America Tycoon: The Wolf of Showbiz

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When Barbra Streisand, a legendary figure among Hollywood women known for her outstanding achievements as a singer, actress, director, and producer, took the stage to present an award, everyone knew the result for Best Director.

Last year's Best Director, Danny Boyle, had not taken the stage; in his place was a senior female member, which made it obvious.

Martin turned his head to glance at David Fincher and saw a flicker of unwillingness pass over his face.

The David Fincher of now was not yet the director who had been criticized by film critics for his passive collaboration with Netflix; he still harbored an Oscar dream.

But the Oscars were destined to make history tonight.

And, unsurprisingly, the name that came out of Barbra Streisand's mouth was Catherine Bigelow.

"The Hurt Locker" not only won Best Director but also took home Best Picture.

Summit Entertainment and the film's investors, David Ellison and Megan Ellison, became the biggest winners of the night.

In contrast, the team behind "Benjamin," which had garnered thirteen Oscar nominations but only managed to win Best Makeup and Best Art Direction as consolation, became the biggest tragedy of the evening.

They were just a little short of enjoying the same treatment "The Shawshank Redemption" had at the Oscars back then.

Martin consoled David Fincher, "We'll shoot faster this time and fight for the next Oscars!"

David Fincher was also fired up, "This time I need to boost efficiency. 'Gone Girl' aims to be released during the holiday season."

Martin made these comments with the sole intention of igniting David Fincher's competitive spirit and improving the efficiency of the filming and production process.

After all, this director tended to shoot quite casually.

When the award ceremony concluded, Elizabeth went straight home while Martin had to attend the "Oscar Night" party.

After several editions hosted by "Vanity Fair," Oscar Night had become a joint event with the Academy, where even the Oscar losers would show up at the party.

No sooner had Martin entered the banquet hall than he was grabbed by Taylor Swift, who had come to participate in the party.

Taylor pushed him toward the photo area, "I have two friends who are also your fans. They've been dying to take a picture with you."

Martin asked curiously, "Your girlfriends?"

As they walked, Taylor said, "Just like you, they're members of my circle of friends. Remember the advice you gave me when I sang for you? You told me to find a way to form a celebrity friend group."

Martin reminded, "Right, you are the lead, and the members should also be famous enough to attract the attention of the entertainment media. During the gaps between your releases, you could pull off the little girl drama of having a fallout and making up."

Taylor had evolved even further, "Not only have I made plans, but I am also prepared to pick a singer of similar caliber for an online feud. Is this method of hype workable?"

Martin first praised her, "Taylor, you're getting more and more resourceful." He then reminded her, "Be careful with the frequency of the hype."

Taylor nodded lightly, then waved forward, "Carly, Selena, look who's here."

Two girls, one tall and the other short, approached; the former was a blonde with long legs, even taller than Taylor.

The latter was Latina, with a round face bearing natural baby fat.

Taylor introduced them, "This is Carly Kloss, this is Selena Gomez, they're both my good friends."

Then she took hold of Martin's hand, "You all know him, my close friend, Martin."

Carly Kloss shook hands with Martin before quickly standing beside him, "Help me take a picture."

Martin pointed to an official Oscar journalist, "Bill, come over here and give us a hand."

Bill immediately came over with his camera and took photos of Martin with Carly Kloss and Selena Gomez, followed by a group photo of the four of them.

After taking pictures, Martin saw Ellen Horn signaling to him; he told Taylor, "I have something else to attend to, you guys chat first."

Taylor grabbed him, "Are you free tonight?"@@novelbin@@

Martin replied, "Not tonight."

Taylor regretted, "I have to leave early in the morning." She thought for a moment, "Next time I organize a gathering with the girls, you should come too."

Martin nodded, "No problem."

As they talked, he planned to settle accounts with Leonardo, that rascal who lacked a proactive spirit, a typical blusterer of 100 meters in 11 seconds, who promised to organize a big gathering of Russian and Ukrainian supermodels and still had not delivered.

Unfortunately, Leonardo hadn't come tonight; otherwise, Martin would have definitely wished him luck, hoping he'd get proposed to by ten pregnant women by the next day.

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Seeing Martin walk away, Carly Kloss nudged Taylor with her elbow and asked, "Have you tried it? How does it taste?"

As the first batch of models and figures from the entertainment industry born after 1990 grew up, they were wilder and more unrestrained than their predecessors. Selena Gomez also asked, "Is it as amazing as the legends say? Does it taste incredibly good?"

Taylor was far more audacious than them; leaning in close to the two, she whispered, "It's not just the taste that's good, it also moisturizes the vocal cords, making my singing voice even more beautiful. Haven't you noticed? Does my singing sound better than before?"

"You!" Both Carly Kloss and Selena Gomez were stunned, wondering if their sister was joking.

Taylor blinked and said, "You're still young, you don't know the good things in life."

Carly was not convinced, "We're almost eighteen."

...

At the corner of the banquet hall, near the dining table, Ellen Horn asked Martin, "I heard Warner Bros. wants to buy your studio?"

"They want to buy, and I'm willing to sell, but the talks broke down," Martin replied bluntly. "Warner doesn't want to shell out 450 million US Dollars."

That price also surprised Ellen Horn, "If it were me, I definitely wouldn't agree either!" Continue your adventure with My Virtual Library Empire

Martin smiled, "That's where the disagreement lies; I believe the studio's current assets are worth at least that much, but others don't think so."

Since there was a disagreement, Ellen Horn simply changed the topic, "Warner Bros. has increased their distribution cut, which is really unfair to their partners below, especially for someone like you who always scores big at the box office and is an actor, investor, and producer. Even a one percent increase in the cut means a loss of millions of dollars."

Martin said, "Warner Bros. has been the top performer in Hollywood for many years in a row, with a very strong distribution network."

"That represents the past, and not necessarily the future," Ellen Horn stated. "Since Kevin Shiyuan took over, there's been a large promotion of Japanese and nepotism. You must be aware of this. Do you think that's a normal management model for a company? Can they maintain the glory Warner Bros. created over the past decade?"

From the projects "Pharaoh and the Gods" and "Green Lantern," Martin had already seen the signs, and with the pitfalls he had laid, the future was unpredictable.

He got straight to the point, "Ellen, it sounds like you're trying to woo me over to Disney? I remember you're the president of Disney Studios, not in charge of distribution, right?"

Ellen Horn said, "I'm also considering your best interest, old friend. Disney and Bowery Vista International, these two distribution brands are both very strong. Walt Disney's offline channels are not inferior to Warner's, plus there's Robert Iger. Martin, you might not be familiar with him, but I can assure you, whether in leadership abilities or personal charisma, he's far above Kevin Shiyuan."

Martin nodded, "I've heard about Robert Iger. The big moves Disney has made in the past few years, I've heard, all came from him, acquiring Pixar Animation Studios, acquiring the whole of Marvel..."

He paused briefly, adding, "Ellen, I'm very apprehensive about encountering another Kevin Shiyuan. If you could oversee Disney's distribution labels, I would immediately have someone talk to you about the distribution affairs of 'John Wick: Chapter 2'."

Ellen Horn smiled, "Disney Studios not only merged with Hollywood production companies and Touchstone Pictures but also with the Disney distribution label, focusing on live-action movie production and distribution in the future."

Martin said, "It seems you've had your eye on me for a while."

Ellen Horn admitted, "If I hadn't bumped into you today, I was planning to contact you before you went to shoot 'Gone Girl', but unfortunately, you've already signed the distribution contract with Warner Bros."

Martin lifted his glass and toasted with Ellen Horn, "I'll have someone get in touch with Disney Studios to talk."

After taking a sip of his drink, Ellen Horn said, "I'll have my deputy talk to your people."

With the intention agreed upon, the face-to-face meeting came to an end.

After Martin left, he had initially planned to go home. Elizabeth had said she would be waiting for him in her evening dress before she left.

That was also quite a unique experience.

But David Fincher stopped him, introducing the middle-aged man beside him, "This is an old friend of mine, Greg Peters, a former producer who's now gone to Netflix as the Director of Product Content."

Greg immediately came over to shake hands with Martin, "I've been wanting David to introduce us, but never had the chance. Martin, it's an honor to meet you today."

Martin said with a smile, "I'm very familiar with Netflix."

Greg, puzzled, looked curiously at Martin.

Martin had no need to hide, "I'm a shareholder of Netflix, though just a minor one, with stocks purchased on the open market."

Greg asked, "So you're very optimistic about Netflix's growth?"

Martin had collected plenty of information on Netflix, "You started with DVD rental services and have developed online streaming, with tens of millions of paying subscribers in North America. This may become a way for families to watch movies in the future."

David Fincher chimed in, "I've been watching social networks, and with the prevalence of smartphones, many people are even used to watching some feature films on their phones."

Greg said, "Netflix has seen this trend and has been optimizing its selection data to provide users with better content experience."

Changing the subject, he added, "Currently, the biggest issue for Netflix is content, especially quality content. The Hollywood of today is not like it used to be; they see Netflix as an enemy. We need to pay a steep price to obtain licenses for quality content, and without it, it's hard to draw new paying subscribers or even keep the old ones."

Martin, holding shares worth tens of millions in Netflix, naturally wanted to see its stock rise. He suggested, "If you have enough cash flow, you can hire producers and directors to produce quality content yourself."