American fame and fortune

In the Los Angeles Country Club, a black Cadillac SLS drove smoothly in front of the white gate of the clubhouse and parked on the side of the road full of flowers.

The camera moved to the driving position along the slide rails. Martin opened the door and got out of the car. He was dressed in formal attire, with the background of a luxury car and a club, showing his success.

Director Joseph spoke from behind the monitor: "Cut, this one is over."

A driver drove over and drove the car to the entrance of the clubhouse.

The crew also moved to the door, where they were ready for filming.

Martin went to the trailer to get changed and returned to continue filming.

Not just videos, but print ads as well.

Although Cadillac is a luxury car brand among American cars, it is not as focused on high-end as Brioni, and asked to shoot commercials as soon as possible in order to catch up with the Super Bowl commercial in early February.

The commercial featuring Martin and Che as the protagonists will appear on the American Spring Festival Gala.

This is also excellent publicity for Martin himself.

Taking Cadillac's 10 million annual endorsement fee, Martin fully cooperated and posed various POSS according to the photographer's requirements.

After shooting here, I reapplied makeup.

The Cadillac SLS parked in front of the clubhouse.

Martin took a key and entered the foyer of the clubhouse.

Director Joseph reminded to move: "Pay attention to the lens and keys."

Martin held up the key.

After the crew was ready, Joseph gave an order, and the shooting started again.

Martin came out of the clubhouse, took out the key and pressed it on the car, and the lights of the car flickered.

The following cameraman captures close-ups.

Joseph shouted: "This one is over, go back and do it again."

Taking money to do things, the most basic professional ethics, Martin is not bored, and this one was shot eight times in a row.

At around 4:30 in the afternoon, after all the advertising shots and print pictures were shot, Martin took off his make-up and changed his clothes, got into a Cadillac SLS, and headed straight to Burbank.

This is one of several new cars that Cadillac sent over.

In addition to being used by Martin in public, it can also be given as a gift to relatives and friends.

The agent Thomas was waiting in the car.

Martin took out a car key and handed it to Thomas: "The car is in the Cadillac shop, you can pick it up yourself."

Thomas asked, "Give me the car?"

"You got the endorsement deal, you got the car," Martin said.

The gains other than the agent's commission warmed Thomas's heart. Compared with those stars who need to be coaxed and cheated after becoming famous, Martin is really a rare good client.

Thomas put away the car keys.

Bruce also has a car that belongs to him.

In addition, Martin also left one for Mene, but Uncle Mene is filming in other places and will not return to Los Angeles for the time being.

Thomas glanced at his watch and said, "The test screening is over."

Today is the theater manager and media preview of "Never Ending". Because of the shooting of Cadillac commercials, Martin can only attend the reception party in the evening.

The car entered Burbank, and Bruce turned onto the road to the Burbank hotel.

Martin opened the car's incubator, took out a box of pizza, opened it and put it on the armrest in the middle of the back seat, picked up a piece, and said: "There is no time for dinner, and drinking is a must at the party. Eat some first, don't drink on an empty stomach." .”

"You're so thoughtful." Thomas picked up the pizza and ate it.

Martin ate the pizza, rinsed his mouth with mineral water, sprayed on breath freshener, and adjusted his clothes slightly in front of the mirror.

Deal with critics who are nitpicking and pay attention to every detail.

Many critics have eyes bigger than the eye of a needle. If they feel that people disrespect them, they can use their pens to criticize black people for the rest of their lives.

Martin may not care about them in the future, but now he needs these guys to charge forward with op-ed articles and attract more attention.

The car stopped at the entrance of the hotel, Martin and Thomas got out of the car, and as soon as they entered the hotel lobby, they saw Louise.

She was wearing a lady's suit and black-rimmed glasses, and when she saw Martin come in, she waved gently.

Martin went over there and asked, "How did the screening go?"

Louise would not joke about such a serious matter, and said, "The response is very good."

She took Martin's arm: "Go to the banquet hall and talk while walking."

Martin took his time to the elevator.

Louise said: "The 38 reporters who participated in the test screening gave an average of 84 points. The theater manager's commercial score was even better, with an average score of 94 points."

The latter score is not purely based on the quality of the film, but more from the perspective of the market. The score is directly related to the support of the theater when the distribution company negotiates with the theater.

In the past ten years, there have been endless examples of good movies selling poorly at the box office and bad movies selling well.

Martin asked again: "Where are the movie fans?"

This question actually put Louise in a good mood, and she said, "A+!"

"It's really good news." Martin also laughed.

As for the critics, he didn't ask, and Louise didn't say anything.

Going upstairs and entering the banquet hall of the hotel, Martin immediately adjusted his mentality and dealt with media reporters and critics, toasting with others from time to time.

As in the past, he has great respect for the critics who participated in the screening, and he can always listen to their opinions and discuss with them high-level artistic topics.

Before entering the new year, Oscar nomination ballots have already been sent out, and Martin still needs these people to help him continue to wave the flag.

Martin took the initiative to find Kenneth Turan, the chief film critic of the Los Angeles Times.

"I just watched the test screening, and your acting skills are as good as ever." Compared with the film, Turan cared more about Martin and his role: "You played the transition from failure to success very well."

Martin said: "Thank you for your praise. It may be my own experience that allows me to understand the mental journey of this transformation more deeply."

He has never been stingy about boasting: "This change in mental state is a big challenge, and I think I can handle it pretty well."

Turan had just watched the film and was impressed by Martin's role: "It's not worse than your role in The Departed. If this film doesn't have a sci-fi color and less commercial elements, it is entirely possible to impact the next awards season."

"In such a commercial society, it is too difficult to avoid business." Martin said helplessly: "Brokerage companies, investment companies, and collaborators around me, etc., I need to consider and balance. The film is completed, but I have been working hard to use my performance to make the balance between business and art better."

Critics are also a group of commercial writers. The film-related industries are, to put it bluntly, all business. Turan doesn’t think Martin’s words are problematic, as if a teacher taught students: “Don’t get lost in business, and never forget to hone your acting skills. .”

Martin nodded heavily, and said deliberately: "When the reader is finished, I hope you can participate in the trial screening as soon as possible. Your comments have given me a lot of guidance. The results I honed under the guidance also need your follow-up guidance. "

These words made Kenneth Turan feel comfortable from the bottom of his heart, and said, "Remember to call me."

Martin knows what these guys like, and he needs them to call 666 at this stage.

He ordered wine from the waiter and had a drink with Kenneth Turan.

On the other side, Aniston finished chatting with a deputy editor-in-chief of a newspaper, waited for a while, saw that there was no one around Martin, and looked for him.

She was in high spirits: "The response to the film has been really good."

Martin is also confident: "The cost recovery at the box office is not a problem."

Aniston came closer and whispered, "Have you read the latest news?"

Martin didn't understand: "What news?"

"Griffith Observatory," Aniston said. "Many couples like to go there for a stargazing tryst at night."

Martin had been to this place before, when he was dating Anne Hathaway.

Aniston continued: "Last night, someone used fireworks to attack the observatory near the planetarium, and many couples were scared and ran for their lives."

She took out her mobile phone: "Someone took a picture of the scene."

Martin only took one look and was sure that the fireworks were Gatling: "Leo and Jack, you bastards!"

"Luckily there are no trees at the observatory," Aniston said.

Martin knew the style of these two bastards: "Certainly handpicked."

After the party, Martin called Leonardo.

Sure enough, it was those two bastards who attacked the Griffith Observatory at night.

They proposed to wait until Valentine's Day to attack Venice Beach at night, which is said to be another famous field site in Los Angeles.

In the next week, Martin devoted himself to his work. While promoting the new film, he did not forget to continue public relations for the Oscars.

During the awards season, the results of various association awards and outpost awards have been announced one after another, and most of Martin has entered the nomination list for the Best Supporting Actor Award.

But the award probably fell into the hands of Alan Arkin.

During the period, he participated in the Golden Globe Awards ceremony.

The entire crew of "The Departed" returned home in a big defeat. Not only did Martin and Leonardo, who were nominated for acting awards, not win, but even the awards for best feature film and best director were snatched away by "Babel".

But no one took it to heart, because the overlap between the judges of the Golden Globes and the judges of the Oscars was basically zero.

At the subsequent Directors Guild Awards, Martin Scorsese won the best director crown.

"The Departed" tops the Producers Guild Awards!

The awards of the associations of Hollywood practitioners are the real barometer.

Among the two awards, Martin entered the nomination list, but the best supporting actor was Alan Arkin in "Little Miss Sunshine".

Robert De Niro, the supporting actor of "Never Ending", has worked hard in Hollywood for decades and has a wide network of contacts, so he revealed some news to Martin.

Last year's highly acclaimed "Little Miss Sunshine", the production and distribution company Fox's primary public relations award, is the best supporting actor for Alan Arkin.

Alan Arkin is not inferior to De Niro in terms of qualifications. Not to mention the human relationship accumulated over decades, he also sold two Manhattan properties invested in his early years for public relations.

This old man has played supporting roles in hundreds of film and television dramas. He is still a Jew and is over 70 years old.

For Best Supporting Actor, the margin is too great.

Oscar's famous nostalgia.

Martin can take it easy, after all, his goal is to be nominated for an Oscar.

He has a wider network of connections than him, an old Jew in his 70s versus a 25-year-old non-Jew, more than 40 years of experience in the industry vs three years of experience.

The most important thing is that Alan Arkin throws in no less public relations fees than him.

Even De Niro, an old man, left the first nomination vote to Alan Arkin.

Old men over 60 years old accounted for more than half of the academy's judges.

Just arrived in mid-January, the most important barometer of the Academy Awards, the Screen Actors Guild Awards announced the results.

Leonardo, who is aiming for the Oscar for Best Actor, did not win the Best Actor Award, losing to the black actor Forest Whitaker.

For Best Supporting Actor, Alan Arkin was no surprise.

However, both Martin and Leonardo were on the shortlist of five nominees for their respective awards.

With the basic guarantee of entering the Oscar nomination list, Martin's energy turned to the promotion of "Never Ending".

In the last half month before the release, he changed cities every day, repeated the pattern of planes, hotels and announcements, from the west coast to the east coast, and even went to the United Kingdom and Germany, where the painting was also held in North America, to do publicity.

Regardless of the Internet or other media, the publicity efforts have been full.

Because of the good reputation of the trial screenings, the distributor Warner Bros. won nearly 3,300 theaters for the film.