America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Chapter 88: Chapter 88 Mr. Ma (Please Subscribe)

At Malibu Beach, the production crew rented a holiday house and the accompanying sand for shooting the artist's glitzy lifestyle.

Around noon, by the pool in the courtyard of the holiday house, Martin, wearing casual shorts, sat under a parasol, his eyes wandering idly.

The place was filled with too many youthful and attractive swimsuit-clad actresses, each with a good figure and high attractiveness.

Only a fool would not take advantage of the view.

Later, there would be a party scene. Martin and four beautiful actresses were called over by the director Julian.

Julian didn't waste any words and said, "The focus of this scene is you guys in the pool, mainly Martin and Daisy."

He designed the scene based on personal experience, his gaze sweeping over the other three swimsuit girls, pointing casually, "You in front will be responsible for kissing Daisy, and you on the side will kiss Martin."

The actress raised her hand, "Director, kiss where?"

Julian was slightly impatient, "Aren't you an actress? Do I really need to teach you such simple things?" He looked at another girl, "You, push Martin from behind."

The last girl, learning from previous experience, quickly said, "Okay."

Julian directed, "Familiarize yourselves with this. We shoot in half an hour."

For such scenes, Martin was very experienced, "No problem."

After the director left, Daisy reminded Martin specifically, "Don't touch my neck, I'll burst out laughing."

Martin asked for clarification upfront, "Anything else?"

Daisy thought for a bit, "That's it."

Now quite the veteran, Martin suggested, "I've shot a lot of these scenes, I'll control the pace, just follow my lead."

Daisy responded, "Sure."

The production team quickly got ready and, at Julian's command, every department began to operate efficiently.

The atmosphere on set soared artistically, and Cannes and Venice seemed to be beckoning.

Martin took his professionalism seriously and used a breath freshener again.

With the clapperboard's signal, the shooting officially started.

Martin followed the blocking, emerging from the villa like a carefree playboy, dancing closely with three girls before gripping two newcomers and heading to the poolside...

Julian called cut, "Passed!"

Martin kept his gaze fixed on the bright lights to maintain a state of impassioned fervor.

Julian noted the actor's good form, finding the artistic director's rakish performance excellent.

He urged, "Get ready for the next shot."

Daisy and the other girls got into the pool.

The shooting started again, and Martin leaped up, plunging into the pool, immersing himself among the four.

The four immediately enveloped Martin, who turned towards Daisy, seized her long leg, and pulled her over, pressing close to her.

His forceful action elicited a scream from Daisy, as her body and expression instantly tensed.

The director predictably called cut.

Martin asked softly, "Is there a problem? Tell me what's wrong."

Daisy said, "You... you're so strong. No, it's not about you; it's my issue. I was unexpectedly affected."

Martin caught her eyes drifting downwards. Considering the shoot, he didn't mind sacrificing for art and carefully offered, "Daisy, if you don't mind and it helps you, you can familiarize yourself beforehand."

"Really?" Seeing Martin agree, Daisy stretched out her hand, resting it on Martin's abs.

After a while, Martin climbed out of the pool, went into the neighboring makeup room to dry off, touched up his makeup, and changed into a new pair of swim trunks.

This time the shoot went very smoothly, the five of them all tangled together.

After the take, Martin climbed out of the pool and wrapped himself in a bathrobe.

Daisy swam over and offered her hand.

Martin bent down, pulled her up, grabbed a towel, and handed it to her.

Daisy dried off her unabashed headlights, saying, "Martin, you are a gentleman."

Martin smiled, "Thank you. I just did what needed to be done."

The crew moved indoors to shoot the next scene.

Julian had Daisy and the four girls, along with six new girls, lie down together on the carpet.

Bottles, cigarette butts, plastic bags, and hookahs were strewn all over.

Julian called Martin over, "Lay down in the middle of them, tangling limbs with them, got it?"

"An artist's life." Martin was quite enlightened, "I got it!"

He approached the edge of the carpet, and Daisy patted a spot beside her, "Martin, use this as your pillow."

Martin replied, "Work, sorry."

As soon as he lay down, he was enveloped in a wave of bodies, two of the actresses even taking advantage of the shoot to sneakily cop a feel.

For the sake of art, Martin endured and didn't report them.

After passing that take, he disentangled himself from the warm softness and saw that Thomas had arrived.

Thomas accompanied him to a rest area, "You've adapted quickly."

Sitting in a chair, Martin replied nonchalantly, "Piece of cake."

Thomas showed him a document, "I've obtained the relevant credentials. Tomorrow morning you go to the Screen Actors Guild, the production has officially sent a letter to the Guild."

Martin responded naturally, "Are you busy? If not, accompany me on the trip. I'm not highly educated, there's a lot I don't understand, and people could easily fool me."

Thomas's first reaction was to refuse, but thinking of Martin and then Louise Mel below him, he relented, "Sure, let's meet at the entrance of the union at nine o'clock."

To join the Screen Actors Guild, one needed not just qualifications and credentials, but also money.

Martin paid a membership fee of 3,000 US dollars, plus the first annual fee of 116 dollars, officially becoming a member of the Screen Actors Guild.

The union personnel also provided Martin with a guide for the collection of protection fees.

For those earning below 200,000 US dollars a year, the annual fee is 116 dollars plus 1.85% of the income.

Subsequent percentages increase incrementally, capping at 6,566 dollars.

The money was well spent.

If a problem arose, the union would send someone to intervene.

Upon leaving the union, Thomas said, "You've got your ticket to fight for significant roles."

"Big guy, it's time for you to get moving." Why had Martin sought an agent? He began his motivational talk, "From the day we signed, I knew you were an incredibly capable agent who could bring me piles of job opportunities."

Thomas felt he might have chosen the wrong client, but this was the basic duty of an agent.

In the afternoon, Martin returned to the set to continue shooting.

It was still the holiday home, but this time Martin had to shoot a scene with the lead actor, Adrian Greeny.

The two went through the scene briefly, sitting before a long wig.

As the shoot began, seven or eight fallen beauties served as the background, with car lights swinging back and forth to enhance the artistic atmosphere.

Martin lay askew on Daisy's body, "Buddy, you're a star, what did you see in my movie, what did you like? Art!"

Adrian said, "This will affect my image."

Martin slapped Daisy, who pushed him up, and he approached Adrian, wrapping an arm around his neck, "You're a star, and I'm an artist, our collaboration is equal, so the person you go off to blow, I'll play!"

Adrian was surprised.

Martin pointed at his chest, "You've met a good adversary!"

Adrian struggled free, twisting his body back and forth, after a moment of hesitation he exclaimed, "Damn it, I'll play it! I want this leading role!"

Martin grabbed him again, wrapping his arm around his neck, "Big star, we're going to take home a big award, and you, kid, will become a Best Actor!"

The director called a halt, "Passed."

Martin, the big wave himself, didn't take the robe offered by the assistant, but in just a pair of shorts, twisting his mermaid line and swinging his pectoral muscles, he strutted off to the rest area.

Adrian frowned, feeling very uneasy about the scene they'd just filmed, feeling completely overshadowed from beginning to end.

In terms of the script, his character was at a disadvantage.

In terms of acting, he was completely dominated by his opponent.

A burst of laughter came from the resting place, and Adrian realized that a dozen or so flamboyant men were sitting around that guy.

He headed to his own resting place and asked his friend Tony, who was also in the movie, "Where did that exhibitionist come from?"

"Wait a second." Like a lackey, Tony inquired with someone from the crew who was in the know and then came back and said, "A newcomer from WMA, from Atlanta, this is his first role in Hollywood."

"A country bumpkin?" Adrian, being from New York, had a totally different focus.

Tony pulled out his phone, "He's with the same agency as us; I'll give them a call to check."

Adrian looked towards Martin's side; their ages weren't too dissimilar, he thought they looked quite alike, and even shared the same agency.

What was the agency's idiots thinking? Were they trying to upset him?

At that moment, Tony hung up the phone and said, "The rookie is Thomas Ryan's guy."

Adrian dismissed it with a wave of his hand, "Never mind him."

Tony nodded, "Alright, just tell me if you need anything."

Adrian patted his shoulder, "If I can't talk to you, then who can I talk to?" He and Tony bumped fists, "We're partners."

Their relationship was very good because Tony was short, stocky, and not a threat to him.

The shoot moved to the balcony, still a scene between Adrian and Martin.

The more they shot, the more Adrian felt something was amiss.

The guy he was acting against was flamboyantly frivolous, wildly so to the bone.

He was the very embodiment of the character from the script.

Acting is very much a matter of personal conviction, but in performing with an adversary, Adrian had a clear sense of being utterly crushed, left to passively follow along.

After another take, director Julian didn't call it good, instead, he called Martin over and asked, "Does this role suit you well for expression?"

Martin said seriously, "The character exudes an artistic aura from the inside out, which really matches me."

Julian reminded him, "You're good at letting go but remember, a good actor must know how to control it."

Martin immediately understood what was going on, "Sorry, director, I got too caught up in the character."

"No, you don't have to apologize," Julian was very serious about his work, "You did a great job, your performance was spirited, with few NGs, very nice."

He gestured, "Go back, let's continue shooting."

For the subsequent shoots, Martin slightly reined in his performance, anyway, director Billy only had a small supporting role.

When the crew moved to the beach for shooting, several stars made cameo appearances as themselves to participate in the filming of the beach party scene.

In the series, Adrian's character was a Hollywood star.

Martin played more of a backdrop.

During a break in filming, he caught sight of Old Cloth's darling.