America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

After his morning run, Martin returned to the mansion and took the towel from the butler, wiping the sweat from his forehead and neck. He asked, "Is Liz up yet?"

The butler took back the towel, "She's making breakfast in the kitchen."

Martin strode into the dining room.

Possibly having heard him, Elizabeth just came out with the breakfast, feigning a complaint, "Getting up so early, you made me wake up early too."

"I'm used to it." As he aged, Martin never felt a decline in his physical or energy levels, still as vigorous as the midday sun, "After breakfast, you can sleep a bit more. You went to bed too late last night."

Elizabeth spoke candidly, "I was too excited last night, now my back is sore."

She set the breakfast table and sat opposite Martin, "I'm not going back to sleep; Maria and Sophia Stallone and I have plans today to visit the Lily Academy's art exhibition."

Only then did Martin remember that Guanhai's daughter was still in Los Angeles, and Elizabeth had taken up the role of host, "Is she easy to get along with?"

Elizabeth smiled sweetly, "She's a teenage girl, quite easy to please."

Martin nodded, saying, "Tell Maria that the crew will be regrouping soon, and she will join them then."

Elizabeth replied, "She has been waiting for it."

After breakfast, Martin changed his clothes and left for WMA.

Elizabeth drove her Porsche to meet Maria and Sophia and the others.

Arriving at Century City and entering the WMA headquarters, Martin hadn't been there for a few months and didn't recognize even the two receptionists, but every WMA employee he met took the initiative to greet him.

"Good morning, Martin."

"Martin, you look even more handsome than before."

"I have a few female clients who would be a perfect match for you. Want to meet them, give them a chance?"

Looking around, good people were everywhere.

Martin just smiled and nodded, not saying much, and turned into the corridor leading to the elevator for premium clients, where it finally quieted down.

Ali entered the company lobby at that moment.

The new receptionist in the mailroom had good insight and quickly rushed over, saying, "President, Martin has come to the company and just went towards the private elevator."

Ali broke into a run towards the elevator, catching up with Martin just before he entered.

Martin shook hands with him, "I heard you're getting engaged? Have you decided on a date? I need to prepare a gift."

"The date isn't set yet." Ali followed Martin into the elevator, joking on purpose, "I definitely won't invite you to my fiancée's bachelorette party."

Martin couldn't help but laugh, replying, "I'll join yours, Ali. I trust your taste and strength."

Ali had heard some rumors from the modeling circles, "Don't get your hopes up, I can't bring in a bunch of Victoria's Secret Angels."

Women are more fond of showing off than men, including in every aspect; as Martin's fame soared and he took on the title of an American hero, his name naturally became a bragging right among those Victoria's Secret Angels.

Phrases like, "I've been with Martin, what trash are you playing with?" often appeared in the supermodels' regular spats.

Martin said, "Let me know when you decide on the date, remember to call me."

"No problem." The elevator arrived, and Ali accompanied Martin out, "Thomas has received many film offers for you, including some key projects the company is pushing. You must take a close look."

He paused for a moment, "Over the years, you've always chosen your own projects, and one success after another has proven your insight. The company won't interfere with your choices, but I want to remind you of something; with your credentials, it would be a pity to follow just the commercial or artistic route alone."

Martin understood what he meant, "I won't give up on the Oscar route."

Ali shook his hand, "Let's play golf when you have time."

Martin then went to Thomas's partner office.

This man had indeed gone bald, yet he'd become stronger, climbing his way up from a junior agent to a partner position within the company.

Upon seeing Martin enter, Thomas immediately called the finance department.

The deputy director of the finance department personally came with the documents, and after having Martin sign to confirm, he made a call to instruct the company's finance to transfer the funds.

Starting from the premiere of "The Dark Knight", after nearly a year of waiting, Martin's share of the profits had finally been deposited to his account.

In the past year, from North American box office revenue to DVD sales, and licensing for merchandise, after deducting the agency fees, he had $34.66 million US dollars transferred to his account.

Thomas asked, "With so much money earned, do you have any spending plans? Count me in."

Once the money was transferred to his account, Martin signed the receipt and said, "I'll buy some stocks, acquire some fixed assets, and the rest will probably be spent on eating, drinking, and having fun."
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Of course, he was exaggerating, "Before next year's tax season arrives, I plan to invest more and spend more, otherwise it's just a giveaway to the tax office."

Thomas, looking forward to Martin's better future, advised, "Still, you should keep some savings."

Martin always did so, "One-fifth of it I will keep for emergencies."

Investment isn't a pressing issue, as the next tax season is still far off, and besides Apple stock, Martin is also keeping an eye on other investment opportunities.

Of course, the purpose of making money is to spend and to enjoy it.

While long-term gains need to be assured, short-term expenses shouldn't be overlooked either.

Martin asked Bruce, "I remember Elizabeth is quite fond of Porsche, isn't she?"

Bruce thought for a moment, "She has never driven the Cadillac at home; it's clear she doesn't like it."

Martin asked, "When I was in New York, I remember seeing an ad for a four-door sedan from Porsche, did it not?"

Thomas, who knew more about it, replied, "The Panamera, a four-door sports sedan."

Martin nodded and said, "Old Cloth, order a top-of-the-line Panamera, and get the paperwork done today. Have them deliver it directly to the house."

Bruce left to take care of it.

Thomas pulled out a thick stack of invitations and placed them on the table, "Many people and events have been inviting you recently, the important ones are at the top."

Martin went through them one by one, most were from charitable or environmental organizations, along with some personal invitations.

For instance, Hefner invited him to another pajama party.

Martin came across a special invitation, the cover marked with two equilateral triangles linked by an S.

Thomas emphasized, "An invitation from Tom Cruise, his Sect Hierarch Hubbard has invited you to visit the Scientology headquarters whenever you're free."

He expressed concern, "Cruise helped you during your Cannes Best Actor win, but they clearly have ulterior motives."

Martin waved his hand dismissively, "Even if I do meet Hubbard, it would be a dialogue between the heads of two religious sects."

Only then did Thomas remember that Martin's Cola Cult had several times the followers of Hubbard's Church of Scientology.

In that case, Martin as a Sect Hierarch had more capital than Hubbard.

Thomas continued, "We've secured the rights to 'The Martian.' The original author, Andy Weir, would like to meet with you."

"Okay," Martin considered, "Ask if he has time this afternoon."

Thomas called Andy Weir, and they agreed to meet at WMA in the afternoon.

Now that he had received his base adaptation fee, Andy Weir had resigned from Blizzard Entertainment to focus fully on writing 'The Martian.'

Martin's studio and Random House had a written agreement with him that the novel must be completed by the end of this year.

After making the call, Thomas brought up the matter of the director, "Ridley Scott is a client of our agency, and his agent is Ali. I've discussed this matter with both of them. Ridley hasn't given an opinion yet, but he's extended an invitation to you."

Martin had a bad feeling, "About a role?"

Thomas nodded slightly, "Yes, Ridley has invited you to play the lead in his new film, but it's an epic based on Robin Hood. You've said you'd refuse all epics, so I've used the excuse that your schedule doesn't fit and put them off for now."

He also felt somewhat helpless, "Ridley really believes in you, he thinks you're the perfect fit for Robin Hood, and he said if you take the lead, they would immediately dismiss the confirmed Leading Actress Cate Blanchett."

Martin knew that epics of this era were pitfalls, and Ridley Scott's were the typical example, "Give them a firm reply, find a reason to decline politely."

"Alright, I'll think of something." Thomas added, "Inviting Ridley Scott to direct might meet with difficulties."

Martin couldn't afford to tarnish his own brand for this, "Let's wait until the novel is finished."

Then, Thomas brought out several audition invitations.

Martin looked them over carefully, the only one that left an impression was The Wachowskis' new film 'Cloud Atlas.'

The siblings had a long-standing partnership with Warner and sent a very sincere invitation, even delivering the complete screenplay.

Martin briefly flipped through the script, finding it even more complex than the script of 'Inception,' incomprehensible amidst its obscurity.

Thomas mentioned, "I met with Lana, he...she's willing to wait for your availability."

Martin closed the script and decided, "Turn it down, our philosophies are too different, we can't work together."

"Got it," Thomas took back the script, but added, "I've read the screenplay, it's designed on a grand scale, with spectacular descriptions of spacetime and human nature."

'Robin Hood' and 'Cloud Atlas' were projects WMA was pushing hard, and he added, "This is the top female client of Larry, Natalie Portman, who highly recommended it to Lana while shooting 'V for Vendetta.'

Martin simply shook his head without saying more.

Ridley Scott's epic films were a big pitfall, and The Wachowskis' projects after The Matrix were the king of pitfalls.

Seeing Martin's mind was made up, Thomas said no more.

The company, in his eyes, was far less important than Martin.

For the other film invitations, Martin had no recollection of the roles, titles, or content, and he was not short on projects; so he had Thomas decline them all.

That afternoon, he met with 'The Martian' author Andy Weir, discussed the novel in detail to ensure it could be completed this year, and spoke with Louise on the phone to advance the project.