America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 185: Chapter 185 The Industry is Getting More and More Competitive

As soon as the video leaked, Martin and Annie immediately held a press conference. Annie's assistant Laura faced the camera, crying her eyes out and pleading that she mistakenly lost the USB drive, hoping that whoever found it would return it voluntarily.

The newly hired spokesperson for the two of them urged all media not to broadcast private videos of dubious provenance and reserved the right to pursue legal action and so on.

Martin also posted on his blog, asking the media not to let personal privacy consume public resources.

The posture has to be correct.

A large number of netizens flocked to his blog area, leaving various comments.

Regardless of criticism or praise, he garnered countless eyeballs.

Martin's blog was so crowded that it crashed at one point.

The entertainment media were never going to heed the call. The louder the appeal, the more they enjoyed spreading it.

In just over a day, the selfie video of Martin and Annie surged to the top of Google's search keywords.

People have an inexplicable desire to know about taboo things.

Especially celebrities' privacy.

Many people who had never heard of Martin before now knew about him and "The Hills Have Eyes," which was currently in theaters, because of the "gate incident."

Martin and Annie had a fair number of die-hard supporters; some people "spontaneously" organized to protest in front of the media companies that repeatedly broadcasted the selfie video.

Accordingly, there came another wave of news and traffic.

Large numbers of casual moviegoers stepped into theaters, generously emptying their wallets for "The Hills Have Eyes."

In a short time, Martin's level of attention was comparable to that of a Hollywood superstar during the premiere of their new movie.

If even a small fraction of that translated into box office revenue, all beneficiaries, including him, would be laughing.

Martin subsequently accepted interviews with several TV stations to call for the protection of celebrities' privacy, receiving responses from many stars.

The investment in the selfie gate marketing was limited, but the results were astonishing.

The incident might even change the industry.

After Paris Hilton, it further proved that there was another path to fame.

A few stars with particularly keen senses also noticed this.

......

Every Halloween, Valentine's Day, and similar holidays, celebrities, socialites, and even politicians would come out to show off, vying for attention to assert their presence.

Although it's said that showing off your love can attract misfortune, there's always a large cohort of stars racing to do just that.

"Everyone's Enemy of Love" was released during the Valentine's Day slot, and its leading actor, Will Smith, also gave a gift to his wife Jada, allowing the crew to film it and distribute it to various entertainment media, hoping to snatch the entertainment headlines, getting one last burst of popularity before the release.

But it attracted only a few observers, as all the rubberneckers' attention had been stolen by the so-called selfie gate video.

In terms of fame, Martin and Annie were nowhere near Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

But that did not stop the public's passion for gossip and their strong desire to peek into celebrities' privacy.

In the mansion's living room, Jada Smith switched through several entertainment channels, quite helplessly: "It's all reporting that crappy stuff about Martin Davis and Annie-Hathaway."

She turned to Will Smith on the other side: "A couple of little stars stole our limelight."

Will shook his dangly earrings: "It's not just us, they stole everyone's thunder this Valentine's Day."

Jada, who was not one for broad-mindedness, could not help but say, "Why isn't it a sex tape that's leaked!"

Will, who was among the more intelligent in black communities and had been in the industry for many years, could see the problem: "It's very likely to have been released on purpose, considering Martin's 'The Hills Have Eyes' is currently screening."

Jada was surprised: "Released on purpose? They are shameless! Truly an immoral pair!"

She picked up the laptop next to her, opened the web browser, and there on Google's trending keywords was Martin and Annie's selfie gate video in the top spot, with a click leading to the related video.

After a careful examination, Jada thought her husband's remarks made a lot of sense: "There are no explicit scenes, just talk about 'The Hills Have Eyes,' tricking people for the heat under the guise of a leaked clip..."

Thinking of her own news release being overshadowed by some nobody, Will Smith cursed: "They're all freaking insane! The industry's getting tougher, and these upcoming nobodies dare to use any dirty trick!"

In the midst of speaking, he glanced unconsciously at Jada, wondering if, when their popularity wanes, should they...

Jada understood him in a way that needed no words and jumped up: "Damn, don't even think about it!"

Yet Will Smith knew, no one could stay famous forever, there would come a day when luck turned sour.

That's when you have to find a different path, a way to attract attention.

Jada disgusted by sex tapes?

Will suddenly had an idea, what about an open marriage with Jada? Imagine the two sitting in an interview show, perhaps even without a host, "candidly" discussing their open marriage and their respective indulgences. The media and the public would go wild.

As a star, after all, your face isn't that important.

Looking at the acts of Martin Davis, the little fellow, even Will Smith, an old-timer in the circuit, had to admit some admiration.

This year's Valentine's Day was different from the past; apart from the traditional romantic movies, many people chose to watch the horror action film "The Hills Have Eyes."

Will Smith's appeal is indisputable; these days, the 'Smith' is synonymous with box office.

"Everyone's Enemy of Love" earned $43.14 million at the North American box office over the Valentine's Day weekend, received an A from CS live audience, and had a box office forecast of $170 million in North America.

In taking the top spot at the box office, it fully proved one thing.

Your 'Smith' is wildly rampant!

"The Hills Have Eyes" unsurprisingly slipped to second place on the box office charts, but stimulated by the intense self-photo incident that occurred mid-week, it didn't see the typical second-week plummet often seen in horror movies. With a drop of less than 50%, it managed to get through Valentine's Day with $18.1 million.

Including the previous four working days, the cumulative North American box office reached $59.11 million.

Warner Bros. immediately negotiated a new distribution agreement with cinemas, requesting an extension of "The Hills Have Eyes" theatrical run so the North American box office could grind past the $100 million mark over time.

This screening strategy would not bring more box office revenue to distributors and producers.

However, films that pass the $100 million mark at the North American box office are treated completely differently in the television and DVD markets.

In this era, the top distribution companies in the Hollywood industry chain are not just taking a percentage of the box office earnings, but a percentage of the full copyrights.

Additionally, it takes some time for the producers to get the payback from the distributors.

"The payback is related to the preparations for 'Wanted Order,'" Martin said from the roof of the North Hollywood Apartment, enjoying the spectacle below as if watching a drama, while speaking to Louise on the phone, "You need to push them harder."

Louise said, "Don't worry, based on our investment agreement, we can use the payback as collateral for a bank loan." She added, "My people have talked with Sophia and Vincent."

Martin, on real project planning, was far behind Louise: "You've considered more than I have."

Louise asked, "So, my Valentine's Day gift is a stone sculpture of a Joker modeled after you? How thoughtful!"

Martin recently got his tongue in shape: "That's the work of the master sculptor Lily Carter, an artistic masterpiece!"

"Great!" Louise couldn't help but laugh heartily: "Lily Carter, a high school student from Marietta, Atlanta—should I bring her to Los Angeles? Huh?"

Only then did Martin remember that Louise and Kelly had sent a return gift to Lily in the mail.

It couldn't be helped; he had sent out too many gifts and letters, and it was only natural to have some memory mix-ups.

Martin felt he needed to learn a new course—time management.

Louise spoke a few more words on her end and then hung up proactively.

Martin saw Bruce looking through binoculars and asked, "Any new discoveries?"

These two shameless scumbags observed the paparazzi surrounding the apartment as if it were a show, seeking enjoyment from it.

Old Cloth pointed towards the parking lot: "There are two paparazzi, a man and a woman, who might have gotten some news. They exchanged information in the car and got it on, just wrapping it up now."

Martin picked up the binoculars but could only see the two straightening their clothes as they exited the car, regretting missing out on a few billion, saying, "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

He suggested, "Should we install surveillance in the parking lot? There have been more paparazzi around lately, and their belt size is about the same as the actors'."

Bruce incredulously asked, "Are you addicted to taking candid photos now?"

Martin teased him: "It's actually quite fun, you could try with Kim."

Bruce didn't want to mention Kim, because whenever he mentioned Kim's sister, that lousy Martin would spew nothing but bullshit. How could he, a civilized man, stoop to such base acts?

He then asked Martin, "Weren't you planning to test Annie's love?"

"Have some humanity, will you?" Martin scoffed at Bruce's inhumane talk: "Valentine's Day has just passed, and you want me to sing 'Happy Breakup'? What about morals? Manners?"

Bruce, tired of arguing and judging from his years of experience, doubted that Annie would pass the test, saying, "A few thousand Hong Kong dollars' worth of jade for a box of $99 chocolates."

"I already gave it," Martin said with some grace, "Should I ask for it back?"

The gifts he gave were always genuine.

Whether it was a crocodile tooth pendant, a horn carving, or a stone sculpture, there was never a fake.

After the first week's box office for "The Hills Have Eyes" was released, to show his sincerity, Wu Maoting sent a lot of jade via air freight, practically giving them away to Martin.

Martin wasn't shy, and took them all.

The one he gave to Annie-Hathaway was one of the nicer jade pendants in the lot.

Martin asked Bruce, "You take a couple and give them to Kim and her sister."

"I'm giving mine to Kim," Bruce emphasized, "As for whom Kim gives it to, I don't care."

Martin's phone rang at that moment, and when he took it out, he found it was a call from Angelina Jolie.

"Hi, Angie," he answered the call, "What made you think to call me all of a sudden?"

Jolie said, "I've officially signed on with the 'Wanted Order' cast, and since you initiated the project, I'd like to invite you to dinner to express my thanks."

Curious, Martin wondered why Jolie was suddenly asking him out, and he readily agreed, "No problem."

Bruce chimed in, "Bed Jolie, dump Annie—that would be perfect."

Martin extended his middle finger in response: "I won't be the one betraying this love."