America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 525 The King of Pitfalls
After the morning run, Martin returned to the villa, took the towel handed to him by the housekeeper, wiped the sweat from his forehead and neck, and asked, "Is Liz up?"

The housekeeper took the towel back: "Make breakfast in the kitchen."

Martin strode into the restaurant.

Elizabeth, who might have heard the noise, came out with breakfast and complained deliberately, "You got up so early. You made me wake up early too."

"I'm used to it." As he got older, Martin didn't feel his body and energy decline at all, and he was still as vigorous as the midday sun: "After breakfast, go to sleep for a while. You slept too late last night."

Elizabeth said openly, "I was too excited last night and my waist is sore from exhaustion."

She set up breakfast and sat opposite Martin: "I won't sleep anymore. I have an appointment with Maria and Sofia Stallone today. Let's go to the art exhibition at Lily College together."

Martin then remembered that Guanhai's daughter was still in Los Angeles, and Elizabeth had been in charge of reception: "Easy to get along with?"

Elizabeth smiled sweetly: "She's a teenage girl, very easy to please."

Martin nodded and said, "Tell Maria that the crew will regroup soon and she will join the crew then."

Elizabeth replied, "She has been waiting."

After breakfast, Martin changed his clothes and went out to the WMA.

Elizabeth drove her Porsche to meet Maria, Sofia and others.

When Martin arrived in Century City and entered the WMA headquarters, although he hadn't been here for a few months and didn't even recognize the two girls at the front desk, all the WMA employees he met took the initiative to say hello to him.

"Good morning, Martin."

"Martin, you are more handsome than before."

"I have a few female clients who are particularly compatible with you. Would you like to meet them and give them a chance?"

Everywhere you look, there are good people.

Martin just smiled and nodded without saying much, then turned into the corridor leading to the elevator room for high-end customers, and finally it became quiet.

Ali entered the company lobby at this time.

The new front desk girl who joined the company's mailroom was very perceptive. She trotted over and said, "President, Martin is here and has just turned to the private elevator room."

Ali ran forward and ran into the elevator, catching up with Martin before he entered the elevator.

Martin shook his hand and said, "I heard that you are going to get engaged? Have you decided on the date? I can prepare a gift for you."

"The time has not been determined yet." Ali followed Martin into the elevator and deliberately joked: "I will never invite you to my fiancée's bachelorette party."

Martin couldn't help laughing and said, "I'll attend your bachelor party, Ali. I believe in your vision and ability."

Ali had heard some of the rumors coming out of the modeling world: "Don't get your hopes up. I can't get a bunch of Victoria's Secret Angels."

Women love to show off more than men, and this kind of showing off includes all aspects. As Martin's fame grew, he was also named an American hero, which naturally became the capital for the Victoria's Secret Angels to show off.

Phrases like "I slept with Martin, what kind of slut are you playing with?" often appear in supermodels' daily quarrels.

Martin said: "Confirm the time and remember to call me."

"No problem." The elevator arrived, and Ali accompanied Martin out of the elevator and said, "Thomas has received many film invitations for you, including some projects that the company is focusing on. You must take a closer look."

He thought for a moment: "Over the years, you have been choosing your own films, and each successful film has proved your vision. The company will not interfere with your choice, but there is one thing I would like to remind you. On your terms, , it would be a pity to take the commercial or artistic route alone."

Martin understood what he meant: "I'm not giving up on Oscar."

Ali shook his hand and said, "Let's play golf together sometime."

Martin then went to Thomas' partner's office.

He is truly a typical example of someone who became stronger despite becoming bald, having climbed his way up from a junior broker to the position of a company partner.

When Thomas saw Martin come in, he immediately called the finance department.

The deputy director of the finance department came over in person with the documents, asked Martin to sign for confirmation, and then called the company's finance department to transfer the funds.

After nearly a year of waiting since the release of "The Dark Knight", Martin's share of the post-production finally arrived.

In the past year, including the North American box office, DVDs, and peripheral image rights, after deducting the agent's commission, a total of 3466 million US dollars was transferred to Martin's account.

Thomas asked, "You've made such a huge fortune, do you have any plans for spending? Count me in."

The money was transferred into the account. Martin signed the receipt and said, "I bought some stocks and some fixed assets. The rest was probably spent on food, drink and entertainment."

Of course, he was exaggerating: "Before the tax season comes next year, try to invest more and consume more, otherwise you will get the tax bureau a free pass."

Thomas hoped that Martin would have a better future and reminded him, "You still need to keep some savings."

Martin always does this: "I keep one-fifth of it as an emergency reserve."

There is no need to rush to invest, as the next tax season is still a long way off. In addition to Apple stock, Martin is also keeping an eye on other investment opportunities.

Of course, the money you earn is for spending and enjoying. Long-term returns must be guaranteed, and short-term expenses cannot be ignored.

Martin asked Bruce, "I remember Elizabeth liked Porsche?"

Bruce thought for a moment and said, "She has never driven the Cadillac at home. She obviously doesn't like it."

Martin asked, "When I was in New York, I remember seeing an ad that Porsche had released a four-door sedan?"

Thomas knew more and said, "Panamera, a four-door coupe."

Martin nodded and said, "Old Bu, order a high-end Panamera, complete the formalities today, and have them deliver it directly to your home."

Bruce went out to do it.

Thomas took out a thick stack of invitations, put it on the table, and said, "Recently, many people or events have invited you. The important ones are all listed here."

Martin took them and looked at them one by one. Most of them were from charities or environmental protection organizations, and there were also some personal invitations.

For example, Hefner invited him to a pajama party again.

Martin saw a special invitation letter with a cover logo of two equilateral triangles connected in an S.

Thomas emphasized, "This is an invitation letter from Tom Cruise. His leader Hubbard invites you to visit the headquarters of Scientology in your free time."

He was a little worried: "Cruise helped you win the Best Actor Award at Cannes, but they obviously have other intentions."

Martin waved his hand: "Even if I go to see Hubbard, it will be a conversation between the leaders of two sects."

Thomas then remembered that Martin's Coca Cola Church had many times more followers than Hubbard's Scientology.

By this calculation, Martin, the leader, has more capital than Hubbard.

Thomas continued, "The copyright of The Martian has been acquired, and the original author Andy Weir wants to meet with you."

"Okay." Martin thought for a moment and said, "Ask him if he has time this afternoon."

Thomas called Andy Weir and the two agreed to meet at WMA in the afternoon.

After receiving the basic adaptation fee, Andy Weir resigned from Blizzard Entertainment and concentrated on the creation of "The Martian".

Martin's studio and Random House have a written agreement with him that the novel must be completed by the end of this year.

After Thomas finished the call, he talked about the director: "Ridley Scott is a client of the company, and his agent is Ali. I have talked to them about this matter. Ridley has not expressed his opinion yet, but he has invited you."

Martin had a bad feeling: "An invitation for a role?"

Thomas nodded slightly. "Yes, Ridley invited you to play the leading role in his new film, but the new film is an epic masterpiece, adapted from Robin Hood. You said that you would reject all epic films. I blocked you temporarily on the grounds that your schedule is not suitable."

He was also somewhat helpless: "Ridley is very optimistic about you and thinks you are particularly suitable for the role of Robin Hood. He also said that if you play the male lead, the crew will directly dismiss the confirmed female lead Cate Blanchett."

Martin knew that all epic films of this era were pitfalls, and Ridley Scott's epic films were typical of them, so he said, "Give me a clear answer and find a reason to politely refuse."

"Okay, I'll find a way." Thomas added, "Let's invite Ridley Scott to be the director. There may be some twists and turns."

Martin couldn't afford to ruin his reputation because of this, so he said, "Let's wait until the novel is finished."

Thomas then dug up a few more audition invitations.

Martin watched it carefully, and the only thing he remembered was the Wachowski siblings' new film "Cloud Atlas".

The brother and sister have been working with Warner for a long time, and the invitation they sent was very sincere, and they even sent a complete version of the script.

Martin roughly flipped through the script and felt that it was more complicated than the script of "Inception" and he was confused and couldn't understand it.

Thomas said, "I met with Lana, and she...she said she was willing to wait for your schedule."

Martin closed the script and said, "Let's turn it down. My ideas are too different from theirs and we can't work together."

"Okay." Thomas took the script back and added, "I read the script and felt that it was very grand in design. The description of time, space, and human nature is magnificent."

"Robin Hood" and "Cloud Atlas" are the projects that WMA is focusing on promoting. He added: "This was strongly recommended to Lana by Larry's top female client Natalie Portman during the filming of "V for Vendetta."

Martin didn't say much, just shook his head.

Ridley Scott's epic film is a huge pitfall, and Wachowski's project after The Matrix is ​​the king of pitfalls.

Thomas saw that Martin had made up his mind and said no more.

In his eyes, the company is far less important than Martin.

As for other film invitations, Martin had no impression of the roles, titles or contents, and he had no shortage of projects himself, so he asked Thomas to turn them all down.

In the afternoon, he met with Andy Weir, the author of "The Martian", and had a detailed chat about the novel. He confirmed that it could be completed this year, and then he called Louise to advance the project.

(End of this chapter)