America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 463: The Road to Super Giant

Chapter 463: The Road to Super Giant
The van stopped at the door of the villa. Several workers carefully moved the wooden boxes into the living room and unpacked them. Under Bruce's command, they placed the snow-white marble statue on the base.

Lily took a check to settle the bill with the workers.

Martin called Leonardo, who had just returned from New York on vacation, "Come and see your statue."

Leonardo and Nicholson both followed, the former saying, "I haven't paid for it yet, so it's not mine yet."

Nicholson said, "You'd better pay up, or you won't be able to leave Martin's house."

Martin looked at Nicholson and said, "What do you think this is? A devil's den?"

Leonardo ignored the two stupid sculptures and quickly walked to the snow-white marble statue, carefully examining the approximately 50-centimeter-tall portrait.

The statue has smooth lines, superb craftsmanship and is lifelike.

Based on his years of experience in purchasing art, his vision is not much worse than those of modern artists.

Martin didn't care about that. He also needed to talk to Lily's agent about how much Leonardo wanted to pay.

Nicholson received a call at this time. He did not avoid Martin and turned on the speakerphone directly: "Hi, honey, what's going on?"

"The house is very beautiful." Luo Lin was quite excited: "It's very spacious. I haven't lived in it much since it was renovated. The main thing is that it is cheap enough. I like it very much."

This is a small villa purchased by Ben and his wife in Brentwood. After their divorce, the villa was divided into Ben's name. Ben sold it quickly at a low price in order to exchange it for cash and put an end to his troubles as soon as possible.

Martin kept someone keeping an eye on Big Ben and notified Nicholson immediately.

Nicholson said, "Very good. The original owner of the house spent 700 million US dollars to buy it. Now he only bought it for 400 million US dollars. The house belongs to you now. Just think of it as my adult gift to you in advance. When you turn 21, don't come to me for gifts again."

Lorraine is also a top-notch person: "Jack, aren't you going to make up for the $300 million difference?"

Nicholson was so angry that he hung up the phone and said to Martin, "It's better for you and Leo. You don't have to worry about these family matters."

Martin pointed to the statue, where a carving knife was flying up and down between Lily's fingers. He said, "Without me watching and suppressing her from time to time, she would be much more difficult to deal with than Lorraine when she makes a fuss."

Nicholson nodded repeatedly: "Lorraine would not think of stabbing someone with a knife, nor would she study human medicine specifically to avoid seriously injuring someone."

Lily had been keeping her ears perked up, and faintly heard Nicholson's words, and said loudly: "I studied human medicine for sculpture, okay!"

Martin and Nicholson ignored her, their eyes flashing with words like "I don't believe you".

Leonardo then said, "The statue is great. I want it." He said to Lily, "Ask your agent to talk to my investment manager about the price."

Lily smiled happily: "Okay, I'll make the call right away."

This is more than just a small profit. If the agent spreads the word and Leonardo pays a high price for Lily Carter's sculpture, his net worth will go up.

Leonardo went to the wine cabinet in the living room and got a bottle of wine and three glasses. He came over to pour them and asked, "You two are so mean. You didn't even call me when you were causing trouble!"

Martin raised his hand: "I'm just an errand boy." He pointed to the side: "This is the planner and commander!"

Nicholson acted like a boss: "There is no room for you to play a role in this matter."

Leonardo said: "The foot gang has hit our faces and heads, where are our RPGs?"

"We haven't started a full-scale war yet, so we can't use RPGs." Martin said seriously, "If a full-scale war really breaks out, you, the core of the Face Gang, will have to go on the field."

Leonardo was full of fighting spirit: "All the blond, long-legged, unmarried, young and beautiful women in the Foot Gang should be given to me, the married women should be given to Martin, and the other men should be given to Jack."

Nicholson and Martin both raised their middle fingers.

Martin's cell phone rang. He answered it and hung up, then said, "Big Ben is selling his house in Santa Monica. Who of you is interested?"

Leonardo shook his head: "I have too many houses to count. It's not good to have too many fixed assets." Peter and Ben both reminded him: "You still have to keep enough cash in hand."

Nicholson thought of Lorraine: "I bought a set."

"It looks like I'm the only one left to take over." Martin sighed, "It's not easy to be a good person to take over, and it will cost millions of dollars."

He just happened to see Lily coming in from outside and said directly: "Go and buy me another house."

Lily mourned for the Affleck brothers for two seconds in her heart, and suddenly became happy and asked, "Martin, when you buy the house, can you rent it to me as a studio?"

Martin didn't take it seriously at all and replied casually, "Sure, you can pay whatever you want for the rent."

Lily asked for the real estate agent's contact information and went to work quickly.

This time, there was no complaint and she was very positive. Lily contacted the real estate agent, went to see the house again, bargained with the real estate agent, and cut another $20 off the low price. She went to handle the relevant procedures as soon as possible.

In the afternoon, Martin and Bruce came to the Angels Club to practice shooting to keep their hands in shape.

Just after he finished firing a magazine of AR, Thomas called, and Martin simply asked him to come to the club.

More than half an hour later, Thomas came over with a shiny forehead.

Martin handed the gun to Bruce, went to the lounge with Thomas, and asked, "What's the hurry?"

Thomas said: "We have reached an agreement with Cartier Men's Watches for an endorsement. The contract will be signed in October, and the annual endorsement fee is 1000 million US dollars."

These were within Martin's expectations. He asked, "What else?"

“I have negotiated a few additional clauses,” Thomas elaborated. “For awards like the Oscars or the three major European film festivals, Cartier will assist you in winning the award, including covering part of the public relations costs and contacting relevant media resources. If you can win one of the major awards, it will pay an additional $200 million in rewards.”

Martin nodded: "Okay."

He thought for a moment and asked, "Coca-Cola and Cadillac both have similar clauses. Plus Cartier men's watches, and the support of the crew and the agency, it seems like there aren't many places where I really need to spend my own money for my Oscar bid, right?"

Thomas said, "That's right. Take this year for example. I have already reached an agreement with the Dark Knight crew. They will fully assist you in your Oscar bid. I have also contacted several brands you endorse, and they said their support will definitely not be any less than your effort in The Reader."

Martin secretly calculated that not only was there not much he actually needed to spend money on, but once he could win a performance award, not to mention the increase in his net worth, the sponsorship rewards from a few sponsoring brands alone would be more than 500 million US dollars.

An Oscar award like this is very motivating, as it brings both honor and money.

Thomas said: "With the huge success of The Dark Knight and an Oscar for acting, when negotiating with Nolan's new project, $1500 million was just the starting point, and $2000 million was also possible. I think $1000 million plus a share of the post-production salary is more appropriate."

"Okay." Martin asked, "How far am I from being a 20+20 superstar?"

Thomas told the truth: "There are only a few actors in Hollywood who can get such treatment, and not every film can get it."

He also hopes that Martin can become a superstar soon, but the road to superstardom must be taken step by step: "Let's get this Oscar first."

Martin said: "If this wasn't a comic book adaptation, I'd be confident I'd win the Best Actor award this time."

Thomas, the agent, is more realistic: "Winning the Best Supporting Actor award is a victory. I heard that Sean Penn's new film received very good reviews in the previews, and his goal is the Best Actor award. As you know, Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Penn are both favorites of the old white men in the Academy."

Martin asked, "What's the new Sean Penn movie?"

"Milk." Thomas introduced briefly: "It's a biographical film. In order to fight for the legal rights of homosexuals, the homosexual Milk embarked on the path of politics, and was eventually assassinated."

As soon as Martin heard it, he knew that the Joker was not competitive enough for this role.

Thomas continued, "Since Brokeback Mountain won the award, the atmosphere in the industry has changed. Homosexuality is no longer a taboo, but has become a great help in winning awards."

Martin said: "The help will become greater and greater in the future."

Thomas asked tentatively, "Do you want to try this kind of subject matter?"

Martin's eyes fell on Thomas' face, and he said nothing, just looked at him quietly.

Thomas has figured out how to get along with Martin in recent years, so he quickly changed his words: "I will turn down all such stories."

Martin said, "Your next work will focus on Oscars. The studio has hired a professional PR team, and you need to fully cooperate with them."

Thomas said: "The agency will also fully cooperate. I have talked to Ali and he will personally come out to canvass for you."

He mentioned another thing: "The election is about to begin. Ali's brother is a member of the Guanhai team. Ali wants to invite you to attend Guanhai's campaign in Los Angeles."

Martin has always leaned to the left since he was a child in Atlanta. His friends and partners, including Kelly and Louise, also leaned to the left. After a brief consideration, he agreed: "Let me know when the time and place are confirmed."

Thomas nodded, and after finishing the business, he talked about some insider things that Martin was concerned about: "Pete reached an out-of-court settlement with Cadillac, Breitling and several other endorsement brands."

Martin was very interested and asked, "How much is the compensation?"

Thomas shook his head. "Neither party disclosed the exact amount, but the total compensation for breach of contract must be at least 50 million US dollars. Pitt originally had a net worth of over 100 million US dollars, but a large part of it was invested in Fannie Mae stocks after he broke up with Jolie. Now it's just like waste paper."

He continued, "Except for a house he owns, Pitt has sold most of his other fixed assets such as real estate and cars. He is now in contact with several small producers, hoping to return to the screen and regain his glory."

Martin asked, "How dare you use him for a big project?"

"Let alone big projects, even small and medium-sized film projects don't dare to take the risk of using him." Thomas learned the details: "No insurance company is willing to insure Pitt."

(End of this chapter)

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