America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz-Chapter 799 - 792 Mene Shocks the Entire Audience

In the days that followed the shoot, Clara seemed mysteriously confident, probably feeling like she'd planted her roots in Los Angeles, no longer worrying about failing and having to sign another slave contract.

After filming the dance and song sequence of the leading lady and her girl squad, Mene made his entrance with his black music band.

Martin, who played the male lead, accepted Mene's invitation to join his band as the keyboardist after a phone call with the protagonist's mother.

In the set designed to look like a recording studio, the band came together to record a song, with Mene, the lead vocalist, taking center stage while Martin, as the male lead, naturally stood beside him, with the rest of the members blurred in the background.

During the shoot, Martin could barely keep up with the professionals who were playing instruments, yet as far as the piano-playing footage went, there was no problem at all.

As for the music, it could be replaced during post-production.

After filming three scenes, Mene took a sip of water to moisten his throat and came back, clearing his voice a bit.

Martin flexed his wrists and asked, "Ready?"

"Of course, I'm ready," Mene replied, winking at Martin and whispering, "To nail this role and the several singing scenes, I went to Las Vegas to be trained intensively by Celine Dion for a whole month."

Martin gave him a thumbs up: "Impressive."

Mene looked towards the visiting area, where Chad, Marcus, and Chen Hu were pointing and gesturing towards them.

Knowing that his no-good friends were waiting to see a flop, he said, "Boss, you're about to see that I've got a professional level of skill!"

With the clapperboard snapped, the filming began.

The band played normally, and Martin continued to follow the beat on the keyboard.

Mene sang a piece of modern jazz music.

The moment he started singing, his professionalism was evident—his voice was robust, expressive, and kept a firm handle on the rhythm and beat.

Although it was far from stunning, it was leagues better than when Martin and Silsa Ronan had their turns at singing.

"Cut!" Damien yelled, halting the filming and gesturing to Mene, "Good job, keep it up!"

He then shouted to the rest of the crew, "Hurry up and get ready; we're shooting the next scene in two minutes."

After more than an hour of continuous shooting, the crew finished this part of the movie and took a temporary break.

Martin and Mene returned to the resting area.

Chad, acting as his temporary assistant, handed him a bottle of water and said, "Pal, you're in the wrong profession, you should become a singer."

Chen Hu didn't understand black music all that well, but he said his direct impression: "I think you sound much better than many black rappers."

Marcus agreed, "No doubt!"

Confused, Martin asked Mene, "I remember the last time you sang, you weren't at this level—did Celine Dion's intensive training for over a month really make such a difference?"

Realization dawned on Chad and the others, and thinking of Mene's other mentor, the North American pop diva, they weren't surprised anymore.

"After spending a month with Celine in Las Vegas, I've improved significantly in all aspects," Mene cleared his throat and said, "You've heard the singing part. Celine thinks I can release an album; she's ready to sponsor my music debut."

Including Martin, everyone looked at Uncle Mene with barely concealed admiration.

A man who achieved what Uncle Mene had was truly a super winner.

"You said you improved in every aspect?" Bruce asked curiously, "What else? What other areas have improved?"

Mene, the rascal, actually flashed a coy smile.

This was unlike his usual style.

Chad punched Mene, "Spill it, or else..."

"We'll drag you to Angel's Club's shooting range!" Marcus's menacing smile loomed on his chubby face, "And execute you by firing squad for ten minutes!"

Facing the threats of his envious friends, Mene could only fumble in his pocket and boast, "Indeed, my strongest skill has advanced dramatically again, which is why Celine is willing to help me with the album."

If it were merely about releasing an album for personal enjoyment, not just Mene, who was becoming a sought-after supporting actor, but even Marcus and Chen Hu had the means to do so.

However, getting a music company to distribute it was not that easy.

In that respect, Celine Dion had access to channels and resources that no one present could match.

Martin was also very curious, "Quit beating around the bush, spill it!"

"This... is hard to describe." Mene scratched his head with one hand and pulled a bundle of red yarn from his pocket with the other.

The yarn was as thick as the wool of a hand-knitted sweater and stretched out three feet long.

Mene coughed twice, working his jaw muscles, "Let me give you a visual demonstration instead."

Martin gestured for him to proceed.

Chad, Bruce, and a few others waited for Mene's performance.

The commotion attracted many from the crew, and even director Damien stood at the edge of the set to see what stunt Mene would pull off.

Mene held up the red yarn, bit down on the middle piece, and his cheeks started to move rapidly, as if his tongue was wiggling around in his mouth.

As he pulled his hand away, the yarn now had a knot in it!

Onlookers, including Martin and Bruce, were astounded.

But that wasn't all!

Mene grabbed one end of the yarn and pulled, drawing the other red end into his mouth. His cheeks worked like they were housing an electric motor, moving rapidly.

The red thread he had pulled out had its knots neatly connected one after the other, arranged in an orderly fashion like links in a chain.

This speed was much faster than an ordinary person could achieve by tying knots with their hands!

It was as if this wasn't a mouth, but instead the entrance and exit of an electric knotting machine.

Martin muttered, "This is just too exaggerated! It's no wonder Mene is who he is! Not even Celine Dion would stick around, let alone Madonna."

Bruce's eyes widened as he thought to himself that if he had this skill, not to mention Kim and Khloe, even with Kendall and Kelly combined, he'd easily have them wrapped around his finger.

Chad, Chen Hu, and Marcus were at a loss for words.

Only Marcus muttered, "This guy, he really is a genius! A super genius!"

On the set, near the director's team, Damien rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things due to work exhaustion and, unable to help himself, grinned.

Things he hadn't quite understood before suddenly became clear; no wonder so many on the crew said that Mene was the true winner in life.

With such an exceptional skill, not becoming a winner in life would be difficult!

At that moment, the studio was silent.

Grandpa Mene had stunned the whole crowd!

What is skill? This is skill!

"I'm convinced!" Chad picked up the red thread Mene had tied and examined it closely and exclaimed, "Buddy, you really do have the talent to make a living!"

Chen Hu and Marcus nodded repeatedly at his side.

Bruce simply went over, patted Mene on the shoulder, "We've known each other for eight years, right? And you've been hiding this trick all along! Old pal, you have to teach me, I don't expect to be as good as you, but one-third as good would be enough."

Mene laughed proudly, "Sure thing, sure thing!"

Bruce couldn't help but ponder, if he could do this at the same time, below, with his right and left hands, plus Mene's secret technique...

Martin overheared Bruce's words and suddenly remembered something: How many people are in the Kardashian sisters again?

Not just Bruce, but Chad, Chen Hu, and Marcus also sought Mene's mentorship with an open mind.

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After a while, a few young people from the crew also gathered around.

They were quite handsome and held positions like assistant director, photography assistant, or art assistant, which made it easy for them to come into contact with star-level actors.

Landing even one successful relationship could potentially launch their lives into a whole new trajectory.

Moreover, these seemingly assistant positions were among the places in Hollywood where it was easier for men to get romantically involved with female stars.

Actresses like Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba, and Kelly Knightley often had similar types of men among their ex-boyfriends.

Following that day, Mene's reputation in the crew soared, and many eager learners would surround Grandpa Mene whenever they had a break from shooting.

Not only men, but also many women.

The channels for advancement in Hollywood are much wider for men than women.

However, if a woman could master a skill to perfection, the opportunities that opened up to her would undoubtedly be much greater.

But, such a skill required talent.

Catherine Daddario couldn't learn it no matter how hard she tried, but Clara, after watching Mene's demonstration twice and inquiring about the technique, managed to get the hang of it after a night of intense practice.

Clara soon gave Martin a separate performance report.

Martin was very satisfied and believed that with Clara's ability, she was bound to have career prospects within the circle.

So, after Clara finished her part in "La La Land," Martin recommended her for an audition with the "John Wick 3" crew for a female role.

In this sequel, there were two major female roles.

Blake Lively had passed the audition and landed the role of a dog lover.

Clara auditioned for the role of a high-table judge.

Chad quickly got in touch with Martin, approved Clara's audition, and even proposed an idea: based on the actress's exceptional physique, the character could be modified slightly. The everyday attire for the judge could be changed to a black, tight leather outfit.

Martin had no objections.

The "La La Land" crew left the Disney Studio and began shooting on location in Los Angeles.

Among them were 48 exterior scenes, including the Griffith Observatory and the Angel's Flight.

The most troublesome was the opening musical scene on the overpass.

Not only did this scene require road closures for shooting, but it also involved over a hundred musical performers.

Since May of that year, Mandy Moore and Damien had rented the outdoor area of the Disney Studio for extensive rehearsals.

Shooting at the Griffith Observatory was equally troublesome; just the outdoor area rented for ten thousand US dollars a day, they couldn't disturb the regular flow of tourists, and filming inside was strictly prohibited.

The crew had no choice but to shoot the Observatory's interior scenes on a set in the studio.

As filming entered December, focusing on shooting the female lead, Martin temporarily left the crew to deal with matters related to "Escape from Tehran."

After seven weeks in theaters, the film had a cumulative North American box office of 178 million US dollars, and breaking 200 million was just a matter of time.

At the same time, the film maintained a good reputation, which was also the basis for the crew's series of operations during the awards season.