America gains both fame and fortune

Chapter 94 The Biggest Rival (Subscription Request)

Before the New Year, Warner Bros. held a press conference and officially announced that it would join forces with several companies to invest in a remake of "House of Wax", with a production budget of up to 4000 million US dollars.

Anyone who has read the script knows that this number is quite exaggerated.

Outsiders have no way of knowing how much actual investment is made and how much funds are to be laundered.

Robert Zemeckis and Joe Silver are listed as producers, but the specific work is done by Susan Levine.

Warner Bros. has a mature preparation and shooting process, and key behind-the-scenes personnel, from directors to photography directors to casting directors, sign contracts on the same day.

Before Louise returned to Morocco, she made an appointment with Susan Levine to go out for a drink.

Martin drove and accompanied her there.

"The leading actress has been confirmed. It's Elisha Cuthbert, a former child star who was invited by Hillary Clinton to do an interview at the White House." Louise sat in the passenger seat and said what she had learned the most recently: "She has a very high profile, is on a strong upward trajectory, and is popular with the audience."

“The role I was vying for was her twin brother,” Martin said.

Louise is one of the investors, so she is well-informed: "Your biggest competitor is Paris Hilton's current boyfriend Jason Sean, who is a model and actor."

She reminded: "Don't underestimate others. At least five of the people who auditioned for the role have investors behind them."

Martin held the steering wheel with one hand and patted his head with the other: "It gives me a headache just thinking about it. The competition is too fierce. I can't get in even if I try my best."

If Louise hadn't been involved in the platter, he wouldn't even have had the chance to audition.

Louise's words hit the nail on the head: "If you have the appeal of a superstar, it's just a matter of whether the role type is suitable and whether the conditions offered by the film company are appropriate."

Arriving at the agreed nightclub, Martin accompanied Louise into the booked private room.

Susan had already arrived. When she saw Martin, she looked at his sunny and handsome face for a few seconds and asked Louise, "Who is this?"

"Martin Davis, my driver and actor." Louise said, "When you get drunk, just make a phone call and Downey Jr. will come over. I can only bring Martin, the driver, here and let him meet the producer."

Susan understood and shook hands gently with Martin, not giving him a chance to speak: "Handsome man, can you give the lady some private space?"

"Call me if you need anything." Martin said nothing and left on his own initiative.

Louise snapped her fingers at the bartender in the private room: "Two cups of expansion screws."

Susan said, "Master bartender Louise's masterpiece."

The wine came quickly, and Louise said, "He looks good, doesn't he?"

The two have worked together in Hollywood for many years. Susan was not subtle: "When I saw him, I understood why you came to me in person. You are a pervert."

"Do you like ugly ones? Men and women, who doesn't like good-looking ones?" Louise sipped her wine gently. "Martin Davis is still a treasure boy. I found him from the quagmire of Atlanta. What's valuable is that he is ambitious and willing to climb out of the quagmire."

Susan became interested: "Tell me about it."

Louise roughly said, "He went astray when he was in his teens and got involved with smugglers. Those guys smuggled goods from Mexico to Georgia. Martin worked as a low-level mule and horse, and then worked as a scavenger for a while. As he grew older and his horizons broadened, he knew that continuing like this would lead to a dead end, so he secretly ran away to work as an extra. In just two or three years, he learned a lot..."

She boasted about Martin's skills and said, "Originally, he had hope in life, but he was captured by his original gang and forced to sign a loan shark contract. He worked in a gigolo club to pay off his debts. Later, he got lucky and met me. I saw that he was about to break out, so I helped him."

Susan took a sip of wine, waited for the bubbles to burst in her mouth, and said, "It's not easy for a prodigal son to return."

Louise shrugged: "He has tasted all the bitterness and sweetness of life, but he is as optimistic as Peter Pan."

Susan suddenly thought of Donnie: "Cheers to our treasure boy."

Louise had a drink with her and pulled out a disc from her purse: "Zombie Gigolo, starring Martin. If you're interested, you can watch it. It's very interesting."

"I will watch his audition carefully." Susan took the disc and put it away. "Tell him that the key points are the character's masculinity and his willingness to protect his sister at the cost of his life."

Louise raised her glass: "I toast to you."

Susan clinked her glass.

Nearly an hour later, Martin entered the room and helped Louise out.

After getting in the car, he glanced at the drunk female alcoholic and said, "If you keep drinking like this, your body won't be able to handle it."

Louise waved her hand: "It's okay, it's okay, I'm still young and in good health. Besides, I drank too much, and it was you who deliberately used the wine to seduce me."

Martin patted her leg and said, "Sit still and don't make any noise."

The car left Sunset Boulevard and returned to Louise's villa.

The next morning, Martin saw Louise off to the plane, drove to Century City, and entered the WMA office lobby.

Thomas sat in the partition, constantly making phone calls. He had been working overtime a lot recently, and was under a lot of pressure, so he had bags under his eyes.

Martin sat in another chair and said, "Dude, keep working on it. The crew has announced a recruitment notice for actors. It's time for a critical moment."

Thomas pulled out a medicine bottle, took out a vitamin and threw it into his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it: "How are you doing over there?"

Martin said, "We did everything we had to do. Susan even said the key words for the audition." He asked, "What about you?" Thomas said, "The casting director is Mary-Gail. She hates men with long hair and prefers young men with light brown hair."

Martin touched his hair and said, "I'll cut it shorter and dye it later."

Thomas looked around and lowered his voice: "There are also people in the company competing for this role. Don't tell anyone about the information we have. Understand?"

Martin said viciously: "If anyone dares to ask me, I will beat the son of a bitch."

Thomas reminded: "Adrian, the male lead of the series you are filming, please pay attention."

Martin lowered his voice: "Louise said that the biggest competitor is Paris Hilton's current boyfriend Jason Sean."

Thomas rubbed his chin: "He is indeed a big threat."

Martin joked: "I'll give you a gun and you'll kill him?"

Thomas was stunned.

Martin patted the table and said, "You seem to be too nervous. Relax a little."

…………

After finishing filming "Entourage", Adrian came out of the glass partitioned office of his agent John and called his short, ugly follower Tony, and walked outside together.

Tony asked, "Is there much hope?"

Adrian is very confident: "For cost considerations, the crew plans to use newer faces. My qualifications and acting skills are obviously better. John contacted Robert Downey Jr. and plans to use his connections."

Tony knows a lot about industry gossip: "I remember Donny proposed to Susan Levine last month."

Adrian smiled: "So, I have high hopes." He whispered: "At worst, I can go have a party with Donnie."

Tony said, "I'll get the goods if you need them."

"We'll talk about it when we need it." Adrian stopped laughing and said, "There are two other people in the company who are interested in this role. John is at a higher level and has found relevant information. The Martin Davis from last time is one of them."

The two men came to the first floor, Tony went to drive the car, and Adrian waited for him to come over.

Before the car arrived, Adrian saw Martin coming down from upstairs.

His heart moved, and he waved over there with a smile: "Hi, Martin, long time no see."

Seeing Adrian's enthusiasm, Martin responded with an even more enthusiastic smile: "Dude, when is the show going to be broadcast? You're going to be a big star soon."

Adrian said, "Don't mention it. I've been working hard for so many years and still haven't made it." He changed the subject to Martin: "It's said in the company that you're on a fast track to success and are competing for the leading role in Warner's horror film."

"He's not really the leading actor, but a supporting role for the leading actress." Martin's mind raced as he spoke, "I mainly want to see what the movie audition is like. I can be sure that I'll be a runner-up throughout the whole process, and there's no way I'll get the role."

Adrian felt that Martin had information that he didn't understand: "Why do you say that? You are a good actor."

Martin was helpless: "The Hilton family's slutty girl, the one who produced the video, she brought money into the group and was confirmed to play the supporting actress."

Adrian said, "I heard that."

"Her boyfriend Jason Sean is a model and actor, and she recommended him to the crew." Martin spread his hands: "In this situation, can anyone else win?"

He waved his hand: "No more talking, I have to go, I still have to go to class."

Seeing Martin's lack of interest, Adrian felt greatly threatened and took out his cell phone to call his agent John.

Tony drove over and Adrian got in the car. Not long after they drove out, their agent called them and said, "I've asked a few people and can confirm that the news is true. He will be your main competitor. You should be fully prepared. I'll go and learn more about the situation."

"Damn nepotism!" Adrian couldn't help but curse.

Tony asked, "What's going on?"

Adrian said it again carefully: "Luckily I got the information out of that idiot Martin Davis."

Tony didn't take Martin seriously at all. After all, Martin Davis was just a supporting role with very few scenes in the "Entourage" crew a while ago.

He then asked, "How much will our chances of winning be reduced?"

Adrian thought about it carefully and said, "At least half." He tapped the seat gently and said, "The audition will start soon. We don't have much time left. We need to think of a solution."

"That Jason Sean doesn't care about the tape?" Tony couldn't stand it: "He also plays with a slut like Paris Hilton for real?"

"I have money!" Adrian raised his hand, telling Tony to stop talking and think carefully.

In 2004, just after the New Year holiday, the crew of the film officially named "House of Wax" announced the audition time and sent audition notices and short role scripts to the actors who passed the selection.

The male protagonist is named Nick Jones, the twin brother of the female protagonist.

Including Martin, after the initial screening, there were still more than 20 actors competing for the role.

For those who can pass the first round, basic acting skills, ability and appearance are not a problem.
(End of this chapter)