America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 540 - 533: Not Pretty Enough, So Rejected

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Looking at Beckham and Victoria, who were striding over, Martin thought to himself, could it be that he accidentally swindled these two with his ramblings?

In his memory, Victoria was as shrewd as a monkey.

Clearly, they were both following Victoria’s lead. When she approached Martin, she said, "What you just said was very novel."

Martin had never considered becoming a Sect Hierarch like in Scientology. He said, "I’m an actor, good at improvisation."

Victoria was taken aback, "Uh... "

Beckham chimed in, "Martin, you’re a trustworthy person."

"That’s well known in Hollywood." Martin appeared helpless, "Tommy helped me out, invited me over to the party. I couldn’t not show up, but there are some things I don’t like, so I had to think of something else."

They, too, came because of Tom Cruise.

Victoria continued, "Actually, we don’t like it either." She was a very smart woman and directly asked, "Can we join your Cola Cult?"

Martin was slightly surprised and said, "Of course you can. The Cola Cult is a pan-belief system that doesn’t require you to attend lectures or purify the minds and souls of the faithful, nor does it need donations. All you need to do is purchase a commemorative edition Coke, register on the official website, and you’re a member of the Cola Cult."

Such an organization sounded more reliable than Scientology.

Beckham said, "We’ll join the Cola Cult as soon as we get back."

Victoria didn’t join just for the sake of joining, she asked Martin, "Does our Cola Cult have regular meetings?"

Martin hadn’t considered this yet, "Not for the moment."

"As far as I know, many people are interested in the Cola Cult," Victoria said, wanting to network through a trustworthy organization, which was also the main reason she was close to Tom Cruise.

She sincerely suggested, "Sect Hierarch, have you thought about setting up a regular meeting mechanism?"

Martin thought for a moment, "I’ll seriously consider it."

Victoria and Beckham shook hands with Martin and his group, watching as they got into their car and left.

After sending Mene away, Martin and Bruce returned home. Before getting out of the car, Martin asked, "Old Cloth, should we set up a meeting system?"

Bruce had taken Martin’s drunken words as a joke, "Aren’t you trying to dismantle the United States Federal Government? Maybe this could be your first step."

Martin considered for a while, "It could be a platform for networking and resource sharing, which doesn’t sound too bad."

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He made a note of it and decided to communicate with Coca-Cola about it later.

For starters, he would definitely need to leverage Coca-Cola’s resources.

Back at the villa, Elizabeth was surprised, "You’re back so early?"

Martin went over and embraced her, "You’re leaving tomorrow. I wanted to make more time to spend with you."

The housekeeper gave Bruce a look, and they both left the villa.

Martin carried Elizabeth upstairs.

Bruce went to the fountain and made a phone call, "Hey, Cohler..."

The person on the other end interrupted him, "Old Cloth, are you coming tonight? Kim is here too."

Bruce responded, "I’m on my way."

The night was destined to be full of fireworks.

The next morning, Martin went to the airport to see Elizabeth off, then headed to Warner Bros. Studios to meet Nolan.

The investigation into the shooting incident on the set hadn’t made much progress, and Tom Hardy, who fired the shots, was still in trouble and not free of suspicion. The Los Angeles Police Department had ordered him not to leave Los Angeles for the short term.

Luckily, the victim’s injuries were not serious, and the film crew and insurance company were in talks with him about compensation.

If they dropped the charges, it would be much easier to handle the matter.

Nolan told Martin, "Shooting can resume at the earliest by next week. Fortunately, the publicity from the news has brought more attention to the film, so the set hasn’t suffered for nothing."

Martin said, "Chris, you have a knack for turning decay into magic, always able to guide public opinion."

Nolan replied frankly, "Actually, I learned it from you. I’ve learned a lot, especially about publicity."

Martin, considering his own safety, said, "There must be stricter management of props on set."

Nolan agreed, "I plan to send Anderson there. We absolutely can’t have another accident."

That name sounded familiar. Martin took a moment to remember that it was the screenwriter known for writing realistic set anecdotes.

Nolan added, "Anderson might not be good at other things, but he never cuts corners when carrying out the tasks I assign."

Martin completely believed this. A screenwriter wouldn’t usually come up with such exciting, true-to-life set anecdotes without some initiative.

After Martin took his leave, Nolan stood alone at the office window. The incident in Morocco had a great impact on him, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that the shooting had something to do with the Jewish community.

......

Close to noon, Martin received a call from Thomas. Ari Emanuel had invited him to play golf at the Los Angeles Country Club.

When Martin arrived, besides Thomas and Ari, there was a woman on the scene.

Ari’s top female client, Natalie Portman.

Wearing a white sun hat and light-colored women’s golf clothes, she looked very thin.

Reminiscent of the stick-thin figures Martin often saw in Hengdian in his previous life.

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Martin walked over and fist-bumped Ari, saying, "You picked the one sport I’m worst at."

Ari laughed heartily and replied, "Because it’s the only sport I’m sure I can beat you at."

He introduced them, saying, "This is Natalie; Nat, this is Martin, I believe it’s the first time you two are meeting." Discover stories at novelbuddy

Martin lightly clasped Natalie’s extended hand, "Matilda in ’Léon: The Professional’ was a childhood idol of mine."

Natalie smiled and responded, "I was young and didn’t know any better when I took that role."

Martin’s words shifted, "I’m equally fond of Padmé Amidala."

Ari pointed to an electric golf cart nearby, "I’ll be the driver, guys, hop in."

The golf gear for all four was loaded onto the electric cart driven by Bruce.

Ari steered the electric cart toward the distant, flat green, talking as they went, "Some people at CAA are pressuring Nolan, apparently, things are getting pretty tense."

Martin asked, "Why is that?"

Ari pondered briefly and answered, "The incident with the four female kidnappers caught by his own hands in Morocco." He shrugged, "If Nolan were at WMA, I’d be pressuring him just the same."

Outwardly, Martin kept his composure, but he was well aware that among the four people in the golf cart, two were Jewish.

Ari and Natalie.

Considering Ari’s brother, Ram, served as the White House Chief of Staff, it was clear to see the influence Jews had on this country.

A few years ago, when Mel Gibson raged against Jews, Ari was one of the biggest forces behind Hollywood’s blacklisting of Mel Gibson.

Martin still feigned confusion, "Shouldn’t CAA be supporting Nolan?"

"I almost forgot you’re not privy to the details," Ari said simply, "They are Jewish."

He added a line, "Just so you know."

Martin feigned realization, "Got it, don’t worry."

Ari said, "When you have time, introduce me, and I’ll have a talk with Nolan."

Martin considered for a moment and then said, "You must’ve heard about the shooting incident on set; now isn’t a good time, it’s best to wait until this movie is done."

"No rush on this matter," Ari replied.

At that moment, the cart stopped and the group entered the practice field. Martin was mediocre at golf, and Natalie was also a novice.

Thomas played quite well.

The four were less playing golf than discussing business.

Natalie swung her club, the ball flew far, and she cheered with delight.

Martin commented, "Nice technique, played before?"

Natalie set down another white ball, "I played for a bit while at Harvard, then studied further in Jerusalem and hardly played after that."

Martin, the supreme academic slacker, had no interest in her subtly boasted credentials and said, "I haven’t practiced golf much, I’m best at shooting guns."

At this time, Ari came over with his club, "You two seem to be getting along. How about working together? The company’s top male and female stars in the same movie. Wouldn’t that be a splendid idea?"

Martin put down his club and asked, "Do you have a suitable project?"

"I don’t, but you do," Ari said, his invitation today to Martin was exactly for this reason, to discuss potential collaborations between two of his important clients, "Aren’t you planning to adapt the bestseller ’Gone Girl’ with David Fincher? David Fincher is openly casting for the female lead."

"That’s true," Martin said.

Ari walked behind Natalie and spoke, "Our Nat is also quite miraculous, wouldn’t you say she’s a perfect fit for the amazing Amy?"

Natalie joined in, "The role of Amy absolutely captivates me, her high education, high intellect, it’s somewhat similar to me."

Hearing this, Martin understood why Natalie had mentioned her experience studying in Harvard and Jerusalem.

On the other side, Thomas subtly shook his head at Martin, indicating he wasn’t aware of this.

Martin chuckled and replied, "The project is a joint investment from multiple parties, not just my studio. A director of David Fincher’s caliber isn’t someone I can influence."

He tossed a white ball into the air, caught it, and continued, "I’ll give the crew and Director Finch a heads-up; Nat can directly go into the third round of auditions. The final decision will have to take various opinions into account."

This was the outcome Ari was aiming for; the female lead couldn’t just be handed over.

Unless Natalie could bring in a substantial amount of funding to get on board with the investment.

Natalie proactively expressed her thanks, "Thank you, Martin."

"Don’t mention it, I can’t guarantee you’ll win though." In Martin’s eyes, the exquisite and beautiful Amy depicted by Gillian Flynn wasn’t something Natalie could handle.

The strictly vegan and well-known Hollywood actress, scrawny and plain-looking, would never pass David Fincher’s standards.

Recently, David Fincher’s old friend, Reese Witherspoon, had offered herself for the role, only to be unhesitatingly rejected by Fincher for not being pretty enough.

Ari brought up Ridley Scott, "Not considering ’Robin Hood’?"

Martin flatly refused, "I can’t free up my schedule."

Ari had no choice but to accept that.

Martin wasn’t too worried. Every time Ridley Scott botched an epic, he’d rebound with a sci-fi movie to regain his reputation and confidence. Martin would just wait and talk with Ridley Scott later.