America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Both sides were interested in a collaboration, and Martin and Chuck Hogan quickly reached a preliminary understanding. After his agent and lawyer rushed over and had a detailed discussion with Thomas, they drafted an agreement.

It could be said that this was the fastest progress possible.

Even Chuck Hogan wasn't particularly concerned about the amount of the royalties, but he had one precondition.

Martin had to play the lead role!

Of course, that wasn't a problem.

The two sides agreed to have Thomas and Chuck Hogan's representatives discuss the specific terms under the supervision of the Writers Guild the next day, after which Martin and the two others said their goodbyes and went downstairs.

After stepping out of the office building's main entrance, Bruce quickly walked a few steps and got in front of Martin.

Right by the curb, next to where the Escalade was parked, the doors of a Volvo SUV opened, and Ben Affleck and Casey Affleck got out of the vehicle.

Ben said, "Don't you guys have any respect for the rules? There's such a thing as first-come, first-served, isn't there?"

Casey was not nearly as polite, "If you steal from us, then don't blame us for stealing from you."

Martin didn't want to pay attention to these brothers, but after a moment of contemplation, he still said, "Days ago, Chuck already sent 'The Prince of Thieves' to me through Graham's introduction."

Ben spread his arms and laughed, "If you're going to put it that way, years ago Chuck Hogan sent his novel to Weinstein Films."

These kinds of issues were messy, and Martin said, "The choice is in Chuck Hogan's hands."

Casey stepped forward, his voice sharp, "You lack basic respect for us. This isn't going to end just like that."

Ben put a hand on Casey's shoulder and said to Martin, "Buddy, you're deliberately stirring up trouble."

"Interpret it however you want." Foot Clan and Face Gang had conflicts anyway, and Martin couldn't help it if the other side chose to be selectively deaf after he explained.

Ben gave Martin a nod and got into the passenger seat of the Volvo.

Casey pointed at Martin and his group and then took the driver's seat.

The Volvo suddenly roared to life.

Cassie, at the wheel, grinned maliciously at Martin's group, seemingly ready to drive the car right at them.

Martin's hand reached inside his jacket, HK Company had arranged for him and Bruce to have legal gun permits in New York.

Bruce was even quicker, drawing a handgun directly. Although the gun was pointed downwards, he could raise it at any moment to shoot at the Volvo's windshield.

Cassie's malicious grin froze on his face. Those two jerks across from him had no honor at all!

He was only trying to scare them; did they really need to draw guns?

Bruce gently swung the gun muzzle toward the middle of the road.

Cassie felt like his head was empty, he instinctively turned the wheel, and drove the car onto the road, stepping on the gas like a rabbit escaping a hunter, disappearing into the distance in panic.

It wasn't until after turning a corner that he managed to calm himself slightly and asked, "Ben, shall we call the police? They had guns in New York!"

New York has very strict gun laws. Ben's head was still clear, "If they dared to pull out a gun in front of us, do you think they wouldn't have a permit?"
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"Wait before you talk again." Ben took out his phone and dialed the number he remembered.

Chuck Hogan on the other end flatly refused the adaptation rights, even unwilling to negotiate with them.

Ben hung up the phone, extremely unhappy.

Casey said, "He stole the rights that should have been ours."

Ben's cheeks puffed in and out, "Martin is hotter than me in Hollywood right now, he has more clout. This business has always been about pushing and shoving."

Casey glanced sideways at Ben, "Are you just going to take it?"

"I damn well don't want to!" Ben burst out but then sighed, "Even Harvey couldn't do anything about him. What can we do?"

Casey said, "Let me think about it."

Ben cautioned, "Don't do anything rash and be careful. You know the situation with Pitt."

"Does it have to do with Martin Davis?" Casey asked.

"I don't know." Ben considered, "But at the very least, Martin Davis must have pushed from behind. Without Martin smoothing things over, how could Aniston and Jolie ever reconcile? They've both turned against Pitt; did Martin push them from behind?"

The car fell silent for a while.

After some time, Casey finally said, "Pitt really is in a dire situation, selling off assets and hiring lawyers for cash, almost completely ruined."

He suddenly thought of Martin from Pitt, "I've got an idea. We should get Matt to quietly make a move, to turn Martin into the next Pitt."

Ben thought for a moment and said, "Try a little, but pull back immediately if it doesn't work, and don't attract attention."

Casey grinned dejectedly, "I'll think it through and find a proper way and approach. I won't be reckless."

...

Two days later, Thomas had finished negotiating the rights for 'The Prince of Thieves' with Chuck Hogan's agent. Jessica, representing Davis Film Studio, signed the licensing agreement with Chuck.

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Chuck sold all the film and television rights of "Prince of Thieves" for 700,000 US Dollars, and he is also entitled to the guild-mandated residuals.

This is a very common Hollywood rights agreement.

But there was a catch: Martin had to play the male lead.

On the other hand, Chuck Hogan would participate in the script adaptation but would only do auxiliary work.

Chuck had no experience in adapting for film and television; he included this clause also to branch out into becoming a Hollywood screenwriter.

Martin talked to Graham King on the phone during this period, who mentioned that Chuck Hogan had more than once expressed his desire to become a film producer.

His joining the future production team was for the purpose of accumulating credentials and experience.

If the adapted movie turned out to be a huge success, Chuck, as the original author and scriptwriter, would quickly gain a lot of prestige.

As for the specific adaptation time, it could not be until next year at the earliest.

Having dealt with these matters with only a bit of effort, Martin's focus shifted back to filming.

Some disputes had arisen among the leading creative team.

Director Chad came up with a new idea, and scriptwriter Bradt refused to change the script, leading to both having a dispute over their work.

After understanding the situation, Martin brought the creative team together to understand what happened in detail.

Bradt drew a circle on the whiteboard in the meeting room and pointing to the word inside said, "This is what you wrote down by your own hand—breaking through! Chad, take another look at your new idea, where the protagonist gets caught by the antagonist, and the antagonist doesn't kill the protagonist but blabbers a bunch of nonsense, waiting for the protagonist to turn the tables…"

Chad argued, "I just wanted to make the story more complicated and the conflicts more intense."

Martin carefully read through Chad's handwritten scene ideas and interjected, "The protagonist being captured by the antagonist, who then doesn't immediately finish off the protagonist but talks a lot of nonsense and then gets defeated by the protagonist—these are almost the common faults of all traditional Hollywood action movies."

He looked at Chad, "The style of our movie is swift and decisive. The protagonist won't stupidly spare his enemy's life, and what about the antagonist? Continue being foolish? Chad, put yourself in the shoes of the character, if you were a mob boss who almost got killed by the protagonist and then captured this super-assassin, what would be your first reaction?"

Before Chad could respond, Bradt spoke up, "Even an idiot would know to eliminate the threat at the first chance, and if there is anything to say or boast about, at least incapacitate the protagonist's arms and legs first, right?"

Chad, being a first-time director, although he wanted to break free from the traditional Hollywood action movie formula, was inevitably influenced by the environment he grew up and learned in.

As he directed the film, his mind subconsciously slipped back to traditional Hollywood narrative patterns.

"The antagonist never immediately kills the protagonist when he gets the chance…" Chad muttered to himself for a while, finally breaking free from the conventional plot pattern.

Once his thinking stepped out of the fixed mold, he immediately realized the problem; it was no different from those hackneyed action movie clichés he loathed.

Chad took the initiative to apologize to Bradt, "My mistake, I accidentally fell back into that mire."

It was merely a professional disagreement, and Bradt waved it off, "No worries, did you forget? During the scriptwriting process, you pulled me out of the rut more than once."

Chad smiled and then said to Martin, "My past experiences brought me not only skills and experience but also shackles."

Martin responded, "It's good that you've realized that."

Unless absolutely necessary, he would not randomly exercise his power to forcibly suppress a director.

That would be the worst choice.

Chad went to wash his face and came back saying, "I'm good now, let's continue shooting."

The group returned to the set, with Martin putting on his suit jacket and stepping in front of the camera.

Mene sipped wine alone in a private booth, embodying the essence of the Continental Hotel New York's proprietor.

Today's shoot was a dialogue scene between the male lead and Winston, where Martin exchanged a few words with Mene and then ran through the lines once more.

After the clapper board was sounded by the script supervisor, the shooting began.

Martin, dressed in a sharp black suit, walked through the crowd surrounding the bar and sat down next to Mene in the private booth.

"Jonathan," Mene's voice was deep and magnetic, definitely a draw for middle-aged female audiences.

He poured a glass of wine for Martin and said, "You look very worn-out."

Martin kept a straight face, revealing no emotion, "Because some things happened, I had to come back here."

This role didn't require him to demonstrate much acting prowess.

Equally expressionless, Mene replied, "You're well aware of the Continental Hotel's rules; fighting is strictly prohibited in the lounge area, or else membership is revoked."

Martin didn't touch the glass and stood up, saying, "I won't cause you any trouble."

He left the hotel's bar by himself.

Director Chad called cut, approved the shot, and then moved to a different location to continue filming the scene between Jonathan and Winston.

Compared to The Dark Knight and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button crews, this film demanded much less regarding character portrayal.

Both Martin and Mene could handle their roles rather easily.

Even the average acting skills of Alexandra Daddario shone through in the few scenes she had; once she was in motion, she easily caught the eye.

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