America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

``` After chatting for a while, Musk left the studio full of satisfaction, having reached an agreement with him on dealing with Depp. "The Lone Ranger" will soon be released, and as one of the three parts that Anna Purna Pictures snatched from Martin, it's being promoted aggressively with advertisements everywhere. Moreover, unlike the promotional strategy for "Transcendental Hacker", due to the recent mess surrounding Depp, both the crew and the distributors, Warner Bros., have focused the promotion on the Jerry Bruckheimer production team. This ace producer, with his excellent track record, also has a strong market appeal. Bruce said, "This time no one sent you a premiere invitation." Martin didn't even realize: "Don't they know that I'm a lucky star?" Bruce spoke the truth, "You're lucky, but they're out of luck." A girl with a backpack on her back came into the studio; seeing Martin in the lounge, she immediately ran over: "Teacher." Bruce automatically stepped to the side. "Why are you here?" Martin pointed to the opposite seat, "Sit down and talk." Silsa Ronan took off her backpack, pulled out a chair, and sat down, saying, "Mia and Mandy Moore rehearsed a dance, but the dance performer hasn't arrived yet. They wanted to see the effect, so Louise called me over to try it out." Martin said, "Getting familiar with it first is good." Silsa Ronan looked around, no one else was in sight, she lowered her voice, "I followed the dance class teacher and specially learned some special dances, I only want to dance for you, Teacher. When will you have time?" Martin thought for a moment and said, "Let's wait until the end of the month." Silsa nodded; the end of the month was perfect as she would have just turned eighteen. Also, the other day, she had visited the Davis Estate; Elizabeth Olsen and Lily Carter were going to Europe and not in Los Angeles at the time. Silsa added, "I will practice hard during this time and will surely surprise you." Martin said, "You're always full of surprises." Silsa smiled happily, glanced at the quartz clock on the wall, picked up her bag, and stood up, "I'm meeting Mandy Moore soon; I have to go." "You know where the dance studio is?" Seeing Silsa nod, Martin waved his hand, "Go ahead." Silsa hurried to the inside of the studio. Bruce was on a phone call to one side. After a while, he came over and said, "News from Harris, Johnny Depp's yacht and his Malibu mansion have been put up for sale, the yacht priced at 16 million US dollars, the mansion at 35 million US dollars, both below market value." Over the years, Martin had also come to understand the high-end market's play, "With such prices, as Depp's property, nobody will take over." Bruce added, "Harris had Ivan buy off someone close to Depp, apparently Depp's psychological price for the yacht is 11 million US dollars." Martin said, "Let Harris handle it." Due to the famous fight of the white-eyed wolves on the Harry Potter crew, and having Rowling expelled from the Harry Potter citizenship and such, being relatively recent events, Martin remembered some of the news about her, vaguely recalling she had bought a two-masted antique yacht, costing close to 20 million US dollars. If Rowling did indeed buy Depp's two-masted antique yacht, the middlemen must have made a good profit from the difference. Martin's crowd had already raised the funds, he wouldn't be involved in the specific operations. Obviously, facing IRS pressure, Depp had begun liquidating assets. Speaking of which, not many in the United States can withstand the IRS's pressure. Martin's phone rang; it was Nolan calling to meet and talk about a new project. As he left the studio, Martin hadn't yet got on his golf cart when, from next door at the "Agents of SHIELD" studio, a redhead with big waves walked over quickly. "Hi, Martin." Elena Satine waved at him from across the street: "We meet again." Thanks to her striking appearance, Martin remembered her name: "Hello, Elena." Seeing Bruce approach with the golf cart, Elena Satine asked, "You're leaving the studio?" "You too?" Martin boarded the vehicle, "I can give you a lift." "Thank you." Elena Satine quickly got on the golf cart. Bruce started the vehicle and drove towards the studio's exit. Elena Satine sneaked a glance at Martin in front, "I heard your new project is a musical?" Martin offhandedly replied, "This project's preparation period is quite long, shooting is still a long way off." Elena Satine inquired further, "Your next project isn't this one?" ``` "No." Martin shook his head and simply said, "A heist movie." The gate of the film studio was not far, and Bruce quickly stopped the electric cart. Martin got off and directly entered the parking lot, leaving the area with Bruce. Elena Satine sat in her car, watching the Escalade disappear into the distance. She pulled down the sun visor, took a look at her delicate makeup in the mirror, and then grasped her chiffon, feeling that her allure was off the charts. "Don't rush, take it slow." Elena Satine reminded herself, "Learn from the failures of others and let everything seem natural." She started the car and also left the Disney Studio. ...... Century City, WMA. In a reception room, Martin met with Christopher Nolan. The latter had recently been at odds with Warner Bros. to the point where his dispute with Jon Berg even made the TMZ headlines. Martin directly asked, "Is the project in trouble?" "The director's cut of 'The Dark Knight Rises' I've already submitted. Whatever happens next is out of my hands," Nolan seemed very tired. "The real trouble comes from 'Interstellar'." Martin seized on the key point, "Warner Bros.?" Nolan nodded slightly, "Although the project is a joint investment by DreamWorks, Legendary Pictures, Paramount Pictures, and Warner Bros., the investment rights are distributed among DreamWorks, Paramount, and Warner. The first two have already given the green light, but Warner has been stalling me." Martin asked, "Because we sued Warner Bros.?" Nolan shrugged, "That's right. The last conflict I had with Jon Berg arose because Jon Berg threatened me with this project. If I didn't drop the lawsuit and reach a settlement with Warner, the approval of 'Interstellar' would continue to drag on." Martin curiously asked, "What were the terms for a settlement?" "Giving up the penalty fee and late charges, only to be paid according to normal bank interest," Nolan thought Jon Berg was out of his mind, and yet he managed to get the support of the group company's chairman, Kevin Tsujihara. He couldn't help saying, "These high-ups at Warner after the management change, each one is a genius, full of brilliant ideas." Martin agreed, "Forgoing the penalty fee, forgoing the late charges, just collecting the negligible bank interest — Jon Berg had the nerve to propose such terms." Nolan added, "What's more absurd is that Jon Berg even advised me to be magnanimous and have a long-term view, not to quibble over small, immediate gains." He said disdainfully, "Would he be so generous if Warner held back his own salary?" On this matter, Martin stood completely with Nolan, "We can't compromise on this. If it happens once, it will happen again. On the new project side, have DreamWorks and Paramount put pressure on Warner." Nolan nodded and also reminded Martin, "Jon Berg has a problem with you, he might oppose you playing the lead, but me, Paramount Pictures, and DreamWorks all agree that you should be the lead. As this project has not yet been brought before Warner's review committee, we'll have to wait a while for any specifics regarding the cast." Martin thought about the upcoming summer movie season, with "Jack the Giant Slayer" releasing next month, "Once the summer season starts, things may change. Warner Bros... I don't even know what to say." Nolan said, "I'll further communicate with Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks to move the project forward." The day after Martin and Nolan's meeting, Nolan launched a new lawsuit, suing both his former agency CAA and current agency WMA at the Los Angeles Supreme Court. The issue was Nolan's commission fees. Nolan left CAA for WMA right during the production period of 'The Dark Knight Rises'. CAA argued that since Nolan signed the director's contract for 'The Dark Knight Rises' while at CAA, all commissions generated during the project should belong to CAA. WMA didn't see it that way because after Nolan moved to WMA, he continued working on the shoot and production of 'The Dark Knight Rises', and naturally, any commission he earned during that period shouldn't fall into CAA's hands. The dispute between the two agencies reached a point where the Nolans, out of sheer frustration, decided to sue both agencies in court and let the court decide. To those at the top levels of the industry like Martin and Nolan, whether it's the number one ranked CAA or the second-ranked WMA, their roles are clear — service providers. Still, Nolan's news couldn't overshadow Depp's. The most sensational news in Hollywood throughout April was all about Johnny Depp. One was about Depp's financial crisis. The other was about the overwhelming marketing blitz for "Lone Ranger" that Depp starred in. This mega-production, funded by Anna Purna Pictures with an investment of $250 million US Dollars, produced by Hollywood's golden producer Jerry Bruckheimer's team, and distributed by Warner Bros., was set to launch across North American cinemas on April 20. The film avoided the fierce competition of the summer blockbuster season and was set to release a weekend apart from Marvel Studios' behemoth, "The Avengers." In today's film market situation, let alone two weekends apart, even one weekend could determine the fate of a major production. This time, neither the production company Anna Purna nor Megan Ellison, nor the distributor Warner Bros. and Daniel, invited Martin to the premiere of "Lone Ranger."