America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 62 Jumping up and down
Fast-growing companies are always short of funds, and Gray Pictures is no exception.

Through this cooperation with Hollywood, Kelly Gray saw the broad prospects of the studio rental business.

Of course, the basic foundation of film and television production cannot be lost.

Kelly was very interested: "Tell me about it."

Martin had already thought about it: "The boss of the Beast House where I worked before was Vincent Lee, and his stepmother was Sophia, a muscular woman who was keen on fitness. They came from Savannah."

Kelly immediately grasped the point: "They are limited in their ability to cleanse their skin through nightclubs, rather than other high-end methods."

Martin said: "To the vice president of the ATL Freedom Association and the future councillor, they are just rats in the gutter, but to me, they are behemoths."

Kelly didn't joke with Martin and asked directly, "What is the daily flow of water in the Beast House?"

"I don't know the exact number." Martin could only estimate based on the ticket prices and merchandise sold: "At least $40,000 a day."

Kelly picked up the phone: "Wait a minute."

She made a phone call and said, "Brother, please take up a little of your precious time to help me find out something. Vincent Lee and Sophia from Savannah opened the Beast House Club on West Street. I plan to get them to invest in a movie. It's the Hollywood model I mentioned to you. Do you have any questions?"

Martin heard from Louise that Kelly's family was well-off, but the family resources basically fell on the men.

Not long after, a phone call came in, and the person who answered was simple and direct: "They are smugglers, and any problems are just minor troubles."

"Thanks. I'll bring you a gift when I get home someday." Kelly Gray put away her phone and said business: "If you can get enough investment, you can be the male lead. The more money you get, the higher your salary will be. I can give you a position as a production manager and let you get double the salary."

Martin confirmed: "A theatrical movie?"

Kelly smiled and said, "As long as the funding problem is solved, everything else will be easy. There will be a Savannah Film Festival in the second half of the year, and the film can be exhibited at the festival. Louise and I have connections in Hollywood, so it won't be a problem to invite distributors to come and watch the film."

"Will it have any adverse effects on you?" Martin asked with a particularly caring look on his face.

Kelly felt a little warm in her heart, and she grabbed Martin's hand and kissed it gently: "It's not just you who wants to cross the class, but also me. Money is one of the best tools."

Martin held her and sat her on his lap: "Let's work together."

Kelly sighed softly: "It would be great if you came from a wealthy family."

This unrealistic thought flashed through her mind, and she asked, "Do you have any other good ideas?"

Martin said honestly: "I can only think of some despicable and shameless lousy ideas."

Kelly huddled into his arms: "As long as it works."

Martin said: "I'm just responsible for giving bad advice."

Kelly propped herself up, looked down, sat down again, and let out a long sigh: “I suddenly don’t want to let you go to Los Angeles.”

…………

In the afternoon, Martin left Kelly's apartment building, drove her BMW 7, and headed for West Street.

All the way, he was thinking about what to say.

You can tell Kelly Gray directly because she won't reveal anything to others.

But Vincent would be better off saying it in a different way.

Near West Street, Martin called Vincent and said he wanted to talk about something, and Vincent asked him to go to the club.

Martin arrived at the club, went straight to the second floor and entered the office.

Vincent was wearing a rolled-brimmed cowboy hat and sitting behind his desk, slowly roasting a cigar. When he looked up, his sharp hooked nose was facing Martin: "Sit anywhere."

Martin pulled out a chair and sat down: "Boss, long time no see. I heard that the club business has been booming."

Vincent was very satisfied with what Martin had done before, and smiled: "Your contribution is great."

"Boss, I'm here to bring a new opportunity." Martin said without mentioning money laundering: "We can make the club famous in Georgia. If we're lucky, the reputation can even spread across the United States." He heard Bruce mention that Vincent had visited Las Vegas for inspection: "Boss, you can open a club in Las Vegas then."

Because of his previous success, Vincent took Martin very seriously and asked, "What opportunity?"

Martin said: "It was an investment film, a film set in a gigolo club. Director Benjamin of Gray Pictures spent months polishing the script, and after filming and production, it was released in theaters across the United States."

Vincent didn't say anything; he was unfamiliar with this industry.

Martin took out the script and handed it to Vincent: "Boss, you know me. I won't do anything I'm not sure of."

Without the previous successes, Martin would not have come so quickly.

Vincent opened the script and took a quick look. After reading a few pages, he was sure that the story was indeed set in a gigolo club. The circular stage mentioned in it was particularly consistent with the Beast's House.

This book is written based on Martin's part-time background.

So, no matter how you look at it, Vincent's story seems to take place in the wild animal's home.

Even as a layman, he could imagine that once the movie was released widely, the fame of Where the Wild Things Are would surely skyrocket.

Martin added, "The film project has received the green light from Kelly Gray. Gray Company will publish a notice in the newspaper tomorrow to solicit investment from the whole society. Boss, I will come to inform you as soon as I get the news."

Vincent wondered: "They are soliciting investment from the public?"

Martin specifically explained: "This is very normal in the film industry. For example, the famous "The Godfather" is said to have received financial support from certain forces in Italy. "Saving Private Ryan" and "Band of Brothers" have investments from India..."

Vincent was not sure about the latter, but he had heard of the former. Thinking of Italians and movies, he immediately understood what Martin meant by these words.

He took off his cowboy hat and lit a toasted cigar: "You know a lot, investing in movies..."

"Boss, I said it when I left, I'm still a member of the club!" Martin interrupted Vincent, "I've always been a poor kid living in Clayton. If you hadn't taken me in and given me a job, I wouldn't be where I am today."

"You know what a rotten Jack Davis is, boss. After I became an adult, two of the three people who helped me the most were from the club. One is you, boss, and the other is Old Bull. You saved my life several times!"

If we only count Old Bu, this is not an exaggeration.

Martin added: "The owner of Gray Films is Kelly Gray. She is from Atlanta. Her home and company are both in Atlanta. The Gray family has always had a good reputation, so I dare to recommend this project to you, the boss, to invest."

Locals and local companies are indeed more reliable than outsiders. Vincent remembered hearing about the Gray family somewhere.

Martin said: "Boss, although I was born poor, I also know how to be grateful."

“Just that?” Vincent didn’t believe that anyone could be so naive.

Martin scratched his head in embarrassment: "Kelly Gray promised me that as long as I could get investment, she would let me be the male lead in the film."

Vincent pointed at him: "You kid!"

Martin quickly said, "I also recommended the handsome boy band. We can let Hart and his group perform as real male dancers. It will be a great publicity."

He emphasized: "By then they will all be paid actors."

The last sentence reminded Vincent: Put your own people into the crew and overpay them...

He looked past Martin and towards the club hall. The club was used as a film set during the day and as a normal film studio at night. They claimed that it was a one-to-one studio, which was another huge "normal" expense!
No wonder those Italian investment godfathers, no wonder the Germans, Indians and others are investing crazily in Hollywood.

Even for a layman like him, there are many things he can think of that can be done in a reasonable way.

After a long while, Vincent said, "I'll think about it."

Martin left the office and went downstairs. He reached into his pocket and turned off the recorder.

I just feel tired at this moment. It's so difficult to get the leading role in a theater movie. I have to jump up and down like a monkey.

(End of this chapter)