America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

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Under the clear blue sky in early September, Martin sat alone on a bench in front of the art gallery, wearing a Dodgers baseball cap, patiently waiting for someone to come over.

A few minutes later, Lily, who had just finished her class, jumped down the steps of the art gallery.

She landed behind the bench and yelled at Martin, "Boo..."

Martin turned around and said, "How old are you to still play these games?"

Lily had her long hair tied into a simple ponytail at the back of her head and said, "It's no fun, I didn't scare you."

Martin got up, "I knew it was you by the sound of your running."

Lily's long eyebrows lifted in surprise, "It turns out you care so much about me."

As Martin walked toward the college entrance, he said, "I've known you since you were a little brat, always running and jumping around with your accent, likes and dislikes, and a mouth full of swear words. What about you don't I know?"

"I've stopped swearing," Lily said softly. "Actually, there are some things you don't know about."

Martin turned his head to look at her and asked, "What don't I know about you?"

Lily laughed, "A girl's secret, I'm not telling you."

People were coming toward them, greeting them first, "Hi, Lily."

Lily waved back at them.

From the art gallery to the parking lot near the school's entrance, at least six or seven people greeted Lily.

Martin asked, "It seems like you know a lot of people?"

"I've made a lot of friends, just like at Marietta High School," said Lily, who used to be the queen bee at the public middle school. "Many girls envied and resented my beauty, making sneaky moves behind my back, but I always dealt with them in groups."

Martin admonished, "Don't go too far."

Lily said with a grievance, "I haven't, they all say I'm a good person."

Martin understood Lily's style; she was a girl who grew up under her sister's iron fist, then applied the same iron-fisted education to her brother Holle, and carried it on to school.

Lily never stood on ceremony with Martin, "Don't worry, I'll call you if there's anything. And that Louise, she knows a lot of people and has called me a few times..."

Martin approached the Escalade and pulled open the driver's side door, "Get in."

Lily got into the passenger seat.

The car left the college, heading straight for Sherman Oaks, and Martin turned into Cody Community. As they neared home, they encountered Jenna walking her cat.

Seeing Martin's car, Jenna waved.

Martin stopped the car and rolled down the window.

Jenna came over, looked at the passenger side, and asked, "Girlfriend?"

Lily immediately greeted her with a smile, "Hello, miss, you're so beautiful."

Martin pushed her back, "This is my sister, Lily."

Jenna nodded, examining Lily carefully, "Nice figure and looks, extremely talented."

Lily had a good first impression of Jenna, eagerly responding, "Everyone I know says that, do you think so too?"

Martin glanced at Jenna, and Jenna immediately corrected herself, "I invited you to the set, but you were always busy..."

"I've been too busy with work," Martin found an excuse and said, "Maybe another time."

Jenna nodded and then said to Lily, "Pretty girl, come visit the set with Martin when you have time."

Lily replied, "Sure."

Martin drove up to the front of the house.

Lily looked back and said, "She's nice."

"Indeed, she is," Martin had gotten to know her a bit through several encounters, and aside from Jenna's specific profession, he found her to be quite a quality person.

He simply said, "In your letters of recommendation, one of them was from her father."

Lily asked, "Should I visit her set to express my thanks and to get a bit closer to her?"

She remembered Jenna's words from earlier, "What works has she been in? With such an outstanding appearance, I would definitely remember her if I've seen her."

Martin said straightforwardly, "She's in films from Sacred Valley, where she's the director and the leading actress."

"Uh..." The answer was so unexpected that Lily was taken aback and didn't know what to say.

Martin added, "Jenna Jones' entire family is in the arts, and she entered this line of work because, it's said, she has hormonal issues."

As for whether that's true or not, no one really inquired.

The car entered through the gates, and Lily's attention shifted. When Martin parked the car in front of the garage, she leaped out and exclaimed, "What a beautiful house."

Then, she caught the smell of barbecue and turned to say, "Hey, Old Cloth, long time no see."

Bruce was barbecuing and waved at them, "Lily, you get prettier every time I see you."

Martin drove the car into the garage.

On the poolside, a long dining table and several chairs were set up.

Martin didn't invite anyone else, and it was just him, Lily, and Bruce dining together.

A simple meal of grilled meat, vegetables, and fruit.

Unlike the people he met after moving to Los Angeles, all three of them were from Atlanta, truly his own people.

The dinner was a joyful affair for the three of them.

After they were full, Lily toured Martin's house and sat in the big G in the garage, only to hop out immediately.

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Martin didn't mind and said casually, "If you need a car, you can drive it for now."

Blake was very particular; he kept all the valuable gifts he gave on this side, only keeping a few mementos for himself.

Lily however noticed that the former owner of the car was a girl and shook her head, "I don't need a car right now. Once I get familiar with the school, I'll find a job to earn money and buy my own car."

Before the sky turned completely dark, Martin had dropped Lily off at school and reminded her to seek out Louise if she needed anything.

He had just made a deal costing several hundred million with Louise.

When Lily left, Martin gave her a big bag filled with gifts.

Despite having ten thousand complaints in her heart, Lily accepted the gifts with tears in her eyes.

The award season was about to commence, and Martin was soon heading to Canada to participate in the Toronto Film Festival.

The promotion and award season campaign for "Infernal Affairs" would start with the Toronto Film Festival.

The film would have its premiere during the festival period and would be released across North America in October.

"So far, the film has had one internal screening and one for theater managers and media people, and the feedback has been very positive,"

In the Warner Building conference room, producer Graham King briefed the core creative team on the current situation: "MPAA has rated it R, and the distributors have managed to secure around 3200 theaters for the release. The North American box office is expected to cross 100 million US dollars."

Many people's eyes fell on Leonardo and Martin.

Aside from Matt Damon, who was shooting "The Bourne Ultimatum 3" in London, they were undoubtedly the most commercially powerful among the creative talent present.

Nicholson, sitting next to Martin, suddenly said, "Don't look at me. As long as I'm not holding you back, you should be grateful to me."

Leonardo couldn't help but laugh.

Scorsese said, "Jack, what new tricks can you come up with?"

Nicholson pointed his finger at Martin, "For any crappy ideas beyond conventional promotion, you find him."

Martin spread his hands, "I've just come back from London and haven't even gotten a grasp on the situation yet."

In front of others, he was good at praising the top two of the Trio of Scoundrels, "With Leo and Jack here, drawing in audiences won't be a problem. Leo appeals to the young and the old, and Jack is the idol of middle-aged and older women."

Graham said, "For every major promotional event in Toronto or Los Angeles, all three of you need to attend."

All three of the Trio of Scoundrels confirmed there would be no problem.

Afterward, the focus shifted to discussing the Oscar campaign.

The team's primary focus was on Best Picture and Best Director, while Martin's Best Supporting Actor would also strive for a nomination.

The only surprise was that Leonardo wouldn't use this film to contend for Best Actor.

After the meeting, the Trio of Scoundrels naturally gathered together.

Martin curiously asked, "You're not using this film's role to go for the Oscar?"

"The resources of this movie are concentrated on Best Picture and Best Director; there's too little left for the others," Leonardo was quite pragmatic, "It's not hard for me to get nominated with the role of Billy, but winning is completely hopeless."

With no one else around, just the three of them, Nicholson didn't forget to hold them back, "With your 'stare-frown-and-shout' acting technique, you wouldn't stand a chance with any other roles either."

Leonardo, furious enough to kill, retorted, "Fine! Fine! You're the great actor, you're amazing!"

Nicholson mimicked his antics, bulging his eyes and ostentatiously boasted, "I'm nothing special, just two Best Actor Oscars and one Best Supporting Actor Oscar to my name."

Leonardo was knocked speechless by this crushing blow.

Nicholson delivered the final hit, "If you ask me, Martin has a much better shot at getting that little gold man than you."

Leonardo looked up at the sky, speechless, almost on the verge of tears.

"You're not going to sink into depression, are you?" Compared to Nicholson, Martin was relatively humane, "You've got tons of golden-haired, long-legged models waiting for you."

Leonardo moved closer to Martin, "Buddy, you're my real brother here."

Martin hadn't finished his sentence, "They all want to experience what an 11-second sprint feels like."

"I'm going to kill you guys!" Leonardo executed his three trademark moves, glaring, frowning, and roaring, "You two scoundrels!"

Nicholson said, "See? Compared to Martin the jerk, I'm the good guy here."

The three laughed and talked as they got into Nicholson's stretch Lincoln.

Martin set aside the frivolity and asked, "Leo, which film are you planning to use for the Oscar race?"

"Blood Diamond," Leonardo briefly mentioned: "I filmed it before 'Infernal Affairs.' I acted alongside Jennifer Connelly, and the male lead has more screen time in it than in 'Infernal Affairs.' More importantly, the production's primary target is Best Actor."

Martin remembered this film, a saga triggered by a red diamond.

It seemed to have even stirred controversy; De Beers was worried the film's impact would be too significant, causing consumers to shun diamonds, and had joined with other diamond companies to protest against the film.

Martin mentioned it.

Leonardo said, "They've already protested to the production, but it's fine, this is good on an artistic level."

Martin understood, "An artist who isn't afraid of power."

Nicholson interjected, "That's the way it's done, Oscars for Best Actor and Actress always need some packaging," he looked at Martin, "Didn't you do some packaging on your end?"

Martin let a little slip, "Yeah, the agency has put a lot of resources into it; I'm preparing to become a children charity ambassador."

Leonardo nodded, "That's not easy to mess up."

Martin added, "That's why I chose it."

Originally, he had considered going for equal rights, but for some unspeakable, inexplicable reasons, that path was no longer viable.

The three decided to go to a bar for drinks and agreed to head to Canada in a few days to participate in the promotional activities for the Toronto Film Festival.