America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 388 Turning Passivity into Initiative
In the morning, driving out from Louise's house, Martin prepared to go to Century City. Thomas had just returned from Atlanta yesterday and brought some new news from the crew.

They were originally going to enjoy a weekend for the two of them, but Louise's parents had something urgent to do and she had to rush over, so Martin came out.

Sherman Oaks is not far from Beverly and can be reached quickly by car.

When passing Rodeo Drive, he found a new brand store. The store was decorated entirely with glass and there was a big apple with a bite taken out of it pasted above the door.

Martin suddenly remembered that Apple's new mobile phone was launched at the end of June.

He parked his car, entered the store, asked around, and bought 20 new mobile phones at once to give away.

Martin has been increasing his holdings of Apple's individual shares in recent years. For a long-term shareholder like him, even if Apple's stock price fluctuates, he can still make money.

The era of smart phones will soon arrive.

Arriving at Century City, Martin parked the car, took out two Apple phones, logged into WMA, and went straight upstairs to find Thomas.

As in the past, the agents I met all took the initiative to say hello and greeted me with a smile.

There are so many good people.

Martin went upstairs, put a cell phone on Natasha's desk, and said, "This is for you."

Natasha was pleasantly surprised. She took it and looked at it, then said, "Thank you, Martin. This is a great gift!"

"You're welcome." Martin walked into Thomas' office.

Thomas saw Martin and said, "It just so happens that I have something to talk to you about Bell, so I don't need to call you."

Martin handed Thomas another phone: "This is the new phone from Apple."

"Thank you." Thomas put it away and said, "I have already negotiated with Bell."

Martin sat on the sofa and asked, "What's going on over there?"

"Nolan and Charles Rowan both put pressure on Bale," Thomas said. "After I had a few arguments with Bale's agent Parker, they finally agreed to pay $100 million in mental damages."

This account does not need to go through the agency. Martin said directly: "When the money arrives, you will get 10%."

Thomas smiled and said, "No problem."

In the past two years, his extra income from this alone has exceeded $100,000.

Thomas added, "Because Hibby wanted to file for divorce, Bell was sent back to England for recuperation. His condition has stabilized a little, but he will go crazy when he hears your and the Joker's names. I think if he sees..."

He shrugged.

Martin understood what he meant. Bell couldn't be provoked, so he asked, "What about publicity and marketing?"

Thomas said: "I asked Director Nolan privately, and he meant that it is not appropriate for you to appear in the same occasion with Bale at the moment. When we enter the intensive promotion period next year, we will arrange a suitable time and place for you to meet."

Martin understood that Nolan would never miss the opportunity to use Bale for publicity and hype.

If it were him, he would have a $1.8 million investment and the consequences of failure would be serious.

Thomas lowered his voice and said, "Nolan also asked me to convey that he will discuss other matters with you personally."

Martin knew it was that specific plan and nodded: "We should not give up on the preparations we have made here."

“I know.” Thomas responded and then talked about the endorsement of Cartier watches. As a first-tier luxury brand, there are many Hollywood stars who are interested in endorsing it.

Thomas has already sent Martin's information to the relevant person in charge of Cartier and is also in talks with them.

It depends on Cartier's choice.

Thomas said one more thing: "The release date of The Reader has been confirmed. It will start previewing in November. There will be only one preview theater for the first two weeks."

Martin said: "I spoke to Kate on the phone and the film will be run as an awards film."

The two then turned their topic to the promotion and distribution of "The Reader".

The goal of this film is very clear, which is to target this awards season. Even the amount of commercial revenue of the film will be greatly affected by the awards during the awards season.

The Reader will start with previews in November this year. In order to control word of mouth, it will even only be shown in one theater in Los Angeles for the first two weeks.

The fewer people who see a movie, the easier it is to control its reputation.

The focus of The Reader during the awards season is not on Best Picture and Best Director, but on Best Actress, followed by Best Actor.

Martin also wants to get another Oscar nomination, which will be helpful both in terms of improving his status and ultimately winning the award.

Martin didn't stay at the WMA for long before he said goodbye and returned home.

On weekends, he didn't have to go to the studio, so he simply moved out a rattan chair, made some tea, sat under the parasol by the swimming pool, took out the role script of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", and studied it carefully.

Martin also recalls movies he has watched from time to time to verify each other.

Next week, I will be attending the makeup audition with the crew.

Strictly speaking, the role of Benjamin Button is more difficult in terms of makeup and special effects. In terms of the complexity of the character alone, it is not even as difficult as the leading actor in "The Reader".

Martin read through the role script and looked at the time. It was almost noon and Old Bull hadn't come back yet. It seemed that he hadn't had an easy night last night.

He changed his mind and thought, not only does Bruce have to be the leading actor, director and cameraman, he also has to take on the roles of screenwriter, lighting engineer, costume designer, producer and equipment engineer. He must be very busy, right?

By the way, I should also serve as the publicity and promotion producer, responsible for the operation of the film.

Martin suddenly discovered that the most versatile person in Hollywood was right next to him.

"I can't live without Bruce." Martin picked up the teacup and took a sip leisurely: "Just like the West can't live without Jerusalem."

After reading the script, he picked up the original novel and continued reading.

The more prepared you are, the smoother the process will be.

It was almost noon and Martin was wondering where to go for lunch when the door opened automatically and Bruce drove in.

He waved to Martin: "I brought you lunch."

Martin put down the novel, walked to the garage, took the pizza and barbecue packed by Bruce, and twitched his nose: "It smells good."

Bruce was in a bad mood. He got out of the car and yawned: "All the flavors you like."

Martin came to the swimming pool with lunch, went back to wash his hands, and brought tableware and beer. Bruce had already packed up his books and moved a chair to sit opposite him.

He picked up the pizza and started eating it: "I'm starving."

Martin gave him a can of beer: "Too much consumption?"

Bruce swallowed the food in his mouth and said, "I was almost exhausted. No wonder Jenna said that the most difficult part of filming the Sacred Valley movie is the male actors."

Martin said as he ate: "Now that you have experienced it, you can consider developing in the Holy Valley."

Bruce opened the beer ring, took a big sip, and said, "I have to shoot and act at the same time, and I have to be able to go up anytime and anywhere. It's too damn difficult. This kind of work is not as good as I thought. There is no enjoyment at all. Instead, it is a torture. I suspect those male actors are all on drugs."

Martin pointed to the next door and said, "Next time you meet Jenna, you can ask her. She is the best actress and the best director."

Bruce clinked glasses with Martin: "No, I will never do that again. This is the only time and the last time."

Martin said, "I hope so. I don't think you can get rid of Kim..."

The two ate lunch and drank their beers again while Bruce picked up the trash and threw it away.

Martin thought of the newly bought phone: "You have the latest Apple smartphone in that car. It needs to be given to a few people. You can take it yourself."

Bruce went over and opened the car door. For the time being, he only took out one car. He unpacked it, looked at the large screen, and said, "It looks good."

Martin picked up the phone he was using and shook it. “It’s a groundbreaking new product as described by Steve Jobs, a revolutionary in the mobile phone world.”

He thought of the rumors about the kidney machine: "Maybe it is also a fighter jet among mobile phones."

Then I realized that something was wrong. It seemed to be the advertising slogan of a certain brand of mobile phone on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.

Bruce had read relevant news and advertisements and said, "Smartphones that can surf the Internet smoothly, I saw in the promotional soft copy that they can provide network storage services in the future, storing personal files in the network hard drive provided by Apple."

This reminded Martin of the Hollywood eyepatch scandal, and also reminded him of what Bruce filmed yesterday, so he specifically reminded him, "Just store some ordinary stuff in there, don't store sensitive stuff in there, it's easy for hackers to steal it. Those tasteless hackers will use it to blackmail you, and then expose you after you pay them."

"I definitely won't store nude photos in there." Bruce suddenly remembered the video he shot last night and asked, "If I put the video I shot for Kim in there, will it be stolen?"

Martin said, "Now that the service hasn't even been launched, you're already thinking about leaking the tape? Old Bull, I can see that you have an exhibitionist fetish and you have a mental problem!"

Bruce retorted: "It's you who has psychological problems. You haven't seen the media reports that Martin Davis has psychological and mental problems due to playing the Joker. He is about to become a mental patient."

Martin spread his hands and said, "Okay, I'm crazy."

Bruce didn't talk nonsense with Martin, but asked for advice: "You always have ways to deal with the media and public opinion. How can I use the video I shot last night to fully exert its influence? I can't let Kim take advantage of Paris' popularity again."

"Do you know why I was discussing hacking and videos with you just now?" Martin didn't need Bruce to answer and said directly: "I was reminding you."

Bruce thought carefully about what Martin had just said and asked, "You mean the video was deliberately stolen by hackers?"

Martin said: "I guess the hackers are not so idle as to steal your videos."

Bruce rubbed his head and said, "How should we do it specifically? Well, since I brought you lunch at noon, please give me some inspiration."

Martin put away his frivolous words and said seriously, "Continuing with the previous topic, the video of you and Jin was stolen by hackers. The hackers contacted Jin and wanted to blackmail him. What should Jin do?"

Bruce said: "Kim's original intention was to expose the video."

"That's too passive." Martin said, "In fact, there is a way that can not only get rid of other people's blackmail, but also turn passivity into initiative."

Bruce urged, "Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me now."

Martin said: "Before the blackmailer, take the initiative to expose the stolen pictures or videos. Of course, you don't send them out directly. You have to call the police and issue a press release to let everyone know what you have experienced and how helpless you are that you have to expose these things yourself..."

Bruce suddenly realized what was going on. After getting the hint, he quickly thought of the next step. He pondered and said, "Not only will the public not blame Kim, but they will also sympathize with Kim. If Kim cries at the press conference again, most of the media and public opinion will stand on Kim's side."

Martin asked, "It's not like Kim doesn't mind the video being exposed."

(End of this chapter)