America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 397 Grievance
As it got dark, a black car drove into the gate.

Bruce parked the car and said to Martin in the back seat, "I'm going to go find Kohler and won't be back tonight."

Martin reminded: "These are gifts from sponsors, you can take them as you like."

Bruce didn't hesitate, went to the garage to get a few things, got into an ordinary Ford, and left the house.

Elizabeth saw the door close and jumped up and flew towards Martin.

Martin quickly caught her, picked her up and walked towards the villa. During the walk, he slapped her on the face, which felt very good.

Elizabeth was at an age full of energy. Seeing the swimming pool in the front yard, she suggested, "Let's go swimming. The one who swims fast will take the initiative tonight."

The nights in October were a bit chilly, so Martin patted her again and said, "No, the water is too cold at night, and my swimming pool doesn't have a heating function."

Elizabeth, who had lived in good conditions since she was a child, asked directly, "Is there no indoor swimming pool?"

Martin was not embarrassed and said, "The house is a bit small, no."

Elizabeth put her hands around his neck and said, "Let's work together and we'll have it soon."

"Okay." Martin responded out of habit, but then he felt something was wrong.

Elizabeth took the initiative to offer a passionate kiss, and the two began to make love as soon as they entered the villa.

The villa, which Lily came to clean every week, soon became a mess, as if a world war had taken place.

Elizabeth did not have time to visit Martin's house until she woke up the next morning.

On the second floor, in the side bedroom, she found a bedroom decorated in an extremely feminine way.

Martin said, "This is Lily's house. My sister in Atlanta is studying in California now and sometimes comes to live here."

Elizabeth thought more: "I move in with you?"

"After a while?" Martin was telling the truth: "As you know, Benjamin's crew will be going to another place to shoot soon, and he may not be back for a long time."

Elizabeth also got a role in the crew: "That's right, I'll talk about it when you come back."

Martin led her downstairs and said as he walked, "I'm looking for a new house. This one is a little small and has few facilities. You may not be used to it."

Elizabeth was very happy to hear what Martin said.

She felt that Martin's decision to find a new house was partly due to his consideration of her living habits.

Compared to her own home where she had lived for ten years, this place was indeed rather cramped. There was no room to swim in the indoor pool, and the living room was not even as big as her dining room.

Elizabeth was brought up in wealth, but she also had her own ideas: "Look for a good house, let's go look together? If you're short of money, I have some savings here."

Martin smiled and shook his head: "I can get tens of millions of dollars in salary."

Elizabeth admired sincerely: "Martin, you are amazing!"

Martin took her to the basement storage room: "Come, I'll give you some good things."

Elizabeth followed Martin to the storage room and saw Martin open a metal cabinet and take out several gift boxes.

Martin stuffed two of them into Elizabeth's hands and said, "These are Lily's work. One is a clown statue she carved by hand, and the other is a figurine that comes with two Australian crocodile tooth pendants."

Thinking that these things are likely to become rampant in Hollywood, he added: "I have given them to many friends and cast members. If you are interested, keep them."

Elizabeth opened it and looked at it carefully, and said, "It's very beautiful. I like it very much."

Martin opened the safe again and took out a mahogany gift box. After opening it and uncovering the black velvet cloth, he found a full green bracelet that Wu Maoting had given him.

Elizabeth picked it up. Under the light, the bracelet was crystal clear. She couldn't help but say, "It's so beautiful."

Martin said, "This is for you, put it on."

Elizabeth put it on her wrist.

After touring the house, Martin took Elizabeth out for breakfast, dropped her off at home, and then came to Benjamin's studio.

As soon as I entered the front hall, the girl at the front desk of the crew came over and whispered, "Martin, have you seen it? There is big news in our crew."

Martin asked, "What's going on?"

The girl lowered her voice even more: "TMZ reported that Cate Blanchett was using yesterday's incident to vent her anger at old white men. It said Blanchett believed that she should have won the Best Actress award in 1999 instead of Gwyneth Paltrow. The bias of the old white men in the Academy led to the upset."

Martin knew that Jody would not disappoint.

He had already seen this from many news reports, otherwise he would have asked Bruce to find someone else to work with.

Martin nodded: "Well done."

The girl smiled and said, "I'm glad I could help you." This receptionist was one of the information collectors that Bruce helped Martin develop on the crew.

Martin asked again, "Is Blanchett here today?"

"No." The front desk had a lot of information: "Blanchet asked for leave."

Martin ignored all this and went to the special effects studio to start today's work.

…………

In a house in Santa Monica, Cate Blanchett flipped through the newspapers and magazines in front of her, all of which reposted the latest entertainment news disclosed by TMZ.

Among them was her angry criticism of Nicholson.

Blanchett was still furious: "It was Jack Nicholson who provoked me first. If he hadn't gone too far, I wouldn't have said that. I was mad at him at the time. He provoked me again and again."

This was not just a one-time event, but a series of events from Toronto to Pinewood Studios to Los Angeles that led to an emotional out-of-control.

Actors are people who express their emotions outwardly, and their anger is always accumulating.

Manager Helda Quilli put her hands down and said, "Kate, calm down. The problem now is not the cause of the incident."

Public relations manager Dana pointed to the newspapers and magazines on the table and said, "Because TMZ broke the news first, print media such as The Hollywood Reporter and Entertainment Weekly did not follow the traditional procedures and informed me or Quilliam in advance. Now that it has been published in newspapers that can have a significant impact in the industry, we must consider the consequences."

She took her laptop, opened the video on TMZ, and showed it to Blanchett.

Blanchett angrily said: "Despicable!"

"That's not the point." Dana played the most important sentences and the media reports that were circled several times: "These words came from your mouth, and the video is the proof."

Blanchett gradually understood what Dana meant: "Nicholson first provoked me to get angry, and then deliberately misled me."

Dana shook her head. "What those people saw might not necessarily be the truth they understood. Perhaps they thought Nicholson was expressing his love to you and putting on such a romantic gesture, which was a sign of sincerity. More importantly, Nicholson is an American, one of those old men, the old white men you cursed at. And you, Kate, you're just an Australian..."

Blanchett already knew who the old men Dana was talking about were.

Queli continued, "'Queen Elizabeth 2' is about to start screenings, and you want to use this film to win the Oscar for Best Actress."

Dana suggested: "Kate, I suggest you apologize publicly as soon as possible."

Blanchett nodded. "Okay. I'll apologize for saying something that didn't fit my words."

Dana suggested more than that: “And Nicholson.”

"No, I won't!" Blanchett couldn't accept it at all: "This is all Nicholson's fault."

Querry also knew that Nicholson was the culprit in this matter, but most of the time, things did not develop in terms of who was right or wrong. She could only persuade him: "Nicholson did not flirt with you except to express his love for you, nor did he do anything inappropriate."

Blanchett sadly discovered that this was indeed the case, but she really couldn't accept it: "I can publicly apologize for my harsh words, apologize to the group of old white men, and even say that I was wrong and ask for their forgiveness, but I can't accept a personal apology to Nicholson."

She simply used her ultimate move: "I am a woman and he is a man!"

Dana has worked as an entertainment public relations manager for many years and has a special understanding of the industry: "In most cases, this is very useful, but you are facing a more sensitive group, and they also hold the power of the academy."

Blanchett insisted: "I would rather give up this Oscar."

"Do you want to give up? Will the crew agree?" Querry reminded her of the seriousness of the matter. "The focus of this film's awards is on the Best Actress. If you voluntarily give up, what will Universal Pictures and various investment funds think? Hollywood is short of money right now, and you might be blacklisted by some investment funds."

Blanchett showed no sign of relenting.

Querry was really anxious: "Kate, think about it, this is not just about the Oscars! Many actors who are not favored by the Academy, have they really done anything too extreme? They just said a few words casually, and what happened? They were held in grudge for many years."

She told some cruel facts: "You have always been on the path of winning awards for art. If the road to Oscars is blocked, what are you going to do? Do you have the appeal of Julia Roberts or Cameron Diaz? If so, you don't have to care about those old white men, you can still become a superstar. Once the road to art is cut off, your acting career will soon be over!"

Blanchett lowered her head slightly, as if thinking about Querry's words.

Seeing that her attitude had softened, Dana quickly said, "As long as we remedy the situation in time, the situation won't be that serious. At most, it will affect this awards season."

Querry added: "You've already won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar, don't you want to win the Best Actress Oscar? When you win the Best Actress award, you can find a way to fight back."

She gave an example: "Maybe by then, Nicholson will be as destitute as Marlon Brando."

Blanchett let out a long breath, trying to let out all the depression in her chest.

Although she knew that with Martin Davis and Leonardo around, Nicholson could not become the next Marlon Brando, what else could she do at this moment?
Would accusing Nicholson of harassment completely offend the white male community?
Blanchett forced herself to suppress her reluctance and said slowly, "Dana, please help me draft a speech and find a suitable time to face the media."

"I'm going to do it," Dana said.

Querry patted Blanchett's hand gently: "The temporary grievance is for better development in the future."

(End of this chapter)