his own initiative.

Thomas added, "The deal with Brioni has basically been settled, with only a few details left. The endorsement fee is set at $600 million per year, and the contract is tentatively scheduled to be for two years. Also, the endorsement contract with Coca-Cola needs to be renegotiated. With your current situation, as long as there are no unexpected events with Limitless next month, it won't be a problem to negotiate another endorsement contract worth tens of millions."

"I'll leave all of this to you." Martin felt relieved and asked, "Can my single endorsement contract be equal to the film remuneration?"

Thomas said roughly: "A superstar with an outstanding image like Brad Pitt can basically get $1000 million to $1500 million for a single endorsement, except for the top brands. After all, those are also a blessing for the star himself."

Martin understood: "Something like an art film with a high standard?"

"Almost." Thomas said: "The ceiling for endorsements in the industry right now is Leonardo. He takes very few ads. No deal for less than $1500 million."

Martin sighed: "What man doesn't envy Leonardo?"

Speaking of Leonardo, Thomas reminded: "His new movie is not doing very well at the box office."

Martin picked up a newspaper and took a quick look. "Blood Diamond" opened in nearly 2000 theaters in North America and only earned $860 million in the first weekend.

This movie has a very good reputation, but the background of the story is too far away from Americans, and the genre is not very suitable for the market. It is estimated that the box office in North America will be at most 6000 million US dollars, and it is difficult to exceed 2 million US dollars worldwide.

Martin would not be stupid enough to ask Leonardo whether the claimed $1 million production cost is inflated, but if this film wants to make a profit, it must rely on the offline market.

It is not uncommon for good films to not have good box office results all over the world; it is almost becoming the normal phenomenon.

Factors such as film type and marketing are increasingly taking precedence over film quality.

Martin called Leonardo, but that guy didn't take it seriously at all. Instead, he urged Martin to meet up at the airport as soon as possible, saying that he would not take him with him if it was too late.

Thomas quickly said goodbye and left.

Martin and Bruce got in a car and drove straight to the Burbank Airport.

On the private helipad there, Martin and Leonardo jointly invested in leasing a business jet and prepared to fly directly to Miami.

(End of this chapter)