America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

The Savannah Film Festival currently has no awards section, more focused on film screenings and artistic exchanges.

Filmmakers and actors from around the world get to interact face-to-face with students from the Savannah College of Art and Design during the festival.

The "Zombie Stripper" crew led by Benjamin certainly didn't have that privilege.

Despite graduating from the Savannah College of Art and Design, Benjamin hadn't even made it to being a notable alumnus yet.

On the open space between the campus's two theaters, numerous promotional booths were set up, and Martin and Catherine, the leads of the movie, distributed promotional materials in their character costumes, attracting passersby to their booth to learn more about the film.

Martin's vampire attire and Catherine's leather-clad sword-bearing huntress image drew quite a crowd interested in learning more about the film.

"At 7 PM, 'Zombie Stripper' will be screened at the festival theater."

The central promotion board carried a striking slogan.

Martin, playing the male lead, was very proactive—one pamphlet at a time, he would say to people, "7 PM, festival theater, welcome."

With the male lead working so hard, Catherine, the female lead, felt too embarrassed to slack off and kept talking nonstop.

Whenever there was a lull in the crowd, Martin grabbed two sealed bottles of water and handed one to Catherine.

Catherine took the opportunity to drink and muttered softly, "No matter how hard we work, our pay won't increase."

Martin replied with a smile, "We are the leads. If the movie sells well, nobody can steal our thunder."

Another person drawn in by the large posters approached, and Martin put down his water bottle to greet them, handing over a flyer.

The person took the flyer and studied it seriously.

Martin, noticing the person's genuine interest, said, "Sir, the film will be screened at the festival theater at 7 PM. If it's convenient for you, you are welcome to come and check it out."

The man pointed to the character on the flyer and asked, "Are you the male lead? Playing a vampire?"

"Yes, I am the male lead." Martin recognized the man's accented English as similar to Michel Gondry's and ventured, "Sir, you're French, aren't you?"

The man nodded, "I am Blanco from France."

Martin invited Blanco to the booth, chatting as they walked, "You seem to be someone in the film industry?"

Blanco asked, "Because I'm attending the film festival?"

"Your demeanor reminds me of a French friend," Martin said vaguely, not knowing if the man was friend or foe in the industry, "He's a filmmaker who recently came to Georgia to shoot a film, so I have a rather strong impression of him."

Blanco laughed, "Are you talking about Michel?"

Martin, sensing an opportunity, quickly replied, "Yes, Director Michel Gondry. I've had the pleasure of sharing French cuisine with him in Atlanta and tasting Georgia's specialties. He's not only an artist in film, but also has the French's discerning taste for fine food."

Liking what he heard, Blanco followed Martin into the booth.

Dave, Benjamin, and others watched Martin warmly conversing with someone and didn't interrupt for the time being.

They were very confident in Martin's abilities.

If it had been Catherine, she would've already taken over the task of reception.

Kelly Gray, dressed in professional attire, came to the booth with her assistant Ella and edged closer to eavesdrop on the conversation between Martin and the man.

"Michel even invited me to Paris when he left," Martin said wistfully, "I've always wanted to experience the City of Art and Love up close, but sadly, months have passed, and the chance never came."

Blanco was quite polite, "You'll get your chance. Who knows, maybe one day you'll be attending the Cannes Film Festival."

He thought briefly, then pulled out a business card and handed it to Martin, "Seven o'clock tonight at the Festival Theater, right?"

Martin took the business card, quickly glanced at it, and saw that it was from a business manager at Europa Film Company.

"Yes, at seven o'clock," he said with a smile. "Please wait a moment."

Martin fetched a formal invitation and handed it to Blanco with both hands: "It would be a great honor for the crew if you could attend."

Blanco took the invitation, shook hands with Martin specially, and then took his leave.

Having left the exhibition area, he found a quiet spot, pulled out his cell phone, dialed Michel's number, and after exchanging greetings, said, "I'm in Savannah; I just met an interesting person who claims to be your friend, an actor from Atlanta, Martin Davis."

Michel Gondry on the other end replied, "Indeed, he's a friend, a nice guy with good acting skills, and he has a great longing for France."

Blanco had received quite a few invitations today and, after ending the call with Michel Gondry, took only a moment to decide to check out "Zombie Stripper" that evening.

Back in the exhibition area, Kelly approached and asked, "An important person?"

Martin handed her the business card: "A buyer from Europa Film Company, who seemed to imply that he's countrymen and friends with Michel Gondry."

Kelly immediately thought, "Your connection with Michel Gondry, did it come in handy?"

Martin said, "It should work. I think he will attend tonight's screening."

Kelly turned to Ella and said, "Make sure the VIP seating is arranged."

Ella responded affirmatively.

Kelly then said to Martin, "One more buyer adds to the hope of selling."

Martin gently took Kelly's hand, his voice tinged with barely concealed concern, "Don't put too much pressure on yourself, you're doing an outstanding job."

Kelly turned her hand around and pinched his finger saying, "You have lots of ideas, come up with a good one for me."

Martin spread his hands helplessly, "What comes next will depend on solid skills, my dodgy ideas will only be a drag, messing things up."

Although Martin had studied film buying and market marketing in America for a while, he felt that he only had a superficial understanding and it was better to speak less in specific deals.

By the afternoon, Sophia and Vincent had come over from Atlanta to prepare for the screening.

Kelly Gray only exchanged polite greetings with Sophia and Vincent, avoiding further contact.

The entire staff of Bison Club had also come along.

Bruce said to Martin, "The boss closed the shop especially today, so we could all come watch the movie together."

Hart joined in, "Old Cloth, this movie's got nothing to do with you, they wanted you to show your face up there, but you wouldn't listen."

But Bruce replied, "I'm just a guy who does the dirty, tiring work."

Understanding Bruce's point, Hart turned to Martin and asked, "Father Martin, have you seen the rushes? How did I perform?"

Martin replied, "You died a terrible death, blown up by Catherine."

At five o'clock, Sophia heartily invited the entire crew to a nearby luxury buffet restaurant for a meal.

The dinner was lavish, and Martin ate sparingly.

The screening crew were to take the stage and he had rented a well-fitting tuxedo specifically for it.

Controlling one's diet before attending significant events is a lesson every actor must learn.

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