America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

"What a beautiful house, Martin, you've got good taste,"

Standing on the highest terrace of the villa, Nicholson took off his sunglasses and looked around, "When you move in, you absolutely must throw a grand party. If there aren't at least 50 supermodels, you might as well jump off from here."

Martin pretended not to hear the last sentence and said, "The interior needs to be renovated. We've just finalized the plan, so moving won't happen until summer."

Instead, he remembered the first sentence, "Jack, you've got good taste too, being able to recognize my extraordinary style."

Leonardo, standing nearby, couldn't listen anymore, "Wasn't this house newly built by Pitt? I'm very curious, how did Pitt agree to sell this house to you for such a low price?"

Martin said, "Because Pitt and I are good friends."

Leonardo felt something wasn't right and asked, "Does Pitt know the house ended up in your hands?"

Martin waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about those minor details."

"I get it." Leonardo started to plot, "You don't plan on telling Pitt? If he doesn't know, and doesn't properly thank you, don't you feel like something's missing? It's not complete!"

Nicholson patted Martin on the shoulder, "How can you do a good deed without leaving your mark?" He took out his phone, dialed his daughter's number, "Lorraine, bring your camera, come to Sunset Boulevard North District. Aren't you short on pocket money? Take some videos and sell them to TMZ for cash."

Martin looked at these two troublemakers and said, "You guys are truly my good brothers!"

He had no intention of stopping them and didn't care anyway.

"Who are the neighbors? Let's say hello," Nicholson pointed to the houses on either side, "I've got a rocket launcher and special fireworks in my car. This kind of greeting will definitely make the neighbors remember you."

Martin hurriedly said, "I haven't checked who the neighbors are yet, don't mess around, not everyone can goof off like you and Warren Beatty."

But Nicholson replied, "Buddy, if it turns out to be a beautiful neighbor, you've hit the jackpot."

Leonardo chimed in, "Martin's jackpot isn't the beautiful neighbor, it's the beautiful neighbor who's married."

Soon after, Lorraine drove into the courtyard, heeding her father's advice, wandered around with a DV camera, and then called TMZ's reporters to rush over and sell the footage.

Martin Davis's new home still had some news value.

Nicholson called out, "Let's go, off to Night Color Club. It's time to wash up; I've arranged to meet Warren Beatty and Scorsese there."

Martin got into Leonardo's car, and they drove to Night Color Club together.

After a short wait, Scorsese and Warren Beatty also arrived.

The group picked their company backstage and entered a VIP room to enjoy a facial wash service.

The facial foam rolled over their old faces. Scorsese looked a lot younger and spirited, feeling rejuvenated, he said, "I've been resting for over a year. I am really bored and planning to shoot a new movie."

Martin joked, "Getting ready to earn some milk money?"

But Nicholson stated a harsh reality, "Alimony."

Martin knew about that; his four previous marriages provided Scorsese with a massive drive for artistic creation.

Beatty, who's involved with the Academy, said, "They won't give you another Best Director Oscar that easily."

"It doesn't matter, one is enough," Scorsese had let go of his Oscar complex, which meant he wouldn't dwell on it any longer. He turned to Leonardo, "Keep your schedule from the second half of this year to the first half of next year free for me."

Leonardo didn't hesitate, "I'm at your beck and call."

Nicholson asked Martin, "What about you? What are you planning to do?"

Martin's answer was straightforward, "Of course, I'm here to make money, an action-packed shoot 'em up."

Leonardo said, "You need a lot of money to have enough capital to pursue art."

Beatty agreed, "Without money, it's hard to even gain artistic recognition."

Although it wasn't mentioned outright, everyone knew he was referring to the Oscar statuette.

Martin asked, "This time, I have a big chance to get nominated, right?"

"You are among the five nominees for Best Actor announced by the Actors Guild," Beatty spoke plainly, "If you don't get nominated, you can take all the fireworks from Jack's house and dump them in mine."n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

The group of people laughed.

Beatty added a reminder, "Forget about winning, though. Ninety percent sure the Best Actor will go to Daniel Day Lewis."

Later, the five of them went for a second round of facial treatments.

They each left looking more refreshed than the next.

Martin also found out Scorsese's next project was called "Shutter Island."

Leonardo secured a new investor from Asia who could easily solve the film production funding issue.

Martin kept his distance and never entertained the thought of getting involved from the beginning to the end.

......

In New York, Lily stepped out of the elevator, took out her keys, and opened the door to her luxurious apartment.

She had never lived in such a house before.

When the Carter family was impoverished, they also owned a ramshackle detached wooden house in Clayton Community.

Lily changed her shoes, passed through the entryway and entered the living room. The house had never been lived in before; everything was brand new.

She walked up to the colossal window in the living room, which overlooked the entire Central Park.

"Pitt has a real eye for buying houses." Lily admired, "He's much better than Martin."

But on second thought, Martin didn't need to have a good eye as long as he kept an eye on Pitt, he would reap benefits.

After all, it was Martin who was formidable.

Lily decided that she would stay here tonight, in the luxurious apartment of over three hundred meters, she wanted to be the first one to move in.

Two streets away, in an apartment nearly half the size, Pitt lay alone in bed, unable to sleep all night.

Due to a lack of sufficient cash to pay compensation and legal fees, he had to sell off fixed assets at low prices to raise funds.

Pitt felt the financial crisis; with the outgoing and no incoming, it was hard to sustain the lifestyle he enjoyed.

Getting back to the old days in Hollywood was almost impossible for him, and he had been ousted from the board of Plan B, with corresponding dividends possibly withheld by Jennifer Aniston until who knows when, maybe even dragged to court.

When he used to take a piece rate of 20 million US dollars, Pitt felt money was just a number to him.

But facing these rotten issues, the economic crisis led to his investments in Fannie Mae almost completely wiped out, and he was constantly attacked by public opinion led by women fronted by Mitu.

Pitt truly felt how hard it was to make money.

He did not sleep all night, analyzing what assets he still had to earn money.

Naturally, Pitt thought of his fame.

Even if his name was dirtied, he was still a celebrity.

If someone like Kim Kardashian, a so-called socialite, could make tens of millions of dollars by shooting a video, he would definitely earn more.

For now, Pitt just had the idea.

…

In Beverly Hills, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel's press room.

The Oscar nominee luncheon was in progress.

Academy President Sidney Ganis and the famous Hollywood sweetheart Jessica Alba hosted the luncheon.

Martin sat at the same table with Kate and Sam Mendes.

As Jessica Alba announced the nomination list one by one, it soon came to the Best Actor and Actress.

Both Martin and Kate were rather indifferent about the nominations because most of the time, the Screen Actors Guild nominations were a replica of the Oscar acting award nominations.

Indeed, in sync with Jessica Alba's introductions, the names of Martin and Kate appeared on the big screen in the press room.

"The nominees for Best Actor include George Clooney, Daniel Day Lewis, Martin Davis… and for Best Actress, Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page…"

Cheers came continuously, especially from the table of the 'Juno' crew, which celebrated the loudest.

A small-budget film achieving a double harvest in both artistic and commercial fields was indeed celebration-worthy.

Martin stood up, spreading his arms, "Congratulations, Kate."

"And congratulations to you, Martin," Kate hugged Martin briefly.

After all, it was only a nomination.

Then, Sam Mendes received the nomination for Best Director.

'The Reader' gained six Oscar nominations for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay, and Best Cinematography.

For the group photo of the nominees, Ellen Page stood in front of Martin.

When she turned around and saw him, she quickly greeted him, "Hello, Martin, congratulations on your Best Actor nomination."

Martin responded with a smile, "Congratulations to you too, you portrayed a very remarkable character."

Ellen Page looked surprised, "Really? You saw it?"

Martin hadn't seen the film she was in, he slightly deflected the topic, "My favorite are your performances in 'Phantom Cat' and 'Hard Candy', especially 'Hard Candy', it left a deep impression."

Ellen Page continued, "I really admire your acting, I hope we can work together someday."

The photo session began, and Martin said no more, joining over a hundred people for a commemorative photo.

In addition to the Oscar nominations, he would continue to serve as a presenter.

Stimulated by the Oscar nominations, 'The Reader', which had been rapidly declining in North America, had a resurgence and experienced a box office revival.

Following the nomination luncheon, over the weekend, the film expanded its North American release to 1457 theaters, maintaining that scale for two weekends and collecting an additional 8.74 million US dollars, taking its cumulative North American box office to 68.11 million US dollars.

The final North American box office would definitely surpass 70 million US dollars, but that would be it, the nature of the film's content determined that the North American box office wouldn't reach a hundred million.

Compared to 'Schindler's List' which was also about the Nazis and the Holocaust, 'The Reader' fell far short in terms of entertainment value, and it didn't even have the kind of sentimental ending that North American audiences greatly appreciate.

Additionally, the film had been released in Germany and England, and thanks to the story background, cast appeal, and other factors, the box office in both countries combined had already exceeded ten million US dollars.

Other international markets would be released in sequence.

After the Oscar ceremony, DVD sales would celebrate their moment.

Martin was preparing for the Oscars; Louise, who went to New York to pave the way for 'John Wick', rushed back to Los Angeles and brought back new sponsors.