America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Pictures of Leonardo from back then, placed side by side with his photos now, made for an especially stark contrast.

Lorraine said, "The old Leo was more handsome."

Leonardo reminded her, "You should call him Uncle Leo."

Nicholson and Martin were editing a video and quickly chose a clip, cutting it out to save.

Lorraine hurriedly brought over the storage disk, her face blooming with a smile, "I'm really gonna cash in this time, my allowance for the month is sorted."

Leonardo looked at the money-grubbing Lorraine, and then at Martin and Nicholson whispering to each other, suddenly feeling like he might be the only one getting hurt in this scenario.

These bastards, they couldn't be messing with him, could they?

Martin, with an air of deep concentration, said, "Jack, do you do social media?"

Nicholson shook his head, "Not interested."

Copy those two photos for me," Martin pointed at the computer screen and said, "My Twitter, Facebook, and blog, as well as the Cola Cult official website, all have a lot of users. I'll share them and help draw some eyeballs for Leo."

Nicholson immediately went to work on it.

Leonardo, seeing the two of them so serious, scratched his head and thought that these two bastards were genuinely helping him with his Oscar campaign, but taking the opportunity to mess with him was also true.

For the Best Actor Oscar, he would endure, for now, once he got his hands on the little gold man, he'd melt it into juice and pour it down the throats of these two bastards!

Martin secured the USB drive and turned on another computer.

Lorraine asked, "Which website would be the most suitable to send the video to?"

Martin was well-prepared and said, "My team has done specific research. Guess, which website is the one that Academy members visit the most?"

Lorraine was the first to guess, "Rotten Tomatoes or MTC?"

"Wrong!" Martin said directly, "It's TMZ."

"That's right, TMZ," said Nicholson, "We like to gawk, too."

Martin added, "Get the video to headline the front page of the TMZ website."

Leonardo, having given up all reservations, asked, "Are you sure the headline will only be my squirt gun photo?"

Martin said to Lorraine, "Give the video to Old Cloth and let him sell it. The money is yours."

Lorraine ran out, "I'm going to find Old Cloth."

Martin first logged onto his official Twitter and posted the photo of Leonardo holding his belly with a squirt gun, with the caption, "This is Hollywood's number one heartthrob!"

Then he posted a photo of Leonardo from when he played Jack, "Hollywood's number one heartthrob from the past!"

Leonardo looked down at the fat covering his body and sat on the sofa with a thud, not wishing to speak.

Martin also posted the same content on his blog, Facebook, and the official website of the Cola Cult.

Nicholson came over and said, "Very good, very good, the captions match the photos perfectly." He pointed at the webpage, "Look, someone has replied."

The reply came from Annette Bening, "Oh my God, is that Leonardo?"

She also tagged Julia Roberts, Cameron Diaz, Meryl Streep, and Sandra Bullock among other female stars: "Come and see your favorite god of men, now he's turned into a greasy uncle."

Sandra Bullock quickly left a message, true to her straightforward, naive big sister persona, "What on earth has Leonardo been through all these years? How did he manage to turn himself into this? Is this the Jack of my dreams?"

Martin took out his phone and sent a text message, calling for reinforcements to enter the fray.

Soon, Kate Winslet showed up on Martin's Twitter, responding amidst a slew of messages, "To break free from his entrenched image, to hone his acting skills, all these are the price Leo has paid; he has been transcending himself over the years."

Annette Bening replied again, "Leonardo has worked harder than the outside world imagines."

Martin called out, "Leo, come over and look, they are full of praise for you."

Leonardo came over, took a glance and said, "It seems to be really effective. If I win the award, Martin, this time I'll throw a party with a group of Asian actresses, and I'll cover all the expenses!"

He brought up a matter, "I know an investor from Malaysia, similar to your investor from Myanmar; he has money and connections in Southeast Asia."

Martin thought about it; he didn't know a single actress from Southeast Asia. He said, "Let's go for South Korean actresses. The discerning taste and appreciation for beauty of South Korean magnates are always on point."

Leonardo promised confidently, "As long as I win Best Actor, none of that will be a problem."

Martin seriously started to think about which high-quality South Korean actresses were around these days, aside from that nine-member girl group. Son Ye-jin? Jun Ji-hyun? Song Hye-kyo?

......

After receiving a call from Bruce, TMZ's deputy editor Jody left the company and drove to a nearby parking lot. Seeing the familiar Volkswagen, she got out of her car and directly into the passenger seat.

Bruce handed her the USB drive, "Scoop, it's about Leonardo."

Jody, with her professional demeanor, immediately took her laptop, plugged in the USB, and started watching.

She thought it was some hardcore dirt on Leonardo, but when she opened it, it wasn't dark enough; he was still wearing his flowered boxers.

Jody asked, "Don't you have anything more explosive?"

"Isn't this explosive enough?" Bruce pointed at the video playing: "Look at this belly, look at this chubby face, and look at this water gun. It's definitely juicy enough for TMZ's front page headline."

After watching the video, Jody asked curiously, "Why release these? I thought your boss was tight with Leonardo."

Bruce said, "Martin is helping Leo campaign for the Oscar's Best Actor."

Jody couldn't figure out what this had to do with an Oscar campaign, but the video indeed had enough tabloid value and, involving Leonardo, it could even become hot gossip.

She said outright, "I'll take the video, name your price."

Bruce had asked Lorraine about the bottom line price before coming and said, "3000 US dollars, plus a front page headline on the website."

"Deal, I'll write you a check later," Jody took the flash drive, shutting off the computer, "But Old Cloth, if you want a headline, you've got to give something in return."

Bruce hastily said, "This isn't about me this time, I don't want to give anything."

Jody's hand shot out like an eagle's claw, her slender fingers precisely grabbed Bruce's crotch, as if she were shifting a manual car, vigorously shaking it.

Bruce had no choice: "Tonight, wait for tonight."

Jody glanced at her watch and said, "I can't wait until night, there's a hotel nearby, let's go now."

For the sake of Leonardo's Oscar campaign, Bruce went all out, followed Jody into the hotel, and while going upstairs, he complained, "Can't you put on some weight?"

Jody was tall and slim, like a European model, and she thought her body was especially good and didn't accept any suggestions to gain weight.

When leaving the hotel, Bruce was holding his waist the whole time, not because his back couldn't take it but because his pelvis was sore from the impact.

Lorraine, meanwhile, using a series of Leonardo's "glamorous" shots, contacted several media outlets.

After making runs all over Los Angeles, she sold the photos for several thousand US dollars.

Together with the 3000 US dollar check from Bruce, her spending money for the month skyrocketed.

The next day, many entertainment media published Leonardo's trendy new photos, including influential Hollywood publications like "Hollywood Reporter" and "Entertainment Weekly."

Vanity Fair, highly favored by Hollywood's top streamers, featured Leonardo's water gun photo on the cover of its new issue!

The title page even published an article meticulously crafted by Leonardo's professional PR team.

The core of the article was exactly what Martin had said.

"In pursuit of a breakthrough in the performing arts, Leonardo has not only broken through his own image on film but has even made huge changes in real life, now becoming a truly powerful actor..."

The article was written with a lot of confidence, placing the cover photo alongside a shot of Jack from the past, providing a stark comparison.

Those who saw it got the immediate impression that Leonardo had truly become an actor who speaks through his craft and ability.

Leonardo's water gun photo became a sensation across the US in one day and quickly spread across the world.

Gossipy onlookers delightfully shared the news.

Just like Jack back in the day, the water gun photo became one of Leonardo's most widely circulated images.

Following this, Time magazine's cover once again featured Leonardo's water gun photo.

Of course, he was still quite a way off from becoming Person of the Year.

This year's contenders for Person of the Year were Zuckerberg and Harvey Weinstein.

Time magazine's cover story read, "Leonardo has changed long ago, destroying his established image in the name of art!"

With New Year approaching, the Oscar PR and campaign were in full swing.

Martin's goal this year was to get an Oscar nomination for Best Actor, so it was somewhat easier; apart from continuously attending "Gone Girl" screenings to help David Fincher campaign, he mainly conspired with Nicholson to support Leonardo.

Leonardo also spent a fortune on promotions and PR.

"Shutter Island," which premiered early in the year, returned to theaters in major cities like Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York.

Nicholson and Warren Beatty also helped identify this year's main competitors.

Javier Bardem in "Biutiful," Jeff Bridges in "Crazy Heart," James Franco in "127 Hours," and so on.

Their roles weren't more remarkable than Leonardo's, and their films' impact was somewhat lacking; they also didn't have a behind-the-scenes mastermind like Harvey Weinstein.

The vacuum of power at the Oscars made Leonardo the top contender for Best Actor.

The most favored for Best Actress was Natalie Portman, who was frequently attending events with a visible baby bump.

The status of being pregnant gave her all sorts of privileges.

In nearly two decades of award seasons, no actress had used such a PR tactic, which made it particularly effective.

Before Christmas, to further draw attention, Natalie Portman even held an engagement ceremony with Benjamin Millepied.

Martin also received an invitation and, out of regard for Ari Emanuel, planned to attend.