America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 618 - 611 Each Take a Step Back

Entering the late August, Svetlana and Marina arrived in New York one after another, and after passing the crew auditions, they each secured the roles of the female assassin Ares and Gianna.

The former had to undergo certain action training.

The glass mirror scene conceived by Chad was not yet built, and the action scenes between Ares and Jonathan were scheduled to be shot last according to the filming plan.

After a few training sessions, Chen Hu found Martin and whispered, "I have carefully observed and, based on my over twenty years of experience, I judge that Svetlana has not undergone combat training."

Martin responded, "Thanks."

Once Chen Hu left, Bruce came over and said, "This alone isn’t enough to completely rule it out. The swallow’s main task is sexual seduction to obtain information, not physical combat."

Martin replied, "The likelihood would be smaller then."

Bruce paused for a moment, then asked, "If you really find out, what do you plan to do? None of the Russian spies we’ve caught in the past were real spies, maybe Russia didn’t take it too seriously."

Martin answered honestly, "I haven’t thought through how to deal with it, but no matter what, we at least need to know who it is."

As for high-minded ideas like the seventy-two tortures, he temporarily didn’t mention them to someone as unsophisticated as Bruce, because unsophisticated people always like to think in the wrong direction.

Martin then asked, "What about Marina?"

Bruce replied, "There hasn’t been anything particular discovered."

Seeing that the set was adjusted, Martin picked up his handgun and entered the set to continue shooting action scenes.

Chad had found a sumo-practicing special actor from Japan.

Martin had a few action scenes to shoot with him.

The two were leagues apart in weight and build, like a ten-year-old child facing off against a two-hundred-plus-pound fat man.

After over twenty action scenes and over two hours of shooting, Martin was soaked with sweat before it was finally completed.

Jonathan shot and killed the sumo assassin with a gun. Experience new tales on novelbuddy

When Martin left the set, he found Louise had arrived, accompanied by Ellen Horn.

The latter came over to greet Martin, saying, "The fight scene was spectacular, indeed, live shooting is the real deal."

Martin shook his hand and asked, "What brings you here?"

Ellen Horn said directly, "’John Wick: Chapter 2’ is the first non-Disney film I signed after joining Disney Studios, and its success or failure affects both Disney and Bowery Vista’s distribution labels. Miss Mel said she was coming over, so I decided to come and have a look as well."

It was almost noon. Martin pointed to himself, "I’m all sweaty. I’m going to take a shower first. I’ll treat you to lunch later, and we can talk while we eat."

Ellen Horn replied, "Sure."

Martin returned to his trailer, the action scenes for this part of the set were finished, and the afternoon belonged to the media day for the crew, so he went straight to removing his makeup and changing clothes.

Suddenly, someone knocked on the trailer door from outside. Bruce stepped up to open the door, and Louise came in.

The makeup artist and Bruce both left the trailer.

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Louise closed the door behind her, saying, "Let me help you with whatever you need next."

Martin took off his jacket, "I’m going to take a shower."

Louise followed, "Let me scrub your back."

When these two left, Louise’s long hair was still not fully dry.

But she didn’t care.

The two joined Ellen Horn and Bruce and went to a nearby restaurant for lunch.

After ordering, their conversation quickly shifted to movies.

Ellen Horn shared, "’John Wick: Chapter 2’ and ’Lone Survivor’ have both signed distribution contracts with Disney Studios, the former is scheduled for the first half of next year, the latter for the holiday season."

Martin politely said, "Ellen, thanks for your support."

"We’re old friends, no need for formalities," Ellen Horn got straight to the point, "Once you’re back in Los Angeles, Robert Iger has invited you to visit Disney."

Martin responded, "No problem, I can go anytime after wrapping up this movie."

Former CEO Robert Iger took Disney to its peak, while his successor nearly turned Disney into another Warner Bros.

Ellen Horn brought up another important topic, "Regarding the long-term agreement between Disney Studios and Davis Studio, I think ten years is most suitable, but your side insists on five years."

Martin calculated the time and said, "How about this, Ellen, let’s meet each other halfway, we sign the distribution contract until 2019, how’s that?"

After pondering for a while, Ellen Horn agreed, "Alright, let’s meet each other halfway."

He then inquired, "I heard you’ve got several rights to novels and scripts, you have ’Prince of Thieves’ and ’The Martian’ in your hands?"

Martin confirmed, "There are a few projects."

Ellen Horn verified, "Will they all be pushed into production in the future?"

Martin revealed some information appropriately, "The adapted script for ’Prince of Thieves’ is already finished, and I have a verbal commitment with Ridley Scott for ’The Martian’. If all goes well, Ridley will direct this project."

Ellen Horn added, "Ridley Scott’s science fiction films are always reliable."

Martin smiled, "That’s what I think as well."

Ellen Horn said, "I hope to see these movies soon."

The conversation was pleasant on both sides, and after lunch, Ellen Horn took his leave and headed to Marvel Headquarters.

Louise accompanied Martin back to the studio, and as they walked, she said, "Jennifer Siebel’s project is wrapped up and moving into post-production. I’ve been to the set a few times. The director is very professional; the film might not be particularly outstanding, but it should not be as bad as Uwe Boll’s movies."

Martin had also received a call from Siebel and said, "I’ve talked to Greg Peters at Netflix about this movie. Netflix will buy the rights to this film. As for the price, we’ll negotiate with Netflix based on the quality of the film."

When Louise heard that, she understood the situation, "After Siebel’s film completes post-production, it will definitely be after the California gubernatorial election results in November. Netflix has calculated it very precisely."

Martin laughed, "It’s almost certain that Gavin Newsom and Jerry Brown will win, and I’m also waiting for the results before I negotiate with Netflix."

He said, "The film’s production will end around that time, which is what I wanted."

Louise suddenly stopped walking and turned to look at Martin.

Unlike others, she could be considered Martin’s guide and had witnessed Martin’s rise to the present step by step.

Martin noticed Louise stopping and turned to ask, "What’s wrong?"

Louise caught up, brushed a speck of dust off Martin’s shoulder, took his arm, and said, "Let’s go."

As they walked, Martin said, "I’ll need you to continue taking on the role of producer for my projects."

Louise understood what he meant, "I’ll just cling to your coattails and wait to count the money."

Martin shrugged, "You might end up bankrupt because of it."

Louise, reminded of something, warned him, "Hollywood is paying special attention to you now. Like Warner Bros., they have someone specifically watching you, waiting to snatch up any project you’re interested in."

Martin nodded, "I know, I’ve been cautious, and I’ve also fabricated some real and fake stuff."

Louise curiously asked, "Like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone back in the day?"

"Something like that," Martin was aware of the competition between Stallone and Schwarzenegger in the action movie domain.

Not only did they focus on their movie projects, but they also paid special attention to their rival’s projects. If they heard that a rival was interested in an action movie project, they would immediately join the competition.

Because of this, both of them have pretended to be interested in a project to lure the rival into a trap.

Now, the relationship between the two is much better.

These were the stories Martin had heard from Stallone’s three daughters.

The afternoon was the media day for the crew, and due to the impact of Justin Bieber’s incident, dozens of media reporters and entertainment bloggers attended that day.

Along with Martin and Chad, all the main creative members of the crew participated in the media interaction.

Sequels of blockbuster movies still need vigorous promotion to sell at a good price.

The reporters inevitably mentioned the confrontation with Justin Bieber that night.

But their focus was not on the conflict itself but on Martin’s relationship with Taylor Swift.

"We’re friends, very good friends," Martin answered consistently, "Taylor thinks I inspire her, so she spends a lot of time with me. That night a few of us were at a bar near Central Park. When we got a call from Taylor, we immediately rushed over. We thought they were just some delinquent teens, not expecting a famous pop star."

A reporter asked, "With such a heroic rescue, Taylor must be very grateful, right?"

Martin dodged the direct question, conveniently pulling someone from beside him as a shield, "The real hero that night was him; this is the all-capable tiger!"

Unfortunately, Chen Hu, who was passing by, got dragged by Martin into the fray.

Martin spoke seriously, "The tiger has won a national karate championship and is also my martial arts coach and teacher. That night, each of us took down a harasser, but the tiger alone knocked down two!"

This wasn’t a random claim; the reporters had all seen the video of that night, and Chen Hu was the most valiant one.

They immediately shifted their focus and surrounded Chen Hu.

Martin gave Chen Hu a look, disloyally slipped to one side without saying anything.

Chen Hu understood Martin’s intentions; he had always worked quietly behind the scenes, and with his status, it was difficult to attract attention, even fading into obscurity after the series ended.

Martin went to the opposite corner and caught Chen Hu looking his way. He nodded lightly towards him, offering encouragement and support.

Chad came over and said, "The tiger is a real talent."

Martin nodded, "For all you old friends, I’ll help out wherever I can."

Chad, thinking of his own situation, felt suddenly moved. He had spend nearly twenty years in the industry with almost nothing to show for it until he met Martin.

With gratitude in his voice, he said, "Martin, meeting you was the biggest stroke of luck in my life."

"You’re such a sap!" Martin joked, "If you’re going to be mushy, go find Mene or Marcus."

Thinking of how Marcus had ballooned like a ball, Chad threw in a joke, "I’m afraid he’ll sit down and break the chair along with the person on it."

That evening, Martin returned from the studio to the hotel, where he encountered the weary-looking Alexandrovich.