America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Back in Los Angeles, Martin hardly had a moment of rest before he met up with Nolan to gear up for the DVD promotion of "Inception."

Warner Bros. organized a grand premiere ceremony at Macy's center.

Regarding the on-site marketing of the DVD, nearly all the activities eventually converged to one point—a signing event!

In the DVD sales area of Macy's, two signing tables were set up on either side. Before Martin and Nolan had even sat down, hundreds of people were already queuing on both sides.

Most people would line up on one side and then go queue on the other, with many purchasing two DVDs.

The crew had prepared gifts specifically for today's event, a top identical to the one used by Dom Cobb.

With every DVD Martin signed, he would personally give away a top.

For the entire morning, the lines in front of Martin and Nolan did not shorten at all, and the signing had to be extended by half an hour.

After the signing, the group went to have lunch.

Sitting at the same table with Nolan, Martin asked, "Is 'The Dark Knight Rises' finished?"

"We're in post-production," Nolan proactively offered, "When it's ready for test screening, I'll give you a call."

Martin smiled and said, "Warner Bros. might not agree with me attending."

Nolan understood what Martin meant—the new management sometimes puzzled him too.

Not wanting to put Nolan in a difficult position, Martin added, "I'm worried Bale might cause trouble if he sees me—if he starts a fight, it would be embarrassing for everyone."

Nolan remarked, "I doubt he'll have time for that; he's with Ridley Scott's crew shooting that epic in Morocco."

Martin nodded, "Gods of Egypt."

"I'm also planning on shooting an epic," Nolan said, having enjoyed his two collaborations with Martin. Preferring to work with a consistent team, he was also contemplating future collaborations and hinted, "But it's a space epic."

Martin, having seen all of Nolan's works in his previous life, calculated that it should be "Interstellar" and asked, "Do you have a script yet?"

Nolan shook his head, "Not yet, I'll let you know once Jonathan finishes the script."

Martin responded, "Chris, I'm really looking forward to your space epic."

Looking around, Nolan whispered, "I'm not quite clear on Warner Bros. right now. I have doubts whether to collaborate with them on new projects."

Martin, adept at social interaction, said frankly, "I'm not on good terms with Warner Bros. right now, so I definitely have biases and would rather not comment."

Nolan expressed, "Emma and I will carefully consider the matter of collaborating with Warner."

His concerns were natural since Warner's actions impacted his interests: "Extending the payment period, raising the distribution share, it's the collaborators who suffer."

Martin sighed, "The cleverest part is that they're acting within the terms of the contract; we're powerless."

But Nolan countered, "Collaboration is more than just a contract."

Having worked with Warner for years, Nolan not only needed their resources when he lacked clout, but he also found collaborating with Warner Bros. very comfortable.

With the rise in status, people change somewhat. The new management at Warner implemented a series of measures that made Nolan feel undervalued.

After lunch, Martin left the crew and got into his car, instructing Bruce to drive to Angel's Club.

On the way, he checked the data related to "Inception" again.

The movie had completely withdrawn from North American theaters, ending up with a total North American box office of 335 million US Dollars.

Overseas, it had been released in more than eighty countries and regions. Aside from Japan, the screenings in other key markets had largely concluded, with global box office earnings currently at 922 million US Dollars.

"The Dark Knight" had cemented Nolan's status, and "Inception" took him even further.

Martin also benefited greatly, starting salaries for new films at 20 million US Dollars, with room to negotiate for further earnings.

Upon arriving at Angel's Club, Martin was greeted by the owner, Cain, as soon as he walked in.

He quickly informed Martin, "Director David Fincher and Netflix's Greg Peters have just arrived; Thomas is hosting them."

Martin nodded slightly and cautioned, "Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel will be coming over later. Have someone wait at the door for a bit; as soon as their car arrives, notify me immediately."

Cain assured him, "I'll personally wait at the door."

This club, just with Martin's group, brought in a sizable amount in annual memberships.

Martin went to the club's entertainment area projection room.

Greg Peters eagerly came forward to shake his hand, "Martin, we meet again."

Martin replied with a smile, "Netflix's development is astonishingly fast."

Greg also smiled, "The market has always been optimistic about Netflix; its stock price keeps rising, and your investment as a shareholder is definitely worthwhile."

Martin answered, "I hope Netflix continues to develop even better."

He then turned to greet David Fincher.

Fincher went straight to the point, "Gone Girl' is finished. When is the screening?"

Martin said, "The studio is currently in talks with Warner Bros., and we expect a resolution soon."

Warner Bros. had purchased the film and television adaptation rights of another Gillian Flynn work, "Dark Places," and the success or failure of "Gone Girl" directly affected the new work's popularity. Warner Bros. did not cut corners in the promotion of "Gone Girl."

After a brief phone discussion among the three of them, Cain's call came through to Bruce; Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel's car was on its way.

Martin and Greg went to the entrance of the club to greet them.

Upon their arrival, Martin went up to greet Siebel with a handshake and then said to Gavin Newsom, "Congratulations on your resounding victory. I guess I'll be calling you Governor soon?"

Gavin Newsom exuded confidence and corrected him, "Lieutenant Governor."

In the recent California election, Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom had won by a large margin, the former to take over from Schwarzenegger as the new Governor of California after the New Year.

It was only natural that Gavin Newsom would assume the role of Lieutenant Governor.

Martin introduced to the Newsoms, "This is Greg Peters, the Chief Content Officer at Netflix."

As the former Mayor of San Francisco, Gavin Newsom was no stranger to Netflix.

After exchanging pleasantries, Martin invited everyone into the club's screening room, where he introduced them to David Fincher, who was waiting there.

Siebel was very pleased that a director of David Fincher's caliber had come to see her new work. She even pulled Fincher aside to chat, probing for a chance to appear in one of his future works.

Five minutes later, the lights in the screening room dimmed, and Jennifer Siebel's new movie, "The Trouble with Romance," began to play.

Including Martin, there were less than ten viewers in the audience.

The film followed the romantic comedy genre and featured four extensive scenes with Jennifer Siebel, the former First Lady of San Francisco, who made significant sacrifices for the art of cinema.

But not everyone saw it the same way.

Gavin Newsom didn't mind at all, occasionally talking to Jennifer Siebel and praising his wife's outstanding performance.

Siebel was delighted, as this film fulfilled her dream of being a movie lead actress, and incidentally, she also got to indulge in being a producer.

The film was not very long, just over 80 minutes, and straddled the line between an R-rated and NC-17 rating, mainly due to the explicitness of Siebel's scenes.

However, Davis Studio wasn't going to submit it for an MPAA rating, as the film wouldn't take the route of a public cinema release.

Martin watched very intently; the film wasn't terrible, and by his estimation, it would score above average if thrown onto IMDB.

Of course, aside from Siebel's extensive scenes, there wasn't much else in the film that could be called a surprise.

As the film ended, Greg also made his judgment—the quality was decent, better than he had expected, with the female lead's scenes proving to be particularly marketable.

Hosted on a streaming website with just a bit of promotion, it would definitely attract a large number of subscribers.

Greg looked toward Siebel, knowing that she was the key.

The wife of the former Mayor of San Francisco and future First Lady of the California Lieutenant Governor would pique a lot of interest.

Even more so than the artistic films of A-list Hollywood stars.

Greg had also learned that the high-profile Harvey Weinstein case was about to go to public trial, and Jennifer Siebel was confirmed as one of the main witnesses. When the time came, it would generate a significant wave of attention.

Netflix played the game of trends and traffic.

Moreover, this wasn't just a simple film rights transaction.

As the end credits appeared and the lights came back on in the screening room, Martin was the first to stand and approach Siebel, saying, "You've brought us a masterpiece, a fantastic performance."
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Siebel seemed very excited and responded, "It's you who gave me this chance, Martin. You helped me fulfill a dream of many years."

Gavin Newsom came over, fist-bumped Martin like a vibrant young man, and said, "As a husband, I must say thank you."

Martin replied with a smile, "There's no need for such formalities among friends."

Gavin Newsom laughed heartily.

At that moment, Greg also came over to offer his congratulations to Siebel.

"Romantic comedies of real merit have become increasingly rare in recent years. 'The Trouble with Romance' fills that gap and will surely draw the attention of fans of the genre," Greg expressed with enthusiasm. "Netflix is eager to have this film on its streaming platform."

Siebel had thoroughly enjoyed playing the lead role, and she was less concerned about which platform or channel the film would be shown on, saying with a laugh, "You should talk to Martin about that."

Greg said earnestly, "I'll be negotiating the film rights with Davis Studio today."

Siebel politely replied, "Thank you for the support."

With that, the screening came to an end, and Gavin Newsom and Siebel left.

David Fincher and Cain headed to the shooting range for some recreational shooting.

Greg and Martin began negotiations over the film rights.

Such a film, if pushed through cinema channels and including the marketing expenses, could take years to turn a profit.

Martin wasn't opposed to selling it to Netflix.

Eventually, both parties agreed on a figure of 8 million US dollars.