America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The van stopped in front of the villa, and a few workers carefully carried the wooden crate into the living room to unpack. Under Bruce's direction, they placed the snow-white marble statue onto the pedestal.

Lily took out a check to settle the bill with the workers.

Martin called Leonardo, who had just returned from a vacation in New York, "Come and have a look at your statue."

Leonardo and Nicholson both came over; the former said, "I haven't paid for it yet, it's not mine now."

But Nicholson said, "You'd better pay up nicely, or you won't be able to leave Martin's home."

Martin looked at Nicholson, "What do you think my home is? A den of evil?"

Leonardo ignored the two clowns and quickly stepped up to the snow-white marble statue, carefully inspecting the roughly 50-centimeter-tall figure.

The statue's lines were smooth, the craftsmanship superb, and it was lifelike.

In his many years of buying art, it was not much inferior to those modern artists.

Martin didn't bother with that side; how much Leonardo was willing to pay would have to be negotiated with Lily's broker.

At this moment, Nicholson received a call and, without avoiding Martin, turned on speakerphone, "Hey, darling, how's it going?"

"The house is beautiful." Lorraine was quite excited, "It's roomy, hasn't been lived in much since it was decorated, and mainly, it's cheap enough; I like it a lot."

This was a small villa in Brentwood that the former Afflecks had bought. After their divorce, the villa went to Ben's name, and Ben sold it off cheaply and swiftly to convert it into cash and settle the troubles as quickly as possible.

Martin had kept an eye on Ben's situation and informed Nicholson immediately.

Nicholson said, "That's great, the original owners bought that house for 7 million US dollars, and now you've bought it for only 4 million, the house now belongs to you. Consider it an early coming-of-age present from me, so don't come asking me for gifts when you turn 21."

Lorraine was the ultimate piece of work, "Jack, aren't you going to give me the 3 million dollar difference?"

Nicholson was so infuriated he hung up the call immediately and said to Martin, "You have it easy with Leo, no need to worry about these family messes."

Martin pointed towards the statue where Lily's fingers were deftly moving a carving knife, "If I don't keep an eye on her and suppress her occasionally, she's way more of a handful than Lorraine."

Nicholson nodded repeatedly, "Lorraine wouldn't think of stabbing someone with a knife, nor would she go off to study human anatomy just to figure out how to avoid inflicting serious injuries."

Lily, who had been all ears, caught wind of Nicholson's words and said loudly, "I study human anatomy for the sake of sculpting, okay?"

Neither Martin nor Nicholson paid her any heed, their eyes flashing with a "believe that and you'll believe anything" sentiment.

At this time, Leonardo said, "The statue is great, I'll take it." He told Lily, "Have your broker talk to my investment manager about the price."

Lily smiled happily, "Alright, I'll make the call right now."

It wasn't just about making a small profit; once her broker got the word out that Leonardo had purchased a Lily Carter sculpture at a high price, it could even bump up her value a notch.

Leonardo went to the living room bar, took out a bottle of wine and three glasses, and filled them up, questioning, "You two are no fun, starting stuff without me!"

Martin raised his hands, "I'm just the errand boy." He pointed to the side, "This is the real planner and commander!"

Nicholson had the air of a boss, "There was no role for you to play in this."

Leonardo said, "The Foot Clan has come knocking on our Face Gang's door, where's our RPG?"

"The full-on war hasn't started yet, we don't need RPGs," Martin spoke earnestly, "But when the full war starts, we can't do without you, the core of the Face Gang."

Leonardo was spirited, "Leave all the unmarried, pretty, blonde, long-legged women from the Foot Clan to me; the married women go to Martin, and the rest of the men are Jack's."

Both Nicholson and Martin flipped him off at the same time.

Martin's phone rang, and after taking the call and hanging up, he said, "Ben's selling his Santa Monica property, anyone interested?"

Leonardo shook his head, "I have so many houses I've lost count; too many fixed assets aren't good. Both Pitt and Ben warned me: you need to keep enough cash on hand."

Nicholson thought of Lorraine, "I'll take a set."

"Looks like it's up to me to take over," Martin sighed, "Being the good guy and taking over is not easy, and it costs a few million dollars."

Just then, he saw Lily coming in from the outside and said directly, "Go buy me another house."

Lily mourned for the Affleck Brothers for two seconds in her heart but then perked up and asked, "Martin, when the house is bought, can you rent it to me as a studio?"

Martin didn't take it seriously and said offhandedly, "Sure, you can pay any rent you like."

Lily got the real estate broker's contact details and hurried off to get things done.

There were no complaints this time, especially proactive.

Lily got in touch with the real estate agent, took another look at the house, haggled with the agent, and then slashed another 200,000 US Dollars off the already low price before promptly handling the necessary paperwork.

In the afternoon, Martin and Bruce arrived at Angel's Club to practice shooting and keep their skills sharp.

Just as he finished a magazine on an AR, Thomas's call came through. Martin simply invited him to the club.

More than half an hour later, Thomas arrived, his forehead gleaming with sweat.

Martin handed the gun to Bruce and went with Thomas to the rest area, asking, "What's so urgent?"

Thomas said, "The deal for the Cartier men's watch endorsement is set. We'll sign the contract in October, with an endorsement fee of 10 million US Dollars a year."

This was within Martin's expectations. He asked, "What else?"

"I've negotiated a few additional clauses," Thomas went into detail. "For awards like the Oscars or the big three European film festivals, Cartier will help you campaign, including covering part of the PR expenses and contacting relevant media resources. If you win one of these major awards, they will pay an additional bonus of 2 million US Dollars."

Martin nodded, "Okay."

He thought for a moment and then asked, "Coca-Cola and Cadillac have similar clauses, right? Add the Cartier men's watch deal to that, plus the support from the film crew and the agency. It seems like there aren't many places where I actually need to spend my own money for the Oscar campaign, are there?"

Thomas said, "That's correct in a sense. Take this year, for example. I've already arranged with The Dark Knight Crew; they'll fully support your Oscar acting award campaign. The brands you endorse, I've talked to them too, and they assured me that their support will not be less than for your role in 'The Reader.'"

Martin did some quick calculations. Not only were there few places where he actually needed to spend money, but if he could win an acting award, not to mention the boost to his market value, just the sponsorship brands' bonuses would exceed 5 million US Dollars.

With such Oscar prospects, the motivation was strong—both honor and money were driving forces.

Thomas said, "The Dark Knight's huge success, plus an Oscar acting award, in negotiations for Nolan's new project, 15 million US Dollars per film would just be a starting point, and 20 million US Dollars might be achievable. I think taking 10 million US Dollars plus backend participation would be more appropriate."

"Okay," Martin said. "How far am I from being a 20+20 superstar?"

Thomas gave it to him straight, "In all of Hollywood, there are only a handful of actors who get that kind of deal, and not for every film."

He hoped Martin would become a superstar soon too, but even the path to superstardom had to be taken one step at a time, "Let's focus on this Oscar first."

Martin said, "If it wasn't for a comic book adaptation, I'd be confident in going for Best Leading Actor this time."

Thomas, the realistic agent, replied, "Winning Best Supporting Actor would be a victory. I've heard that Sean Penn's new movie received excellent test screening reviews. He's aiming for Best Leading Actor, and you know, Daniel Day Lewis and Sean Penn are both super favorites of the old white men in the Academy."

Martin asked, "What's Sean Penn's new movie?"

"Milk," Thomas briefly explained. "A biographical film. The gay rights activist Milk, who fought for the legal rights of homosexuals, enters politics, and is eventually assassinated."

Upon hearing this, Martin knew Joker stood a slim chance against such a role.

Thomas continued, "Since Brokeback Mountain won, the atmosphere in the industry has shifted; gay-themed films are no longer taboo but rather have become an advantage in award campaigning."

Martin said, "The support will only get stronger in the future."

Thomas tested the waters, "Do you want to try tackling this kind of theme?"

Martin's gaze fell on Thomas's face. He said nothing and just quietly watched him.

Thomas, by now familiar with how to get along with Martin, quickly amended, "I'll turn down themes like that if they come my way."

Martin said, "Focus your work on the Oscar campaign. The studio hired a professional PR team. On your end, cooperate with full force."

Thomas said, "The agency will also give its full support. I've talked to Ali, and he will personally campaign for you."

He brought up another matter, "The elections are approaching. Ali's brother is a member of the Guanhai Team. Ali would like you to attend the Guanhai fundraising event in Los Angeles."

Starting from Atlanta, Martin had always leaned left, including friends and associates like Kelly and Louise. He considered briefly and agreed, "Let me know when the time and place are set."

Thomas nodded, having discussed the essentials, he moved on to other matters that interested Martin, "Pitt reached out-of-court settlements with Cadillac, Breitling, and several other endorsement brands."

Martin showed interest and asked, "How much did he compensate?"

Thomas shook his head, "The parties did not disclose the exact amount, but the total breach compensation is definitely at least 50 million US Dollars. Pitt used to have a net worth of over a hundred million, but a large part of it was invested in Fannie Mae stocks after he split with Jolie—now it's no better than trash."

He went on, "Aside from one house he lives in, Pitt has sold nearly all his real estate and car assets. Nowadays, he's in touch with several small producers, hoping for a screen comeback to revive his glory."

Martin asked, "Would big projects still dare to use him?"

"Don't even talk about big projects; even medium and small-scale film projects wouldn't risk using him." Thomas had done his homework, "No insurance company is willing to insure Pitt."