America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

In these recent days, Martin, Leonardo, and Nicholson have been especially enjoying the juicy gossip, the divorce scandal of Johnny Depp proving to be both crunchy and sweet. The two attacked each other, exposing their ugliest sides through the media for the entire world to see, which was way beyond merely exciting. "Look, there's new explosive news today!" In the office, Leonardo raised his head from behind his laptop and said, "It's still the juicy kind with flavor!" Nicholson, who had been standing in front of the window texting Lorraine, almost jumped in front of the laptop. Martin also leaned in. Leonardo pointed to the latest news released by TMZ and said, "Depp's side has dropped a bombshell about Amber Heard!" The news started with a picture, which showed a bed; in the middle of the bedsheet, there was a big lump of brownish-yellow stuff. Martin and Nicholson subconsciously pinched their noses and held their breath. Leonardo, excitedly said, "The photo was taken by Depp's housekeeper. Depp claims it was left by Amber Heard." Next to the photo, there was also a clip of Depp's video: "On my side of the bedsheet in the picture, there is some human fecal matter, which was left by Amber Heard!" Nicholson thought about the scene he had witnessed at Disney Studio and said, "I can't believe she could do something as disgusting as shitting on her own bedsheet." Leonardo looked towards Martin, "Your friend from Silicon Valley really has some heavy tastes." Martin, thinking of the fat white guy, said, "It's possible that he's into that sort of thing." Depp and Amber, this couple, truly broadened people's horizons. Soon after, Amber's clarifying video was released, claiming that the mess was made by Depp's dogs. Depp then held his teacup dog for an appearance: "Yorkshire is only three pounds; it couldn't possibly poop something larger than itself." Nicholson, having enjoyed the gossip of the day said, "Depp should use a scale, with his dog on one side and that lump on the other, to make the comparison more visual in the video." Leonardo pondered and said, "Can the fresh weight really match the old one?" "Hey, hey, hey!" Martin realized the topic couldn't go on any longer, "Can't you two stop discussing this, your tastes are getting heavier." Leonardo asked, "Then what should we talk about?" Martin replied, "What do you guys think about the 100 million US Dollar compensation Amber Heard is asking for? How much will she actually get?" Nicholson picked up the topic: "I remember Depp just cleared his first overdue tax payment these days. Does he still have funds to hire top-notch lawyers for the lawsuit?" "Depp can only sell more assets," Martin laughed, "No matter the outcome of this divorce and domestic violence lawsuit, it has had a huge negative impact on 'Lone Ranger.' The movie was already underperforming at the box office, and now its trajectory is looking even bleaker." Leonardo agreed, "Many women's organizations on the internet are calling for a boycott of Depp's movies." He asked Martin, "Did you start this?" Martin shook his head, "No need for us to take any action. With the current situation, Depp's collaborators over the years are going to trample him to death." In the past five or six years, as many production companies and crews as had worked with Depp, that was how many enemies he had. When a superstar falls from the pinnacle, they'll find that all around are damn villains. The situation with Tom Cruise is not an anomaly that only happens to him. "Lone Ranger" also entered its second weekend in North America, and due to the lead actor Johnny Depp's various negative news, the film saw virtually no uptick in box office trend over the weekend, creating a cliff-like drop from an already dire North American opening week box office. In its second weekend, "Lone Ranger" only collected 4.38 million US Dollars in North America. After ten days in North American theaters, this super-production with a budget of 250 million US Dollars had only harvested 26.54 million US Dollars. And the cliff-like box office trend suggests that the final North American box office for "Lone Ranger" will barely reach over 30 million US Dollars. Perhaps, the overseas screenings may bring some relief to the film's box office. But after deducting promotional and distribution expenses, how much will be left for Warner Bros. to repay to Anna Purna Pictures? A big-budget film failure, and many people were becoming restless. At Anna Purna Pictures, the president's office. "Ms. Ellison, according to our loan agreement, if your operation is poor, we have the right to call in the loan," said Judith, who was also pressured but had to make some points clear, "Your company borrowed a huge sum of 200 million US Dollars from our bank, mainly for investing in the 'Lone Ranger' movie project, and currently the market response to this film is not good..." Megan Ellison interrupted, lifting her hand, "I will repay the loan on time." Judith took out a document and placed it on Megan's desk, "This is a formal letter." Without money at hand, all Megan could say was, "My last name is Ellison." Judith said, "It is precisely because your last name is Ellison that we gave you the longest deadline instead of calling in the loan immediately." "I understand," said Megan Ellison, "The loan isn't much of an issue." Judith smiled, stood up and took her leave, "We will patiently wait for good news from Ms. Ellison." Megan watched her leave and couldn't help but sigh. When you're not in trouble, banks are desperate to lend you all their money; but when you face difficulties, they're just as eager to suck every last drop of your blood. Two hundred million US dollars in cash, along with bank interest—even in the past, this was no small sum for her. Now, where could she get such a huge amount of money? Even selling Anna Purna Pictures wouldn't fetch that much. Megan Ellison subconsciously picked up the phone, ready to ask her father for help, but after dialing one digit, she hung up the receiver. Ever since she was young, every time she got into trouble, it was her father who cleaned up her mess. This time, Megan Ellison didn't want to rely on her father; she wanted to solve the problem herself. But how? Megan Ellison looked at the whiteboard across from her, which listed the names of four movies: "The Hurt Locker," "Transcendental Hacker," "Lone Ranger," and "The Seventh Son." "The Hurt Locker" was a project in which Anna Purna Pictures had invested. The movie itself didn't earn much profit, and even less came Anna Purna's way. The returns from "Transcendental Hacker" could be ignored. "Lone Ranger" might see no returns at all. Only "The Seventh Son" remained. This fantasy epic, also snatched from Martin Davis's hands, had seen Anna Purna Pictures invest 150 million dollars in production costs. Since the post-production effects weren't completed, the film would take some time to be released. Having suffered two crushing defeats with "Transcendental Hacker" and "Lone Ranger," even the usually confident Megan Ellison began to doubt this remaining project. If the movie succeeded, she could still recover some of her losses. But if it failed? Not only would she lose all the capital she brought into her Hollywood venture, but she'd also owe the bank a huge debt. Suddenly, an idea came to Megan Ellison: sell the rights to "The Seventh Son" to pay off the bank debt. This movie, with a production cost of 150 million dollars and being a large-scale fantasy epic, was it reasonable to sell it for 300 million dollars? With this thought, Megan Ellison called Wilson and Drett, her right-hand men, to discuss the matter. Warner Bros. was interested in terminating their distribution contract. Upon hearing his boss's words, Wilson sighed inwardly. After two back-to-back failures with big productions, the boss's confidence was shaken. Was she preparing to liquidate and run? But as long as Wilson worked at Anna Purna Pictures, he would bear his responsibilities. After careful consideration, he suggested, "We need to finish the film first. We could quietly spread the word, test the reactions of other companies. If we have multiple bidders, we could organize an auction and award the film rights to the highest bidder." Drett had no better solution. Megan Ellison thought for a moment, then said, "Let's do what you said, finish the film production first." Once her subordinates left, Megan thought of Johnny Depp, the root cause of the film's failure, and made a call to Amber Heard, "I want you to keep biting Depp's vulnerable spot and not let go!" Amber did just that, using the media and public opinion to torment Depp to the point of despair. ... In Beverly Hills, inside a villa on the southern slope. Johnny Depp moved out of the love nest he shared with Amber and was preparing to sell the house. It held the worst memories of his life. Depp poured a glass of alcohol, downed more than half in one gulp, took a cherished wooden guitar off the living room wall, and gently plucked the strings, producing pleasing sounds. His loyal old bodyguard Jerry entered the living room and found Depp, saying, "Johnny, I must remind you, the security team, driver, chef, and housekeeping staff haven't been paid for two months, and I'm struggling to hold them together." These people, the least of whom had been with Depp for five years, were paid very high wages by Depp, totaling over four million dollars a year. Depp frowned, "Tell them to wait a bit longer." Jerry lowered his voice, "They have credit cards, mortgages, and other loans to pay. They can't wait any longer." Just then, Agent Hui Gemu walked in. Depp said, "Take some money from the sale of the yacht to cover the wages of my staff." Hui Gemu hesitated for a moment, then reminded Depp, "That money was all used to pay off back taxes. You signed off on it a few days ago." Depp recalled and remembered, then asked, "There's no money left in the account?" Hui Gemu nodded and presented another harsh reality, "The lawyers asked me to inform you that it's time to settle the recent legal fees." Depp had encountered too many troubles this year, often needing lawyers, and the resulting fees were substantial. Depp felt a headache coming on, "Can't they wait?" "They've already extended the deadline three times," Hui Gemu knew very well that without paying the legal fees, Depp would soon be without a lawyer: "They can't wait any longer." Years later, Depp would experience the feeling of being overwhelmed by money. He said, "Sell the house as quickly as possible. The price... is negotiable."