America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Fans gaped in amazement while media photographers snapped away frantically.

At the front end of the red carpet, Martin, Leonardo, and Nicholson led a docile old cow towards the theatre.

Nicholson, wearing sunglasses, couldn't stop grinning as he walked the cow down the red carpet; gifting it to his old buddy director was a first for him, and he found it especially amusing.

Leonardo glanced at Martin and thought to himself that only a bastard could come up with such a novel stunt.

Martin, leading the way, walked the cow to the middle of the red carpet and waved to the crowd.

The surrounding fans let out ear-piercing screams.

Photographers with access to both sides of the red carpet snapped away like mad, constantly pressing their camera shutters.

Leonardo said, "We're going to snag the front page of the North American entertainment section."

"We should do fun things like this more often." Nicholson stepped forward, snatched the reins from Martin's hand, "You've had enough of the limelight, it's my turn now!"

Handing over the reins to Nicholson, Martin walked towards the gathering spot of the Cola Cult followers, took a can of Cola from Bruce who had come along, opened it, and raised it high towards them. Continue your adventure at empire

Nearby, hundreds of people raised their Colas and chanted in unison, "Cola Cult, Forever!"

Then someone yelled, "The Sect Hierarch is mighty!"

Hundreds followed in chorus, "The Sect Hierarch is mighty!"

At the entrance of Huaison Theatre, Warner's Daniel said to the producer Graham, "Do you see that? That's the Cola Cult's Sect Hierarch."

Graham nodded slightly, "He has many supporters."

Daniel added, "Just for this movie, based on our market research and forecasts, Martin alone could add over five million US dollars to the box office in the first week."

Graham, who had seen the related reports, commented, "Personally, I believe that among the male stars born in the 80s, Martin's commercial appeal is the strongest, or at least one of the strongest."

"Martin's value is not limited to his commercial draw," Daniel reminded him, "Don't forget, today's plan was also initially proposed by him."

Seeing journalists behaving almost like madmen, Graham said, "The news spotlight has emerged."

Daniel laughed heartily.

Three bastards, leading a cow, swaggered through the crowds, nearing the media area and the specially arranged platform in front of the theatre.

Al Pacino, stroking his chin, said, "This doesn't seem like Leonardo's or Nicholson's style."

Robert De Niro stated, "It must be Martin." He looked at Scorsese, "Get ready, your buddies are bringing you a cow."

Scorsese straightened his tie and said, "Why isn't it a dairy cow?"

Across from him, Nicholson slightly quickened his pace, pulling the cow to face Scorsese.

A throng of reporters swarmed over.

Nicholson declared loudly, "A few days ago, you mentioned you enjoy directing cows in performances, so the three of us went out and bought the most obedient cow we could find. Now, on behalf of our trio, I officially gift you this cow, so you can shoot movies with it in the future."

"I'll take it," Scorsese accepted the reins, embraced his old pal Nicholson, then called over Martin and Leonardo, "Come here, everyone, let's take a photo together."

Martin and Leonardo joined them, and the four stood together in front of the sponsor's backdrop, taking a photo with the old cow.

Scorsese then gave an interview, saying, "This gift is very precious. I will take it back to America, teach it to act, and show these three idiots what a good actor who listens to the director's commands looks like."

After speaking, he burst into laughter himself.

Martin and the others also laughed along merrily nearby.

Having already entered the theatre, Matt Damon looked through the glass window and clearly saw this scene, realizing that he had been excluded from the core of the production crew since the New York filming began.

The so-called trio was also a scheme concocted by Martin Davis alone.

Matt Damon couldn't enter that circle, but he had his own circle.

"Let's go," he told his manager, "We'll head into the theatre and wait for the screening."

The manager followed him, saying, "I've just discussed with Graham, the crew has some opinions about your absence from most of the promotions due to 'The Bourne Ultimatum 3,' but it's not a big deal."

Matt Damon replied, "I'm not core." He then asked, "Has the crew and Warner Bros confirmed they are nominating Martin Davis for Best Supporting Actor?"

"Yes, it's been confirmed," the manager replied, sharing the news he had heard, "Apparently, to ensure he gets the nomination, Leonardo has given up on using this film's role for Best Actor and chosen another role in 'Blood Diamond' instead."

Matt nodded, "I understand."

In the media area, reporters nearly surrounded the trio of Martin.

Martin also gave a few interviews, with journalists specifically asking about his collaboration with Scorsese.

"I experienced life at the Boston Police Department first-hand, which was a great help," he recited prepared lines, ensuring no conflict with others' statements, "I really like the role, Director Scorsese told me before filming, just say the lines from the script, the rest is up to your own interpretation."

Ten minutes later, with the help of the production's public relations personnel, the creators fought their way through the heavy media encirclement towards the entrance of Huaison Theatre.

"Moo—"

A cow's moo came from behind.

Martin turned his head back, and the docile old cow still stood out among the crowd.

```

It eyed the retreating figures with longing, mooing plaintively, as if questioning why it was being abandoned.

A specialized handler came over, led the cow away, and soon it would be sent to the United States.

Scorsese had a ranch where raising a single cow was no trouble at all.

The red carpet segment of the premiere thus came to an end, and many online media journalists immediately left the scene to find a nearby temporary workspace, from where they connected to the internet with laptops and wireless cards, posting the news and photos from the premiere at top speed.

The news quickly sparked widespread attention after hitting the internet.

Inside the theater hall, with applause, the core creative team of the cast made their way to the front rows, filling the theater that could accommodate thousands to capacity.

Guests, reporters, critics, columnists, and overseas buyers, etc., came together, cramming the first ten rows full, taking up nearly half of the seats.

The ordinary movie fans took up the other half.

Before taking his seat, Scorsese made a point of looking towards the back, his years of directing having steeled his heart against most waves of emotion, yet he still hoped that this film would achieve a good result.

Especially at the Oscars.

Abandoning the biographical films specifically made for awards to return to the gangster genre he mastered best, Scorsese was full of ambition.

Many say they don't care for the little Oscar statuette, but within this industry and environment, those who truly don't care are few.

In Leonardo's words, once you have money, beautiful women, and a material foundation, you're bound to pursue something else.

Martin sat between Nicholson and Leonardo, shifting a bit to get comfortable, and pulled out his phone to check it.

There was an unread text message on the phone, the sender listed as Robert.

"The ritual has been properly carried out, you can rest easy."

Martin turned off the sound and vibration of his phone and put it back in his pocket.

The ritual for attracting good luck had been consistently adhered to in recent years.

Every time it was used, competing for roles and movie screenings always went off without a hitch; of course, Martin wouldn't give it up.

Leonardo suddenly said in a low voice, "According to Warner Bros.'s estimate, this movie could become my highest-grossing one after Titanic."

Martin said, "I remember you're one of the investors; if you make enough profit, you have to treat me to three days and nights out."

Leonardo asked, "You also contributed funding for the production, and it seems your capital came from Asia? Why haven't we seen that investor today?"

Martin had looked into it: "Wu Maoting can enter the United States but Canada has denied him entry; Pacific Pictures and my studio are hosting him in Los Angeles."

At this moment, Nicholson turned to Martin and Leonardo, asserting his authority like an older brother, "The screening is about to start, talk less, keep quiet. Back in my day, you guys would be smacked to death for this."

Martin couldn't be bothered to respond and turned his gaze to the big screen.

This was a crass gangster film infused with American street culture, and perhaps due to prejudice, even though Martin took part in it himself, he still felt the Hong Kong version was a bit more enjoyable to watch.

Maybe it was because the refreshing nature of the Hong Kong version conveyed a sense of clean sophistication and even a philosophical and romantic poeticism filled with Eastern meaning.

The one Scorsese directed, however, was like the street-level Americans it depicted, vulgar, direct, and realistic.

From the police to the gangsters, everyone used foul language on a daily basis.

The characters were unrestrained yet lethargic.

The two films could be said to differ vastly in style and genre.

The Hong Kong version belonged to the refined genre of police-and-criminal films.

This Infernal Affairs was a street-level gangster movie.

The heaviest roles in the film were played by Leonardo and Martin, but the real core of the film was Frank, portrayed by Nicholson.

This guy was an absolute genius in acting.

He's older, more experienced, and already satisfied with the Oscars he has won; he's not concerned.

Otherwise, if the crew nominated him for a Best Supporting Actor, Martin would undoubtedly have to step aside based on the performance and the character.

Even so, Martin still outperformed Leonardo in their scenes together.

"Not to say Martin crushed Leo, but Leo certainly paled in comparison," Robert De Niro said in a low voice to Al Pacino, "After all these years, Leo still hasn't overcome his old problem."

Al Pacino nodded, "Martin has decent talent, his acting is smooth and polished. Though he's not a naturally brilliant actor like Nicholson, with proper development, he could certainly match up to you or me in the future."

Robert De Niro said, "This movie is very interesting, among Scorsese's works, it's got the strongest entertainment appeal."

Al Pacino said, "It's highly watchable, it might even help him set a personal box office record."

Like all directors inclined towards artistic movies, Martin Scorsese's films generally earned modest box office returns, and often had to rely on off-screen earnings to make a profit.

The screening came to a close, with both protagonists, as expected, walking a path of no return.

When Dignam shot Colin Sullivan, the film came to an end.

Extremely enthusiastic applause erupted in the venue.

```