American fame and fortune

It's the end of the Oscars ceremony at the Dolby Theatre.

The sound of music and waves of applause spread from the front stage to the backstage.

Martin followed the staff through the backstage corridors.

As he walked towards Julian Moore, who had just won the Best Actress, Martin stopped and said politely: "Julian, congratulations."

The Julian man had not yet come back from his excitement. He bowed slightly and held Martin's hand with both hands: "Thank you, thank you..."

Martin nodded with a smile and came to the entrance to the backstage.

Soon it will be time to hand out tonight's finale award - Best Picture.

Director and producer Hamilton came over at this time and asked the person from PricewaterhouseCoopers to hand the envelope in his hand to Martin, and told him: "When the music starts, you come on stage immediately."

Just as Martin was about to nod, he saw the envelope in his hand, looked at the words on the cover, and asked, "Is there a mistake in the list of best films?"

Hamilton said: "How could there be any mistake, this is an Oscar!"

It’s no wonder that Martin is worried. The radical orangutan faction made a fierce fuss before the awards ceremony. In an environment where black people get gifts when they make trouble, who knows whether there will be an own incident like before.

The black film "Selma" was nominated for best picture.

It doesn't matter if the Oscars and the Academy want to cause trouble, Martin doesn't want to be a victim.

Hamilton noticed something slightly strange about Martin, but Hollywood stars were all a bunch of eccentric assholes and he couldn't be bothered to pay attention.

Music came from the front desk.

Hamilton urged: "Martin, it's time for you to come on stage."

Martin took the envelope, walked quickly onto the stage, waved to the audience, said the words he had memorized, turned sideways to the big screen, looked at the movie clips and subtitles, and said: "Let's see Who are the nominees for Best Picture?”

The big screen kept flashing pictures and subtitles, "American Sniper", "Boyhood", "Selma", "The Grand Budapest Hotel", "The Theory of Everything"...

Martin opened the envelope, looked at the name on it, and said, "The best picture is "Boyhood"!"

With a burst of cheers, more than a dozen people stood up in the third row.

Richard Linklater, the director and producer of "Boyhood," took the crew with him on stage.

Martin took a statuette from the emcee, gave it to Richard Linklater, and took the initiative to step aside.

The crew were very excited to win the best picture, and now they are the protagonists of the stage.

More than a dozen people were crowded here, and Martin simply retreated backstage.

The award ceremony also ends here.

Although the cast of "Interstellar" was nominated for multiple awards including Best Actor, they did not receive any statuettes tonight.

It's clear that Oscar doesn't like Nolan.

If Nolan wants to win the Best Director, he needs to fight for a long time, and maybe he really needs a ten-year plan.

Martin posed for photos with several winners backstage and joined Leonardo and Nicholson for an "Oscar Night" party in Beverly Hills.

During this period, Nicholson met Michael Keaton, who starred together in the 1989 version of "Batman", and pulled Martin to chat with him for a while.

Michael Keaton recalled what happened back then and bluntly said that his acting career was almost destroyed by the role of Batman. Today's superhero movie starring actors are much better than the environment he faced back then.

Leonardo met Mexican director Alejandro Iñárritu.

The latter tried his best to promote his new project to Leonardo, hoping to get Leonardo's Kailu Pictures to invest and also let Leonardo serve as the leading actor in the film.

Not long after, Leonardo came over with a book.

The three of them went to a resting place with few people.

Martin asked curiously: "Someone expressed their love to you and gave you a book?"

Leonardo threw the book to Martin: "The Mexican director gave it to me. He is going to adapt this novel into a movie. He invited me to be the leading actor and also asked me to invest."

Nicholson came over and looked at the cover: "The Revenant written by Michael Punk? I haven't read it."

Of course Martin remembers this movie, the ultimate film in Leonardo’s long journey to Olympus.

Of course, Leonardo now has the Oscar for Best Actor.

Martin opened the novel and quickly browsed the first few chapters. The content of the novel is about a group of fur hunters in the 19th century who went on a hunting expedition deep into the western North America.

This is the original Leonardo film.

Martin closed the novel, gave it to Nicholson next to him, and asked Leonardo: "Are you going to cooperate with him?"

Leonardo said directly: "I don't like that Mexican director, not at all, but for film cooperation... whether I like it or not is not a problem."

Martin said: "And if you invest, you are the one with the most say. The director must listen to you."

Leonardo snapped his fingers: "Martin has hit the key point." He turned to look at the Mexican director with an afro: "This guy does have some talent. I think this film is good, especially one of the The leading actor.”

Nicholson, who was flipping through the book quickly, continued: "This male protagonist suits you very well. It is completely different from your past image. You have worked with Scorsese for too long, and the roles you played are somewhat similar. It would be better if you changed your style." There is a way, otherwise you will definitely lose to this bastard Martin."

Leonardo laughed: "I think so too."

Martin said: "You two bastards just want to see me make a fool of myself?"

Nicholson threw the book to Leonardo: "I mean well, you should marry Lorraine."

Martin didn't bother to answer him and just gave him a middle finger.

For the film adaptation of this novel, investment is not a problem at all for Leonardo's Kailu Pictures. As long as Leonardo stars in the distribution, six major companies can grab the lead.

In today's Hollywood, there are very few who can be called superstars.

Even at his peak, Johnny Depp could only dominate in "Pirates of the Caribbean". After leaving the protection of the pirates, he immediately lost his magic.

Will Smith has been focusing on raising his son in recent years, and he has been just as focused on raising his son in recent years. He has already lived up to his glory as a powerful player in the first decade of the new century.

Brad Pitt can still be called a superstar, but he is from the San Fernando Valley.

As for Robert Downey Jr., he is more like an accessory of Iron Man in the real world.

The day after the Oscars, the media in Los Angeles, as if their parents had died, frantically complained about black people and "Selma", believing that "Selma" should at least receive a nomination for Best Actor or Best Director. More qualified than other films to win the Best Picture statuette.

In the saint-like city of Los Angeles, political correctness seems to have become the mainstream. Seeing this, other LGBTQ teams have also launched campaigns one after another.

Protest rallies continued in prosperous areas of the city.

Martin and Elizabeth accompanied Lily to an art exhibition. On their way home, they encountered several protest groups gathering and a large number of cars were blocked on Sunset Boulevard.

Although there is a group of normal people confronting the demons and monsters, the number of people is relatively small and they are obviously at a disadvantage.

Lily raised her chin with her hand, looked over there curiously through the car window, and said to Martin: "The magic box you opened is so crazy. Other industries are better, but people in the art world are going crazy."

Martin asked curiously: "Crazier than Hollywood?"

Lily said: "People who are engaged in art are inherently crazier than those who are engaged in movies."

"I can prove this." Elizabeth grabbed one of Lily's hands and raised it: "For example, Miss Lily Carter."

Martin said: "When you are working, you must be followed by a bodyguard."

"They have been following me." The carving knife in Lily's hand turned like a flying butterfly: "I can also protect myself."

Martin had already arranged bodyguards for them, so he wasn't worried.

There was a noise outside. Lily put away the carving knife and turned to look at the crowded place where the protestors were. More people from the LAPD came, but in front of many media reporters, there seemed to be no good solution.

This is originally the result of the promotion of the mainstream of society.

Lily asked curiously: "Why do mainstream forces push these forces again and again, creating a mess in the United States and making the whole world laugh?"

Martin kissed her forehead and kissed Elizabeth again: "You better say it."

Elizabeth simply said: "I personally understand that the political and economic aspects require votes. The former requires votes, and the latter is based on Hollywood movies. Movie tickets and peripherals purchased by those groups can increase income. There is also a key role, which can effectively Transfer social conflicts.”

Lily is not stupid. After being reminded by these words, she quickly thought of something: "The gap between the rich and the poor is widening, wealth and power are further concentrated in the upper class, and the lives of the middle and lower class people are becoming more and more difficult, but they account for an absolute majority in number, which stirs up the differences between men and women at the social level." Opposition, the relationship between special groups and ordinary people, can effectively shift social conflicts.”

Martin pretended to be suddenly enlightened: "What you said seems to make sense."

Lily rolled her eyes and added, "Ordinary people focus on these shabby things. Naturally, fewer people pay attention to the actions of rich people and politicians."

Elizabeth added: "Although Martin, you opened Pandora's box, these monsters and monsters completely took off after the Michelle Blake incident broke out."

Martin's cell phone rang.

Elizabeth picked it up from her seat and gave it to Martin: "It seems to be Thomas."

Martin answered the phone: "Is something wrong?"

Thomas said: "The Cannes Film Festival Organizing Committee sent you an invitation letter of intention. The company that was faxed half an hour ago, I called and inquired about it."

Martin said: "I'm on my way home, you come directly to the manor."

Thomas responded: "Okay."

More than half an hour later, Martin met Thomas at home.

The latter handed him a fax with the emblem of the Cannes Film Festival organizing committee printed on it.

Martin put it aside: "What exactly?"

Thomas said quickly: "The Cannes Film Festival Organizing Committee would like to invite you to serve as the chairman of the jury for next year's film festival."

"Next year in May." Martin, who had participated in the Cannes Film Festival and won the Cannes Best Actor, asked, "Do I have a schedule?"

Thomas' Martin's rough schedule is scheduled until 2016, and he said: "I should be able to squeeze out ten days."

Martin nodded and asked: "When will Cannes give a definite reply?"

Thomas said: "Under normal circumstances, within three months of the end of this year's Cannes Film Festival, the organizing committee will announce the candidate for the next jury president."

Martin thought for a while and said: "We will give Cannes a definite reply after we confirm the schedule for next May."

Thomas responded: "I will communicate with Cannes."

Martin wouldn't mind serving as jury president at the Cannes Film Festival if his schedule suited him.

He has participated in the Cannes Film Festival several times. Many aspects of the film festival are very interesting, and the commercial attributes and excitement are comparable to those of the Oscars.

And the Oscars are now absorbing some of the best qualities of the Cannes Film Festival.

The most typical one is selling red carpet tickets.

Compared with the Oscars, the Cannes Film Festival is blatantly selling out. From the opening ceremony to the closing ceremony to the premiere of the competition film, all red carpets are clearly marked with prices.

In fact, the most interesting thing is the famous applause part of the Cannes Film Festival.

Just as film reviews and word-of-mouth can be used for marketing, applause has also become a business at the Cannes Film Festival.

In the beginning, those films that often received five or even seven or eight minutes of applause from the audience after the screenings always attracted the attention of the media and movie fans. When the film festival ended and was released to the public, they achieved good commercial gains.

Some things are inevitable, and applauding films has become a business at the Cannes Film Festival.

Just like where there are concentrated studios, there will always be groups of extras. Every year during the Cannes Film Festival, there will be a special group that receives red envelopes and is responsible for applauding.

Applause for love is often seen, but applause for movies makes business. The Cannes Film Festival is worthy of being the top of the three major film festivals in Europe.

Regardless of whether it is a bad movie or not, as long as you are willing to spend some money, you will never lose in terms of applause.

Today, when a movie ends, the audience does not applaud for more than ten minutes, and the crew and creative staff are embarrassed to say hello to their colleagues.

After seeing Thomas off, Martin thought to himself that if he had organized people to applaud during the film festival instead of Atlanta, but in Cannes, he would probably have earned start-up funds.

Shortly after the Oscars, "Shark Tank", which had been screened in North American theaters for seven weeks, consumed the last of its theater market potential and was completely withdrawn from North American theaters.

The North American box office is also fixed at US$138 million.

The overseas market of the film is still expanding, and the global box office is moving towards US$300 million step by step.

Martin rented a temporary office on South Boway Street and held several "Joker" project preparation meetings, including Daniel and Louise.

The project has a production budget of US$100 million, with Louise serving as producer and Martin will try to direct and star on his own.

As soon as the film studio was established, Martin used his financial capabilities and began to form an experienced shooting and production team.

As the first assistant director, he still chose Steve Downton, who he had worked with before.

This person has not considered directing films independently for the time being, and he is among the top assistants among WMA’s directing clients.

Because of the film's production concept and themes, Martin also needed another on-the-ground experience.

In this regard, the bastard trio had already made an appointment.