Burbank, Pacific Film and Television Productions.
As soon as Martin entered the reception room, an extremely enthusiastic middle-aged man came over and shook hands with him vigorously.
Louise just stood there and laughed.
Wu Maoting, an investor from Southeast Asia, said in accented English: "Martin, The Departed is a great success. Your performance is very exciting and shocking."
Martin said with a smile: "Mr. Wu, thank you."
Wu Maoting asked: "Thank you and Ms. Meier for giving me this investment opportunity, allowing me to jump out of Asia and expand my business territory to the United States."
Martin did not speak immediately, but glanced at Louise.
Even if The Departed is a box office hit, companies like Hollywood have a way of making losses on their books.
Louise winked slightly.
Martin understood that this was about taking a long-term approach and operating rationally.
In fact, it is not difficult to understand that Wu Maoting has a mine in his hands, and he does not dare to keep the money converted from the mine locally, so he naturally wants to find better investment channels.
Another point is that those who can occupy the jade mines in Myanmar not only have guns in their hands, but also many guns.
Martin spoke nicely: "It's also Mr. Wu who has good vision. There were so many people at the beginning, but Mr. Wu chose to believe in me and Louise, so we got the rewards we deserve."
Wu Maoting expressed his desire to continue cooperation: "I have experienced the openness and tolerance of Hollywood. Although there are unlimited business opportunities here, I trust the partners I have worked with before."
Louise said: "There will be opportunities to continue working together soon."
Wu Maoting waved, and two followers came over holding a mahogany box each.
He took one and gave it to Louise first, then put the other into Martin's hand and said: "A small gift is not a sign of respect."
At this moment, the guests and hosts enjoyed themselves.
Wu Maoting said goodbye and left.
Louise and Martin came back from sending people away. She looked at the mahogany box on the table and said, "It's not emerald again, is it?"
"Emerald is also quite good." Martin opened his mahogany box and found a piece of emerald inside.
It was almost full of green, and the planting water was very good. He, a layman, couldn't tell the specific details.
Louise is an emerald bracelet set in white gold.
She looked at it carefully and said, "Probably worth hundreds of thousands of dollars."
Martin said: "To the mine owner and warlord, this thing is nothing. I think his family background is stronger than ours."
Louise pushed up her black-rimmed glasses: "They must be thicker than you."
Martin nodded, picked up the box and was about to leave: "I have to go to the agency."
Louise took the initiative to invite: "Come to my place for dinner this afternoon. By the way, my bedroom has been renovated. Why don't you come over and take a look?"
Martin is now single again and said: "Well, I'll call you when I'm done."
Louise said: "I'm waiting for your call."
Three and a half years have passed since she met Martin. She has not changed much, but Martin has been completely changed.
From a penniless little actor, he became a star with great appeal.
Louise has been adjusting her mentality recently to allow the relationship between the two to develop in the longer term.
Martin left Pacific Pictures and went to Century City. When he entered the WMA front hall, all he encountered were smiling faces.
On the way to Thomas's office, most of them, whether they knew him or not, would take the initiative to say hello to him.
There were also several brokers working in the lobby who asked him if he had any new projects and if he could help their clients.
Martin mostly responded vaguely, blaming it on Thomas. The agent carried the burden forward, and he was the one who took the blame.
Arriving at Thomas' office, Bruce stayed outside as before, chatting with Natasha.
When Thomas saw Martin, he picked up a piece of information and handed it to Martin: "The information I just got from Warner Bros. The projects you collaborated with them have been successful one after another, and they are willing to reveal some to us."
Martin opened it and found a comic inside, Frank Miller's "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns."
Thomas detailed: "You asked me to pay attention to Christopher Nolan. I got reliable news that the Nolan brothers have basically finalized the main story line of the Batman sequel. It will be adapted based on The Dark Knight Returns. Mene learned from Emma Thomas. The news I received also confirms this."
Martin looked at it and asked, "Are there any others?"
"The protagonists of the film are Batman and the Joker. It adopts the mode of a duel between two heroes like The Wire." Thomas has been working hard on this during this period: "The Departed was a big hit, and if the next one is Never Ending, it will also be a box office hit." If it's a big hit, there won't be many obstacles from Warner Bros. and DC Comics."
Martin said without any nonsense: "Get the script as soon as possible."
"I will." Thomas smoothed his hair. He had recently undergone a hair transplant so that the hair on his forehead would not appear too thin.
But the hair transplant was not successful, and his forehead soon became shiny: "This is a commercial masterpiece, and I hope to get you a salary of more than 10 million US dollars."
Martin nodded: "I hope both of us can get rich."
Thomas was full of enthusiasm: "I will definitely do it."
The two discussed for a while about competing for awards during the awards season.
There are not many occasions where Martin needs to personally engage in public relations. The actor's main task is to increase exposure, express a positive attitude at canvassing meetings, and leave the lobbying to professional public relations.
Of course, the most important thing is to spend money.
Thomas talked about the important part of public relations: "The company has contacted relevant institutions to find the right opportunity to set up a charitable foundation."
He was worried that Martin might misunderstand: "Charitable donations can be tax deductible, and a considerable part of the funds raised can be used for the operation of the institution."
Martin understood: "I know, you need to get the procedural matters done as soon as possible." Thomas wanted to refuse, saying that it was not the agent's job, but thinking about the person sitting across from him, the salary for a single film could soon reach 10 million. Above US dollars, he swallowed his words again.
As a preparatory millionaire, Thomas thought it was no big deal to do more work, after all, he still had Natasha as his assistant.
CPUs are all one level above the other.
After staying in Thomas' office for nearly an hour, Martin said goodbye and left.
When going downstairs, Bruce followed from behind and said, "Based on what Natasha said, Thomas works very hard."
Martin thought of Thomas' increasingly sparse forehead and said softly: "You can see it."
Arriving at the WMA lobby, Martin had just turned out of the elevator when someone next to him suddenly called him: "Martin!"
Before he could turn his head, Jennifer Aniston, who was wearing a short windbreaker, walked over quickly. Regardless of whether there was anyone around, she stretched out her arms and hugged him hard.
Martin was single again and didn't care about other people's opinions. He hugged Aniston back and kissed her hard on the forehead and said: "Jen, you are still so beautiful."
Aniston held Martin's face, kissed him hard on the mouth, and said, "Congratulations, your new movie is a hit."
The agent Steve who was following behind coughed hard and reminded the two of them: "This is not the place to talk."
Reporters are generally not allowed to enter WMA's offices. As for other rumors, there were many scandals when the two were filming "Never Ending" together. Martin and Aniston didn't care.
Aniston looked at the increasingly attractive little puppy and said, "I feel like you are different."
"Do you have any important work now?" Martin asked.
Aniston shook her head without hesitation.
Martin took her hand and left, saying to Bruce: "Drive the car to the underground parking lot."
Steve wanted to stop her, but when he saw Aniston's face blooming with a charming smile, she stood there without saying anything, just watching Martin steal his client.
The two got in the car, and Bruce went straight to the nearest five-star hotel without Martin's instructions.
At this time, a thousand words are not worth as much as one shot to the end.
As for the rest, we can wait until the Eagles are finished.
When they arrived at the hotel, Aniston hung it on the wall as a poster for Martin.
In Martin's words, this is the highest form of worship a fan can have for an idol.
Also called happy worship.
Just as the song finished, Martin's cell phone rang. He picked it up and took a look, and it turned out to be Julie calling.
Aniston also noticed the name displayed on the screen and said, "Just take it."
As she said this, her legs turned into ropes, tying Martin up and preventing him from leaving.
Although Aniston has long since lost interest in competing with Jolie, it is also very interesting to have her add to the trouble.
Martin pressed the answer button: "Hi, Angie, what's the matter?"
Julie was very direct: "I heard that you returned to Los Angeles. I haven't seen you for a long time. I'll go find you for a drink."
Martin looked at Aniston and thought of Louise at night. He decided to play it safe and said, "I don't have time today, let's try another day."
Julie's mind was active and she guessed: "Are you and Aniston together?"
Martin neither admits nor denies it.
"Get her on the phone!" Julie said.
Aniston's hand reached out.
"You don't have to pay attention to her," Martin said.
Aniston insisted.
Martin placed the phone in her hand.
Aniston picked up the phone and said quickly: "Martin and I are together. Do you want to know where he is?"
Julie blurted out the words without thinking: "Tell me quickly!"
"Take your time and guess!" Aniston immediately cut off the phone, put her arms around Martin's neck, and asked deliberately: "Have you ever thought about calling Julie and me together?"
Martin shook his head: "Never thought about it."
"Really?" She didn't believe it.
Martin said no more and continued playing Eagles.
When it was time to get off work, Martin went downstairs alone, went home, changed his clothes, got into an inconspicuous car, and rushed to the south hillside.
Life is really hard. We need to travel back and forth, which makes our waist so tired.
Martin arrived at Louise's mansion. After entering the living room, he saw Louise mixing drinks for him behind the bar. He pulled out a chair and sat down, taking a breath first.
There is no way, men are inherently weak in this regard.
He asked, “Are you going to the International Bartenders Convention this year?”
Louise pointed to the medals and certificates in the glass display case: "How can we miss the only female bartender master?"
Martin nodded: "I recently made a new cocktail called a hole-in-one."
(End of chapter)
