America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 83 Challenge Your Ability
After the fan meeting, Lionsgate hosted a mini reception at a nearby hotel to entertain media reporters and entertainment bloggers.

Like other industries, the production, promotion, distribution and even commentary surrounding the film and television industry are all businesses.

Martin, Benjamin and Katherine received $5000 in publicity fees from Lionsgate, so they naturally had to cooperate with Lionsgate and attended the event.

In addition, a senior executive from Lionsgate Entertainment named Michelle came specially for the event.

Blake introduced Martin and the other two. Michelle just shook hands with Martin and Benjamin and turned her attention to Catherine.

Catherine stopped talking to Martin since the theater, and it was obvious that she had a prejudice against him.

"Did you offend Catherine?" Benjamin asked, taking a glass of wine.

Martin knew it, but he wouldn't say it out loud. After all, Benjamin and Catherine had a negative relationship. "I'm not sure, maybe it's her period?"

Benjamin didn’t think too much about it: “Women’s emotions can be very troublesome sometimes.”

Martin didn't have time to care about these things: "Ben, don't worry, I'm not that petty."

Benjamin turned his eyes to the other side, where Michelle was chatting with Catherine.

I don't know what he said, but Catherine laughed very happily.

Michelle's eyes wandered over the beautiful actress, but what he said was serious, "You have excellent qualifications. You should have come to Los Angeles earlier."

Catherine smiled brightly: "I wanted to come too, but I never had the chance. I can't just come and leave and be a passerby."

Michelle's eyes stopped at her pretty face and said, "I have a project in hand, and one of the roles is very suitable for you."

Catherine barely considered it: "Really? Can you tell me more? I really want to stay."

Michelle made a very direct invitation: "I didn't bring the script with me. If you are interested, you can go to my place and take a closer look. We can study it together."

When auditioning for the female lead in "Zombie Gigolo", Katherine stripped down and came out. Facing the invitation from the senior executives of Lionsgate, how could she refuse? "No problem, what time?"

Michelle smiled: "After the reception, I will wait for you in the hotel lobby."

The cocktail party ended quickly and Martin prepared to leave and return to the hotel.

Benjamin said, "Tell Catherine to go with us."

He found Catherine at the door of the banquet hall.

Martin was about to go out too and followed behind.

"Sorry, Ben, I can't go back now." Catherine has made her choice: "Lionsgate has given me an opportunity, and I'm going to discuss it in detail."

Benjamin understood what was going on as soon as he heard it: "Where are we going to talk? The hotel or his home?"

Catherine simply said: "Michelle has a script and a role, I can't miss this opportunity."

Benjamin reminded: "You are too stupid. Hollywood is not that simple."

Catherine's mind was full of Hong Kong, so she couldn't listen at all. She said sorry and walked towards the elevator without looking back.

When Martin and Benjamin arrived at the hotel lobby, they saw Catherine leaving with Michelle's arm around her.

Benjamin couldn’t help but say, “She’s so stupid.”

Martin said: "You can't pull her back from the path she chose to take."

Benjamin sighed.

The two got into a Lionsgate car and returned to the hotel.

The hotel they were staying in had a bar, and Benjamin suggested, “Have a drink with me.”

Martin could see that Benjamin was a little depressed.

There weren't many people in the bar, so when Benjamin came to the bar, he asked, "What would you like to drink? It's my treat."

Martin tried to ask, "Ben, you're not really in love, are you?"

Benjamin quickly denied: “We just lived together for a few months.”

Any man who is kicked by his girlfriend and then watches her fall into the arms of another man will not feel good, even if they have no feelings for each other.

The bartender heard what Benjamin said and said, "I recommend a new cocktail to you, Louise's Penicillin, which can heal a wounded soul."

He pointed to a poster and introduced it: "This is the famous work of Los Angeles bartender Louise Mayer."

Benjamin looked closer and was surprised: "Isn't she the producer?"

"I'm not sure." Martin said to the bartender: "Give me a bourbon."

Benjamin asked for penicillin and signaled the poster with his eyes: "Are you in touch with her?"

Martin neither denied nor admitted: "I heard from Kelly that after the crew of Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind left Atlanta, she went to Morocco. It seems that she was cooperating with Warner Bros. and other companies in Mollywood on a big production. Kelly didn't know what it was."

"Hollywood movies always like to use code names." The bartender brought the penicillin, Benjamin took a sip, frowned slightly, "It's really healing."

Martin clinked glasses with him and said, "Ben, take it easy. There will be so many beautiful women coming to your door that you won't be able to hold your head up."

Not sure if it was the penicillin that worked or Martin's words that worked, but Benjamin felt better: "Brother, you're really good at talking. If I were a woman, I would definitely like you..." "Don't do that." Martin looked at his bald head and quickly interrupted him: "I want to live a few more years."

Benjamin said, "If you don't have strong connections, you might as well go back to Atlanta. You've already opened up a path in Atlanta."

Martin said, "If I can't make it out, I'll definitely go back to Atlanta to join you."

"No need." Benjamin mentioned something: "You have Jenna's contact information, right? Not far north of Los Angeles is the San Fernando Valley. With your talent and ability, it may be difficult to become a multi-millionaire, but becoming a millionaire is definitely not a dream."

Martin told the truth: "This was one of the escape routes I had prepared."

The two had a few drinks and didn't stay too late, so they went back to their rooms.

Martin specially kept the autographed book, thinking it might be useful in the future.

When checking out the next morning, Martin discovered that Catherine had not returned.

A staff member from Lionsgate came and took away her luggage.

Benjamin was going back to Atlanta, and before leaving the hotel, he specifically asked Martin, "Do you have any plans?"

Martin said: "Let's find a house to settle down first."

…………

On the weekend after Thanksgiving, a blog post by a female film and entertainment blogger was forwarded to a film forum by B-movie enthusiasts, attracting some attention.

"It's rare to find a B-grade movie that made me buy tickets twice like "Zombie Gigolo". The film itself is of average quality, with many shortcomings such as shoddy production and clichéd plot, but the male lead of the film gave a god-level performance."

Below are the Lionsgate-licensed stickers for the movie, as well as Martin's zombie machine-gun dance and trapeze short clip from the film.

Lionsgate has also been busy, and no one can underestimate the imagination of professional marketers.

They teamed up with a well-known blogger and a movie forum moderator and posted the video of Martin doing the zombie machine gun dance in the movie on a well-known movie forum.

Originally, people automatically ignored it and felt bored.

Not long after the video was posted, some people actually posted a challenge video, but the rhythm and amplitude were obviously much worse.

With someone taking the lead, more and more people began to challenge, and related discussions also increased.

"It's impossible to maintain that rhythm and amplitude for that long. That's just a clip from the movie 'Zombie Gigolo'. Movies are not reality."

Doubters quickly emerged.

As more and more voices of doubt appeared on the forum, someone posted a video of Martin doing the zombie machine gun dance at a fan meeting.

"It turned out to be true!"

"This actor is amazing! Is his waist mechanically modified?"

"Worship the man with four kidneys!"

The popularity has increased a lot. Although it is not as popular as those hit movies, it has also attracted a certain amount of attention.

The attention paid to the film means box office success.

The weekend after Thanksgiving, "Zombie Gigolo" was screened in 650 theaters and grossed $312 million in North America.

Including previous revenue, the North American box office totaled 388 million US dollars, far exceeding the cost of Lionsgate buying out the copyright.

Lionsgate saw hope of recovering its investment through box office revenue, and will continue to expand the scale of screening to 787 theaters next week.

At the end of a new weekend, the North American box office of "Zombie Gigolo" exceeded 600 million US dollars.

The film's market potential has been basically exhausted because its reputation is so-so.

On many rating websites including IMDB, there are only failing scores of around 5 points.

After all, B-movies are just niche films and cannot become mainstream in the market.

The popularity caused by "Zombie Dancing Man" and the Zombie Machine Gun Dance is like waves rushing ashore and crashing into the rocks on the shore, coming and going quickly.

But several newspapers and film magazines mentioned "Zombie Gigolo" and Martin Davis' name.

The zombie machine gun dance has also become popular in many gigolo bars.

Meanwhile, Martin began looking for a house in Los Angeles.

Single-family homes in wealthy areas such as Beverly Hills and Santa Monica are not considered because rents are relatively high.

Martin's goal was to find an apartment that was close to Burbank, where many entertainment companies were concentrated, where the rent was not too expensive, and where transportation was convenient.

He looked at several houses in Glendale, Burbank and North Hollywood and decided on an apartment in North Hollywood.

It is close to the city of Burbank and very close to Sherman Oaks where Louise Mayer and Robert Patrick live, just a dozen minutes' drive away.

Before moving, Martin bought an ordinary Volkswagen sedan and some necessary electronic items such as a laptop computer and a small video camera.

After viewing several houses, Martin finalized the apartment.

(End of this chapter)