America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

At Anna Purna Pictures, in the President's office.

The domineering female president, Megan Ellison, was on the phone with the truly domineering CEO.

"I just read the investment report you sent over." On the phone, Larry Ellison asked, "Why the sudden move to shift over two hundred million US dollars?"

Megan Ellison replied, "I'm interested in two film projects that require a large investment; Anna Purna Pictures has just been established, and the market lacks confidence in us, making it not easy to raise funds from other channels."

Larry Ellison had doubts, "You're investing over two hundred million dollars in two projects?"

Megan said, "The total production budget is actually three hundred million dollars; I still have over one hundred million dollars in hand."

Larry Ellison asked, "I remember you wanted to go for the art film route with medium and small investments?"

"Initially, yes, but now there's a rare opportunity, and these two projects are generally regarded favorably by the industry." Megan briefly mentioned "The Seventh Son" and "Transcendental Hacker," along with the relevant situation concerning Martin Davis.

Larry Ellison was silent for a moment, then cautioned, "Observe for a while longer, such a huge investment needs to be considered carefully."

Megan was receptive to her father's advice and wondered if she should be more cautious with the investment?

She hung up the phone and suddenly heard the sound of hurried footsteps from outside.

Drett rushed through the corridor with a Spanish-language newspaper in hand, heading to the President's office, looking slightly panicked.

Megan Ellison looked up from behind her computer screen and said, "What's happened? You need to remain calm within the company!"

Drett wished to remain calm, but the content of the newspaper made that impossible, and he quickly said, "President, those Mexicans are dead!"

He was distraught, "All of them are dead!"

The domineering female president Megan furrowed her brow, "What Mexicans?"

"Those who provided us with the screenplay information." Drett placed the newspaper on the desk, "Shot full of bullets, all dead in Tijuana."

Megan glanced at the newspaper, it was in Spanish, which she couldn't quite understand, but the pictures on the newspaper were clear, showing six corpses lying amidst blood, with bullet holes visible on the wall.

In six separate pictures were the faces of the dead.

Drett truly felt fear; why were they shot to death?

Megan closed the newspaper and casually tossed it to the side.

Drett, having come from a good background and graduated from a prestigious university, had never encountered such events and his voice trembled, "It must have been Martin Davis's doing! It has to be! President, what should we do?"

Wasn't this supposed to be business warfare? How come they're not playing by the rules? Since when do guns come into play in business warfare?

"Right, this must have something to do with Martin Davis." The female CEO's thought process completely differed from that of ordinary people; Drett saw a threat to personal safety, but Megan saw a business opportunity!

She pondered and said, "Martin Davis, being so enraged to use such ruthless methods, signifies one thing."

Drett's legs couldn't help but tremble.

Facing those Mexicans, he had an air of lofty calmness.

But after seeing the photos of the Mexican corpses, he felt nothing but shattering terror.

Megan's thoughts became clearer, "Martin Davis must be very optimistic about 'The Seventh Son' and 'Transcendental Hacker' to be so furious and resort to such methods for revenge."

Drett paused for a moment, but then it dawned on him that it did seem that way.
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He couldn't help but say, "These are the actions of someone taking revenge after a huge loss."

Megan nodded slightly, looked again at Drett, and said, "Don't worry, this is Los Angeles, not Tijuana."

Drett felt slightly relieved.

Megan thought for a moment and said, "You keep an eye on Martin Davis's side; in the mindset of a normal person, he'll definitely be actively looking for new projects after losing these two!"

A scene from the Oscar nominees' luncheon flashed before her eyes, "The key to grabbing projects is funds! When it comes to money, who are we afraid of?"

Drett quickly agreed.

After the subordinate left, Megan considered thoughtfully and dialed her father's number, briefing him on the situation.

Larry Ellison, who had experienced real business warfare, had countered Bill Gates, clashed physically with Microsoft executives, deployed corporate spies, and had security surround Oracle's internal hostile shareholders.

He knew that high-end business warfare often manifests through the most primitive means and said, "I will send a team of bodyguards; they will be with you 24 hours a day."

Megan, accustomed to having bodyguards since childhood, did not refuse and inquired, "What about the investment?"

Larry Ellison, not familiar with Hollywood like he was with dealing with David Ellison, simply asked, "How confident are you?"

Megan replied, "Seventy percent."

Larry Ellison, who was daring and willing to take risks, said, "Don't say seventy percent, even fifty percent is worthwhile trying."

Megan continued, "If we're going to do it, let's be the best. I plan to increase our investment; the total production budget for both projects will be raised to 350 million US Dollars."

With that, the matter was settled.

Megan called Wilson, "You have a way with Hollywood news. Keep a close eye on Martin Davis."

Wilson understood the implication of her words and replied, "Yes."

...

At Disney Studio, an office building adjacent to Disney Studios building, was completely taken over by "The Martian" crew.

Louise Mel was the producer, Ridley Scott directed, and Martin starred in the new film, which had already begun preparations.

They were also the three titans of the team.

The new film had a total production budget of 120 million US Dollars, which was the highest investment project since the establishment of Davis Studio.

Pacific Pictures, Disney Studios, and Gray Film Industry all participated in the production investment.

In the recent negotiations for the lead male role, Thomas secured a lucrative actor's contract for Martin.

"Gone Girl" had essentially ended its North American theatrical run, with cumulative box office receipts of 228 million US Dollars in North America alone.

The international screenings were still ongoing and, up to now, the global box office had surpassed 450 million US Dollars.

Together with the huge success of "Inception," last year's two films had firmly established Martin's position, who had just joined the Twenty Million Club.

Martin's contract with "The Martian" crew guaranteed a base salary of 20 million US Dollars, plus a tiered share of North American box office revenue.

The tiered share started at the film's production cost of 120 million US Dollars; once the North American box office hit 120 million, Martin would receive 2 percent of the revenue, and for every additional 30 million US Dollars, his share would automatically increase by one percentage point, capping at 10 percent of the North American box office receipts.

That is what is commonly referred to as a "20+10" contract.

He would also get a five percent share of the gross profit from DVD, streaming services, and television rights.

This was an absolute single-lead movie, with the second highest actor salary going to Mene.

However, in Hollywood, the pay of supporting actors is much less compared to that of a lead actor, with Mene receiving only 3 million US Dollars plus corresponding backend participation.

In the realm of Hollywood supporting actors, that was already considered a high price.

The total salary of the rest of the supporting cast didn't even come close to what Mene earned alone.

Jessica Chastain had already attended a makeup audition, and both Louise and Ridley unanimously decided to cast her as the spaceship's female commander.

The rest of the roles were also in the process of being auditioned.

"My assistants have already gone to the Middle East and Australia to find suitable location sites," said Ridley Scott, director renowned for seriousness. Compared to David Fincher, Ridley was particularly meticulous about efficiency and had maintained an annual pace of one film a year over the last few years, regardless of the investment scale.

He looked at Martin, "I want you to fully commit to preparing for the role over the next two months. You will be playing an astronaut surviving on Mars and must undergo a series of intensive physical training."

Martin replied, "I will."

Louise added, "Ever since I've known Martin, he has always maintained a high volume of training, including running, combat, strength exercises, and firearms usage, among other things."

Ridley, the old-school director, quickly caught on and said, "As you age, sometimes your memory fails you. I almost forgot that you're one of the best Hollywood actors when it comes to physical abilities."

He changed the topic, "Also, find a farm or a plantation company to learn how to grow potatoes."

This was one of the key plots and selling points of the movie. Martin responded, "I have already made the necessary preparations for that."

He hadn't actually learned from anyone else; growing potatoes was a skill from his previous life.

Born in the early 1980s, Martin came from the countryside, where it was common for children of that era to help with farm work. He had done plenty of it, using manure to grow potatoes, vegetables, sweet potatoes, and more.

Truth be told, he had more rich experience with manure than many American professional farmers.

The three discussed many aspects of the project's filming and production for most of the day, with the whole crew being managed by Louise. Ridley Scott was a master at directing science fiction films, even if he never considered himself as such.

The crew's preparation efficiency was astonishing. According to Ridley's schedule, after adequate preparation in the early stage, filming would begin in the latter half of May. They planned to complete filming in two months and finish all post-production by the end of October, allowing the film to be released in November.

Then, he would rest for a month before moving on to collaborate with 20th Century Fox, with a new "Alien" movie already set in stone.

As the meeting between the three concluded, Ridley suddenly asked Martin and Louise, "Do you have any suitable epic film projects? We could continue to collaborate."

Indeed, epic films were his true love. However, Martin didn't wish to delve into that venture and responded, "I've just encountered some changes on my end and don't have anything suitable at the moment."

Ridley had heard something about this and didn't press further.

Exiting the small meeting room, Martin chatted with Louise for a few moments before leaving the crew's workspace.

Bruce approached from the other side, saying, "Anna Purna Pictures issued a statement this morning; they're going to increase their investment in 'The Seventh Son' and 'Transcendental Hacker.' The production budget for the former will be added to 180 million US Dollars, and for the latter, increased to 170 million US Dollars."

Martin was somewhat surprised, "Interesting, the domineering CEO is actually adding more investment."