America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Los Angeles, the heart of Hollywood Heights. Martin was too familiar with this place, holding the invitation and entering through the side door, bringing Musk into the VIP room. The pair didn't walk the red carpet and arrived early; as they entered, they saw Megan Ellison. The VIP room was large and already quite a few people had arrived, but Martin and Megan's gazes cut through everyone and clashed. Musk, hands in his pockets, said, "Madman Larry Ellison's daughter, she's just like her father. Buddy, go for it, I'll cover you, and I definitely won't compete with you." Martin couldn't possibly let his brother down, "Aren't you unbothered by the cold? If you want to go, then go ahead." Musk might have eccentric tastes but he wasn't interested in her; with a grin, he said, "Megan Ellison is not my target tonight." As they were talking, Megan Ellison, the host, quickly approached them with a look of curiosity in her eyes. What were these two doing together? Bastards attract bastards? Musk laughed, "I didn't expect to encounter someone from Silicon Valley here." Megan clearly disliked the chubby white guy and didn't give him the time of day, focusing on Martin instead, "Welcome to the premiere of my movie." She remained supremely confident, "See? I've hosted an extravagant premiere for 'Transcendental Hacker.'" Martin, the super bastard, replied, "Sorry, Elon and I came in through the back door, so we didn't see your premiere." Megan was unfazed, "Once the film succeeds, you'll see it countless times in the media." This was only the first of three films, and Martin kept his composure, casually commenting, "I congratulate you on your success in advance." The indifference and insincerity in his words were so clear that even a ten-year-old could hear it, but Megan just took it as Martin's resignation to losing the project and said, "By the way, if this film is successful, I'll give the screenwriter a bonus as a reward for choosing to work with Anna Purna Pictures." Martin laughed, "I hope you won't get too excited once the film is released." Although 'Transcendental Hacker' had encountered many troublesome issues in its promotion and Depp was under heavy media criticism, causing a flood of negative comments online, Megan Ellison had done her homework. History proved innumerable times that as long as a film was of high quality, none of these issues mattered. "Pirates of the Caribbean" didn't have good buzz before it was released, right? Martin noticed Daniel and lost interest in Megan Ellison. He went over to chat with Daniel. Daniel, facing Martin, was conflicted, "If we were still working together, that would have been great." Martin said, "Warner needs to pay my share first, right?" Daniel didn't hesitate to pass the buck to Jon Berg, "The distribution company transferred the funds to Warner Bros. a long time ago, now it's their issue." This matched the information Martin had, so he didn't fuss over it, and since Daniel wasn't responsible, he asked, "You look like you're under a lot of pressure recently?" Daniel said, "Advertising this film, always putting out fires, one Depp causes more trouble than a hundred of you." He was blunt, "Originally, I thought that with Depp's long-term collaboration with Anna Purna, and the distribution company's partnership with Anna Purna, Depp might become a long-term partner for Warner Bros." He shook his head, "Turns out, I was thinking too simply." Martin said, "I've been following the recent news, it's quite exciting." Daniel, quite helpless, "If it weren't for the deal with Anna Purna to distribute three films, the moment I saw a film starring Depp, I would have immediately called a halt." The two continued to make small talk, and Martin occasionally looked outside, soon spotting Amber Heard. He exchanged a few more words with Daniel while Musk was already chatting with Amber Heard. Depp was probably still outside with the crew. With his massive wealth, Musk obviously caught the attention of Amber Heard. After learning who Musk was, Amber readily exchanged contact information with him. In her mind, she would eventually divorce Depp, so what was she to do next? Megan Ellison had indeed promised her a leading role in future projects. But being with Depp, Amber had found money came too easily, making the slow, hard work of being an actress unappealing. Why not find another wealthy man instead? Depp's pre-marriage obsession only fueled Amber's confidence. As for Musk, Amber Heard just happened to fit his aesthetic. Or perhaps, he had a special fondness for certain ... activities. Suddenly, Martin heard footsteps and turned to see Depp approaching. Depp's muscular bodyguard hurried to catch up. Bruce stepped forward, positioning himself beside Martin. Daniel said, "Martin, stay calm." Martin nodded towards Depp's direction, "You should calm him down first." Depp stopped three meters away, his eyes dark and puffy from alcohol and drug abuse, cold as the name of his Black Mamba Bar, staring over here. Martin raised his hand to his nose, blocking it, and waved his other hand in front of his face. Depp instantly became furious. In the VIP room, many people, including Musk, quietly took out their phones, aiming them at Depp's waistband, seemingly waiting for him to replicate his on-set antics. Depp's agent Hui Gemu caught up from behind, grabbing Depp's arm and whispering, "He's trying to provoke you." Martin smelled a mix of cologne, alcohol, and smoke, and said, "What a strange odor." Depp's chest heaved rapidly, but ultimately he did not dare to take off his pants again. The bodyguard whispered in his ear, "Did you forget about the Coulson contact?" At the sound of this mosquito-like voice, Depp turned and walked away, glancing back at Martin halfway through, determined to see this bastard's downfall. At this moment, Danny said, "It's about time, let's go into the theater." Amber Heard returned to her husband's side, while Musk walked to the theater lobby with Martin, saying as they went, "That woman is easy to hook up with, with my charm I easily got her contact info, even arranged to have tea when we are both free." Martin quietly gave a thumbs up, "Indeed, the wealthier, the wittier." Musk continued, "Actually you could do it too. I guarantee, if you show the slightest interest in her, she definitely won't refuse you." Martin hastily shook his head, "The taste is too strong for me, I'm scared." Musk said disdainfully, "You really don't know how to play." Martin retorted, "Your taste is just too heavy." The two entered the theater lobby and sat in the third row, waiting a bit before the movie screening started. As the movie related to Depp and Megan Ellison, Martin watched "Transcendental Hacker" very seriously. The previews and adverts of this movie gave people a sense of majestic and subversive science fiction akin to "Inception," but in reality, it was a melodramatic romance-dominated film. Moreover, the movie tried to delve into philosophical topics, like "The Matrix," but lacked the skills of the Wachowskis, whether they were brothers or sisters. Even the Wachowskis, discussing philosophy now, are bound to fail without doubt. The film might not be terrible, but it was extremely bland. As Musk put it, they tried to make a sci-fi epic look like an artsy fresh small film, which was quite an attempt. During the screening, Martin looked around and saw many audience members had fallen asleep. This situation was far scarier than Michael Bay's films being denounced as super bad explosion movies; at least Bay's movies didn't put people to sleep in the theater. Rooney Mara, sitting on the other side of Martin, fell asleep five times over the course of the movie. The premiere ended to thunderous applause, the audience feigning enthusiasm; politeness ensured that there was no shortage of clapping, but these alone couldn't determine the quality of a film. As Musk applauded, he said to Martin, "This is one of the most boring movies I've ever watched live." Martin also clapped, "It might not be horrible, but it's indeed very dull." The cast and crew went on stage to take a bow, as the audience started leaving. Martin glanced at his watch, "Let's go." But Musk didn't move and winked at Martin, "You go ahead, I'll talk later." Martin understood and left the theater directly. On the way back to Beverly Hills, Martin checked Twitter and there were already discussions trashing the movie. "Depp's new film is really bad." "They put on such airs in the promotion, I thought there would be another role like the Captain, but is this it?" "Johnny Depp has lost it, he's no longer the Captain he used to be." "Boycott Depp! Boycott an awful actor who insults fans!" The comments thread was a mess. "Boycott Depp!" "Boycott Depp's new film..." Maybe because of the recent promotional events, Depp had been too much; even after the emergency PR by the crew and distributor following the Nokia Plaza incident, he still kept showing up late and drunk. Even with a PR script in hand, he didn't remember it, or perhaps couldn't remember it. This squandered all goodwill from the general public. Just relying on hardcore fans is not enough to support the box office of a top Hollywood production. "Transcendental Hacker" proved this. Despite the support of a heap of hardcore fans, Depp's new film fared disastrously. On Friday, the first day of release in North America, "Transcendental Hacker" earned just $4.81 million from 3,655 theaters. Under normal circumstances, if a non-sequel or series film gets even a slightly better response, Saturday's box office would be better than Friday's, but this movie's earnings plummeted by 20% on Saturday, taking in only $3.82 million. After the first weekend, "Transcendental Hacker" had a cumulative North American box office of $10.88 million. Compared to the film's budget of $150 million, this box office result signified a disastrous investment. The most frightening thing was that the movie's audience reputation had completely collapsed. According to data released by the professional film market research firm cinemascore, cinema-goers gave "Transcendental Hacker" an average rating of C in its opening week, with an expected North American box office ending around $22 million. Taking into account the overseas market not yet released, and after the distributor deducts costs for marketing and management fees, Anna Purna Pictures' box office revenue from "Transcendental Hacker" could be completely disregarded.