America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Early Saturday morning, images published in gossip newspapers like American Rumors were even more exaggerated, with Kardashian looking like a crazed fangirl about to devour Martin.

The caption read, "Kim Kardashian's most admired person."

Other gossip publications added, "Hollywood's rising star Martin Davis, the man Kim Kardashian secretly adores!"

Martin had essentially created a new category for himself by manufacturing a persona that he then capitalized on for notoriety.

Bruce, that unrefined scoundrel, even suggested that Kardashian and Martin should enter the same hotel one after the other that very night.

Fortunately, Martin had slightly better principles than Old Cloth and didn't agree.

In this era, even the best works needed to be paired with promotions to gain significant fame.

Even so-called artists like Daniel Day Lewis and Meryl Streep would go all out to generate news when their works were released.

The production team let slip that during the filming, Martin and the director had subdued a giant kangaroo.

As for the movie promotion, just blow your own trumpet; that's the ticket.

Once the story broke, the North Hollywood Apartment was immediately targeted by the paparazzi, with people stationed right at the door.

Wild paparazzi operated with low costs; many practitioners didn't have any professional credentials—just a camera and a broken motorcycle sufficed to enter the business. Los Angeles was teeming with stars big and small, and capturing valuable photos could sell them to gossip columns for income.

Antonio, who usually liked to sit at the door and soak up the sun, barely moved the chair out when the camera shutters began snapping and two small recorders were thrust in his face.

"Are you the landlord here? Who did Martin Davis spend last night with?"

Antonio instinctively wanted to name a bastard named Bruce, but, remembering Bruce's malevolent gaze, he shouted, "Get lost, and don't block the way here, this is private property!"

Female paparazzo Jody sneaked into the apartment building.

Antonio patted his coat and warned, "Whoever dares to trespass in my house, I'll show her the Friendship Gun."

At the mention of a gun, Jody stopped in her tracks.

Seeing that there was nothing to be gained from questioning, her peers gradually dispersed, waiting patiently instead.

But Jody approached Antonio and whispered, "How about a deal?"

Antonio asked, "What kind of deal?"

Jody pulled out a roll of US Dollars, "You let me in, and I'll take a few pictures of Martin's place."

Antonio looked down and saw a respectable sum, but they were just 10-dollar bills.

Such a meager amount meant nothing to a millionaire, "I'm warning you, I'll call the police."

Undeterred, Jody produced two more rolls, "All this can be yours, just for helping me install a surveillance camera at Martin Davis' door."

Considering the loss in rent and other risks after the news broke, Antonio flatly demanded, "50,000 dollars, and you can do whatever you want."

Jody was stunned for a good while; if she had 50,000 dollars, why would she still be doing this hard work?

Yet she persisted, unbuttoning two buttons of her shirt to reveal a large expanse of skin, "I'll spend the night with you."

Antonio, initially just dismissive of the small change, became wary at her offer, "What are you trying to do? Scheme after my property?"

Jody realized that the fat man's thought process was completely different from hers.

Suddenly, Antonio heard a familiar voice from above.

"Landlord, you're not considering how to sell me out to the paparazzi, are you?" Martin stood on top of the apartment building, looking down at the fat man and Jody, loudly reminding, "The tenants in your building are all actors; once their reputation is ruined, who will rent your place? Where will you collect your monthly rent of 50,000 dollars from? You'll go bankrupt paying property taxes!"

Three other tenants appeared, each with a beer in hand.

Antonio warned Jody, "See? If you dare go in, they will throw you out."

Jody left the place but kept watching the tenants coming in and out.

Naturally, some tenants accepted interviews and leaked information about Martin, but over the past few months, Martin had spent most of his time on set, and the rest with Louise; he didn't have much interaction with other tenants.

At the top of the apartment building, Bruce put down his binoculars and said to Martin, "I saw 5 paparazzi; the bravest was that woman."

Martin picked up the binoculars and took a quick look, "Wild paparazzi and ordinary gossip columns can't afford a price that would tempt Antonio. One reason I chose this apartment was that Antonio had a fair amount of assets, and his reputation wasn't too bad."

"It's not that the paparazzi and gossip media can't afford it, but rather that you're not worth that much," Bruce revealed the harsh truth.

Martin helplessly retorted, "Why did I end up with you, a piece of stinking dog shit, as a manager?"

Bruce continued nonchalantly, "Antonio may not be tempted by the small change, but other tenants might be."

Martin was already prepared, "The most valuable stuff, we should sell ourselves!"

Bruce wasn't surprised by this assertion, as it wasn't the first or second time Martin had done this.

Martin waved towards the round table on the rooftop, and Emily and Jessica, who were drinking beer under a parasol, immediately ran over.

"Continue posting good reviews on the website?" Emily was eager, "We'll head back and do it right now."

Martin waved his hand, "You guys have helped me a lot these past couple of days."

Jessica spoke up first, "You treated us to beer."

Martin, generous and forthright, said, "I'll give you guys a little reward."

Emily spoke before Jessica could, "No need, really, being able to help you..."

"Hear me out," Martin raised his hand to stop her, "I haven't actually lived in the apartment for long, but what is it that gets the paparazzi and gossip magazines interested?"

While Emily was still thinking, Jessica had already caught on, "Bringing one or two women back, making so much noise that the whole building can't sleep at night."

Martin waved his hand, "Go downstairs, sell this news to the paparazzi, whatever you get is yours."

He casually asked, "You know what to say?"

Jessica nodded, "I know, you are incredibly tough, even several women are no match for you..."

"Good," Martin urged, "Hurry up, don't let someone else snatch the business away."

Jessica pulled Emily down the stairs, acting as if they were going out shopping, quickly attracting that Jody.

"Martin, he's our neighbor," Jessica, younger than Emily but quicker-witted, said, "He sometimes chats with us."

Jody inquired, "Can you tell me more? What does he talk about, and has he done anything outrageous?"

Jessica eyed the paparazzi, "I could talk... not a big deal..."

Jody understood, taking out two 10-dollar bills and handing them over, "This is for you guys."

Emily's instinct was to take it, but Jessica quietly pulled her back, "It's explosive news, it's about women, we are his neighbors, so we know."

Jody took out two more bills, seeing that this pale, reflective girl was still not satisfied, he simply handed over the remaining bunch, "News about Martin Davis is worth this much."

In her eyes, news about Martin Davis was worth at most 100 dollars, and that's only because "House of Wax" had a warm reception at its premiere, plus the hot effect from Kim Kardashian last night.

Jessica pocketed the money, "Martin often brings a few women back, I don't know who they are, but no matter how many he brings, Martin can make them sing all night long. The apartment's soundproofing isn't great, it's so noisy that people can't sleep, the landlord almost fired a gun through Martin's door several times."

Jody's interest was immediately piqued, "Are any of those women celebrities? Like Kardashian? Eliza Cuthbert?"

Jessica shook her head, "Not too sure, I don't know them."

With no more valuable information, Jody gave up on Jessica and Emily.

Turning to watch the two walk away, she suddenly had an idea, taking her camera out to snap a picture of them with the North Hollywood Apartment in the background.

Jody, compared to many of her colleagues in the future, had a bit more professional integrity, at the very least, planning to look at the picture and write a story.

She quickly outlined the news framework in her mind: A young actor who just won Best Newcomer at the Saturn Awards starts to let loose, bringing women home to party every night, sometimes even pulling in two beautiful female neighbors, because of his own impressive capability, the noise causes dissatisfaction among nearby residents, and the landlord threatens to shoot him...

Jody mainly worked for online entertainment news, understanding the importance of headlines.

After framing the story, the headline came to her spontaneously: Shocking, Hollywood's Number One Tough Guy Is Actually Him!

Jessica and Emily drove out for a while, then quickly returned to the apartment building.

Emily asked, "Should we split the money, half each?"

Jessica, while climbing the stairs, said, "Let's talk about it later."

She might be younger, but she had a solid idea. Upon reaching the rooftop of the apartment building, she laid out the ten-dollar bills on the table in front of Martin.

Of course, Martin wouldn't take it, "I told you, this is your reward, you keep it."

Jessica picked it up, handed five bills to Emily, and grinned, "Thank you, Martin. What do you want for lunch? My treat."

Martin didn't refuse, pointing down, "Too many paparazzi, Old Cloth and I will just stay in, it's still early. Wait till 11 and then just go get some fried chicken burgers or something like that."

A hot movie release can always bring a series of news, creating new stars.

On its North American opening day, "House of Wax" pulled in 7.23 million dollars, topping the day's box office and outperforming contemporary releases "America's Soldier" and "Jump Dance", claiming the day's top box office spot.

Over the following Saturday and Sunday, it continued to hold the top position in the North American box office.

After the opening weekend, including the early showings, "House of Wax" brought in 20.13 million dollars over three days, exceeding Warner Bros. and the North American Theatre Alliance's box office expectation of 15 million dollars.

As a traditional North American slasher horror film, the reputation was predictably average, with an IMDb audience score of only 6.3, and a CinemaScore audience grade of B, which was decent enough.

CinemaScore's official forecast was that the film's North American box office would be around 50 million dollars.

For an American horror film like this, the overseas box office is often not much different from North America's, meaning "House of Wax" could be set to break 100 million dollars globally.

The film's publicly disclosed production cost was a staggering 40 million dollars, most of the money coming from various financing deals.

Martin wasn't foolish enough to inquire about the real investment amount, but director Zomi, once inebriated, had let slip a few details, and Martin estimated the total production, promotion, and distribution costs for "House of Wax" didn't even amount to 40 million dollars.

With Louise, who dabbled in financing deals, right beside him, Martin wasn't surprised. Items like a straw hat for 7,000 dollars were definitely leftovers from this kind of deal-making.

That big scandal involving Leo in his previous life was by no means an isolated incident in Hollywood.

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