America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Entering April 2005, "The Hills Have Eyes" North American box office crossed the \\$100 million mark, with the global box office reaching \\$147.52 million.

Warner Bros. held another grand celebration for the film.

It was also a promotional effort for the upcoming DVD release.

When Martin walked alone onto the hotel's red carpet, countless cameras automatically turned toward him.

"Martin, give us a smile!"

"Look over here!"

The reporters' enthusiasm was like the varied charms of Latin ladies on Tijuana Vice Street, almost ready to pounce and drag someone away.

As Martin entered the banquet hall of the hotel, someone immediately came up to give him a hug, slung an arm around his shoulder, and roared, "We freaking crossed a hundred million in North American box office!"

Then they burst into laughter.

Martin was as happy as the director, Aga, and said, "We are now members of the hundred million box office club!"

In terms of fame, the biggest beneficiaries were Martin and director Aga.

The banquet hall was abuzz with excitement, like an erupting volcano.

Craven had made plans to invite Martin and Aga to wash their faces after the party.

"You haven't organized a party in a long time." Craven, old but young at heart, said, "The last party was so great, I've lost interest in other people's parties."

Aga also tempted him, "I'll cover the cost; you come up with an idea."

Martin said, "Organizing such a party takes some time, and I've been too busy recently. I'll be heading to Atlanta to shoot a new film soon. How about we plan it after I return from Atlanta?"

Craven replied, "That'll work."

Once the two left for other places, Daniel came over.

Martin had a drink with him and asked, "What are the DVD sales expectations?"

Daniel estimated, "Between 35 to 45 million US dollars. Horror movie DVDs always sell well, and the rental market won't be bad either."

Martin asked about this because it related to his financial interests. Even though he didn't have a profit-sharing agreement personally, the union agreement with the Producers' Alliance stipulated that main actors could share in various post-release licensing revenues.

Main actors in best-selling films could even earn upwards of a million dollars a year in revenue.

The most typical example was Morgan Freeman, who had played numerous major supporting roles in popular movies and owned certain sharing rights; leveraging the advantage of quantity, he eventually accumulated a fortune of over a hundred million dollars.

Daniel had one more thing to say, "Warner Bros. has the right to initiate a sequel, and the production company proposed preparing for a sequel. Are you interested?"

Martin declined politely, "The story about the male protagonist has already been told. Aga, Craven, and I didn't consider a sequel at that time."

He added, "My schedule is not suitable either. By the time 'Infernal Affairs' is finished, it'll almost be the end of the year."

Daniel understood this and said, "That's too bad."

After the party, Martin and the others eluded the paparazzi and went to wash their faces together.

Subsequently, Warner Bros. took advantage of the film's box office success to push the DVD release.

The same way, the DVD's opening featured an advertisement for "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants."

At the Burbank Commercial Plaza branch of the Red Box Chain, the store hadn't opened yet, but a large crowd holding Martin's posters was already lining up at the door.

Jessica and Emily were among them.

Rachel was naturally there too; she called out, "We're opening in ten minutes, everyone please stay calm and keep order."

Behind her, Phoebe raised her autograph book, "I've brought another gift for Martin."

Jessica, quick to react, immediately asked, "What is it?"

If it was something for Martin to write on like the well wishes they had sent last time, she had to think of a way to keep the autograph book.

A few hundred signatures in a book would be too much of a burden for Martin.

Phoebe said, "It's the well wishes a few friends and I wrote for Martin."

Jessica breathed a sigh of relief.

Since notices had been sent out through blogs and MSN groups, many fans had gradually arrived.

The first autographed DVD by the star they supported; of course, they wouldn't miss it.

Inside the store, "The Hills Have Eyes" DVDs were prominently displayed on a shelf, with a table cleared nearby.

Someone shouted, "It's time to open the store!"

Martin sat behind the table, taking the pen that Bruce handed him, and waited patiently for the fans to enter.

As the roller door lifted, a male fan under twenty rushed into the store first, picked up a \\$39.99 collector's edition DVD, and ran to Martin's table.

Martin reached out with a fist bump first, "Buddy, congratulations, you hit the jackpot."

"I'm William!" The man bumped fists with Martin and quickly handed over the disc.

Martin swiftly signed his name on it and said, "I'll remember you."

William, overjoyed, happily went to make the payment.

A queue had already formed behind, with Phoebe coming second with a DVD and another autograph book.

As Martin signed the DVD, he said, "You're Phoebe."

Phoebe was particularly happy and said, "Martin, I brought you a gift."

Martin had already seen it; it was another autograph book. He hadn't even finished carrying the last one yet.

He had completely given up on resisting.

"Thanks," Martin said, opening the book to take a look. As expected, it was filled with many people's well wishes.

Phoebe didn't waste any time, picking up the DVD, "Goodbye, Martin, I will continue to support you."

"Goodbye."

Martin took the third disc, signed it, and as he handed it back, he nodded with a smile, "Thanks for your support."

As an actor with professional ethics, Martin was now fully focused and treated every fan he met with seriousness; he greeted everyone that came by with a smile, making the customers feel warmly welcomed.

They were his bread and butter, after all.

No matter how tired his wrist was, it was nothing compared to the physical labor of screwing bolts in a factory or the roughness of being a stunt double.

Even if his facial muscles stiffened from smiling for so long, it was not as difficult as pleasing and toasting directors, producers, and investors at a dinner table.

As one of the pens ran out of ink, he switched to another one.

Seeing Martin's smiling face and enthusiasm, Bruce couldn't help but admire him; Martin was a scoundrel, but he was a scoundrel with professionalism.

Approaching 11:30 a.m., Martin's autograph session was scheduled to end, but there were still many people queuing up inside and outside of the store.

Regarding today's sales at this store alone, the DVD sales were booming.

While taking a break, Martin turned to Bruce, "You go talk to them, extend the signing time. I'll treat all the staff to pizza for lunch."

Bruce went to communicate with the person in charge, and they quickly reached an agreement. He returned to Martin's side and called Jessica, asking her and Emily to order pizza from a well-known shop nearby.

Martin continued signing autographs, and after thinking it through, Bruce stepped away from the crowd and walked to a quieter spot to make calls to a few paparazzi, including Jody.

How could they miss reporting such a big event, with a hotshot movie star skipping lunch and his break to willingly sign autographs for fans?

The autograph session continued until past noon before finally coming to an end.

As the crowd of fans had just dispersed, several vehicles from the store delivered many pizzas.

Bruce didn't rush to eat; he first found the videographer, "Copy a video for me."

He then approached the store manager and pointed to a security camera that could see Martin, "I need the footage from this camera, after 11 o'clock."

With business booming today, the manager, who had been instructed to cooperate with the autograph event, immediately said, "Follow me."

A few minutes later, Bruce left the store and entered the mall, going through another door to the parking lot.

He arrived at his Volkswagen and sent a text message, and after waiting a few minutes, Jody, wearing a baseball cap, opened the passenger door and got into the car.

Bruce handed her the USB drive, "The latest news about Martin."

Jody stored the drive and prepared to leave the car, then stopped and asked, "Was that USB drive with Martin and Annie's scandal left behind on purpose?"

Bruce wasn't foolish enough to admit it, "You should be asking Annie-Hathaway's assistant that question."

Having profited handsomely from that video, Jody made a special point, "If you have such opportunities again, feel free to use me."

She was serious, "I don't mind being used by you guys, really."

That video alone made her tens of thousands of dollars, and Jody would love to have such opportunities come her way more often.

Bruce didn't waste words, "You can go."

Jody took the USB drive and left the car, rushing back to her newly purchased sedan, eager to get back.

Jody paid extra attention to Martin's news, having made a great haul last time, upgrading everything from her camera to her DV and even her means of transportation.

In the past few months, the news she obtained by following several A-list celebrities didn't sell as well as those involving Martin.

Those well-established stars weren't as newsworthy as Martin was.

Bruce got out of the car, hearing a commotion.

He glanced over casually and saw a group of boys in school uniforms arguing, with Curtis language echoing constantly.

They were not old, maybe just seventeen or eighteen.

A group of tall and burly guys were surrounding three people.

Whether in public or private institutions, American school culture had a very long and even traditional history.

Bruce drove to the mall exit and soon waited for Martin and others to arrive.

The others boarded a van, while Martin, holding a box of pizza, got into Old Cloth's car.

He opened the pizza box, "Have a bite before we go."

Bruce shifted the car, making way, and started eating a slice of pizza.

Martin then handed him a can of coke.

Bruce swallowed the food in his mouth and asked, "It's not one of those expired batches, right?"

Martin placed it on the armrest, "How could something as precious as that batch of expired coke be given to you just like that?"

Not trusting Martin the scoundrel, Bruce specifically picked it up to check the production date.

"Where's the trust between people? Old Cloth, you're too dismissive of my trust in you," said Martin while stretching his wrist, noticing the conflict a few dozen meters away.

The seven or eight boys in uniforms were chasing and hitting the other three.

Bruce also saw it, "They were just arguing earlier, now they've started fighting."

The commotion caught the attention of the mall security guards; a few of them came out and shouted, and the larger group walked away cursing and swearing.

The smaller group helped each other and walked in the opposite direction.

After finishing half of the pizza, Bruce started the car and drove Martin to the store for the afternoon signing session.

On the other side, the three white boys with bruised and swollen faces were walking away, staggering.

This wasn't their first conflict; in recent months, they had been bullied frequently.

As immigrants from Russia, their families were going through a tough time, and there was no one to stand up for them.

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