America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

"Harvey's case is finished."

Sitting on the sofa in the living room, Nicholson had Lorraine pour tea and said to Martin and Leonardo, "What's our next goal?"

Martin took over, "Of course, to help Leo win the Oscar for Best Actor!"

Nicholson nodded, "It's indeed urgent and concerns the face of our trio."

Leonardo massaged his increasingly chubby cheeks and said, "You all have that much confidence in me?"

Martin said, "This year is the best chance, I've got all actor friends to vote for you."

Nicholson added, "I've also talked to all the old buddies."

Leonardo humbly asked Martin, "What was the key for you winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor that year with a comic adaptation character?"

Martin spoke frankly, "The Santa Monica Pier incident, I stopped a potentially disastrous terror attack that could have turned into a massacre, that was key to my winning."

His mind was always clear, "The so-called Joker's crazy performance, the inability to extricate oneself from a role, all the hype and so on, were secondary factors."

"Exactly," Nicholson saw it clearly too, "For that award, it's not so much about the performance or the character winning as it is the Academy and the whole country rewarding Martin."

Leonardo sighed, "I can't do that, I can't just put on a mask and fight crime, right? I'd just get screwed."

Lorraine brought over the teapot and cups just in time, and Nicholson reiterated, "It's about attitude. As long as you marry Lorraine, all the judges will definitely recognize your attitude."

Lorraine beamed a full-faced smile, "Leo, I don't mind helping you."

Leonardo felt helpless, "Stop joking, let's be serious."

"Seriously speaking, the key is the power vacancy at the Oscars this year," Martin said half-jokingly, "Georgina mentioned something, Harvey was preparing a new project about the King of England before he got into trouble, aiming for this year's Oscars. Now Harvey is done for, that project is gone too, all Harvey's early preparations were in vain, and that's your opportunity."

He went on to say, "Next, you have to tell all Academy members what sacrifices you've made over the years to gain the recognition of the Oscars."

Leonardo was surprised, "I haven't made any sacrifices, have I? I've been living a carefree life."

Martin stretched out his hand, patted Leonardo's big belly, "From a pretty boy to a greasy middle-aged uncle, all for the sake of acting, to break through the fixed image, isn't that a big enough sacrifice?"

"Martin, the bastard is right," interjected Nicholson, "Many people still have the fixed impression of you, thinking you're still the Jack Dawson from back then, never having changed, such are the obstacles to your winning."

He took a sip of tea from his cup and added, "It's hard for the too handsome and the too beautiful to win awards."

After some thought, Martin said, "So, the most pressing task now is to change the fixed image you have in the minds of many old judges, let them know what you have done to improve your acting over the years, what you've sacrificed for the Oscars."

"What should I do?" Leonardo also thought it made sense and turned to Martin, "You've got the most rotten ideas, think hard, how to make it most effective."

Nicholson suddenly felt like Leo was about to fall into a trap.

Martin made a gesture of shooting with his fingers, "Simple, use your secret weapon. Don't look at me, not a three-step combo, but a water gun!"

Leonardo frowned, "Play with a bunch of female models with water guns?"

"Of course not," Martin said seriously, "Though the weather has cooled, the midday sun in Malibu is still good, the beach is also great for playing with water."

"Leo, you have a beach villa there, right?" Nicholson asked.

Martin turned to Lorraine, "Want to earn some pocket money? Get your camera and video camera ready."

Her interest piqued, Lorraine responded, "Sure."

Suddenly thinking of Pitt and Ben, Leonardo quickly crossed his arms in defense, eyeing Martin and Nicholson warily, "What are you guys up to? I'm your brother, you can't screw me over!"

Martin said, "How could we mess with our own brother? Just wait and grab that Oscar for Best Actor."

He had recently reviewed North America's theatrical lineup for the new year again – there were neither films about the King of England nor black-and-white silent movies.

With Harvey behind bars, those two films simply hadn't appeared.

...

Malibu, the sunny private beachfront villa.

Nicholson put on sunglasses and called out to Lorraine, who was setting up the camera, "Hurry up, Leo and Martin are about to come out!"

Lorraine adjusted the video camera, then picked up the camera from the side, "All set."

Nicholson shouted toward the villa, "You two bastards done yet?"

Martin opened the door, barefooted on the sand, "I'm here."

He picked up the water gun that was standing to one side and slung it over his shoulder.

After a moment, Leonardo came out as well, also picking up a large water gun.

Martin asked, "Ready?"

Leonardo made a gesture as if cocking the gun, "I won't hold back!"

Lorraine lifted her camera, taking pictures repeatedly.

Nicholson moved behind the video camera to film personally.

The two men in the frame created a stark contrast.

Martin, clad in tight swimming trunks, displayed a muscular physique with smooth, natural lines, resembling a super athlete.

On the other side, Leonardo wore flamboyant, large shorts, sporting a big belly, chubby legs, chubby arms, and a chubby face, hardly resembling the Jack of his younger days.

Martin limbered up, "Ready to start..."

Before he could finish his sentence, Leonardo launched a surprise attack, picking up a water gun and unleashing a volley at Martin.

The jet of water hit Martin full in the face and head.

Without waiting for Martin to retaliate, Leonardo turned and ran, desperately sprinting away into the distance.

Martin immediately gave chase, firing a barrage at Leonardo's back.

A jet of water struck his back, and Leonardo ran even faster.

One hand gripping the water gun and the other holding up his slipping shorts, he stuck out his belly, held his head high, and facing the sun, he ran with abandon.

What's the point of good looks or a nice figure when you have fun with a water gun?

In that moment, Leonardo seemed to grasp the true essence of life.

Nicholson had already taken his position behind the camera, manipulating it to capture only Leonardo.

Lorraine did the same, ignoring the pursuing Martin and focusing her camera lens solely on Leonardo for a frenzied photo shoot.

Sprinting along, Leonardo sensed something was off and looked back, only to see Martin had already stopped, now filming his chubby backside with a phone.

Leonardo covered his butt with both hands and shouted, "Hey, you asshole, why are you filming my ass?"

Martin truly was an asshole, "I'll make it into a poster and stick it up in a GAY Bar as wallpaper!"

He deliberately added, "Don't worry, I won't infringe on your portrait right, I'll just use your ass, nothing else."

Leonardo turned and ran towards Martin, getting close enough to speak when Martin raised the water gun in his other hand.

A stream of water shot out, hitting Leonardo square in the face, with quite a bit finding its way into his open mouth.

"Stop! Stop!" Leonardo covered his face with his hands.

Martin put away the water gun, saying, "Leo, you lost."

Leonardo, not wanting to deal with the asshole, shouted towards the villa, "Are we good?"

Nicholson, having indulged his cravings for the roles of a photography director and director, shouted, "Cut, shooting over, now moving to post-production."

Leonardo wiped the water off his face and walked towards the villa.

By the time Martin caught up with him, he asked, "Are you sure this is really going to work?"

Martin said very seriously, "Your role in 'Shutter Island' isn't worse than any of the other films or characters this year. The point of doing this is to tell all the judges that destroying one's image for art is nothing; I, Leonardo, even do it in real life!"

He glanced at Leonardo's belly, "Is there anything more persuasive than this?"

Leonardo frowned, "Although it feels like sophistry, why does it seem to make sense the more I think about it?"

Martin replied, "Because you've accepted my plan, because right now you really are a fat, greasy middle-aged man."

Once inside the villa, both of them changed clothes, and when they came out, Nicholson and Lorraine had already copied the videos and pictures to the computer and were examining them.

The former asked Martin, "Which ones should we pick?"

Martin, standing behind him, directed, "Choose the fattest, ugliest photos."

Leonardo's face twitched a few times, but he held back and said nothing.

For the Oscar for Best Actor, he was all in.

Besides, what were ugly photos anyway? As long as he had money, fame, and status, blonde leggy young models would still throw themselves at him.

Nicholson clicked auto-play on the photos, and image after image of Leonardo wielding a water gun flashed across the computer screen.

Martin pointed to one, "This one's good."

Nicholson paused it, "Indeed good, it fully displays Leo's fat and greasy side."

This was snapped at the beginning of the water gun battle, with Leonardo holding a water gun in one hand, pulling up his floral shorts with the other, chin up and belly out as he ran full tilt.

Leonardo buried his face in his hands, not wanting to look anymore.

Lorraine leaned in a bit closer, whispering, "Leo, I don't mind you being fat and greasy, you're still full of charm like this."

At her words, Leonardo leaped two meters away instantly, keeping his distance from Lorraine, thinking she was too dangerous—despite being his niece, she harbored designs on his body...

Martin was still selecting photos, "This one! And this one, they're both really ugly, copy them all, let Lorraine sell them to different newspapers."

Lorraine's eyes sparkled with US Dollars, "I'm going to get rich!"

Martin turned to Leonardo, who was visibly alarmed, "Do you still have the photos from when you played Jack? Get a digital version, and send them along with the current photos to the media. Only with comparison can we shock people, breaking their biases and preconceptions about you."

Leonardo pulled out his phone, called his assistant, and instructed her to get on it immediately.

Before long, the photos were sent to Leonardo's email.