America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Angel's Club, shooting range. Standing in front of the shooting stall, Martin held an AKM, aiming at the rapidly moving targets, rhythmically pulling the trigger. With the crisp sound of gunfire, the metal targets fell one after the other. After emptying one magazine, Martin quickly swapped in a new one and continued shooting. It wasn't until three magazines had been spent that he finally stopped. Martin took off his earplugs and turned to ask, "How did I do?" Mene, acting as the observer, said, "All hits on target!" Martin handed the gun over to Bruce and rotated his shoulders, saying, "This gun's got some kick." Alexandrovich approached from the other side, mimicking Mene's tone, "Boss, your shooting skills are extraordinary." Martin answered honestly, "Forced to learn." Alexandrovich, who had also fired a few shots, admitted, "I can't handle the recoil of this gun." Martin asked, "Is the AK-74 commonly equipped in Ukraine?" Alexandrovich replied, "There are more of the AK-74 series, I'm not too clear on the specifics, I've never been a soldier." On the other side, Mene was a bit curious; the boss seemed to treat this Ukrainian shorty quite differently. He quietly asked Bruce, "What's going on?" Bruce actually wasn't clear either, but at Mene's question, the face of Alexandrovich's fiancee suddenly flashed before his eyes. It couldn't possibly be Alexandrovich's talent that caught the boss's eye, right? Their film "Napoleon's Aphrodite", though successful at the box office, had a rather niche audience. Glancing at the time, Martin asked, "How was the DVD signing event yesterday?" Alexandrovich smiled and said, "More than a hundred movie fans came to support, they were very enthusiastic. Many said I portrayed the most charming Napoleon in the history of cinema." "You did a good job on this movie," Martin patted his shoulder, encouragingly, "Do a good job with 'Servant of the People', strive to make it a classic." Alexandrovich pledged earnestly, "I will pour my heart and soul into it." Generally, the life cycle of cheesy comedy films is short. "Napoleon's Aphrodite" was released before Valentine's Day and lasted only five weeks in North American theatres. However, it grossed 19.85 million US Dollars in North America, nearly four times the production cost. It has also taken in 14.56 million US Dollars from overseas box offices to date. Without a doubt, this cheesy comedy turned a profit simply through box office returns. The DVD, released this week, has sold nearly 3 million US Dollars worth, which is quite decent. "Napoleon's Aphrodite" will be released in more overseas regions progressively. Alexandrovich came to see Martin at Angel's Club today to say goodbye before heading back to Ukraine to attend the premiere of the film and begin shooting "Servant of the People" in Kiev. Alexandrovich didn't stay long at Angel's Club and soon left. Martin and Mene waited for Chad, Chen Hu, and Marcus to come over and moved to another part of the shooting range, a training gym, to discuss the latest action scene designs. In "John Wick 3", Mene, as a major supporting character, would also engage in close combat. "This is also to prepare for serialization," Chad said thoughtfully to Mene, "You'll further showcase Winston's charm and capabilities through the movie, laying the groundwork for the next step in expanding the franchise." Mene took a towel and wiped the sweat off his face, saying, "You're really planning far ahead." Compared to a typical director, Chad, who came from a stunt and fight choreography background, lacked grand artistic ambitions and candidly said, "With Martin's support, I plan to make a living off this franchise for a lifetime." The first two movies had already made him a millionaire as a director, writer, and action coordinator. Chad knew he wasn't especially talented; his success with the "John Wick" series was less about extraordinary gifts and more about years of accumulated experience finally paying off. He had spent nearly two decades as a stuntman and fight choreographer before this breakout success. Leaving this series to direct other films, Chad felt he would likely flop. Martin asked Chad, "Have you decided, then, to expand the series with Winston as the protagonist?" "I've done a market survey, Mene has a certain appeal to audiences, and the character Winston is quite popular," said Chad, not basing this on imagination but having done his homework, "Additionally, the fans of the series are particularly interested in the setting of the Continental Hotel, and I'm planning to base the spin-off movies around the Continental Hotel New York." Martin nodded, "Sounds good. After you have fully developed the script and action designs for the third installment, you can start getting ready." Unlike the Winston from his previous life, Mene, in his thirties, was in an energetic stage with a good physical condition. Following Martin over the years, he hadn't shied away from action roles and had built a solid foundation. A black lead would also align with the trends of the movie and television market in the next few years. Before noon, Martin left Angel Shooting Club and arrived in Burbank. Ellen Horn had scheduled to have lunch with him. The two entered an Italian restaurant and chatted while eating. Ellen Horn said, "Last time we confirmed the collaboration on the live-action fairy tale movie 'Beauty and The Beast', Disney Studios hired a screenwriter and is preparing to start writing the script." He asked Martin, "I remember your suggestion last time was a musical?" Martin put down his glass, "This is Disney's forte, adding grand musical numbers to fairy tale movies." To achieve the ideal result for such a film without investing more than 100 million US dollars is unthinkable, as Disney Studios would need external financing. Ellen Horn, once again full of confidence in Martin, brought up the old topic, "The production budget for this project cannot be less than 150 million US dollars, Disney Studios hopes to raise 50 million US dollars through external financing." Martin said, "I'm also willing to strengthen cooperation with Disney, and funding is not an issue." Ellen Horn thought for a moment and then said, "Such a film, from scriptwriting to the start of project preparation, might take a year, and designing the musical aspect is a challenging part." Martin, who was working on 'La La Land', deeply understood this, "I did some research on this project before, and for several years now, there have been related musicals being staged on Broadway. We could learn from some of their strengths." Ellen Horn replied, "Good idea." As for things like rights, Disney never fears; if there is any question, they can simply claim it is an innovation based on past animations. Disney's legal department is world-renowned. After nailing down the broad directions with Ellen Horn, Martin had lunch, and then Emily represented Davis Studio in official talks with Disney Studios, negotiating the specific investment and collaboration for 'Beauty and The Beast'. In the afternoon, Martin arrived at the "La La Land Studio" on time and practiced piano playing under the guidance of Sebastian. Through this period, his technique had become increasingly proficient. During this time, Taylor came to visit the set and commented that the piano piece Martin played lacked soul. Martin valued the opinion of professionals, knowing that his own level wasn't even particularly good among amateurs. The purpose of the practice wasn't to become a musician but to cope with filming. When Martin finished practicing and came out, he found the door to the dance studio on the same floor open, and he glanced inside as he passed by. Louise was leading a tall, golden-brown-haired woman inside. "Hi, Martin," she spotted him too, "I'd like to introduce someone to you." Martin quickly stepped in, and before Louise could introduce her, the golden-brown-haired woman approached him and shook his hand, "Hello, Martin, I'm Mandy Moore, an actress, singer, and choreographer." Then, she naturally showed him the badge at her neckline, "I'm also a fan of yours and a member of the Cola Cult." Martin smiled and said, "I'm very pleased to meet you." Louise came over to introduce, "Mandy has just signed with the crew and will serve as the choreography director, specifically in charge of designing and rehearsing the dances in the film." Martin said, "This is somewhat beyond my expectations, I thought choreographers were older people, I didn't expect you to be so young." Mandy Moore was quite tall, nearly 1.8 meters, and definitely not over thirty. "Disney Studios recommended me," Mandy Moore said with a smile, quickly recounting her qualifications, "I used to voice Princess Rapunzel in Disney's animated feature 'Rapunzel', and I designed all of the vocal performances and dance parts." She wanted to prove her capability, "I've also released six music albums, and I led the design for all the dance parts in them." Martin praised, "That's a very impressive accomplishment, I believe we will create a classic musical together." Mandy Moore had heard from Louise that the goal for 'La La Land' also included the awards season, which was very appealing to her. She switched to the main topic directly, "Aside from choreography, the actors will need to spend a lot of time practicing. I hope to confirm several principal roles as soon as possible." Louise took over the conversation, "By the time the dance design is finished, all the actors will definitely be in place." Mandy Moore didn't say more but discussed some details about the male lead with Martin, especially the dance aspect. Martin said, "I've trained specially in dance. Even though I haven't touched it much in recent years, years of practicing various martial arts means flexibility isn't a problem." Louise suddenly remembered the movie Martin shot in Atlanta, interrupting, "Mandy, you could start with Martin's film debut 'Zombie Stripper.' In that movie, he has several dance scenes." Mandy also recalled, saying, "The Zombie Gatling Dance? I remember it being all the rage five or six years ago. Right, that dance originally came from that movie of Martin's." She remarked, "Martin, you were also a king of dance once." Martin shrugged, "I never thought that dance would become so popular." "With a dance background and good flexibility, practicing for the dance roles will be much easier," Mandy said as she took out a notebook and quickly wrote something down, "My suggestion would be to also choose an actress with a dance background for the female lead, someone younger than you as per the script's requirement." Louise added, "That'll be easy to find; there are many actresses in the industry who have dance training." Martin had a candidate in mind and planned to discuss this privately with Louise later.