America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

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Inside the psychological clinic on Sunset Boulevard, Laura seemed to be flipping through a book on the desk, but her gaze was actually fixed on Martin, who was on the long sofa.

Martin then opened his eyes, pulled off his blanket, stood up, and with a casual fold, said, "It's time to go."

Laura looked at the time and asked, "So soon today?"

Martin replied, "I have an audition. It wouldn't be good to be late."

Laura nodded and deliberately said, "You seem quite normal when you're not talking about destroying America and all that crazy talk."

"That's not crazy talk," Martin said, baring his teeth in a smile, "It's actually my most genuine thought."

He picked up his bag and walked out.

"Close the door, please," Laura had a feeling that this Hollywood star had at least two personalities.

According to her judgement, those crazy talks were probably his true thoughts.

Was his second personality antisocial?

Leaving the psychological clinic, Martin relaxed slightly, stood at the door for half a minute so that Ivan could get some high-quality photos.

Bruce's car drove over; Martin got in and said, "Head to Paramount Pictures."

"The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" was a joint production of Paramount and Warner Bros. Although Director Finch's previous film "Zodiac" fared poorly at the box office, DVD and television rights sales were quite good offline, having recouped the costs, so this film still managed to secure a 100 million US dollar investment.

In addition to these two, DreamWorks held a third of the investment amount.

Arriving at the studio, David Finch's assistant Bob came out to greet Martin.

Accompanying Martin to the makeup room, Bob specifically mentioned, "Makeup will take several hours, so your audition is scheduled for three in the afternoon."

"No problem," said Martin.

After giving a few more instructions, Bob took his leave.

The stylist came in and reminded Martin to use the restroom first before they started the makeup process.

Martin was very patient and cooperative throughout.

Bruce sat beside him the entire time; the rather feminine makeup artist, under Bruce's intimidating gaze, suddenly lost his coyness and became like a normal man.

For a try-out in makeup to portray a young man transforming into an old one, the most complicated aspect was the makeup.

Martin had previously learned that the crew planned to achieve the appearance of an aged Benjamin as a child through makeup and post-production special effects, and had hired Industrial Light & Magic for the effects work.

David Finch was not a fanatical advocate of live-action shooting like Nolan; as long as the desired effect could be reached, he didn't care about the specific method of achieving it.

Makeup and styling took nearly four hours, and even Martin dozed off for a moment around noon.

Meanwhile, Bruce received a call from Robert, confirming that the ceremony had been completed that morning.

At least the most basic assurances and comfort were in place.

Approaching three in the afternoon, Martin walked into the audition room for the second time this year.

Upon entering, he first greeted Finch, "David."

Finch introduced the others attending the audition, "Here is Catherine Kennedy, and this is Frank Marshall..."

This couple represented DreamWorks, and those in the industry knew they were Spielberg's right-hand partners.

The former was even one of the leading female producers in the business.

After Martin greeted them, Finch said, "Let's begin."

Martin returned in front of the camera and instinctively looked behind the producers and directors; seeing the guild and insurance company representatives comfortably playing video games allowed him to relax immediately.

Everything familiar to him was present.

The audition began, and first, Martin recited a narrative monologue as requested by David Finch.

For Martin, this was not a problem at all.

Then, he acted out the appearance of being old and feeble.

It was only about the appearance, not the character or mentality.

Thus, the character's old-age appearance was not particularly complex.

The audition was quick, taking only five or six minutes to complete.

Finch's work style differed from other directors, and added to the fact that Martin was already the top choice, Finch looked around, sought opinions from the couple Catherine Kennedy and Frank Marshall, and announced on the spot, "Congratulations, Martin, you've got the role."

Martin came down to shake hands with David Finch, saying, "It's an honor."

Then he shook hands with Frank Marshall and Catherine Kennedy, one by one, "Thank you, it's a great honor to work with you."

Handsome, and with pleasing speech, the couple had a good impression of Martin, saying, "Your performance was lifelike and most suitable for the role."

After the simple mutual business flattery concluded, Martin left the audition room and went back to the makeup room to remove his makeup.

While walking along the corridor, he encountered a young actor around 20 years old.

The young American's powerful presence hit from a good ten meters away.

From afar, it almost seemed as if his indescribable aura was telling people, I'm an idiot and I'm not afraid of anyone.

Martin recognized him; it was Shia LaBeouf, the lead actor in the "Transformers" live-action film, Spielberg's beloved godson.

He was even more favored by Spielberg than Drew Barrymore used to be.

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In Martin's past life, this guy was always the center of discussion in the crowd, such an idiot plus brain-dead, why did Spielberg like him so much?

So much so that some gossip big shots wondered if he could be Spielberg's illegitimate child?

As they were about to pass by each other, Shia LaBeouf's curious gaze fell on Martin.

Because Martin was in old man makeup, he might not have recognized him and casually teased, "Hey, old man, you look cool!"

Martin suddenly grinned, showing a sinister smile with his old man look, "Why don't you take things a bit more seriously."

Shia LaBeouf, who didn't have a good tolerance for such things, was first stunned, then jumped to the side of the corridor, trying to get as far away from Martin as possible, covering his privates, "You... what do you want to do! I'm a man!"

Suddenly feeling that even being a man was not safe, he backed against the wall and shouted, "Don't mess around, I'll call Bumblebee over!"

Martin didn't bother with him anymore and turned to leave.

Only after the person was far away did Shia LaBeouf breathe a sigh of relief and asked the production assistant guiding him, "Who was that pervert?"

"Don't talk nonsense." The assistant reminded him before saying, "That was Martin Davis, who just passed the audition and is the lead actor in the production."

Shia LaBeouf touched the back of his head, "That guy is really weird!" He muttered, "I wanted to snatch the lead role but ended up auditioning for a supporting role."

The assistant continued to lead him to the audition room, not saying anything but feeling otherwise.

As for this idiot's matter, it had already spread across the crew. Shia LaBeouf wanted to snatch the lead role, but let alone getting through David Fincher, even Spielberg had scolded him.

This man had no self-awareness at all.

Martin returned to the makeup room, and the makeup artist came over to remove his makeup. He said to Bruce, "Notify Thomas to come negotiate with the production crew tomorrow."

Bruce took out his cellphone, "That was quick to get news."

Martin said, "I like this kind of straightforward production crew."

Bruce made a call to Thomas.

After removing his makeup and changing back into his clothes, Martin came out and saw Bruce on the phone again, so he waited for him.

A few minutes later, Bruce hung up and said, "That was from Jen."

Martin, having packed up his stuff, was walking out, "The video tape hit the market?"

Bruce said quietly, "It's already being distributed, Jenna's company will officially start selling it next Monday."

Martin asked, "You sure you didn't show your face? "

Bruce replied, "Absolutely not! I barely showed any of my upper body."

"Then I have to congratulate you," Martin said earnestly, "You became the lead actor."

Although Bruce felt something was odd, this time he really did become the lead actor.

Based on the current situation, it shouldn't be hard to sell over a million copies. The shady idea Martin had given truly could reap both fame and actual monetary profit.

Just as they turned out of the hallway, an assistant from the production team caught up from behind, "Mr. Davis, please wait a moment."

Martin stopped and asked, "What is it?"

The assistant, having run over, took a moment to catch his breath and said, "If you have the time, Director Finch would like to have a chat with you."

Martin nodded, "Alright, lead the way."

The assistant led them to the director's office.

After the lead actor audition was over, David Fincher returned to his office. Martin's performance had been superb, and he had no worries about the lead role.

The lead actress auditions were also completed, but no decision had been made yet.

He sat in front of the computer, opened the video of the lead actress auditions, and Kate Blanchett appeared on the media player.

David Fincher had previously talked with Martin's agent Thomas, aware that Martin did not get along with Blanchett.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Although he didn't explicitly state anything, the implication was quite clear.

Martin didn't want to work with Blanchett in the same production.

David Fincher's last film "Zodiac" had not performed well commercially, and with this new film having a $100 million investment, he felt tremendous pressure.

Therefore, Martin, who had excellent commercial performance, was his first choice for the lead role.

But for the lead actress, Finch didn't want to choose just a pretty face, Blanchett had the best audition and was who he considered most suitable.

Because the age range for the lead actress was large, too young wouldn't work, and too old wouldn't work either.

A knock on the door sounded, and the assistant brought Martin in. Finch told him to make himself comfortable, "After signing the contract, you need to join the crew as soon as possible, Industrial Light & Magic needs to use you as a model for their work."

Although Martin wasn't very knowledgeable about post-production special effects, he knew enough to realize it required a lot of preparatory work beforehand, "I won't be a problem on my end. As soon as the contract is signed, I'll immediately join and get to work."

"As for the lead actress, I plan to choose Blanchett," Finch was a top-tier director and gave only some consideration to Martin's feelings.

He stated directly, "I've heard you and Blanchett have a bit of a tough relationship."

This reminded Martin of something Nicholson and Leonardo said, being a member of the Trio of Scoundrels, he was not afraid of these challenges.

Moreover, if the crew really wanted to use her, he wouldn't be able to stop them.

After a moment of consideration, Martin said, "Director, if you think she's suitable, I have no objections."

Finch smiled, "We can totally sit down and have a calm chat anytime you are free."

Martin seemed to think of something amusing and smiled too, "No problem."