America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Jolie went over, greeted Martin and Louise in turn, and sat opposite them.

Martin glanced at the dark-haired, yellow-skinned boy and asked, "And who is this handsome young man?"

Jolie introduced him, "My son, Maddox. The main reason for the trip back to Cambodia was for him, and also for me to get some peace."

Martin understood, this was Jolie's adopted son from Cambodia.

Louise said, "He's as cool as you are, he'll surely be a heartthrob like Martin when he grows up."

Jolie looked at Martin, highly approving, "If he could be half as handsome as Martin, that would be enough."

The little boy was shy, burying his head in Jolie's shoulder, not daring to speak.

Louise wasn't very fond of children, and she lacked interest in teasing them. She went straight to the point, "The film's failure seems to have put a lot of pressure on you, to the point of seeking solitude overseas."

Jolie gently tapped on the child's back and smiled, "Your pressure is greater than mine, how are things on your end?"

"Just a matter of a dozen investors pulling out of the deal," Louise said casually, but the extent of the pressure was known only to her, "I can only look for investments overseas."

Jolie said, "As far as I know, there are many people overseas who are eager to invest in Hollywood, and some even use Hollywood films to run scams, attracting funds with ease."

Martin looked at Louise as if considering her situation before continuing, "Are Cambodians interested in investing in Hollywood?"

Jolie thought for a moment, "There might be, I haven't paid attention to it." She looked to Louise, "With your experience and qualifications, as long as the project is good, it shouldn't be a problem to secure investment."

Louise turned to the topic Martin was concerned about, "I have a project at hand, and I'd like to invite you to join in."

Jolie was quite surprised, "You're not afraid I'll mess it up again? I've already failed three times in a row."

Louise said, equally alluring, "We've been friends for many years; I can't just watch you fall without trying to help you out."

After saying the nice things, she then got to the "ugly truth", "Of course, I can't afford to pay such high fees anymore."

It's rare in Hollywood to have someone willing to help in tough times, and Jolie said, "I'm almost losing confidence in myself."

Martin knew his own worth and just listened without speaking.

Louise continued, "Let's fight together to turn things around and show Hollywood we're far from finished."

Jolie handed her son to her assistant and asked, "What's the project exactly?"

Louise said, "An action-packed shootout movie adapted from the comic 'Wanted Order', with Martin as the male lead, and you as the female lead."

Jolie said, "I'll take a look at the script later. As long as the script and role are okay, the rest is not a problem."

'Alexander the Great' had failed, and although Colin Farrell was the unluckiest actor, she was equally affected and would struggle to find suitable opportunities in the short term.

Unless 'Mr. & Mrs. Smith' is successful next year.

Louise said, "I'll have someone contact your agent to talk about it."

Jolie looked at Martin, remembering that he had a film about to be released. If it were to succeed, she could accept the offer, as collaborating with a successful person might help her shake off her bad luck.

If it failed, she would have to refuse Louise's kindness.

Already in a difficult situation, she couldn't afford to fall into the abyss, leaving herself without a chance to turn things around.

Louise changed the subject, "Are you familiar with Cambodia?"

Jolie looked at her son, her eyes full of affection: "I've established a foundation there, and the King of Cambodia is preparing to grant me the title of honorary citizen."

Louise said, "Next time, I'll also take a look and lend a hand."

After a few more words, it was time to board the flight, and Martin and Louise headed to first class.

Their seats were next to each other, and it was convenient to talk while lying down after lowering the partition between them.

Louise pulled Martin's arm under her head as a pillow and said, "As long as 'The Hills Have Eyes' is a success, Jolie won't be a problem."

She noticed Martin was wearing an earphone in one ear, took it off for a listen, "Boston accent?"

Martin simply said, "Scorsese's new project, a gangster film adapted from the Hong Kong film 'Infernal Affairs', with Leonardo as the lead. I want to vie for the second lead."

Louise returned the earphone to Martin, "That's indeed a good way to enhance your image, but you'll face intense competition, and it won't be easy to come out on top."

Martin said, "The simplest way is to bring in financing."

Louise turned to look at Martin and guessed his thoughts, "Don't even think about it without funding over ten million US dollars."

Martin took the initiative and said, "So, my rich lady, I can only count on you to financially support me again."

Louise was dissatisfied, "When you need me, you call me a rich lady, but when you don't, you call me a drunk, a pervert, and a slut. That's just like you."

"The first part is serious talk. Isn't the latter part just to spice things up?" Martin emphasized, "That's a Martin Scorsese gangster film, a surefire hit with no losses."

However, Louise slowly shook her head, "Scorsese's films, like Quentin's, are never known for their box office, relying on offline operations to recoup investments. Do you need me to remind you, bad seed? The time cost is also a cost. Moreover, Pacific Pictures doesn't have that many investors anymore."

Martin fell silent for a moment, but what he was thinking about was the process of making "Zombie Stripper" happen in Atlanta.

At that time, he hopped around, pulling one party after another, hard-pressed to put together a deal.

In his past life as a minor actor, he saw too many examples of producers keeping neither end firm, using one to deceive the other, and then vice versa.

The son-in-law of Bill Gates was a joke, but similar cases were not rare in the film industry.

Louise knew Martin quite well and asked, "Bad seed, what kind of bad idea are you cooking up now? Don't drag me into your mess."

Martin asked, "What about using someone else's money to make you money?"

"Are you that kind-hearted?" Louise didn't trust him, "What's in it for you?"

Martin responded frankly, "A few million dollars in acting fees, plus a role with the Scorsese crew."

Louise just looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Martin said, "Your Pacific Pictures has been established for almost ten years, right? It has been involved in the production of many films, and the logo of Pacific Pictures can be seen at the beginning of many of them."

Louise sighed, "Most of them are medium and low-budget films, A-list blockbusters; the only time I tried, it was a flop."

"You told me before, you wanted to break out of North America, out of the area most impacted by the failure of 'Alexander the Great,' to pull in investments from abroad." Martin had carefully considered this, "What if we add the names of Martin Scorsese and Leonardo? What about using their projects to pull in investments?"

Having been involved in many such deals before, Louise immediately understood Martin's intention, "Pacific Pictures uses their names to pull in investments, and then you take those investments to the crew to secure a role?"

Martin said, "I have reliable information that the crew will be formed by February. That's a film starring Leonardo, and I believe many people would be willing to invest. Pacific Pictures can get management fees and a cut of the profits by using others' chickens to lay our eggs!"

Louise had been considering the overseas investment as well, pondering the idea for a moment, "We can only do this abroad, preferably not in Europe. With Leonardo's draw, once the studio is established in Hollywood and the news is out, pulling in investments shouldn't be difficult."

Who would dare underestimate Jack's pulling power?

Martin filled in the gaps, "With your operational ability, even if investors wanted to visit Hollywood and the crew, taking them to Warner Bros. Studios should be no problem in appeasing them."

Louise was confident in that regard, "Piece of cake."

She had already begun to think about the operation, "The project is a collaboration between Scorsese and Warner Bros. Getting the official materials from the crew wouldn't be difficult... Since it's investments we're pulling in, I can disregard the time costs."

Martin was self-aware that his fame and pulling power were not enough; in other words, he had not established a brand and could only rely on Pacific Pictures.

Louise looked at Martin, "But like this, you owe me a big debt."

"Dear, you can think of it in a different way," Martin was now very conscious that, although he had the physical assets, he severely lacked brand capital, "When I become famous and an influential movie star in the future, you can attract investments with my reputation!"

Louise laughed initially, then shook her head, "By that time, you'll have abandoned me."

Martin became very serious, putting all jokes aside as he asked, "Do you really see me as that kind of person?"

Louise was about to say yes, but then she suddenly fell silent. The failure of "Alexander the Great" had brought her an unprecedented setback, and most investors had abandoned Pacific Pictures, but not Martin and Kelly.

Although she knew Martin was a complex person, her feelings towards him had improved a lot, "We'll talk about the future in the future."

Their flight arrived smoothly in Harbor City. At the airport, Louise called Pacific Pictures to immediately contact Warner Bros. to express interest in investing in Martin Scorsese's new project.

When it involved investments on the level of tens of millions of dollars, several months of negotiation were quite normal.

The International Bartenders Association sent a special representative to receive them, and both stayed in a luxurious suite at the Four Seasons Hotel.

Martin was very conscious of his role as a silent partner, joining Louise in meeting the President of the Bartenders' Association, along with a few veteran bartending masters.

The upcoming International Bartenders' Conference would feature bartenders and experienced drinkers from around the world, with the famous convention center as the venue.

Martin specifically asked the President's assistant for a copy of the conference schedule and guest list, and began to study it carefully back in the room.

Louise also came to the study to write a plan, noticing Martin seriously reviewing the materials, "Why are you looking at those?"

"It was my idea, so of course, I'll put in the effort," Martin said, "I'm looking for potential clients."

Louise commented, "Very conscientious, work hard."

After looking through the list once, Martin identified several key individuals to focus on. Through Louise's connections with the Bartenders' Association, he obtained more public information.