America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

Because he wanted to inspire Taylor Swift's creativity, Martin stayed in Nashville for two more days.

The next morning, Carly Kloss brought her two model sisters to visit the manor.

"This is Kendall Jenner, and this is Gigi Hadid," Carly introduced them one by one to Martin, "They belong to the same modeling agency as I do, mainly focusing on training and taking on some small commercial activities."

Martin smiled and greeted them, "Nice to meet you, welcome to Nashville."

Gigi Hadid took out an iPhone and asked, "Martin, could I take a selfie with you and tweet it?"

Martin, who was always accommodating in this regard, replied, "Sure."

Gigi Hadid didn't ask someone else for help, instead she cozied up next to Martin, took a selfie in high spirits, and went to tweet it. Discover more stories at My Virtual Library Empire

Martin looked at Kendall Jenner, who was tall and exceptionally slender.

The once famous Kentucky sisters, now two of them were here.

Unlike her sisters, Kendall's build was more like Jody's; she put her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket and said, "I often hear my sisters talking about you."

The girl's figure really was excellent, with possibly the only flaw being that she was not very busty.

But nobody is perfect.

There was no need for Martin to deny, "I'm fairly acquainted with Kim and Khloe."

Kendall smiled, but her gaze drifted past Martin, landing on Bruce not far away, with quite a complex expression.

She asked Martin, "Could I talk to him?"

Martin stepped aside, "You're free to do so."

Kendall quickly walked towards Bruce.

Bruce saw her approaching, and there was a hint of awkwardness on his face—he had seen her picture more than once on Kim and Khloe's phones.

Getting closer, Kendall said, "Are you Old Cloth? I've seen you on Kim and Khloe's phones; you are their screensaver."

With thick skin, Bruce said, "I've got some acquaintance with them."

Kendall inquired, "Is Kim your girlfriend, or is Khloe your girlfriend?"

Utterly denying it, Bruce answered in crude terms, "Neither is."

"You really are a jerk!" Kendall was somewhat disappointed, "I really don't know what Kim and Khloe see in you; you're just a bodyguard!"

Even being a bodyguard for Martin Davis, he was still just a bodyguard.

Bruce remained silent; how could he tell the young lady in front of him that his assets were worth millions of dollars?

What if this young lady, like her two sisters, were to throw herself at him? What then?

With her slim build, Bruce already often had pelvis pain from Jody, not to mention adding another one to the mix.

Kendall huffed and turned away.

Up ahead, Taylor and Carly successively shared a passionate kiss with Martin, and Kendall felt a stir within her—if she could sway Martin to dismiss that perverted scumbag, Kim and Khloe might lose interest in him.

Actions speak louder than thoughts, and as Kendall wanted to join in, she faced simultaneous rejection from Taylor, Carly, and Blake.

To avoid potential risks, Martin always adhered to his principles; at best, he merely chatted with Carly's two little sisters.

As for Kendall Jenner's implication that something could happen if Bruce were dismissed, he treated it as foolish talk.

No matter if the suggestive words were from the famous Kentucky sisters or even Elizabeth Olsen, there would only be one outcome with Martin.

That afternoon, Taylor's team and Katy Perry's team had a formal meeting at the manor and presented their respective proposals.

Taylor specifically brought them to show Martin.

Martin quickly flipped through them and said, "Your team is more professional with the actual implementation; I'm just here to give ideas."

Taylor, as if she were a devoted fan, responded, "Coming up with ideas is often the hardest part." She asked, "Is there anything we need to pay special attention to?"

After thinking for a moment, Martin reminded her, "You're a singer, and the best way to retaliate is always through your songs."

Taylor nodded, "I'll remember that."

At night, after sending everyone away, the villa again was filled with a singing competition.

Taylor said earnestly to Martin, "I've realized that it really does preserve the vocal cords; my voice and throat have been improving over the past two years."

Martin responded, "No worries, I can give you some more."

Before coming to Nashville, he knew it would be hectic, as opening up and caring for vocal cords is quite a difficult task, which was why he maintained a high-protein diet.

Since Taylor had needs for maintaining her vocal cords and throat, Martin naturally would accommodate her.

By the latter part of the year, there was truly not a drop left.

The next morning, Martin boarded a flight and left Nashville, returning to Los Angeles.

Once in first class, Martin, who hadn't slept all night, could finally get some good sleep.

Upon arriving in Los Angeles, Martin had just left the terminal and gotten into the car when Thomas, who had come to pick him up, handed him a copy of "Hollywood Reporter" with some articles about him.

Still playing up a sob story.

This time, it included people and events from Atlanta, basically how Martin, before coming to Hollywood, lost his mother, his father took off, and he got by mooching off neighbors. Not only did he not turn into a scoundrel, but he also became a good man in the eyes of the community, leading neighbors to fend off drug dealers' attacks several times.

One sentence particularly hit the nail on the head.

"If it were anyone else, God knows how corrupted they might have become..."

Folding the newspaper, Martin asked Thomas, "Is this all Leo's doing?"

Thomas said, "Leo came up with the ideas and suggestions, and his team is responsible for executing them."

Martin frowned in thought, "Why does this marketing tactic look so familiar to me?"

Thomas said, "Because Leo himself took cues from others; he referenced CAA's marketing of Keanu Reeves, one of Hollywood's most successful sob story campaigns."

Martin responded, "No wonder it feels familiar, I've heard Charlize Theron mention Keanu Reeves before, this PR marketing is just too successful."

After the "The Matrix" trilogy, Keanu Reeves had a string of failed projects and his career took a sharp downturn. His agency, combining his actual experiences, crafted a new persona through a series of images, videos, and news articles, securing Keanu Reeves' star status and slowing down his decline.

The specific approach was to sell a tragic story based on facts.

For example, the tragic story of Keanu Reeves' deceased ex-girlfriend was highlighted. The miscarriage was real, but it wasn't due to a car accident, rather drug use.

If the media reported the facts, how could the public sympathize with a drug-related miscarriage?

Like the truth that Keanu Reeves didn't buy a house and lived in hotels for a long time, that is true; after becoming famous, Keanu Reeves didn't buy a house for a long time and stayed in hotels, specifically the old prestigious luxury hotels of Los Angeles.

By his own admission, staying in a hotel was convenient, there's no need to clean up.

The hotel is high-end, and it's said that a single meal with his entourage could cost Keanu Reeves thousands of US dollars.

As for eating burgers on the street and sitting in the park like a homeless person, those were unpublicized on-set photos of Keanu Reeves.

Of course, all of this could stand up to scrutiny, being adaptations based on facts, so Keanu Reeves' image has always remained stable and not easily shattered.

Moreover, Keanu's popularity within the industry is very good, gifting motorcycles and Rolex watches is part of his routine, and his generous reputation has spread throughout Hollywood.

It's no exaggeration to say that Keanu Reeves is a classic example of a successful sob story marketing campaign in Hollywood.

The so-called sob story plan that Leonardo came up with was mostly just learning from Keanu Reeves' success.

At this point, Thomas asked, "Do you think Leo's plan will succeed?"

Martin didn't answer but instead asked back, "Louise has held several screenings in Los Angeles, how was the reaction?"

Thomas, who attended them all, replied, "The overall response was good, and the attending Academy members recognized your performance. But regarding the film's genre..."

He candidly stated, "Science fiction films, even if they are drama-oriented, still have a difficult time at the Oscars."

"Let's secure a nomination first." Martin shook his head, "Managed by a blockhead who has been chasing awards for over a decade and still doesn't understand, can I really win Best Actor..."

Thomas didn't continue, but in his eyes, the three of them seemed more like they were amusing themselves.

Leonardo didn't release any work this award season and didn't need to consider film promotion and Oscars campaign matters, leaving him plenty of free time. Coupled with Nicholson, who could stir up a storm without any wind, their sob story campaign was making waves.

Martin thought it more reliable to depend on himself and asked, "How well have you gathered materials on our competitors?"

December 1st is Oscar-nomination day, and the competitors had mostly emerged. Thomas said, "Almost all collected."

Martin had just gotten home when Leonardo and Nicholson hurried over.

When there's no fun to be had outside, why not stir up internal turmoil?

Just highlight how everyone is engaged in making music and dancing together.

For the next few days, Martin hardly rested, frequently attending various events, making appearances at screenings and parties, and lowering his standards when necessary to campaign for votes.

Nicholson also threw several parties, helping Martin campaign among the older white male demographic.

Leonardo also rallied his friends.

This award season, among the films aiming for the Oscars, "The Martian" was also the one with the broadest audience reach and the best market performance.

The North American box office trend for the film was stable, and after three weeks of release, its cumulative gross in North America reached 242 million US dollars.

Meanwhile, the overseas release of "The Martian" expanded to Australia, the Middle East, North Africa, and Latin America, accelerating the overseas box office to a rapid 272 million US dollars, quickly surpassing North America.

And that wasn't the end of the film's box office journey; just with the box office returns, all the investors including Davis Studio, could recoup their entire investment.

A critical point for the award season was that "The Martian" did not see its reputation plummet with the increase in audience; all its ratings remained strong.

Compared to award season films like "The Midnight Tree," "War Horse," and "Moneyball," its reputation did not falter at all.

Without Harvey Weinstein, Martin didn't see that silent black-and-white film this award season, and there were few memorable films in his recollection.

In his eyes, this was a typical Oscar off-year.

The campaign had begun, and aside from Leonardo and Nicholson's sob story plan, Martin also invested energy and resources, but his focus was mainly on potential opponents.