America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 777 - 770: There Are Advantages to Being Fast

Arriving at Nicholson’s mansion, Martin had just turned past the entrance when he suddenly sensed danger, forcefully pushed off with his feet, and lunged forward by a good distance.

As he turned his head to look, he heard a strange noise in his ears.

"Pssst! Pssst..."

Several streams of water flew past, missing Martin and hitting the marble floor instead.

Leonardo, holding a big water gun in both hands, came out from his hiding place, aiming the nozzle at Martin, "Bastard, I’m going to settle the score with you, let you know what it’s like to be spit in the face!"

Martin backed away, standing near a painting, and said, "Come on, Leo, let’s see if your aim is any good!"

Just as Leonardo was about to turn the gun nozzle, Nicholson, who had been enjoying the spectacle, jumped out and hastily shouted, "Stop! Stop right now! Both of you bastards stop!"

Martin stood beside the painting, "Keep going, Leo."

Without waiting for Leonardo to reply, Nicholson rushed over and snatched the water gun away, "If you dare wet my painting, I’ll marry Lorraine off to you!"

Leonardo quickly put the water gun down.

Martin challenged, "I just got back to Los Angeles, and this is how you welcome me?"

Leonardo marched inward, while giving Martin the middle finger with both hands, "What the hell did you do in Boston?"

Martin sat down on a single sofa, with an innocent look on his face, "What did I do? I’ve been filming a new movie."

Nicholson brought over some liquor and glasses, pouring drinks for them, and said, "Leo’s beloved."

Martin understood, "I ran into Gisele and had a chat."

"Gisele called me," Leonardo slapped the back of Martin’s sofa and sat on the other side, "Then, she asked me what I like to say when I’m drunk!"

Martin spoke earnestly, "Leo, can’t you feel my good intentions? I’m helping you find your true love! You should be thanking me!"

Leonardo was used to this shameless face, "I’ll definitely thank you properly by telling everyone that you intend to form an army of beauties to conquer the White House and flatten Washington."

Martin wasn’t phased and said, "That’s political correctness, don’t you understand!"

Nicholson, this turncoat, who had just been on Leonardo’s side, now switched to Martin’s, saying, "Martin really has the spirit of brotherhood, helping a good brother find back his true love."

Martin nodded at him, "Only Jack understands the efforts I make."

Leonardo said, "Am I lacking in women? It’s the time I spend with them that’s lacking."

"That’s not right!" Martin said, barely holding back a laugh, "It only lasts for about 20 seconds, you can’t tell me you don’t even have that little time, can you?"

Nicholson burst into laughter, laughing so hard he could hardly straighten his back.

Leonardo’s skin had long become thick enough to retort, "What’s wrong with 20 seconds? Being quick has its advantages, you two idiots just don’t understand."

Martin and Nicholson looked into Leonardo’s eyes with disdain.

Leonardo retorted, "What are we chasing women for, huh?"

He didn’t need an answer from anyone and directly said, "Of course, it’s for our own pleasure! 20 seconds is enough for me to enjoy myself, that’s enough; who cares if others enjoy it or not!"

Nicholson started to shift opinions again, "Seems to make sense!"

"What do you mean seems? This is the truth!" Leonardo insisted, "There are so many advantages to being quick: it doesn’t deplete physical or mental energy, prevents excessive wear and tear on the spine, doesn’t let such matters interfere with normal work and life, avoids tearing important areas..."

Martin found himself unable to refute.

Leonardo was ready to defend and immediately launched a counterattack, "And look at you, always half an hour of exhausting effort for those few seconds of pleasure. Often one on two, one on three, or even more, busying yourself the whole night and what’s the result in the end? How is it any different from mine?"

Pointing at Martin, he snarked, "You’re young now and can’t feel it, but when you reach my age, if your back is ruined, kidneys are powerless, and you’re out of spirits, you’ll know how serious the consequences of too much time can be!"

"That’s damn terrifying!" Martin acted as if he’d been frightened, "Scared me so much I almost joined you in running the 100 meters in 24 seconds!"

Leonardo patted his shoulder, speaking gravely, "You understand what you have to do from now on, right?"

Martin replied, "I would like to learn from you, but my abilities won’t allow it." He looked at Nicholson, "If it weren’t for Jack being here, I’d almost believe your nonsense."

Nicholson grinned at Leonardo, baring two rows of eerie white teeth.

Martin pointed at Nicholson and said, "When Jack was young, he played harder than I did, so what’s the result? Now Jack is 75 years old and can still make Jennifer Lawrence call him ’Daddy.’"

Nicholson lifted his chin, "I’ve never missed one of our group activities."

Martin coughed lightly, "On the other hand, look at a few of Hollywood’s well-known sprinters. Once they’re over forty, they’re not quite up to it anymore."

He intentionally counted on his fingers and said, "Leo, you’re about to turn forty, and they say that once you hit forty, your energy levels seriously decline. Running a hundred meters in 10 seconds and the like isn’t scary, but don’t end up..."

"Enough! Shut up." Leonardo quickly changed the subject, "That project you mentioned over the phone, are you planning to secure it?"

Martin replied, "I’ve already sent someone to make contact."

Nicholson took over the conversation, "I’ve heard a bit from Leo, and I’ve read the original work back in the day too. Twenty-four personalities are not easy to portray, and your acting might just barely cut it, but if the director is not chosen well, it could easily fall apart."

Leonardo also said, "An average director would find it difficult to handle such subject matter."

Martin said, "I’ve arranged to meet with David Finch this afternoon to talk to him and see if he’s interested."

Nicholson nodded, "David Finch’s style is very suited for this kind of subject."

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Leonardo reminded him, "Since you think highly of it, you should move fast. You’re not short on cash right now, so don’t quibble over a few hundred thousand dollars. A lot of people in the industry have their eyes on you."

"I will make it quick and decisive," Martin said. "All the projects that were snatched away ended up failing, so those watching me will hesitate a bit longer before attempting another grab."

Thomas and Jessica moved fast indeed, and just this morning, they found Billy Milligan himself at a nursing home.

Billy Milligan was suffering from a tumor and desperately needed money.

The most important part of his life was spent in a mental hospital, with no medical insurance. "24 Bills" was not a bestseller, and although the ghostwriter had no rights, he was entitled to share in the royalties. The income from the two biographical memoirs was barely enough for him to get by on now.

As for raising funds to adapt the movie, Billy Milligan had long since abandoned the idea.

A few years ago, he spent money on a publicity stunt, but after the money was spent, he couldn’t sell the rights, even though many Hollywood movies had drawn inspiration from his story.

In the hospital room, a gaunt Billy Milligan appeared listless, showing no signs of the dissociative identity disorder symptoms, his cloudy eyes looking at Thomas and Jessica. He asked, "You mean, Hollywood megastar Martin Davis wants to buy the film and television adaptation rights for my two biographies?"

Jessica took over, "I am the vice president of Davis Studio, representing Martin. Davis Studio is interested in adapting your biographies and life story into a film or series, and we want to purchase the exclusive rights."

Billy Milligan knew very well that he didn’t have much longer to live, and wiping his eyes, said, "I wanted to adapt it into a movie myself, but unfortunately, I never had the chance."

He asked, "May I know if Martin Davis himself will star in it?"

Thomas, understanding, said, "Yes, Martin will play the character adapted from you."

Billy Milligan’s terms had actually been set a few years back, and without wasting time now, he said directly, "1.5 million dollars, both autobiographies and ’The Crowded Room’ screenplay, exclusive rights to you."

Thomas and Jessica had instructions from Martin—provided the price wasn’t outrageous, to wrap it up quickly without dragging their feet.

After exchanging a glance, Jessica responded, "We can do that. Mr. Milligan, do you have a lawyer or an agent?"

"I have a lawyer." Billy Milligan picked up the phone next to him, dialed his lawyer’s number, and said, "Please wait, my lawyer can come over in an hour."

By the time the lawyer arrived, both sides had conducted more detailed negotiations, and by the afternoon, they had roughly drafted the rights agreement.

...…

At three in the afternoon, Martin entered Disney Studio and, while on his way to the "Escape from Tehran" studio, received a call from Thomas informing him that the rights were basically secured.

Surrounded by wolves hungry for the project, Martin didn’t care about spending an extra few hundred thousand or even a million dollars.

A swift decision was essential to secure the rights before drawing the attention of other companies.

Arriving at the studio lobby, Thomas’s assistant was already waiting there with the screenplay "The Crowded Room."

Martin took the screenplay and went to the director’s office.

David Finch was waiting there and upon seeing Martin enter, said, "You’ve come at the right time, there are some matters I wish to discuss with you."

Martin sat down on the couch and asked, "Is the film production finished?"

David Finch shook his head, "There’s one last fine cut to do, the final edit should be done by the end of August."

He said, "I plan to premiere the film at the Toronto Film Festival, to create a buzz with the festival, and then release it widely across North America."

Martin agreed, "I will arrange someone to communicate with Disney Studios."

It had been eight months since the film entered post-production last October, and David Finch, aiming for one last shot at an Oscar for Best Director, had been perfecting it ever since.

After discussing "Escape from Tehran" for a while, Martin steered the conversation towards the new project.

"During my trip to Boston for a new film shoot, I stumbled upon a person’s biography, Billy Milligan’s ’24 Bills.’ He detailed the specifics, "I’ve pretty much secured the exclusive rights on my side, and I was wondering, David, if you are interested?"

Martin put the two biographies and a screenplay in front of David Finch, "The screenplay ’The Crowded Room’ was adapted by Billy Milligan’s proxy, and can only be used as a reference."

David Finch picked up the book, laughing, "I got to know about Billy in detail as far back as 1996."